System Insecurity - Firewalls

The firewall is normally an intermediate system between the secure internal networks and the less secure external networks. It is intended to keep corporate systems safe from intruders, hackers, and accidental entry into the corporate system. The primary types of firewalls are screening routers, proxy servers, and stateful inspectors. Before choosing a firewall architecture, a company must have the right mind set regarding threat. The purpose of this paper is to provide an introduction to firewall concepts and help develop this mind set

Electronic Data Interchange: Guidelines for Development, Implementation, & Use

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)provides new and expanded methods for communications between business partners. EDI is the inter-organizational transmission of business transactions in a standard format. With EDI, companies can bypass the traditional methods of sending physical documents, and instead send electronic ones. EDI is a form of communication that promises increased productivity. The original aims of EDI were to reduce cycle time and replace paper with electronically transmitted documents between trading partners (Figure 1). But, the contribution of EDI to business has grown beyond the goals of paperless high-speed communications. EDI is transforming entire industries. ATM networks and electronic-funds-transfer systems have altered the way we bank and trade securities. Now EDI is changing the face of retailing, supplier/customer relations, international trade, and many other areas. EDI represents an opportunity to directly improve business processes and business controls. Traditionally, organizations have used paper forms such as acknowledgements, orders, inquiries, checks, and the like to exchange information. But large volumes of paper-based exchanges created problems because they are slow and require extensive human handling. Many organizations have realized the importance offinding a more expedient way to communicate and process business data. There were 21,000 registered EDI users in 1991. In 1993, Data Interchange Standards Association, Inc. (DISA) reported that 37,000 companies were using EDI in the USA. Internationally,Singapore and Hong Kong both regard EDI as an important source of competitive advantage in trade. Australian Custom Service also uses EDI to communicate with European countries. Technically, there are few barriers to implementing EDI. The implementation of EDI is more a management problem; because, to really do it properly requires a complete rethinking of organizational structure, processes, procedures, and methods of doing business. This paper identifies several important issues associated with EDI development, implementation, and use. These factors, which include EDI technical considerations and implementation strategies, can serve as guidelines for organizations contemplating the use of EDI

Comparison of normalization methods for CodeLink Bioarray data

BACKGROUND: The quality of microarray data can seriously affect the accuracy of downstream analyses. In order to reduce variability and enhance signal reproducibility in these data, many normalization methods have been proposed and evaluated, most of which are for data obtained from cDNA microarrays and Affymetrix GeneChips. CodeLink Bioarrays are a newly emerged, single-color oligonucleotide microarray platform. To date, there are no reported studies that evaluate normalization methods for CodeLink Bioarrays. RESULTS: We compared five existing normalization approaches, in terms of both noise reduction and signal retention: Median (suggested by the manufacturer), CyclicLoess, Quantile, Iset, and Qspline. These methods were applied to two real datasets (a time course dataset and a lung disease-related dataset) generated by CodeLink Bioarrays and were assessed using multiple statistical significance tests. Compared to Median, CyclicLoess and Qspline exhibit a significant and the most consistent improvement in reduction of variability and retention of signal. CyclicLoess appears to retain more signal than Qspline. Quantile reduces more variability than Median in both datasets, yet fails to consistently retain more signal in the time course dataset. Iset does not improve over Median in either noise reduction or signal enhancement in the time course dataset. CONCLUSION: Median is insufficient either to reduce variability or to retain signal effectively for CodeLink Bioarray data. CyclicLoess is a more suitable approach for normalizing these data. CyclicLoess also seems to be the most effective method among the five different normalization strategies examined

Social acceptability of conservation interventions for flatback turtles: comparing expert and public perceptions

Sea turtles are facing significant threats, including anthropogenic warming, predation from feral animals, and sea level rise. While a range of intervention options are available, resource constraints and increasing time pressures means managers face the difficult task of prioritising options. To achieve successful conservation outcomes, managers are increasingly seeking to understand the social acceptability, as well as biological plausibility and economic feasibility, of these intervention options. Previous studies have used expert opinion as predictors of social acceptability, given their technical knowledge and experience implementing the interventions; however, the assumption that the social acceptability of interventions is the same for both the general public and experts is largely untested. We tested this assumption using surveys to assess the social acceptability of 24 interventions proposed for a population of flatback turtles Natator depressus in northwest Australia. Survey responses were collected from community members (residents) and experts (resource managers and researchers). Experts were asked to provide their own opinion of acceptability and how they perceived community members would rate intervention options. In general, residents ranked interventions that directly intervene with human behaviour or the environment as more acceptable than those that directly target turtles, while experts tended to favour direct turtle interventions. Experts incorrectly predicted that the community would not be influenced by the target of the intervention. Our findings highlight the importance of understanding social acceptability of interventions before implementation to inform management decisions and engagement and communication strategies, particularly when interventions might be controversial or restrict human behaviour directly

The age of Stonehenge

Stonehenge is the icon of British prehistory, and continues to inspire ingenious investigations and interpretations. A current campaign of research, being waged by probably the strongest archaeological team ever assembled, is focused not just on the monument, but on its landscape, its hinterland and the monuments within it. The campaign is still in progress, but the story so far is well worth reporting. Revisiting records of 100 years ago the authors demonstrate that the ambiguous dating of the trilithons, the grand centrepiece of Stonehenge, was based on samples taken from the wrong context, and can now be settled at 2600-2400 cal BC. This means that the trilithons are contemporary with Durrington Walls, near neighbour and Britain's largest henge monument. These two monuments, different but complementary, now predate the earliest Beaker burials in Britain – including the famous Amesbury Archer and Boscombe Bowmen, but may already have been receiving Beaker pottery. All this contributes to a new vision of massive monumental development in a period of high European intellectual mobility…

Response of religious groups to HIV/AIDS as a sexually transmitted infection in Trinidad

BACKGROUND: HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination are significant determinants of HIV transmission in the Caribbean island nation of Trinidad and Tobago (T&T), where the adult HIV/AIDS prevalence is 2.5%. T&T is a spiritually-aware society and over 104 religious groups are represented. This religious diversity creates a complex social environment for the transmission of a sexually transmitted infection like HIV/AIDS. Religious leaders are esteemed in T&T's society and may use their position and frequent interactions with the public to promote HIV/AIDS awareness, fight stigma and discrimination, and exercise compassion for people living with HIV/AIDS (PWHA). Some religious groups have initiated HIV/AIDS education programs within their membership, but previous studies suggest that HIV/AIDS remains a stigmatized infection in many religious organizations. The present study investigates how the perception of HIV/AIDS as a sexually transmitted infection impacts religious representatives' incentives to respond to HIV/AIDS in their congregations and communities. In correlation, the study explores how the experiences of PWHA in religious gatherings impact healing and coping with HIV/AIDS. METHODS: Between November 2002 and April 2003, in-depth interviews were conducted with 11 religious representatives from 10 Christian, Hindu and Muslim denominations. The majority of respondents were leaders of religious services, while two were active congregation members. Religious groups were selected based upon the methods of Brathwaite. Briefly, 26 religious groups with the largest followings according to 2000 census data were identified in Trinidad and Tobago. From this original list, 10 religious groups in Northwest Trinidad were selected to comprise a representative sample of the island's main denominations. In-depth interviews with PWHA were conducted during the same study period, 2002–2003. Four individuals were selected from a care and support group located in Port of Spain based upon their perceived willingness to discuss religious affiliation and describe how living with a terminal infection has affected their spiritual lives. The interviewer, a United States Fulbright Scholar, explained the nature and purpose of the study to all participants. Relevant ethical procedures associated with the collection of interview data were adopted: interviews were conducted in a non-coercive manner and confidentiality was assured. All participants provided verbal consent, and agreed to be interviewed without financial or other incentive. Ethics approval was granted on behalf of the Caribbean Conference of Churches Ethics Committee. Interview questions followed a guideline, and employed an open-ended format to facilitate discussion. All interviews were recorded and transcribed by the interviewer. RESULTS: Religious representatives' opinions were grouped into the following categories: rationale for the spread of HIV/AIDS, abstinence, condom use, sexuality and homosexuality, compassion, experiences with PWHA, recommendations and current approach to addressing HIV/AIDS in congregations. Religious representatives expressed a measure of acceptance of HIV/AIDS and overwhelmingly upheld compassion for PWHA. Some statements, however, suggested that HIV/AIDS stigma pervades Trinidad's religious organizations. For many representatives, HIV/AIDS was associated with a promiscuous lifestyle and/or homosexuality. Representatives had varying levels of interaction with PWHA, but personal experiences were positively associated with current involvement in HIV/AIDS initiatives. All 4 PWHA interviewed identified themselves as belonging to Christian denominations. Three out of the 4 PWHA described discriminatory experiences with pastors or congregation members during gatherings for religious services. Nonetheless, PWHA expressed an important role for faith and religion in coping with HIV. CONCLUSION: Religious groups in Trinidad are being challenged to promote a clear and consistent response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic; a response that may reflect personal experiences and respect religious doctrine in the context of sex and sexuality. The study suggests that (1) religious leaders could improve their role in the fight against HIV/AIDS with education and sensitization-specifically aimed at dismantling the myths about HIV transmission, and the stereotyping of susceptible sub-populations, and (2) a consultative dialogue between PWHAs and religious leaders is pivotal to a successful faith-based HIV intervention in Trinidad