Heavy ion plasma confinement in an RF quadrupole trap

The confinement of an electron free plasma in a pure quadrupole RF electric trap was considered. The ultimate goal was to produce a large density of mercury ions, in order to realize a trapped ion frequency standard using the hyperfine resonance of 199 Hg(+) at 40.7 GHz. An attempt was made to obtain an iodine plasma consisting of equal numbers of positive and negative ions of atomic iodine, the positive iodine ions, being susceptible to charge-exchange with mercury atoms, will produce the desired mercury ions. The experiment showed that the photoproduction of ions pairs in iodine using the necessary UV radiation occurs with a small cross-section, making it difficult to demonstrate the feasibility of space charge neutralization in a quadrupole trap. For this reason it was considered expedient to choose thallium iodide, which has a more favorable absorption spectrum (in the region of 2000 to 2100 A). The results indicate that, although the ionic recombination is a serious limiting factor, a considerable improvement can be obtained in practice for the density of trapped ions, with a considerable advantage in lifetimes for spectroscopic purposes. The ion pair formation by photoionization is briefly reviewed

Risk Profiles in Individual Software Development and Packaged Software Implementation Projects: A Delphi Study at a German-Based Financial Services Company

The aim of this paper is to compare risk profiles of individual software development (ISD) and packaged software implementation (PSI) projects. While researchers have investigated risks in either PSI projects or ISD projects, an integrated perspective on how the risk profiles of these two types of information system (IS) projects differ is missing. To explore these differences, this work conducted a Delphi study at a German-based financial services company. The results suggest that: First, ISD projects seem to be more heterogeneous and face a larger variety of risks than the more straightforward PSI projects. Second, ISD projects seem to be particularly prone to risks related to sponsorship, requirements, and project organization. Third, PSI projects tend to be predominantly subject to risks related to technology, project planning, and project completion. Finally, in contrast to available lists of risks in IS projects and irrespective of the project type, the paper found a surprisingly high prominence of technology and testing-related risks

A SITUATIONAL PERSPECTIVE ON WORKAROUNDS IN IT-ENABLED BUSINESS PROCESSES: A MULTIPLE CASE STUDY

Workarounds are still one of the most puzzling phenomena in business process management research and practice. From a compliance perspective, workarounds are studied as control failure and the cause for inferior process quality. From a process reengineering perspective, however, workarounds are studied as an important source of process improvement. In this paper, we advance recent theory on the emergence of workarounds to resolve this puzzle by analyzing empirical evidence from a multiple case study. Our analysis reveals that employees utilize workarounds based on a risk-benefit analysis of the situational context. If the realized benefits (efficiency gains) outweigh the situational risks (exposure of process violations), workarounds will be perceived as process improvement. Erroneous risk-benefit analysis, however, leads to exposure of the same workaround as control failure. Quite unexpectedly, we found that information systems serve as critical cus for the situational balance of benefits and risks. Our result suggests that process-instance-level workarounds are treated as options that are engaged if the situation permits, in contrast to process-level workarounds that manifest as unofficial routines. We also contribute the notion of situational risk-benefits analysis to the theory on workarounds

Intervenções frente ao nascimento prematuro: uma revisão teórica = Interventions facing premature birth: a theoretical review

Objetivo: O presente artigo procura tecer considerações sobre intervenções com recém-nascidos prematuros internados em Unidade de Terapia Intensiva Neonatal, que vêm sendo consideradas positivas no campo da Saúde Coletiva Método: Revisão bibliográfica junto a Psychlit e consulta a livros textos Resultados e conclusões: Na saúde coletiva, a atenção aos cuidados da criança sofreu uma evolução histórica. Atualmente, observa-se uma preocupação não só em relação à criança, mas também em relação aos bebês que necessitam tratamento intensivo neonatal. Este interesse engloba tanto cuidados tecnológicos quanto o bem-estar psicobiológico e social do bebê. As intervenções com recém-nascidos prematuros internados em Unidade de Terapia Intensiva Neonatal vêm sendo consideradas positivas no campo da Saúde Coletiva, tais como os procedimentos técnicos dos profissionais que atendem os prematuros, escalas utilizadas, o modelo Touchpoints, apoio e informação aos pai

EXPLORING THE CONTRIBUTION OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TO GOVERNANCE, RISK MANAGEMENT, AND COMPLIANCE (GRC) INITIATIVES

Information technology (IT) has a tremendous impact on the discipline of accounting by introducing new ways of retrieving and processing information about performance deviations and control effectiveness. This paper explores the role of IT for managing organizational controls by analyzing value drivers for particular accounting information systems that commonly run under the label of Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance (GRC IS). We apply a grounded theory approach to structure the value drivers of GRC IS into a research framework. In order to understand the impact of IT, we relate the GRC IS value drivers to control theories. Practical implications include understanding GRC IS benefits beyond compliance and providing clear strategic reasoning for GRC IS depending on the individual company’s situation. Research implications include the fact that integrating IT into the context of accounting leaves several unsolved yet promising issues in theory which future research might address. This paper is the first to use the lens of organizational control theories on Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance information systems and establishes a potentially fruitful research agenda for GRC IS as a highly relevant topic for information systems research

An environment for mirroring hypermedia documents

Mirroring (creation of remote copy) of WWW hypermedia documents is discussed. First a Portable Hypermedia Document (PHM) format is defined. Mirroring service and a software environment for mirroring are introduced. Mirroring environment automatizes the process of mirroring and transforms WWW hypermedia documents into PHM format. The algorithm and the architecture of the environment of mirroring service are described in detail