Information security trust and outcomes : a case study of compliance in a complex system

As recent high-profile data breaches illustrate, an organization that complies with information security control frameworks can also suffer from successful attacks and the subsequent erosion of trust. Information security frameworks used in the federal, payment, and health care industries use a core catalogue of security controls to standardize practices and facilitate assessment. In theory, an organization implementing these standard controls and practices would maintain sufficient security to protect sensitive data. However, these catalogues of controls require resources to implement and change slowly compared to the evolution of technology and threats. Viewed as a static set of rules in a dynamic complex system, the implementation of catalogues of controls may not create predictable outcomes, or act as reliable indicators of the quality of an organization’s security program. I used a case study approach to analyze an organization’s security outcomes during a period when control catalogue implementation transitioned from a best practice to a regulatory mandate I analyzed the organization through the perspective of a complex adaptive system, identifying the complex properties of the organization and its information security team as they endeavored to ensure strict compliance with the control catalogues. I collected data on factors related to the organization’s security outcomes, as well as finances, strategy, and governance. Despite significant changes in IT intensity, strategy, and corporate leadership, the security outcomes faltered and recovered, as emergent processes evolved from the dynamic environment. The compliance results, however, were ambiguous. The formal third-party compliance assessment presented outcomes that overstated the impact of isolated controls from the catalogue, while failing to highlight the broader issues related to organizational risk. This prevented the compliance assessment from representing the true state of security of the organization’s systems. I conclude that the current method of assessing the quality of an organization’s information security program against a control catalogue does not provide sufficient information to establish meaningful trust between organizations. Alternate method that requires a broader perspective of risk may improve the reliability of assessments and provide a more meaningful method to communicate trust.Informatio

Of hummingbirds and helicopters: Hovering costs, competitive ability, and foraging strategies

Wing morphology and flight kinematics profoundly influence foraging costs and the overall behavioral ecology of hummingbirds. By analogy with helicopters, previous energetic studies have applied the momentum theory of aircraft propellers to estimate hovering costs from wing disc loading (WDL), a parameter incorporating wingspan (or length) and body mass. Variation in WDL has been used to elucidate differences either among hummingbird species in nectar-foraging strategies (e.g., territoriality, traplining) and dominance relations or among gender-age categories within species. We first demonstrate that WDL, as typically calculated, is an unreliable predictor of hovering (induced power) costs; predictive power is increased when calculations use wing length instead of wingspan and when actual wing stroke amplitudes are incorporated. We next evaluate the hypotheses that foraging strategy and competitive ability are functions of WDL, using our data in combination with those of published sources. Variation in hummingbird behavior cannot be easily classified using WDL and instead is correlated with a diversity of morphological and physiological traits. Evaluating selection pressures on hummingbird wings will require moving beyond wing and body mass measurements to include the assessment of the aerodynamic forces, power requirements, and power reserves of hovering, forward flight, and maneuvering. However, the WDLhelicopter dynamics model has been instrumental in calling attention to the importance of comparative wing morphology and related aerodynamics for understanding the behavioral ecology of hummingbirds

Muscular Strength, Muscular Endurance, and Circulorespiratory Endurance of University of North Dakota Varsity Wrestlers During the 1970-71 Season

This study was conducted to establish those changes which occurred in muscular strength, muscular endurance, and circulorespiratory endurance over a one season period. Pre-season, pre-Christmas, post- Christmas, and post-season tests were administered to eleven University of North Dakota varsity wrestlers. The tests included the twelve minute run-walk, used to measure circulorespiratory endurance, and two weight training lifts—the bench press and the prone row, used to measure muscular strength and endurance. Each of the lifts was administered to test muscular responses four ways: static strength, static endurance, dynamic strength, and dynamic endurance. A Randomized Block Analysis of Variance and the Dunn\u27s c Test were used to analyze the results at the 0.05 level of significance. Significant gains occurred in the dynamic strength prone row test. Significant losses occurred in static endurance bench press and prone row. Gains also occurred in the static strength bench press and the twelve minute run-walk. Losses occurred in dynamic strength bench press, dynamic endurance prone row and bench press

The fishes of the Conasauga River in Tennessee

This thesis reports the results of a survey of the fishes of the Tennessee portion of the Conasauga River. This river is unique in that it is the only part of the Alabama River drainage to flow through Tennessee. The survey was carried out between the autumn of 1965 and the spring of 1968. Collecting was done with fifteen-foot minnow seines and a sixty-foot bag seine. This thesis contains descriptions and ecological notes on the fishes taken during the survey. Because of the survey, nineteen species are added to the list of fishes occurring in Tennessee. The evidence for and against a past connection or major stream piracy between the Alabama and Tennessee River systems is examined. It is concluded that the dissimilarity between the ichthyofauna of the two systems argues for a long history of mutual isolation except for the minor capture of headwater streams. It is pointed out that further research into this question needs to be carried out by zoologists and geologists

Distribution of the tied imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, in road and powerline habitats

pattern For early-successional species, road and powerline cuts through forests provide refugia and source populations for invading adjacent forest gaps. Within an 800 km ’ forest matrix in South Carolina, we determined if width. disturbance frequency or linear features of road and powerline cuts influenced the mound distribution of the red imported tire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren. For each of live linear habitat types, differing in width and disturbance frequency, we mapped all mounds located within ten 500 m segments. Mean mound density was lowest in narrow. infrequently-disturbed closed-canopy dirt road habitats (8.8 mounds/ha). For types with an opening in the forest canopy (i.e.. open dirt road, gravel road, paved road and powerline cut), mean mound density was highest in narrow habitats where disturbance was intermediate (open dirt roads, 86.5 mounds/ha). It was lowest in wide habitats where disturbance was infrequent (powerline cuts, 27.6 mounds/ha). Mean mound size was greater in infrequently-disturbed powerline cuts than in frequently-disturbed paved roads. Mounds were located signi ticantly closer to road or forest edges than expected by random. In all types except dirt roads. mounds were more common toward northern edges. and more so as the orientation of the linear habitat changed from north/south to east/west. These data suggest that narrow, disturbed habitats are more suitable for fire ant establishment and success than wider ones, and that the distribution of fire ants in linear habitats is not as uniform as it has been shown to be in pastures. A decrease in roadside disturbance and an increase in shade, especially along the northern edge. may result in lower tire ant mound density in these linear habitats

The Influence of Loan Repayment and Scholarship Programs on Healthcare Provider Retention in Underserved Kansas

Background. In an effort to redistribute healthcare providersto underserved areas, many states have turned to financialincentive programs. Despite substantial research on theseprograms on a national scale, little is known about the successof such programs in Kansas. The purpose of this studywas to provide insight into the relationship between financial incentive programs and provider retention in Kansas. Methods. A cross-sectional telephone survey was conducted inApril and May of 2011 with participants who had completedtheir obligations to the Kansas State Loan Repayment Program(SLRP), the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Loan Repaymentprogram, or the National Health Service Corps Scholar shipprogram in Kansas between January 2006 and January 2011. Results. Of the 112 providers included in the study, 54.4% (n = 61)had left their program sites sometime after finishing their commitment,with the mean length of stay after the obligation periodended being 7.3 (median = 3) months. Of the 54 participants whohad left their program sites and whose current locations wereknown, 33.3% (n = 18) were located in new Health ProfessionalShortage Areas (HPSA), 25.9% (n = 14) were in a new non-HPSA,and 40.7% (n = 22) had left the state. Family satisfaction with thecommunity and attending a professional school in Kansas wereassociated statistically with retention of physicians in Kansas. Conclusions. Nearly half of all participants had remained attheir sites even after their obligation period ended, with familysatisfaction with the community appearing to be the strongestpredictor for retention among those who had stayed.Efforts to match a provider’s family with the community successfullyand to support the family through networking mayimprove future provider retention. KS J Med 2016;9(1):6-11

Integrating Telehealth and Community Health Workers to Enhance Quality Care Access: A Narrative Review

Community Health Workers (CHWs) often share cultural, geographic, or other lived experiences with patients and provide health education and support. Use of CHWs and telehealth approaches are promising strategies for addressing the needs of patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS). This narrative review analyzed how these approaches were integrated into programs expanding care access for patients with MetS. Searching PubMed, PSYCInfo, Embase, Web of Science, and Google Scholar resulted in 1,630+ abstracts screened and 12 articles meeting inclusion criteria. These studies examined implementation of tele-mentoring approaches (n=4), patient group classes via videoconferencing (n=2), or individual telehealth consultations facilitated by CHWs (n=7), with some programs including multiple intervention types. This review included adults ranging from 37-79 years old. Most studies focused on late mid-life (ages 50-64). Because health behaviors in midlife have important implications for MetS and related health concerns in later life, it is important to consider midlife interventions. Using the RE-AIM framework, we evaluated studies on five dimensions: reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance. Reach and implementation indicators suggest reducing barriers to engagement (e.g., home visits) allows for higher participation and program completion rates. Measures of MetS-related behavioral outcomes were heterogeneous across study designs, making overall effectiveness difficult to determine. Adjusting time spent with patients according to health literacy and clinical needs is a strategy CHW programs use to provide equitable, cost-effective care. Programmatic considerations for implementing programs that include both CHWs and telehealth are discussed, with special consideration for what works in late middle age and in older adulthood

Hereditary Fusion of the Proximal Phalandeal Joints

A case of symphalangy has been traced through six generations. In the course of six generations, seventeen out of nineteen individuals are affected with this trait. In all individuals, with the exception of one young woman, the fifth finger is bent mesially to a very marked degree at the junction of the middle and distal phalanges. In this exceptional case there is no ankylosis in any of the joints of the index finger of the right hand. Symphalangy is symmetrical in all other members of the family