K-bass: A Knowledge–Based Access Security System For Medical Environments

Enforcing security requires the application of an access control model. The access control models used today have limitations that become evident when applied in collaborative environments, such as medical environments. To overcome these problems, a system has been developed in order to introduce dynamic access security. The system at hand combines effectively (C-TMAC) Team-based access control using contexts model and knowledge base technology. The system’s security scheme fine-grains the users’ access rights by integrating the Role Based Access Controls (RBAC) model and the (C-TMAC) model through knowledge-based systems technology. The originality lies on the fact that the users in the system are authenticated by combining their individual access rights (RBAC), their team’s access rights (C-TMAC) and the context information associated with the team they belong to. Furthermore, knowledge-based technology is used for the representation of knowledge and reasoning. The system initiates with some facts and rules and is able to learn, infer knowledge and produce meta-knowledge. Therefore the system can train itself and respond in non-deterministic way to user requests. Any change in context information fires a new rule in the knowledge base. The proposed system is an automated and self-controlled system called (K-BASS) Knowledge-based Access Security System that may be used in medical environments, to dynamically assign permission rights and to add new medical staff and patients

Private telecommunications systems : a systems approach

This study examines the importance of private telecommunication systems for voice and data communication. It demonstrates an orderly process through which a medium-sized organization can transform a complex telecommunication environment into a progressive and self-reliant telecommunication utility. The process of planning private telecommunications systems is discussed in detail with an emphasis placed on the comparative evaluation of computerized branch exchanges (CPBX) and local area networks (LAN) . This study shows that a computerized private branch exchange is preferable to a local area network in a medium-sized organization in general.http://archive.org/details/privatetelecommu1094534921Lieutenant, Hellenic NavyApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Financing for a Sustainable Dry Bulk Shipping Industry: What Are the Potential Routes for Financial Innovation in Sustainability and Alternative Energy in the Dry Bulk Shipping Industry?

Environmental, regulatory, and economic exogenous disruptions force companies within the maritime shipping industry to become more sustainable. Financing for implementing the necessary changes is particularly challenging for these companies, considering their narrow margins. With the changes in the shipping industry being intrinsically capital-intensive, funding is a particular issue, as few institutional or individual investors can provide the capital required. This paper investigates the challenges of financing. Drawing from the theory of pecking order on debt and equity, it conceptualizes the relation between the modes of financing for the maritime shipping companies and the nature of the disruptions. Initially, we analyze the various IMO decarbonization regulations, GHG emissions, alternative fuels, and green energy. Moreover, the relationship between fleet operation and management and finance is explored. The paper provides a framework to illustrate from a financial perspective the plethora of challenges and disruptions that have troubled the industry. We then recommend more suitable funding routes for companies to gauge the proper mix of equity and debt levels, bonds, and leverage, based on the company’s characteristics, such as size or ESG performance, as analyzed via the lens of corporate financing, along with the nature of the disruption, such as high inflation or geopolitical conflicts. In more detail, the paper focuses on key environmental, social, and governance (ESG) drivers both in the short-term and the long-term within the dry bulk shipping industry: impact investing and ESG factors are driving new investment opportunities and contributing to risk mitigation and long-term investment returns. The most pressing financial and economic questions of the time are wildly extended equity and bond valuations, inflation, and the conundrum most central banks face. Given these uncertainties, from an investment perspective for equity markets, the risk/return outlook for risk assets is skewed to the downside, making a cautious approach prudent for maritime shipping companies

A study of a model elastomeric sparger /

Spargers are devices featuring small orifices through which bubbles are formed into a liquid from a pressurized gas. In conventional (rigid) spargers, orifices have a fixed shape and size. This study deals with elastomeric (deformable) spargers--in a circular-membrane form--in which the sparger deformation and hence the shape and size of orifices depend upon the gas pressure. Punctures (slits) and perforations (circular holes) were considered for the orifices. Mathematical models were developed to relate the pressure to the deformation of the sparger and then to the deformation of the orifices. These models were combined with a model for the formation of bubbles from a circular orifice. Predictions from the overall model were compared with measurements of bubble volume and frequency for single-orifice, latex rubber spargers operating in glycerol-water solutions

Using the NETC@RDS Approach as a Basis for Cross-Border Electronic Authentication

Part 5: Adoption Issues in e/m-ServicesInternational audienceMany countries, European and worldwide, have increasingly issued during the last decade electronically readable identity documents to their citizens, for different purposes and applications. However, a major characteristic of all these systems is that they are basically available in a national context. For example, European citizens that move freely through the Member-States face the problem that their eIDs from their home state do not allow access to services of another Member-State in which they are temporarily present. Public Administrations are also unable to provide services to European citizens from other Member-States with the same ease and efficiency as they do to their national citizens. In order to avoid such confusing situations, cross-border services should be fully integrated in the national/regional and local information systems. It is, therefore, an important task to improve the cross-border interoperability of electronic identification and authentication systems. ENISA, the European agency for the security of computer systems and networks, recently published a report dealing with an important aspect of this problem: the security issues in cross-border electronic authentication. The report assesses the risks of electronic authentication in cross-border solutions and provides a generic implementation model. This paper describes an implementation methodology for addressing the cross-border interoperability of electronic authentication problem, based on the ENISA generic model. The proposed implementation methodology has been based on the successful NETC@RDS project approach and experience, described herein. This methodology can provide a suitable secure cross-border, multi-purpose authentication implementation based on the aforementioned generic model that can be used in various sectors

Using IT to Provide Easier Access to Cross-Border Legal Procedures for Citizens and Legal Professionals - Implementation of a European Payment Order e-CODEX pilot

Integration in Europe has resulted in a steadily increasing number of legal procedures containing cross-border effects which require better cooperation between different national judicial systems and simpler and more efficient procedures for the users. Information and Communication technologies can help make cross-border judicial procedures more transparent, efficient and economic both in civil and criminal matters. e-CODEX is an important project of the EU in the domain of e-Justice that aims to provide to citizens, enterprises and legal professionals an easier access to justice in cross border procedures, as well as make cross-border collaboration of courts and authorities easier and more efficient. It develops the required infrastructure and the organizational, procedural and legal environment necessary and also conducts a number of real life cross-border pilots. One of the first such pilots to become operational is that of the European Payment Order (EPO), in which Greece also participates. In this paper we briefly present the services of cross-border access of citizens and legal professionals to legal means in Europe provided by e-CODEX and also the Greek e-CODEX pilot of European Payment Order, which has already launched operation in the framework of this major e-Justice project

A Framework for an Institutional High Level Security Policy for the Processing of Medical Data and their Transmission through the Internet

BACKGROUND: The Internet provides many advantages when used for interaction and data sharing among health care providers, patients, and researchers. However, the advantages provided by the Internet come with a significantly greater element of risk to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information. It is therefore essential that Health Care Establishments processing and exchanging medical data use an appropriate security policy. OBJECTIVE: To develop a High Level Security Policy for the processing of medical data and their transmission through the Internet, which is a set of high-level statements intended to guide Health Care Establishment personnel who process and manage sensitive health care information. METHODS: We developed the policy based on a detailed study of the existing framework in the EU countries, USA, and Canada, and on consultations with users in the context of the Intranet Health Clinic project. More specifically, this paper has taken into account the major directives, technical reports, law, and recommendations that are related to the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data, and the protection of privacy and medical data on the Internet. RESULTS: We present a High Level Security Policy for Health Care Establishments, which includes a set of 7 principles and 45 guidelines detailed in this paper. The proposed principles and guidelines have been made as generic and open to specific implementations as possible, to provide for maximum flexibility and adaptability to local environments. The High Level Security Policy establishes the basic security requirements that must be addressed to use the Internet to safely transmit patient and other sensitive health care information. CONCLUSIONS: The High Level Security Policy is primarily intended for large Health Care Establishments in Europe, USA, and Canada. It is clear however that the general framework presented here can only serve as reference material for developing an appropriate High Level Security Policy in a specific implementation environment. When implemented in specific environments, these principles and guidelines must also be complemented by measures, which are more specific. Even when a High Level Security Policy already exists in an institution, it is advisable that the management of the Health Care Establishment periodically revisits it to see whether it should be modified or augmented