Information Security Expenditures: a Techno-Economic Analysis

Summary Information Security is considered to be an inextricable part of companies' expenditures and there are defined amounts that are invested for its accomplishment, although it is really difficult to determine the best Security Solution. The substantive problem of information security risk is value proportion of information properties or assets. Risk analysis can be approached from two evaluation models: the qualitative and the quantitative. Quantitative analysis refers to the use of numeric calculations and statistical techniques. Qualitative analysis describes methods that consider loss in a subjective form. Without measurement and metrics of information security we will not be able to estimate and process Information Security Strategies. The aims of this paper are to gain an understanding of Quantitative and Qualitative analysis and furthermore to both evaluate and improve the use of those methods

Photovoltaic solar electrodialysis with bipolar membranes

Electrochemical process like Electrodialysis (ED) and Electrodialysis with Bipolar Membranes (EDBM) can contribute to the production of freshwater and to the valorization of waste streams. In particular, EDBM can valorise the waste from desalination technologies using electric power, producing acids (HCl) and basis (NaOH) from seawater rejected brines. The use of a variable current intensity coming from a low-carbon source such as photovoltaic (PV) solar energy means a decrease of the associated carbon footprint of the obtained products. In this work, the reduction of the specific energy consumption (SEC) of the acid from an EDBM process thanks to a feedback control loop under variable current intensity is presented. The EDBM process works in continuous or semi-continuous mode under constant or variable current intensity by means of a PV solar array simulator for 30 h. A concentration around 1 mol·L−1 HCl has been obtained in all experiments even under variable current intensity. A noticeable drop in the SEC from a reference value of 7.3 kWh·kg−1 HCl (constant current intensity) to 4.4 kWh·kg−1 HCl (variable current intensity and feedback control loop) was reported.Financial support from MICINN under project CTM2014-57833-R is gratefully acknowledged. Marta Herrero-Gonzalez thanks the MICINN for FPI grant BES-2015-07350

A branch and efficiency algorithm for the optimal design of supply chain networks

Supply chain operations directly affect service levels. Decision on amendment of facilities is generally decided based on overall cost, leaving out the efficiency of each unit. Decomposing the supply chain superstructure, efficiency analysis of the facilities (warehouses or distribution centers) that serve customers can be easily implemented. With the proposed algorithm, the selection of a facility is based on service level maximization and not just cost minimization as this analysis filters all the feasible solutions utilizing Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) technique. Through multiple iterations, solutions are filtered via DEA and only the efficient ones are selected leading to cost minimization. In this work, the problem of optimal supply chain networks design is addressed based on a DEA based algorithm. A Branch and Efficiency (B&E) algorithm is deployed for the solution of this problem. Based on this DEA approach, each solution (potentially installed warehouse, plant etc) is treated as a Decision Making Unit, thus is characterized by inputs and outputs. The algorithm through additional constraints named “efficiency cuts”, selects only efficient solutions providing better objective function values. The applicability of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated through illustrative examples

Developing lean and responsive supply chains : a robust model for alternative risk mitigation strategies in supply chain designs

This paper investigates how organization should design their supply chains (SCs) and use risk mitigation strategies to meet different performance objectives. To do this, we develop two mixed integer nonlinear (MINL) lean and responsive models for a four-tier SC to understand these four strategies: i) holding back-up emergency stocks at the DCs, ii) holding back-up emergency stock for transshipment to all DCs at a strategic DC (for risk pooling in the SC), iii) reserving excess capacity in the facilities, and iv) using other facilities in the SC’s network to back-up the primary facilities. A new method for designing the network is developed which works based on the definition of path to cover all possible disturbances. To solve the two proposed MINL models, a linear regression approximation is suggested to linearize the models; this technique works based on a piecewise linear transformation. The efficiency of the solution technique is tested for two prevalent distribution functions. We then explore how these models operate using empirical data from an automotive SC. This enables us to develop a more comprehensive risk mitigation framework than previous studies and show how it can be used to determine the optimal SC design and risk mitigation strategies given the uncertainties faced by practitioners and the performance objectives they wish to meet

The decision rule approach to optimization under uncertainty: methodology and applications

Dynamic decision-making under uncertainty has a long and distinguished history in operations research. Due to the curse of dimensionality, solution schemes that naïvely partition or discretize the support of the random problem parameters are limited to small and medium-sized problems, or they require restrictive modeling assumptions (e.g., absence of recourse actions). In the last few decades, several solution techniques have been proposed that aim to alleviate the curse of dimensionality. Amongst these is the decision rule approach, which faithfully models the random process and instead approximates the feasible region of the decision problem. In this paper, we survey the major theoretical findings relating to this approach, and we investigate its potential in two applications areas

The state of play of blockchain technology in the financial services sector: A systematic literature review

The modern trends of digitalization have completely transformed and reshaped business practices, whole businesses, and even a number of industries. Blockchain technology is believed to be the latest advancement in industries such as the financial sector, where trust is of prime significance. Blockchain technology is a decentralized and coded security system which provides the capability for new digital services and platforms to be created through this emerging technology. This research presents a systematic review of scholarly articles on blockchain technology in the financial sector. We commenced by considering 227 articles and subsequently filtered this list down to 87 articles. From this, we present a classification framework that has three dimensions: blockchain-enabled financial benefits, challenges, and functionality. This research identifies implications for future research and practice within the blockchain paradigm

Optimal design of multi-echelon supply chain networks

Imperial Users onl