Secure Web Service Clients on Mobile Devices

Enterprise apps on mobile devices typically need to communicate with other system components by consuming web services. Since most of the current mobile device platforms (such as Android) do not provide built-in features for consuming SOAP services, extensions have to be designed. Additionally in order to accommodate the typical enhanced security requirements of enterprise apps, it is important to be able to deal with SOAP web service security extensions on client side. In this article we show that neither the built-in SOAP capabilities for Android web service clients are sufficient for enterprise apps nor are the necessary security features supported by the platform as is. After discussing different existing extensions making Android devices SOAP capable we explain why none of them is really satisfactory in an enterprise context. Then we present our own solution which accommodates not only SOAP but also the WS-Security features on top of SOAP. Our solution heavily relies on code generation in order to keep the flexibility benefits of SOAP on one hand while still keeping the development effort manageable for software development. Our approach provides a good foundation for the implementation of other SOAP extensions apart from security on the Android platform as well. In addition our solution based on the gSOAP framework may be used for other mobile platforms in a similar manner.

Mothers’ perception of recovery and satisfaction with patent medicine dealers’ treatment of childhood febrile conditions in rural communities

Background Infant mortality in rural areas of Nigeria can be minimized if childhood febrile conditions are treated by trained health personnel, deployed to primary healthcare centres (PHCs) rather than the observed preference of mothers for patent medicine dealers (PMDs). However, health service utilization/patronage is driven by consumer satisfaction and perception of services/product value. The objective of this study was to determine ‘mothers’ perception of recovery’ and ‘mothers’ satisfaction’ after PMD treatment of childhood febrile conditions, as likely drivers of mothers’ health-seeking behaviour, which must be targeted to reverse the trend. Methods Ugwuogo-Nike, in Enugu, Nigeria, has many PMDs/PHCs, and was selected based on high prevalence of childhood febrile conditions. In total, 385 consenting mothers (aged 15–45 years) were consecutively recruited at PMD shops, after purchasing drugs for childhood febrile conditions, in a cross-sectional observational study using a pre-tested instrument; 33 of them (aged 21–47 years) participated in focus group discussions (FGDs). Qualitative data were thematically analysed while a quantitative study was analysed with Z score and Chi square statistics, at p < 0.05. Results Most participants in FGDs perceived that their child had delayed recovery, but were satisfied with PMDs’ treatment of childhood febrile conditions, for reasons that included politeness, caring attitude, drug availability, easy accessibility, flexibility in pricing, shorter waiting time, their God-fearing nature, and disposition as good listeners. Mothers’ satisfaction with PMDs’ treatment is significantly (p < 0.05) associated with mothers’ perception of recovery of their child (χ2 = 192.94, df = 4; p < 0.0001; Cramer’s V = 0.7079). However, predicting mothers’ satisfaction with PMDs’ treatment from a knowledge of mothers’ perception of recovery shows a high accord (lambda[A from B] = 0.8727), unlike when predicting mothers’ perception of recovery based on knowledge of mothers’ satisfaction with PMDs’ treatment (lambda[A from B] = 0.4727). Conclusions Mothers’ satisfaction could be the key ‘driver’ of mothers’ health-seeking behaviour and is less likely to be influenced by mothers’ perception of recovery of their child. Therefore, mothers’ negative perception of their child’s recovery may not induce proportionate decline in mothers’ health-seeking behaviour (patronage of PMDs), which might be influenced mainly by mothers’ satisfaction with the positive attributes of PMDs’ personality/practice and sets an important agenda for PHC reforms.

Einführung einer institutionellen Forschungsdateninfrastruktur an der Helmut-Schmidt-Universität

Die vorliegende Bachelorarbeit untersucht den zur Einführung einer institutionellen Forschungsdateninfrastruktur zu berücksichtigenden Handlungsrahmen an der Helmut-Schmidt-Universität/ Universität der Bundeswehr Hamburg (HSU/ UniBw H) und gibt unter besonderer Berücksichtigung möglicher Aufgabenfelder der Universitätsbibliothek allgemeine Handlungsempfehlungen für deren Implementierung. Da sich die Arbeit sowohl an die Verantwortlichen zur Einführung einer Forschungsdateninfrastruktur an der HSU/ UniBw H als auch an Interessierte der akademischen Gemeinschaft richtet, werden die zum besseren Verständnis besonders relevanten Begriffe zunächst herausgestellt. Auf der Grundlage aktueller Forschungsliteratur und verfügbarer Praxiserfahrung anderer Universitäten wurde mittels Webseitenanalyse und der Auswertung von Fragebögen eine gesamtheitliche Beschreibung für die Implementierung einer institutionellen Forschungsdateninfrastruktur zum Abgleich mit der Ausgangssituation an der HSU/ UniBw H erstellt. Die Arbeit verdeutlicht in den daraus abgeleiteten Handlungsempfehlungen den zu berücksichtigenden allgemeinen Handlungsrahmen in seiner Komplexität und zeigt vor allem diesbezügliche Aufgabenfelder der Universitätsbibliothek von der Initiierung bis zum Abschluss der Implementierung auf. Im Wesentlichen wird hierbei herausgestellt, dass die Universitätsbibliothek als klassische Gedächtnisorganisation und zentraler Informationsdienstleister ihre Kompetenzen besonders bei der Entwicklung und Verwirklichung des Forschungsdatenmanagements sinnvoll einbringen und zukunftsorientiert erweitern kann und sollte. Auslegungsbestimmend ist die von der Universitätsleitung festzulegende Ziel- und Zweckbestimmung der institutionellen Forschungsdateninfrastruktur. Diese dient dem Forschungsdatenmanagement zur Skalierung und Bestimmung von Umfang, Komplexität und Anforderungen an die potentiellen Aufgabenbereiche insbesondere der Universitätsbibliothek. Somit leistet diese Bachelorarbeit einen grundlegenden Beitrag zur weiteren Strukturierung und Konkretisierung der initiatorischen Überlegungen der Universitätsbibliotheksleitung zu den Möglichkeiten der Einführung einer institutionellen Forschungsdateninfrastruktur an der HSU/ UniBw H.

OSGi in Cloud Environments

This paper deals with the combination of OSGi and cloud computing. Both technologies are mainly placed in the field of distributed computing. Therefore, it is discussed how different approaches from different institutions work. In addition, the approaches are compared to each other.

Event Monitoring Based On Web Services for Heterogeneous Event Sources

This article discusses event monitoring options for heterogeneous event sources as they are given in nowadays heterogeneous distributed information systems. It follows the central assumption, that a fully generic event monitoring solution cannot provide complete support for event monitoring; instead, event source specific semantics such as certain event types or support for certain event monitoring techniques have to be taken into account. Following from this, the core result of the work presented here is the extension of a configurable event monitoring (Web) service for a variety of event sources. A service approach allows us to trade genericity for the exploitation of source specific characteristics. It thus delivers results for the areas of SOA, Web services, CEP and EDA.

Ontologies for Complex Event Processing

In this paper, five ontologies are described, which include the event concepts. The paper provides an overview and comparison of existing event models. The main criteria for comparison are that there should be possibilities to model events with stretch in the time and location and participation of objects; however, there are other factors that should be taken into account as well. The paper also shows an example of using ontologies in complex event processing.

Shopping Cart System: Load Balancing and Fault Tolerance in the OSGi Service Platform

The main purpose of this paper was to find a simple solution for load balancing and fault tolerance in OSGi. The challenge was to implement a highly available web application such as a shopping cart system with load balancing and fault tolerance, without having to change the core of OSGi.

ISO/IEC 27000, 27001 and 27002 for Information Security Management

With the increasing significance of information technology, there is an urgent need for adequate measures of information security. Systematic information security management is one of most important initiatives for IT management. At least since reports about privacy and security breaches, fraudulent accounting practices, and attacks on IT systems appeared in public, organizations have recognized their responsibilities to safeguard physical and information assets. Security standards can be used as guideline or framework to develop and maintain an adequate information security management system (ISMS). The standards ISO/IEC 27000, 27001 and 27002 are international standards that are receiving growing recognition and adoption. They are referred to as “common language of organizations around the world” for information security. With ISO/IEC 27001 companies can have their ISMS certified by a third-party organization and thus show their customers evidence of their security measures.

Information Presentation Features and Comprehensibility of Hospital Report Cards: Design Analysis and Online Survey Among Users

Background: Improving the transparency of information about the quality of health care providers is one way to improve health care quality. It is assumed that Internet information steers patients toward better-performing health care providers and will motivate providers to improve quality. However, the effect of public reporting on hospital quality is still small. One of the reasons is that users find it difficult to understand the formats in which information is presented. Objective: We analyzed the presentation of risk-adjusted mortality rate (RAMR) for coronary angiography in the 10 most commonly used German public report cards to analyze the impact of information presentation features on their comprehensibility. We wanted to determine which information presentation features were utilized, were preferred by users, led to better comprehension, and had similar effects to those reported in evidence-based recommendations described in the literature. Methods: The study consisted of 5 steps: (1) identification of best-practice evidence about the presentation of information on hospital report cards; (2) selection of a single risk-adjusted quality indicator; (3) selection of a sample of designs adopted by German public report cards; (4) identification of the information presentation elements used in public reporting initiatives in Germany; and (5) an online panel completed an online questionnaire that was conducted to determine if respondents were able to identify the hospital with the lowest RAMR and if respondents’ hospital choices were associated with particular information design elements. Results: Evidence-based recommendations were made relating to the following information presentation features relevant to report cards: evaluative table with symbols, tables without symbols, bar charts, bar charts without symbols, bar charts with symbols, symbols, evaluative word labels, highlighting, order of providers, high values to indicate good performance, explicit statements of whether high or low values indicate good performance, and incomplete data (“N/A” as a value). When investigating the RAMR in a sample of 10 hospitals’ report cards, 7 of these information presentation features were identified. Of these, 5 information presentation features improved comprehensibility in a manner reported previously in literature. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first study to systematically analyze the most commonly used public reporting card designs used in Germany. Best-practice evidence identified in international literature was in agreement with 5 findings about German report card designs: (1) avoid tables without symbols, (2) include bar charts with symbols, (3) state explicitly whether high or low values indicate good performance or provide a “good quality” range, (4) avoid incomplete data (N/A given as a value), and (5) rank hospitals by performance. However, these findings are preliminary and should be subject of further evaluation. The implementation of 4 of these recommendations should not present insurmountable obstacles. However, ranking hospitals by performance may present substantial difficulties.

Eight Questions About Physician-Rating Websites: A Systematic Review

Background: Physician-rating websites are currently gaining in popularity because they increase transparency in the health care system. However, research on the characteristics and content of these portals remains limited. Objective: To identify and synthesize published evidence in peer-reviewed journals regarding frequently discussed issues about physician-rating websites. Methods: Peer-reviewed English and German language literature was searched in seven databases (Medline (via PubMed), the Cochrane Library, Business Source Complete, ABI/Inform Complete, PsycInfo, Scopus, and ISI web of knowledge) without any time constraints. Additionally, reference lists of included studies were screened to assure completeness. The following eight previously defined questions were addressed: 1) What percentage of physicians has been rated? 2) What is the average number of ratings on physician-rating websites? 3) Are there any differences among rated physicians related to socioeconomic status? 4) Are ratings more likely to be positive or negative? 5) What significance do patient narratives have? 6) How should physicians deal with physician-rating websites? 7) What major shortcomings do physician-rating websites have? 8) What recommendations can be made for further improvement of physician-rating websites? Results: Twenty-four articles published in peer-reviewed journals met our inclusion criteria. Most studies were published by US (n=13) and German (n=8) researchers; however, the focus differed considerably. The current usage of physician-rating websites is still low but is increasing. International data show that 1 out of 6 physicians has been rated, and approximately 90% of all ratings on physician-rating websites were positive. Although often a concern, we could not find any evidence of "doctor-bashing". Physicians should not ignore these websites, but rather, monitor the information available and use it for internal and ex-ternal purpose. Several shortcomings limit the significance of the results published on physician-rating websites; some recommendations to address these limitations are presented. Conclusions: Although the number of publications is still low, physician-rating websites are gaining more attention in research. But the current condition of physician-rating websites is lacking. This is the case both in the United States and in Germany. Further research is necessary to increase the quality of the websites, especially from the patients’ perspective.

Graja - Autobewerter für Java-Programme

In diesem Bericht wird der Autobewerter Graja für Java-Programme vorgestellt. Wir geben einen Überblick über die unterstützten Bewertungsmethoden sowie die beteiligten Nutzerrollen. Wir gehen auf technische Einzelheiten und Randbedingungen der in Graja eingesetzten Bewertungsmethoden ein und zeigen die Einbindung von Graja in eine technische Gesamtarchitektur. An einem durchgehenden Beispiel stellen wir die Struktur einer Programmieraufgabe sowie die von Graja unterstützten Feedback-Möglichkeiten dar. Informationen zum bisherigen Einsatz des Graders runden den Bericht ab.

Die fünf Phasen der Unternehmensgründung

Eine Unternehmensgründung ist ein komplexes Vorhaben, dessen Risiken soweit wie möglich vermieden bzw. minimiert werden sollten. Dabei hilft eine sorgfältige Planung und Vorbereitung. Der Gründungsprozess lässt sich — von der Prüfung der Grundvoraussetzungen über den Business Plan, die Vorbereitung der Gründung sowie deren Realisierung bis zur Stabilisierung des Unternehmens — in fünf Phasen einteilen.

Ein Ansatz zur methoden- und werkzeuggestützten Anforderungs- und Systemspezifikation auf der Grundlage objektorientierter Modellierungs- und Simulationstechniken

Vorgestellt wird ein Ansatz zur objektorientierten Modellierung, Simulation und Animation von Informationssystemen. Es wird ein Vorgehensmodell dargestellt, mit dem unter Verwendung des beschriebenen Ansatzes Anforderungs- oder Systemspezifikationen von Rechnergestützten Informationssystemen erstellt werden können. Der Ansatz basiert auf einem Metamodell zur Beschreibung Rechnergestützter Informationssysteme und verfügt über eine rechnergestützte Modellierungsumgebung. Anhand eines Projektes zur Entwicklung einer Anforderungsspezifikation für ein rechnergestütztes Pflegedokumentations- und -kommunikationssystems wird der Einsatz der Methode beispielhaft illustriert.

Prototypische Integration automatisierter Programmbewertung in das LMS Moodle

Der Beitrag erläutert die prototypische Integration automatisierter Programmbewertung in das LMS Moodle.Beschrieben wird die Grader-unabhängige Schnittstelle Grappa und die Moodle-Integration.

Grading mit Grappa - Ein Werkstattbericht

„Grappa“ ist eine Middleware, die auf die Anbindung verschiedener Autobewerter an verschiedene E-Learning-Frontends respektive Lernmanagementsysteme (LMS) spezialisiert ist. Ein Prototyp befindet sich seit mehreren Semestern an der Hochschule Hannover mit dem LMS „moodle“ und dem Backend „aSQLg“ im Einsatz und wird regelmäßig evaluiert. Dieser Beitrag stellt den aktuellen Entwicklungsstand von Grappa nach diversen Neu- und Weiterentwicklungen vor. Nach einem Bericht über zuletzt gesammelte Erfahrungen mit der genannten Kombination von Systemen stellen wir wesentliche Neuerungen der moodle-Plugins, welche der Steuerung von Grappa aus moodle heraus dienen, vor. Anschließend stellen wir eine Erweiterung der bisherigen Architektur in Form eines neuentwickelten Grappa-php-Clients zur effizienteren Anbindung von LMS vor. Weiterhin berichten wir über die Anbindung eines weiteren Autobewerters „Graja“ für Programmieraufgaben in Java. Der Bericht zeigt, dass bereits wichtige Schritte für eine einheitliche Darstellung automatisierter Programmbewertung in LMS mit unterschiedlichen Autobewertern für die Studierenden absolviert sind. Die praktischen Erfahrungen zeigen aber auch, dass sowohl bei jeder der Systemkomponenten individuell, wie auch in deren Zusammenspiel via Grappa noch weitere Entwicklungsarbeiten erforderlich sind, um die Akzeptanz und Nutzung bei Studierenden sowie Lehrenden weiter zu steigern.