Multivariate analyses of variance and covariance for simulation studies involving normal time series

Photocopy.

Evaluation of the Concentrated Employment Program in six selected areas : final report /

"Prepared under a contract with the Office of Manpower Policy, Evaluation, and Research, U. S. Dept. of Labor."

Traffic world.

Issued in two sections, 19 -12: News section and Tariff section.

Simulation methods and model design

Most of the pages of the photocopy, which are in double columns, represent two pages of the original.

A számítási felhő az Európai Unió egén (Cloud computing on the sky of European Union)

Napjaink informatikai világának talán legkeresettebb hívó szava a cloud computing, vagy magyar fordításban, a számítási felhő. A fordítás forrása az EU-s (Digitális Menetrend magyar változata, 2010) A számítási felhő üzleti modelljének részletes leírását adja (Bőgel, 2009). Bőgel György ismerteti az új, közműszerű informatikai szolgáltatás kialakulását és gazdasági előnyeit, nagy jövőt jósolva a számítási felhőnek az üzleti modellek versenyében. A szerző – a számítási felhő üzleti előnyei mellett – nagyobb hangsúlyt fektet dolgozatában a gyors elterjedést gátló tényezőkre, és arra, hogy mit jelentenek az előnyök és a hátrányok egy üzleti, informatikai vagy megfelelőségi vezető számára. Nem csökkentve a cloud modell gazdasági jelentőségét, fontosnak tartja, hogy a problémákról és a kockázatokról is szóljon. Kiemeli, hogy a kockázatokban – különösen a biztonsági és adatvédelmi kockázatokban – lényeges különbségek vannak az Európai Gazdasági Térség és a világ többi része, pl. az Amerikai Egyesült Államok között. A cikkben rámutat ezekre a különbségekre, és az olvasó magyarázatot kap arra is, hogy miért várható a számítási felhő lassabb terjedése Európában, mint a világ más részein. Bemutatja az EU erőfeszítéseit is a számítási felhő európai terjedésének elősegítésére, tekintettel a modell versenyképességet növelő hatására. / === / One of the most popular concept of the recent web searches is cloud computing. Several authors present detailed description of the new service model and it's business benefits and cite the optimistic prognoses of the cloud experts regarding the competition of information system service models. The author analyses the operational benefits of the cloud application and give a detailed description of the inhibitors of the fast expansion of the service modell. He also analyses the pros and cons of the cloud for a business manager, an information and a compliance officer. When understanding the advantages of the cloud, it is equally important to review the problems and risks associated with the model. The paper gives a list of the expected cloud-specific risks. It also explains the differences in security and data protection approach between the European Economic Area and the rest of the world, including the USA. The explains why slower expansion of the cloud modell is expected in Europe than in the rest of the world. The efforts of the EU Committee in helping to spread the cloud model is also presented, as the EU's officers consider the model as an important element of competitiveness.

Iowa State Government Technology Assessment Project, 1995

The State of Iowa is conducting an as5essment of Information Technology (IT) in the Executive Branch. The purpose of this assessment is to gather data on costs, applications, systems, utilization, operations, hardware assets, administration and activities associated with the provision of IT services. To accomplish this, two leading technology vendors conducted an intense assessment. These vendors, Integrated System Solutions Corporation (ISSC), and Electronic Data Systems (EDS) analyzed extensive data provided by the various ·agencies and conducted on-site interviews during the week of November 13, 1995. Additionally, in the first week of December, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Iowa Council 61 sponsored an assessment. These assessments are included as appendices B, C, and D to this report.

Evaluation of five commercial methods for the extraction and purification of DNA from human faecal samples for downstream molecular detection of the enteric protozoan parasites Cryptosporidium spp., Giardia duodenalis, and Entamoeba spp

High quality, pure DNA is required for ensuring reliable and reproducible results in molecular diagnosis applications. A number of in-house and commercial methods are available for the extraction and purification of genomic DNA from faecal material, each one offering a specific combination of performance, cost-effectiveness, and easiness of use that should be conveniently evaluated in function of the pathogen of interest. In this comparative study the marketed kits QIAamp DNA stool mini (Qiagen), SpeedTools DNA extraction (Biotools), DNAExtract-VK (Vacunek), PowerFecal DNA isolation (MoBio), and Wizard magnetic DNA purification system (Promega Corporation) were assessed for their efficacy in obtaining DNA of the most relevant enteric protozoan parasites associated to gastrointestinal disease globally. A panel of 113 stool specimens of clinically confirmed patients with cryptosporidiosis (n = 29), giardiasis (n = 47) and amoebiasis by Entamoeba histolytica (n = 3) or E. dispar (n = 10) and apparently healthy subjects (n = 24) were used for this purpose. Stool samples were aliquoted in five sub-samples and individually processed by each extraction method evaluated. Purified DNA samples were subsequently tested in PCR-based assays routinely used in our laboratory. The five compared methods yielded amplifiable amounts of DNA of the pathogens tested, although performance differences were observed among them depending on the parasite and the infection burden. Methods combining chemical, enzymatic and/or mechanical lysis procedures at temperatures of at least 56 °C were proven more efficient for the release of DNA from Cryptosporidium oocysts.

Operator, organizational, and direct support maintenance manual : service unit, refrigeration system (MUST), (Ameritech Corporation model 1200-F-0001), NSN 4130-01-039-8124.

"19 January 1979."

Information System Consolidation in a Multinational Corporation

Tietojärjestelmien konsolidointi on eräs vallalla olevista trendeistä, jonka avulla yritykset parantavat järjestelmiensä hallittavuutta sekä kustannustehokkuutta. Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli analysoida monikansallisen yrityksen tietojärjestelmän konsolidointiprojektia. Tavoitteena oli kuvata projektissa käytetty konsolidointimalli sekä evaluoida syntyneitä liiketoiminnallisia vaikutuksia. Työn teoreettisessa osassa esitellään tietojärjestelmien hallintaan sekä konsolidointiin vaikuttavia perustekijöitä. Lisäksi analysoidaan merkittäviä liiketoiminnallisia etuja,jotka konsolidointi mahdollistaa. Työn empiirisessä osassa kuvataan yrityksen näkökulmasta konsolidointiin johtavia syitä, projektin kulkua sekä saavutettuja liiketoiminnallisia hyötyjä. Työn tulokset osoittavat, että konsolidoimalla tietojärjestelmiään yritys pystyy parantamaan tehokkuuttaan, palveluastettaan sekä liiketoiminnallista joustavuuttaan monin eri tavoin. Työssä esitettyä konsolidointimallia sekä analyysia liiketoiminnallisista vaikutuksista voidaan hyödyntää tulevien projektien suunnittelussa ja toteutuksessa.

MODELING OF AN INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR WINE TRACEABILITY BASED ON A SERVICE ORIENTED ARCHITECTURE

The purpose is to present a scientific research that led to the modeling of an information system which aimed at the maintenance of traceability data in the Brazilian wine industry, according to the principles of a service-oriented architecture (SOA). Since 2005, traceability data maintenance is an obligation for all producers that intend to export to any European Union country. Also, final customers, including the Brazilian ones, have been asking for information about food products. A solution that collectively contemplated the industry was sought in order to permit that producer consortiums of associations could share the costs and benefits of such a solution. Following an extensive bibliographic review, a series of interviews conducted with Brazilian researchers and wine producers in Bento Goncalves - RS, Brazil, elucidated many aspects associated with the wine production process. Information technology issues related to the theme were also researched. The software was modeled with the Unified Modeling Language (UML) and uses web services for data exchange. A model for the wine production process was also proposed. A functional prototype showed that the adopted model is able to fulfill the demands of wine producers. The good results obtained lead us to consider the use of this model in other domains.

LADAR based mapping and obstacle detection system for service robots

Dissertação apresentada na Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa para a obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Electrotécnica e de Computadores

Low cost inertial-based localization system for a service robot

Dissertation presented at Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the New University of Lisbon to attain the Master degree in Electrical and Computer Science Engineering

Service-oriented infrastructure to support the control, monitoring and management of a shop floor system

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia Electrotécnica e de Computadores

An investigation into system security requirements and implementation in an Application Service Provider (ASP) environment

Although the ASP model has been around for over a decade, it has not achieved the expected high level of market uptake. This research project examines the past and present state of ASP adoption and identifies security as a primary factor influencing the uptake of the model. The early chapters of this document examine the ASP model and ASP security in particular. Specifically, the literature and technology review chapter analyses ASP literature, security technologies and best practices with respect to system security in general. Based on this investigation, a prototype to illustrate the range and types of technologies that encompass a security framework was developed and is described in detail. The latter chapters of this document evaluate the practical implementation of system security in an ASP environment. Finally, this document outlines the research outputs, including the conclusions drawn and recommendations with respect to system security in an ASP environment. The primary research output is the recommendation that by following best practices with respect to security, an ASP application can provide the same level of security one would expect from any other n-tier client-server application. In addition, a security evaluation matrix, which could be used to evaluate not only the security of ASP applications but the security of any n-tier application, was developed by the author. This thesis shows that perceptions with regard to fears of inadequate security of ASP solutions and solution data are misguided. Finally, based on the research conducted, the author recommends that ASP solutions should be developed and deployed on tried, tested and trusted infrastructure. Existing Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) should be used where possible and security best practices should be adhered to where feasible.

General Practitioners' willingness to pay for continuing medical education in a fee-for-service universal coverage health care system

Background: Sponsoring of physicians meetings by life science companies has led to reduced participation fees but might influence physician's prescription practices. A ban on such sponsoring may increase participation fees. We aimed to evaluate factors associated with physicians' willingness to pay for medical meetings, their position on the sponsoring of medical meetings and their opinion on alternative financing options. Methods: An anonymous web-based questionnaire was sent to 447 general practitioners in one state in Switzerland, identified through their affiliation to a medical association. The questionnaire evaluated physicians' willingness to pay for medical meetings, their perception of a bias in prescription practices induced by commercial support, their opinion on the introduction of a binding legislation and alternative financing options, their frequency of exchange with sales representatives and other relevant socioeconomic factors. We built a multivariate predictor logistic regression model to identify determinants of willingness to pay. Results: Of the 115 physicians who responded (response rate 26%), 48% were willing to pay more than what they currently pay for congresses, 79% disagreed that commercial support introduced a bias in their prescription practices and 61% disagreed that it introduced a bias in their colleagues' prescription practices. Based on the multivariate logistic regression, perception of a bias in peers prescription practices (OR=7.47, 95% CI 1.65-38.18) and group practice structure (OR=4.62, 95% CI 1.34-22.29) were significantly associated with an increase in willingness to pay. Two thirds (76%) of physicians did not support the introduction of a binding legislation and 53% were in favour of creating a general fund administered by an independent body. Conclusion: Our results suggest that almost half of physicians surveyed are willing to pay more than what they currently pay for congresses. Predictors of an increase in physicians' willingness to pay were perception of the influence of bias in peers prescription practices and group practice structure. Most responders did not agree that sponsoring introduced prescribing bias nor did they support the 2 introduction of a binding legislation prohibiting sponsoring but a majority did agree to an independent body that would centrally administer a general fund.