There is a lot of available services on the internet those need to be more secured and trusted. Public key infrastructure is used in sectors where are higher expectations in case of authentication, integrity and confidentality. It is almost impossible to imagine how internet banking or electronic signatures of important documents would work without PKI. There is a lot of open-source realisations of PKI created by users. Digital certificates as a part of PKI are issued by certificate authorities. This diploma thesis consists of open- source realisation of certificate authority and timestamping authority to demonstrate services which they provide.

The InterdIsciplInary and exploratory nature of thIs thesis has made It difficult to write. The thesIs is InterdIscIplinary in the sense that it touches on a number of broad areas of study. The methodology which was adopted, In partIcular the use of content analysis and of certaIn statIstical processes rests on a knowledge of psychology. The category system which is made up of a number of types of hIstory could only be constructed after an extensIve consideration of the nature of history. The discussIon of the case for and agaInst the current syllabus,and the proposal for a new alternative syllabus at '0' and 'A' level (see Chapters 13 and 14), draws mainly on an understanding of the theoretical debates about the teaching of history which have occurred since the Second World War. FInally throughout the thesis references are made to the evidence and Ideas put forward by historians about particular periods of history. The thesis Is also exploratory.· The findings which are reported arise from the use of a category system drawing on the different types of history developed by hIstorians. No other researchuhas attempted to create such a broad category system, to assess Its valIdIty and reliability and then to employ It to code material dealinq with extensive periods of British and European history. At the same time the arguments, whIch are employed to defend and to attack the existinq syllabus (see Chapter 13), and to construct the outlines of a new syllabus (see Chapter 14), had to be created almost ab initio, since the dominance of particular types of history. both at university and school level. has not been debated extensively. either by historians. or by those writers. who discuss the teaching o f h·I story. These two asoects of the thesis have had a number of reoercussions. First of all vast topics have had to be discussed in a cursory fashion. For example all the arguments for the inclusion or exclusion of oartlcular types of history in the category system had to be reviewed in one chapter. a few pages being devoted to each of the types of history. Secondly maior themes and arguments relating to the nature of history. and to history teachinQ. have had to be exemplified with disturbing brevity. Thus the debate over the impact of oarticular types of history on the community(l) had to be illustrated by a small number of examples when the whole thesis could have been devoted to the discussion. Thirdly. and finally. the wide ranging nature of the thesis has made it impossible to conduct the exhaustive study of every aspect of the subject which would have been appropriate had the topic been more narrowly defined. However. despite these disadvantages. it is to be hoped that this interdisciplinary and exploratory study will throw light on a vital area of the history syllabus in schools.

Farmacijos pramonei yra taikomi vieni iš griežčiausių reikalavimų. Dėl šių reikalavimų labai sutrumpėja patento suteikiamos apsaugos trukmė produktui. Siekiant kompensuoti tokią sutrumpėjusią apsaugos trukmę, įvairiose valstybėse numatyta galimybė pratęsti patento, išduoto medicinos produktams, galiojimo laiką. Europos Sąjungoje patentų teisė nėra suderinta, tačiau suteikiant papildomą apsaugą medicinos produktams, yra priimtas vieningas sprendimas. Šis sprendimas – tai galimybė medicinos produktams išduoti papildomą apsaugos liudijimą. Bendrijoje nėra vienos kompetentingos institucijos, kuri išduotų tokį liudijimą. Jis yra išduodamas kiekvienoje valstybėje narėje tam tikros kompetentingos institucijos. Išduodant tokius liudijimus skirtingose valstybėse dažnai iškyla tam tikrų klausimų. Todėl darbe aptariamos papildomų apsaugos liudijimų medicinos produktams išdavimo problemos. Tyrimo tikslas – identifikuoti ir išanalizuoti papildomų apsaugos liudijimų medicinos produktams išdavimo probleminius aspektus. Analizuojant teismų praktiką bei specialiąją literatūrą apžvelgiami įvairūs probleminiai aspektai susiję su PAL išdavimu. Išvadose apibendrinama, jog PAL išdavimo medicinos produktams pagrindiniai probleminiai aspektai yra: a) susiję su Reglamente Nr. 469/2009 įtvirtintos sąvokos „produktas“ aiškinimu, b) susiję su minėtame Reglamente įtvirtintomis sąlygomis reikalingomis gauti PAL medicinos produktams, c) dėl „neigiamo“ galiojimo PAL išdavimo galimybės ir PAL galiojimo... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The pharmaceutical industry is subject to one of the most stringent requirements. Because of these requirements the duration of a product patent protection is much shorter. In order to compensate such reduced duration of protection different countries provide for a possibility to extend the period of a patent issued to medicinal products. The EU patent law is not consistent; however a unanimous decision has been adopted as to granting of extra protection to medicinal products. This solution is to issue a supplementary protection certificate with respect to medicinal products. There is no single competent authority in the Community, which is responsible for the issuance of such certificate. The relevant competent authority of each Member State issues a certificate. Often many questions arise in the course of issuance of such certificates in different countries. The paper discusses the problems concerning the issuance of supplementary protection certificates for medicinal products. The aim of the research is to identify and analyze problematic aspects of the issuance of supplementary protection certificates for medicinal products. The analysis of case law and special literature deals with various problematic aspects related to the issuance of SPC. The conclusions summarize the principle problematic aspects of the issuance of SPC for medicinal products, which are related with the following: a) Interpretation of the term "product" provided for in Regulation No. 469/2009; b)... [to full text]

The objective of the proposed research is the design and fabrication of a novel stand-alone wireless robust system with enhanced hardware-enabled authentication and anti-counterfeiting capabilities. The system consists of two major components; the near-field certificates of authenticity (CoA), which serve as authenticity vouchers of the products they are attached to, and a microcontroller-enabled, low-power and low-cost reader. Small-sized passive physical three-dimensional structures that are composed of extremely cheap conductive and dielectric materials are shown to yield a unique and repeatable RF signature in a small portion of the frequency spectrum when brought in the reactive and radiating near-field regions of an array of miniature antennas. The multidimensional features of these CoAs, or in other words their signature or fingerprint, are cryptographically signed and digitally stored. The contactless signature validation procedure, in which an attempt to associate the near-field signature response of the physical CoA with the digitized signature, is carried out by the reader designed and fabricated. This low-cost reader operates autonomously and in an offline fashion. The feasibility and performance robustness of the system, in terms of accuracy, consistency and speed of capturing of the signatures, is rigorously assessed with a wide array of tests. Moreover, the entropy, or uncertainty, of the signatures generated by the system are empirically quantified and verified to achieve a virtually impossible false alarm. The aforementioned characteristics of the realized authentication system make it applicable to a vast array of physical objects that needs protection against counterfeiters.

States have historically used Certificate of Need (CON) regulations to regulate cost, quality, and access to healthcare services. Federally mandated in 1974, the regulation required the states to review requests for new healthcare construction and services. In theory, community-level planning backed by the state-level CON review and health planning process would prevent unnecessary duplication of services and the accompanying costs (Smith-Mellot, 2004). However, none of the published studies have examined the association of CON regulation on volume and outcomes of solid organ transplants. In 1984, the federal mandate ended, and each state was allowed to determine whether or not to maintain its CON programs; more than one-third of the states eliminated them (Altman & Ostby, 1991). Currently, 37 states including the District of Columbia have CON programs (American Health Planning, 2010). Of those states, 21 include organ transplant as a reviewable, regulated service. Although several studies have investigated whether CON regulation has affected healthcare cost, to date very little has been written about the impact of CON on volume and quality of care; the data that does exist is contradictory. In 1988, investigators studied the effects of CON regulation on mortality and observed that greater regulatory stringency was a positive and significant predictor of hospital mortality rates (Shortell & Hughes, 1988). In contrast, DiSesa et al (2006) found no significant difference in risk-adjusted mortality for cardiac surgery patients in states with and without CON regulations. The gap between evidence and decision-making and the large number of states that use CON to regulate healthcare services indicate a need for a study on the quality of healthcare services. Solid organ transplantation is a complex, high-cost treatment that was performed over 27,000 times in 2008. The purpose of this study is to assess the association of solid organ transplant CON regulations using clinically rich data available from the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR). This study tests the hypotheses that states with solid organ transplant CON regulations have fewer transplant centers, higher volumes of heart and kidney transplants per center, lower graft failure rates and lower patient mortality rates per center. In addition, this study assesses these hypotheses using two different transplant procedures (heart and kidney). This study provides additional information for transplant centers to use in their strategic decision making. Moreover, with the presence of minimum volume standards for transplant procedures mandated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) now, the policy implications of continuing or repealing CON regulations should be examined.

This diploma thesis concentrates on approved inspector's activities and protection of the concerned persons' rights especially from the perspective of jurisprudence. Original intention of the legislator was to unburden the builders and building Authorities by introducing the possibility to use the authorised persons' services. That person was located on the border of private and public law. This status was not defined correctly by the lawmaker and it resulted in many legal disputes. It was necessary to react by adoption of the complex amendment. Aim of the thesis is to analyze the legislation and to pronounce if the original intention of the legislator was fulfilled. Also to proposese changes for the future legislation.

Dans un environnement ouvert tel que l'Internet, les interlocuteurs sont parfois inconnus et toujours dématérialisés. Les concepts et les technologies de la confiance numérique et de la sécurité informatique doivent se combiner pour permettre un contrôle d'accès en environnement ouvert. Dans nos travaux, nous nous proposons d'étudier les concepts majeurs de cette problématique, puis de concevoir, et enfin de développer un système fonctionnel, basé sur des standards du contrôle d'accès, pour un environnement ouvert et appliqué à l'Internet. Plus précisément, notre étude consiste à mettre en œuvre une architecture de contrôle d'accès basée sur la confiance numérique. L'élément central de cette architecture est l'environnement utilisateur très riche et déployé en ligne. Cet environnement est doté de trois modules principaux qui permettent à l'utilisateur de mener à bien ses transactions. Ces modules sont le module d'analyse de règlements, le module de récupération de données et le module de validation de règlements. Nous avons élaborés des algorithmes utilisés dans ces modules. L'usage est le suivant. L'utilisateur demande un service à un fournisseur de services, celui-ci analyse la requête de l'utilisateur et extrait le règlement à partir de la base des règles de contrôle d'accès. Cette architecture est conçue à l'aide de modèles de contrôle d'accès basé sur les attributs et le langage XACML. Ce règlement contient des conditions à satisfaire par l'utilisateur pour obtenir le droit d'accès à la ressource demandée. Le module d'analyse de règlement permet à l'utilisateur d'analyser le règlement reçu du fournisseur de service. Cette analyse consiste à vérifier à l'aide d'un algorithme la disponibilité de ses informations auprès de ses sources d'information d'identité de confiance pour le fournisseur de services. Le module de récupération de données permet ensuite à l'utilisateur de récupérer ses certificats. Le module de validation lui permet de tester qu'il satisfait le règlement grâce aux certificats. Si le règlement est satisfait l'utilisateur diffuse ses certificats au fournisseur de service. La conception de ce système repose sur un ensemble de brique technologiques étudiées et décrites dans ces travaux. Ce document débute par une étude des différents cas d'usage dans le domaine des transactions en ligne. Cette étude permet de mettre en évidence la problématique de la gestion des identités numériques en environnement ouvert. Les organisations virtuelles, la notion de partenariat et la confiance sont des éléments clés qui entrent dans la conception des systèmes de contrôle d'accès basé sur la confiance. Une première étude d'un ensemble de modèles de contrôle d'accès nous permet de dégager le modèle ABAC et le langage XACML pour la conception de notre système. Dans un second temps, nous concevons le modèle de données de notre système de contrôle d'accès distribué et nous présentons et évaluons les algorithmes clés. Ensuite, nous concevons une architecture protocolaire satisfaisant les besoins d'interopérabilité entre les différentes entités impliquées. Il s'agit de protocoles permettant d'établir une session auprès d'un système, permettant de véhiculer un règlement de contrôle d'accès et permettant d'obtenir et de diffuser des informations entre tiers de confiance. La dernière partie est consacrée à l'implémentation réalisée en langage python et en utilisant le « framework » de développement Web Django / In an open environment such as the Internet, the interlocutors are sometimes unknown and always dematerialized. The concepts and the technologies of the digital confidence and the IT security have to harmonize to allow an access control in open environment. In our works, we suggest studying the major concepts of this problem, then designing, and finally developing a functional system, based on standards of the access control, for an environment open and applied to the Internet. More exactly, our study consists in implementing architecture of access control based on the digital confidence. The central element of this architecture is the on-line very rich and spread user environment. This environment is endowed with three main modules which allow the user to bring to a successful conclusion his transactions. These modules are the module of analysis of regulations, the module of data recovery and the module of validation of regulations. We developed algorithms used in these modules. The use is the following one. The user asks for a service in a service provider, this one analyzes the request of the user and extracts the regulation from the basis of the rules of access control. This architecture is designed by means of models of access control based on the attributes and the language XACML. This payment contains conditions to be satisfied by the user to obtain the access right in the wanted resource. The module of analysis of payment allows the user to analyze the regulation received from the supplier of service. This analysis consists in verifying by means of an algorithm the availability of its information with its information sources of reliable identity for the service provider. The module of data recovery allows then the user to get back its certificates. The module of validation allows him to test that it satisfies the payment thanks to certificates. If the payment is satisfied the user spreads his certificates to the supplier of service. The design of this system rests on a set of brick technological studied and described in these works. This document begins with a study of the various cases of use in the field of the on-line transactions. This study allows to highlight the problem of the management of the digital identities in open environment. The virtual organizations, the notion of partnership and the confidence are key elements which enter the conception of the systems of access control based on the confidence. A first study of a set of models of access control allows us to clear the model ABAC and the language XACML for the design of our system. Secondly, we conceive the model of data of our system of distributed access control and we present and estimate the key algorithms. Then, we conceive formal architecture satisfying the needs for interoperability between the various implied entities. It is about protocols allowing to establish a session with a system, allowing to convey a payment of access control and allowing to obtain and to spread information between trusted third party. The last part is dedicated to the implementation realized in language Python and by using the "framework" of Web development Django

Presented thesis deals with approved inspector as a major entity of simplified procedure. It is focused on the origin of his function, internal organization and impact of his functioning. Author brings comprehensive view of current problems, primarily from point of view of judicature, specialized literature and comparison with foreign legislation. Author considers a possibility of amendment of the act besides an analysis of current legislation. Grammatical or teleological interpretation of the provisions governing the simplified procedure doesn't bring a satisfactory answer to the question of whether the legislation intended for governing bodies applies on the activity of authorized inspector. Whether through negligence or intent the legislature concerning authorized inspector is conceptual hybrid. In an attempt to clarify its functioning and to define it either a subject of public or private law, concept of simplified procedure deforms to disadvantage of different group of subjects and loses partly its original meaning. The only way out of this confusing situation is amendment of Building Act in favor of unambiquous concept of simplified procedure. The author deals with position of the authorized inspector in initial chapters. The procedure of nomination and assumptions that an applicant must meet...

The current study investigates the construct representation of the reading component of a B2 level general English test: First Certificate in English (FCE). Construct representation is the relationship between cognitive processes elicited by the test and item difficulty. To facilitate this research, a model of the cognitive process involved in responding to reading test items was defined, drawing together aspects of different models (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Khalifa & Weir, 2009; Rouet, 2012). The resulting composite contained four components: the formation of an understanding of item requirements (OP), the location of relevant text in the reading passage (SEARCH), the retrieval of meaning from the relevant text (READ) and the selection of an option for the response (RD). Following this, contextual features predicted by theory to influence the cognitive processes, and hence the difficulty of items, were determined. Over 50 such variables were identified and mapped to each of the cognitive processes in the model. Examples are word frequency in the item stem and options for OP; word frequency in the reading passage for READ; semantic match between stem/option and relevant text in the passage for SEARCH; and dispersal of relevant information in the reading passage for RD. Response data from approximately 10,000 live test candidates were modelled using the Linear Logistic Test Model (LLTM) within a Generalised Linear Mixed Model framework (De Boeck & Wilson, 2004b). The LLTM is based on the Rasch model, for which the probability of success on an item is a function of item difficulty and candidate ability. The holds for LLTM except that item difficulty is decomposed so that the contribution of each source of difficulty (the contextual features mentioned above) is estimated. The main findings of the study included the identification of 26 contextual features which either increased or decreased item difficulty. Of these features, 20 were retained in a final model which explained 75.79% of the variance accounted for by a Rasch model. Among the components specified by the composite model, OP and READ were found to have the most influence, with RD exhibiting a moderate influence and SEARCH a low influence. Implications for developers of FCE include the need to consider and balance test method effects, and for other developers the additional need to determine whether their tests test features found to be criterial to the target level (such as non-standard word order at B2 level). Researchers wishing to use Khalifa and Weir’s (2009) model of reading should modify the stage termed named inferencing and consider adding further stages which define the way in which the goal setter and monitor work and the way in which item responses are selected. Finally, for those researchers interested in adopting a similar approach to that of the current study, careful consideration should be given to the way in which attributes are selected. The aims and scope of the study are of prime importance here.

No Brasil, é crescente o número de instituições de saúde que estão buscando a certificação da qualidade dos seus processos por meio da acreditação e está em aprovação um projeto de Lei que visa tornar obrigatória a obtenção de uma certificação para todas as instituições de saúde. Entretanto, as pesquisas sobre acreditação demostram a existência de lacunas sobre os seus reais benefícios e que não há uma abordagem única para a introdução do programa no mundo. O objetivo do estudo foi avaliar o impacto dos programas de acreditação nas instituições de saúde brasileiras, com foco em hospitais. O projeto de pesquisa foi desenvolvido em duas etapas: revisão da literatura e pesquisa empírica com a adoção de abordagem quantitativa, empregando o método pesquisa de avaliação (survey). O questionário foi elaborado a partir da revisão da literatura, outras pesquisas empíricas e opinião de especialistas. O projeto foi aprovado pelo Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo (Parecer 1.416.014). A pesquisa foi realizada pela internet utilizando o software SurveyMonkey®, no período de fevereiro a maio de 2016. Do total de 161 respostas recebidas, 141 foram consideradas válidas, sendo 74,47% (105/141) provenientes de hospitais e 23,53% (36/141) de outras instituições do setor de saúde, tais como ambulatórios, laboratórios, entre outros. A amostra foi não-probabilística, podendo ser classificada como por conveniência. Participaram da pesquisa instituições de 18 estados brasileiros e do Distrito Federal. Quanto ao perfil dos participantes, a idade média foi de 40 anos, 88% eram pós-graduados, 81% ocupavam posições gerenciais e 75% tinham mais de 10 anos de experiência profissional. Para avaliação dos resultados foram realizadas as análises de correlação de Spearman e de regressão logística. Os resultados demostraram que, na amostra analisada, há evidência de correlação significativa (? = 5%) e moderada entre o status da acreditação e as atividades de segurança do paciente (coeficiente de correlação = 0,537), de gestão da qualidade (coeficiente de correlação = 0,590), de planejamento - políticas e estratégias (coeficiente de correlação = 0,629) e envolvimento dos profissionais com os programas de qualidade (coeficiente de correlação = 0,430). A relação entre o status da acreditação e o envolvimento dos pacientes foi significativa (? = 5%), porém fraca (coeficiente de correlação = 0,252) o que sugere que o tema deveria ser tratado com uma política própria. Foram identificados 13 impactos organizacionais da acreditação relacionados, principalmente, aos processos internos, cultura, capacitação, imagem da instituição e diferencial competitivo. Na dimensão financeira, não foi confirmado como relevante o impacto da acreditação nos resultados, porém foi validada a necessidade de investimento em infraestrutura, inovação tecnológica e tecnologia da informação na etapa de preparação. Foi realizada a avaliação de confiabilidade e validade do instrumento de pesquisa, demonstrando que a estrutura do questionário estava adequada. Adicional à avaliação dos impactos da acreditação, a pesquisa identificou aspectos importantes que podem contribuir, na etapa de planejamento, com as instituições que pretendem adotar a acreditação. / There are an increasing number of health care organizations seeking quality certification of their processes through accreditation and a new law is under approval to make the quality certification compulsory for all institutions in Brazil. However, the research on accreditation demonstrate that there are still gaps on its actual benefits and that there is no general approach to the adoption of this program in the world. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of accreditation programs in Brazilian healthcare institutions, focusing on hospitals. The research project was developed in two stages: a literature review and an empirical research with the adoption of a quantitative approach, applying survey method. The questionnaire was developed from the literature review, other empirical researches and experts\' opinion. The project was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Medicine from the University of São Paulo (Process number 1,416,014). The survey was conducted over the internet using the SurveyMonkey® software, from February to May 2016. From the 161 responses received, 141 were considered valid, 74.47% (105/141) were from hospitals and 23.53 % (36/141) came from other institutions in the healthcare sector, such as ambulatories, laboratories, among others. The sample was non-probabilistic and can be classified as a \"convenience sample\". The respondents are from 18 Brazilian states and the Federal District. Regarding the profile of the participants, the average age was 40 years old, 88% were postgraduates, 81% held managerial positions and 75% presented more than 10 years of professional experience. To evaluate the results, it was performed the Spearman correlation and logistic regression analysis. The results showed that, in the sample, there is evidence of a significant (? = 5%) and moderate correlation between the status of accreditation and patient safety activities (correlation coefficient = 0.537), quality management (correlation coefficient = 0.590), planning - policies and strategies (correlation coefficient = 0.629) and involvement of professionals in the quality programs (correlation coefficient = 0.430). The correlation between the status of accreditation and the patients\' involvement was significant (? = 5%), but weak (correlation coefficient = 0.252) suggesting that this issue should be treated with an exclusive policy. It was identified 13 organizational impacts of accreditation related mainly to internal processes, culture, training, reputation of the institution and competitive aspects. The accreditation impact on the results has not been confirmed as relevant in the financial dimension, however, related to financial issues, it has been validated the need for investment in infrastructure, technological innovation and information technology in the earlier stage. It was also analyzed the reliability and validity of the survey instrument, showing that the structure of the questionnaire was adequate. In addition to the assessment of accreditation impact, this research identified some issues that may support institutions that intend to implement accreditation, in the planning phase.