The existing authorisation systems within the context of Web Services mainly apply two access control approaches – Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) and Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC). The RBAC approach links an authenticated Web Service Requester to its specific access control permission through roles, but RBAC is not flexible enough to cater for some cases where extra attribute information is needed in addition to the identity. By contrast, the ABAC approach has more flexibility, as it allows a Web Service Requester to submit necessary credentials containing extra attribute information that can fulfil the policies declared by a Web Service Provider, which aims to protect the sensitive resources/services. RBAC and ABAC can only help to establish a unilateral trust relationship between two Web Services to enable a Web Service Provider to make an access control decision. Unfortunately, the nature of Web Services presents a high probability that two Web Services may not know each other. Therefore, successful authorisation may fail, if the Web Service Requester does not trust the Web Service Provider. Trust Negotiation (TN) is also an access control approach, which can provide a bilateral trust relationship between two unknown entities, so it sometimes can enable authorisation success in situations where success is not possible through RBAC or ABAC approaches. However, interoperability issues will arise between authorisation systems within Web Services, where a bilateral trust-based authorisation solution is applied. In addition, a lack of a unified approach that can address the interoperability issues remains as a research problem. This research aims to explore possible factors causing the lack of interoperability first, and then to explore an approach that can address the interoperability issues. The main contributions of this research are an improved interoperability model illustrating interoperability issues at different layers of abstraction, and a novel interoperability-solution design along with an improved TN protocol as an example of utilising this design to provide interoperability between authorisation systems within Web Services.

Institutional initiatives set up to meet the demands of a fast changing higher education (HE) landscape do not comfortably sit within a single academic or administrative department but instead require blended professionals, with a mixed portfolio of work, to operate in third space – between the administrative and academic domains of institutions (Whitchurch, 2008). Heads of e-Learning (HeLs) in UK HE institutions are one such group of professionals who lead the enhancement of learning and teaching through the use of technology. However, one must question how HeLs continue to learn and develop in their roles as transformational leaders to meet the continuous demands posed by the ever-changing HE environment and the evolution of technology. This research explored the affordances of third space as a learning environment, questioned how learning and leadership development take place through non-formal workplace experiences, and sought to relate these back to HeLs’ perceived developmental needs. The concept of liminality (van Gennep, 1960; Turner, 1969) was employed as a theoretical framework, learning was conceptualised as socially constructed identity formation and leadership development was deemed to be a result of learning. A mixed methodological approach was employed and a unique analytical framework shed light on data derived from nine in-depth interviews. Third space environments were found to be ‘expansive’ (Evans et al., 2006), with qualities which afforded transformational learning experiences that permanently altered the ways in which one understands the world around them. Liminal conditions in third space environments provided a means of reconciling a leader’s espoused theories and their theories-in-use, whilst leadership development was linked to learner readiness and the development of credibility. Underpinned by participatory practices, the theory of ‘possible selves’ (Ibarra, 2004) offered a means of understanding transformational learning and development in third space, and brought the concept of leadership closer to active citizenship.

No description available.

Otitis media is often treated surgically through the use of a procedure termed myringotomy with insertion of a ventilation tube (MVT). From fiscal year 1992/3 to 1997/8, some 132,000 such operations were performed in Ontario, Canada, on young people < 20 years old. This study quantifies the small area variation (SAV) in MVT surgical rates across the 49 counties and 478 postal areas of Ontario; examines the rate variation as a function of variations in physician practice style, physician supply, physician demographic characteristics, urbanrural differences, and population socio-economic status; and identifies economic and policy-related implications of SA V. Physician practice style was assessed using responses from a comprehensive provincial survey of referring physicians (OPs and paediatricians) and specialists/surgeons concerning their opinions of the indications for, and treatment of, otitis media, with particular reference to MVT surgery. Other data were obtained from physician databases and Canada census statistics. The variation in age-gender standardized MVT rate across the counties is highly statistically significant, as demonstrated by Chi-square tests, and by comparison of simulated and observed values of variation statistics (the EQ, CV, and SCV) that show much higher inter-area variation than that expected by chance alone. Multivariate regression modelling of inter-county MVT rate variation across the counties showed six variables to be significant determinants of surgical rate. MVT rate is a positive function of physician propensity to refer patients to surgeons, the percentage of North American-trained referring physicians, and the supply of paediatricians; and a negative function of the supply of surgeons, and the median licence years of referring physicians and surgeons respectively. These variables explain 74 % of the SA V in MVT rate for the 35 counties for which the regression model applies. Over 40 % of the explained variation is accounted for by differences across the counties in the propensity of physicians to refer patients to surgeons. Socio-economic status (as measured by an index of deprivation) was not a significant predictor of inter-county MVT rate. When examined at the FSA (postal forward sortation area) level within counties, the effect of socio-economic status was small overall but locally significant for five counties. Urban counties, although better equipped with medical care resources, including the supply of physicians, generally maintain lower MVT rates than rural counties. This is interpreted as being due to inter-county referral flow from rural GPs and paediatricians to specialists operating in urban counties, particularly those counties containing teaching centres and training hospitals. In addition, the higher surgical rates in rural areas are also associated with a higher percentage of North American-trained referring physicians working in such areas. The large regional variations in MVT rates, and the determinants of such variations, have implications for health care providers and policymakers. Between 1992/3 and 1997/8, the welfare loss resulting from MVT surgical rate variation that was due to variation in physician variables (physician opinion, demographics, and supply) amounted to around $7.5 Million per year (or about three-quarters of the annual MVT surgical spend). More than 40 % of the welfare loss was attributable to inter-county variation in physician propensity to refer patients to surgeons. This welfare loss could in theory be reduced by the production and dissemination of information such as clinical guidelines, aimed at modifying physician behaviour and reducing variation in physician practice style (in particular, reducing variation in physician propensity to refer). However, published findings indicate that such change strategies are generally ineffective in modifying physician behaviour.

Syfte &amp; frågeställningar: Studiens syfte var att studera effekten på medieanvändares attityder. För att få en djupare förståelse och uppfattning om effekter på attityden så användes barnläkarfallet som ett exempel av anmälningsfall. Hur och på vilket sätt kan media komma att ha effekt på användarnas attityder? Metod &amp; material: Studien är gjord efter en kvalitativ metod där datainsamlandet bestod av två fokusgrupper. Totalt deltog tio personer och intervjuerna transkriberades och delades upp i teman (kodningsschema) som sedan analyserades enligt framing teorin. Huvudresultat: I resultatet kunde man utläsa att de båda fokusgrupperna hade oliker attityder gentemot barnläkarfallet. Detta trots att de båda fokusgrupperna tidigare hade en liknande uppfattning om hur media arbetar och sade sig vara källkritiska. Då grupperna fick två olika gestaltningar av händelsen kunde man i resultatet se att den attityd man hade gentemot barnläkarfallet tycktes också haft en effekt beroende på vilken gestaltning man fått tillgång till under fokusgruppen. Samma specifika händelse, gestaltat på olika sätt via medier, hade alltså en tydlig effekt på deltagarnas attityd.

This dissertation examines the interaction between music, politics and the Cameroonian media in the production and role of the popular music called bikutsi. In the context of Cameroonian music, bikutsi had long been associated solely with the Beti region surrounding the capital of Yaoundé, and as such considered a marginal music patronized by the “villageois.” Nevertheless, after Paul Biya assumed the presidency of Cameroon in 1982, and his subsequent inauguration of the Office de Télévision Nationale du Cameroun (Cameroon Radio and Television-CRTV) in 1985, bikutsi acquired the importance of a national music, and indeed a minor global phenomenon. Using the politico-economic backdrop of capital at the millennium, I show how the ethos of neoliberalism has helped turn African nation-states such as Cameroon into what has been called “regimes of unreality,” divorced from economic control, dependent on a multitude of development projects in the manner of contemporary cargo cults, and left with only the semblance of fetishism with which to connect to its people. In recent years, however, the process of media liberalization has taken away the state media’s ability to enact that message, and thus the regime’s power of persuasion. Instead the populace is left with a new type of cargo, in the form of sounds and imagery to go along with the narrative of global consumer culture. This has left an opportunity for those with the skill and imagination to make use of the new information, allowing artists, musicians and writers to be the next members of a new civil society. This is what I refer to as the emancipatory promise of the new cargo cult, where instead of capital accumulation there is only ephemera—signs, sounds and images that multiply and intensify in unpredictable and sometimes dangerous ways. I use the national lens of bikutsi to analyze these dynamics on a local and global level, in the city, the quartier and the village. Ultimately, understanding the media process and cargo has the ability to allow individuals to overcome the narrow vision of political machinery, and act as another potential cog in the civil society of meaningful relationships. / text

This paper seeks to understand how social media can be employed by pharmaceutical brands as an integral component of the marketing mix. Novo Nordisk will be used as an example to demonstrate the unsuccessful use of social media marketing. Similarly, Johnson & Johnson, Sanofi-Aventis and Bayer Didget will be used as examples to demonstrate the successful use of social media marketing. The framework necessary in the construction of a successful social media marketing campaign will be discussed, with each component receiving individual attention. This framework will be implemented in a hypothetical campaign for the pharmaceutical brand, Vytorin, to demonstrate the process. / text

In 2008, the Committee for the Protection of Journalists reports, Internet journalists comprised the worldwide plurality of imprisoned media workers for the first time. Why are Internet journalists subject to higher levels of repression than journalists working other medium? My arguments build on literature concerning institutional mechanisms of control in authoritarian regimes, violent conflict and social movement repression. In this report I examine Egypt from 2004 through 2008, a period of high political activism and a corresponding rise in state repressive action. Five years of English-language wire service news reports indicate that a greater percentage of bloggers in Egypt were victims of state repression than print journalists over this period. This pattern can be explained in party by corporatism in the print media sector and journalists’ involvement with opposition movements. Finally, it appears that the state is using the judicial system as a mechanism of punishment; adding to the growing body of literature detailing the judicialization of politics in Egypt. / text

Mass media presentation of news stories more closely resembles entertainment than enlightenment. What effect does this have on: 1) the general public’s ability to recall political information; 2) their attitudes towards political actors and issues; and, 3) their ability to think critically about politics? Psychological research on the effect of “seductive details” has indicated that presenting interesting, but ultimately unimportant details in hopes of stimulating attention may serve to reduce individuals’ ability to remember and use information. To test for similar effects in print and television news, an experimental research design is employed to manipulate news presentation. One set of subjects is presented with serious news stories, while another is exposed to serious stories accompanied by frivolous stories. A number of techniques are employed to measure the effects of news as entertainment on recall, critical thinking, and political attitudes. Given that political information is acquired almost exclusively from the mass media, this dissertation raises important empirical and normative issues about the contribution of mass media to the general public’s information level and level of political sophistication. / text

The Pentagon Channel, a media outlet funded and controlled by the U.S. Department of Defense, has continuously disseminated Pentagon approved programming to American audiences since 2004. Although the content created for The Pentagon Channel encompasses a variety of genres, the core justification for the channels existence is its ability to provide members of the armed forces with credible military news and information not otherwise available. At the same time, the channel is expected to function as an advocate of the Pentagon. This thesis is focused on Recon and Soldiers Journal, two of the news and information programs on The Pentagon Channel. By analyzing the way these programs frame sensitive issues including injury, violence, and death, this project argues that The Pentagon Channel privileges its role as Pentagon advocate above its mandate to provide credible information to servicemembers. / text