Anatomy of the Information Security Workforce

The information security workforce is one of the fastest growing subgroups in IT, but little is known about the field's characteristics and educational and professional environments. This article reports on a survey that sheds light on the information security workforce's task responsibilities, job market conditions, and training needs. The study's results should help companies, prospective information security professionals, and educational institutions alike understand the issues pertaining to this labor niche and fulfill the increasing labor demands.     

Workforce planning in a lotsizing mail processing problem

The treatment of mail objects in a mail processing centre involves many operations, in particular sorting by destination. Out of the batching problem that we can identify in such a process, there are also staff planning concerns. In this paper, we analyse a treatment area (registered mail) belonging to a mail processing center, where mail objects are treated in a chain production process. The production quantities and the transfer amounts among machines are required to be determined along the daily work period. The objective is to minimize the costs with human resources needed in the process, linked with the lotsizing production plan, by matching staff to work requirements. This leads into a lotsizing and workforce problem, for which we propose an integer programming formulation. A case study of a particular treatment area is also discussed. The formulation is adjusted to the specific constraints of this case study and some computational results are included, considering average, small and high daily amounts of mail arrived to that particular treatment area.     

Community Participation and Internet Use after September 11: Complementarity in Channel Consumption

Crises spark off a wide variety of communicative activities; extant research documents the critical role of the community during crises. The terrorist attacks of September 11 fundamentally challenged the very fabric of American society. How did Americans respond to the crisis posed by the terrorist attacks of September 11 in their communicative choices? Based on the theory of channel complementarity, this article argues that individuals who participated in online communities to post and read thoughts about the attacks were also more likely to participate in real communities. An analysis of the data gathered by the Pew Center immediately after the 9/11 attacks demonstrates support for the theory of channel complementarity in the realm of community participation.     

Trajectories in the Prevalence of Self-Reported Illness Around Retirement

In this paper we used wave 1 (2002) to wave 6 (2012) of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) to assess whether trajectories in the prevalence of self-reported limiting long term illness differed before and after retirement and whether any such differences in slope were found across socio-economic characteristics and the conditions of work in the final years of employment. The longitudinal analysis used a sub-sample of ELSA comprising those who retired between wave 2 (2004) and wave 6 (2012). We fitted a repeated measure logistic regression to model the trajectory in the log odds of illness before and after retirement. We found evidence of a slower increase in self-reported illness after than before retirement that was most strongly observed for those in the least favourable circumstances prior to retirement (lower social class, depressed prior to retirement and single). A similar retirement effect was observed for those in physically demanding occupations. Whilst we did not detect differences in post and pre-retirement slopes according to other aspects of working conditions we found higher rates of self-reported illness for individuals involved in unsatisfying jobs or in work where demands exceed rewards. These differentials were robust to inclusion of information on socio-economic circumstances and appeared to persist beyond retirement. Our interpretation of the results is that disadvantage across the life course makes those in the least favourable circumstances or involved in physically demanding work less able to draw on social, economic and health reserves to cope with the demands of work in the final years of employment. As a result these groups of disadvantaged individuals experienced a slower increase in rates of illness after than before retirement when the demands of work are removed. Proposals to increase retirement age without also tackling inequalities in circumstances in the final years of employment are likely to increase inequalities in self-reported health.     

Fitness of teenage boys in Poland

Average values for a variety of anthropometric and physiological parameters have been obtained for a representative group (N = 485) of Polish students of professional schools ranging from 14-18 y age. The mean values of height, approximately 175 cm, weight 66 kg and V _O2max, 3·25 l_O2; min^?1 or 48·3cm³kg^?1 min"1 or 59·2cm³kgFFB^?1min^?1, were a little higher than the average in terms of physical fitness

According to assessments for ergonomic use, the present investigations confirmed that Polish Anthropometric Standards could be applied to the design of new workplaces by using the upper limits of these standards. The optimal level of average work load for new workers is a little above 21 kJ min^?1

During pre-employment and periodical medical examinations of adolescents the Vitalograph spirometer can be used because predicted values of FVC and FEV_1·0 for this spirometer have been calculated.     

A Wish Come True? A Longitudinal Analysis of the Relationship between Retirement Preferences and the Timing of Retirement

This study examines the relationship between retirement preferences, expressed as preferred retirement age, and actual retirement age in Sweden. The data were drawn from the Swedish Panel Survey of Ageing and the Elderly (PSAE). The PSAE was fielded in 2002 and 2003 with the aim of mapping living conditions of older people in Sweden. The data, which have a powerful longitudinal component, cover a broad spectrum of welfare indicators such as health, daily activities, social interactions, labour market and working conditions, and attitudes towards and experiences of retirement. Cox regression analysis was employed to explore whether and to what extent retirement preferences had any impact on actual retirement age. The results imply that retirement preferences do represent, in relation to other known key factors, an isolated influence on retirement patterns. The introduction of time-dependent variables strengthened this argument by showing how the “hazard” for the timing of retirement varied during the study period: those who preferred to retire close the end point of the study period were more likely to retire at this time than those who preferred to retire after the end of the study period and those who preferred to retire at the beginning of the study period. The results also indicated that the categories that wished to retire close to the beginning of the study period were more likely to retire at this point of time. The study thus provides empirical support for those researchers, debaters and policymakers who have addressed the importance of changing preferences towards later retirement in order to prolong working life.     

Active Ageing,Pensions and Retirement in the UK

The ageing population has led to increasing concerns about pensions and their future sustainability. Much of the dominant policy discourse around ageing and pension provision over the last decade has focussed on postponing retirement and prolonging employment. These measures are central to productive notions of ‘active ageing’. Initially the paper briefly sets out the pension developments in the UK. Then it introduces active ageing and active ageing policy, exploring its implications for UK pension provision. It demonstrates that a more comprehensive active ageing framework, which incorporates a life-course perspective, has the potential to assist the UK to respond to the challenges of an ageing population. In doing so it needs to highlight older people as an economic and social resource, and reduce barriers to older people’s participation in society.     

Robotics research and development in Poland

Robotics is an active area of research in Poland. Teaching programs are similar to those in Western European countries. Research activities are basically supported by the State Committee for Scientific Research (SCSR) and European agencies. The author provides an overview of seven different academic institutions in Poland     

波兰果树生产考察报告

概述了近20年来波兰水果产量,栽培的果树品种构成,主栽品种,以及各种水果产品的供需状况和果树科研情况。     

On the Beginnings of Computer Development in Poland

Development of computers in Poland began at the end of 1948 with the formation of the Group for Mathematical Apparatus of the Mathematical Institute in Warsaw. The beginning was not easy because at that time Warsaw was still rebuilding after the destruction of World War II. The first analogue computer, called the "Analyzer of Differential Equations, " was completed in 1954 and then regularly used for several years. The first successful digital computer, called XYZ, was completed in 1958. It performed about 800 operations per second and became a milestone in the development of Polish computers. Soon the XYZ computer was improved and, under the name ZAM 2, was manufactured and installed in many places in Poland and abroad. As asset of XYZ and ZAM 2 was the system of Automatic Coding, introduced in 1960 and often called a Polish FORTRAN.     

Emergency ambulance speed characteristics: a case study of Lesser Poland voivodeship,southern Poland

GeoInformatica - The correct estimation of ambulance travel time is an extremely important issue from the perspective of healthcare and the security of citizens. In some events, the threat to the...     

Social Participation in Health 2.0

Computer scientists are working with biomedical researchers, policy specialists, and medical practitioners to usher in a new era in healthcare. A recently convened panel of experts considered various research opportunities for technology-mediated social participation in Health 2.0.     

Predicting Continued Participation in Newsgroups

Turnover in online communities is very high, with most people who initially post a message to an online community never contributing again. In this paper, we test whether the responses that newcomers receive to their first posts influence the extent to which they continue to participate. The data come from initial posts made by 2,777 newcomers to six public newsgroups. We coded the content and valence of the initial post and its first response, if it received one, to see if these factors influenced newcomers' likelihood of posting again. Approximately 61% of newcomers received a reply to their initial post, and those who got a reply were 12% more likely to post to the community again; their probability of posting again increased from 44% to 56%. They were more likely to receive a response if they asked a question or wrote a longer post. Surprisingly, the quality of the response they received—its emotional tone and whether it answered a newcomer's question—did not influence the likelihood of the newcomer's posting again.     

网络参政中虚拟群体的分析

互联网的普及应用,使得社会主体能够更加直接和方便地进行政治参与,对网络政治参与中的虚拟群体,即网络参政群体进行探讨,分析了网络参政群体的内涵、特点、属性、基本要素,并根据这些理论基础,针对目前网络参政存在的问题,分析并提出相应的建议。     

Determinants of load carrying ability

The aim of this paper is to review the literature in respect of the main determinants of a person's load carrying ability. Possible determinants of load carriage ability include age, anthropometry, aerobic and anaerobic power, muscle strength, body composition and gender; other relevant factors are the subjective effects perceived during load carriage, the dimensions and placement of the load, biomechanical factors, nature of the terrain and the gradient, the effect of climate and protective clothing. It is important to distinguish between the maximum load carrying capacity and load carriage ability which enables the individual to retain the capability to perform other tasks - eg, observation and navigation, or industrial tasks. The soldier has been used as the worst case example of extremely heavy loads having to be carried for long durations; civilian examples are usually less demanding except in the case of mountaineers, explorers and some occupations. The energy cost of walking with loads has been found to depend primarily upon the walking speed, body weight and load weight, together with terrain factors such as gradient and surface type; equations exist which allow the prediction of energy expenditures from these variables, and they can provide a valuable guide in assessing the physical severity of proposed tasks involving load carriage. Other factors such as the degree of environmental heat stress and protective clothing worn would have to be taken into account, but the level of energy expenditure (or heat production) assumes central importance as it is related to physical exhaustion, heat exhaustion and also less directly to the efficiency of performance of occupational task involving load carriage. This review confirms that there is no obvious definition of a maximal load, because of the widely varying circumstances which might apply, but for healthy young males there appears to be some consensus for the traditional rule of thumb of one-third body weight, or 24 kg on an assumed mean body weight of 72 kg, or in terms of relative work load equivalent to one-third of the VO(2) max for a working day. Renbourn (1954c) considered that the load carried by the soldier will probably always be a compromise between what is physiologically sound and what is operationally essential. Load carriage in industrial and other civilian areas will also involve a similar compromise and may in some circumstances lead to important implications for health and safety.