Auswahl der wissenschaftlichen Literatur zum Thema „Assets commonalities“

The purpose of this study is to identify commonalities in cyberattacks against the civilian maritime transportation system (MTS). For this exploratory study, the researcher analysed documents to identify trends about the cyberattacks impacting and responsible adversaries targeting maritime operations. The MTS can use identified trends to make informed decisions about information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) requiring new or enhanced cybersecurity measures. Current research examining publicly disclosed cyberattacks impacting MTS companies identifies the trend of increasing cyberattacks against the MTS. However, current research fails to examine adversaries and their social-political needs thoroughly. Knowledge of the adversary based on the Diamond Model of Intrusion Analysis can be augmented by identifying which MTS assets (e.g., shipbuilding, ports) and which aspect of the information security triad—Confidentiality, Integrity, or Availability (CIA)—the adversary targeted. At the conclusion of this limited, exploratory document analysis, the researcher determined the most compromised aspect of the information security triad was Availability and then Confidentiality; there were no identified Integrity compromises. The most targeted MTS assets was shipping companies, followed by ports, administration, shipbuilding, and vessels. Concerning the adversary customer behind MTS cyberattacks, China was first, followed by unknown cyber adversaries, then Russia, Iran, and Israel. Last, in terms of adversary’s social-political needs, data exfiltration occurred the most, followed by ransomware, political agenda, and unknown needs.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on every aspect of human life, from health issues to economic problems, where high unemployment rates and many businesses experience stagnation. When someone experiences financial anxiety, it will certainly affect their financial behavior. In this case, trading crypto assets is very attractive to investors because asset value increases can be achieved quickly, but asset value decreases can also occur just as quickly. The mental impact that occurs from this phenomenon needs to be known. Analytical observational research with a cross-sectional study design on 207 subjects who have crypto accounts and are trading crypto assets. The sample was obtained through voluntary sampling via social media and crypto communities throughout Indonesia. Out of 207 research subjects, there were 88.4% of crypto asset traders experienced FoMO, 90.33% experienced impulsivity, and there was a relationship between FoMO and impulsivity (p=0.001, cc=0.228), FoMO and stress (p=0.000, cc=0.289), FoMO and anxiety (p=0.040, cc=0.143), FoMO and depression (p=0.000, cc=0.218), impulsivity and stress (p=0.000, cc=0.303), impulsivity and anxiety (p=0.000, cc=0.352), and impulsivity and depression (p=0.000, cc=0.360). The reliability test of the FoMO questionnaire was (? cronbach=0.504), validity test (KMO=0.599, commonalities of each question item >0.50).

This article explores the interplay between personality traits, particularly the Big Five model, and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) in shaping individual investment decisions in mutual funds. Utilizing the TPB's framework, the study examines attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived control, linking them to investor intentions. Focusing on India's growing mutual fund industry, the article highlights key industry metrics, indicating robust growth in assets under management and retail participation. Comparisons with developed countries underscore India's untapped potential in mutual fund investments. The research delves into the determinants of investment decisions, considering rationality, socioeconomic factors, and the impact of personality traits. Theoretical frameworks and literature synthesis support the proposed behavior intention model. The findings emphasize the vital role of personality, particularly openness to experience, in influencing investment behavior. In conclusion, the study contributes insights for asset management companies in tailoring schemes to align with investor commonalities. Keywords: Investor, personality traits, Theory of Planned Behavior, Mutual Funds investment

Game engines generate high dependence of developed games on provided implementation resources. Feature modeling is a technique that captures commonalities and variabilities results of domain analysis to provide a basis for automated configuration of concrete products. This paper presents the Minimal Engine for Digital Games (MEnDiGa), a simplified collection of game assets based on game features capable of building small and casual games regardless of their implementation resources. It presents minimal features in a representative hierarchy of spatial and game elements along with basic behaviors and event support related to game logic features. It also presents modules of code to represent, interpret, and adapt game features to provide the execution of configured games in multiple game platforms. As a proof of concept, a clone of the Doodle Jump game was developed using MEnDiGa assets and compared with original game version. As a result, a new G-factor based approach for game construction is provided, which is able to separate the core of game elements from the implementation itself in an independent, reusable, and large-scale way.

The Daniel-Hirshleifer-Sun (DHS) is a three-factor model based on the investors psychology. It supplements the market factors of the CAPM model with two behavioral factors that capture commonalities in mispricing resulting from psychological biases. The DHS method focuses on two psychological biases affecting asset prices: overconfidence and limited attention. According to Daniel, Hirshleifer, and Sun, overconfidence in the investor tends to induce commonality in long-horizon mispricing.In contrast, the inattention of the investor tends to induce commonality in short-horizon mispricing. In this strategy, assets are priced according to the DHS model, and the unexplained return generated from this model is traded. According to the back-test, the explanation power of the DHS model is limited in Chinses market. As a result, the arbitrage strategy based on this model cannot generate a decent return in the long run. However, this strategy generates a significant positive return in turbulent market conditions. During these periods, investors tend to panic, and their psychology is especially unstable, so the two behavioral factors can explain the return efficiently.

The concept of digital twins is proposed as a new technology-led advancement to support the processes of the design, construction, and operation of built assets. Commonalities between the emerging definitions of digital twins describe them as digital or cyber environments that are bidirectionally-linked to their physical or real-life replica to enable simulation and data-centric decision making. Studies have started to investigate their role in the digitalization of asset delivery, including the management of built assets at different levels within the building and infrastructure sectors. However, questions persist regarding their actual applications and implementation challenges, including their integration with other digital technologies (i.e., building information modeling, virtual and augmented reality, Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing). Within the built environment context, this study seeks to analyze the definitions and characteristics of a digital twin, its interactions with other digital technologies used in built asset delivery and operation, and its applications and challenges. To achieve this aim, the research utilizes a thorough literature review and semi-structured interviews with ten industry experts. The literature review explores the merits and the relevance of digital twins relative to existing digital technologies and highlights potential applications and challenges for their implementation. The data from the semi-structured interviews are classified into five themes: definitions and enablers of digital twins, applications and benefits, implementation challenges, existing practical applications, and future development. The findings provide a point of departure for future research aimed at clarifying the relationship between digital twins and other digital technologies and their key implementation challenges.

Precious metals are valuable commodities providing superior protection against risky financial exposure. Identifying factors influencing the market is crucial for anticipating changes. Forecast applications utilize stochastic models capable of learning from historical data to project future values. The dataset is a vital component for prediction tools since all estimations begin with constructing the appropriate information. Detecting the association between input and output is essential to filter data, as including unrelated variables could destabilize the response. Feature selection considers removing uncorrelated attributes before incorporating them as inputs to the predictor. This study employs three regression-based algorithms to examine 58 precious assets from gold, silver, platinum, and palladium markets against several variables cited in the literature. Relationships were detected using regressive feature selection methods, known as least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO), ridge, and elastic net (EN). Results demonstrate that the proposed algorithms achieved satisfactory performance on 42 assets, justified through a reliable fit and acceptable error. The remaining 16 assets exhibited large deviations with considerably poor regression quality, indicating considerable nonlinearity. Attributes were selected with a detailed emphasis on those exerting the most substantial impact on a particular metal. Based on computational analysis, most investments are susceptible to macroeconomic factors. Some assets may present hedging capabilities towards key features, including stock index, exchange rates, and bond yield. An assessment of common variables among each metal revealed that real GDP growth and interest rates are vital indicators for the precious metal market. Overall, the simulation outcomes show no consistent commonalities amongst attributes within the same asset class in a country. Feature selection from this research offers necessary information regarding time-series dynamics, serving as a basis to project trends. The filtered dataset is expected to enhance the reliability of nonlinear predictive algorithms by removing inaccurate correlations to lower computational load. Furthermore, the outcome provides information regarding correlations affecting global precious metal investments over five-year period. These discussions are necessary for investors considering such commodities as potential portfolio diversifiers.

Research on urban rivers often seeks to find commonalities to advance knowledge of the effect of urbanisation on rivers, and rightly so. But it is important, also, to develop a complementary understanding of how urban rivers can be distinct, to facilitate a more nuanced view of concepts such as the ‘urban river syndrome’ and of the challenges facing those who wish to create more sustainable urban river corridors. To this end we use the Don Catchment as a case study to illustrate how historic patterns of urbanisation have been fundamental in shaping the catchment’s rivers. Following the Industrial Revolution, the catchment became an industrial centre, resulting in the ecological death of river ecosystems, and the disconnection of communities from stark urban river corridors. Widescale deindustrialisation in the 1970s and 1980s then resulted in a partial ecological recovery of the rivers, and ignited public interest. This history has imbued the catchment’s urban river corridors with a distinctive industrial character that can vary greatly between and within settlements. It has also left a legacy of particular issues, including a high degree of river habitat fragmentation and physical modification, and of negative perceptions of the rivers, which need improving to realise their potential as assets to local communities.

Software Product Lines (SPLs) refer to some software engineering methods, tools and techniques for creating a collection of similar software systems from a shared set of software assets using a common means of production. This concept is recognized as a successful approach to reuse in software development. Its purpose is to reduce production costs by reusing existing features and managing the variability between the different products with respect of particular constraints. Software Product Line engineering is the production process in product lines and the development of a family of systems by reusing core assets. It exploits the commonalities between software products and preserves the ability to vary the functionalities and features between these products. The adopted strategy for building SPL can be a top-down or bottom-up. Depending from the selected strategy, it is possible to face an inappropriate implementation in the SPL Model or the derived products during this process. The code can contain code smells or code anomalies. Code smells are considered as problems in source code which can have an impact on the quality of the derived products of an SPL. The same problem can be present in many derived products from an SPL due to reuse or in the obtained product line when the bottom-up strategy is selected. A possible solution to this problem can be the refactoring which can improve the internal structure of source code without altering external behavior. This paper proposes an approach for building SPL from source code using the bottom-up strategy. Its purpose is to reduce code smells in the obtained SPL using refactoring source code. This approach proposes a possible solution using reverse engineering to obtain the feature model of the SPL.

Purpose This study is an exploratory study investigating firm-specific internal factors that influence the profitability performance of selected life insurance firms in eight Asian countries (China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Malaysia) from 2008-2014. This paper aims to focus on internal rather than external factors based on the resource-based view suggesting that the internal resources of a firm are key to gaining competitive advantage. Design/methodology/approach The authors used panel data estimation model to test our six hypotheses on these eight selected countries for the period between 2008 and 2014. Findings A random effect model reveals that size, volume of capital and underwriting risk are significantly related to the profitability of Asian life insurance firm, measured as return on assets. Premium growth, asset tangibility and liquidity are insignificant predictors of the profitability performance of these life insurance firms. Practical implications Three implications of this study are that life insurance firms need to proactively tap new business opportunities by attracting younger generation customers via e-marketing technologies; secure larger capital base to finance their market expansion strategies; and focus on intangible resources such as goodwill, brand equity and reputation. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by conducting an exploratory regional-based panel study of Asian life insurance firms to find common factors that contribute towards profitability. The study is conducted on a collective sample of Asian life insurance firms based on the premise that the firms included in the sample engage in cross-border activities and share the same international financial reporting standards. These commonalities allow us to treat the firms jointly in a somewhat similar Asian macroeconomic environment.

Cette thèse analyse l'impact de la communité des actifs bancaires sur le risque systémique. Cette étude examine l'impact du chevauchement des portefeuilles d'actifs sur le risque systémique dans les grandes banques centrales américaines. Les résultats révèlent une relation en forme de U entre la communalité des actifs, la probabilité individuelle de défaut et le risque systémique parmi les banques. Une plus faible communauté d'actifs est liée à une réduction du risque, tandis qu'une plus grande communauté est préjudiciable à la stabilité financière. L'étude des actifs liquides et illiquides confirme la relation en U. Nos résultats soulignent en outre l'importance du maintien d'une faible communalité des actifs pour la stabilité financière en période normale et en période de crise, ainsi que pour les banques dont les échéances de financement sont plus courtes. Le deuxième chapitre étudie l'impact de la communalité des actifs sur le risque systémique à différents degrés de mise en œuvre des politiques macroprudentielles sur la base d'un échantillon transnational. L'objectif premier de la politique macroprudentielle est de réduire l'exposition des banques au risque systémique découlant d'une croissance excessive du crédit, de défaillances corrélées et d'autres expositions communes. Toutefois, la mise en œuvre de ces politiques peut contribuer involontairement à une augmentation des avoirs communs des banques qui tentent de mettre en œuvre des stratégies de transfert des risques. Les résultats indiquent que les actifs communs augmentent l'exposition au risque systémique lorsque les politiques macroprudentielles ciblées sur les quantités et les institutions financières sont mises en œuvre à un niveau plus élevé. Cela se produit lorsque les banques déplacent leurs risques vers différentes catégories d'actifs ou de portefeuilles, ce qui accroît leur vulnérabilité au risque systémique. Le troisième chapitre examine l'impact de la similitude du comportement environnemental des banques sur le risque systémique à partir d'un échantillon transnational. Nos résultats révèlent que la similitude du comportement environnemental des banques est positivement associée au risque systémique lorsque l'indice de politique environnementale est faible. De même, dans le cas d'une politique macroprudentielle peu écologique, la similitude du comportement environnemental des banques est associée à un risque systémique plus élevé
This thesis analyzes the impact of bank asset commonality on systemic risk. This study examines the impact of asset portfolio overlap on systemic risk in large U.S. BHCs. Results reveal a U-shaped relationship between asset commonality, individual probability of default, and systemic risk among banks. Lower asset commonality is linked to reduced risk, while higher commonality is detrimental to financial stability. Investigating liquid and illiquid assets confirms the U-shaped relationship. Our results further emphasize the importance of maintaining low asset commonality for financial stability during normal and crisis periods, as well as for banks with shorter funding maturities. The second chapter studies the impact of asset commonality on systemic risk under varying degrees of implementation of macroprudential policies using a cross-country sample. The primary objective of macroprudential policy is to reduce bank’s exposure to systemic risk arising from excessive credit growth, correlated failures, and other common exposures. However, the implementation of such policies may inadvertently contribute to an increase in bank common holdings as they attempt to engage in risk-shifting strategies. The findings indicate that asset commonality increases exposure to systemic risk under higher implementation of quantity and financial institution-targeted macroprudential policies. This occurs as banks shift their risks to different asset classes or portfolios, consequently elevating their vulnerability to systemic risk. The third chapter examines the impact of the similarity of banks environmental behavior on systemic risk using a cross-country sample.The findings indicate a U-shaped relationship between the similarity of bank environmental behavior and systemic risk among banks. Our result reveals that the similarity of banks environmental behavior is positively associated with systemic risk under a low environmental policy index. Also, under a low green macroprudential policy, the commonality of banks environmental behavior is associated with higher systemic risk

There is constant pressure on governments and policy makers to raise the standard of education, and to develop appropriate curriculum and pedagogies for students. It is no easy task. This book presents eight specific case studies of education reform implementation which capture how the design and implementation choices of policy makers are shaped by national and historical contexts. They offer real examples of the choices and constraints faced by policymakers and practitioners. The cases are a mix of nationally and locally mandated reforms with five examples from nations where the state initiated and guided reforms. The concluding synthesis chapter highlights commonalities and differences across the cases and disparate responses to shared concerns. Providing a breadth of real-world research, it will assist policy makers, practitioners and other stakeholders interested in system change.

Professionals often utilize some form of structured approach (i.e., decision support tool or risk assessment instrument) when evaluating the risk of future violence and associated management needs. This chapter presents an overview of decision support tools that are used to assist professionals when conducting a violence risk assessment and that have received considerable empirical evaluation and professional uptake. The relative strengths and weaknesses of the two main approaches to evaluations of risk (actuarial and structured professional judgment) are discussed, including a review of empirical findings regarding their predictive validity. Following a summary of commonalities among the tools, this chapter provides a brief description of 10 decision support tools focusing on their applicability and purpose, content and characteristics, and available empirical research. Finally, the chapter concludes with a discussion of several critical considerations regarding the appropriate use and selection of tools.

What is Ecumenism? How and when did it start? What are its goals and how will they affect the future of the Christian churches? This book answers these questions and examines the remarkable story of new encounters between Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican, Old Catholic, and most Protestant churches. Most of these churches have been divided for centuries over issues of theology, faith, and practice. Ecumenism seeks to reconcile these differences and to bring the churches together into a new unity based on their commonalities and their understanding of Christian faith. Here, FitzGerald traces the history of the churches and their divisions and focuses on the ways in which the Ecumenical movement began and the efforts that have been made to assist the churches in overcoming age-old strife, animosity, and misunderstanding. For centuries, Christian churches have remained divided over their doctrinal differences, but beginning in the late nineteenth century, churches and their members slowly began to emerge from their isolation. They began to abandon competition, mistrust, and misunderstanding in an effort to seek out their common interests and faith through meetings and organizations meant to bring them together. The encounters between the churches led to proposals for common prayers for unity, and for common witness in society. While not without difficulty, these encounters have fostered a renewal in Christian theology, worship, and witness, affecting all levels of church life. The process has touched Christians all over the world in various ways. FitzGerald carefully traces the history of the movement and its impact on the churches themselves, as well as the believers who attend them, making this important reading for all Christians and anyone interested in learning more about church division and efforts to restore unity.

The study is funded by Doha International Family Institute (DIFI), a member of Qatar Foundation, and is a collaboration between the Muslim Resource Centre for Social Support and Integration of London, Ontario; University of Guelph, Ontario; and University of Calgary, Alberta, all located in Canada; and the Doha International Family Institute, Qatar. The study received research ethics approval from the University of Guelph and the University of Calgary. This study aims to assess the impact of pre- and post-migration on marital relationships and family dynamics for Arab refugee families resettled in Canada. The study also examines the role of professional service providers in supporting these Arab refugee families. The unique experiences of Arab families displaced from their countries due to war and political conflict, and the various hardships experienced during their stay in transit countries, impact their family relations and interactions within the nuclear family context and their interconnectedness with their extended families. Furthermore, these families encounter various challenges within their resettlement process that interrupt their integration. Understanding the impact of traumatic experiences within the pre-migration journey as well as the impact of post-migration stressors on recently settled Arab refugee families in Canada provides insight into the shift in spousal and family relationships. Refugee research studies that focus on the impact of pre-migration trauma and displacement, the migration journey, and post-migration settlement on family relationships are scarce. Since the majority of global refugees in recent years come from Arab regions, mainly Syria, as a result of armed conflicts, this study is focused on the unique experiences of Arab refugee families fleeing conflict zones. The Canadian role in recently resettling a large influx of Arab refugees and assisting them to successfully integrate has not been without challenges. Traumatic pre-migration experiences as a result of being subjected to and/or witnessing violence, separation from and loss of family members, and loss of property and social status coupled with experiences of hardships in transit countries have a profound impact on families and their integration. Refugees are subjected to individual and collective traumatic experiences associated with cultural or ethnic disconnection, mental health struggles, and discrimination and racism. These experiences have been shown to impact family interactions. Arab refugee families have different definitions of “family” and “home” from Eurocentric conceptualizations which are grounded in individualistic worldviews. The discrepancy between collectivism and individualism is mainly recognized by collectivist newcomers as challenges in the areas of gender norms, expectations regarding parenting and the physical discipline of children, and diverse aspects of the family’s daily life. For this study, we interviewed 30 adults, all Arab refugees (14 Syrian and 16 Iraqi – 17 males, 13 females) residing in London, Ontario, Canada for a period of time ranging from six months to seven years. The study participants were married couples with and without children. During the semi-structured interviews, the participants were asked to reflect on their family life during pre-migration – in the country of origin before and during the war and in the transit country – and post-migration in Canada. The inter - views were conducted in Arabic, audio-recorded, and transcribed. We also conducted one focus group with seven service providers from diverse sectors in London, Ontario who work with Arab refugee families. The study used the underlying principles of constructivist grounded theory methodology to guide interviewing and a thematic analysis was performed. MAXQDA software was used to facilitate coding and the identification of key themes within the transcribed interviews. We also conducted a thematic analysis of the focus group transcription. The thematic analysis of the individual interviews identified four key themes: • Gender role changes influence spousal relationships; • Traumatic experiences bring suffering and resilience to family well-being; • Levels of marital conflict are higher following post-migration settlement; • Post-migration experiences challenge family values. The outcome of the thematic analysis of the service provider focus group identified three key themes: • The complex needs of newly arrived Arab refugee families; • Gaps in the services available to Arab refugee families; • Key aspects of training for cultural competencies. The key themes from the individual interviews demonstrate: (i) the dramatic sociocul - tural changes associated with migration that particularly emphasize different gender norms; (ii) the impact of trauma and the refugee experience itself on family relation - ships and personal well-being; (iii) the unique and complex aspects of the family journey; and (iv) how valued aspects of cultural and religious values and traditions are linked in complex ways for these Arab refugee families. These outcomes are consist - ent with previous studies. The study finds that women were strongly involved in supporting their spouses in every aspect of family life and tried to maintain their spouses’ tolerance towards stressors. The struggles of husbands to fulfill their roles as the providers and protec - tors throughout the migratory journey were evident. Some parents experienced role shifts that they understood to be due to the unstable conditions in which they were living but these changes were considered to be temporary. Despite the diversity of refugee family experiences, they shared some commonalities in how they experi - enced changes that were frightening for families, as well as some that enhanced safety and stability. These latter changes related to safety were welcomed by these fami - lies. Some of these families reported that they sought professional help, while others dealt with changes by becoming more distant in their marital relationship. The risk of violence increased as the result of trauma, integration stressors, and escalation in marital issues. These outcomes illustrate the importance of taking into consideration the complexity of the integration process in light of post-trauma and post-migration changes and the timespan each family needs to adjust and integrate. Moreover, these families expressed hope for a better future for their children and stated that they were willing to accept change for the sake of their children as well. At the same time, these parents voiced the significance of preserving their cultural and religious values and beliefs. The service providers identified gaps in service provision to refugee families in some key areas. These included the unpreparedness of professionals and insufficiency of the resources available for newcomer families from all levels of government. This was particularly relevant in the context of meeting the needs of the large influx of Syrian refugees who were resettled in Canada within the period of November 2015 to January 2017. Furthermore, language skills and addressing trauma needs were found to require more than one year to address. The service providers identified that a longer time span of government assistance for these families was necessary. In terms of training, the service providers pinpointed the value of learning more about culturally appropriate interventions and receiving professional development to enhance their work with refugee families. In light of these findings, we recommend an increased use of culturally integrative interventions and programs to provide both formal and informal support for families within their communities. Furthermore, future research that examines the impact of culturally-based training, cultural brokers, and various culturally integrative practices will contribute to understanding best practices. These findings with regard to refugee family relationships and experiences are exploratory in their nature and support future research that extends understanding in the area of spousal relationships, inter - generational stressors during adolescence, and parenting/gender role changes.

AbstractAlthough considerable progress has been made in the management and planning of the marine environment, important gaps still exist in streamlining policies across governance levels, maritime sectors, and between different countries. This can hinder effective Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) and prevent harmonious cross-sectoral cooperation, and importantly, cross-border or trans-boundary collaboration. These may in turn have serious implications for overall ocean governance and ultimately, marine sustainability. The North Atlantic presents an ideal case-study region for reviewing these issues: North Atlantic countries have different governance structures, and as such, different approaches to marine policy. Therefore, for an effective marine management, cross-sectoral and cross-border MSP in the region, there is a need to review marine and maritime policies in order to identify differences and commonalities among countries. This chapter reviews major policies for the marine environment in the North Atlantic and assesses where differences between countries exist and at which governance level they are being created. Key research questions include: (i) Are there significant differences in marine policy between North Atlantic countries? Moreover, are there any substantial geographical/political differences? (ii) Are there differences in implementation of key policies? Such an analysis requires a sound framework for comparison among countries. To that end, the use of “horrendograms”, a tool increasingly being used by the marine research and planning community to assess such issues, is adopted. Results indicate that key differences between countries are created primarily at a national level of marine governance. Although differences between countries exist, overall strategic targets are similar. For instance, whilst the political systems of certain North Atlantic countries may differ substantially, key objectives for major sectors, such as fisheries and conservation, are similar – even when such objectives are implemented at different levels. Findings from the study can enable targeted policy intervention and, as such, assist the development of future outlooks of ocean governance in the region. Results can also aid the development of future visions and scenarios for MSP in the Atlantic region.

Abstract This chapter investigates the past, the present, and the future of safe assets in the EU. It is structured as follows. Section 2 reviews past borrowing programmes and the safe assets these have produced. We show that the NGEU’s financing mechanism is not new; rather it is a scaled-up version of past EU borrowing programmes. The section also discusses the Euro area’s two borrowing mechanisms via separate supranational issuers: the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) and the ESM. Section 3 then focuses on the legal aspects of EU safe assets, highlighting both commonalities and differences between the various debt issuance programmes and analysing the pertinent legal features of the debt instruments the EU has relied on. Section 4 concludes.

Abstract Different models tend to have firm, explicit contracts, a high degree of clinician engagement and a proactive, disciplined approach to impulsive behaviour (Allen 1997; Milton, Dawson, Kazmierczak et al. I 999). All models highlight the importance of the clientclinician relationship, of the therapeutic alliance and of patterns of client behaviours manifesting in the client-clinician relationship (Allen 1997; Milton et al. 1999). All models require clinicians to remain relatively calm in crisis, be mindful of their feelings and to set limits to assist the clinician in maintaining warmth for the client, so essential for a positive outcome (Allen 1997; Milton et aL 1999). In exploring similarities in four different models, Allen (1997) notes the acceptance that therapists will make errors, which need to be acknowledged (perhaps with a brief apology) and used if possible to therapeutic advantage.

When examining data from languages belonging to the Turkic, Mongolic, and Tungusic families, two virtually opposite views have been expressed: One attributes some commonalities to inheritances from a protolanguage, the other asserts that all commonalities derive from lateral feature transfer between originally unrelated groups. However, some shared features from the domains of lexicon, phonology, morphology, and syntax showing a network of transfer paths—Turkic > Tungusic, Turkic > Mongolic, Mongolic > Turkic, Mongolic > Tungusic, Tungusic > Mongolic and Tungusic > Turkic—among these, three groups are clearly secondary, and reflect processes of lateral feature transfer postdating the breakup of any possible original Transeurasian protolanguage. Thus, one must periodicize different contact layers in the histories of these language groups to arrive at a nuanced point of argumentation to try to bridge the gap between the increasingly polemical positions expressed by the so-called pro- and anti-Altaicist camps.

While crowdsourcing has become increasingly popular among organizations, it also has become increasingly susceptible to unethical and malicious activities. This article discusses recent examples of disruptive and deceptive efforts on crowdsourcing sites, which impacted the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the crowdsourcing efforts' service, stakeholders, and data. From these examples, the authors derive an organizing framework of risk types associated with disruption and deception in crowdsourcing based on commonalities among incidents. The framework includes prank activities, the intentional placement of false information, hacking attempts, DDoS attacks, botnet attacks, privacy violation attempts, and data breaches. Finally, the authors discuss example controls that can assist in identifying and mitigating disruption and deception risks in crowdsourcing.

While crowdsourcing has become increasingly popular among organizations, it also has become increasingly susceptible to unethical and malicious activities. This article discusses recent examples of disruptive and deceptive efforts on crowdsourcing sites, which impacted the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the crowdsourcing efforts' service, stakeholders, and data. From these examples, the authors derive an organizing framework of risk types associated with disruption and deception in crowdsourcing based on commonalities among incidents. The framework includes prank activities, the intentional placement of false information, hacking attempts, DDoS attacks, botnet attacks, privacy violation attempts, and data breaches. Finally, the authors discuss example controls that can assist in identifying and mitigating disruption and deception risks in crowdsourcing.

The number of college students with autism/ASD is on a steep upward trajectory. These students often face challenges related to age-appropriate adaptive skills, independent living, and co-occurring mental health problems, which can make success in college elusive. Unfortunately, the availability of research-supported services and interventions to support these students is limited. This chapter describes seven different programs developed to support postsecondary students with autism/ASD, summarizes the research supporting their use, and suggests future directions in this area. These programs are designed to either help students transition into postsecondary education or to assist enrolled postsecondary students. The chapter also includes a discussion of commonalities between these programs (such as the frequent use of a “mentorship” method) as well as a case study.

The analysis of large-scale genomic data (such as sequences or expression patterns) frequently involves grouping genes based on common experimental features. The goal of manual or automated analysis of genomics data is to define groups of genes that have shared features within the data, and also have a common biological basis that can account for those commonalities. In utilizing algorithms that define groups of genes based on patterns in data it is critical to be able to assess whether the groups also share a common biological function. In practice, this goal is met by relying on biologists with an extensive understanding of diverse genes that decipher the biology accounting for genes with correlated patterns. They identify the relevant functions that account for experimental results. For example, experts routinely scan large numbers of gene expression clusters to see if any of the clusters are explained by a known biological function. Efficient definition and interpretation of these groups of genes is challenging because the number and diversity of genes exceed the ability of any single investigator to master. Here, we argue that computational methods can utilize the scientific literature to effectively assess groups of genes. Such methods can then be used to analyze groups of genes created by other bioinformatics algorithms, or actually assist in the definition of gene groups. In this chapter we explore statistical scoring methods that score the ‘‘coherence’’ of a gene group using only the scientific literature about the genes—that is whether or not a common function is shared between the genes in the group. We propose and evaluate such a method, and compare it to some other possible methods. In the subsequent chapter, we apply these concepts to gene expression analysis. The major concepts of this chapter are described in the frame box. We begin by introducing the concept of functional coherence. We describe four different strategies to assess the functional coherence of a group of genes. The final part of the chapter emphasizes the most effective of these methods, the neighbor divergence per gene. We present a discussion of its performance properties in general and on its robustness given imperfect groups. Finally we present an example of an application to gene expression array data.

Abstract This chapter turns to the mid-1990s, when the WHO’s Division of Mental Health developed a scale for the assessment of quality of life (WHOQOL) which departed radically from most such instruments at the time: it applied to both well and unwell populations, it was developed through a broad, systematic consultation process across various cultural settings, and it measured subjective well-being rather than the functional normality of a person. This chapter shows how throughout the 1990s, the Division developed a module for the WHOQOL to assess a hitherto overlooked aspect of well-being, which it termed ‘spirituality, religiousness and personal beliefs’ (SRPB). In its development, the researchers applied the same rigorous cross-cultural consultation that marked the WHOQOL methodology; but rather than identifying conventional biopsychosocial facets of quality of life, they brought together a group of medical and religious experts who sought to find commonalities across complex theological questions.

This chapter considers the broader lessons that might be drawn from the current study of person. It draws out the core commonalities between the person and number features that have been proposed: that features are “operations” richer than first-order predicates held together by conjunction; that they are not subject to extrinsic constraints on order of composition or co-occurrence; and that there are semantic and morphological grounds for representing features of both kinds bivalently. The consequences of this study might ramify beyond linguistics by altering our understanding of and means of investigating the language of thought and the nature and evolution of mind. The author asserts, contrary to widespread opinion, minds do leave fossils, but these are to be sought, not by paleoanthropologists sifting through the archeological record, but by cognitive scientists, including linguists, via our theories of the structure of the mind itself.

Software Product Lines (SPL) approaches are gradually being adopted as a powerful strategy for achieving high productivity and increasing quality in software engineering. A particular domain where the adoption of such approach may bring relevant benefits is the mobile game domain given the big diversity of handsets and the large number of commonalities among these games. However, applying SPL approaches in such domain is not trivial because of some restrictions, such as reduced memory and application size. In this context, this work presents a practical approach to implement core assets in a SPL in the mobile game domain combining good practices from previous work and briefly describing a case study performed with three mobile games.

Product families are groups of related products that take advantage of part commonalities at various levels to streamline delivery of maximal product variety with minimal cost impact and as short as possible lead-times. This paper proposes a new integrated product design method for build-to-order production system based products, using the product family concept, which considers product performance, delivery lead-time and inventory cost. The development and discussion of this method uses a switchgear design problem as a concrete and practical design case. A build-to-order production system has been applied to switchgear manufacturing due to its small-scale production and a variety of customer requirements. However, if the risk of maintaining unsold inventory can be decreased, manufacturers can justify holding an amount of versatile inventory. In this paper, inventory production system is applied to the switchgear production problem to shorten the delivery lead-time. The switchgear design and production problem is formulated using three objective functions, which are subassembly procurement lead-time, inventory cost and area occupied by various switchgear configurations. Moreover, to assist inventory cost evaluations, a simulation procedure for the inventory system is proposed. The proposed method is used to obtain a Pareto optimal solution set of the three objective functions. Finally, an example switchgear design problem is solved to illustrate that optimal use of component commonalities across different modules can significantly reduce inventory costs, while also shortening product delivery lead-times.

Workflows are the fundamental building blocks of business processes in any organization today. These workflows have attributes and outputs that make up various Operational, Management and Supporting processes, which in turn produce a specific outcome in the form of business value. Risk Assessment and Direct Assessment are examples of such processes; they define the individual tasks integrity engineers should carry out. According to ISO 55000, achieving excellence in Asset Management requires clearly defined objectives, transparent and consistent decision making, as well as a long-term strategic view. Specifically, it recommends well-defined policies and procedures (processes) to bring about performance and cost improvements, improved risk management, business growth and enhanced stakeholder confidence through compliance and improved reputation. In reality, such processes are interpreted differently all over the world, and the workflows that make up these processes are often defined by individual engineers and experts. An excellent example of this is Risk Assessment, where significant local variations in data sources, threat sources and other data elements, require the business to tailor its activities and models used. Successful risk management is about enabling transparent decision-making through clearly defined process-steps, but in practice it requires maintaining a degree of flexibility to tailor the process to the specific organizational needs. In this paper, we introduce common building blocks that have been identified to make up a Risk Assessment process and further examine how these blocks can be connected to fulfill the needs of multiple stakeholders, including data administrators, integrity engineers and regulators. Moving from a broader Business Process view to a more focused Integrity Management view, this paper will demonstrate how to formalize Risk Assessment processes by describing the activities, steps and deliverables of each using Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) as the standard modeling technique and extending it with an integrity-specific notation we have called Integrity Modelling Language or IML. It is shown that flexible modelling of integrity processes based on existing standards and best practices is possible within a structured approach; one which guides users and provides a transparent and auditable process inside the organization and beyond, based on commonalities defined by best practice guidelines, such as ISO 55000.

An emerging trend in defence and aerospace is the move from manufacturing and selling products to providing the availability of a product-related function based on long term contractual agreements between the customer and the service provider. Therefore the concern of the manufacturer as a service provider shifts towards all means that are required to ensure the availability of the product related function. This ultimately imposes the adoption of a broader perspective on a complex system of interconnected and interdependent activities undertaken by a diverse network of stakeholders for the achievement of a common purpose. Nonetheless, a consistent and comprehensive way to represent such complex systems is not yet agreed upon in the literature. For the purpose of estimating the costs of a Product Service System (PSS) delivery, a consistent and common representation of products and services is a necessary precondition. The focus of this paper is to contribute to the debate by proposing the use of knowledge as the underlying foundation for representing products, services and PSS. Building upon inter-disciplinary literature, differing concepts of PSS are discussed, in order to identify recurring aspects and commonalities between product and service. While it could be recognised that technology represents such a common element, it is also recognised that differing definitions of technology do not facilitate the discussion about product, service, and PSS. Instead, evidence is found for the argument that applied knowledge can be seen as the underlying foundation for products, service and PSS. In this sense, knowledge is not considered as a single asset, but rather a composition of different kinds of knowledge. The authors propose the application of knowledge to a process-based approach, which facilitates the representation of products and services by overcoming their distinction in a consistent way. While the composition of knowledge related to each process is a necessary precondition to enable the successful delivery of a PSS, it furthermore requires knowledge about integration of all process inputs, outputs and the processes’ dynamics within a given environment. Herewith the focus shifts to the preconditions that enable the successful delivery of a PSS, such as available set of skills and underlying process understanding. Discussing the role knowledge plays in current cost estimation methods it is found that — despite its importance — knowledge is not always clearly defined, and very often it is reduced to repository-based data retrieval systems. The proposed knowledge-based process-orientated approach aims to facilitate investigating products, services, PSS, and the underlying production and delivery systems by representing them in a transparent and consistent way. While this is generally not bound to a particular type of analysis, the motivation originates from estimating the costs of a PSS delivery.

The authors introduce the general concepts, definitions and issues related to the use of Risk-informed decision-making (RIDM). These are structured processes which assist decision-makers when faced with high impact, complex decisions involving multiple objectives and the presence of uncertainty. They aim to ensure that decisions between competing alternatives are taken with an awareness of the risks associated with each option, and that all attributes of a decision are considered in an integrated manner. Motivations for the use of these techniques as a complement to more traditional deterministic approaches to risk assessment are provided. The RIDM processes adopted by NASA and by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission are described in detail, with an analysis of commonalities and differences in approach.

In recent years, the number of publicly available tools and indices assessing social determinants of health (SDOH) has grown exponentially. While many of these indices have been developed to assist researchers and practitioners with identifying vulnerable communities, it is difficult to determine the most appropriate measure, index, or combination of indices to use given the research question of interest. This paper presents an overview of the most commonly included indices, highlights commonalities, and identifies some differences in what they measure. We also discuss challenges with using these measures, including the use of state level data to examine local level issues and how the use of atheoretical indices challenges the application of SDOH measurement. Findings are intended to provide researchers and practitioners with information about SDOH data available through these common indices to inform how they are applied based on the needs of their work.

Risk induced by natural hazards and climate change has been accelerating worldwide, leading to adverse impacts on communities' well-being. Dealing with this risk is increasingly complex and requires cross-sectoral action. Adaptive Social Protection (ASP) has emerged as a promising approach to strengthen the resilience of communities by integrating Social Protection (SP), Disaster Risk Management (DRM) and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) efforts. To inform this integration and thereby support the development of a functional ASP approach, the identification and provision of relevant data and information are vital. In this context, risk assessments are crucial as they establish the groundwork for the design of effective ASP interventions. However, despite the importance of risk information for ASP and the abundance of sectoral assessments, there is not yet a comprehensive risk assessment approach, a reality that also applies to Indonesia. Although the country is one of the international pioneers of the concept and has enshrined ASP at the highest national level in its development plans, this emphasis in policy and practice has been hampered by the absence of more unified assessment methods. The Hazard, Exposure and Vulnerability Assessment (HEVA) presented here takes a unique approach to develop such a cross-sectoral risk assessment and apply it throughout Indonesia. The HEVA brings together different risk understandings of key actors both internationally and domestically within SP, DRM and CCA, as well as identifying commonalities across sectors to establish a joint understanding. The HEVA not only considers risk as an overarching outcome but also focuses on its drivers, i.e. hazards, exposure and vulnerability, to identify why specific communities are at risk and thus customize ASP interventions. Subsequently, risks are assessed for Indonesia’s regions and provinces based on this cross-sectoral risk understanding. Secondary data has been acquired from various existing sectoral assessments conducted in Indonesia, and in total, data for 44 indicators has been compiled to calculate hazard, exposure and vulnerability levels for all 34 Indonesian provinces. Findings of the HEVA suggest that overall risk is high in Indonesia and no single province can be characterized as a low-risk area, demonstrating a strong relevance for ASP throughout the whole of the country. Papua, Maluku, and Central Sulawesi were identified as provinces with the highest overall risk in Indonesia. However, even Yogyakarta, which was identified as a comparatively low-risk province, still ranks among the ten most hazard-prone provinces in the country and has a demonstrated history of severe impact events. This also underlines that the composition of risk based on the interplay of hazard, exposure and vulnerability differs significantly among provinces. For example, in Papua and West Papua, vulnerability ranks as the highest in Indonesia, while hazard and exposure levels are comparatively low. In contrast, East Java and Central Java are among the highest hazard-prone provinces, while exposure and vulnerability are comparatively low. The results provide much more comprehensive insight than individual sectoral analyses can offer, facilitating the strategic development and implementation of targeted ASP interventions that address the respective key risk components. Based on lessons learned from the development and application of the HEVA approach, as well as from the retrieved results, the report provides recommendations relevant for policymakers, practitioners and researchers. First, recommendations regarding risk assessments for ASP are given, emphasizing the need to bring together sectoral understandings and to consider the interconnection of hazards, exposure and vulnerability, including their drivers and root causes, to assess current and future risk. It is also recommended to complement national level assessments with more specific local assessments. Secondly, recommendations regarding ASP option development in general are provided, including the importance of considering side effects of interventions, root causes of risks, the potential of nature-based solutions and barriers to implementation due to local capacities when designing ASP interventions. Third, recommendations regarding focal areas for ASP programmes are outlined for the case of Indonesia, such as prioritizing interventions in risk hotspots and areas characterized by high readiness for ASP solutions. At the same time, it is vital to leave no region behind as all provinces face risks that potentially jeopardize communities’ well-being.