Effective Utilization of Government-Provided CTI by Small Businesses within the Defense Industrial Base

There are two broad objectives of the research reported in this paper. First, we assess whether government-provided cyber threat intelligence (CTI) is helpful in preventing, or responding to, cyber-attacks among small businesses within the U.S. Defense Industrial Base (DIB). Second, we identify ways of improving the effectiveness of government-provided CTI to small businesses within the DIB. Based on a questionnaire-based survey, our findings suggest that government-provided CTI helps businesses within the DIB in preventing, or responding to, cyber-attacks providing a firm is familiar with the CTI. Unfortunately, a large percentage of small firms are not familiar with the government-provided CTI feeds and consequently are not utilizing the CTI. This latter situation is largely due to financial constraints confronting small businesses that prevent firms from having the wherewithal necessary to effectively utilize the government-provided CTI. However, we found a significant positive association between a firm’s familiarity with the government-provided CTI and whether a firm is being periodically reviewed by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) or is compliant with the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program. The findings from our study also show that the participating firms believe that external cyber threats are more likely to be the cause of a future cybersecurity breach than internal cybersecurity threats. Finally, our study found that the portion of the IT budget that small businesses within the DIB spend on cybersecurity-related activities is dependent on the perception that a firm would be the target of an external cyber-attack.

Reinforcing of Citizen’s Trust in E-Government: The Cameroon’s Case

The embracing of ICTs and related technologies has enhanced different approaches for governments worldwide to deliver services to their citizens in a smart way. However, the usage of e-government services by common citizens is recognized as one of the major setbacks of e-government development in both developed and developing countries. Moreover, government agencies in these countries are facing great challenges in keeping the citizens motivated enough to continue to use e-government services. This research aims to investigate the factors that influence citizens’ trust towards continue use of e-government services in Cameroon. The proposed research model consisted of three main constructs including technological, governmental, risk factors as well as six demographic characteristics (age, gender, educational level, income, internet experience and cultural perception). A five-point Likert scale questionnaire was designed to collect data physically and electronically, 352 valid questionnaires were retrieved. Simple and Multiple regression analysis methods were applied to build an adequate model based on the verification of hypotheses proposed. Based on results obtained, four demographic characteristics (age, education, occupation and income) have influence on citizens’ trust in e-government meanwhile gender and cultural affiliation have no influence. Furthermore, technological factors and governmental factors positively influence trust level in e-government, whereas risk factors have a negative influence on trust level. Deducing from the results, a list of recommendations is proposed to the government of Cameroon in order to reinforce citizens’ trust in e-government services.

Aspirations on the Bright Side of Humanity: It is Time to Translate Aspirations Into Actions With Establishing the Government of Earth

The thesis of this paper is that the digital noosphere of the World Wide Web and its users,the borderless move of virtually all resources of the planet,and the consequent globalization of most aspects of national politics,economy,and culture,along with the increasing difficulty of controlling the related high-tech military conflicts,human-made environmental crises,and the abnormal migrations of abused people now make it inevitable to leave behind the competitive international chaos rooted in humankind’s animal past and turn to the cooperative social spirit recommended by Aristotle,Lao Tzu,Jesus,Dante,H.G.Wells,Martin Luther King Jr.,John Lennon,Nicholas Hagger,and others to finally translate their aspirations into actions via establishing the Government of Earth for the decent and free.The paper presents a five-step,15-year,~$25B plan to start this process.That this plan has nothing to do with the Godless work of secret societies,the authoritarian urges of renewed fascism or the political absurdities of Marxism-Leninism it is relayed by the envisioned Intercontinental Education System of the outlined Government of Earth to teach every child on the planet-via a new community of digitally linked extraordinary teachers-for the beauty of lifelong learning,tolerance,duty,honor,free cooperation,and artful communication for divine missions.

A Tutorial on Federated Learning from Theory to Practice:Foundations,Software Frameworks,Exemplary Use Cases,and Selected Trends

When data privacy is imposed as a necessity,Federated learning(FL)emerges as a relevant artificial intelligence field for developing machine learning(ML)models in a distributed and decentralized environment.FL allows ML models to be trained on local devices without any need for centralized data transfer,thereby reducing both the exposure of sensitive data and the possibility of data interception by malicious third parties.This paradigm has gained momentum in the last few years,spurred by the plethora of real-world applications that have leveraged its ability to improve the efficiency of distributed learning and to accommodate numerous participants with their data sources.By virtue of FL,models can be learned from all such distributed data sources while preserving data privacy.The aim of this paper is to provide a practical tutorial on FL,including a short methodology and a systematic analysis of existing software frameworks.Furthermore,our tutorial provides exemplary cases of study from three complementary perspectives:i)Foundations of FL,describing the main components of FL,from key elements to FL categories;ii)Implementation guidelines and exemplary cases of study,by systematically examining the functionalities provided by existing software frameworks for FL deployment,devising a methodology to design a FL scenario,and providing exemplary cases of study with source code for different ML approaches;and iii)Trends,shortly reviewing a non-exhaustive list of research directions that are under active investigation in the current FL landscape.The ultimate purpose of this work is to establish itself as a referential work for researchers,developers,and data scientists willing to explore the capabilities of FL in practical applications.

Influence mechanism of government subsidy on the green transformation of coal company in China

The optimization of government subsidies to enhance the efficiency of coal companies’green transformation constitutes a critical component in the pursuit of global sustainability.We investigate the influence mechanism of government subsidies on the green transformation using data from the listed coal companies in China from 2007 to 2022.According to our findings and hypothesis testing,previous government subsidies did not have a significant direct impact on coal companies’green transformation.Nevertheless,government subsidies can help coal companies transition to greener practices by promoting innovative green initiatives.Furthermore,we confirmed an indirect route:that government subsidies enable the adoption of low-carbon initiatives,which in turn could facilitate the transition of coal companies towards green practices.In addition,we discovered that the coal company’s digitization will improve this indirect route.Thus,we propose increasing the effectiveness of government subsidies in facilitating coal companies’transition to green practices by focusing on technological advancements and enhancing company digitalization.

Changes and Adjustments:The Rule of Law Response to Medical Institution Data Compliance

Medical institution data compliance is an exogenous product of the digital society,serving as a crucial means to maintain and balance the relationship between data protection and data sharing,as well as individual interests and public interests.The implementation of the Healthy China Initiative greatly benefits from its practical significance.In practice,data from medical institutions takes varied forms,including personally identifiable data collected before diagnosis and treatment,clinical medical data generated during diagnosis and treatment,medical data collected in public health management,and potential medical data generated in daily life.In the new journey of comprehensively promoting the Chinese path to modernization,it is necessary to clarify the shift from an individual-oriented to a societal-oriented value system,highlighting the reinforcing role of the trust concept.Guided by the principle of minimizing data utilization,the focus is on the new developments and changes in medical institution data in the postpandemic era.This involves a series of measures such as fulfilling the obligation of notification and consent,specifying the scope of data collection and usage,strengthening the standardized use of relevant technical measures,and establishing a sound legal responsibility system for data compliance.Through these measures,a flexible and efficient medical institution data compliance system can be constructed.

Reform of the Irrigation Sector and Creation of Functional and Sustainable Irrigation Water Users Associations (AUEI) in Niger: Capitalization of the Experience of the Konni AHA

During the 1980s, as part of a policy of liberalization, following budgetary cuts linked to the implementation of structural adjustment programs, management responsibilities for AHAs were transferred from ONAHA to cooperatives concerned. Due to lack of financial resources, but also because of poor management, everywhere in Niger we are witnessing an accelerated deterioration of the irrigation infrastructure of hydro-agricultural developments. Institutional studies carried out on this situation led the State of Niger to initiate a reform of the governance of hydro-agricultural developments, by streng-thening the status of ONAHA, by creating an Association of Irrigation Water Users (AUEI) and by restructuring the old cooperatives. Indeed, this research aims to analyze the creation of functional and sustainable Irrigation Water User Associations (AUEI) in Niger in a context of reform of the irrigation sector, and based on the experience of the Konni AHA. It is based on a methodological approach which takes into account documentary research and the collection of data from 115 farmers, selected by reasoned choice and directly concerned by the management of the irrigated area. The data collected was analyzed and the results were analyzed using the systemic approach and the diagnostic process. The results show that the main mission of the AUEI is to ensure better management of water, hydraulic equipment and infrastructure on the hydro-agricultural developments of Konni. The creation of the Konni AUEI was possible thanks to massive support from the populations and authorities in the implementation process. After its establishment, the AUEI experienced a certain lethargy for some time due to the rehabilitation work of the AHA but currently it is functional and operational in terms of associative life and governance. Thus, the constraints linked to the legal system, the delay in the completion of the work, the uncertainties of access to irrigation water but also the problems linked to the change in mentality of certain ONAHA agents constitute the challenges that must be resolved in the short term for the operationalization of the Konni AUEI.

Employment and development levels in rural areas of the Russian Federation

The development of agro-industrial complex is important for ensuring national food security and national health.The development of rural areas is subject to the development of agriculture and local infrastructure,as well as the availability of various services.This study selected 15 indicators in 2021 to analyze the employment and development levels in rural areas of 71 regions of the Russian Federation using the analytical grouping method.The results indicated that 20 regions(Group 1)had the highest percentage of rural population(33.10%).The percentage of population engaged in agriculture had the highest value(12.40%)in 31 regions(Group 2).Moreover,20 regions(Group 3)had the highest investments in fixed assets at the expense of municipal budget(11.80 USD/person).Increasing the investments in fixed assets carried out from the budget of the municipality can improve the employment level in rural areas.Then,we used cluster analysis to divide 14 regions of the Volga Federal District in the Russian Federation into 3 clusters.Cluster 1 covered Kirov Region and Republic of Mari El;Cluster 2 included Ulyanovsk Region,Saratov Region,Nizhny Novgorod Region,Perm Territory,Orenburg Region,Chuvash Region,and Republic of Mordovia;and Cluster 3 contained Republic of Tatarstan,Samara Region,Udmurtian Republic,Penza Region,and Republic of Bashkortostan.Results indicated that the 2 regions of Cluster 1 need to increase the availability of resources and natural gas and improve the investment attractiveness of rural areas.The 7 regions of Cluster 2 needed to develop infrastructure,public services,and agricultural production.We found the highest employment level in rural areas,the largest investments in fixed assets at the expense of municipal budget,the largest residential building area per 10,000 persons,and the largest individual residential building area in the 5 regions of Cluster 3.This study makes it possible to draw up a comprehensive regional development program and proves the need for the development of rural areas,which is especially important for the sustainable development of the Russian Federation.

Rights Risks of Using Affective Computing Technology in Public Governance and Their Regulation

As the frontier of intelligent computing technology,affective computing has been used in border inspection,case investigation,crime assessment,public opinion management,traffic management and other scenarios of public governance.However,there are still public risks associated with its failure to meet the basic requirements of modern public governance,and these risks are rooted in its technical characteristics.The technical characteristics of turning emotions into signals can give rise to such problems as degrading the right to informed consent,de-governance,and undermining human dignity when applied in public governance,and consequently can lead to social rights anxiety.Additionally,the affective modeling characteristics of affective computing tend to incur the rights risks of insufficient algorithm accuracy,algorithmic discrimination,and algorithmic black boxes.To avoid these risks,it is necessary to adopt the dynamic consent model as the premise for applying affective computing in public governance,and to regulate the auxiliary application of affective computing in public governance in a hierarchical manner,to achieve a balance between the application of affective computing technology and the protection of citizens'rights and the maintenance of public ethics.

The Impact of Transformational Leadership on Commitment to Change Among Jordanian Government Accountant Toward IPSAS Implementation

IPSAS was accepted by Jordan’s government in accordance with worldwide trends.The Jordanian Ministry of Finance launched cash-basis IPSAS in 2015 and planned to implement accrual accounting by January 1,2021.However,the commitment to change remains uneven,hindering the full shift.Moving from old accounting processes to new ones is tough.Even then,it hasn’t been implemented,creating a gap due to the difficulty in committing to new accounting standards throughout implementation due to obstacles.Thus,knowing government accountants’issues is essential to applying IPSAS in government accounting.This study examines how transformational leadership affects government accountants’commitment to IPSAS adoption in Jordan’s public sector.This study used a quantitative approach to survey Jordanian Ministry of Finance accountants.The 384-person study had a 78%response rate.Additionally,PLS-SEM was used to confirm variable relationships.Transformational leadership positively predicted IPSAS implementation,according to the study.

English Translation of Chinese Natural Ecological Discourse:A Corpus-based Case Study on Xi Jinping:The Governance of China

Amid the increasingly severe global natural eco-environment,it is necessary to build a natural ecological civilization by constructing an ecological civilization discourse.Against this background,this study compiles a corpus of natural ecological discourse in the English translation of Xi Jinping:The Governance of China(short for Xi).By using Wordsmith and AntConc,this study explores the linguistic features of the ecological discourse in English translation of Xi in the following dimensions,including high-frequency words,keywords,word collocations,concordance lines.This study aims to analyze the concepts and attitudes towards natural ecology,so as to provide certain valuable insights for the construction of China’s discourse on natural ecological civilization.The study found that the natural ecology discourse involving in the English translation of Xi turned out to be ecologically beneficial.

Exploration of the Impact Mechanism of Government Credibility Based on Variable Screening Method

Government credibility is an important asset of contemporary national governance, an important criterion for evaluating government legitimacy, and a key factor in measuring the effectiveness of government governance. In recent years, researchers’ research on government credibility has mostly focused on exploring theories and mechanisms, with little empirical research on this topic. This article intends to apply variable selection models in the field of social statistics to the issue of government credibility, in order to achieve empirical research on government credibility and explore its core influencing factors from a statistical perspective. Specifically, this article intends to use four regression-analysis-based methods and three random-forest-based methods to study the influencing factors of government credibility in various provinces in China, and compare the performance of these seven variable selection methods in different dimensions. The research results show that there are certain differences in simplicity, accuracy, and variable importance ranking among different variable selection methods, which present different importance in the study of government credibility issues. This study provides a methodological reference for variable selection models in the field of social science research, and also offers a multidimensional comparative perspective for analyzing the influencing factors of government credibility.

Research on the Relationship between the School-Running Characteristics of Private Colleges and Universities and the Development Objectives of the Government

The development objectives of the Chinese government have a guiding effect on the school-running characteristics of private colleges and universities.This paper explores the relationship between the characteristics of private colleges and universities and the development objectives of the provincial government,using Jiangsu Province as a case study.All the schools have the consciousness of fully considering the development objectives of Jiangsu Province when formulating the school-running characteristics.Their characteristics all contain some training methods,training courses,or institutional construction aiming at the development objectives.Most universities can support the government’s objectives on employment and innovation.Only a third of the schools provide government support for science research.Private colleges and universities should make full use of the free and flexible advantages of private education,combine them with the continuous changes of policies and markets,and create clear,scientific,and dynamic school-running characteristics,in order to achieve long-term development.

Revisiting the Spirit of the UDHR and Discussing Human Rights Development——Summary of Views from the Seminar Commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

On December 4,2023,the China Society for Human Rights Studies hosted a seminar in Beijing commemorating the 75^(th) Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.Participants discussed topics such as the significance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,China’s theories and practices in respecting and safeguarding human rights,the three global initiatives and global human rights governance,human rights protection in the digital age,and telling Chinese stories of human rights in the new era.The discussions led to a broad consensus and achieved positive results.

From EBIT to SEBIT(Sustainable EBIT):Sustainable Performance Accounting(SPA)Using the Example of CO_(2) Accounting

Corporate sustainability reporting has become increasingly important in recent years.However,conventional approaches reach their limits when it comes to quantifying and measuring the actual sustainability performance of a company.This article presents a new approach:Sustainable Performance Accounting(SPA),which is based on an extension of bookkeeping by including ESG bookkeeping.SPA enables companies to systematically measure and manage their sustainability performance.The article provides an overview of the basics of SPA methodology and uses a comprehensive example showing how SPA can be implemented in practice.The article is aimed at interested readers from science and practice as well as decision-makers who are interested in future-oriented sustainability reporting.

Research on the Policy Orientation of Government in Agricultural Industrialization Development

Governmental functions in agricultural industrialization management are analyzed, mainly including supplying public products, providing property right security, managing and protecting resources and environment as well as stabilizing the agro-product market. The policy orientation promoted by the government in agricultural industrialization management is pointed out: formulating a series of macro-management planning to guide and regulate agricultural industrialization operation; fully playing the comprehensive coordinating role of "economic manager"; making and carrying out relevant laws and regulations to normalize the implementation of agricultural industrialization management. To implement the industrial management of agriculture and promote the construction of new countryside, governments at all levels should eliminate the institutional barriers, transform governmental functions gradually and prioritize planning, regulation, service and supervision, changing from merely management to playing the role of market mechanism. Meanwhile, economic, legal and administrative means should be properly adopted to advance the industrial management and the healthy improvement of modern agriculture.

Role of government subsidies in the new energy vehicle charging infrastructure industry:a three-party game perspective

With the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation,China has posited the direction of“new infrastructure”in 2020.As one of the seven major industries of the“new infrastructure”,the charging infrastructure(CI)industry not only supports the upgrade of the new energy vehicle industry but also provides developing platforms for emerging industries,such as wireless charging,energy storage,smart microgrid,and new energy consumption.Therefore,the government’s supporting role is crucial for the CI industry.To effectively explore the effectiveness of government’s subsidy policy in the CI industry and promote its healthy development,we employed a game model and discussed the government's evolution process of different game strategies between CI and battery-swapping station(BSS)operators in this study.First,China's government subsidies for the electric vehicle(EV)industry were classified into CIs and BSSs.The subsidies obtained by the CI operators were operating subsidies,whereas those obtained by BSSs were investment subsidies.Second,a game model was constructed,involving the government,operators,and users.The model used backward induction to seek the refined Nash equilibrium solution for CIs and BSS operators.The Nash equilibrium solution indicated that the optimal investment amount and BSS quantity of the operator were positively correlated with the government subsidy intensity.When the profitability of the operators increased and the amount of the subsidies increased,consumers’willingness to use EVs increased and the policy effects were closely related to the benefits of government management.The decisions made by either the users or the operators were inversely related to the operators’management efficiency.Besides,the subsidy policy was affected by the government management.Therefore,in the implementation stage of the government’s future subsidy policies,the government needs to innovate and improve management effectiveness.The government could use subsidy policies as a driving force for developing the CI industry to build a comprehensive ecosystem of the industry,which is also the next key point for the government to promote the development of the CI industry in the future.

Changes and Trends in the Independence of the US Federal Reserve Following the Financial Crisis

In 2018, US President Donald Trump repeatedly and publicly criticized the US Federal Reserve for raising interest rates too quickly, breaking the long-established precedent for presidents to refrain from intervening in monetary policy and putting the independence of the Federal Reserve into question. However, this is only the latest development of a longer process: since the financial crisis, the Federal Reserve has been gradually losing its independence, in a quiet and perhaps permanent way. There are several reasons for this trend: the Federal Reserve’s performance during the financial crisis undermined its credibility, the consolidation of political factors arranged against its independence, and the consequences of the financial crisis weakened the economic foundation for its independence. Trump’s rise to power has only strengthened these factors, bringing an additional loss of independence, which will have a profound impact on the economy, society, and politics.

Construction of an evaluation system for the service capabilities of government to business (G2B) web portals

On the basis of analyzing both domestic and foreign evaluation systems for the e-government and also taking into account of the current situation of government portals in urban centers,the paper is aimed to construct an evaluation system primarily for the measurement of the service capability of business-oriented G2B portals of local governments in general and those G2B portals of the new development zones in particular.This system is composed of 6 first tier indicators,18 second tier indicators and 90 third tier indicators.And the weight of each indicator is determined by Delphi Method and Analytic Hierarchy Process(AHP) Method.Subsequently,we used this system to evaluate the government portals of Tianjin Binhai New Area and Shanghai Pudong New Area and proved to have the desired practicability.

The Application for Measuring the Maturity Level of Information Technology Governance on Indonesian Government Agencies Using COBIT 4.1 Framework

Investment of information technology (IT) in the government sector in Indonesia continues to increase every year. However, this increase has not been followed by good governance due to the lack of attention to good IT management. Measurement of IT governance is therefore required as a basis for the continuous improvement of the IT services to government agencies. This study is aimed at producing an application to measure the maturity level of IT governance in government institutions, thus facilitating the process of improvement of IT services. The application developed is based on COBIT 4.1 framework and the design used is Unified Modeling Language. Through stages of information system development, this research results in an application for measuring the maturity level of IT governance that can be used by government agencies in assessing existing IT governance.