Grief is all around us these days. With nearly 200,000 Americans dead from a perniciously contagious virus, the number of friends and loved ones in mourning is incalculable. For those of us still walking, grieving is even harder when that health crisis suspends our daily lives, making the normal processing of loss and sorrow even more difficult.

Now imagine youre in prison.

Apart from the daily pain of incarceration, where fear and guilt are the unwelcome daily companions to the base-level disquiet all Americans are living through. Even more so than the rest of us, the incarcerated have little chance for escape. (Figuratively speaking, of course.) But, for a Maine dancer and the moviemaker who filmed her grief-themed dance performance, escape has come from a most unlikely place.

We dont deal well with grief in our culture and society, and its even worse in a prison system where theres more grief and even less access to resources, said Portlands Lindsey Bourassa, whose multimedia dance performance El Lobo y La Paloma (The Wolf and the Dove) was filmed in 2017-18 by producer/directors David Camlin and Scott Sutherland and recently picked up by Edovo, a company dedicated to bringing educational, arts, and communication projects to people in the nations prisons and jails. Its also available for rent or purchase through Vimeo for those on the outside.

Inspired by a poem written by Bourassas father about the long-ago death of her mother, El Lobo y La Poloma sees Bourassa and fellow flamenco dancer Megan Keogh physically manifesting the grieving process over projected paintings by Khosro Berahmandi and a striking performance by singer Talal Alzefiri and musician Thomas Kovacevic. Incorporating narration of her fathers poem and her own on the subject of death and loss, the film is simultaneously passionate, theatrical, and for those of us not versed in the art of dance mysterious. Even opaque.

Its resonated with incarcerated viewers to an extent that even Bourassa and Camlin have found surprising. As an artist, youre always looking for ways to bring your work to different populations, to make it accessible there, says Bourassa. Flamenco is a really great art form for telling stories, because, while its very technical, its goal is emotional. Sometimes I feel it touches people in a way that maybe other forms that are less outwardly emotional cant.

While El Lobo y La Poloma wasnt conceived with incarcerated audiences in mind, both Camlin and Bourassa tout Edovos approach to bringing uplifting, thought-provoking art behind prison walls where such experiences are perpetually scarce. Edovos whole concept is education-based learning experience, explains Camlin, who splits his professional life between Maine and Michigan. From muffin recipes to GED tracks to skill training, its all about personal development. Our goal was to develop a learning component to go along with the film.

Camlin notes that he and Bourassa went through a learning process, as well. We initially thought about bringing this to a group setting, like we have at public screenings of the film, where Ive witnessed some of the best conversations Ive ever seen. But for a lot of incarcerated people, there isnt a person they can trust enough to show their emotions. So we tailored it to an individual experience.

Introduced to Edovo by the PMAs Jon Courtney (whose work promoting prison education and arts weve profiled at Indie Film), Bourassa and Camlin alongside Hospice of Southern Maine counselor Carol Schonberg have created an immersive experience about processing grief that has clearly struck a chord. They started to receive positive feedback from incarcerated viewers within days of the films Edovo release, and the pair say the anonymous responses have been sometimes overwhelming. (One unedited response reads, I didnt take my losses well and this shows me a way to turn pain into art, while another states plainly, Makes me wanna fix my ways so im remebered by something impressive.)

For a work so personal, the success of El Lobo y La Paloma in touching people in need has been humbling for Bourassa. Noting that her own process has been one of realizing that joy and creativity are as much a part of grieving as sadness, Bourassa says, The feedback is so helpful in asking, What does this work do? How is this helpful? Thats what struck me how they want to leave a legacy, want to be remembered for something really wonderful.

El Lobo y La Paloma can be seen on-demand at Vimeo. For more of Lindsey Bourassas dance and David Camlins filmmaking work, check out their respective websites, bourassadance.com and 7cylinders.com.

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Processing grief through dance - Portland Press Herald - Press Herald

At TU Dresden, School of Engineering Sciences, the newly established Lab Dresden Centre for Intelligent Materials (DCIM) offers in the field of Materials Informatics data-driven approaches for materials research a position as

Research Associate / Group Leader

(Subject to personal qualification employees are remunerated according to salary group E 14 TV-L)

starting at the next possible date and limited until 31.12.2022. The period of employment is governed by the Fixed Term Research Contracts Act (Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz - WissZeitVG).

The Lab Dresden Centre for Intelligent Materials (GCL DCIM) is focused on novel materials which, as a central component of intelligent systems, feel, think and act autonomously through integrated sensory and actuator functionalities. It initially consists of the two research groups Hierarchical Topologies structures with material-inherent control functions and Materials Informatics data-driven approaches for materials research and is intended to establish complementary competencies and to develop promising future research areas.

The research group Materials Informatics is concerned with data-driven approaches for the description and integration of novel tailor-made materials. Modern materials research requires an integrative and multidisciplinary approach, which increasingly relies on methods from mathematics and computer science in addition to traditional approaches from chemistry, physics and engineering. In particular, machine learning and the evaluation of "big data" are essential for tomorrow's materials research and related engineering sciences. The development of strategies for materials discovery and development are therefore the focus of Materials Informatics.

You will be part of a team of enthusiastic scientists who will creatively pursue their individual research agenda, inspired by the innovative approach and support of the Centre. Your research environment will include access to state-of-the-art research infrastructure, the promotion of gender equality and a family-friendly working environment.

Tasks: You will be integrated into the activities of the Materials Informatics research group and will interact with scientists in the field of computational materials research involved in the Dresden Centre for Computational Materials Science (DCMS). The tasks include - in the field of development and application of data-driven approaches for the description and integration of novel tailor-made materials - besides own research activities, the monitoring of the scientific development of the group, an active role in the collaboration with internal and external partners in research and industry and the acquisition of external funding. The position offers perfect perspectives for personal development within the framework of a university career from postdoc to group leader. The willingness to prepare an application for an individual junior research group (e.g. Emmy Noether Group, ERC Starting Grant) is expected and supported.

Requirements: a university degree and a doctorate are required, preferably in physics, chemistry, mechanical engineering, materials science or computer science. Personal initiative, the ability to work independently as well as team-oriented research and excellent language skills (German, English) are expected. Experience in the field of materials simulations, with a special focus on data-based and data-intensive approaches and materials genomics is considered advantageous. We are looking for a top notch proactive young scientist who wants to make a name for herself or himself in science.

Applications from women are particularly welcome. The same applies to people with disabilities.

Please submit your comprehensive application including a letter of motivation, a two-page research statement about your possible contribution to the scientific activities of the group considering the research environment at TU Dresden and the scientific environment in Dresden, CV, complete list of publications and at least two letters of reference as one single pdf-file until 22.10.2020 (stamped arrival date of the university central mail service applies) preferably via the TU Dresden SecureMail Portal https://securemail.tu-dresden.de by sending it to dcim@tu-dresden.de with the subject in the header: "Application DCIM Materials Informatics, your_surname" or by mail to TU Dresden, Fakultt Maschinenwesen, Institut fr Werkstoffwissenschaft, Professur fr Materialwissenschaft und Nanotechnik, Herrn Prof. Dr. Gianaurelio Cuniberti, Helmholtzstr. 10, 01069 Dresden. Please submit copies only, as your application will not be returned to you. Expenses incurred in attending interviews cannot be reimbursed.

Reference to data protection: Your data protection rights, the purpose for which your data will be processed, as well as further information about data protection is available to you on the website: https: //tu-dresden.de/karriere/datenschutzhinweis

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Research Associate / Group Leader in the field of Materials Informatics data-driven approaches for job with TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAT DRESDEN (TU...

With severe osteoarthritis in my left hip, I am due to have a hip replacement. My having been a wicket-keeper for over 30 years cant have helped, but I also have a long-standing deformity in that hip, and the right hip is fine. So today I went for a preoperative assessment.

To assess the origins of assessment we must start with the IndoEuropean root SED, to put something down or sit.

In Latin, SED gives the verb sedre, to sit. Its not obvious, but in Greek it gives the verb , to sit. The S in the IndoEuropean root becomes an aspirate in Greek (see Box 1).

Add to the prefix , down, and you get , to sit down. Akathisia is an inability to sit still, associated with an inner feeling of restlessness. It is sometimes caused by dopamine receptor antagonists, such as chlorpromazine and haloperidol. The focal form of akathisia, the restless legs syndrome, also called Ekboms syndrome or WillisEkbom disease, if severe, is sometimes treated with dopamine receptor agonists.

Related to is the Greek verb , which also means to sit. Add a suffix, , on or over, and we get the verb, , to sit heavily on, to press down. This gives us the English prefix piezo-, referring to physical phenomena that are elicited by the application of pressure, such as the piezoelectric effect, piezomagnetism, and piezoresistance.

The Greek nouns from are and , each meaning some form of seat. This gave -, metaphorically referring to each base (or seat) of a many-sided three-dimensional figure, such as an octahedron or dodecahedron. The Greeks regarded each of the five regular polyhedra (tetrahedron, cube, octahedron, dodecahedron, and icosahedron), also called the Platonic solids, as being intrinsic to the construction of the universe. In his Mysterium Cosmographicum (1596), the German astronomer Johannes Kepler proposed a model of the solar system in which the five Platonic solids sat inside one another, interlaid with a series of inscribed and circumscribed spheres (Figure 1).

Add to and you get , a chair or throne, especially for a teacher, a professor, or a bishop. Anyone who speaks ex cathedra does so with authority, or more often with apparent authority. And a cathedral is where the bishop sits. In French a cathedra becomes a chaise, from which we have the now largely obsolete chaise-longue. In an essay titled The First Mrs. Tanqueray in a collection called While Rome Burns (1934), the American critic Alexander Woollcott quoted Mrs Patrick Campbell as having referred to The deep, deep peace of the double-bed after the hurly-burly of the chaise-longue.

Now add to and we get Ephedra, a genus of plants that trail along the ground, from which comes the adrenoceptor agonist ephedrine.

In Latin SED gave sedre, to sit, giving us sit and seat and many other English words (Figure 2). Add the prefix ad, beside or towards, and you get ad sedre, contracted to assidre, literally to sit beside. An assessor was originally one who sat beside a judge or other official, as an assistant, giving advice. When I was Oxford University Assessor some years ago, an elderly visiting Royal asked me whom I assessed. I told her that I didnt assess anyone, but assisted the Proctors, Senior and Junior, the university officials appointed annually from among the rank and file of the university, primarily to take care of student discipline and to oversee examinations.

An assessor was also one who assisted tax collectors, and so assessment came to mean fixing the rate of tax or determining the amount owed by an individual. From there it came to mean determining other matters, evaluating a person or thing or estimating the quality, value, or extent of anything.

Assessment of people normally involves others, but these days we are all being encouraged to assess ourselves, as part of our personal development, and to plan our future work on the basis of the outcomes. Is this helpful, or are we fooling ourselves? I shall look at the evidence next week.

Jeffrey Aronsonis a clinical pharmacologist, working in the Centre for Evidence Based Medicine in Oxfords Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences. He is also president emeritus of the British Pharmacological Society.

Competing interests:None declared.

Read the original here:
Jeffrey Aronson: When I Use a Word . . . Assessment - The BMJ - The BMJ

A year-long examination of global work patterns and plans has found that, by 2035, employees will become more engaged and productive and fuel innovation and growth. This is a key finding of Work 2035, a study undertaken by Citrix Systems to understand how work will change and the role that technology will play in enabling people to perform at their best.

The key question was: What will the workforce, work models and the work environment look like in 2035? And how will technology shape them?

Citrix teamed up with futurist consultancy Oxford Analytica and business research specialist Coleman Parkes to survey over 500 C-Suite leaders and 1,000 employees within large corporations and mid-market businesses across the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France and the Netherlands on current and future workforce strategies and work models.

The main conclusions were:

Robots will not replace humans But they will make us smarter and more efficient. More than three-quarters of those polled (77 percent) believe that in fifteen years, artificial intelligence (AI) will significantly speed up the decision-making process and make workers more productive.

New Jobs will be created New roles will emerge to support a technology-driven workplace and the changing relationship between humans and machines. Here are the positions respondents believe will be created:

Work will be more flexible Technology that allows for seamless access to the tools and information people need to collaborate and get work done wherever they happen to be will fuel flexible models that the future of work will demand.

Leadership will have a new look More than half of those surveyed (57 percent) believe AI will make most business decisions and potentially eliminate the need for senior management teams.

Productivity will get a major boost Technology, closely integrated with humans, will drive step changes in productivity as workers are supported by solutions that enable them to perform at their best. AI-ngels digital assistants driven by AI will draw on personal and workplace data to help employees prioritize their tasks and time and ensure mental and physical wellness. These worker augmented assistants will, for example, schedule meetings to take place at the most effective time based on factors ranging from the blood sugar levels of participants to their sentiments at different times of day. And while the meetings are taking place, they will monitor concentration levels and attitudes and adjust as necessary to drive optimal outcomes.

More than half of professionals surveyed (51 percent) believe technology will make workers at least twice as productive by 2035. Among the solutions they believe will be commonplace:

Employee engagement will improve As technology and AI takes over time-consuming, mundane tasks, work will become more strategic and employees more engaged.

Innovation and growth will soar Organizations will invest more in technology and AI than human capital. This will open the door to unprecedented levels of innovation and new revenue streams and fuel sustainable growth particularly among small businesses.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced companies to reimagine the way things get done, and over the next 15 years, they will face more challenges and disruptions than ever, says Tim Minahan, executive vice president of business strategy at Citrix. But as Work 2035 makes clear, within this chaos lies opportunity. Savvy companies are using this crisis to begin planning for the next normal. Not just return to where they were, but to embrace new workforce and work models to power their business forward.

* Click here to download a complimentary copy of Work 2035.

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What the world of work will look like in 2035 - Gadget

By Piers Wilson, Head of Product Management atHuntsman Security

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC), which is responsible for corporate governance, reporting and auditing in the UK, has been consulting on the role of technology in audit processes. This highlights growing recognition for the fact that technology can assist audits, providing the ability to automate data gathering or assessment to increase quality, remove subjectivity and make the process more trustworthy and consistent. Both theBrydon reviewand the latestAQR thematicsuggest a link between enhanced audit quality and the increasing use of technology. This goes beyond efficiency gains from process automation and relates, in part, to the larger volume of data and evidence which can be extracted from an audited entity and the sophistication of the tools available to interrogate it.

As one example, thePCAOBin the US has for a while advocated for the provision of audit evidence and reports to be timely (which implies computerisation and automation) to assure that risks are being managed, and for the extent of human interaction with evidence or source data to be reflected to ensure influence is minimised (the more that can be achieved programmatically and objectively the better).

However, technology may obscure the nature of analysis and decision making and create a barrier to fully transparent audits compared to more manual (yet labour intensive) processes.There is also a competition aspect between larger firms and smaller ones as regards access to technology:

Brydonraised concerns about the ability of challenger firms to keep pace with the Big Four firms in the deployment of innovative new technology.

The FRC consultation paper covers issues, and asks questions, in a number of areas.Examples include:

Clearly these are real issues for a process that aims to provide trustworthy, objective, transparent and repeatable outputs any use of technology to speed up or improve the process must maintain these standards.

Audit technology solutions in cyber security

The cyber security realm has grown to quickly become a major area of risk and hence a focus for boards, technologists and auditors alike. The highly technical nature of threats and the adversarial nature of cybers attackers (who will actively try and find/exploit control failures) means that technology solutions that identify weaknesses and report on specific or overall vulnerabilities are becoming more entrenched in the assurance process within this discipline.

While the audit consultations and reports mentioned above cover the wider audit spectrum, similar challenges relate to cyber security as an inherently technology-focussed area of operation.

Benefits of speed

The gains from using technology to conduct data gathering, analysis and reporting are obvious removing the need for human questionnaires, interviews, inspections and manual number crunching. Increasing the speed of the process has a number of benefits:

Benefits of flexibility

The ability to conduct audits across different sites or scopes, to specify different thresholds of risk for different domains, the ease of conducting audits at remote locations or on suppliers networks (especially during period of restricted travel) are ALL factors that can make technology a useful tool for the auditor.

Benefits of transparency

One part of the FRCs perceived problem space is that of transparency, you can ask a human how they derived a result, and they can probably tell you, or at least show you the audit trail of correspondence, meeting notes or spreadsheet calculations.But can you do this with software or technology?

Certainly, the use of AI and machine learning makes this hard, the learning nature and often black box calculations are not easy to either understand, recalculate in a repeatable way or to document. The system learns, so is always changing, and hence the rationale that a decision might not always be the same.

In technologies that are geared towards delivering audit outcomes this is easier.First, if you collect and retain data, provide an easy interface to go from results to the underlying cases in the source data, it is possible to take a score/rating/risk and reveal the specifics of what led to it.Secondly, it is vital that the calculations are transparent, i.e. that the methods of calculating risks or the way results are scored is decipherable.

Benefits of consistency

This is one obvious gain from technology, the logic is pre-programmed in. If you take two auditors and give them the same data sets or evidence case files they might draw different conclusions (possibly for valid reasons or due to them having different skill areas or experience), but the same algorithm operating on the same data will produce the same result every time.

Manual evidence gathering suffers a number of drawbacks it relies on written notes, records of verbal conversations, email trails, spreadsheets, or questionnaire responses in different formats. Retaining all this in a coherent way is difficult and going back through it even harder.

Using a consistent toolset and consistent data format means that if you need to go back to a data source from a particular network domain three months ago, you will have information that is readily available and readable. And as stated above, if the source data and evidence is re-examined using a consistent solution, you will get the same calculations, decisions and results.

Benefits of systematically generated KPIs, cyber maturity measuresand issues

The outputs of any audit process need to provide details of the issues found so that the specific or general cases of the failures can be investigated and resolved. But for managers, operational teams and businesses, having a view of the KPIs for the security operations process is extremely useful.

Of course, following the lines of defence model, an internal or external formal audit might simply want the results and a level of trust in how they were calculated; however for operational management and ongoing continuous visibility, the need to derive performance statistics comes into its own.

It is worth noting that there are two dimensions to KPIs: The assessment of the strength or configuration of a control or policy (how good is the control) and the extent or level of coverage (how widely is it enforced).

To give a view of the technical maturity of a defence you really need to combine these two factors together. A weak control that is widely implemented or a strong control that provides only partial coverage are both causes for concern.

Benefits of separation of process stages

The final area where technology can help is in allowing the separation and distribution of the data gathering, analysis and reporting processes. It is hard to take the data, evidence and meeting notes from someone else and analyse it.For one thing, is it trustworthy and reliable (in the case of third-party assurance questionnaires perhaps)?Then it is also hard to draw high-level conclusions about the analysis.

If technology allows the data gathering to be performed in a distributed way, say by local site administrators, third-party IT staff or non-expert users BUT in a trustworthy way, then the overhead of the audit process is much reduced. Instead of a team having to conduct multiple visits, interviews or data collection activities the toolset can be provided to the people nearest to the point of collection.

This allows the data analysis and interpretation to be performed centrally by the experts in a particular field or control area.So giving a non-expert user a way to collect and provide relevant and trustworthy audit evidence takes a large bite out of the resource overhead of conducting the audit, for both auditor and auditee.

It also means that a target organisation doesnt have to manage the issue of allowing auditors to have access to networks, sites, data, accounts and systems to gather the audit evidence as this can be undertaken by existing administrators in the environment.

Making the right choice

Technology solutions in the audit process can clearly deliver benefits, however if they are too simplistic or aim to be too clever, they can simply move the problem of providing high levels of audit quality. A rapidly generated AI-based risk score is useful, but if its not possible to understand the calculation it is hard to either correct the control issues or trouble shoot the underlying process.

Where technology can assist the audit process, speed up data gathering and analysis, and streamline the generation of high- and low-level outputs it can be a boon.

Technology allows organisations to put trustworthy assurance into the hands of operations teams and managers, consultants and auditors alike to provide flexible, rapid and frequent views of control data and understanding of risk posture. If this can be done in a way that is cognisant of the risks and challenges as we have shown, then auditors and regulators such as theFRCcan be satisfied.

See the rest here:
Uncertain Times for the Financial Sector Is Open Source the Solution? - Global Banking And Finance Review

By Piers Wilson, Head of Product Management atHuntsman Security

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC), which is responsible for corporate governance, reporting and auditing in the UK, has been consulting on the role of technology in audit processes. This highlights growing recognition for the fact that technology can assist audits, providing the ability to automate data gathering or assessment to increase quality, remove subjectivity and make the process more trustworthy and consistent. Both theBrydon reviewand the latestAQR thematicsuggest a link between enhanced audit quality and the increasing use of technology. This goes beyond efficiency gains from process automation and relates, in part, to the larger volume of data and evidence which can be extracted from an audited entity and the sophistication of the tools available to interrogate it.

As one example, thePCAOBin the US has for a while advocated for the provision of audit evidence and reports to be timely (which implies computerisation and automation) to assure that risks are being managed, and for the extent of human interaction with evidence or source data to be reflected to ensure influence is minimised (the more that can be achieved programmatically and objectively the better).

However, technology may obscure the nature of analysis and decision making and create a barrier to fully transparent audits compared to more manual (yet labour intensive) processes.There is also a competition aspect between larger firms and smaller ones as regards access to technology:

Brydonraised concerns about the ability of challenger firms to keep pace with the Big Four firms in the deployment of innovative new technology.

The FRC consultation paper covers issues, and asks questions, in a number of areas.Examples include:

Clearly these are real issues for a process that aims to provide trustworthy, objective, transparent and repeatable outputs any use of technology to speed up or improve the process must maintain these standards.

Audit technology solutions in cyber security

The cyber security realm has grown to quickly become a major area of risk and hence a focus for boards, technologists and auditors alike. The highly technical nature of threats and the adversarial nature of cybers attackers (who will actively try and find/exploit control failures) means that technology solutions that identify weaknesses and report on specific or overall vulnerabilities are becoming more entrenched in the assurance process within this discipline.

While the audit consultations and reports mentioned above cover the wider audit spectrum, similar challenges relate to cyber security as an inherently technology-focussed area of operation.

Benefits of speed

The gains from using technology to conduct data gathering, analysis and reporting are obvious removing the need for human questionnaires, interviews, inspections and manual number crunching. Increasing the speed of the process has a number of benefits:

Benefits of flexibility

The ability to conduct audits across different sites or scopes, to specify different thresholds of risk for different domains, the ease of conducting audits at remote locations or on suppliers networks (especially during period of restricted travel) are ALL factors that can make technology a useful tool for the auditor.

Benefits of transparency

One part of the FRCs perceived problem space is that of transparency, you can ask a human how they derived a result, and they can probably tell you, or at least show you the audit trail of correspondence, meeting notes or spreadsheet calculations.But can you do this with software or technology?

Certainly, the use of AI and machine learning makes this hard, the learning nature and often black box calculations are not easy to either understand, recalculate in a repeatable way or to document. The system learns, so is always changing, and hence the rationale that a decision might not always be the same.

In technologies that are geared towards delivering audit outcomes this is easier.First, if you collect and retain data, provide an easy interface to go from results to the underlying cases in the source data, it is possible to take a score/rating/risk and reveal the specifics of what led to it.Secondly, it is vital that the calculations are transparent, i.e. that the methods of calculating risks or the way results are scored is decipherable.

Benefits of consistency

This is one obvious gain from technology, the logic is pre-programmed in. If you take two auditors and give them the same data sets or evidence case files they might draw different conclusions (possibly for valid reasons or due to them having different skill areas or experience), but the same algorithm operating on the same data will produce the same result every time.

Manual evidence gathering suffers a number of drawbacks it relies on written notes, records of verbal conversations, email trails, spreadsheets, or questionnaire responses in different formats. Retaining all this in a coherent way is difficult and going back through it even harder.

Using a consistent toolset and consistent data format means that if you need to go back to a data source from a particular network domain three months ago, you will have information that is readily available and readable. And as stated above, if the source data and evidence is re-examined using a consistent solution, you will get the same calculations, decisions and results.

Benefits of systematically generated KPIs, cyber maturity measuresand issues

The outputs of any audit process need to provide details of the issues found so that the specific or general cases of the failures can be investigated and resolved. But for managers, operational teams and businesses, having a view of the KPIs for the security operations process is extremely useful.

Of course, following the lines of defence model, an internal or external formal audit might simply want the results and a level of trust in how they were calculated; however for operational management and ongoing continuous visibility, the need to derive performance statistics comes into its own.

It is worth noting that there are two dimensions to KPIs: The assessment of the strength or configuration of a control or policy (how good is the control) and the extent or level of coverage (how widely is it enforced).

To give a view of the technical maturity of a defence you really need to combine these two factors together. A weak control that is widely implemented or a strong control that provides only partial coverage are both causes for concern.

Benefits of separation of process stages

The final area where technology can help is in allowing the separation and distribution of the data gathering, analysis and reporting processes. It is hard to take the data, evidence and meeting notes from someone else and analyse it.For one thing, is it trustworthy and reliable (in the case of third-party assurance questionnaires perhaps)?Then it is also hard to draw high-level conclusions about the analysis.

If technology allows the data gathering to be performed in a distributed way, say by local site administrators, third-party IT staff or non-expert users BUT in a trustworthy way, then the overhead of the audit process is much reduced. Instead of a team having to conduct multiple visits, interviews or data collection activities the toolset can be provided to the people nearest to the point of collection.

This allows the data analysis and interpretation to be performed centrally by the experts in a particular field or control area.So giving a non-expert user a way to collect and provide relevant and trustworthy audit evidence takes a large bite out of the resource overhead of conducting the audit, for both auditor and auditee.

It also means that a target organisation doesnt have to manage the issue of allowing auditors to have access to networks, sites, data, accounts and systems to gather the audit evidence as this can be undertaken by existing administrators in the environment.

Making the right choice

Technology solutions in the audit process can clearly deliver benefits, however if they are too simplistic or aim to be too clever, they can simply move the problem of providing high levels of audit quality. A rapidly generated AI-based risk score is useful, but if its not possible to understand the calculation it is hard to either correct the control issues or trouble shoot the underlying process.

Where technology can assist the audit process, speed up data gathering and analysis, and streamline the generation of high- and low-level outputs it can be a boon.

Technology allows organisations to put trustworthy assurance into the hands of operations teams and managers, consultants and auditors alike to provide flexible, rapid and frequent views of control data and understanding of risk posture. If this can be done in a way that is cognisant of the risks and challenges as we have shown, then auditors and regulators such as theFRCcan be satisfied.

Originally posted here:
The end of the cookie and the new era of digital marketing - Global Banking And Finance Review

After NXIVM, a personal development company founded by Keith Raniere, was exposed as a pyramid scheme and cult that forced its female recruits into sexual slavery, itwas soon discovered that there were many prominent, highly influential members from the worlds of business, politics and Hollywood. One of the most shocking and notable performers was former Smallville actress Allison Mack, who was a senior member within the organization and eventually pleaded guilty to racketeering charges.

In the years since the 2017 New York Times expos, its been revealed that cast members of Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica and Dynasty crossed paths with the organization. A lot of young people who were in the film and television industry, lots of actors [were involved], former member and Canadian actress Sarah Edmondson says in the HBO docuseries,The Vow, which chronicles her and other members escape from the clutches ofRaniere and NXIVM.

We were all sort of in the same boat, struggling with our self-esteem, body issues, meaning and purpose, Edmondson says, explaining whythey may have been attracted to or susceptible to NXIVMs many promises around wellness and self-help.Heres a confirmed list of Hollywoods members or recruits.

As NXIVM expanded across North America, it eventually opened a center in Vancouver, Canada,where the CW superhero series wasfilmed. Former member Barbara Bouchey said in an interview with E! True Hollywood Story that she worked with Edmondson over several years to develop the Vancouver center and that led eventually to Allison Mack.

The actress, who was only 23 at the time, told the New York Times that she came to NXIVM when she was unhappy with her TV acting career. She reportedly asked Raniere to make her a great actress again. [More on Macks story via ETonline.]

Anthony Ames The Abduction of Zack Butterfield

A model and actor, Ames most prominent role was as Agent Quincannon in the 2011 film The Abduction of Zack Butterfield, which the New York Timesdescribesas a cringingly awkward tale of sexual predation and female lunacy.

More commonly known as Nippy, the actor was a prominent member of NXIVM, where he also met and fell in love with Edmondson. When the two got married, most of their wedding guests and bridal party were from NXIVM. While his wife continued to grow within the organization, Nippy became disillusioned by the experience and was unaware of her involvement with DOS.

Bonnie Piesse Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones,Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

Piesseis an Australian actress and a singer-songwriter most famous for being part of the Star Wars film franchise. Piesse appeared in the second two prequels as a young version of Beru Lars, Luke Skywalkers aunt and surrogate mother.

She met director Mark Vicente (What the Bleep Do We Know!?), who was already a member of NXIVM, and turned to the organization as her music and acting career stalled. Eventually the two got married and became the poster couple for others to follow.

While Vicente remained dedicated to Raniere, even working closely with him on a documentary and screenplay about his story, Piesse eventually became suspicious of NXIVMs practices and wanted out. Despite trying to leave on good terms, especially since Vicente remained a prominent member, she was blacklisted. The couples marriage suffered as a result.But once Vicente decided to leave, the two got back together and teamed up with Edmondson and CatherineOxenberg to get others out.

Blue, who played General Zod during seasons nine and 10 of Smallville and also appeared on series likeProof and Royal Pains, found himself turning to the organization in 2011, after a personal tragedy. At the height of my popularity, I went through some trauma. My father took his own life and I continued working and I was caught up in this spiral of chaos cause Hollywood can be a chaotic and noisy place. And that really opened me up to looking to the outside world to find the answers, he said in an interview with E! True Hollywood Story.

Put off by Raniere and his experience, Blue quickly left NXIVM. I was in it for five days and I heard the same thing again and again and again, he recalled.

Catherine Oxenberg Dynasty

Oxenberg, a former Dynasty actress and the daughter of Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia, was able to get out -- but not fast enough to save her daughter, India, from the clutches of Raniere. I didnt sign my daughter up for a sex cult,Oxenberg told ET, explaining that sheholds herself accountable for what ultimately happened to India. Intending to help her daughter on her journey into adulthood, she inadvertently introduced India, then 19 years old, to NXIVM in 2011.

The truth is, what we went to was an intro for a leadership program, Oxenberg explained. It could have been any self-help program, and thats the truth. Nobody signs up to join a cult. These cults very often have consumer-facing companies offering real and viable resources and tools. And thats what this was I thought that she might benefit from some leadership skills because she was going into the business world.

Oxenberg has since recounted her story in the Lifetime film, Escaping the NXIVM Cult: A Mother's Fight to Save Her Daughter, which is based on her 2018 memoir, Captive: A Mother's Crusade to Save Her Daughter From a Terrifying Cult. Her attempts to free India are also chronicled on The Vow. [More on Oxenbergsstory via ETonline.]

Chad Krowchuk Wayward Pines

After a number of small, episodic roles, Krowchuk appeared on Aliens in America before going on to bigger roles in Gracepoint and Wayward Pines.

He was initially recruited by Edmondson, but it was Mack, his girlfriend at the time, who convinced him to take a five-day training course. According to Vice, Mack and Krowchuk were about three years into living together when NXIVM became a thing in their group of friends, with Mack quickly becoming fascinated by the organization. That was the part that scared me the most, Krowchuk said. Before we had conversations about it, and we both thought it seemed kind of weird and creepy. I dont necessarily know if she thought it was creepy, but we agreed it seemed a little messed up.

While Mack became a prominent member, she reportedly wasnt the first Smallville recruit. That was Kreuk, who played Lana Lang. According to The Hollywood Reporter, shortly after joining the group in 2006, she brought Mack. Im excited to work with youguys. I dont know what else to say, Kreuk says infootage featured onThe Vow that shows her in a meeting alongside Edmondson.

Even though Kreuk was involved with NXIVM, she claims that she left before anything illegal or nefarious happened. I am deeply disturbed and embarrassed to have been associated with NXIVM, the actress posted to Twitter in 2018. The accusations that I was in the inner circle or recruited women as sex slaves are blatantly false.

How are we contributing as a society to the myth of celebrity? Cause a lot of people seem to be rather caught up in it, Park, who famously portrayed Sharon Boomer Valerii on Battlestar Galactica before starring on the CBS rebootof Hawaii Five-0, is seen asking Raniere in a promotional video initially posted to NXIVMs site and YouTube page. As seen in footage from The Vow, the actress was in the bridal party atEdmondsons wedding, which according to the bride, was mostly attended by members of NXIVM.

According to Vice, Park quietly left after the explosive New York Times article, which featured revelations about Jness and the sex cult practices.

Mark Hildreth Resurrection

Hildreth has appeared on everything from The Tudors to Resurrection to Hulus The Looming Tower. But his most prominent role, it seems, is being the one to reportedly have recruited Kreuk into NXIVM. According to Vice, the actor convinced her to attend her first session, which proved to be a turning point for the organization, which could now say it had a famous actress among its members.

Nicki Clyne Battlestar Galactica

I feel like the biggest limitation is that we judge ourselves, Clyne, who reportedly was recruited by Edmondsonin 2006, is seen saying during a NXIVM meeting in footage featured on The Vow. The actress who playedCally Henderson on the Syfy serieswas close to other Vancouver recruits, including Mack and Park.

In 2018, federal prosecutors claimed that Mack and Clyne were married, according to court transcripts obtained by People. The outletreported the union was at the behest of NXIVM co-founder Keith Raniere. A one-time publicist for the cult said, Nicki has been in the cult for 12 years. She quit her regular role with Battlestar to follow Raniere.

Samia Shoaib La Femme Nikita

After Mack was initially arrested, The Sixth Sense and La Femme Nikita actressrevealed to Megyn Kelly that she was approached by Mack to join NXIM after the two met at an audition in 2013. Soon after, Mack tried to get Shoaib to join a school for introspection.

We got close very quickly, and looking back, it was a very contrived effort, but at the time she seemed so sincere, Shoaib said at the time. While the actress never got involved, she was one of many that Mack attempted to recruit over the years. Others include Emma Watson, Kelly Clarkson and Beverly Mitchell.

Born and raised in Vancouver, the actress first appeared onscreen inthe teen soap Edgemont opposite Park. She eventually went on to appear in a number of sci-fi projects likeAndromeda, Continuumand Stargate SG-1. Her most notable role before leaving NXIVM was a recurring stint on Psych.

Once in NXIVM, Edmondson rose through the ranks to become one of its top recruiters, bringing in thousands of people, including some of the other actors listed here. She also met and married Nippy and when the two had a child, they named Lauren Salzman his godmother. It was Salzman who recruited her into DOS, where she became her slave and was branded with Raniere'sinitials.

Since leaving NXIVM, Edmondson has returned to acting and starred on season 2 of the short-lived series Salvation.

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NXIVM: Allison Mack, Grace Park and Other Actors Recruited by the Sex Cult - WFAA.com

Last week, I mentioned in this space that I had run out of words, so there were several big pictures of critters instead. I also mentioned that you didnt have to worry, because I had ordered some words on Amazon. That was kind of a joke.

Should have known better. Little did I know, but you can indeed order words on Amazon. Which, truth be told, is not surprising. You can find everything on Amazon. I suppose its kind of like the Sears catalog from way, way back in the day. (Kids: if you dont know about the Sears catalog, ask your grandparents.)

I found a Big Box of Word Chunks educational board game on Amazon. Seemed appropriate for a journalist. And it only cost $22.86.

Meanwhile...

Have you ever had a butterfly land on you? Twice. Until Labor Day, Im pretty sure that I had not experienced such a thing. Not even once.

Way back in the day, a praying mantis landed on me. They are kind of scary looking bugs. Dont remember how old I was, but the critter was scary. Still remember it.

The butterfly landed on me while I was taking a quick walk at one of the places in Union County which I visit on a regular basis. I think the butterfly, which was quite colorful, may be called a painted lady, but Im not for sure.

Turns out that having a butterfly land on you may be a bit of a spiritual experience, in a good sort of way, which would be much nicer than having a praying mantis land on you when you are a little kid.

A little bit of research online turned up fascinating tidbits about what might be happening when a butterfly lands on you:

...in some cases when a butterfly lands on you, it is a sign from your loved one in Spirit. A validation that their soul lives on...

...a butterfly landing on you can be a sign that your unconscious mind approves of something, probably related to personal development or service...

...it could very well be an angel sending you a message...

...you have a special connection with this creature, and it could be a sign that a butterfly is your animal spirit.

Ill be pondering these messages for a while...

Meanwhile...

I know you folks might be getting tired of hearing about our pandemic dates. But, I kind of figure these little adventures are part of the history of the pandemic. These dates have given us a chance to see and do something sort of normal during a time which is anything but normal.

We went on a date on Labor Day. Once again motored to the Trail of Tears State Forest and wandered around in a creek bed as the sun was quickly setting late on a summer day. We worked in another date last Sunday evening after dinner.

Sometimes, we get to see critters. On Labor Day, we saw a couple of frogs, including the one in the photograph which accompanies this column.

We also saw a raccoon, much more up close and personal than I would have expected on such an excursion. I could hear some rustling in the undergrowth along the creek bed, just a foot or two away.

At first, I could hear the noise, but could not see its source. Next thing I know, a raccoon meanders into sight. The critter didnt seem a bit concerned about us at all. It just kind of strolled up the creek bed.

In addition to frogs and a raccoon, weve seen lots of white-tailed deer during our pandemic dates. I think weve seen about 14 or 16 white-tails, including several fawns, during our most recent adventures.

Our dates may not seem like much, but, like I said, they offer opportunities to do something normal, and maybe even safe.

By the way...we didnt have any butterflies land on us...the frogs didnt either. Might have been an even more interesting story if the raccoon had landed on one of us...

Meanwhile...

Were going to finish up this week with a happy birthday message to my sweetheart. If you are a friend, you can tell her happy birthday, too. Today is the big day.

The rest is here:
A butterfly...a couple of frogs...and a raccoon.... - Annanews

Despite not holding events in 2020, the Bay State Games selection committee is still honoring athletes based on past participation in the Games and other athletic achievements. It selects an Athlete of the Year in four categories. The 2020 selections for Athlete of the Year are as follows: Female Athlete 18 & younger: Teagan Dymek (Osterville); Male Athlete 18 & younger: Reese Stevenson (Harvard); Female Athlete 19 & older: Ildiko Szekely (Beverly); and Male Athlete 19 & older: Seth Trahan (Sturbridge).

Beverlys Ildiko Szekely has competed in Bay State Games Masters Swimming since 2014, winning gold every year in the 200-meter butterfly. She holds the Bay State Games record in Women 35-49 200-meter butterfly.

As a member of New England Masters, Szekely has achieved many national and international accomplishments, highlighted by winning gold in the 100-meter and 200-meter butterfly at the 2014 World Masters Swimming Championships in Montreal, Canada. She has also won several U.S. Masters Swimming National titles, and currently holds the U.S. Masters Swimming National record in the 400-meter freestyle relay.

Her swimming resume includes 10 individual and three All-American honors, and 59 Top 10 swims. Prior to becoming an accomplished Masters swimmer, Ildiko swam at Michigan State University, where she was a team captain and an Academic All-Big-10. She held program records in the 100-yard and 200-yard butterfly and 400-yard IM, all of which she still ranks in the Top 10 in program history.

Ildiko is currently the Connors Family Learning Center Assistant Director at Boston College.

The Bay State Games Athlete of the Year program was established to recognize individuals that excel above and beyond their athletic participation in the Bay State Games. Individuals are chosen based on overall achievements, involvement in the Bay State Games, involvement in their community, effort, sportsmanship, overcoming adversity and attitude on and off the athletic field of endeavor. The selection committee reviews nominations submitted by coaches, commissioners, parents, volunteers and other players.

Individuals chosen as Bay State Games Athlete of the Year have also been submitted for recognition as the National State Games Athlete of the Year. If chosen as the National State Games Athlete of the Year, recipients will be recognized at the National Congress of State Games annual symposium. National Athlete of the Year winners will be notified in October.

For more information on the Bay State Games Athlete of the Year program and past winners, go to http://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/GFyZC31rZ2hm6nNpjfgwxx8?domain=baystategames.org.

The Massachusetts Amateur Sports Foundation (MASF), an independent, non-profit organizer of the Bay State Summer and Winter Games, provides Olympic-style athletic competitions and developmental programs for amateur athletes of all ages. Founded in 1981, the MASF operates statewide and year-round to promote personal development, education, physical fitness, teamwork, sportsmanship and mutual respect. From a modest beginning of four sports and 300 athletes, the Games have grown to include over 30 summer and winter sports. The MASF is a member of the National Congress of State Games, comprised of over 35 states nationwide.

The rest is here:
Beverlys Ildiko Szekely chosen as a Bay State Games 2020 Athlete of the Year recipient - Wicked Local Beverly

GREEN RIVER Emmalee Skinner started her senior year at Green River High School as the Distinguished Young Woman of Wyoming for the Class of 2021.

The honor isnt just for her, though. Its also for her classmates, her community, and people throughout her state.

Emmalee was named the Distinguished Young Woman of Wyoming after winning a statewide virtual contest conducted via video submissions and Zoom meetings during the summer.

Finishing in first place doesnt just mean scholarship money and recognition for Emmalee it means she has a job to do for the benefit of others.

Now and throughout the coming year, she will serve as a role model and spread the Distinguished Young Womens national outreach message of Be Your Best Self. The outreach program is designed to encourage self esteem and excellence in young people through its five principles: be healthy, be involved, be studious, be ambitious, and be responsible. She will also represent the state at various public events.

Emmalee is already passing on the Be Your Best Self lesson through example by working hard to achieve great things and encouraging others to do the same.

It is a full time job.

In addition to her studies, Emmalee is a member of the National Honor Society, competes in high school tennis, performs in the color guard for the marching band, and works at Arctic Circle. She plans to participate in theater as well just as she has in years past.

During the Distinguished Young Women contest, Emmalee earned extra points based on the difficulty of the courses shes taken in high school. This semester, shes enrolled in AP calculus her most difficult class.

So that has been a challenge, especially trying to recall all the math learned after not using it for months, Emmalee said. But after getting back into the swing of things, its been getting a lot easier. Other than that, the year hasnt been too difficult.

Emmalee decided her senior year would include competing on the tennis team for the first time. The experience has been great, according to Emmalee. She is learning a lot, the team is very supportive, and everyone gets along great, she said.

My partner and I are both new but we are having a great time and even won all our games against Rock Springs!

Emmalee is grateful to be able to attend school again. She has always loved learning new things, and she missed the social interaction when schools were closed in March.

I have enjoyed being with other students again and seeing people being excited to be back, Emmalee said. Usually, energy is low and people arent wanting to be at school, but the energy shifted after being away for five months. People seemed to really want to be back.

COMPETITION

Emmalee was familiar with the Distinguished Young Women contest because her mom and sister had both previously competed. Emmalee said the contest helps women obtain a higher education by awarding scholarships that can be used at any college.

Competing took a lot of time and work, but was an incredible experience, Emmalee said. She enjoyed meeting other top high school students and getting a glimpse into their lives, even if they had to connect virtually.

Seven Wyoming high school senior girls competed to represent the state as the Distinguished Young Woman of Wyoming for 2021. The statewide scholarship program was conducted virtually through Zoom and video submissions the week of July 27 with the finals and awards announcement on Aug 1.

Participants were evaluated in the categories of scholastics, 25%; interview, 25%; talent, 20%; fitness, 15%; and self-expression, 15%.

Emmalee finished in the top two in four of the five categories. She received a $3,000 scholarship for winning and $150 scholarships each for finishing in the top two in four categories for a total of $3,600 in cash scholarships.

For the talent portion, Emmalee choreographed her own 90-second dance to the song You Will Be Found from the Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen. She especially enjoyed the talent contest because it gave her the opportunity to challenge and express herself in a new way. It was a difficult yet rewarding achievement. She also choreographed her own routine for the fitness contest.

In the self expression category, contestants were asked how they intended to implement the Cowboy Code of Conduct, including such directives as keeping promises, in their lives. Each had 24 hours to come up with a 30-second answer.

Emmalee decided to give judges a concrete example to show how she was already implementing the code. She said just the night before, she took the time to help a neighbor even though she was busy and needed to prepare for the competition. She also told them that she intended to take notes and set reminders in order to help in her quest to fulfill the Cowboy Code.

THE FUTURE

Emmalee looks forward to getting the Be Your Best Self message out in the days ahead and publicizing the Distinguished Young Women contest so that more young women will participate.

In February or March of 2021, Emmalee needs to make a presentation to her community about the Distinguished Young Women Program and the Be Your Best Self message.

She also plans to go on to compete in the Distinguished Young Women national finals June 24-26, 2021 in Mobile, Alabama. Emmalee and the 50 other representatives from across the U.S will participate in personal development activities and community service projects before competing to become the Distinguished Young Woman of America for 2021. Emmalee said she is excited to go and meet so many other incredible young women from around the country.

Emmalee wants to work as a dental hygienist. She has not yet decided where she will attend college to pursue that goal. She is the daughter of Bradlee and Melissa Skinner.

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

Founded in 1958, Distinguished Young Women is a free program that encourages participants to reach their full individual potential. Its mission is to empower young women by providing more than $1 billion in scholarship opportunities and developing their self confidence to prepare them for success after high school.

Kentuckys Elif Ozyurekoglu was named the Distinguished Young Woman of America for 2020 and received more than $33,000 in cash scholarships to be applied toward her college education. For more information on Distinguished Young Women of Wyoming, contact Sarah Robles at wyoming@distinguishedyw.org.

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An award that benefits others | Local News | rocketminer.com - Daily Rocket Miner