Sam Taylor-Johnson will direct the big-screen adaptation of E.L. James' bestseller.
By Jocelyn Vena
Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1709318/fifty-shades-of-grey-director-sam-taylor-johnson.jhtml
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
'Fifty Shades Of Grey' Locks In Director
Respect may be the key to stopping patient 'no shows'
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Public release date: 18-Jun-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Stephanie Desmon
sdesmon1@jhmi.edu
410-955-8665
Johns Hopkins Medicine
Study among people with HIV
People with HIV are more likely to keep their scheduled medical appointments and their disease under control if they feel their physician listens, explains things clearly and knows them as a person, not just a "case," new Johns Hopkins research suggests.
"If people feel their doctor really knows them and listens to them, they feel that doctor has their best interests at heart and may be more likely to follow medical advice," says study leader Tabor E. Flickinger, M.D., M.P.H., a fellow in the Division of General Internal Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "And such patients are more likely to see that doctor again, which can influence the success of treatment."
Flickinger says in HIV, more than in most diseases, strict adherence to a medical regimen including taking every daily dose of prescribed antiretroviral therapy medication can mean the difference between maintaining HIV as a chronic manageable disease and having it turn into an acute fatal illness. Getting patients to keep medical appointments also plays a critical role in keeping them healthy, and the researchers report online in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes that how doctors and their patients communicate behind the doors of the exam room appears to be a vital link in that process.
The findings suggest that improved training in communication and interpersonal skills may help not only to improve health and immune function, but also to reduce the spread of the disease.
The researchers analyzed interviews completed by 1,363 patients at the Moore Clinic for HIV Care at The Johns Hopkins Hospital between December 2004 and June 2009, as well as data from medical records. The patients were asked about personal interactions with physicians, including whether the doctor treated them with dignity and respect, listened, explained things clearly, kept them involved in decision-making and got to know them.
The researchers found that patients who felt such respect were significantly more likely to make their scheduled appointments. They also found that 72 percent of patients with suppressed levels of virus in their blood kept their appointments, while just 59 percent of those with unsuppressed levels of virus did. Lower blood levels of virus typically kept in check with antiretroviral therapy are associated with reduced risk of disease transmission and a lower risk that the virus will mutate. When the virus mutates, antiretroviral therapy medication may stop working, causing the viral load to rise again. Another medication may work, but could carry worse side effects.
Overall, 66 percent of patients in the study were on antiretroviral therapy and 49 percent had suppressed viral loads.
Other studies, Flickinger says, have focused on factors such as race, gender and socioeconomic status as factors influencing kept appointments. This one is the first, she believes, to look at patients' interactions with their doctors.
Only two-thirds of the patients in Flickinger's study regularly kept their appointments. Appointment adherence was significantly higher in patients who were white, male and did not use illegal drugs.
That means that one-third of patients don't keep their scheduled appointments. "There's a lot of room for improvement there," she says. "Even missing one appointment can be detrimental to long-term outcomes, as it may lead to missing doses of medication or failure to respond to changes in viral load."
Flickinger encourages doctors to go beyond good bedside manner.
"People really respond to personal respect and genuine interest," she says. "And our study shows that these behaviors impact treatment. The traditional model of the doctors telling you what to do and you doing it because they are the authority figure doesn't always work anymore."
###
The research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (5 T32 HL007180-35), the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (K08 HS013903-05) as well as Robert Wood Johnson Generalist Physician Faculty Scholars Program.
Other Johns Hopkins researchers involved in the study include Richard D. Moore, M.D., M.H.S., and Mary Catherine Beach, M.D., M.P.H.
For more information: http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/gim/fellowship/
Johns Hopkins Medicine (JHM), headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, is a $6.7 billion integrated global health enterprise and one of the leading health care systems in the United States. JHM unites physicians and scientists of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine with the organizations, health professionals and facilities of The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System. JHM's mission is to improve the health of the community and the world by setting the standard of excellence in medical education, research and clinical care. Diverse and inclusive, JHM educates medical students, scientists, health care professionals and the public; conducts biomedical research; and provides patient-centered medicine to prevent, diagnose and treat human illness. JHM operates six academic and community hospitals, four suburban health care and surgery centers, more than 38 primary health care outpatient sites and other businesses that care for national and international patients and activities. The Johns Hopkins Hospital, opened in 1889, was ranked number one in the nation for 21 years by U.S. News & World Report.
Media Contacts:
Stephanie Desmon
410-955-8665; sdesmon1@jhmi.edu
Helen Jones
410-502-9422; hjones49@jhmi.edu
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 18-Jun-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Stephanie Desmon
sdesmon1@jhmi.edu
410-955-8665
Johns Hopkins Medicine
Study among people with HIV
People with HIV are more likely to keep their scheduled medical appointments and their disease under control if they feel their physician listens, explains things clearly and knows them as a person, not just a "case," new Johns Hopkins research suggests.
"If people feel their doctor really knows them and listens to them, they feel that doctor has their best interests at heart and may be more likely to follow medical advice," says study leader Tabor E. Flickinger, M.D., M.P.H., a fellow in the Division of General Internal Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "And such patients are more likely to see that doctor again, which can influence the success of treatment."
Flickinger says in HIV, more than in most diseases, strict adherence to a medical regimen including taking every daily dose of prescribed antiretroviral therapy medication can mean the difference between maintaining HIV as a chronic manageable disease and having it turn into an acute fatal illness. Getting patients to keep medical appointments also plays a critical role in keeping them healthy, and the researchers report online in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes that how doctors and their patients communicate behind the doors of the exam room appears to be a vital link in that process.
The findings suggest that improved training in communication and interpersonal skills may help not only to improve health and immune function, but also to reduce the spread of the disease.
The researchers analyzed interviews completed by 1,363 patients at the Moore Clinic for HIV Care at The Johns Hopkins Hospital between December 2004 and June 2009, as well as data from medical records. The patients were asked about personal interactions with physicians, including whether the doctor treated them with dignity and respect, listened, explained things clearly, kept them involved in decision-making and got to know them.
The researchers found that patients who felt such respect were significantly more likely to make their scheduled appointments. They also found that 72 percent of patients with suppressed levels of virus in their blood kept their appointments, while just 59 percent of those with unsuppressed levels of virus did. Lower blood levels of virus typically kept in check with antiretroviral therapy are associated with reduced risk of disease transmission and a lower risk that the virus will mutate. When the virus mutates, antiretroviral therapy medication may stop working, causing the viral load to rise again. Another medication may work, but could carry worse side effects.
Overall, 66 percent of patients in the study were on antiretroviral therapy and 49 percent had suppressed viral loads.
Other studies, Flickinger says, have focused on factors such as race, gender and socioeconomic status as factors influencing kept appointments. This one is the first, she believes, to look at patients' interactions with their doctors.
Only two-thirds of the patients in Flickinger's study regularly kept their appointments. Appointment adherence was significantly higher in patients who were white, male and did not use illegal drugs.
That means that one-third of patients don't keep their scheduled appointments. "There's a lot of room for improvement there," she says. "Even missing one appointment can be detrimental to long-term outcomes, as it may lead to missing doses of medication or failure to respond to changes in viral load."
Flickinger encourages doctors to go beyond good bedside manner.
"People really respond to personal respect and genuine interest," she says. "And our study shows that these behaviors impact treatment. The traditional model of the doctors telling you what to do and you doing it because they are the authority figure doesn't always work anymore."
###
The research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (5 T32 HL007180-35), the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (K08 HS013903-05) as well as Robert Wood Johnson Generalist Physician Faculty Scholars Program.
Other Johns Hopkins researchers involved in the study include Richard D. Moore, M.D., M.H.S., and Mary Catherine Beach, M.D., M.P.H.
For more information: http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/gim/fellowship/
Johns Hopkins Medicine (JHM), headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, is a $6.7 billion integrated global health enterprise and one of the leading health care systems in the United States. JHM unites physicians and scientists of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine with the organizations, health professionals and facilities of The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System. JHM's mission is to improve the health of the community and the world by setting the standard of excellence in medical education, research and clinical care. Diverse and inclusive, JHM educates medical students, scientists, health care professionals and the public; conducts biomedical research; and provides patient-centered medicine to prevent, diagnose and treat human illness. JHM operates six academic and community hospitals, four suburban health care and surgery centers, more than 38 primary health care outpatient sites and other businesses that care for national and international patients and activities. The Johns Hopkins Hospital, opened in 1889, was ranked number one in the nation for 21 years by U.S. News & World Report.
Media Contacts:
Stephanie Desmon
410-955-8665; sdesmon1@jhmi.edu
Helen Jones
410-502-9422; hjones49@jhmi.edu
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/jhm-rmb061813.php
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A guide for the study of the potential environmental impacts of offshore renewable energies
Public release date: 18-Jun-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Irati Kortabitarte
i.kortabitarte@elhuyar.com
34-943-363-040
Elhuyar Fundazioa
The global operator of renewable energy ACCIONA-Energy in collaboration with the Marine Research Unit of AZTI-Tecnalia has developed a guide that will facilitate the writing of the Environmental Impact Studies (EIS) of Marine Renewable Energy Projects.
This is a publication that aims to present in a synthetic and easily understandable way the existing knowledge about the potential environmental impacts of marine renewable energy projects and to point to the methodological means for studying them, so that future projects of this nature can be sustainably managed from an environmental perspective.
In this respect, it will be useful to the promoters of marine renewable energy projects so that they take in to account all the environmental implications of their projects. It will also benefit the technicians of the administrations involved in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of projects and in the granting of the relevant permits, as well as the people who carry out EIS. Finally, it will be of interest for other groups like NGOs, which are devoted to preserving, conserving and protecting the marine environment, and also for the public in general.
This initiative is part of the project on the efficient and integral use of renewable offshore energies "CENIT-E OCEAN LEADER, leaders in Ocean Renewables". The project is an ambitious technology initiative promoted by a consortium of companies with a strong research capability which addresses the challenge of developing the necessary technologies to set up integrated installations that can harness marine renewable energies, such as waves and tidal currents. Further information can be obtained at http://www.oceanlider.com.
The main aim of the OCEAN LIDER project is the research in breakthrough technologies needed for the setting up of integrated facilities for the use of renewable ocean energy, thus contributing towards: the sustainable use of marine energy resource; the development of new products, processes and services of strategic importance to the sectors involved; to promote a new economic growth model based on renewable energies and energy saving; to contribute, with renewable resources, to energy supply, addressing the Spanish and European priorities (20%, 2020) and offsetting the trade balance; obtaining energy sustainability and combating climate change (reduction of GHG emissions); enabling Spain to remain the global renewable energy leader, helping generate skilled employment and combating climate change and gain access to Greenhouse Gas allowances.
One of its six lines of research is devoted to the development of models, protocols, guides, methodologies, tools and new technologies in order to asses correctly the environmental impacts on the full cycle of offshore energy-generating infrastructure projects.
###
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 18-Jun-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Irati Kortabitarte
i.kortabitarte@elhuyar.com
34-943-363-040
Elhuyar Fundazioa
The global operator of renewable energy ACCIONA-Energy in collaboration with the Marine Research Unit of AZTI-Tecnalia has developed a guide that will facilitate the writing of the Environmental Impact Studies (EIS) of Marine Renewable Energy Projects.
This is a publication that aims to present in a synthetic and easily understandable way the existing knowledge about the potential environmental impacts of marine renewable energy projects and to point to the methodological means for studying them, so that future projects of this nature can be sustainably managed from an environmental perspective.
In this respect, it will be useful to the promoters of marine renewable energy projects so that they take in to account all the environmental implications of their projects. It will also benefit the technicians of the administrations involved in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of projects and in the granting of the relevant permits, as well as the people who carry out EIS. Finally, it will be of interest for other groups like NGOs, which are devoted to preserving, conserving and protecting the marine environment, and also for the public in general.
This initiative is part of the project on the efficient and integral use of renewable offshore energies "CENIT-E OCEAN LEADER, leaders in Ocean Renewables". The project is an ambitious technology initiative promoted by a consortium of companies with a strong research capability which addresses the challenge of developing the necessary technologies to set up integrated installations that can harness marine renewable energies, such as waves and tidal currents. Further information can be obtained at http://www.oceanlider.com.
The main aim of the OCEAN LIDER project is the research in breakthrough technologies needed for the setting up of integrated facilities for the use of renewable ocean energy, thus contributing towards: the sustainable use of marine energy resource; the development of new products, processes and services of strategic importance to the sectors involved; to promote a new economic growth model based on renewable energies and energy saving; to contribute, with renewable resources, to energy supply, addressing the Spanish and European priorities (20%, 2020) and offsetting the trade balance; obtaining energy sustainability and combating climate change (reduction of GHG emissions); enabling Spain to remain the global renewable energy leader, helping generate skilled employment and combating climate change and gain access to Greenhouse Gas allowances.
One of its six lines of research is devoted to the development of models, protocols, guides, methodologies, tools and new technologies in order to asses correctly the environmental impacts on the full cycle of offshore energy-generating infrastructure projects.
###
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/ef-agf061813.php
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Sharyl Attkisson on being hacked: My computers turned themselves ...
posted at 3:31 pm on June 17, 2013 by Allahpundit
Via the Right Scoop, a follow-up to Friday?s post. Forgive me for a possibly stupid question but when she says that her computers were turning on and off, she means they were powering on and then powering down, not that they were merely ?waking up? from sleep mode, right? When I tweeted the link to this, a bunch of people tweeted back that a computer might ?wake up? automatically due to Windows Update. But Attkisson has had professional computer forensics people investigate, though; obviously she knows the difference by now between a computer updating itself and doing something freaky weird like powering on. The question is, how could a remote intruder access the computer in the first place if it was powered down? They would have needed to gain physical access to the machine and installed some sort of remote power switch, I assume. And why would they do something like that if, per Attkisson herself, they took sophisticated steps to erase their digital fingerprints after they messed around in her hard drive? If you don?t want your target to know she?s being hacked then maybe don?t alert her by remotely powering on her computer. Something doesn?t add up.
Maybe she means that her computers did merely ?wake up? from sleep mode but that there was no apparent explanation for it, including automatic updating?
She?s careful not to make any direct accusations but here?s an awfully heavy hint about what she thinks the hacker was after:
?Whoever was in my work computer, the only thing I was working on were work-related things with CBS were big stories I guess during the time period in questions were I guess Benghazi and ?Fast and Furious.? The intruders did have access to personal information including passwords to my financial accounts and so on, but didn?t tamper with those, so they weren?t interested in stealing my identity or doing things to my finances. So people can decide on their own what they might have been trying to do in there.?
Watch at 1:20 too for when she says she?s ?not prepared? yet to talk about who they think is responsible. That sounds like she and the forensic investigators have some inkling but aren?t ready, for whatever reason, to be more specific. Given the emphasis in the clip about the timing of the hacking, i.e. when she was hard at work on Benghazi and Fast & Furious, if she had reason to believe it wasn?t the feds but rather some freelance hacker, this would have been the moment to say so, no? E.g., ?Many people have asked me if I think the Department of Justice is responsible but our research points to a private actor.? Everyone suspects the DOJ here in light of the AP/James Rosen revelations and of course she knows that, and yet she conspicuously refuses to rule them out. How come?
Related Posts:
Buying a Home in Overland Park from a For Sale by Owner ? Top 3 ...
Lisa texted me his phone number and I made the call ? only to leave a message. I then heard back from Lisa to discover that she had actually already looked at the house. She did tell him that she was working with a buyer?s agent and he said he was willing to pay the 3%. We agreed to meet at the house later Saturday afternoon so I could give her my opinion. As her buyer?s agent I was able to talk to her about:
- The price of the house
- Comparable prices of other recent sales in the neighborhood
- My opinion of the condition of the house ? with respect to the asking price
Naturally when I got to the house, I asked him to sign my ?Permission to Show and Commission Contract? which sets the agreement between all of the parties: the seller, the buyer and the buyer?s agent. He told me he had his own agreement drawn up which we could use. I said that if I sold his house, it would have to be done on a standard sales contract that all of the real estate companies use. Unfortunately or perhaps fortunately for some, our sales contract is 16 pages long and is intended to prevent any miscommunication between parties.
Here?s the tricky part?while I am representing my buyer, I am also talking with the seller which normally doesn?t happen in a real estate transaction. But since the seller is ?unrepresented? I must talk directly to him which puts him at somewhat of a disadvantage since he doesn?t have an agent.
After providing all necessary documentation to Lisa, she is conferring with her dad regarding the purchase. Here are 3 things you should consider before entering into a purchase agreement with a ?for sale by owner?:
- There are no rules the ?for sale by owner? has to follow ? he?s not represented
- You should only enter into a ?fsbo? agreement using a buyer?s agent to help you through the process ? not a real estate attorney
- Everything MUST be in writing in order to prevent any misunderstandings from either party
Will Lisa make an offer on this house? Don?t know yet. Dealing with a ?for sale by owner? is a bit more challenging than it seems for some buyers and for good reason. There?s more to consider when buying a home from a ?for sale by owner? than a house that?s listed in the Multiple Listing Service with another Realtor.
If you?d like buyer?s representation to buy your next home, please call me direct at (913) 515-3250 or contact me here.
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Analysis: European cloud computing firms see silver lining in PRISM scandal
By Leila Abboud and Paul Sandle
PARIS/LONDON (Reuters) - France has its "Sovereign Cloud" project while across the Rhine data firms have created the label "Cloud Services: Made in Germany", all trying to reassure big companies that their information is stored away from the prying eyes of U.S. spies.
European firms believe revelations that the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) has secretly gathered user data from nine big U.S. Internet companies, including Microsoft and Google, will hand them a competitive advantage as they play catch-up with the dominant American players in "cloud computing".
Yet companies and individuals may have to accept that while storing and processing their most sensitive information on servers owned by Europeans and located in Europe could keep it from the NSA's eyes, intelligence agencies closer to home may be looking anyway.
"If you are going to have a Big Brother, I'd much rather have a domestic Big Brother than a foreign Big Brother," said Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at internet security company F-Secure, which also offers cloud services with data stored in the Nordic countries.
Cloud computing - an umbrella term for everything from web-based email to business software that is run remotely via the Internet instead of on-site - is being adopted by big companies and governments globally to cut costs and add flexibility to their IT departments.
In a Normandy town nestled in a loop of the Seine river lies a huge new data centre, a part of France's Sovereign Cloud project that some in the industry once poked fun at as being out of step with the realities of the borderless Internet.
Last year the French government ploughed 150 million euros ($200 million) into two start-ups, including the data centre's owner Cloudwatt, to equip the country with infrastructure independent of U.S. cloud computing giants.
Following the revelations that the NSA's PRISM program collected user data from the nine companies that also include Yahoo and Facebook, the French position now seems prescient to some people.
"People are being spied on without their knowledge, and non-U.S. residents have no legal rights," said Philippe Tavernier of Numergy, another cloud-computing group that got state help. "We feel vindicated that our strategy is right."
As European Union officials seek answers from the U.S. government on PRISM, technology executives, data protection regulators and analysts told Reuters the scandal may prove a turning point for the region's young cloud computing industry.
European companies such as telecoms groups Orange and Deutsche Telekom are trying to exploit the concerns as they build their own cloud businesses.
Government agencies and municipalities, especially in more privacy-conscious countries such as Germany, are more likely to turn to local alternatives for cloud services. Sweden recently banned Google Apps - cloud-based email, calendar and storage - in the public sector over concerns that Google had too much leeway over how the data was used and stored.
"SOMEONE IS ALWAYS WATCHING"
Similar changes could also gather pace in Asia where companies and regulators were already concerned about data security in the cloud before PRISM.
A source at a major Chinese company that provides cloud infrastructure said governments were likely to impose stricter controls on where data was stored, although this would not be a panacea. "Frankly, wherever you put your data, someone is always watching. It could be the U.S., it could be China," he said.
Some lawmakers in the European Parliament also want rules requiring companies undertaking cloud projects to protect European users' data better, and are using concerns around PRISM to lobby for their cause. They want supervisors or judges to oversee the transfer of personal data to overseas security services, and for customers of cloud companies to be able to opt out of their data being stored in the United States.
Caspar Bowden, an independent privacy advocate and Microsoft's chief privacy adviser from 2002-2011, said that before the PRISM revelations the big U.S. cloud companies had been largely able to quell fears about data security with savvy public relations. "The headlines this past week will change all that. The nationality of the company and the location of the data do make a difference," he said.
Even before PRISM, some companies abroad planning cloud computing projects were concerned about the powers given to U.S. intelligence agencies by anti-terrorism laws enacted after the September 11 attacks on the country: the 2001 Patriot Act and the 2008 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Amendments Act (FISAA).
A European Parliament body said in a report last year that FISAA granted the U.S. "heavy-caliber mass surveillance fire-power aimed at the cloud" and had "very strong implications on EU data sovereignty and the protection of its citizens' rights".
MURKY
Cloud computing companies and their customers globally are struggling to understand when and how governments can access users' data. Many national and international laws are at a play and different interpretations abound. Also since U.S. anti-terrorism laws require that information requests be kept secret, companies served with such warrants cannot disclose them.
This much is clear: a U.S. cloud computing company must comply with U.S. government search warrants and intelligence requests, just as a French or German company would when presented with a similar domestic warrant. Intelligence agencies also co-operate under what are known as mutual legal assistance treaties to gain access to data stored in one jurisdiction but needed in a lawful investigation in another country.
What remains murky, however, is whether the U.S. government can use anti-terrorism laws on a U.S.-based company such as IBM or Microsoft to force its local subsidiaries across the world into handing over user data. Or more simply, can the U.S. government just order a cloud company to use a U.S.-based computer to access data stored abroad?
"When data comes in to the U.S. or is handled in the cloud by U.S. companies, there is a question whether access can be obtained by the U.S. government," said Ellen Giblin, a lawyer who specializes in privacy and data protection at the Ashcroft Law Firm. "It's a very thick and layered concern."
Contacted by Reuters, major U.S.-based cloud providers including IBM, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Google declined to answer specific questions. Many have built data centers abroad - AWS in Ireland and Australia, IBM in Germany and Ireland for example - to address data privacy concerns among non-U.S. companies.
A spokeswoman for AWS noted that it did not take part in PRISM. On its website, AWS says data stored in the EU never leaves the region unless the customer requests it.
Cloud companies in Europe are taking different steps to meet their customers' needs. Some are putting forward their local credentials such as the state-funded Cloudwatt and Numergy in France. German firms use the "Cloud Services: Made in Germany" label as a marketing tool if they can certify certain conditions such as contract terms that comply with national privacy laws.
Axel Heantjens, an executive at Orange Business Services, recently advised a French luxury group that needed computer servers in the Americas for a global cloud project but did not want them in the United States because of security concerns. "I told them to consider Costa Rica or Canada," he said.
Others such, as the German lawyers' association, are turning to technological fixes. It now encrypts data that 800 members of its information technology group put in a cloud computing program provided by T-Systems, the IT services unit of Deutsche Telekom.
Since only the association holds the encryption key and not T-Systems, the product adds an extra layer of security.
Such encryption has been unpopular among companies because the scrambled data crippled the functionality of cloud programs like Salesforce.com or Microsoft Office 365.
Now a number of tech companies have got around some of the problems, including California-based start-up CipherCloud. The company's software encrypts data on the fly as it is sent up or retrieved from cloud applications. The key to unscramble the files is kept by the customer and never given to the cloud provider.
"We've grown rapidly because so many people around the world are worried about cloud security," said CipherCloud CEO Pravin Kothari.
(Additional reporting by Harro Ten Wolde, Claire Davenport, Alistair Barr, Lee Chyen Yee, and Bill Rigby; Editing by David Stamp)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/analysis-european-cloud-computing-firms-see-silver-lining-125322771.html
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Column: Turkey's economy is vulnerable
By Hugo Dixon
LONDON, June 17 (Reuters) - Tayyip Erdogan seems to like the concept of "choking" things. At the weekend, Turkey's prime minister sent riot police into an Istanbul park with tear gas and water cannons to clear out the protesters. A week earlier, he had threatened to "choke" an alleged "high-interest-rate lobby" of speculators who wanted to push interest rates up and suffocate the economy.
Erdogan's harsh actions against protesters and harsh words against investors could backfire economically. The country depends on foreign investors to fund its big current account deficit. If they turn tail in response to the mounting unrest, interest rates will indeed have to rise.
The protests which began two weeks ago over Tayyip Erdogan's alleged authoritarianism, triggered by the prime minister's insistence on bulldozing one of Istanbul's few public parks, initially alarmed investors. The stock market plunged, the lira fell and government bond yields spiked. Then, after the central bank intervened in the foreign exchange market and Erdogan offered concessions last week, investors calmed down.
But the weekend's use of riot police has stoked a conflict that seemed like it might be on the point of resolution.
The problem is not so much that speculators have an incentive to jack up interest rates. This would be perverse. Foreign investors own $140 billion of domestic bonds and equities, according to Standard Bank. They will lose money if interest rates rise.
The risk rather is that investors will pull out their money if they lose confidence. The U.S. Federal Reserve's indication that it may slow down its massive bond-purchasing program has exacerbated that risk, as some of the money it has been pumping into U.S. bonds has seeped into emerging markets such as Turkey.
What's more, the Turkish miracle isn't quite as good as it seems. The economy grew only 2.6 percent last year, down from 8.5 percent the previous year - after the central bank had to hike interest rates because the economy was overheating and inflation reached 8.9 percent last year.
Turkey's biggest economic weakness is its current account deficit - a sign that consumption has been growing faster than is sustainable. The deficit did fall to 5.9 percent of GDP last year, after a 9.7 percent gap the previous year, as the economy slowed. But it is rising again this year. The April trade deficit was $10.3 billion, up from $6.6 billion last year.
Indeed, the selloff in Turkey's financial markets began a week or so before the police crackdown on protesters in Istanbul's Taksim Square on May 31. For example, two-year bond yields rose from 4.8 percent on May 17 to 6 percent at the end of the month; and the stock market fell 8 percent between May 22 and the end of the month.
Until now, international investors have been happy to fund the deficit. Not only were they attracted by the strong economic growth. They also liked Erdogan's pro-market approach, the political stability they thought he had brought and the prospect that Turkey's march towards a market democracy would be anchored by negotiations to join the European Union, says Timothy Ash, Standard Bank's head of emerging markets research.
The "interest-rate lobby" also liked the fact that the government's debt is only 35 percent of GDP and that banks have strong balance sheets, partly because they were seared by Turkey's financial crisis at the start of the millennium. Meanwhile, both Moody's and Fitch recently upgraded the country to investment grade.
The problem is that the unrest is casting doubt on some of these positive factors. For a start, Turkey no longer looks so stable politically. Then there's the fact that Erdogan's attack on speculators is sowing doubts about the depth of his commitment to markets. Furthermore, the crackdown on protesters may undermine Turkey's chances of joining the EU after Germany last week suggested delaying the next round of negotiations. What's more, the unrest could harm growth if tourists are deterred from visiting and domestic consumers become more cautious.
A particular weakness is that the current account deficit has been largely funded with hot money. The share accounted for by foreign direct investment - long-term money that can't easily run away - has been falling, according to Morgan Stanley. Meanwhile, the share made up by debt has been on the rise.
One measure of Turkey's vulnerability to a loss of confidence is that it has an "external financing requirement" of $205 billion - roughly a quarter of GDP - over the next year, according to Standard Bank. This financing requirement is the sum of its current account deficit and the maturing debt it needs to repay or roll over. A more extreme measure of vulnerability would add the $140 billion of foreign held bonds and shares. If this tries to flee, the lira could plunge.
Against this, the central bank has $130 billion of reserves, which it dipped into last week when it helped to stabilize the foreign exchange market. This war chest, though, is low compared to Turkey's external financing needs. What's more, the net reserves - after excluding foreign exchange deposited by the banking system - are only $46 billion, according to Standard Bank.
So the central bank couldn't hold the line if the "interest-rate lobby" really did run for the exits. In that case, Turkey would have to raise interest rates, which would damage growth. And then the economic miracle, which Erdogan has presided over and which is one of the main sources of his popularity, might look like a conjuring trick. Instead of choking protesters, Turkey's prime minister should try to make a genuine peace with them.
CONTEXT NEWS
- Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan rallied hundreds of thousands of supporters at an Istanbul parade ground on June 16 as riot police fired teargas in the city center to disperse anti-government protesters.
- Erdogan told supporters that two weeks of protests had been manipulated by "terrorists" and dismissed suggestions that he was behaving like a dictator.
- Last week Erdogan threatened to "choke" financial market speculators who he said were growing rich off "the sweat of the people". Erdogan blamed a "high-interest-rate lobby" for causing volatility in financial markets and vowed to stop them.
(Hugo Dixon is Editor-at-Large, Reuters News. The opinions expressed are his own.)
(Editing by Sarah Bailey)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/column-turkeys-economy-vulnerable-095624228.html
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