Bachar Alrouh

A Performance Evaluation of Security Mechanisms for Web Services

Recently, web services security has shown a significant gesture as several specifications have been developed and implemented to meet the security challenges of web services. However, the performance of the security mechanisms is fraught with concerns due to additional security contents in SOAP messages, the higher number of message exchanges to establish trust as well as extra CPU time to process these additions. In this paper, we consider and compare the performance of various security mechanisms applied on a simple web service tested with different initial message sizes. The test results show that transport layer security mechanisms are considerably faster than message level security mechanisms. Moreover, the effect of adding SAML-tokens is negligible and the performance of SAML-based web services depends mostly on the underlying security mechanisms. Finally, the performance penalty of applying STS security mechanisms is significantly high comparing to non-STS mechanisms.

Vulnerable birth mothers and repeat losses of infants to public care: Is targeted reproductive health care ethically defensible?

This article aims to advance debate about the ethics of targeted reproductive health care for birth mothers who have experienced recurrent care proceedings. Making reference to new research evidence that reports the scale of the problem of repeat care proceedings in England, the article considers the role that enhanced reproductive health care might play in helping mothers exit a cycle of care proceedings. Emerging practice initiatives are introduced which are all stretching the boundaries of statutory intervention, by working intensively with mothers following removal of children to public care. The central argument of this paper is that a positive interpretation of rights provides a warrant for providing enhanced access to contraception, but this must be part and parcel of a holistic, recovery focused approach to intervention. Caution is also raised in respect of the reasons that may lie behind a pattern of rapid repeat pregnancy for this particular group of women. Issues of loss and grief are clear complicating factors in reproductive decision-making where an infant or child has been removed to public care, the magnitude of which must be firmly acknowledged. Charting novel theoretical ground, the discussion draws on a conceptual vocabulary from the literature on other forms of perinatal loss, suggesting that the notion of ‘replacement baby’ may help to explain why some mothers are caught in this negative cycle. Although this article is prompted by escalating concerns about the human and economic costs of repeat care proceedings in England, the discussion will be relevant to a number of international jurisdictions such as the USA, Canada and Australia where cognate systems of child protection give rise to similar patterns.

Strengthening prospects for safe and lasting family reunification: can a Family Drug and Alcohol Court make a contribution?

This article examines the contribution of the first Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC) within care proceedings in England and Wales. It asks what FDAC can contribute to family reunification amid concerns about the safety and sustainability of return home and significant changes in care proceedings under the Children and Families Bill of 2013. Features of FDAC as a problem-solving court are outlined and findings of an independent evaluation are presented to consider FDAC’s contribution to safe return home at the end of the care proceedings. The likely impact of the Children and Families Bill of 2013 on FDAC’s reunification objectives and the rationale for an FDAC aftercare service are discussed. The article concludes that FDAC has the potential to play a useful role in promoting safe reunification at the end of care proceedings. The Children and Families Bill of 2013 creates both opportunities and challenges to the FDAC model in respect of its approach to enhance safe reunification prospects, and adaptations will be necessary. There is a strong case to develop an FDAC aftercare service to help promote lasting reunification and safe and committed parenting.

Developing a decision-making framework for web service security profiles: a design-science paradigm

In this paper, we provide a novel analytical hierarchy process decision-making framework for Web service security profiles. This framework aids in solving the dilemma of which Web service security profile is most fitting in a particular situation. This is because the developed framework allows architects and developers to take informed decisions following a systematic and manageable approach. In developing the framework, we followed the design-science research paradigm within which we incorporated a number of laboratory experiments.