Philip Morris International (United States)

Risk management is one of the fundamental pillars of IT program management, particularly as organizations navigate the increasingly complex digital landscape of the 21st century. With the growing reliance on digital infrastructures, data, and interconnected systems, the challenges associated with cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI) integration, and infrastructure stability are becoming more pronounced. These three components—cybersecurity, AI, and infrastructure stability—are intricately linked, and their balance is essential for ensuring the long-term viability, resilience, and security of an organization’s IT systems. As organizations adopt new technologies and expand their digital footprints, IT managers face the critical task of balancing these elements in order to build robust, future-proof IT programs. The role of cybersecurity in IT program management has evolved significantly over the past few decades. Historically, cybersecurity was often relegated to being a peripheral concern, managed in isolation by dedicated security teams. Traditional approaches primarily focused on perimeter defenses, such as firewalls, intrusion detection systems (IDS), and antivirus software, to keep cyber threats at bay. While these methods provided some degree of protection, they were largely reactive and could only address known threats. As cyber adversaries have become more sophisticated, cyber threats have transcended basic attacks and evolved into more complex and persistent tactics, such as advanced persistent threats (APTs), zero-day exploits, and ransomware attacks. These evolving threats have highlighted the limitations of traditional cybersecurity measures and underscored the need for more proactive, dynamic security solutions. As cyber threats continue to evolve, organizations are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance their cybersecurity capabilities. AI, particularly in the form of machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL), is enabling IT teams to move from traditional, rule-based security systems to more adaptive and intelligent systems that can detect anomalies, predict vulnerabilities, and respond to incidents in real-time. AI-driven cybersecurity solutions offer a range of capabilities, such as threat detection, incident response, and automated remediation, all of which can significantly reduce the time it takes to detect and mitigate security breaches. AI-powered systems can analyze vast amounts of data, identify patterns and anomalies, and learn from past incidents to improve detection accuracy over time. This enables organizations to identify and respond to threats much more quickly and effectively than traditional systems that rely on predefined rules or signatures. The integration of AI into IT program management offers numerous benefits, including improved efficiency, scalability, and accuracy in detecting and responding to cyber threats. However, the implementation of AI also presents new challenges. For one, AI technologies themselves are not immune to vulnerabilities. Adversarial attacks, where malicious actors manipulate AI systems by feeding them false data or exploiting weaknesses in their models, represent a significant risk. AI models can also be vulnerable to bias if not properly trained on diverse, representative datasets. Additionally, AI-driven systems require large amounts of data to function effectively, raising concerns about data privacy and security. Organizations must carefully consider how to manage and protect the vast amounts of sensitive data needed to train AI models, while also ensuring compliance with data protection regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).

Machine Learning has emerged as a prominent force in entrepreneurship, particularly amidst the evolving economic landscape of Pakistan and the global challenges posed by inflation. This qualitative study, employing thematic analysis complemented by sentiment analysis, focuses on insights derived from women entrepreneurs for whom entrepreneurship serves as the primary source of family income. These women exhibit a tech-savvy approach, utilising algorithms to optimise their Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). The research explores key questions regarding the informational needs of women entrepreneurs, central to the study's objectives. Participants uniformly advocate for increased governmental support to foster entrepreneurial growth, alongside a collective call for women to assert their rights within the entrepreneurial domain. Additionally, proactive training initiatives are emphasised, with a shift towards internal initiatives driving change rather than relying solely on external interventions. Incremental progress is highlighted as crucial, given the societal barriers impeding long-term aspirations. Recommendations stemming from the study advocate for multifaceted interventions to cultivate an entrepreneurial ecosystem conducive to women's empowerment. These include the establishment of government-funded youth training centres, comprehensive educational seminars to foster entrepreneurship awareness, flexible educational schedules accommodating extracurricular activities, and provision of supplementary certifications aligned with entrepreneurial lifestyles by educational institutions. These recommendations aim to foster systemic changes empowering women entrepreneurs, facilitating their transition into influential stakeholders within Pakistan's entrepreneurial landscape. Furthermore, sentiment analysis informs predictive modelling for Machine Learning, enriching insights into the entrepreneurial experiences of women in Pakistan.

Abstract This chapter explores the developments in trade policy in Latin America. In the past decades, Latin American States have shifted their trading policy from import substitution to free trade, building a vast web of trade agreements with the main economies of the world. New provisions, such as trade-related disciplines pertaining to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), regulatory cooperation, gender, among others, have been included in trade agreements. On the other hand, the establishment of disciplines such as labour and environment in RTAs has presented difficulties. The Pacific Alliance and MERCOSUR, both trading blocs which encompass the main actors of the region, have accomplished several milestones in trade openness. However, there has not been a wide development in trade agreements between Latin American countries despite the potential benefits that convergence might bring.

_The WHO study group on tobacco product regulation (TobReg) published their eighth report on the scientific basis of tobacco product regulation in May, 2021. The report makes recommendations aimed at addressing “a number of issues concerning novel and emerging nicotine and tobacco products, such as electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), electronic non-nicotine delivery systems (ENNDS) and heated tobacco products (HTPs)”. The report concludes by making a number of policy recommendations on HTPs and ENDS that, if implemented, would severely restrict both the availability of these products, and accurate information about them for those adults would otherwise continue to use cigarettes. Whilst the report aims to “protect the health of […] populations, especially the younger generation”, it neglects to consider the potential negative consequences of these recommendations on the more than 1 billion people who smoke. We all agree that smoke-free products carry some risk compared to smoking abstinence or cessation. Nevertheless, the body of available scientific evidence indicates that these products are a better choice for adults who would otherwise continue to smoke._ _Rather than promoting regulation that would encourage these adults to switch to better alternatives such as e-cigarettes and HTPs, the policy recommendations put forward in the TobReg report will instead maintain the status quo—and support the continuation of smoking, the most harmful form of nicotine and tobacco consumption. The report omits or obscures key information that is vital for science-based policymaking, and there is a clear disconnect between the available body of scientific evidence and the policy recommendations put forth in the report. Here, we share our perspective on the TobReg report in order to contribute to an open, science- and evidence-based dialog._

Abstract Background Smoking is associated with cancer and cardiorespiratory disease mortality. Reducing smoking prevalence reduces deaths and life-years lost. Here, we estimate the impact of introducing heat-not-burn products and e-cigarettes in Germany from 1995 to 2015 on mortality from lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, ischaemic heart disease, and stroke in men and women aged 30–79 years. Methods We used the previously described population health impact model. Modelling starts with individuals of a given sex and age range with a defined cigarette smoking distribution. They are then followed under a “Null Scenario”, where reduced-risk products are never introduced, and one of seven “Alternative Scenarios”, where they are. Transition probabilities allow tobacco product use to change annually, and the individual product histories then allow estimation of risks, relative to never users, for each year and Scenario, which are then used to estimate reductions in deaths and life-years lost for each Alternative Scenario. Results In the Null Scenario, we estimated 852,357 deaths from cigarette smoking, with 8.61 million life-years lost. Had everyone quit in 1995, with no further use of the three products, these numbers would reduce by 216,650 and 2.88 million. The reductions would be 159,278 and 2.06 million with an immediate complete switch from cigarettes to heat-not-burn products, and 179,470 and 2.34 million with an immediate switch to 50% heat-not-burn products and 50% e-cigarettes. In four Scenarios with a more gradual switch, estimated decreases were 39,818–81,293 deaths and 0.50–1.05 million life-years, representing 17.5%-37.5% of the effect of cessation. These estimates assume switching to heat-not-burn products and e-cigarettes involves risk decreases of 80% and 95% of those from quitting. The decreases would have increased, had more diseases and a wider age range been considered, and also with a longer follow-up period, the decreases increasing markedly with time. Conclusions Various limitations are discussed, none affecting our conclusion that introducing these new products into Germany in 1995 could have substantially reduced mortality. Our results imply deaths from cigarette smoking could be substantially reduced, both by cessation and switching to reduced-risk products. Risk-proportionate public health campaigns and regulation might increase such switching.

Les auteurs présentent ce qu’ils considèrent comme un nouveau syndrome, « l’ epee », Exposition précoce et excessive aux écrans. Précoce car cela concerne les tout-petits (de 5/6 mois à 4/5 ans ; excessive quand le temps passé devant les écrans excède parfois plusieurs heures ; d’apparition récente du fait de leur envahissement dans la vie familiale. Ce « perturbateur environnemental et développemental » majeur, l’écran, est à l’origine des principaux symptômes (troubles de l’attention, retard de langage, difficultés relationnelles avec intérêt exclusif, etc.) du fait d’une sur-stimulation/captation de l’attention perceptive aux dépens de l’attention profonde, une absence de synchronisation interactive entre le tout-petit et ses proches, etc. Installé, ce syndrome exige une privation totale des écrans. Des conseils sont aussi proposés pour réduire cette quasi-épidémie…