Mapping factors influencing EAI adoption in the local government authorities on different phases of the adoption lifecycle

Several private and public organisations have adopted Enterprise Application Integration (EAI), however, its application in the Local Government Authorities (LGAs) is limited. Although, there exist few EAI adoption models, these models mainly focus on a number of different factors (e.g. benefits, barriers, cost) influencing the decision making process for EAI adoption. Moreover, these models do not illustrate which factor(s) influence the decision making process for EAI adoption on the adoption lifecycle phases. Literature indicates that the adoption process involves a sequence of phases an organisation passes through before taking the decision for adoption. This exemplifies that LGAs may also have to pass through several adoption phases before taking the decision to adopt EAI. However, due to the: (a) multiplicity of diverse EAI adoption factors and (b) not able to recognise which factor(s) influence EAI on adoption lifecycle phases, it may not be easy for LGAs to take decisions to adopt EAI by merely focusing on different factors. This may impede the decision making process for EAI adoption in LGAs. Notwithstanding, the implications of EAI have yet to be assessed, leaving scope for timeliness and novel research. Therefore, it is of high importance to investigate this area within LGAs and result in research that contributes towards successful EAI adoption. This paper makes a step forward as it: (a) investigates and proposes four adoption lifecycle phases, (b) validates the adoption lifecycle phases and (c) mapping the factors influencing EAI adoption on the adoption lifecycle phases, through a case study. Hence, it significantly contributes to the body of knowledge and practice. In doing so, providing sufficient support to the decision makers for speeding up the decision making process for EAI adoption in LGAs

Exploring strategic leadership challenges in achieving an ICT enabled transformational government

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel UniversityThis empirical research focuses on exploring the role of strategic leadership in the shift from Electronic Government (eGovernment) to Transformational Government (tGovernment). Despite the fact that many countries have implemented eGovernment, the literature reports a number of themhave failed to reach the promised seamless transformation. Moreover, there is a dearth of research into the domain of tGovernment; the research which exists is limited in extent thus leaving scope for timely and novel research contributions. This thesis reveals that a valuable contribution to knowledge could be derived from exploring the domain of transformational government. The leadership motivationand incentives to conduct a radical government organisational change have become an area of great importance. There is limited research on the strategic role of leadership in achieving transformational government domain; hence, the implications of seamless integration for transformational government have yet to be explored. This research discusses transformational government by using a qualitative, multiple case study research strategy. Data is triangulated and analysed according to its explanatory properties and underlying structural context. This researchextends established norms in literature for tGovernment implementation by incorporating established theories in organisational change from other related disciplines. This is to explain the significance of the underlying philosophical nature of the emerging themes, thus enabling government leaders to create robust strategic proposals for tGovernment. This empirical research is conducted in a Middle Eastern cultural context based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The research arrives at several key findings and themesthat contribute to the body of knowledge. A primary finding is the need for a radical change and an innovative managerial approach in using ICT to enable radical change in government organisations. A related finding of this research is that many assumptions underlying the various tGovernment models for transformation fall short to empirically explain the transformational government domain.The government visionary leadership has been proven to be a powerful driver for change in terms of initiating and leading the process for transformational government

Social Effectiveness of Tertiary Education for Adults in Mid-life

No abstract available

Dimensions Of Security Threats In Cloud Computing: A Case Study

Even though cloud computing, as a model, is not new, organizations are increasingly implementing it because of its large-scale computation and data storage, flexible scalability, relative reliability, and cost economy of services. However, despite its rapid adoption in some sectors and domains, it is evident from research and statistics, that security-related threats are the most noticeable barrier to its widespread adoption. To investigate the reasons behind these threats, the authors used available literature to identify and aggregate information about IS security threats in cloud computing. Based on this information, the authors explored the dimensions of the nature of threat by interviewing a cloud computing practitioner in an organization that uses both the private and public cloud deployment models. From these findings, the authors found that IS security threats in cloud computing must be defined at different levels; namely, at the business and technical level, as well as from a generic and cloud-specific threat perspective. Based on their findings, the authors developed the Cloud Computing Threat Matrix (CCTM) which provides a two-dimensional definition of threat that enables cloud users to fully comprehend the concerns so that they can make relevant decisions while availing cloud computing services

Ruling group dominance and regime justification in multi-ethnic states

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Political Science, 2011.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references.The current but inconsistent upheaval in the Middle East suggests variations in what will topple regimes, and thus in how regimes have laid the groundwork to remain in power. This thesis examines variation in a social condition, relative dominance of a ruling ethnic group in a multi-ethnic society, as the source for systematic variations in how a mono-ethnic regime will justify its rule to the general population. This thesis argues that the ruling group's relative dominance, defined as its relative percentage to other groups in the population, drives a regime's justifying argument to be either rooted in the presence of universally lauded institutions (democratic-institutional), the regime's demonstrated record of economic and social developmental achievements (economic-social developmental), or the regime's ability to further the interests of an identity common to itself and the population at large (identificational). Relative dominance, it is contended, affects regime behavior by influencing the functioning of two mechanisms: the degree to which a regime can tolerate public accountability and the extent to which it needs to reduce the salience of ethnicity in order to endure. The thesis hypothesizes that the former decreases and the latter increases as dominance decreases. The thesis incorporates quantitative and qualitative analyses to measure and evaluate relationships between relative dominance and justifying arguments. It demonstrates the existence of relationships between dominance and regimes' justifying arguments by means of content analysis of senior leaders' speeches in eight Sunni-dominant, Shi'ite-subordinate countries--Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq (under Saddam Hussein), Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Case studies of one high-dominance country (the UAE), one medium-dominance (Yemen), one low-dominance (Iraq), and one outlier (Bahrain) then illustrate the speculated mechanisms in action.by Deborah Rachel Berman.S.M

Model of Transformational Leadership, Risk Management Factors Influencing on Law Performance

The ability of law enforcement organisations to effectively combat crime depends on their use of innovation and workplace transformation. When the need for change in law enforcement organisations' daily operations becomes more and more apparent, transformational leadership has been shown to be extremely beneficial in risk management and enhancing police performance. The right strategy for effective policing development and improving police officer performance is established by this leadership style. The Dubai Police Department's performance in enforcing the law suffers in the absence of effective risk management and transformational leadership, potentially jeopardising the relationship between officers and all departments. As a result, this study created a model outlining the causal links between risk management and transformational leadership and the effectiveness of law enforcement. This study was quantitatively conducted, collecting 381 completed responses that were statistically analysed using SPSS and AMOS. The responses gathered during the data collection process were verified by the reliability analysis. Using fit index parameters to define the relationship between risk management and transformational leadership and law enforcement performance, AMOS analysis revealed that the developed model is satisfactory. The police department will be able to effectively manage risk with the help of this finding in order to reduce crime and create a security plan for the officers

A FRAMEWORK FOR THE EVALUATION OF CYBERSECURITY EFFECTIVENESS OF ABU DHABI GOVERNMENT ENTITIES

Cyberspace has become one of the new frontiers for countries to demonstrate their power to survive in the digitized world. The UAE has become a major target for cyber conflicts due to the rapid increase in economic activity and technology. Further, the widespread use of the internet in the region to the tune of 88% by the end of 2014 has exposed the critical infrastructure to all forms of cyber threats. In this dissertation, the researcher presents a detailed study of the existing cybersecurity defences globally and an investigation into the factors that influence the effectiveness of cybersecurity defences in Abu Dhabi government entities. Further, the role of cybersecurity education, training, and awareness in enhancing the effectiveness of cybersecurity and the role of senior management in providing strategic direction to government entities on cybersecurity are evaluated in addition to determining the contribution of strategic planning and technology level in ensuring an effective cybersecurity system. The study has evaluated the level of Cybersecurity Effectiveness (CSE) in Abu Dhabi Government Entities and the results show that Science and Technology entity performed better than all other Entities with CSE Mean = 4.37 while Public Order showed the least performance with CSE Mean = 3.83 and the combined model of six factors with R-square value 0.317 after multiple regression implying that 32% change in CSE in the government entities is occurring due to the six (6) independent variables used in the study. Further, results show that management has the responsibility of putting in place strategies, frameworks and policies that respond appropriately to the prevention, detection and mitigation of cyberattacks. Results further indicate that culture-sensitive training and awareness programmes add to the quality and effectiveness of cybersecurity systems in government entities. Further, study findings reveal that qualified and experienced personnel in government entities show a greater understanding of cyber and information security issues. Finally, the researcher proposes a cybersecurity framework and a checklist, with checkpoints, for evaluating the effectiveness of cybersecurity systems within government entities and future research interventions

Between Democracy and Inclusiveness. Conditions for Development Progress in the United Arab Emirates

Màster Oficial d'Internacionalització, Facultat d'Economia i Empresa, Universitat de Barcelona, Curs: 2020-2021, Tutor: Prof. Dr. Patricia García-Durán HuetThis work contributes to the literature on the role of inclusiveness in a country’s development. The growing promotion and relevance of the concept of inclusive growth, as part of the Sustainable Development Goals on the Agenda 2030 of the United Nations, together with the rise of China, a non-democratic country, underlines the importance to understanding the relationship between democracy and development on one hand, and between inclusiveness and development on the other. With regards to the latter, part of the literature sustains that growth can occur in extractive institutions so long they make an effort to become inclusive. If inclusiveness is inherent in liberal democracies but can also be found in authoritarian regimes with rich economies, is democracy necessary for development? To test the hypothesis that liberal democracy is not a necessary condition for the development of a country, this thesis employs both qualitative and quantitative methods to study the counterfactual case of the United Arab Emirates. The results show that is indeed possible for a country with an authoritarian regime to experience economic progress when inclusiveness is introduced in its economic and political institutions. It also shows that growth is already possible when the degree of inclusiveness is higher in only one of these dimensions, hence laying the foundation for the conclusion that liberal democracy is indeed not necessary for development (at least in the first stages)