Strategic Sensemaking and Software Asset Management: Linkages Between Interpretation and Organizational Action

Software is a critical information technology (IT) asset as it plays a key role in the creation of organizational value and it ranks as the first or second most important IT budget disbursement. Organizations are expected to govern software to ensure its efficient use while protecting the copyright of software developers. Software asset management (SAM) focuses on the good governance and effective lifecycle management of software. SAM impacts the flexibility to support business strategies with software, and protects organizations against liability and security risks associated with software use. Since the 1990s, practitioners and scholars posit that SAM is a strategic issue that should be attended by top management. However, reports indicate that widespread SAM adoption is at early stages and a review of the literature reveals limited research on SAM. Studying SAM is relevant to practice and theory because it could explain the processes behind its adoption in organizations. Two different SAM actions are identified: Proactive and Reactive SAM. This study investigates the role of top managers and important antecedents of SAM actions. This investigation draws from strategic sensemaking to explain how top management team’s (TMT) interpretation of IS strategic issues (i.e., software asset issues) as an opportunity influences proactive SAM. It also draws from institutional theory as explanation of reactive SAM actions. Survey responses from 187 chief information officers were collected. The study used a scenario to elicit a strategic issue tested in three stages. In the first stage, scholars and practitioners validated the scenario and survey items. In the second, a pilot was conducted to validate the survey instrument and research model. In the third, a full-scale data collection and test of the research model was completed. Findings from this study indicate that TMT interpretation of SAM as an IS strategic issue influences the adoption of Proactive SAM. Also, coercive force has a direct influence on reactive SAM. This study contributes to the IS literature by developing an instrument to measure reactive and proactive SAM, identifying factors that influence TMT’s interpretation, and subsequent SAM action. For practice, the study corroborates the need to involve TMT in the SAM decision making processes because TMT interpretation is positively associated with the willingness to implement Proactive SAM

Shaping globalization for poverty alleviation and food security:

CONTENTS: Brief 1. Introduction / Eugenio Díaz-Bonilla and Sherman Robinson Brief 2. The Nature of Disagreements / Ravi Kanbur Brief 3. Growth and Poverty / Manohar Sharma, Sam Morley, and Eugenio Díaz-Bonilla Brief 4. Trade and Food Security / Eugenio Díaz-Bonilla and Marcelle Thomas Brief 5. Nutrition / Julie Babinard and Per Pinstrup-Andersen Brief 6. High-Value Agriculture / Christopher Delgado, Nicholas Minot, and Nikolas Wada Brief 7. Food Safety and Food Quality / Laurian J. Unnevehr Brief 8. Technological Change / Peter B. R. Hazell Brief 9. Intellectual Property Rights and Agricultural R&D / Philip G. Pardey and Brian D. Wright Brief 10. Environment / Stanley Wood Brief 11. Democracy and Civil Society / Marzia Fontana and Yukitsugu Yanoma Brief 12. Conflict and Food Insecurity / Ellen Messer and Marc J. Cohen Brief 13. Governments and Public Policy / Eugenio Díaz-Bonilla and Sherman RobinsonNutrition., Intellectual property., Conflict management., Food security., Poverty alleviation., Afghanistan., Globalization,

Electronic patient self-assessment and management (SAM): a novel framework for cancer survivorship

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We propose a novel framework for management of cancer survivorship: electronic patient Self-Assessment and Management (SAM). SAM is a framework for transfer of information to and from patients in such a way as to increase both the patient's and the health care provider's understanding of the patient's progress, and to help ensure that patient care follows best practice.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Patients who participate in the SAM system are contacted by email at regular intervals and asked to complete validated questionnaires online. Patient responses on these questionnaires are then analyzed in order to provide patients with real-time, online information about their progress and to provide them with tailored and standardized medical advice. Patient-level data from the questionnaires are ported in real time to the patient's health care provider to be uploaded to clinic notes. An initial version of SAM has been developed at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) for aiding the clinical management of patients after surgery for prostate cancer.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Pilot testing at MSKCC and UCSF suggests that implementation of SAM systems are feasible, with no major problems with compliance (> 70% response rate) or security.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>SAM is a conceptually simple framework for passing information to and from patients in such a way as to increase both the patient's and the health care provider's understanding of the patient's progress, and to help ensure that patient care follows best practice.</p

Seasonal effect and long-term nutritional status following exit from a Community-Based Management of Severe Acute Malnutrition program in Bihar, India.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Children aged 6 months to 5 years completing treatment for severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in a Médecins Sans Frontières Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) program in Bihar, India, showed high cure rates; however, the program suffered default rates of 38%. This report describes the nutritional status of 1956 children followed up between 3 and 18 months after exiting the program. SUBJECTS/METHODS: All children aged 6-59 months discharged as cured with mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) ⩾120 mm or who defaulted from the program with MUAC <115 mm were traced at 3, 6, 9, 12 and 18 months (±10 days) before three exit reference dates: first at the end of the food insecure period, second after the 2-month food security and third after the 4-month food security. RESULTS: Overall, 68.7% (n=692) of defaulters and 76.2% (n=1264) of children discharged as cured were traced. Combined rates of non-recovery in children who defaulted with MUAC <115 mm were 41%, 30.1%, 9.9%, 6.1% and 3.6% at 3, 6, 9, 12 and 18 months following exit, respectively. Combined rates of relapse among cured cases (MUAC ⩾120 mm) were 9.1%, 2.9%, 2.1%, 2.8% and 0% at 3, 6, 9, 12 and 18 months following discharge, respectively. Prevalence of undernutrition increased substantially for both groups traced during low food security periods. Odds of death were much higher for children defaulting with MUAC <110 mm when compared with children discharged as cured, who shared the same mortality risk as those defaulting with MUAC 110-<115 mm. CONCLUSIONS: Seasonal food security predicted short-term nutritional status after exit, with relapse rates and non-recovery from SAM much higher during food insecurity. Mortality outcomes suggest that a MUAC of 110 mm may be considered an appropriate admission point for SAM treatment programs in this context

Biometric Fuzzy Extractor Scheme for Iris Templates

In: The 2009 World Congress in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, and Applied Computing (WORLDCOMP'09), The 2009 International Conference on Security and Management (SAM'09), Vol II, Proceedings 563--569. H.R. Arabnia and K. Daimi (Eds.), Las Vegas (USA), July, 2009Biometric recognition offers a reliable and natural solution to the problem of user authentication by means of her physical and behavioral traits. An iris template protection scheme which associates and retrieves a secret value with a high level of security, is proposed. The security is guaranteed thanks to the requirements of fuzzy extractors. The implementation of the scheme is done in Java and experimental results are performed to calculate its False Acceptance Rate and its False Rejection Rate.This work has been partially supported by Ministerio de Industria, Turismo y Comercio (Spain), in collaboration with CDTI and Telefónica I+D under the project SEGUR@ (CENIT-2007 2004).Peer reviewe

The Potential Impact of Increased Irrigation Water Tariffs in South Africa

In South Africa, a water scarce country, conflict between water users is mounting, while there are few remaining bulk water augmentation options. Water demand management is thus increasingly taking centre stage in water management debates. Water pricing is regarded as an important component of managing the demand for water resources. This article traces the efficacy of increasing irrigation water tariffs to save water and the impact thereof on the national economy and the Western Cape economy using the Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model and Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) constructed by Hassan et al (2008). Two scenarios are investigated in which the water tariff is increased by 50 percent from a base of 2c/m³. In the first scenario water demand is fixed in agriculture; thus, water needs to be fully utilized in agriculture. In the second scenario it is assumed that all water does not have to be utilized. The study finds that, for both scenarios, increasing water tariffs by 50% raises the risk profile of agriculture, threatens food security, decreases national welfare, increases imports of staple foods, increases the prices of staple foods, decreases household welfare and decreases employment in agriculture. These adverse effects are more severe in the second scenario than in the first scenario. The introduction of irrigation water pricing shocks should thus be approached with due caution and alternative demand management approaches should be investigated.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Assessment Of Library User Security In Sam Jonah Library, University Of Cape Coast

The aim of the study was to assess the security measures put in place to protect patrons of Sam Jonah Library of University of Cape Coast. The descriptive survey design was used in collecting and analyzing data. A questionnaire and interview guide was used to solicit information from respondents. The study adopted the convenient sampling technique for drawing respondents for the study. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics which involved frequencies, tables and percentages. Content analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data. The findings of the study showed that the security breaches that could happen in the library environment include; property theft, verbal abuse, pickpockets, nuisance phone calls and harassment by staff. It was also found out that the major breaches that patrons had actually experienced were; property theft (laptops, mobile phones, calculators and pen drives), nuisance phone calls from fellow users and harassment by staff. It was again discovered that there was no policy on securing the patrons of the library. It was further revealed by management that there were not enough measures put in place to ensure the safety of users even though a conscious effort is being made. In relation to the challenges to securing the safety of users, it was found out that inadequate funds to purchase ICT based security equipment, inadequate security personnel at the entry and exit of the library and inadequate attention placed on the security of users. Also, a patron not being able to differentiate between a library staff and a patron was another challenge. Based on the findings and conclusions of the study, it is recommended among other things that management should install functional closed circuit television cameras, enough staff to patrol in and around the library and proper identification to differentiate library staff from patrons

Assessment Of Library User Security In Sam Jonah Library, University Of Cape Coast

The aim of the study was to assess the security measures put in place to protect patrons of Sam Jonah Library of University of Cape Coast. The descriptive survey design was used in collecting and analyzing data. A questionnaire and interview guide was used to solicit information from respondents. The study adopted the convenient sampling technique for drawing respondents for the study. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics which involved frequencies, tables and percentages. Content analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data. The findings of the study showed that the security breaches that could happen in the library environment include; property theft, verbal abuse, pickpockets, nuisance phone calls and harassment by staff. It was also found out that the major breaches that patrons had actually experienced were; property theft (laptops, mobile phones, calculators and pen drives), nuisance phone calls from fellow users and harassment by staff. It was again discovered that there was no policy on securing the patrons of the library. It was further revealed by management that there were not enough measures put in place to ensure the safety of users even though a conscious effort is being made. In relation to the challenges to securing the safety of users, it was found out that inadequate funds to purchase ICT based security equipment, inadequate security personnel at the entry and exit of the library and inadequate attention placed on the security of users. Also, a patron not being able to differentiate between a library staff and a patron was another challenge. Based on the findings and conclusions of the study, it is recommended among other things that management should install functional closed circuit television cameras, enough staff to patrol in and around the library and proper identification to differentiate library staff from patrons