Network governance in the Tshwane metropolitan municipality

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in Public Policy in the Wits School of Governance, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management February 2017The objective of the study is to investigate problems and trends experienced in implementing Network Governance in the City of Tshwane. Local government/municipalities are at the forefront of service delivery. Voters assess government’s performance through the provision of basic services to residents. Government’s ability to deliver services is mainly dependent on the governance models that they adopt. Governments adopt different governance models in the quest to improve service delivery. One of the most widely adopted models of governance that is seen to be progressive in improving the provision of services is Network Governance. The study adopted a qualitative methodology approach because the objective was to understand the challenges experienced in implementing the network governance model in the City of Tshwane. In-depth interviews were conducted using a structured questionnaire as a main tool of data collection. The interviews were conducted with 22 respondents who comprised City officials, councillors, civil society and members of the community. The study established that there were shortcomings in the implementation of Network Governance in the City of Tshwane. The findings also indicate that Network Governance was not adopted as a service delivery implementation model in the City of Tshwane. The study reflects that the Regions are not well capacitated to enhance principles of Network Governance. The findings reveal various problems in stakeholder management and communication which impede the implementation of Network Governance. The following recommendations are made to improve the implementation of Network Governance: The City of Tshwane must institutionalise Network Governance through policies; and standard protocols and procedures for network governance must be formulated to guide the implementation of the Network Governance policy.MT201

Barriers to Adoption of Wellness Programs: A Worked Example of an Augmented Best-Fit Framework Synthesis

Background: Qualitative syntheses have the potential to offer a great deal of insight into complex problems of practice. However, their methods often appear unclear and warrant ongoing scrutiny by the research community. Aim: This study introduces a novel combination of methods for synthesizing qualitative literature and explores the utility of these methods through a worked example of a real-world problem of practice. Methods: Qualitative studies that investigated barriers to adoption of wellness programs through the perspectives of key informants were systematically collected for synthesis. Key informants were identified as decision makers at small- to medium-sized businesses. The primary method used in this study was the Best-Fit Framework Synthesis (BFS). The BFS was augmented with Alignment Scores, CERQual Analysis, and a novel Saturation of Inquisition Test. Dedoose software was used to support data analysis. Results: The systematic search returned 4 studies that met the inclusion criteria. Diffusion Theory was systematically selected to develop a framework for analyzing qualitative findings. The synthesis generated four analytical themes and led to the development of a contextually rich conceptual framework. Analytical themes deeply informed the research questions while the framework offered a broader view of the overall problem. CERQual Analysis provided an added dimension of ranking amongst findings based on their level of confidence. The Saturation of Inquisition Test identified gaps in current research and validated decisions made during the synthesis. Alignment Scores identified specific points of misalignment and supported decision-making during the synthesis. Conclusion: The augmented BFS was a valuable method for synthesizing qualitative findings in a manner that informs practitioners and builds on relevant theory. The additional methods integrated seamlessly with the original BFS while enhancing transparency, reliability, and practical value of the synthesis. Further replication and critical evaluation of the overall methodology and its individual components is warranted

A Survey on Integrated Circuit Trojans

Traditionally, computer security has been associated with the software security, or the information-data security. Surprisingly, the hardware on which the software executes or the information stored-processed-transmitted has been assumed to be a trusted base of security. The main building blocks of any electronic device are Integrated circuits (ICs) which form the fabric of a computer system. Lately, the use of ICs has expanded from handheld calculators and personal computers (PCs) to smartphones, servers, and Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices. However, this significant growth in the IC market created intense competition among IC vendors, leading to new trends in IC manufacturing. System-on-chip (SoC) design based on intellectual property (IP), a globally spread supply chain of production and distribution of ICs are the foremost of these trends. The emerging trends have resulted in many security and trust weaknesses and vulnerabilities, in computer systems. This includes Hardware Trojans attacks, side-channel attacks, Reverse-engineering, IP piracy, IC counterfeiting, micro probing, physical tampering, and acquisition of private or valuable assets by debugging and testing. IC security and trust vulnerabilities may cause loss of private information, modified/altered functions, which may cause a great economical hazard and big damage to society. Thus, it is crucial to examine the security and trust threats existing in the IC lifecycle and build defense mechanisms against IC Trojan threats. In this article, we examine the IC supply chain and define the possible IC Trojan threats for the parties involved. Then we survey the latest progress of research in the area of countermeasures against the IC Trojan attacks and discuss the challenges and expectations in this area. Keywords: IC supply chain, IC security, IP privacy, hardware trojans, IC trojans DOI: 10.7176/CEIS/12-2-01 Publication date: April 30th 202

External and internal influences on R&D alliance formation: evidence from German SMEs

Relying on relational capital theory and transaction cost economics (TCE), this study identifies factors that impede or promote alliance formation in small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Environmental uncertainty and knowledge intensity impede firms’ R&D alliance formation; the focal firm’s overall trust in partners enhances alliance formation. Trust interacts positively with environmental uncertainty and knowledge intensity to affect alliance formation in SMEs. The findings reflect data from a longitudinal sample of 854 German SMEs, captured over eight years from 1999 to 2007

Organizational Justice, Trust And Organizational Commitment – A Comparison Between Permanent And Contingent Workers

This study aims to examine the influence of organizational justice and trust towards organizational commitment, with job status as a moderator. This study is important due to the growing number of contingent workers being currently employed in many organizations. Many organizations are faced with the question if there are any difference in the commitment level of the permanent employees in comparison with contingent workers

Real-Time Sensor Networks and Systems for the Industrial IoT

The Industrial Internet of Things (Industrial IoT—IIoT) has emerged as the core construct behind the various cyber-physical systems constituting a principal dimension of the fourth Industrial Revolution. While initially born as the concept behind specific industrial applications of generic IoT technologies, for the optimization of operational efficiency in automation and control, it quickly enabled the achievement of the total convergence of Operational (OT) and Information Technologies (IT). The IIoT has now surpassed the traditional borders of automation and control functions in the process and manufacturing industry, shifting towards a wider domain of functions and industries, embraced under the dominant global initiatives and architectural frameworks of Industry 4.0 (or Industrie 4.0) in Germany, Industrial Internet in the US, Society 5.0 in Japan, and Made-in-China 2025 in China. As real-time embedded systems are quickly achieving ubiquity in everyday life and in industrial environments, and many processes already depend on real-time cyber-physical systems and embedded sensors, the integration of IoT with cognitive computing and real-time data exchange is essential for real-time analytics and realization of digital twins in smart environments and services under the various frameworks’ provisions. In this context, real-time sensor networks and systems for the Industrial IoT encompass multiple technologies and raise significant design, optimization, integration and exploitation challenges. The ten articles in this Special Issue describe advances in real-time sensor networks and systems that are significant enablers of the Industrial IoT paradigm. In the relevant landscape, the domain of wireless networking technologies is centrally positioned, as expected

A taxonomy of interactions in socio-technical systems: A functional perspective

Although the modelling of interactions has long been at the core of socio-technical systems theory, and is a key for understanding resilience, there is a lack of a holistic taxonomy of interactions. This study introduces a taxonomy of interactions to be used in association with the Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM). The taxonomy has nine criteria: nature of agents, output nature, levelling, waiting time, distance, degree of coupling, visibility, safety and/or security hazards, and parallel replications. For each criterion, two descriptors are proposed: what the interaction looks like; and - when applicable - the variability level of the interaction. The use of the taxonomy is presented for three systems with clearly distinct complexity characteristics: cash withdrawal from an ATM, teaching a university course, and manufacturing operations. These case studies indicate the usefulness of the taxonomy for the identification of leverage points in work system design. They also show the value of modelling the variability of the interactions in FRAM models, in addition to the traditional modelling of the variability of the outputs of functions. Implications of the taxonomy for resilience engineering are discussed

Business model design–performance relationship under external and internal contingencies: evidence from SMEs in an emerging economy

We examined Business Model (BM) designs – performance relationship and the moderating effects of firm age and external environment on this relationship. Furthermore, we investigated the impact of simultaneously operating dual BM designs (i.e. novelty and efficiency) on firm performance and contingent effect of firm age on this relationship. Based on data from 241 Indian SMEs, our findings highlighted that BM novelty was of greater benefit to younger SMEs compared to mature SMEs, while BM efficiency was of greater benefit to more mature SMEs. The environmental dynamism positively moderated the relationship between BM novelty and performance but it negatively moderated the relationship between BM efficiency and performance. We also found that BM efficiency is more beneficial in a low, rather than a high, munificent environment but we found environmental munificence did not moderate the BM novelty and SME performance relationship. Finally, we found simultaneous deployment of BM novelty and BM efficiency resulted in an enhancement of performance among mature SMEs compared to younger SMEs. Our study not only adds to the limited literature on BMs in SMEs but also helps practicing managers and entrepreneurs to make informed choices about their BMs