Technical and Environmental Factors Affecting Cloud Computing Adoption in the South African Public Sector

Cloud computing can bring many benefits to organisations and countries. However there are technical and environmental factors that could hinder the adoption of these technologies in developing countries. The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent of these factors in the public sector in developing countries such as South Africa. A detailed literature review revealed several factors to cloud computing adoption and these were empirically validated using a survey approach. Fifty one respondents from forty public sector organisations in South Africa completed the survey. The findings revealed that the majority of the respondents showed concern regarding the availability and privacy of data. The environmental factors that were of the most importance to respondents were adoption strategies of cloud computing implementations as well as the provision of usage guidelines and regulatory requirements in organisations

Better information sharing, or 'share or be damned'?

Safeguarding, and the information sharing between professionals and bodies which underpins it, is crucial for the prevention of harm to the vulnerable. But sometimes it is worth exploring the 'hard cases', where safeguarding practices might ultimately prove troublesome themselves, on rarer occasions. As Sue Peckover (2013) has highlighted, a key idea is that sometimes we respond to risks of harm in an overly bureaucratic or otherwise superficial way because we can't find more resources to intervene most effectively and change risky behaviours presented by (actual potential or alleged) offenders or abusers. This is a theoretical and policy analysis-based piece that aims to prompt some questions for readers as to the flourishing culture of information sharing, and the growing body of public policy in relation to public protection disclosures. The piece also offers up some conclusions on new 'naming and shaming' strategies, as part of the "public protection routine" (Grace, 2013b); which is the multi-agency work of adult and child safeguarding, in essence. This 'direction of travel' toward increasing the ways in which knowledge about risk (and 'risky people') is spread around communities is the creation of what I would call a culture of 'share or be damned' for professionals to navigate. In this way, multi-agency information sharing and disclosures of information to the public (for safeguarding purposes) are an element of what Mike Nash has articulated as the 'politics of public protection' (Nash, 2010). This 'politics of public protection' can be summed up as the social, cultural and policy pressures which affect decision- making in the public protection and safeguarding contexts

Governing the Internet: The Extraterritorial Effects of the General Data Protection Regulation

The advent of the commercial Internet has introduced novel challenges to global governance because of the transnational nature of shared data flows, creating interdependence that may result in inter-state cooperation or competition. Data protection laws that are designed to ensure citizens’ right to privacy are one of the primary tool used by states to extend control over data flows. The European Union’s (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (2016) is widely regarded as the strongest data protection law in the world, and therefore may serve as a barrier to the openness of the Internet. The GDPR is both an instance of regulatory competition between the EU and US, but also heightens the need for cooperation to ensure the smooth functioning of online commerce. This paper shows that the EU is exporting the GDPR to jurisdictions such as the US via extraterritorial effects, even though the US has adopted an alternative legal approach to data protection. This paper seeks to explain the influence and limitations of the GDPR by considering factors such as the relative regulatory capabilities of the EU and the US as the result of their institutional and legal histories. It demonstrates that the EU has relied on complex interdependence to design a regulation like the GDPR, and it uses this regulatory competitive advantage alongside its soft power to promote its model of data protection, allowing the EU to obtain favorable outcomes in cooperation with the US

Enhancing Key Digital Literacy Skills: Information Privacy, Information Security, and Copyright/Intellectual Property

Key Messages Background Knowledge and skills in the areas of information security, information privacy, and copyright/intellectual property rights and protection are of key importance for organizational and individual success in an evolving society and labour market in which information is a core resource. Organizations require skilled and knowledgeable professionals who understand risks and responsibilities related to the management of information privacy, information security, and copyright/intellectual property. Professionals with this expertise can assist organizations to ensure that they and their employees meet requirements for the privacy and security of information in their care and control, and in order to ensure that neither the organization nor its employees contravene copyright provisions in their use of information. Failure to meet any of these responsibilities can expose the organization to reputational harm, legal action and/or financial loss. Context Inadequate or inappropriate information management practices of individual employees are at the root of organizational vulnerabilities with respect to information privacy, information security, and information ownership issues. Users demonstrate inadequate skills and knowledge coupled with inappropriate practices in these areas, and similar gaps at the organizational level are also widely documented. National and international regulatory frameworks governing information privacy, information security, and copyright/intellectual property are complex and in constant flux, placing additional burden on organizations to keep abreast of relevant regulatory and legal responsibilities. Governance and risk management related to information privacy, security, and ownership are critical to many job categories, including the emerging areas of information and knowledge management. There is an increasing need for skilled and knowledgeable individuals to fill organizational roles related to information management, with particular growth in these areas within the past 10 years. Our analysis of current job postings in Ontario supports the demand for skills and knowledge in these areas. Key Competencies We have developed a set of key competencies across a range of areas that responds to these needs by providing a blueprint for the training of information managers prepared for leadership and strategic positions. These competencies are identified in the full report. Competency areas include: conceptual foundations risk assessment tools and techniques for threat responses communications contract negotiation and compliance evaluation and assessment human resources management organizational knowledge management planning; policy awareness and compliance policy development project managemen

Group protection in human population genetic research in developing countries: the People's Republic of China as an example

This thesis is concerned with the question of whether developing countries such as the People’s Republic of China (PRC) are well prepared for the ethical and legal conduct of human population genetic research (HPGR) with specific regard to vulnerable target group protection. It highlights important issues such as whether the current frameworks of Western developed countries can provide adequate protections for target groups in human population genetic research. One fundamental question is who may suffer harm in this kind of research. Most bioethical scholars focus on individual participants but it is argued here that the interests of target groups are also seriously implicated in this kind of research. Since the target groups of HPGR are almost always vulnerable groups from isolated and rural areas of developing countries, the ethical and legal frameworks for human subject protection may need to be reconsidered in order to eliminate, or at least reduce, the vulnerability of those groups. Accordingly, given the dominance of the current ideology of Western developed countries, a critical study of vulnerable population protection is necessary to identify whether this ideology is appropriate in this context. This thesis aims to propose recommendations on the ethical and legal frameworks of biomedical research in developing countries with specific consideration of vulnerable group protection and cultural sensitivity. The PRC is used as an example to investigate current regulations for both human subject protection and group protection in developing countries. The thesis argues for an alternative model for group protection in the context of human population genetic research in developing countries. Translations of titles, authors, and publishers from Chinese works are unofficial, and the laws in this thesis are up to date at April 2011