"Not My Responsibility!" - A Comparative Case Study of Organizational Cybersecurity Subcultures

Despite significant technological advancements and the increasing sophistication of cyber- attacks in today’s modern society, organizations underestimate the human link in cybersecu- rity. Many still overlook that human behavior and decision-making are crucial in protecting sensitive information and mitigating risks. Organizations seemingly prioritize investigating time and resources into improving their technological cybersecurity measures rather than increasing the employees’ cybersecurity knowledge. These actions significantly impact the cybersecurity culture of the company. Cybersecurity culture refers to the shared values, beliefs, and actions of the employees in an organization that emphasize the importance of safeguarding digital assets, data, and systems against cyber threats. It encompasses the organization’s dedication, awareness, protocols, and ability to manage cybersecurity risks and promote a security-focused environment. Re- cent studies have primarily focused on discussing cybersecurity culture as a singular concept within an organization. This qualitative research aims to investigate the impact of cybersecurity subcultures within organizations. A systematic literature review was conducted to gain an overview of the existing theoretical background on cybersecurity subcultures. This process proved that there is a research gap in the topic of subcultures, as most of the current literature encompasses cybersecurity culture as a collective concept. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with ten employees from two IT companies. Cybersecurity leaders from each company agreed that the sales and IT subcultures had the most significant differences; hence, employees from each subculture in both companies were interviewed. The results prove that the security leaders’ suspicions were correct. The sales subcultures need to gain more knowledge about cybersecurity. Cybersecurity measures are seen more as obstacles instead of improving their cybersecurity. There is also a significant need for more responsibility. They believe that someone better qualified will take care of their mistakes if they cause a cybersecurity incident. On the other hand, the IT subculture seems to understand cybersecurity better. They have comprehensive knowledge of the topic. However, they also share this uncertainty regarding responsibilities, stating they feel pressured to share their expertise with colleagues. This leaves them with limited time to complete their actual work tasks. They point to a lack of management responsibility as one of the critical reasons for this. This research sheds light on cybersecurity subcultures and challenges the notion that orga- nizations have only one cybersecurity culture. Organizations need to allocate their time and resources differently and acknowledge the significance of subcultures in maintaining overall cybersecurity. The findings and insights are meant to assist organizations in enhancing their cybersecurity operations and protocols

Frontline policy implementation in public organizations : A sociological analysis of the ‘how and why’ of implementation gaps

Background and aims Innovation is promoted in politics and public service organizations as an essential factor for meeting the demands of society. How new policies or strategies can be implemented as intended in complex multi-level public organizations is a major practical and academic puzzle. We know from extensive research that there is often a gap between central policy formulations and their implementation in practice (Hill & Hupe, 2003; Hupe, 2014) created by frontline workers exercise of discretion and their outcomes (Lipsky, 1980, 2010). However, there is a need for empirical research on the ‘how and why’ of street-level implementation (Hupe, 2014) such as ‘how the workers actually arrive at their decisions’ (Goldman & Foldy, 2015 p.169), as well as the use of multi-leveled perspectives to investigate the problem of implementation gaps (Hupe, 2014). The thesis aims to investigate mismatches between centrally directed policy measures and their implementation on the operational level. Introducing the concept of ‘resistance-driven innovation’, the thesis challenges the normative tendency of viewing implementation gaps as implementation failures (Hupe & Hill, 2016). In order to realize the thesis’ aim, a critical realist informed case study was used to explore the top-down implementation process of a specific work inclusion policy measure within the Norwegian Employment and Welfare Services (NAV). The thesis aim is operationalized into research questions and dealt with in three separate articles as well as summarized and elaborated on in chapters 5, 6 and 7 as follows: a. What do the multi-level implementation context and process of the specific policy measure in NAV look like? b. How did frontline staff at the case office of NAV perceive and respond to the implementation efforts of the policy measure in focus? c. Why was the Facilitation Guarantee not implemented as intended at the case office? d. What are the theoretical implications, mainly for the street-level policy implementation research field, but also for the fields of institutional logics and employee-based innovation? e. What are the implications for the planning and management of implementation processes? Research design. The critical realist informed case study explores the topdown implementation process of the work inclusion policy measure called the Facilitation Guarantee within NAV, tracing it through all levels of NAV to a specific frontline case office. The case study included two successive and interacting main phases: first, the exploration of the implementation context, process and strategies of the policy measure at the various hierarchical levels of NAV, and then exploration and explanation of reactions to its implementation instructions among the frontline employees at the selected case office. The case study included in-depth semi-structured interviews, document studies and meeting observations. The case study included methods of in-depth semi-structured interviews, document studies and meeting observations. For the first phase, data material was collected during a 14 month period, December 2014 – January 2016 consisting of an exploratory document study of internal reports, guidelines, instructions etc. as well as 21 semi-structured interviews of 16 informants distributed at various levels of the organization, including managers and implementation coordinators. The second phase of the study, focusing on the selected frontline case office during the 4 last months of 2015, included 11 one-to-two hour-long interviews with frontline employees, as well as interviews from three of the informants from the first phase. The interviews were supplemented with observations from 24 case and department meetings. Together, the two phases consisted of a total of 32 interviews with 27 informants. Drawing on a CR informed methodology (e.g. Edwards, O'Mahoney, & Vincent, 2014) the empirical findings from the interviews and observations were analyzed in the light of the wider contextual understanding that the full case study provided. The subsequent findings were continuously analyzed to explore mechanisms that could best contribute to an explanation of the way that the implementation instructions were met by the frontline employees (Belfrage & Hauf, 2017)

Resistance-driven Innovation? Frontline Public Welfare Workers’ Coping with Top- down Implementation

Employee-based innovation researchers point to the important role of welfare workers in public service innovations. Bureaucratic and New Public Management inspired managerial agendas, still widely present in Nordic welfare organizations have been tied to an increase in feelings of inau- thenticity and use of coping strategies by welfare workers. At the same time, post-NPM principles of collaboration and service tailoring are more in line with professional values of welfare workers. Drawing on a critical realist informed case study comprising qualitative interviews and observations in the Norwegian public welfare and employment services, we describe types of revision and resis- tance practices used by frontline employees when faced with top-down implementation instructions, linking them to different types of innovations. The article adds to literatures on employee-based innovation by conceptualizing resistance practices as value-motivated resistance-driven innovation that may have a function of calibrating public value creation in welfare organizations submerged in bureaucratic and NPM-inspired managerial regime

Dynamic Analysis of a Vessel-shaped Fish Farm for Open Sea

Master's thesis in Offshore Technology : Marine and Subsea TechnologyIn recent years, aquaculture has been the fastest-growing animal food producing industry in the world. However, the absence of suitable production areas might potentially become the most limiting factor for future production growth. This motivates and necessitates the development of open sea fish farming. Design of offshore aquaculture systems is a novel and unique engineering challenge, which will depend on numerical tools that can simulate and predict the structural response in open sea conditions. In this master thesis, a vessel-shaped fish farm concept for offshore fish farming is studied. The vessel uses a turret mooring system for station keeping and is designed to break incoming waves and reduce environmental loads on the system. Dynamic analyses have been carried out using numerical simulation programs, with the aim to analyse vessel motions, mooring lines, fish nets, and coupled motions of the system. For studies of the hydrodynamic properties of the vessel, different panel models were created using the design analysis tool GeniE. The RAOs in heave, roll, and pitch were obtained from frequency domain analyses of the vessel hull, using the potential flow solver Wadam. Hydrodynamic data acquired from frequency domain analyses were exported from Wadam to SIMO, the program used for quasi-static time domain analysis of the vessel and simplified mooring system. Based on the mooring lines performance in SIMO, new mooring line parameters were established for the fully coupled time domain simulations in SIMO-Riflex, where fully coupled time domain analyses of the vessel-shaped fish farm was carried out. A sensitivity study was carried out from the fully coupled time domain simulations by comparing three different fish net models; rigid model, flexible model, and flexible model with no reduction factor. It was found that the simplified models overestimate the drag forces on the system, and it is recommended that neither of the simplified models should be used for future dynamic analyses of aquaculture systems. Development of tension in the foremost and rearmost fish nets was studied in steady current conditions, and with a conjunction of regular waves and steady currents. A mutual dependency between the forces on the net and its deformations was found. Motions of the coupled fish farm system and the efficiency of mooring lines were studied in time domain simulations with regular waves and steady currents

Kapitalstruktur i norske petroleumsselskaper : hvilke faktorer kan forklare kapitalstruktur i norske petroleumsselskap i perioden 1990-2010?

Denne utredningen tar for seg hvordan ulike faktorer påvirker kapitalstruktur i norsk-registrerte petroleumsselskaper på Oslo Børs. Innledningsvis starter vi med å drøfte ulik etablert teori innenfor kapitalstruktur, hvor vi ser på kapitalstruktur i perfekte markeder og imperfekte markeder. Vi tar for oss skattens påvirkning separat, og drøfter også multinasjonale selskapers skattemessige tilpasninger. I den empiriske analysen benytter vi deskriptiv statistikk og multippel regresjonsanalyse. Vi studerer gjeldsandel som uttrykk for kapitalstruktur, mens variablene skatt, vekst, tangible eiendeler, lønnsomhet og størrelse har til hensikt å forklare gjeldsandel. Vi inkluderer også dummyvariabler på årene og GICS-kodene, for å studere uobserverbare tids- og bransjeeffekter. Først ser vi på vanlig OLS-regresjon, men finner ved testing av OLS-forutsetningene at vi har innslag av autokorrelasjon i datasettet. For å justere for autokorrelasjon benytter vi derfor Newey-West Standard Error regresjon(NW). Vi finner sammenfallende resultater for de to analysene, med unntak av at skattevariabelen blir signifikant i NW-regresjon 1. Videre benytter vi den mer effektive random-effects regresjonsmodellen(RE-regresjon). Denne modellen viser til å gi større innsikt ved tolkning av resultatene enn både OLS-regresjon og NW-regresjon. Dette begrunnes i at LM-testen indikerer at vi har variasjoner mellom selskapene i perioden. På bakgrunn av RE-regresjonen er resultatet at størrelse og tangible eiendeler har en positiv signifikant påvirkning på gjeldsandel, mens lønnsomhet har en negativ signifikant påvirkning. Dette betyr at gjeldsandelen blir større når størrelse og andel tangible eiendeler øker, og at gjeldsandelen reduseres når lønnsomheten øker. Vi finner videre at makroøkonomiske forhold påvirker gjeldsandelen, hvor årene 1999-2000, 2002-2003 samt 2009 er signifikant forskjellig fra referanseåret 1990. For GICS-kodene finner vi derimot ingen signifikans. Interessant nok finner vi at skatt har en ikke-signifikant negativ påvirkning på gjeldsandel. Den negative sammenhengen mellom skatt og gjeld skyldes trolig gunstige skatteordninger for nyetablerte petroleumsselskaper, samt at de skattemessige avskrivningene er høyere enn de reelle. For vekstvariabelen finner vi sprikende resultater avhengig av regresjonsmetodikk. Vi finner en positiv sammenheng mellom vekst og gjeldsandel under OLS-regresjon og NW-regresjon, dog en ikke-signifikant sammenheng. Ved bruk av RE-regresjon finner vi at vekst har en ikke-signifikant negativ påvirkning på gjeldsandel, som er i tråd med vår hypotese

Påvirker et felles skolemåltid skolemiljøet? Skolematprosjektet i Aust-Agder

Masteroppgave folkehelsevitenskap- Universitetet i Agder, 2015Bakgrunn: Denne oppgaven er skrevet som en del av Skolematprosjektet i Aust- Agder, som er en intervensjonsstudie der 6.trinn ved Birkeland skole har fått et gratis skolemåltid hver dag i cirka fem måneder, og 5.- og 7.trinn ved samme skole samt 6.trinn ved Froland skole har vært kontrollgruppe. Prosjektet går over et helt skoleår, men denne oppgaven analyserer midtveisdata. Hensikt og problemstilling: Prosjektets hovedmål var å evaluere i hvilken grad intervensjonen ville ha positive effekter på vektutvikling, et sunnere kosthold på skolen, et bedre læringsmiljø og økt motivasjon for læring. Denne oppgavens problemstilling er: -­‐ Påvirket et felles skolemåltid skolemiljøet målt ved elevenes oppfatning av egen oppførsel, trivsel, akademisk mestringstro og klassemiljø. -­‐ Har sosioøkonomisk status og kjønn noe å si for effekten av intervensjonen? Metode: Studien har en kvantitativ metode, med et kvasi-eksperimentelt design. Utvalget besto av 164 elever, hvor av 55 var i intervensjonsgruppen, samt 152 foreldre. For å måle oppførsel, trivsel, akademisk mestringstro og klassemiljø ble det laget fire ulike skalaer først på baseline, deretter på follow-up, og det ble gjort t-testanalyser på endringene på disse delt på intervensjonsgruppen og kontrollgruppen. De samme analysene ble gjort stratifisert på kjønn og sosioøkonomisk status. Resultater: Analysene viste ingen signifikante funn; skolemåltidet påvirket ikke skolemiljøet, heller ikke når man stratifiserte på kjønn og sosioøkonomisk status. Konklusjon: Da utvalget var lite anbefales det videre forskning på et større utvalg

The courage to face yourself

I have called this essay, The courage to face yourself; in it, I use stories from my internship in Cuba to reflect on being a Norwegian social worker in another country. I also consider the many challenges that arise in this situation, and focus on the two different cultures and their attendant values, norms and morals. The stories are also about being a social worker in an unfamiliar culture and being in new situations. They are about the importance of getting to know yourself, daring to fully face yourself and having the courage to be the person you want to be, both privately and professionally. They are about developing yourself through interactions with others. They are about giving voice to the uncomfortable and incomprehensible. They are about having the courage to be yourself

Hva hindrer sykepleiere i å gi en optimal smertelindring til pasienter med en opioidavhengighet, innlagt på sykehus?

Tema: Smertelindring til pasienter med en opioidavhengighet. Problemstilling: Hva hindrer sykepleiere i å gi en optimal smertelindring til pasienter med en opioidavhengighet, innlagt på sykehus? Metode: Dette er en litterær oppgave, med litteraturstudie som metode. Selvvalgt litteratur, pensumlitteratur, og syv vitenskapelige artikler er inkludert for å videre belyse problemstillingen. Drøfting: Aspekter presentert i teoridelen vektlegges og drøftes opp mot hverandre. Smerte og smertebehandling, samt de ulike barrierene som hindrer adekvat smertelindring belyses. Drøftingen vil fokusere på sykepleier- og pasientperspektiv, samt relasjonen mellom sykepleier og pasient. Joyce Travelbee benyttes som sykepleieteoretisk forankring. Konklusjon: Det er flere barrierer som hindrer smertebehandlingen. Kunnskapsøkning og endring av holdninger hos sykepleiere kan sikre en bedre smertelindring. I tillegg kan et større fokus på den mellommenneskelige relasjonen, sykepleiers profesjonelle rolle, samt tillit til pasientens smertevurdering bidra positivt til ivaretakelse av pasienter med en opioidavhengighet

En kvalitativ studie om hvordan ledere motiverer medarbeidere på hjemmekontor

I denne studien forsker vi på hvordan ledere motiverer medarbeidere på hjemmekontor. På grunn av økt globalisering, effektivitet, rasjonalisering og økte krav blir fjernledelse mer og mer aktuelt. I 2020 ble bedrifter i hele Norge, men også bedrifter i store deler over hele verden tvunget til å innføre hjemmekontor på svært kort varsel grunnet Covid-19. Fjernledelse er et bredt begrep med mange områder som kan forskes på. Oppgaven er avgrenset med at vi ikke fokuserer på de lederne som hadde fjernledelse før Covid-19 og alle informantene er ledere i små-mellomstore bedrifter. Teorigrunnlaget for oppgaven er forskning og litteratur om transaksjonsledelse og transformasjonsledelse, kognitiv motivasjonsteori, behovsteori, jobb-karakteristikk modellen og sosiale motivasjonsteorier. Oppgaven er en kvalitativ studie med små-N-design. Vi har intervjuet 7 ledere hvor vi har brukt semi-strukturert intervju med intervjuguide. Alle informantene er ledere i 7 forskjellige bedrifter. Datamaterialet ble analysert ved hjelp av den hermeneutiske spiral. Denne studien viser at lederne synes kommunikasjonen med medarbeiderne blir vanskeligere med hjemmekontor. Fokuset på tillitt blir forsterket da lederne ikke kan observere og kontrollere medarbeiderne på samme måte som de kan når de jobber samlokalisert. Lederne bruker flere tiltak for å øke motivasjonen til medarbeiderne på hjemmekontor; de bidrar til autonomi og selvbestemmelse, skaper intellektuell stimuli, de inkluderer medarbeiderne, tilrettelegger for at medarbeiderne får brukt kompetansen sin, arbeidsoppgavene varierer og de fokuserer på å møte forskjellige individuelle behov medarbeiderne har