EVALUATING THE PERFORMANCE OF INFORMATION SECURITY: A BALANCED SCORECARD APPROACH

This paper, a research in progress, presents a balanced scorecard based framework for managing and evaluating the performance of information security in organizations. Acknowledging the multi-dimensionality of information security and the various value propositions of different constituents, we contend that for organizations to maximize the value of their information security effort, they should strike a balance between four information security capabilities pertaining to four perspectives: the financial, the customer, the internal processes, and the learning and growth perspectives. The proposed framework supplements the traditional financial perspective with three non-financial perspectives and thus accounts for the qualitative and intangible benefits of information security. Furthermore, it captures the technical and socio-organizational dimensions of information security. Finally, the proposed framework, through its robust theoretical and methodological foundation, holds the promise of maximizing the effectiveness of the information security endeavor in organizations

A Framework for Decision and Intelligence Systems based on Input and Output Types

In tracing the evolution of computer based Management Support Systems (MSS), three main generations or classes can be distinguished. These generations, in order of their emergence, may be identified as Data Management Systems (DMS), Information Management Systems IMS), and Knowledge Management Systems (KMS). The common objective among these three classes of systems is supporting managerial decision making. One distinguishing aspect among these three classes is the type of input and output (viz. data, information, and knowledge) that these systems handle, and consequently the level and the form of support that they provide. In this paper we explore these three classes of systems from an input-output perspective. In particular, this paper offers a framework for classifying MSS based on their input and output types, with particular focus on the input side. By developing an input-output based framework for current MSS, we hope to provide a foundation to develop an agenda for the next generation of MSS

Patient safety culture in Palestinian hospital pharmacies: a cross-sectional survey

Background Assessment of safety culture—safety-related norms and behaviours—in health care settings is receiving increasing attention. Assessment of pharmacy safety culture in the occupied Palestinian territory is scarce. We aimed to investigate patient safety culture in Palestinian hospital pharmacies and its association with hospital characteristics (ie, ownership and number of beds) and pharmacy staff characteristics (including sex, age, education, job title, working hours, and years in profession and working in a hospital). Methods The self-administered safety attitudes questionnaire (SAQ) was translated into Arabic and was then undertaken in February 2012 to April 2012. All pharmacy staff (n=115) working for more than 3 months before taking the survey in 28 public, private, and non-governmental hospitals in the West Bank were targeted. We used IBM-SPSS (version 19) for data analysis. Findings 73 staff completed surveys (response rate 69%). Mean age of participants was 35·3 (SD 6·5) years and 48 (67%) respondents were women. The mean scores for overall safety varied significantly between hospital pharmacies, ranging from 43 (poor safety) to 85 (good safety) on a 0–100 scale (p=0·004). For SAQ domains (including teamwork atmosphere, job satisfaction, safety climate, positive perception of management, stress recognition of respondents, and favourable working conditions), mean scores ranged from 76 (SD 21) for favourable working conditions, to 62 (SD 25) for stress recognition. Only two SAQ domains received 75% or more positive responses from participants, which were for job satisfaction (56 respondents, 77%) and favourable working conditions (56 respondents, 77%). Overall safety score was significantly associated with hospital ownership, with higher scores in private and non-governmental hospitals than in public hospitals (p=0·002). Additionally, participants working in hospitals with less than 50 beds reported higher positive perceptions of management than did their counterparts in hospitals with a greater number of beds (p=0·031). No participant characteristic was significantly related to SAQ domain scores. 45 (62%) respondents did not report any drug-related adverse event recorded by patients in the past year. 64 (87%) participants rated patient safety at their hospital units as excellent or very good, and 9 (13%) rated patient safety as acceptableFunding None

User Participation and Technology Acceptance: Towards Ex-Ante Acceptance Predictions

The current work is positioned at the point where technology acceptance research and user participation in informationsystems development research intersect. More specifically, this paper purports to achieve three objectives: (a) explain howtechnology acceptance determinants can be elicited from users during their participation in the ISD activities, (b) investigatethe influence of user participation on these determinants, and (c) investigate if the elicitation of these determinants at earlystages of the ISD is predictive of post-implementation usage behavior. To this end, the research recommends adding newcategories to the traditional system development stages so as to elicit acceptance determinants. Ten hypotheses are advancedto investigate the ex-ante predictability of acceptance determinants and how user participation impacts them. The proposedmodel, through its robust theoretical foundation, holds the promise of predicting systems acceptance/rejection at early stagesof the development process thereby increasing the likelihood of successful systems development

Electrophoretic Deposition (EPD) of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (Mwcnts) Onto Carbon Fiber (CF) Fabric

The Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composite (FRPC) has been widely employed in structural applications. However, adding nanoparticles such as multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) can be used to improve the composites' mechanical properties substantially. The purpose of this study is to investigate the stability of MWCNTs in distilled water (DW) and dimethylformamide (DMF). Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) was chosen as the method for depositing MWCNTs onto carbon fiber (CF) fabric because of the advantages of simple equipment and inexpensive cost. Thus, the effect of voltage and deposition time were examined to attain the ideal condition for the EPD of MWCNTs onto CF fabric. The stability of dispersed MWCNTs in various dispersing mediums was explored as the importance of the MWCNTs to remain stable in the medium is essential to achieve homogeneous deposition. The UV-Vis and colloidal stability test revealed that MWCNTs dispersed in DMF have greater stability than DW. Scanning Electrode Microscopy (SEM) images exhibited that 10 minutes and a 20 V voltage were the optimal conditions for the deposition of MWCNTs onto CF fabric.   &nbsp

The IT-Productivity Linkage at the Country Level for Developing Economies

Recent evidence suggests that information technology (IT) investments have a positive impact on productivity and economic growth for developed countries. However, for developing countries the relationship between IT investment and economic growth remains unclear. This paper draws on the resource-based view (RBV) theory with its notion of resource complementarity to propose a theoretical model of how factors interact with IT investment to influence economic productivity. The proposed model posits a number of factors effecting the productivity of IT investment in developing economies

Electrophoretic Deposition (EPD) of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (Mwcnts) Onto Carbon Fiber (CF) Fabric

The Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composite (FRPC) has been widely employed in structural applications. However, adding nanoparticles such as multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) can be used to improve the composites' mechanical properties substantially. The purpose of this study is to investigate the stability of MWCNTs in distilled water (DW) and dimethylformamide (DMF). Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) was chosen as the method for depositing MWCNTs onto carbon fiber (CF) fabric because of the advantages of simple equipment and inexpensive cost. Thus, the effect of voltage and deposition time were examined to attain the ideal condition for the EPD of MWCNTs onto CF fabric. The stability of dispersed MWCNTs in various dispersing mediums was explored as the importance of the MWCNTs to remain stable in the medium is essential to achieve homogeneous deposition. The UV-Vis and colloidal stability test revealed that MWCNTs dispersed in DMF have greater stability than DW. Scanning Electrode Microscopy (SEM) images exhibited that 10 minutes and a 20 V voltage were the optimal conditions for the deposition of MWCNTs onto CF fabric.   &nbsp