End-user challenges to security digitalisation and integration: a retail perspective

With the assumed digitalisation happening on the end-user side, progressive systems integrators stress the importance of changing the business concept from being installers to being service and solution providers. However, less is known about the details of this process on the end-user side. Based on an online survey of loss prevention managers it can be stated that security digitalisation and further business integration of security is a top agreement among the respondents. Integration and change efforts are often associated with challenges; it will become necessary for end-users to quantify a clear ‘Return’ in ‘Return on Investment’ calculations, bundling security and loss prevention investments with other business supporting systems, e.g. video conferencing, Voice over IP and/or HVAC etc. Of equal importance are necessary organisational changes to achieve integration, for example seeking internal sponsors and approaching departments often characterized as being ‘siloed’ in the past

Executive summary: End-user survey, autumn 2008

In June 2008, 53 top-tier security directors belonging to a security association responded to an on-line survey. There were several purposes of the survey: first, addressing end-user attitudes towards the digitalisation of security systems; second, understand what behaviour was associated with a role model security capability and, third, to formulate an understanding of the interaction between the demand and supply-side of the industry

Inhibiting and driving forces for the digitalization of security systems: security officers’ view on the issue

This memo reports on factors that drive and inhibit the digitalization of security systems. The reported factors are as follows: Technology-push factors • Need to lower costs on the end-user side, i.e. replacing labour with technology • Perceived convenience and ease-of-use of digital systems • Digital products can be connected to the current enterprise network; enabling an expanding set of security features • Firms holding the IP-capability (IP=Internet Protocol) and not having offered security in the past see business opportunities in adding security solutions to their offerings Inhibiting factors • Bandwidth and storage limitation and the political ‘battle of the bandwidth’ • Consultants and systems integrators are pushing “old” solutions • Fragmented industry on the systems integrator side • Fear of technology challenging current position, i.e. job security, of security officers • Fear of being ‘locked-in’ to only one supplier of securit

Getting the balance right between functional and non-functional requirements: the case of requirement specification in IT procurement

IT procurement represents a business process of high importance, including the ability to articulate requirements that the procurement deals with. Furthermore, specifying requirements is of importance for both procurer and potential supplier, as it functions as central contractual element between the two. The purpose of this article is two-fold: (i) to show how established terminology for requirement specification is represented in current call for bids for the procurement of IT; and (ii) to introduce an organizing framework that may assist procurers in actively addressing functional requirements and business requirements. Ten “call for bids” were examined from a Swedish national procurement database. From the analysis of the bids, it can be concluded that: (i) the call for bids displays a high degree of precision regarding hardware aspects, but less precision regarding software; (ii) supplier experience and competence is stressed, but rarely elaborated on in detail; and (iii) call for bids vagueness may be used as a lock-in opportunity for suppliers. From the discussion on this, a tentative procurement framework is suggested, aiming on increasing the logical transparency for the procurement of IT

File-sharing - A threat to intellectual property rights, or is the music industry just taking us for a spin?

File-sharing has become synonym with the “digital economy” where large music conglomerates as well as certain artist voice strong concern over the impact on their bottom line. This research analyzes the music industry, which has been heavily impacted by a major technological shift i.e. the invention, and rollout, of the Internet. We look to the technological shift that has enabled the downloading phenomenon, as well as analyze the uniqueness of the music industries situation. By comparing the book publishing industry as well as the software industry, which are arguably also influenced by intellectual property rights and plagiarism, we try to find similarities as well as dissimilarities with the music industry. We find that the music industry has used alliances as well as Mergers and Acquisitions in order to consolidate their positions in an attempt to slow down change. There is no consensus on the exact extent of ill effects of filesharing. We point to an unwillingness to achieve convergence of purpose between the IT-community and the much of the music industry. Finally we point to the historical fact that consumers always get what they want in the end, which should indicate a need to find a viable e-commerce solutio

Long Run Deviations From the Purchasing Power Parity Between German Mark and U.S. Dollar. Oil Price - the Missing Link?

The aim of this paper is to identify and investigate empirically the long-run determinants of real exchange rate fluctuations between Germany and the United States since the collapse of Bretton Woods system This study uses the multivariate cointegration technique to find steady state relations of real exchange rates. Possible I(2) property of the data generating process is also examined using the latest statistical tools. Number of studies have furnished fairly persuasive evidence that the deviations from purchasing power parity (PPP) derive in large part from differences in relative traded goods prices especially if the U.S. dollar is included into the estimation vector. These findings have led some researcher to suggest that there might be an unidentified real or financial factor causing persistent shifts in the real exchange rate. In this study we have used a more explicit explanation for this exchange rate shock. Real oil price is shown to be an important factor modeling the real exchange rate movements between German mark and U.S. dollar. In the presence of sunk cost of arbitrage uncertainty as to the permanence of the shocks causing relative price changes will widen the range within which price differentials can fluctuate and also increase the time before arbitrage commences. Oil price is shown to be the important source of uncertainty, which will appreciate US dollar without the price arbitrage of tradable goods. When the oil price shock is included into the estimation vector, we can also identify the classical Harrod-Balassa-Samuelson condition not generally found in literature between the German mark and the US dollar

Front yard machines : interpreting cultural landscapes in Thunder Bay

The house and the yard have ceased to be solely functional objects. Rather, today they are often invested with tremendous amounts of time and money resulting in objects which transcend traditionally functional roles to become objects of expressive communication. What follows is an investigation of the house and yard, looking specifically at one aspect - the front yard. The term 'front yard', to cite the City of Thunder Bay's by-laws, "means a yard extending across the full width of the lot between the front lot line and the nearest part of any building or structure or open storage use on the lot" (820.1.5). Or more simply put, the front yard in a broad sense defines a myriad of objects that exist or come together in the forefront of a property or boundary. A typical front yard has a part sectioned for grass and lawn; another part is usually set aside for plantings (flowers, trees, shrubs, etc.); there is in many instances a defined path onto the property, from the sidewalk and from the street, as well as a path to the entrance of the house. For my purposes "the front yard" is the totality of objects within a particular space defined from one edge of the property to the next, and beginning at the front edge of an individual's private space up to but not including the front of the house. The front yard is an artificial creation and there exist preferred genres or models that define and structure spatial organization, construction and/or deconstruction. Thick green carpets of grass, structured gardens and bright flowers, manicured bushes and shrubs, and paved pathways are not natural occurrences. These objects create a geosocial artifact, which should be recognized as a mixed medium. The front yard is created through the selection and assemblage of choice objects; it communicates both cultural and personal factors intentionally and unintentionally

Patient and provider experiences with relationship, information, and management continuity

From 2003 to 2014, the Health Quality Council of Alberta (HQCA) monitored patient experiences with healthcare services through a biennial Satisfaction and Experience with Healthcare Services (SEHCS) survey. The findings consistently showed a direct link between coordination of care, an aspect of continuity of care, and healthcare outcomes. Specifically, it showed that better coordination is linked to positive outcomes; the reverse is also true. Given the critical role continuity of care plays in the healthcare system, the HQCA conducted in-depth interviews, interactive feedback sessions and focus groups with patients and providers to explore factors that influence both seamless and fragmented patient journeys. Continuity of care refers to “the degree to which a series of discrete healthcare events is experienced as coherent and connected and consistent with the patient’s healthcare needs and personal context”. Reviews of international literature have identified three major subtypes of continuity across healthcare settings: relationship, information, and management continuity. This study showed that from the patient perspective, relationship continuity is most valued and is foundational for experiencing information and management continuity. A trusting, patient-centred, and respectful relationship with a primary healthcare provider is central to this. From the provider perspective, information continuity is most important. Primary care providers get frustrated if information is withheld or delayed, and if other providers change treatment plans or medications. Patients highly value timely access to their own information. They also value having enough time during an appointment with a family doctor who listens and communicates effectively. Both patients and providers value and benefit from management continuity, which was described by many as a partnership or shared responsibility for managing and coordinating healthcare services. Future conversations about health system design should focus on how all providers and services can work together, and engage patients, to co-design a system that is built around patient-centred relationships

Rajamekanismi ilmastopolitiikan ohjauskeinona

Kilpailukyvyn huomioonottaminen ilmastopolitiikassa on tärkeä näkökohta, josta on viime vuosina käyty keskustelua sekä kansallisella että EU-tasolla. EU:n vuonna 2009 uudistetussa päästökauppadirektiivissä on varauduttu toimiin ns. hiilivuodon lieventämiseksi. Yhtenä ratkaisuna tähän on direktiivin yhteydessä viitattu mahdolliseen rajamekanismiin. Myös EU:n ulkopuolella rajamekanismin soveltamista on harkittu keinona tasoittaa ilmastopoliittista pelikenttää. Tässä raportissa tarkastellaan mahdollisen rajamekanismin soveltuvuutta ilmastopolitiikan ohjauskeinoksi. Rajamekanismilla tavoitellaan sekä päästöjen vähentämistä että kotimaan tuotannon suojaamista. Rajamekanismin mahdollisen käyttöönoton kannalta on erityisen tärkeää tarkastella yhteensopivuutta WTO-sääntöjen kanssa. Selvityksessä on tarkasteltu mahdollisen rajamekanismin toteuttamiseen liittyviä kysymyksiä sekä mekanismin vaikutuksia Suomen kannalta

Rajamekanismi ilmastopolitiikan ohjauskeinona

Kilpailukyvyn huomioonottaminen ilmastopolitiikassa on tärkeä näkökohta, josta on viime vuosina käyty keskustelua sekä kansallisella että EU-tasolla. EU:n vuonna 2009 uudistetussa päästökauppadirektiivissä on varauduttu toimiin ns. hiilivuodon lieventämiseksi. Yhtenä ratkaisuna tähän on direktiivin yhteydessä viitattu mahdolliseen rajamekanismiin. Myös EU:n ulkopuolella rajamekanismin soveltamista on harkittu keinona tasoittaa ilmastopoliittista pelikenttää. Tässä raportissa tarkastellaan mahdollisen rajamekanismin soveltuvuutta ilmastopolitiikan ohjauskeinoksi. Rajamekanismilla tavoitellaan sekä päästöjen vähentämistä että kotimaan tuotannon suojaamista. Rajamekanismin mahdollisen käyttöönoton kannalta on erityisen tärkeää tarkastella yhteensopivuutta WTO-sääntöjen kanssa. Selvityksessä on tarkasteltu mahdollisen rajamekanismin toteuttamiseen liittyviä kysymyksiä sekä mekanismin vaikutuksia Suomen kannalta