Privacy dimensions in design of smart home systems for elderly people

Predominant research on privacy in smart homes reduces privacy to the protection of personal data. Recent research about Smart Home Systems in elderly care argues that this narrow conceptualization of privacy may be insufficient to safeguard privacy of an elderly person living in such environment. Privacy requirements for Smart Home Systems in Elderly Care (SHSEC) are usually decided based on legal regulations without considering elderly peoples’ specific needs. This paper investigates what values elderly people emphasize in relation to privacy in this context. To be able to study privacy beyond data protection we use the broad definition of privacy provided by Clarke (2006). Following this definition, the concept of privacy can be studied by four dimensions: privacy of the person, privacy of personal behavior, privacy of personal communications and privacy of personal data. The empirical data was collected through qualitative semi-structured interviews with elderly people, who participated in an interactive demonstration of a SHSEC. Our findings indicate that privacy in the context of SHSEC is a broader concept than the protection of personal data and therefore there is a need for a broader conceptualization of privacy concept in this context. Based on our empirical findings we can also conclude that understanding elderly\u27s values in relation to privacy is important in order to ensure their privacy in this context. Finally we found that elderly people are willing and are capable to discuss and express privacy-related requirements in relation to SHS technology that make them an untapped resource in design of privacy solutions in the context of SHSEC

Security Concerns of new alternative telecommunication services

With the advancing new era of communication, the so-called era of ‘being always online’ many providers offer their services for free. In that sense a small company or a virtual company becomes a huge competitor for different traditional telecommunication providers. Using the same services such as: voice calls, video calls, chat and similar services, the internet technology has made huge changes how users make use of such services . Instead of using these services, users shall install applications that are specialized for offering these services via applications, such as: Viber, WhatsApp, Facebook, Google Talk etc.. During the installation and update of these applications people do not recognize the risks of security and privacy of the information that makes their business vital, and how such information are abused on the fly and reused for unauthorized purposes. Using qualitative and quantitative methods we have conducted an empirical study focused on the usage of “these” services and we have elaborated further the need for increasing the knowledge of people in the area of security and privacy while using “free” services. This paper will highlight the challenges by setting a number of privacy and security concerns that are violated while using “free” online services, also offering a bird’s eye view of numerous recommendations developed by various standard organizations

Security Concerns of new alternative telecommunication services

With the advancing new era of communication, the so-called era of ‘being always online’ many providers offer their services for free. In that sense a small company or a virtual company becomes a huge competitor for different traditional telecommunication providers. Using the same services such as: voice calls, video calls, chat and similar services, the internet technology has made huge changes how users make use of such services . Instead of using these services, users shall install applications that are specialized for offering these services via applications, such as: Viber, WhatsApp, Facebook, Google Talk etc.. During the installation and update of these applications people do not recognize the risks of security and privacy of the information that makes their business vital, and how such information are abused on the fly and reused for unauthorized purposes. Using qualitative and quantitative methods we have conducted an empirical study focused on the usage of “these” services and we have elaborated further the need for increasing the knowledge of people in the area of security and privacy while using “free” services. This paper will highlight the challenges by setting a number of privacy and security concerns that are violated while using “free” online services, also offering a bird’s eye view of numerous recommendations developed by various standard organizations

Security Concerns of new alternative telecommunication services

With the advancing new era of communication, the so-called era of ‘being always online’ many providers offer their services for free. In that sense a small company or a virtual company becomes a huge competitor for different traditional telecommunication providers. Using the same services such as: voice calls, video calls, chat and similar services, the internet technology has made huge changes how users make use of such services . Instead of using these services, users shall install applications that are specialized for offering these services via applications, such as: Viber, WhatsApp, Facebook, Google Talk etc.. During the installation and update of these applications people do not recognize the risks of security and privacy of the information that makes their business vital, and how such information are abused on the fly and reused for unauthorized purposes. Using qualitative and quantitative methods we have conducted an empirical study focused on the usage of “these” services and we have elaborated further the need for increasing the knowledge of people in the area of security and privacy while using “free” services. This paper will highlight the challenges by setting a number of privacy and security concerns that are violated while using “free” online services, also offering a bird’s eye view of numerous recommendations developed by various standard organizations

State-of-the-Art in Security Thinking for the Internet of Things (IoT)

In this paper we propose a model for Internet of Things (IoT) practitioners and researchers on how to use security thinking in parallel with the IoT technological developments. While security is recognized as a top priority, repeatedly, IoT products have become a target by diverse security attacks. This raises the importance for an IoT security mindset that contributes to building more holistic security measures. In understanding this, we present the state-of-the-art in IoT security. This resulted in the identification of three dimensions (awareness, assessment and challenges) that are needed to develop an IoT security mindset. We then interviewed four security and IoT-related experts from three different organizations that formed the basis for our pilot study to test the model. Our results show that the identified three-dimensional model highlights continuous security thinking as a serious matter to sustain IoT development with positive outcomes for its users

Assessing Self-Justification as an Antecedent of Noncompliance with Information Security Policies

This paper aims to extend our knowledge about employees’ noncompliance with Information Security Policies (ISPs), focusing on employees’ self-justification as a result of escalation of commitment that may trigger noncompliance behaviour. Escalation presents a situation when employees must decide whether to persist or withdraw from nonperforming tasks at work. Drawing on self-justification theory and prospect theory, our model presents two escalation factors in explaining employee’s willingness to engage in noncompliance behaviour with ISPs: self-justification and risk perceptions. We also propose that perceived benefits of noncompliance and perceived costs of compliance, at the intersection of cognitive and emotional driven acts influence self-justification. The model is tested based on 376 respondents from banking industry. The results show that while self-justification has a significant impact on willingness, risk perceptions do not moderate their relation. We suggest that future research should explore the roles of self-justification in noncompliance to a greater extent

Reframing the Discourse on Work-Life Balance in the Digital Age

This paper reframes our understanding of the discourse on work-life balance (WLB) from a global perspective, where life on the four income levels (from bottom of the wealth to top of the wealth) is equally considered. Based on a systematic literature review, our initial insights are that WLB of workers in the highest economic sectors has received significant attention from scholars and practitioners in the west, while the global rest and those in other economic sectors, which represents the majority of the world’s population, has almost entirely been overlooked. We argue for a new understanding of WLB that addresses the needs of all people across the globe, regardless of their economic status or geographic position, and independent of their formal or informal work contexts. In our future work, we aim to address how disparities in: (1) agency and dependence; (2) privacy and exposure; (3) connection and disconnection; and (4) formality and informality can affect people\u27s dignity, equality, and healthy environments

Towards Ethical Big Data Artifacts: A Conceptual Design

Although Big Data generates many benefits for individuals, organizations and society, significant ethical issues are forcing governments to review their regulations so that citizens’ rights are protected. Given these ethical issues and a gradual increase of awareness about them, individuals are in need of new technical solutions to engage with organizations that extract value from Big Data. Currently, available solutions do not adequately accommodate the conflicting interests of individuals and organizations. In this paper, we propose a conceptual design for an artifact that will raise awareness amongst individuals about Big Data ethical issues and help to restore the power balance between individuals and organizations. Furthermore, we set forward a design agenda outlining future activities towards building and evaluating our proposed artifact. Our work is grounded in discourse ethics and stakeholder theory and intertwined with the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR

A internacionalização de empresas portuguesas: estudo de caso

Num contexto de globalização, os mercados externos apresentam-se, cada vez mais, como imprescindíveis à sobrevivência das empresas. Com efeito, as oportunidades e ameaças que a globalização envolve são determinantes para que as empresas procurem novas formas de manter e aumentar o seu desempenho e sustentabilidade. A internacionalização assume, por isso, primordial importância para a competitividade das mesmas. Este processo envolve a definição de estratégias operacionais que resultarão em importantes fluxos financeiros, de produtos e de conhecimento para as organizações. Em Portugal e, após a recente crise económica, o tema da internacionalização, sobretudo para as Pequenas e Médias Empresas (PME), tornou-se fundamental para a sua sustentabilidade. O processo de internacionalização é incremental para a grande maioria das empresas portuguesas. O investimento externo surge como efeito de uma experiência de exportação. Considerando que um processo de internacionalização é um processo complexo, envolvendo riscos elevados, o objetivo deste trabalho será estudar o processo de internacionalização de duas empresas portuguesas e uma ibérica. Seguindo uma metodologia qualitativa, assente no estudo de caso, pretende-se perceber o porquê e como decorreu o seu processo de internacionalização, seus objetivos e estratégias envolvidas. Dado que, ao analisar o processo de internacionalização de uma empresa, é importante confrontar modelos teóricos com a prática empresarial, procuraremos confrontar e verificar a validade das teorias e literatura relevantes com os casos em análise. De acordo com os resultados obtidos foi possível concluir que não existe, para as empresas em estudo, um modo de entrada único, existindo recurso à utilização de múltiplos modos de entrada, identificável com o modelo não sequencial. A vontade de crescimento revelou-se como a motivação em comum e mais referida pelas empresas, assim como as barreiras culturais para os principais entraves à internacionalização. Ambas as empresas recorrem a apoios externos, mas com diferentes finalidades e as mesmas revelaram-se ainda ricas na variedade de informações a que nos foi dado acesso.In a context of globalization, external markets are becoming more and more indispensable to the survival of companies. Indeed, the opportunities and threats that globalization entails are crucial for companies to seek new ways to maintain and increase their performance and sustainability. Internationalization is therefore of prime importance for their competitiveness. This process involves the definition of operational strategies that will result in important financial, product and knowledge flows for organizations. In Portugal, and after the recent economic crisis, the theme of internationalization, especially for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), has become fundamental for its sustainability. The internationalization process is incremental for the great majority of Portuguese companies. External investment is the result of an export experience. Considering that an internationalization process is a complex process, involving high risks, the aim of this work will be to study the internationalization process of two Portuguese companies and one Iberian. Following a qualitative methodology, based on case study, we intend to understand why and how its internationalization process occurred, its goals and the strategies involved. Given that, when analyzing the process of internationalization of a company, it is important to confront theoretical models with business practice, we will try to confront and verify the validity of relevant theories and literature with the cases under analysis. According to the results obtained, it was possible to conclude that for the companies under study there is no single input mode, and there is a use of multiple input modes, identifiable with the non-sequential model. The will to growth has proved to be the common motivation and more mentioned by the companies, as well as the cultural barriers to the main obstacles to internationalization. Both companies rely on external support, but for different purposes and they have proved rich in the variety of information to which we have been granted access

Exploring Employees’ Escalating Behavior as an Antecedent of Information Security Policy Noncompliance Behaviour

Information security trends show that many studies focus on information security in investigating employees’ motivated behavior for compliance with information security policies. The literature, however, lacks attention in understanding how escalating behavior may be an antecedent of noncompliance behavior. The objective of this study is to examine the factors that influence employees to violate their organization’s information security policy, where violation occurs during the escalation of commitment to a failing course of action. The proposed model draws on three theories that explain escalation of commitment, namely: prospect theory (PT), approach avoidance theory (AAT) and agency theory (AT). The paper specifies the three theories as complementary to facilitating an understanding of how employees engage in risky decisions to violate information security policy. The paper ends with a discussion of the implications of the proposed model by presenting a unique context for future research in the area of information security