Implementing an effective information security awareness program

The aim of this project and dissertation is to develop an effective information security awareness program that can be implemented within an organization. The project starts with a literature study that focuses on the requirements for an information security awareness program, research that has already been done in this area and behavioural issues that need to be considered during the implementation of such a program. A secondary deliverable of this project is to develop a web-based security awareness program that can be used to make employees more security aware and that should compliment a total security awareness program within an organization. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the problem statement, the objectives and structure of the project and dissertation, and the approach that was followed to solve the problem. In chapter 2 the concept of security awareness and the different components it consists of, are defined. The difference between awareness, training, and education, and the importance of implementing a security awareness environment within an organization, will be explained. Chapter 3 discusses the ISO 17799 security standard and what it says about security awareness and the importance of employee training. The security awareness prototype that was developed as part of this study plays a role in achieving the training objective. The Attitude problem is the focus of chapter 4. In order for a security awareness program to be effective, people’s attitude towards change must be changed. It is also important to measure the behavioural change to make sure that the attitude towards change did change. The security awareness prototype is introduced in this chapter and mentioned that this can be used to assist an organization to achieve their security awareness goals. Chapter 5 introduces the security awareness prototype in more detail. This prototype is an example of a web environment that can be used to train users to a higher degree of security awareness. Chapter 6 goes into more detail about the structure of the security awareness web environment. Access control and how it is achieved is explained. The objectives of the 10 modules and the test at the end of each module are also mentioned. Links and reports can also form part of this prototype to make it a more comprehensive solution. Chapter 7 provides an overview of a case study that I researched. It focuses on research done by Hi-Performance Learning about the human factor that is involved in any training program. I explain how they succeeded in addressing this and people’s sensitivity towards change. Chapter 8 explains the importance of choosing the right course content, learning media and course structure and how this led me to develop a web-based security awareness prototype. Other mechanisms like posters and brochures that can be used as part of a comprehensive security awareness program are discussed in chapter 9. Chapter 10 concludes the dissertation by providing an overview of how the security awareness program can be implemented and managed within an organization. A summary of how the objectives of this project and dissertation were met, are given at the end of this chapter.Von Solms, S.H., Prof

Making sense out of suffering: James 1:2-4

The logic of James 1:2-4 is examined. The argument is viewed as a syllogism, with the demonstrandum: ‘The believer who experiences trials must be happy.’ The proof of the argument runs as follows:»If there are trials, then there is testing( = refining) of faith. » If there is testing ( = refining) of faith, then there is endurance in faith. It there is endurance in faith, then there must be perfect works.»If there are perfect works, then a perfect character develops. If there is a perfect character, then each virtue is possessed and each fully developed.»If each virtue is possessed and each fully developed, then the believer will receive the crown of life.»If the believer is to receive the crown of life, he will be happy.

Prof . Dr. J.H.Bavinck : Inleiding in de Zendingswetenschap, J.H. Kok N.V., Kampen, 1954, 306 biz., f 10.25

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Ds. J.G. Feenstra : Barth of Dordt, J. H. Kok N.V., Kampen, 1954

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Artikel III van die kerkwet van die nederduitsch hervormde kerk van Afrika

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IMPLEMENTING PUBLIC POLICY IN A MULTI-NATIONAL COMPANY: SPANNING OCCUPATIONAL BOUNDARIES

In this action research project, I inquire into the challenge and describe what happened when a multinational company (MNC) implemented South Africa’s Broad-Based Black Economic (B-BBEE) ownership policy, a policy that aims to indigenize economic ownership to redress apartheid injustices. Public policy implementation research generally reports on the effectiveness of different implementation models in public service (McTigue, Monios, and Rye, 2017; Holland et al., 2016; Hupe and Hill, 2016; Kohoutek, 2013), but tends not to explore the implementation of local policies. It also does not explore the more micro aspects of managing across boundaries in MNCs. Globalization introduces management complexity into organizations who operate across national and occupational boundaries. The process to implement the public policy of a subsidiary in a MNC presented an opportunity to study how this novel requirement introduced tensions between occupational communities involved in the implementation and how skills and tools enabled boundary spanning to transfer knowledge and gain legitimacy, thereby easing tensions that threatened to delay the implementation. In this study, I explore how to manage those tensions that arose from different understandings and expectations of the occupational communities involved in the local public policy implementation in the MNC. Particularly, I explore difficulties to engage different stakeholder communities to participate, how to facilitate exchange of information and ease tensions between communities, and how to accommodate different communities’ expectations and goals. My action research project is a real-time longitudinal field study that used cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) as action research modality. I produced data using narrative, temporal and visual strategies from process research. Process research assisted in organizing raw data and provided context and history, from a critical realist philosophy of knowledge creation. In the data analysis, I deployed CHAT to model the human activity systems, to explore what caused tensions between elements in the activity systems of the project, and to understand what I could do to ease those tensions. MNC research is lacking in longitudinal studies extensive enough to explore the complexity of having an impact when using useful methods such as CHAT in complex managerial action-based situations. The findings reveal how I transferred knowledge across community and occupational boundaries and gained project legitimacy by using boundary spanner skills, understanding of MNC bureaucracy and routines, social capital formation, boundary objects, own domain knowledge and knowledge of occupational community practices. Knowledge transfer and project legitimacy were needed to manage tensions arising from actions to engage occupational communities, share complex policy requirements, negotiate competing issues of policy and time, and develop new MNC policy. This study contributes to knowledge by marrying CHAT as action research modality with process research. It applies Carlile’s (2004; 2002) recommendations to transfer knowledge at organizational boundaries across syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic boundaries by using boundary spanning and its skills and tools, as it enabled knowledge transfer of complex public policy requirements to occupational communities in my MNC. Furthermore, boundary spanning established project legitimacy with these communities. Additionally, my own occupational domain knowledge emerged as a key skill that facilitated this local public policy implementation in my MNC. Finally, I contribute a bottom-up policy implementation model, moderated by my experience in my action research project, to identify literature on MNC challenges that may be less relevant today

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The nature of professional reasoning: An analysis of design in the engineering curriculum

Access to the practice of a profession is controlled by formal education structures. These structures are intended to induct future professionals into the specialised knowledge, skills and values that underpin that profession. Yet, despite meeting the academic requirements of a professional degree, many graduates struggle to 'apply' specialised knowledge when confronted with problems in professional practice. This is a study of the nature of knowledge as it is mobilised in professional reasoning. The case studied was located in engineering education, because knowledge relations tend to be more explicit in education than in practice. The data were collected from design projects located in two differently structured curricula in civil and mechanical engineering curricula. The research questions that directed the study were: 1. What is the nature of the reasoning involved when specialised disciplinary knowledge is recruited to develop specific, often concrete, artefacts? 2. What is the logic of progression in a trajectory of engineering design tasks in terms of the relation between knowledge and artefact? The study draws on two intellectual fields: models of professional reasoning and design thinking on one hand, and social realism in the sociology of education on the other. These traditions take different positions on professional reasoning. Design thinking is concerned with contextual detail and case precedent, while social realism in the sociology of education is concerned with conceptual coherence within knowledge specialisations and the power of generalisation. Both offer important insights into professional reasoning, but alone neither is adequate. The analysis was done using the semantics dimension of Legitimation Code Theory, LCT (Semantics), which required an adaptation in order to fully describe the significance of contextual detail evident in the data. The findings showed that specialised knowledge and contextual detail interact far more dialectically than previously assumed. This provides empirical insights for structuring curricula. Students can be more intentionally inducted into recontextualising academic knowledge for the purpose of solving contextually emergent problems. Theoretically the study contributes to the social realist school within the sociology of education by revealing its blindness to contextual detail and consequently offering a fuller understanding of the nature of regions. This has implications for other studies of professional knowledge and education

Insulating liquid properties impacting transformer performance

This paper briefly discusses the functions of a power transformer’s insulating liquid in achieving effective cooling and reliable performance under high voltage stress, and in having sufficient oxidation stability to maintain performance, as well as low maintenance. Low viscosity over operating temperature range, high oxidation stability and favourable streamer propagation behaviour characterized by high acceleration voltage are key aspects of a good insulating liquid. The efficiency of a power transformer can be partly improved by increased convective cooling, thanks to a lower viscosity of the liquid. Moreover, many established electrical design rules for oil/paper systems used in power transformers of today rely on the characteristics of “traditional” mineral oils, which typically have high acceleration voltage. Furthermore, the insulating liquid’s oxidation stability and ageing behaviour will have a direct impact on a transformer’s total cost of ownership for its operator