A Proposed Framework for Understanding Information Security Culture and Practices in the Saudi Context

An examination of Information Security (IS) and Information Security Management (ISM) research in Saudi Arabia has shown the need for more rigorous studies focusing on the implementation and adoption processes involved with IS culture and practices. Overall, there is a lack of academic and professional literature about ISM and more specifically IS culture in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, the overall aim of this paper is to identify issues and factors that assist the implementation and the adoption of IS culture and practices within the Saudi environment. The goal of this paper is to identify the important conditions for creating an information security culture in Saudi Arabian organizations. We plan to use this framework to investigate whether security culture has emerged into practices in Saudi Arabian organizations.

Managing hostile environments : journalists and media workers : learning to survive the world's difficult, remote and hostile environments

The aim of this research is to examine the changing nature of risks that face journalists and media workers in the world's difficult, remote and hostile environments, and consider the 'adequacy' of managing hostile environment safety courses that some media organizations require prior to foreign assignments. The study utilizes several creative works and contributions to this area of analysis, which includes a documentary film production, course contributions, an emergency reference handbook, security and incident management reviews and a template for evacuation and contingency planning. The research acknowledges that employers have a 'duty of care' to personnel working in these environments, identifies the necessity for pre-deployment training and support, and provides a solution for organizations that wish to initiate a comprehensive framework to advise, monitor, protect and respond to incidents. Finally, it explores the possible development of a unique and holistic service to facilitate proactive and responsive support, in the form of a new profession of 'Editorial Logistics Officer' or 'Editorial Safety Officer' within media organizations. This area of research is vitally important to the profession, and the intended contribution is to introduce a simple and cost-efficient framework for media organizations that desire to implement pre-deployment training and field-support – as these programs save lives. The complete proactive and responsive services may be several years from implementation. However, this study demonstrates that the facilitation of Managing Hostile Environment (MHE) courses should be the minimum professional standard. These courses have saved lives in the past and they provide journalists with the tools to "cover the story, and not become the story."

How well are Australian infants and children aged 4 to 5 years doing? Findings from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children Wave 1

This report presents an analysis of the data from the first wave of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) to explore the wellbeing of 5,107 children in the infant cohort of the study and the 4,983 children, aged 4 to 5 years, in the child cohort. Wave 1 of LSAC includes measures of multiple aspects of children’s early development. These developmental measures are summarised in the LSAC Outcome Index, a composite measure which includes an overall index as well as three separate domain scores, tapping physical development, social and emotional functioning, and learning and cognitive development.

Rethinking corporate governance and law in China : the theories, rules and practices

Economic reforms have transformed China into a modern economy - this requires greater emphasis on regulating markets and governing corporations to ensure economic growth continues. Yet, legal reforms are not as straightforward as transplanting Western models; more modification to suit Chinese political land cultural considerations needs to be incorporated. Likewise privatisation of the telecommuications sector does not mean that government influence in the new corporations cease. This is not necessarily negative as long as safeguards are in place. Plainly further reforms to the law and governance will be needed. Given that Confucian philosophy continues to play a central role in Chinese society and values, developing laws and governance practices from Confucian principles will arguably be appropriate for modern China.

The impact of gender diversity on turnover : the moderating effect of human resource policies and practices

Demography theory suggests that high gender diversity leads to high turnover. As turnover is costly for organizations, we examined whether HR policies and practices influence the expected gender diversity-turnover relationship. Survey data were collected from 198 HR decision makers at publicly listed organizations. We found that HR policies and practices that are supportive of diversity moderate the gender diversity-turnover relationship, such that high gender diversity leads to low turnover in organizations with many diversity supportive policies and practices. Results suggest that organizations can avoid the negative consequences of high gender diversity by implementing diversity supportive HR polices and practices.

A model of organisational leadership development informing succession development : elements and practices

It is noted from observations of Compton (2009), Richards (2008), Taylor and Bennett (2002), and others that succession leadership planning and development fails to receive adequate attention in the corporate sector (see Byham 2002; Richards 2008; Wellins and Byham 2001). This paper acknowledges a marked paucity of systematic succession leadership development in education organisations. The need would seem to be compounded at a time when substantial attrition in the leadership ranks is expected over the next five years, reflecting widespread workforce demographics (Busine and Watt 2005; Jacobzone, Cambois, Chaplain, and Robine 1998; Taylor and Bennett 2002). The Lantern model has been developed in response to a perceived need to offer an integrated, systematic approach to organisational and succession leadership development. The model offers an organising framework for considering succession leadership development in a strategic, integrated way. The concept is based on organisational development and leadership literature which sees leadership development not as a series of 'tacked on' activities but as an organic 'whole of organisation' approach fostering the relevant knowledge, skills and understandings which support and 'grow' leaders as the organisation goes about its business. This paper explores how such an ideal might happen, and it suggests that pursuing such an ideal is timely. The leadership baton is set to shift at an accelerated rate in universities, as for organisations broadly, owing to age-related attrition. Moreover, given the increased complexity and demands of the leadership remit in the education leadership environment, it would seem particularly opportune to explore a framework concentrating on engendering a positive, connected organisational climate capable of growing strategic leadership strength from within. Eight core elements of the model, derived from the literature and practice research, are explored. The Lantern model purports to 'cover the bases' of succession leadership development, with particular reference to the education environment. The model is next described

High-stakes national testing: it's global, it's here to stay, and graduating teachers need to know about it

My oldest daughter recently secured a position as a Science/Geography teacher in a P-12 Catholic College in regional Queensland. This paper looks at the teaching world into which she has graduated. Specifically, the paper will outline and discuss findings from a survey of graduating early childhood student teachers in relation to their knowledge and skills of the current regime of high-stakes testing in Australia. The paper argues that understanding accountability and possessing skills to scrutinise test data are essential for the new teacher as s/he enters a profession in which governments world-wide are demanding a return for their investment in education. The paper will examine literature on accountability and surveillance in the form of high-stakes testing from global, school and classroom perspectives. It makes the claim that it is imperative for beginning teachers to be able to interpret high-stakes test data and considers the skills required to do this. The paper also draws on local research to comment on the readiness of graduates to meet this comparatively new professional demand.

Peer state assessment of TxDOT maintenance program and practices : workshop and road rally findings

In an effort to evaluate and improve their practices to ensure the future excellence of the Texas highway system, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) sought a forum in which experts from other state departments of transportation could share their expertise. Thus, the Peer State Review of TxDOT Maintenance Practices project was organized and conducted for TxDOT by the Center for Transportation Research (CTR) at The University of Texas at Austin. The goal of the project was to conduct a workshop at CTR and in the Austin District that would educate the visiting peers on TxDOT’s maintenance practices and invite their feedback. CTR and TxDOT arranged the participation of the following directors of maintenance: Steve Takigawa, CA; Roy Rissky, KS; Eric Pitts, GA; Jim Carney, MO; Jennifer Brandenburg, NC; and David Bierschbach, WA. One of the means used to capture the peer reviewers’ opinions was a carefully designed booklet of 15 questions. The peers provided TxDOT with written responses to these questions, and the oral comments made during the workshop were also captured. This information was then compiled and summarized in the following report. An examination of the peers’ comments suggests that TxDOT should use a more holistic, statewide approach to funding and planning rather than funding and planning for each district separately. Additionally, the peers stressed the importance of allocating funds based on the actual conditions of the roadways instead of on inventory. The visiting directors of maintenance also recommended continuing and proliferating programs that enhance communication, such as peer review workshops.

Vocational education and training in schools : career advisers' perceptions and practices

This paper explores the currently highly topical issue of Vocational Education and Training in Schools (VETiS). Specifically, it focuses upon career advisers' perceptions of VETiS, their advising practices as pertaining to this program and their views of others' perceptions of VETiS. It draws upon a national research project and data derived from interviews conducted with career advisers during the course of the project. The paper demonstrates that career advisers perceive VETiS in a favorable light on the whole, and they advocate the practice of advising all students to do VETiS if students desire to do so. That said, the paper goes on to highlight tensions apparent in the career advisers' perceptions of, and subsequent advice-giving practices regarding VETiS - particularly in terms of the potential benefits it affords all students. It becomes clear that careers advisers have different agendas for advising different students - academic and non-academic students - to undertake VETiS as a course of study. Finally, the paper demonstrates the ways in which career advisers become complicit in the marginalisation of VETiS programs and the status of VET.

Navigating a complex organizational landscape : leadership challenges and practices

This paper discusses exploratory research to identify the reported leadership challenges faced by leaders in the public sector in Australia and what specific leadership practices they engage in to deal with these challenges. Emerging is a sense that leadership in these complex work environments is not about controlling or mandating action but about engaging in conversation, building relationships and empowering staff to engage in innovative ways to solve complex problems. In addition leaders provide a strong sense of purpose and identity to guide behaviour and decisions to overcome being overwhelmed by the sheer volume of demands in a unpredictable and often unsupportive environment. Questions are raised as to the core competencies leaders need to develop to drive and underpin these leadership practices and the implications this has for the focus on future leadership development programmes. The possible direction of a future research programme will be put forward for further discussion.

Peer state assessment of TxDOT maintenance program and practices, part II : test section survey findings and recommendations

This paper presents a road survey as part of a workshop conducted by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to evaluate and improve the maintenance practices of the Texas highway system. Directors of maintenance from six peer states (California, Kansas, Georgia, Missouri, North Carolina, and Washington) were invited to this 3-day workshop. One of the important parts of this workshop was a Maintenance Test Section Survey (MTSS) to evaluate a number of pre-selected one-mile roadway sections. The workshop schedule allowed half a day to conduct the field survey and 34 sections were evaluated. Each of the evaluators was given a booklet and asked to rate the selected road sections. The goals of the MTSS were to: 1. Assess the threshold level at which maintenance activities are required as perceived by the evaluators from the peer states; 2. Assess the threshold level at which maintenance activities are required as perceived by evaluators from other TxDOT districts; and 3. Perform a pilot evaluation of the MTSS concept. This paper summarizes the information obtained from survey and discusses the major findings based on a statistical analysis of the data and comments from the survey participants.

Peer state assessment of TxDOT maintenance program and practices, part I : workshop findings and recommendations

To assess and improve their practices, and thus ensure the future excellence of the Texas highway system, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) sought a forum in which experts from other State Departments of Transportation could evaluate the TxDOT maintenance program and practices based on their expertise. To meet this need, a Peer State Review of TxDOT Maintenance Practices project was organized and conducted by the Center for Transportation Research (CTR) at The University of Texas at Austin. CTR researchers, along with TxDOT staff, conducted a workshop to present TxDOT’s maintenance practices to the visiting peer reviewers and invite their feedback. Directors of maintenance from six different states—California, Kansas, Georgia, Missouri, North Carolina, and Washington—participated in the workshop. CTR and TxDOT worked together to design a questionnaire with 15 key questions to capture the peers’ opinions on maintenance program and practices. This paper compiles and summarizes this information. The examination results suggested that TxDOT should use a more state-wide approach to funding and planning, in addition to funding and planning for each district separately. Additionally, the peers recommended that criteria such as condition and level of service of the roadways be given greater weight in the funding allocation than lane miles or vehicle miles traveled (VMT). The Peer Reviewers also determined that TxDOT maintenance employee experience and communications were strong assets. Additional strengths included the willingness of TxDOT to invite peer reviews of their practices and a willingness to consider opportunities for improvement.

A comparison of the psychological, social, and legal factors contributing to speeding and drink driving behaviour

Within Australia, motor vehicle injury is the leading cause of hospital admissions and fatalities. Road crash data reveals that among the factors contributing to crashes in Queensland, speed and alcohol continue to be overrepresented. While alcohol is the number one contributing factor to fatal crashes, speeding also contributes to a high proportion of crashes. Research indicates that risky driving is an important contributor to road crashes. However, it has been debated whether all risky driving behaviours are similar enough to be explained by the same combination of factors. Further, road safety authorities have traditionally relied upon deterrence based countermeasures to reduce the incidence of illegal driving behaviours such as speeding and drink driving. However, more recent research has focussed on social factors to explain illegal driving behaviours. The purpose of this research was to examine and compare the psychological, legal, and social factors contributing to two illegal driving behaviours: exceeding the posted speed limit and driving when over the legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) for the drivers licence type. Complementary theoretical perspectives were chosen to comprehensively examine these two behaviours including Akers’ social learning theory, Stafford and Warr’s expanded deterrence theory, and personality perspectives encompassing alcohol misuse, sensation seeking, and Type-A behaviour pattern. The program of research consisted of two phases: a preliminary pilot study, and the main quantitative phase. The preliminary pilot study was undertaken to inform the development of the quantitative study and to ensure the clarity of the theoretical constructs operationalised in this research. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 Queensland drivers recruited from Queensland Transport Licensing Centres and Queensland University of Technology (QUT). These interviews demonstrated that the majority of participants had engaged in at least one of the behaviours, or knew of someone who had. It was also found among these drivers that the social environment in which both behaviours operated, including family and friends, and the social rewards and punishments associated with the behaviours, are important in their decision making. The main quantitative phase of the research involved a cross-sectional survey of 547 Queensland licensed drivers. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between speeding and drink driving and whether there were any similarities or differences in the factors that contribute to a driver’s decision to engage in one or the other. A comparison of the participants self-reported speeding and self-reported drink driving behaviour demonstrated that there was a weak positive association between these two behaviours. Further, participants reported engaging in more frequent speeding at both low (i.e., up to 10 kilometres per hour) and high (i.e., 10 kilometres per hour or more) levels, than engaging in drink driving behaviour. It was noted that those who indicated they drove when they may be over the legal limit for their licence type, more frequently exceeded the posted speed limit by 10 kilometres per hour or more than those who complied with the regulatory limits for drink driving. A series of regression analyses were conducted to investigate the factors that predict self-reported speeding, self-reported drink driving, and the preparedness to engage in both behaviours. In relation to self-reported speeding (n = 465), it was found that among the sociodemographic and person-related factors, younger drivers and those who score high on measures of sensation seeking were more likely to report exceeding the posted speed limit. In addition, among the legal and psychosocial factors it was observed that direct exposure to punishment (i.e., being detected by police), direct punishment avoidance (i.e., engaging in an illegal driving behaviour and not being detected by police), personal definitions (i.e., personal orientation or attitudes toward the behaviour), both the normative and behavioural dimensions of differential association (i.e., refers to both the orientation or attitude of their friends and family, as well as the behaviour of these individuals), and anticipated punishments were significant predictors of self-reported speeding. It was interesting to note that associating with significant others who held unfavourable definitions towards speeding (the normative dimension of differential association) and anticipating punishments from others were both significant predictors of a reduction in self-reported speeding. In relation to self-reported drink driving (n = 462), a logistic regression analysis indicated that there were a number of significant predictors which increased the likelihood of whether participants had driven in the last six months when they thought they may have been over the legal alcohol limit. These included: experiences of direct punishment avoidance; having a family member convicted of drink driving; higher levels of Type-A behaviour pattern; greater alcohol misuse (as measured by the AUDIT); and the normative dimension of differential association (i.e., associating with others who held favourable attitudes to drink driving). A final logistic regression analysis examined the predictors of whether the participants reported engaging in both drink driving and speeding versus those who reported engaging in only speeding (the more common of the two behaviours) (n = 465). It was found that experiences of punishment avoidance for speeding decreased the likelihood of engaging in both speeding and drink driving; whereas in the case of drink driving, direct punishment avoidance increased the likelihood of engaging in both behaviours. It was also noted that holding favourable personal definitions toward speeding and drink driving, as well as higher levels of on Type-A behaviour pattern, and greater alcohol misuse significantly increased the likelihood of engaging in both speeding and drink driving. This research has demonstrated that the compliance with the regulatory limits was much higher for drink driving than it was for speeding. It is acknowledged that while speed limits are a fundamental component of speed management practices in Australia, the countermeasures applied to both speeding and drink driving do not appear to elicit the same level of compliance across the driving population. Further, the findings suggest that while the principles underpinning the current regime of deterrence based countermeasures are sound, current enforcement practices are insufficient to force compliance among the driving population, particularly in the case of speeding. Future research should further examine the degree of overlap between speeding and drink driving behaviour and whether punishment avoidance experiences for a specific illegal driving behaviour serve to undermine the deterrent effect of countermeasures aimed at reducing the incidence of another illegal driving behaviour. Furthermore, future work should seek to understand the factors which predict engaging in speeding and drink driving behaviours at the same time. Speeding has shown itself to be a pervasive and persistent behaviour, hence it would be useful to examine why road safety authorities have been successful in convincing the majority of drivers of the dangers of drink driving, but not those associated with speeding. In conclusion, the challenge for road safety practitioners will be to convince drivers that speeding and drink driving are equally risky behaviours, with the ultimate goal to reduce the prevalence of both behaviours.

Attitudes and expectations of technologies to manage high risk wandering and elopement in persons with dementia : an Australian perspective

Wandering is aimless and repetitive locomotion that may expose persons with dementia (PWD) to elopement, getting lost and death. This study is an Australian replication of a US study. Cross-disciplinary consensus- based analysis was applied to data from five focus groups (N =47: cognitively intact LTC residents (5), carers of PWD (11), home care workers (13) allied health professionals and health-focused engineers (7) and RNs (11). Groups received briefing about wandering monitoring and elopement management systems. Consistent with US attitudes, participants in all groups agreed on what a wandering technology should do, how it should do it, and necessary technical specifications. Within each group participants raised the need for a continuum of care for PWD and the imperative for early recognition of potentially dangerous wandering and getting lost when they occur. Global Positioning System elopement management was the preferred option. Interestingly, the prospective value of GPS to recover a lost or eloped wanderer far outweighed privacy concerns, as in the US. A pervasive theme was that technologies need to augment, but cannot replace, attentive, compassionate caregiver presence. A significant theme raised only by Australian carers of PWD was the potential for development of implantable GPS technologies and the need for public debate about attendant ethical issues. Given that 60% or more of over 200,000 Australians and 4.5 million Americans with dementia will develop wandering, there is a pressing need to develop effective locator systems that may delay institutionalization, help allay carer concern and enhance PWD safety.

End-of-life care in the intensive care setting : a descriptive exploratory qualitative study of nurses' beliefs and practices

Background: End-of-life care is a significant component of work in intensive care. Limited research has been undertaken on the provision of end-of-life care by nurses in the intensive care setting. The purpose of this study was to explore the end-of-life care beliefs and practices of intensive care nurses. Methods: A descriptive exploratory qualitative research approach was used to invite a convenience sample of five intensive care nurses from one hospital to participate in a semi-structured interview. Interview transcripts were analysed using an inductive coding approach. Findings: Three major categories emerged from analysis of the interviews: beliefs about end-of-life care, end-of-life care in the intensive care context and facilitating end-of-life care. The first two categories incorporated factors contributing to the end-of-life care experiences and practices of intensive care nurses. The third category captured the nurses’ end-of-life care practices. Conclusions: Despite the uncertainty and ambiguity surrounding end-of-life care in this practice context, the intensive care setting presents unique opportunities for nurses to facilitate positive end-of-life experiences and nurses valued their participation in the provision of end-of-life care. Care of the family was at the core of nurses’ end-of-life care work and nurses play a pivotal role in supporting the patient and their family to have positive and meaningful experiences at the end-of-life.Variation in personal beliefs and organisational support may influence nurses’ experiences and the care provided to patients and their families. Strategies to promote an organisational culture supportive of quality end-of-life care practices, and to mentor and support nurses in the provision of this care are needed.