Fostering information security culture in small and medium size enterprises: an interpretive study in Australia

By having an effective organisational information security culture where employees intuitively protect corporate information assets, small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) could improve information security. However, previous research has largely overlooked the development of such a culture for SMEs, and the national context in which SMEs operate. The paper explores this topic and provides key findings from an interpretive Australian study based on a literature review, two focus groups and three case studies. A holistic framework is provided for fostering an information security culture in SMEs in a national setting. The paper discusses key managerial challenges for SMEs attempting to develop such a culture. The main findings suggest that Australian SME owners do not provide sufficient support for information security due to insufficient awareness of its importance and may also be affected by national attitudes to risk. The paper concludes that Australian SME owners may benefit from adopting a risk-based approach to information security and should be educated about the potential strategic role of information technology and information security. The paper also identifies the value and difficulty of promoting a behavioural and learning approach to information security to complement traditional technological and managerial approaches. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

A medium-temperature solar thermal power system and its efficiency optimisation

This paper firstly expounds that the reheat-regenerative Rankine power cycle is a suitable cycle for the parabolic trough collector, a popular kind of collector in the power industry. In a thermal power cycle, the higher the temperature at which heat is supplied, the higher the efficiency of the cycle. On the other hand, for a given kind of collector at the same exiting temperature, the higher the temperature of the fluid entering the collector, the lower the efficiency of the collector. With the same exiting temperature of the solar field and the same temperature differences at the hottest end of the superheater/reheater and at the pinch points in the heat exchangers (e.g., the boiler) in the cycle, the efficiencies of the system are subject to the temperature of the fluid entering the collector or the saturation temperature at the boiler. This paper also investigates the optimal thermal and exergetic efficiencies for the combined system of the power cycle and collector. To make most advantage of the collector, the exiting fluid is supposed to be at the maximum temperature the collector can harvest. Hence, the thermal and exergetic efficiencies of the system are related to the saturation temperature at the boiler here.

Effect of diets containing n-3 fatty acids on muscle long-chain n-3 fatty acid content in lambs fed low- and medium-quality roughage diets

In two experiments, each with 32 crossbred ([Merino x Border Leicester] x Poll Dorset) wether lambs (26 to 33 kg weight range), animals were randomly assigned to one of four treatments. A mixture of lucerne chaff:oaten chaff was used as a basal diet, offered in different ratios. Animals were allowed to consume on a free-access basis in Exp. 1 or 90% of ad libitum intake in Exp. 2 in order to provide a low- (6.5 MJ ME/d) and medium- (9.5 MJ ME/d) quality basal diet, respectively. Isoenergetic amounts of lipid supplements, fish meal (80 g DM), canola meal (84 g DM), and soy meal (75 g DM) were tested in Exp. 1. In Exp. 2, fish meal (9% DM), unprotected rapeseed (7% DM), and protected canola seed (6% DM) were fed as supplements. At the end of 53-d (Exp. 1) or 46-d (Exp. 2) experimental periods, lambs were slaughtered at a commercial abattoir and at 24 h postmortem longissimus thoracis (LT) muscle was collected for the analysis of fatty acid (FA) composition of structural phospholipid and storage triglyceride fractions. Fish meal diet increased LT muscle long-chain n-3 FA content by 27% (P < 0.02) in Exp. I and 30% (P < 0.001) in Exp. 2 compared with lambs fed the basal diet, but fish meal decreased (P < 0.01) the n-6 FA content only in Exp. 1. Soy meal and protected canola seed diets increased (P < 0.01) LT muscle n-6 FA content but did not affect long-chain n-3 FA content. Longissimus thoracis muscle long-chain n-3 FA were mainly deposited in structural phospholipid, rather than in storage triglyceride. In both Exp. 1 and Exp. 2, the ratio of n-6:n-3 FA in LT muscle was lowest (P < 0.01) in lambs fed fish meal supplement compared with all other treatments. Protected canola seed diet increased the ratio of n-6:n-3 FA (P < 0.01) and PUFA:saturated fatty acid (P < 0.03) content from those animals fed the basal, fish meal, and unprotected rapeseed diets in Exp. 2. This was due to an increase in muscle n-6 FA content, mainly linoleic acid, of both phospholipid (P < 0.001) and triglyceride (P < 0.01) fractions and not to an increase in muscle n3 FA content. The results indicate that by feeding fish meal supplement, the essential n-3 FA can be increased while lowering the ratio of n-6:n-3 content in lamb meat to an extent that could affect nutritional value, attractiveness, and the economic value of meat.

Integration of an internet-driven supply chain for a medium-size e-commerce company

This research aimed at discovering the benefits and challenges of integration across a company's e-supply chain. The research involved a single case study of an Australian e-commerce company. In our work, we first formed a framework of benefits and challenges for e-supply chain integration, which was based on the beliefs held by management consultants. After conducting interviews with various organisational stakeholders of an e-commerce company, we found that although some of the elicited opinions matched those expressed by consultants, others provided their refinement in respect to a medium size, rapidly evolving, start-up company. We also discovered challenges, seemingly ignored by the consultants, which concerned changing market conditions and limited economies of scale perceived as seriously impeding SCM integration. Also, the ability to develop and maintain scalable and effective information systems was found to impact the capacity to integrate services across the e-supply chain. The case study's single most important contribution was to bring to our attention the importance of organisational and environmental maturity in the strategic planning of the supply chain management process.

Electronic commerce in small to medium-sized enterprises : frameworks, issues and implications

Electronic Commerce in Small to Medium-Sized Enterprises: Frameworks, Issues and Implications addresses eCommerce issues in small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in a global setting. The book aims at addressing issues that are of importance to researchers, to students, and to professionals interested in the eCommerce field in SMEs and hence, interested in addressing issues pertaining to theory and to practice.

Intervention strategies to engage small and medium sized enterprise in environmental good practice

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are an important part of the world economy but they are thought to be responsible for around 60% of all carbon dioxide emissions by businesses in the UK and 70% of all pollution. SMEs often have major problems with limited resources, limited knowledge and limited technical capabilities to deal with their own environmental impact. SMEs exhibit widely differing characteristics and behaviours where environmental issues are concerned. Yet under these conditions they are all expected to engage in environmentally responsible business for the greater good of society. Interventions that encourage good environmental behaviour are often polarised between regulation and legislation at one extreme and voluntary environmental agreements at the other. It is clear that a holistic mixture of interventions is necessary to achieve maximum engagement by all SMEs. This paper categorises the main behaviours observed in SMEs towards environmental issues and develops a selection or 'tool kit' of intervention strategies that might be deployed within each category of SME for maximum effect.

Problems and solutions on land reservation system of small and medium-sized cities in China

Based on the analysis of the basic principal of land reservation system of small and medium-sized cities, this paper gives detailed discuss on many problems which exist during the process of land reservation system, such as unclear function position of land reservation organization, single capital resource, unfair land compensation standard and incomplete urban design. It also submits the proposal—choosing one scientific model, establishing suitable organization, opening more channels for raising funds, and setting up reasonable land compensation standard to unify the land reservation in small and medium-sized cities, improve the efficacy of reserve departments, adjust and standardize the land market in order to promote the healthy development of small and medium-sized cities in the long term.

Response surface optimisation of medium components for naringinase production from staphylococcus xylosus MAK 2

Response surface methodology was used to optimize the fermentation medium for enhancing naringinase production by Staphylococcus xylosus. The first step of this process involved the individual adjustment and optimization of various medium components at shake flask level. Sources of carbon (sucrose) and nitrogen (sodium nitrate), as well as an inducer (naringin) and pH levels were all found to be the important factors significantly affecting naringinase production. In the second step, a 22 full factorial central composite design was applied to determine the optimal levels of each of the significant variables. A second-order polynomial was derived by multiple regression analysis on the experimental data. Using this methodology, the optimum values for the critical components were obtained as follows: sucrose, 10.0%; sodium nitrate, 10.0%; pH 5.6; biomass concentration, 1.58%; and naringin, 0.50% (w/v), respectively. Under optimal conditions, the experimental naringinase production was 8.45 U/mL. The determination coefficients (R ²) were 0.9908 and 0.9950 for naringinase activity and biomass production, respectively, indicating an adequate degree of reliability in the model.

Optimization of medium and process parameters for the production of inulinase from a newly isolated Kluyveromyces marxianus YS-1

A newly isolated strain of Kluyveromyces marxianus YS-1 was used for the production of extra cellular inulinase in a medium containing inulin, meat extract, CaCl₂ and sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS). Fermentation medium pH 6.5, cultivation temperature 30 °C and 5% (v/v) inoculum of 12 h-old culture were optimal for enzyme production (30.8 IU/ml) with a fermentation time of 72 h at shake flask level. Raw inulin (2%, w/v) extracted from dahlia tubers by processing at 15 kg/cm² for 10 min was optimum for bioreactor studies. Maximum enzyme production (55.4 IU/ml) was obtained at an agitation rate of 200 rpm and aeration of 0.75 vvm in a stirred tank reactor with a fermentation time of 60 h.