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Book part
Publication date: 26 January 2011

Patrice McDermott

On his first full day in office, President Obama issued a Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government (White House, 2009a) committing his Administration to create an…

Abstract

On his first full day in office, President Obama issued a Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government (White House, 2009a) committing his Administration to create an unprecedented level of openness in government and indicating his belief that government should be transparent, participatory, and collaborative. This chapter examines the Obama Administration through June 2010, and looks at how closely the administration is hewing to its promises, in the context of the legacy of secrecy it inherited.

Article
Publication date: 13 February 2017

John Michael Weaver

There should be one standard for those with access to classified data. Leadership by example should be required by all managers, supervisors and department heads. The paper aims…

Abstract

Purpose

There should be one standard for those with access to classified data. Leadership by example should be required by all managers, supervisors and department heads. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is a viewpoint and does not have a methodology.

Findings

Leaders who work in the public sector have an inherent responsibility to earn and maintain the trust of the public for whom they serve. Regardless of whether one is a career government employee, a politician or a political appointee, all who have access to classified material should respect the necessity of safeguards to keep one’s nation’s secrets – secret.

Research limitations/implications

If leaders fail to set the example, then nations risk further breaches of their classified information.

Practical implications

This viewpoint applies to anyone who works in an environment dealing with classified material.

Social implications

This viewpoint serves to educate the public on maintaining a single standard for those who handle classified material.

Originality/value

The author has yet to see much covered in peer-reviewed publications on this topic and believe that the subject is particularly relevant at this time.

Details

International Journal of Public Leadership, vol. 13 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-4929

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 26 January 2011

J. William Leonard

It is genuinely accepted that the withholding of sensitive information by the federal government, be it relating to intelligence, military or foreign policy matters, will…

Abstract

It is genuinely accepted that the withholding of sensitive information by the federal government, be it relating to intelligence, military or foreign policy matters, will invariably serve to preclude or minimize damage to our nation's well-being. However, often overlooked is the impact that official secrecy has upon the decision-making process employed by national leaders. This overview examines the harm that official government secrecy can inflict upon our U.S. national security, through the corrupting influence it has on national policy decisions. Using the Constitutional Convention of 1787 as an apt lesson, this overview goes on to examine the impact that official secrecy had on many of the post-9/11 decisions made by U.S. national leaders.

Book part
Publication date: 26 January 2011

Jonathan Felbinger and Judith Reppy

This chapter analyzes the construction of secrecy under the current U.S. export control regime for dual-use technologies and discusses its application for two technologies…

Abstract

This chapter analyzes the construction of secrecy under the current U.S. export control regime for dual-use technologies and discusses its application for two technologies: research on a class of semiconductors used in military and civilian applications and biotechnology research on select agents. We argue that the assignment of technologies and countries to categories controlled under the export regime is an exercise in creating secret knowledge, in which the broad category of “the other” is subdivided between those who are forbidden to know and those who are not (and thus implicitly are qualified to become a party to the secret). We draw attention to the social cost of errors made in applying these categories, and point to some remaining issues.

Article
Publication date: 14 January 2019

Sherry Li Xie

This paper aims to report on a study that aimed at analyzing the relationships between information security and records management (RM), both as programs/functions established in…

1689

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to report on a study that aimed at analyzing the relationships between information security and records management (RM), both as programs/functions established in organizations. Similar studies were not found in relevant literature.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used the classic grounded theory methodology. Pursuing the general curiosity about the information security-RM relationship in organizations, the study selected the United States (US) Federal Government as its field of entrance and followed the process of the classic grounded theory methodology that starts from the letting of the emergence of the research question to the formulation of a substantive theory that answered the question.

Findings

On the emergent question that why, despite the legislative establishment of agency RM programs and the use of the term records in their work, the US Federal Government information security community considered RM a candidate for deletion (CFD), the study coded the truncated application of the encompassing definition of records as the underlying reason. By this code, along with its three properties, i.e. limitations by the seemingly more encompassing coverage of information, insufficient legislative/regulatory support and the use of the terms of evidence and preservation in the records definition, the CFD consideration and the associated phenomena of unsound legislative/regulatory conceptualization, information shadow, information ignorance and archival shadow were explained.

Research limitations/implications

The study results suggested the data for subsequent theoretical sampling to be the operational situations of individual agency RM programs.

Practical implications

The rationale presented in the study regarding the encompassing nature of records and the comprehensive scope of RM program can be used for building strong RM business cases.

Originality/value

The study appears to be the first of its kind, which examined the RM–information security relationship in a very detailed setting.

Details

Records Management Journal, vol. 29 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0956-5698

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 May 2019

Yean-Fu Wen and Yi-Ting Hwang

The purpose of this study is to review the levels of open government data (OGD) among various countries that are not consistent with the development levels of those countries…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to review the levels of open government data (OGD) among various countries that are not consistent with the development levels of those countries. This study evaluates the associativity between OGD Index (OGD) and the characteristics of those countries as well as to compare the degree of OGD among countries. Accordingly, an advanced discussion to explore how a country’s characteristics affect how that country’s government opens data was presented.

Design/methodology/approach

The stakeholder relationships of OGD is analysed with the characteristics of a country. The usage data are compared with the data availability according to nine indicators. These data collected from the statistics and OGDI websites are grouped for comparative statistical analyses based on basic descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of variance and a regression model with variance inflation faction.

Findings

The results 1) revealed the reasons some countries have high-ranking indexes and 2) verified the high index values of countries in terms of their degrees of development. This study, thus, attempted to derive a balanced appraisal of national development and OGD.

Research limitations/implications

The study sample is limited only to countries 1) which open the statistical data; and 2) are of uneven population density and development degree. The OGDI is limited to expert evaluation. The score might be vary to experts and users with diverse countries at different evaluation period. The limitations can be attributed to the differences between OGDI and real open levels. These differences might influence the reliability and validity.

Practical implications

Government departments with OGD policies provide raw data in various formats and with application interfaces for user access. This study, thus, attempts to derive a balanced appraisal of national development and OGD. The factors that evaluate which types of countries open the level of data are explored.

Originality/value

This study establishes stakeholder relationships of OGD and extends to analyse the characteristics of a country and OGD that affect the government data open level. The relationships are evaluated through the OGDI with design score scheme. The measurement results indicated that a country possesses high relation to open data with high DI and nature resource.

Details

The Electronic Library , vol. 37 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-0473

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 26 January 2011

Susan Maret and Lea Aschkenas

Operation Pedro Pan was a 1960s clandestine program resulting in the transport of more than 14,000 Cuban children to the United States. Based on the rumor that children would be…

Abstract

Operation Pedro Pan was a 1960s clandestine program resulting in the transport of more than 14,000 Cuban children to the United States. Based on the rumor that children would be taken from their parents if they remained in Cuba, Operation Pedro Pan serves as an example of U.S. government secrecy and propaganda. In this chapter, the authors examine the research efforts of former Pedro Pan children such as Maria de los Angeles Torres, and Yvonne M. Conde to uncover the stories of their transport to the United States, as well as relevant theories on government secrecy articulated by scholars such as Blanche Wiesen Cook and Carl J. Friedrich.

Details

Government Secrecy
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-85724-390-4

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 26 January 2011

Opening this section's examination of current information policy is Patrice McDermott's analysis of Obama administration transparency initiatives, executive power, and continuing…

Abstract

Opening this section's examination of current information policy is Patrice McDermott's analysis of Obama administration transparency initiatives, executive power, and continuing problems with federal agency Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) compliance. Of note is McDermott's discussion of the ambiguous Sensitive but Unclassified (SBU) classification marking, which “is often defined differently from agency to agency, and agencies may impose different handling requirements. Some of these marking and handling procedures are not only inconsistent, but are contradictory.”1

Details

Government Secrecy
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-85724-390-4

Article
Publication date: 3 December 2020

Erik Bergström, Fredrik Karlsson and Rose-Mharie Åhlfeldt

The purpose of this paper is to develop a method for information classification. The proposed method draws on established standards, such as the ISO/IEC 27002 and information…

1053

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a method for information classification. The proposed method draws on established standards, such as the ISO/IEC 27002 and information classification practices. The long-term goal of the method is to decrease the subjective judgement in the implementation of information classification in organisations, which can lead to information security breaches because the information is under- or over-classified.

Design/methodology/approach

The results are based on a design science research approach, implemented as five iterations spanning the years 2013 to 2019.

Findings

The paper presents a method for information classification and the design principles underpinning the method. The empirical demonstration shows that senior and novice information security managers perceive the method as a useful tool for classifying information assets in an organisation.

Research limitations/implications

Existing research has, to a limited extent, provided extensive advice on how to approach information classification in organisations systematically. The method presented in this paper can act as a starting point for further research in this area, aiming at decreasing subjectivity in the information classification process. Additional research is needed to fully validate the proposed method for information classification and its potential to reduce the subjective judgement.

Practical implications

The research contributes to practice by offering a method for information classification. It provides a hands-on-tool for how to implement an information classification process. Besides, this research proves that it is possible to devise a method to support information classification. This is important, because, even if an organisation chooses not to adopt the proposed method, the very fact that this method has proved useful should encourage any similar endeavour.

Originality/value

The proposed method offers a detailed and well-elaborated tool for information classification. The method is generic and adaptable, depending on organisational needs.

Details

Information & Computer Security, vol. 29 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-4961

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1975

Knight's Industrial Law Reports goes into a new style and format as Managerial Law This issue of KILR is restyled Managerial Law and it now appears on a continuous updating basis…

Abstract

Knight's Industrial Law Reports goes into a new style and format as Managerial Law This issue of KILR is restyled Managerial Law and it now appears on a continuous updating basis rather than as a monthly routine affair.

Details

Managerial Law, vol. 18 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0558

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