Search results

1 – 10 of over 1000
Open Access
Article
Publication date: 9 December 2020

Paula M. Di Nota, Bryce E. Stoliker, Adam D. Vaughan, Judith P. Andersen and Gregory S. Anderson

The purpose of this study isto synthesize recent empirical research investigating memory of stressful critical incidents (both simulated and occurring in the field) among law…

4686

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study isto synthesize recent empirical research investigating memory of stressful critical incidents (both simulated and occurring in the field) among law enforcement officers.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used the approach of systematic state-of-the-art review.

Findings

In total, 20 studies of police and military officers show reduced detail and accuracy of high- versus low-stress incidents, especially for peripheral versus target information. Decrements in memory performance were mediated by the extent of physiological stress responses. Delayed recall accuracy was improved among officers that engaged in immediate post-incident rehearsal, including independent debriefing or reviewing body-worn camera footage.

Research limitations/implications

Most studies were not found through systematic database searches, highlighting a need for broader indexing and/or open access publishing to make research more accessible.

Practical implications

By understanding how stress physiology enhances or interferes with memory encoding, consolidation and recall, evidence-based practices surrounding post-incident evidence gathering are recommended.

Social implications

The current review addresses common public misconceptions of enhanced cognitive performance among police relative to the average citizen.

Originality/value

The current work draws from scientific knowledge about the pervasive influence of stress physiology on memory to inform existing practices surrounding post-incident evidence gathering among police.

Details

Policing: An International Journal, vol. 44 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 6 July 2023

Jacobus Gerhardus J. Nortje and Daniel Christoffel Myburgh

The purpose of this paper is to identify and discuss impediments in the compilation of an application for a search and seizure warrant for digital evidence and the structure of…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify and discuss impediments in the compilation of an application for a search and seizure warrant for digital evidence and the structure of such a warrant in South African criminal cases.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper provides a brief overview of international and local impediments, followed by a detailed discussion of the implications of these impediments and how it is approached in various jurisdictions. The methodology of this paper consists of a literature review.

Findings

Addressing the impediments in the compilation of the application and the warrant will be beneficial for forensic investigators, the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the administration of justice in South Africa.

Research limitations/implications

Search and seizures for digital evidence form part of civil, regulatory and criminal search and seizures. This study focuses on the search and seizure of digital evidence in criminal matters pursuant to mainly the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 and the Cybercrimes Act 19 of 2020.

Originality/value

The originality of this paper lies in the approach to the drafting of applications for search and seizure warrants for digital information in South Africa. The contribution of the study is that, by using this approach, the SAPS can address the impediments during the application and compilation of the warrants, which would enhance the quality of investigations and contribute to the successful investigation and prosecution of crime in South Africa.

Details

Journal of Financial Crime, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1359-0790

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 5 April 2019

Kwadwo Owusu, Ayisi Kofi Emmanuel, Issah Justice Musah-Surugu and Paul William Kojo Yankson

This paper aims to provide empirical evidence on the El Nino and its effects on maize production in three municipalities: Ejura, Techiman and Wenchi in the transitional zone of…

2975

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to provide empirical evidence on the El Nino and its effects on maize production in three municipalities: Ejura, Techiman and Wenchi in the transitional zone of Ghana. Using a mixed approach, the study details the effects of the El Nino on rainy season characteristics, particularly, rainfall amounts and distribution, onset and cessation of rains, duration of the rainy season and total seasonal rainfall and how it impacted smallholder maize production.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used a mixed method approach in collecting and analyzing data. For stronger evidence building, (Creswell, 2013) the authors combined interviews and focus group discussions (FGD) to collect the qualitative data. Semi-structured questionnaires were administered to extension officers, management information system officers and other relevant personnel of the Ministry of Agriculture in the three municipalities. Six FGD’s were held for maize farmers in six communities in all three municipalities.

Findings

The study shows that the 2015 El Nino had dire consequences on farm yields, subsequently affecting farmer’s incomes and livelihoods. The study further finds that complex socio-cultural factors, some unrelated to the El Nino, aggravated the effects on maize farmers. These include the lack of adequate climatic information, predominance of rain-fed farming, a lack of capacity to adapt and existing levels of poverty.

Originality/value

The study recommends inter alia, appropriate use of seasonal rainfall forecasting to enhance better farming decision-making and the development of elaborate climate variability interventions by national and local agencies.

Details

International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, vol. 11 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-8692

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 28 July 2023

Makutla Mojapelo

Democratic countries all over the world are embarking on initiatives to empower citizens through public participation. One of the tools used by countries to promote public…

Abstract

Purpose

Democratic countries all over the world are embarking on initiatives to empower citizens through public participation. One of the tools used by countries to promote public participation is the enactment and implementation of freedom of information (FOI) legislation, as it is the case with South Africa and Zimbabwe. Despite having legislation reaffirming the need for people’s right to know, practices in South Africa and Zimbabwe indicate the opposite. The purpose of this study is to explore FOI models in South Africa and Zimbabwe, with a view to recommend ways in which people’s right to know can be promoted.

Design/methodology/approach

This qualitative study used interviews to collect the data from 12 FOI experts in South Africa and Zimbabwe, who were selected through the snowball sampling technique. Data collected through interviews were supplemented by the data collected through document analysis.

Findings

The study concluded that the key role players need to make efforts to ensure that the right to know, which is associated with FOI, is being realised in both countries. FOI legislation, in both countries, is imprecise and needs to be revised to ensure effective implementation.

Originality/value

The study demonstrates that FOI is a necessary tool for people to be involved in decision-making in government. People’s rights to know can be achieved by successfully implementing FOI legislation.

Details

Records Management Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0956-5698

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 30 December 2022

Durga Prasad Dube and Rajendra Prasad Mohanty

As evident from the literature review, the research on cyber security performance is centered on security metrics, maturity models, etc. Essentially, all these are helpful for…

1578

Abstract

Purpose

As evident from the literature review, the research on cyber security performance is centered on security metrics, maturity models, etc. Essentially, all these are helpful for evaluating the efficiency of cyber security organization but what matters is how the factors of internal efficiency affect the business performance, i.e. the external effectiveness. The purpose of this research paper is to derive the factors of internal efficiency and external effectiveness of cyber security and develop impact model to identify the most and least preferred parameters of internal efficiency with respect to all the parameters of external effectiveness.

Design/methodology/approach

There are two objectives for this research: Deriving the factors of internal efficiency and external effectiveness of cyber security; Developing a model to identify the impact of internal efficiency factors on the external effectiveness of cyber security since there is not much evidence of research in defining the factors of internal efficiency and external effectiveness of cyber security, the authors have chosen grounded theory methodology (GTM) to derive the parameters. In this study emic approach of GTM is followed and an algorithm is developed for administering the grounded theory research process. For the second research objective survey methodology and rank order was used to formulate the impact model. Two different samples and questionnaires were designed for each of the objectives.

Findings

For the objective 1, 11 factors of efficiency and 10 factors of effectiveness were derived. These are used as independent and dependent variable respectively in the later part of the research for the second objective. For the objective 2 the impact models among independent and dependent variables were formulated to find out the following. Most and least preferred parameters lead to internal efficiency of cyber security organization to identify the most and least preferred parameters of internal efficiency with respect to all the parameters external effectiveness.

Research limitations/implications

The factors of internal efficiency and external effectiveness constructed by using grounded theory cannot remain constant in the long run, because of dynamism of the domain itself. Over and above this, there are inherent limitations of the tools like grounded theory, used in the research. Few important limitations of GTM are as below in grounded theory, it is comparatively difficult to maintain and demonstrate the rigors of research discipline. The sheer volume of data makes the analysis and interpretation complex, and lengthy time consuming. The researchers’ presence during data gathering, which is often unavoidable and desirable too in qualitative research, may affect the subjects’ responses. The subjectivity of the data leads to difficulties in establishing reliability and validity of approaches and information. It is difficult to detect or to prevent researcher-induced bias.

Practical implications

The internal efficiency and external effectiveness factors of cyber security can be further correlated by the future researchers to understand the correlations among all the factors and predict cyber security performance. The grounded theory algorithm developed by us can be further used for qualitative research for deriving theory through abstractions in the areas where there is no sufficient availability of data. Practitioners of cyber security can use this research to focus on relevant areas depending on their respective business objective/requirements. The models developed by us can be used by the future researchers to for various sectoral validations and correlations.

Social implications

Though the financial costs of a cyber-attack are steep, the social impact of cyber security failures is less readily apparent but can cause lasting damage to customers, employees and the company. Therefore, it is always important to be mindful of how the impact of cyber security affects society as well as the bottom line when they are calculating the potential impact of a breach. Underestimating either impact can destroy a brand. The factor of internal efficiency and external effectiveness derived by us will help stakeholder in focusing on relevant area depending on their business. The impact model developed in this research is very useful for focusing a particular business requirement and accordingly tune the efficiency factor.

Originality/value

During literature study the authors did not find any evidence of application of grounded theory approach in cyber security research. While the authors were exploring research literature to find out some insight into the factor of internal efficiency and external effectiveness of cyber security, the authors did not find concrete and objective research on this. This motivated us to use grounded theory to derive these factors. This, in the authors’ opinion is one of the pioneering and unique contribution to the research as to the authors’ knowledge no researchers have ever tried to use this methodology for the stated purpose and cyber security domain in general. In this process the authors have also developed an algorithm for administering GTM. Further developing impact models using factors of internal efficiency and external effectiveness has lots of managerial and practical implication.

Details

Organizational Cybersecurity Journal: Practice, Process and People, vol. 3 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2635-0270

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 23 March 2021

Aizhan Tursunbayeva, Claudia Pagliari, Stefano Di Lauro and Gilda Antonelli

This research analyzed the existing academic and grey literature concerning the technologies and practices of people analytics (PA), to understand how ethical considerations are…

30487

Abstract

Purpose

This research analyzed the existing academic and grey literature concerning the technologies and practices of people analytics (PA), to understand how ethical considerations are being discussed by researchers, industry experts and practitioners, and to identify gaps, priorities and recommendations for ethical practice.

Design/methodology/approach

An iterative “scoping review” method was used to capture and synthesize relevant academic and grey literature. This is suited to emerging areas of innovation where formal research lags behind evidence from professional or technical sources.

Findings

Although the grey literature contains a growing stream of publications aimed at helping PA practitioners to “be ethical,” overall, research on ethical issues in PA is still at an early stage. Optimistic and technocentric perspectives dominate the PA discourse, although key themes seen in the wider literature on digital/data ethics are also evident. Risks and recommendations for PA projects concerned transparency and diverse stakeholder inclusion, respecting privacy rights, fair and proportionate use of data, fostering a systemic culture of ethical practice, delivering benefits for employees, including ethical outcomes in business models, ensuring legal compliance and using ethical charters.

Research limitations/implications

This research adds to current debates over the future of work and employment in a digitized, algorithm-driven society.

Practical implications

The research provides an accessible summary of the risks, opportunities, trade-offs and regulatory issues for PA, as well as a framework for integrating ethical strategies and practices.

Originality/value

By using a scoping methodology to surface and analyze diverse literatures, this study fills a gap in existing knowledge on ethical aspects of PA. The findings can inform future academic research, organizations using or considering PA products, professional associations developing relevant guidelines and policymakers adapting regulations. It is also timely, given the increase in digital monitoring of employees working from home during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 11 March 2022

Maria Vincenza Ciasullo, Raffaella Montera and Alexander Douglas

This paper aims to enhance the small and medium enterprises’ (SMEs) ability to develop resilience in the face of any turbulences, addressing the question on how these…

3810

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to enhance the small and medium enterprises’ (SMEs) ability to develop resilience in the face of any turbulences, addressing the question on how these organizations can maintain business continuity when faced with a critical event.

Design/methodology/approach

A mediated regression analysis is conducted to investigate the relationships among big data analytics (BDA) capabilities, coinnovation (CI) and organizational resilience (OR) with reference to 192 big data SMEs in Europe.

Findings

Research reveals that the BDA capability and CI are positively associated with OR. Moreover, this study discovers the mediating impact of CI on the relationship between BDA capability and OR.

Originality/value

This paper provides important implications for considering CI as a viable strategy especially in a time of crisis and shows how SMEs are more able to recognize business opportunities. The microfoundations of the resilience building capacity of SMEs are also identified. These microfoundations become recommendations for practitioners to enhance SMEs’ responsiveness in light of coronavirus-related crises.

Details

Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy, vol. 16 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6166

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 27 February 2023

Tripti Singh, Allen C. Johnston, John D'Arcy and Peter D. Harms

The impact of stress on personal and work-related outcomes has been studied in the information systems (IS) literature across several professions. However, the cybersecurity…

5133

Abstract

Purpose

The impact of stress on personal and work-related outcomes has been studied in the information systems (IS) literature across several professions. However, the cybersecurity profession has received little attention despite numerous reports suggesting stress is a leading cause of various adverse professional outcomes. Cybersecurity professionals work in a constantly changing adversarial threat landscape, are focused on enforcement rather than compliance, and are required to adhere to ever-changing industry mandates – a work environment that is stressful and has been likened to a war zone. Hence, this literature review aims to reveal gaps and trends in the current extant general workplace and IS-specific stress literature and illuminate potentially fruitful paths for future research focused on stress among cybersecurity professionals.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the systematic literature review process (Okoli and Schabram, 2010), the authors examined the current IS research that studies stress in organizations. A disciplinary corpus was generated from IS journals and conferences encompassing 30 years. The authors analyzed 293 articles from 21 journals and six conferences to retain 77 articles and four conference proceedings for literature review.

Findings

The findings reveal four key research opportunities. First, the demands experienced by cybersecurity professionals are distinct from the demands experienced by regular information technology (IT) professionals. Second, it is crucial to identify the appraisal process that cybersecurity professionals follow in assessing security demands. Third, there are many stress responses from cybersecurity professionals, not just negative responses. Fourth, future research should focus on stress-related outcomes such as employee productivity, job satisfaction, job turnover, etc., and not only security compliance among cybersecurity professionals.

Originality/value

This study is the first to provide a systematic synthesis of the IS stress literature to reveal gaps, trends and opportunities for future research focused on stress among cybersecurity professionals. The study presents several novel trends and research opportunities. It contends that the demands experienced by cybersecurity professionals are distinct from those experienced by regular IT professionals and scholars should seek to identify the key characteristics of these demands that influence their appraisal process. Also, there are many stress responses, not just negative responses, deserving increased attention and future research should focus on unexplored stress-related outcomes for cybersecurity professionals.

Details

Organizational Cybersecurity Journal: Practice, Process and People, vol. 3 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2635-0270

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 27 June 2023

Teemu Birkstedt, Matti Minkkinen, Anushree Tandon and Matti Mäntymäki

Following the surge of documents laying out organizations' ethical principles for their use of artificial intelligence (AI), there is a growing demand for translating ethical…

7023

Abstract

Purpose

Following the surge of documents laying out organizations' ethical principles for their use of artificial intelligence (AI), there is a growing demand for translating ethical principles to practice through AI governance (AIG). AIG has emerged as a rapidly growing, yet fragmented, research area. This paper synthesizes the organizational AIG literature by outlining research themes and knowledge gaps as well as putting forward future agendas.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors undertake a systematic literature review on AIG, addressing the current state of its conceptualization and suggesting future directions for AIG scholarship and practice. The review protocol was developed following recommended guidelines for systematic reviews and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA).

Findings

The results of the authors’ review confirmed the assumption that AIG is an emerging research topic with few explicit definitions. Moreover, the authors’ review identified four themes in the AIG literature: technology, stakeholders and context, regulation and processes. The central knowledge gaps revealed were the limited understanding of AIG implementation, lack of attention to the AIG context, uncertain effectiveness of ethical principles and regulation, and insufficient operationalization of AIG processes. To address these gaps, the authors present four future AIG agendas: technical, stakeholder and contextual, regulatory, and process. Going forward, the authors propose focused empirical research on organizational AIG processes, the establishment of an AI oversight unit and collaborative governance as a research approach.

Research limitations/implications

To address the identified knowledge gaps, the authors present the following working definition of AIG: AI governance is a system of rules, practices and processes employed to ensure an organization's use of AI technologies aligns with its strategies, objectives, and values, complete with legal requirements, ethical principles and the requirements set by stakeholders. Going forward, the authors propose focused empirical research on organizational AIG processes, the establishment of an AI oversight unit and collaborative governance as a research approach.

Practical implications

For practitioners, the authors highlight training and awareness, stakeholder management and the crucial role of organizational culture, including senior management commitment.

Social implications

For society, the authors review elucidates the multitude of stakeholders involved in AI governance activities and complexities related to balancing the needs of different stakeholders.

Originality/value

By delineating the AIG concept and the associated research themes, knowledge gaps and future agendas, the authors review builds a foundation for organizational AIG research, calling for broad contextual investigations and a deep understanding of AIG mechanisms. For practitioners, the authors highlight training and awareness, stakeholder management and the crucial role of organizational culture, including senior management commitment.

Details

Internet Research, vol. 33 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1066-2243

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 29 June 2020

Roberto Grandinetti, Maria Vincenza Ciasullo, Marco Paiola and Francesco Schiavone

Industry 4.0 is dramatically affecting businesses behaviours and strategies, transforming products design, manufacture, operations and services. An outcome of this transformation…

5743

Abstract

Purpose

Industry 4.0 is dramatically affecting businesses behaviours and strategies, transforming products design, manufacture, operations and services. An outcome of this transformation is digital servitization. This paper aims to contribute to the extant literature about digital servitization in B2B contexts by analysing how I4.0-based servitization affects the quality of supplier–customer relationships.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors adopted a qualitative methodology based on an exploratory multiple case study. In particular, the study included 22 Italian B2B manufacturing firms whose I4.0-based digital servitization approaches are described and, then, analysed in relation to the quality of supplier–customer relationships.

Findings

The access to customers and data is critical to enable advanced digital services and for improving relationship quality; the levels of relational intimacy and informational openness lead to two subsequent levels of data-driven efficiency and data-driven effectiveness, impacting significantly on relationship quality and enabling relational innovation.

Originality/value

The research explores the link, so far underestimated, between digital servitization and relationship quality in industrial contexts.

Details

The TQM Journal, vol. 32 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-2731

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 1000