Distributed Ledger for Cybersecurity: Issues and Challenges in Railways

The railway is a complex technical system of systems in a multi-stakeholder environment. The implementation of digital technologies is essential for achieving operational excellence and addressing stakeholders’ needs and requirements in relation to the railways. Digitalization is highly dependent on an appropriate digital infrastructure provided through proper information logistics, whereas cybersecurity is critical for the overall security and safety of the railway systems. However, it is important to understand the various issues and challenges presented by governance, business, and technical requirements. Hence, this paper is the first link in the chain to explore, understand, and address such requirements. The purpose of this paper is to identify aspects of distributed ledgers and to provide a taxonomy of issues and challenges to develop a secure and resilient data sharing framework for railway stakeholders.

MODELLING THE STAKEHOLDER ENVIRONMENT AND DECISION PROCESS IN THE U.S. HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM

Purpose – As higher education continues to be buffeted by challenges, college and university leaders must find a way to respond to these environmental forces. In the United States, accreditation plays an increasing role in the quality control and improvement process. The goal of this research is to gain a deeper understanding of this decision environment, and the stakeholders within that system, such that American higher education institutions may set and achieve goals more effectively. Research methodology – Grounded theory is utilized to create a conceptual framework depicting the American higher education stakeholder system. In addition to placing the actors within the system, this research is also designed to generate a stakeholder-focused institutional decision process model. Findings – When viewed in a systemic context, the accreditation process assumes a unique placement among the other critical stakeholders. With this understanding, higher education leaders may better understand, balance, and integrate the concerns of their various stakeholders, in a stakeholder-focused decision process. Research limitations – While integrating multiple theories, to depict the American higher education stakeholder system and a stakeholder-focused decision process, this research does not operationalize or undertake the empirical testing of these theoretical models. Practical implications – The influence of the dynamic external environment and the accreditation process combine to create extremely challenging decision-making conditions for higher education leaders. The ability to improve and balance the quality and ethical nature of decisions that impact their various stakeholders may assist these leaders in more accurately meeting both their institutional goals and the public good goals of higher education. Originality/Value – This study specifically seeks to integrate multiple theoretical constructs within the American higher education environment and accreditation process. The creation of a theoretical model that depicts not only the stakeholder environment but also a stakeholder-focused decision process may assist all higher education institutions.

Assessing Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory Implementation Outcomes: Lessons from Five Diverse Pennsylvania Counties

We examined implementation outcomes several years after rollout of the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) risk/need assessment (RNA) tool in five diverse Pennsylvania county juvenile probation offices. Offices had policies to direct the use of the YLS/CMI, and officers tended to view the tool favorably, complete it, and apply it in their work. However, there were also variations in the extent of implementation. These seemed related to differences in office leadership and climate, implementation and quality assurance strategies, probation officers’ support for reforms, and the broader stakeholder environment. Results are largely consistent with implementation science principles.

Electric Mobility in East-AfricA: How the Policy and Stakeholder Environment Tackles the Integration of Informal Transport Systems Into Low-Carbon Transition – Case Studies From Kigali, Kisumu, Nairobi and Dar es Salaam

Electric mobility begins to enter East-African markets. This paper aims to investigate what policy level solutions and stakeholder constellations are established in the context of e-mobility in Dar es Salaam, Kigali, Kisumu and Nairobi and in which ways they attempt to tackle implementation of electric mobility solutions. The study employs two key methods including content analysis of policy and programmatic documents as well as interviews based on purposive sampling ap-proach with stakeholders involved in mobility transitions. The study findings point out that transport operators and their representative associations are less recognized as major players in the transition, far behind new e-mobility players (start-ups) and public authorities. The study further indicates that a set of financial and technical barriers persist such as high upfront invest-ment costs in vehicles and infrastructure, or anxieties regarding competitiveness with fossil fuel vehicles, that constrain the uptake of such private e-mobility initiatives. This study concludes by identifying current gaps that need to be tackled by policy makers and stakeholders in order to implement inclusive electric mobility in East-African cities, considering modalities that include transport providers and address their financial constraints.

Negotiating Quality in Curriculum Development – A Process of Finding a Compromise for Different Stakeholder Agendas

The research article reports on curriculum quality for an ODL setting in the context of a digital era, from a perspective of a broader educational stakeholder environment. The literature research paper ask the question with regards to divergent, dynamic and sometimes conflicting perspectives and agendas of different stakeholders in the broader education spectrum in an ODL setting. The research paper establishes a thought pattern in searching for the best answer or a compromise with regard to stakeholder agendas by illustrating and engaging in an applicable thought pattern on how evaluation and adjustment operate in an ODL curriculum model. The article asks and addresses specific issues about what is so special about ODL and therefore the value of stakeholder agenda and perspectives in curriculum development. The article assumes that there is a natural sequence in which to work in curriculum development and therefore identifies the research questions that has not been addressed sufficiently in literature with regard to the inter-connectedness and alignment of the components of curriculum development. Going through this analysis, the research will allude to the stakeholder agendas and therefore address the specific areas of compromise in curriculum development. The research adopts a qualitative case study research method.

Managing Third Sector Organizations

What is the state of what can be described as management in the third sector? At its heart, it discusses the long-held assertion that these organizations are reluctant to accept the need for ‘management’. After all, what makes third sector organizations different, by their own estimation, from their commercial equivalents is the deeply embedded concepts of mission and values together with a distinctly complex stakeholder environment. For all that, there are also “commercial” pressures and an instinct for survival. To serve the mission necessarily needs resources. And there is a perennial tension in high-level decision-making between delivery of the mission and maintaining solvency. Third-sector organizations, like any other, are innately concerned with their own sustainability. It is here that the analysis is located and there is an opportunity to examine the topic theoretically and empirically. By introducing the concept of the “Management See-Saw” to illustrate the competing drivers of values and commercialism before exploring these identified pressures through the lens of three real-life vignettes, it is possible to appreciate the current state of play. Given all this, it is important for modern organizations to be able to measure value and impact. From a managerial perspective, the reality needs to be acknowledged that this environment is complex and multi-layered. In drawing the strands together, the discussion concludes by illustrating the importance of leadership in the sector, which is a powerful indicator of effectiveness. Nevertheless, with a focus on management, the core contention is that management remains undervalued in the third sector. That said, commercial focus can increasingly be identified and the longer term trend is squarely in this direction.

The Joint Audit in Bulgaria – Issues and Prospects

This piece of research is the first one conducted in regards to the applicability of the joint audit in Bulgaria. The paper summarizes the stakeholder environment in regards to the joint audit in The Republic of Bulgaria after the new Independent Financial Audit Act (IFAA) was adopted and performed for the first time in the country.This aim is achieved by using a survey sent to three groups of potential respondents that are also stakeholders in the whole process. The first group is the group of auditors, the second are supervisory institutions and the third are the entities whose financial statements are subject to joint independent financial audit. The paper ends with an outline of the positive aspects and difficulties in joint audits in the Bulgarian context as well as the recommendations made by the respondents for improving the overall process.

RELATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT: A CASE STUDY ON NEW AGRICULTURE VENTURES IN UGANDA

The purpose of this study is to analyze the importance of relational leadership for a social business initiative in rural Uganda. The author follows the case of the Hope Development Initiative (HDI) that supports (i) female farmers to become entrepreneurs as well as (ii) the development of the region. The study aims to illuminate relational leadership theory, particularly how it is applied in a specific context. Data were gathered during a ten-day research expedition to Northern Uganda. The study first presents obstacles the HDI faces in terms of lack of resources as well as socio-cultural dynamics limiting its organizational processes. Afterward, a framework of HDI’s processes of relational leadership serves to analyze and structure the results, thereby demonstrating how HDI actors manage to circumvent these obstacles based on building relationships with critical actors from the stakeholder environment. The case indicates that relational leadership should be seen as one of the most critical organizational capabilities to access resources for value creation in rural Uganda when actors from the stakeholder environment hold these required resources. The study demonstrates how relational leadership incorporating actors from the stakeholder environment on the micro level affects the success of the respective organization and development of the region on the macro level.