<p> This study expands upon research previously conducted on critical success factors for the implementation of agile software development methodologies. The purpose was to examine the relationships between 12 independent variables, representing possible critical success factors for agile software development projects (Management Commitment, Organization Environment, Team Environment, Team Capability, Customer Involvement, Project Management Process, Project Definition Process, Agile Software Engineering Techniques, Delivery Strategy, Project Nature, Project Type, and Project Schedule); and the dependent variable of project success, consisting of four dimensions (Quality, Scope, Time, and Cost). Participants in the study included 132 practitioners in U.S.-based global companies that have served as product owner, Scrum master, software developer, business analyst, and/or tester, for a completed large and distributed agile software development project using Scrum methodology. Graphical and quantitative data analysis techniques served to examine the study research model and test the hypotheses. Findings from data analysis support that all 12 critical success factors have an impact on the successful resolution of agile software development projects using Scrum methodology in U.S.-based global companies; however, with differing levels of significance. The results reflect all 12 factors are not significant for one or more of four dimensions of project success. Also, results support that five of the 12 critical success factors are significant; however, of these, three ranked higher than the others, and showed a significant effect on more than one of the dimensions of project success. These three factors are Delivery Strategy, Team Capability, and Project Definition Process.</p><p>

<p> Business leaders may see social media as a distraction for their workers; however, blocking access could lead to a reduction in productivity. Using social media technologies with knowledge workers could achieve cost reductions for payroll of 30% to 35%. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore how business leaders used a social media policy to support employee productivity. The conceptual framework for this study was social exchange theory, which supports the notion that dyad and small group interactions make up most interactions, and such interactions enhance employees&rsquo; productivity. The research question was to explore how finance industry leaders are using a social media policy to enhance productivity. The target population for this study was leaders from financial companies in Charlotte, North Carolina, who have experience in using social media policies to increase employee productivity. Data collection included semistructured interviews with 9 technology leaders and company documents at two companies related to the research phenomenon. Yin&rsquo;s 5-step data analysis approach resulted in 3 themes: employee productivity, communication, and open company culture. Business leaders should consider using a social media policy to engage employees to support productivity, enhance communication both externally and internally, and enrich company culture in a way that is visible to employees. Employee engagement in a social media platform to connect and communicate with people could lead to a happier workplace and encourage employees to volunteer more frequently for social good.</p><p>

<p> Hundreds of thousands of home users are victimized by cyber-attacks every year. Many experts agree that average home users are not doing enough to protect their home computers from cyber-attacks. Improperly managed home computers can lead to individuals losing data, systems performing slowly, identity loss or theft, and ransom payments. <i>En masse</i> attacks can act in concert to infect personal computers in business and government. Home users currently receive conflicting guidance, often in the form of recommendations such as 'Top 10&rsquo; lists which are not appropriate for their specific needs. In many instances users ignore all guidance. Often, these &lsquo;Top 10&rsquo; lists appear to be based solely on subjective opinion. Ultimately, the researchers asked themselves the following question: how can we provide home users with better guidance for determining and applying appropriate security controls that meet their needs and can be verified by the cyber security community? This praxis proposes a methodology for determining and prioritizing the most appropriate security controls for home computing. Using Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) and subject matter expertise, this praxis identifies, analyzes and prioritizes security controls used by government and industry to determine which controls can substantively improve home computing security. This praxis will then apply our methodology using examples to demonstrate its benefits.</p><p>

A era da informação está sendo viabilizada por uma combinada expansão das telecomunicações e da tecnologia da informação. O acesso à TI tornou-se mais fácil e mais barato e o uso da TI está se massificando na vida das pessoas e principalmente no contexto empresarial. A TI passou a desempenhar papel decisivo e estratégico para as empresas desenvolverem negócios na nova economia. A TI tem influência no valor da empresa para seus clientes e é essencial para a consecução dos objetivos de negócios, pois envolve grandes investimentos e riscos. Tornou-se mais complexo administrar TI, pois a evolução tecnológica é acelerada, os projetos de TI demandam altos investimentos e os executivos de negócios, além de demandarem mais do que TI pode entregar, demonstram insatisfação com os níveis de serviço entregue pelas áreas de TI. É preciso dotar as empresas de sistemas produtivos, relacionados com: acesso, processamento, distribuição e armazenagem de informação. A gestão da TI requer cada vez mais a adoção de processos, modelos, estruturas, alianças e, sobretudo, focos de atuação da liderança, priorizados e alinhados com as estratégias de negócios para capacitar as organizações da TI a cumprirem satisfatoriamente suas atribuições. Em resposta a estes desafios as lideranças de TI estão buscando formas e modelos que possam auxiliá-las na gestão da TI. Neste contexto, as seguintes questões precisam ser discutidas: Que modelos em gestão da TI estão sendo adotados como referência nas organizações de TI?; Como os modelos estão estruturados e no que eles se diferenciam ou se integram entre si?; Os modelos abrangem todas as áreas de gestão da TI?; Como estes modelos são úteis para os executivos da TI? / The information age, is being made possible for a combine expansion of the telecommunications and the information technology. The IT access is becoming cheaper and easier than before and the use of IT is growing so fast in the people living and mainly in the enterprise context. IT is playing a decisive and strategic role to companies develop businesses in the new economy. IT has influence in the customer value and is essential for the achievement of the business objectives, therefore IT involves high investments and risks. Become more complex to manage IT, therefore the technological evolution, the IT projects demands high investments and the business executives are demanding more than what IT can deliver, demonstrating that they are no satisfied with the IT service levels. Is necessary to enable companies with productive systems, related with: access, processing, distribution and storage of information. The IT management requires more adoption of processes, models, structures, alliances and, over all, leaders must be focused on IT action model aligned and prioritized with the business strategies, enabling IT organizations to fulfill its attributions satisfactorily. To face these challenges the IT leaderships are searching forms and models that can guide them in IT management. In this context, the following questions need to be argued: Witch IT management models are being adopted as reference in the IT organizations?; How the models are structured and in what they differentiate or be integrated themselves?; Are the models cover all the areas of IT management?; How these models are useful for the IT executives?

M.B.A. / In the current decade, "whole of IT" outsourcing appears to be losing ground, and other options are being considered and sought, such as selective outsourcing. Every product, service, or technology has a life cycle, and although the outsourcing industry is at its maturity level, at the same time it is also going through various growth stages and still evolving with best practices. Wholesale or comprehensive outsourcing clearly seems to be on the decline. Highlights of this analysis are as follows: The whole of IT" outsourcing can be seen as a contract service agreement in which an organisation hands over the majority of IT responsibilities to an external company. These contracts are long-term agreements designed to give higher control and transparency on costs, generally with a fixed price arrangement. In the selective outsourcing model, organisations may choose to outsource part of their IT. For example, the IT infrastructure could be broken down into separate agreements for the IT network, desktop, applications, and help desk. Depending upon the spread and competencies of internal resources, the organisation may choose to outsource one or all of the components. Outsourcing has become one of today’s most powerful, organization shaping management tools and also more so in South Africa. Chapter Two covers the fact that companies experience growth based on specialization, expertise and excellence. It is growth based on focusing on those areas that most directly contribute to a company’s success. Outsourcing has become the new frontier for the modern business. When a decision is made to outsource, the company needs to decide which of the activities or services currently done in-house can be defined as being non-core to the business. It is very important that the management of these non-core functions is not outsourced. “The decision to outsource the IT function is primarily based on the need to get rid of an operational problem. IT can become a very expensive cost centre with all the difficulties associated with managing a technology intensive infrastructure” says Rose (1999:24). Outsourcing provides the opportunity to redesign the IT function, and the potential to access highly specialized skills to extend capability. The purpose of this research is to address the following problem statement: What percentage of the budget in the South African IT market by sector is spent on the specific mentioned selective outsourcing services? The author looks at this problem statement and uses available literature to do an in depth study to reach an understanding of the researched subject. In Chapter three, an appropriate research approach that is inductive has been followed. The telephone interview was chosen for data collection as the most suitable and cost effective method. A questionnaire was designed with undisguised questions to ensure consistency and relevance of the responses. The question construction that followed took into consideration question content, question wording, response structure, and question sequence. Finally, pre-testing of the measurement tool was done to ensure validity and reliability, thereby ensuring that a foundation was laid for Chapter Four in which presentation and analysis of the results are given. Chapter four presents the analyses and interprets the results of the study as supplied by respondents through the questionnaire. The results are presented in tables showing percentage figures and numbers for individual response categories, totals and averages to present a clear picture. Finally there is the analysis and interpretation of each section as presented in the tables. The researcher applies the literature discussed in Chapter Two to support and justify the use of the questions asked, and the application thereof to the concepts of the outsourcing and the specified selective outsourcing services business in South Africa. The research was conducted to address the problem and subproblems discussed in Chapter One. In conclusion in response to these problems, the investigated selective IT services which are mentioned in detail in chapter one model has emerged as an attractive alternative to the single-vendor approach. Essentially, a selective approach involves choosing best-of-breed vendors to administer various business services or business functions, leading to either a total or limited solution. However, although selective outsourcing may indeed address some longstanding outsourcing challenges, it also presents some new management issues.

Information is a critical asset without which an organisation could not survive. The adequate and effective governance of this asset is an essential function and is the direct responsibility of the board and senior management. The board and senior management have a responsibility to maintain the financial and material health of their enterprise and this includes setting the proper direction and governance of the information asset. Many organisations have, over the past few years, suffered severe losses and failures due to the inadequate governance and protection of this valuable asset. The reasons for the lack of corporate information governance need to be examined. The board and senior management need to direct and control their organisations effectively, with the appropriate delegation of responsibilities, to reduce the possibility of suffering similar losses and/or failures. The contribution made by this study is illustrated in the designing of a framework and activity plans to facilitate the board in practically implementing an improved corporate information governance process.

Despite recent developments in translation technologies, most existing software programs are designed primarily to cater to the needs of language professionals such as translators and terminologists, while conference interpreters are neglected as a user group with a distinct work profile. Hence, this thesis investigates terminology management in the context of interpreting . A review of literature on interpreting and terminology is complemented by a survey conducted among professional interpreters, in order to identify their terminology management needs and practices and evaluate their experience using computers. Generic guidelines based on survey data are suggested for developing a terminology tool for interpreters, and are implemented in a basic demonstration of the use of database management software (DBMS) in this context.

<p> Military leaders, both active duty and General Schedule (GS), must understand cyber warfare with its environmental connections and rapid evolution while finding ways to develop strategies that may lessen threats and attacks to government infrastructure. The Department of Defense (DoD) sought training and certification programs from the civilian sector to help create and enforce safeguards to ensure critical infrastructure was less susceptible to increasingly hostile cyber-attacks. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory single case study was to gain insight on Air Force leaders&rsquo; perspectives of integrating civilian Information Technology (IT) certification training into the military IT certification process, the perception of benefits of such implementations, and how processes and benefits aligned with the DoD 8570 directive. The research method consisted of an exploratory case study focused on experiences of both military and civilian leaders at an AFB in the Southeastern United States. Data collection was conducted through audio-recorded interviews of 10 military leaders. Six themes emerged from data provided by participants when answering the two research questions. The DoD 8570 Mandate should address, revise and emphasize the guidance and polices surrounding the training program, and provide more information on how to manage the program. The DoD should improve the training and education specifically as it pertains to individuals&rsquo; workloads. Finally, revisions in the program would vastly improve the success and potentially save money with consideration to a DoD created certification program.</p><p>

<p> Digital currency comes in many forms however Bitcoin stands out as the most popular. Bitcoin, released to the public in 2009, remains in the infancy stage of the technology lifecycle. Bitcoin has no regulatory body, central bank or government backing creating doubt as to the digital currency&rsquo;s legitimacy. Despite Bitcoin&rsquo;s lack of &ldquo;official&rdquo; recognition, the digital currency&rsquo;s popularity continues to grow as the number of merchants and vendors accepting the currency expands globally. </p><p> Focusing solely on the U.S. economy and monetary system, the lack of regulation and government recognition leaves legal disputes involving users of Bitcoin in the hands of a U.S. judicial system lacking previous case law as guidance. This research paper provides an in-depth analysis of the technical, economic and regulatory challenges facing the U.S. Federal Court system involving Bitcoin. A qualitative content analysis was employed in the exploratory review of 50 federal judicial cases involving Bitcoin. Key findings include discrepancies between the U.S. Judicial System and the U.S. Internal Revenue System on what and how to categorize Bitcoin, the value of bitcoin mining equipment, and the types of federal cases coming before the U.S. Judicial Courts involving Bitcoin.</p><p>

<p> The purpose of this research is to understand the usability challenges of wearable Global Positioning System (GPS)-based technologies for at home caregivers managing wandering effects for loved ones with Dementia, specifically those with Alzheimer's disease. A total of four devices and 14 U.S. participants were studied using semi-structured, in-person qualitative usability methodology and an open coding system in the style of Grounded Theory. Though the study evaluated issues solely related to usability, the results expanded to a much larger design paradigm to be considered for improved and more directed solutions for future advancements that is symbiotic between a company and its end user. The proposed "life-proofing ecosystem", which contains eight pillars within its framework (user experience, customer experience, accessibility, governance, marketing, business, technology, cultural sensitivity) aims for more balanced product evolutions and progressive innovation. Future studies may provide scalar measurements for assessments beyond the proposed framework and ecosystem. Ultimately, the goal is to provide practical guidelines for designing life-proof solutions in today's highly connected society.</p><p>