Smart Cities and Regional Development (SCRD) Open Access Publishing
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The impact of using electronic payment methods on transparency and disclosure: Case study Jordanian companies
In the last 10 years ago the world has fast changed especially after information and communication technologies (ICT) revolution which affect all areas one of them is electronic payment systems.One of the principles of corporate governance is transparency and disclosure which requires the provision of an infrastructure of supporting laws, policies and legislation to have High-quality information that helps investors, stakeholders, the Board of Directors and the Executive Management in making decisions at the right time.This paper aims to identify the nature and types of electronic payment systems (EPS) instruments applicable in Jordan, and how its effect on corporate governance especially on transparency and disclosure, and the challenges associated with it, by study the relation between the application of electronic payment procedures and corporate governance.Jordan has a good development in the fields of commercial banking and now begin to apply electronic payment systems in government transactions. there are many studies have been done on the advantages of electronic payment independently of corporate governance and without addressing its effects on enhancing governance through transparency and disclosure and the impact on financial reports for companies and government, and In developing and expand the base of beneficiaries.Jordan is a regional center in the Middle East and has many telecommunications companies, information systems, and telecommunications services that have reached advanced levels, but still, a large percentage of citizens do not use these services yet, but in 2020 all governmental services will be paid by electronic payment systems.Through this paper and reviewing previous studies, we have reached the following points1. Many citizens are still concerned about their financial assets and are unsure about the security of their financial information2. The media plays a negative role through messages that are transmitted through official and non-official media3. There is still a need for more educational programs and seminars on the mechanisms of using electronic payment methods and their advantages4. Continuing and expanding the use of electronic payments will be directly reflected in the provision of greater transparency and disclosure that will enhance corporate governance
Recommendations, best practices and key factors of smart city and smart citizenship
Objectives The goal of the paper is to present an overview of current and future-oriented smart city concepts with particular consideration of smart citizenship. Prior work The evolution of the academic references is considered regarding the subject area. Approach Based on a systematically filtered governmental, business and university research corpus, a global insight is synthesised. Results Applying text network analysis, key factors and best practices of smart cities were mapped. The resulted summary provides the future smart city developments and the smartification of citizenship. Beyond, the analysis has explored unexpected essential metaphors from rainforest to backbone providing a specific overview of smart city and smart citizens. Implications The resulted recommendations support the relevant strategy of the future city managements, and also, the upcoming and comprehensive academic analysis. Value The highlighted trends and metaphors contribute to the holistic view of smart city and smart citizenship by specific recommendations
Understanding the trends and characteristics of smart urbanism across continents
Lack of understanding across the global north and global south, and with the need for alternative development paths in smart urbanism discourse are issues highlighted by recent smart urbanism research. Therefore, this paper aims to comprehend the trends of smart urbanism across contrasting geographies and to learn about the alternative direction of the development of smart cities. This study applied the research methods of document analysis and case study on the continents of North America, Europe, and Asia. The study showed that the North America corporations (i.e., IBM smarter city) are leading the approach of technology-driven method (TDM) and corporate smart city concept, European scholars and institutions have strong influence on the human-driven method (HDM) approach (i.e., the Amsterdam smart city), while Asian countries are discursively learning and applying smart city’s ideas and practices from North America and Europe. A mixture of approaches are found in Asian countries, such as the TDM approach in China and Malaysia, and the case of a shift of paradigm towards HDM with Singapore. Overall, the authors found that the worldwide trend was dominated by the TDM approach. However, a push towards the HDM approach was also apparent, with the appearance of proposals such as citizen centricity and participation. The results of this study serve as a benchmark on the normative neoliberal politics and an opportunity to nurture humanism aspects. This paper marks a contribution to the phenomenon of contemporary smart urbanism and provides insights for policymakers and stakeholders who wish to work together as co-partners in the quest for a more humanistic smart city
Measuring feminisation of urban poverty among domestic workers in Delhi, India
Poverty affects women more forcefully causing increased proportion as well as types of deprivations, a phenomenon called feminisation of poverty. Migration of rural poor to cities causes problems of its own, more so for the women. They come to cities in a bid to escape from rural unemployment and deprivation but lead insecure lives in the cities, exemplified by the urban domestic helps. The co-existence of feminisation and urbanisation of poverty affects the women and their families, particularly children, especially the girl child, who begins to experience deprivations in all its forms from a tender age. These reduced circumstances thus perpetuate across generations of poor urban women and entrap them deep in poverty.The objectives of this study are two-fold. Scientific literature is scanned for indicators used to study feminization of poverty and the validity of these indicators in the given context is examined. Secondly, the study aims to explore the most relevant indicators through direct interaction with the target population. Existing literature on feminized poverty is replete with studies that have used household as the unit of observation. While there are strong justifications for the choice, this approach is unable to address the intra-household inequalities. This study therefore employs the individual woman domestic worker as the unit of observation. The survey method, using questionnaire is employed for collecting the primary data
A tale of two cities: Achieving smarter economy through communication and virtual work
Seamless communication within and between cities allows for a tremendous increase in efficiencies, one of which is the way work can be done. When work no longer needs to be carried out only within the confines of the traditional office, it can then be done virtually and this research seeks to explore how communication influences the creation of smart economy through virtual work. Virtual work is increasingly becoming ideal for organizations as there is a rise in the quality and quantity of data that can be accessed and analysed from outside the traditional office. Smart city research has shown that has also shown that for cities to be have smart economies there needs to be seamless connection between points of information within such cities.This research begins with a detailed desk research to identify and outline the key indices for smart mobility and smart cities, leading to the proposal of a conceptual framework for evaluating two selected case studies through surveys within these cases. This research therefore builds on prior smart cities and virtual work research to establish a framework for evaluating and explaining the relationship between smart communication and smart economy and established the link between connectivity/communication to mobility, and further shows how the increase in connectivity increase virtual work which in turn leads to a smarter economy. The implications for the results from this research extends the ongoing work been done to increase efficiencies in the connection of infrastructure, human capital and information within cities which is useful to both academics and policy makers alike. The clear relationships established between virtual work and smart mobility and its mediating effect on the development of smart economy is very valuable for academic and practice
Enhancing investment through cyber security policies – Case of Albania
Today the security of a nation state is not only restricted to its borders and sovereignty but it also extends to protecting against new borderless risks and threats. Globalization and the growth of an interconnected global environment through the Internet have brought immense societal benefits but have also opened up new venues for attacks and threats from governments, criminals, terrorists, private companies, and individuals. The emergence of actors from different locations, with different motives and the desire to challenge the rule of law and international order who can employ readily available tools and operate in a global cyber environment makes it incredibly challenging for nation states to successfully employ protective measures.In this article will be drawn a clear picture of the current situation of the cyber ecosystem in Republic of Albania. Then will be reviewed the investment of the private and public sector in the field of cyber security. At the end will be given recommandations stated in the Value section below.Prior work In January 2017, was approved the law on Cyber Security and bylaws on Critical and Important Information Infrastructures. Since Albania is non-EU member state, the NIS Directive is not fully transposed in the law, but there is a good will between actors to improve the current cyber security situation.Approach In order to capture the evidences in this article are used the methods of observation and case study of different information systems in Albania. Moreover, in order to analyze benefits of increasing the investment on cyber security, different cases from the region and Europe will be shown.Results As information technology is developing rapidly, it is necessary to apply innovative, simple and secure methods, and increase investments in the cyber security field. In this article will be shown the real statistics of how the sectors have invests after the approval of the legal framework in Albania..Implications This article contains implications for the groups of academics, who can use the statics and case studies in order to improve and update their lectures; for researchers who can take to another level the recommendations and for the practitioners who can update their knowledge on cyber security field in Albania.Value This article gives recommandations for building a high protected information system or mechanism for raising the level of security of the information systems. It also contains guidelines for public administration and private sector for building resilience in cyber security ecosystem in Albania
Managing information security in healthcare
Smart city consists of: waste management, smart energy, education, smart communications, smart transportation, traffic management, smart parking, smart streetlights and smart healthcare. All of these areas require management of information safety. Here, the topic is management of information safety in healthcare. The objective is to show the new approach to management of information safety, which involves all employees in this process. Whether manufacturing or service, public or private, organizations increasingly depend on information and communication technology (ICT). ICT presents in such extent that its users are not even aware of its influence. It is a usual part of any organization. However, the dependence on ICT holds a potential hazard for organization’s performance. Some issues about the ICT safety should be addressed in every organization. First, does the management of an organization is aware of the potential risks and problems in the ICT area, such as potential ICT unavailability (risk culture) or accidental damage? Is there a systematic approach to threat identification, vulnerability exploration, and evaluation of the impact of realized threats on the business? Is an organization aware of the value of ICT, which should be treated in the organization as any other asset influencing business efficiency and effectiveness? Preventive and corrective actions (system of controls) are warranted for mitigating the risk of destruction or abuse of ICT. In this paper, we discuss these questions and suggest possible solutions. There are many works about the topic but these are stressed only one segment in management of information safety. We used case study, observation and structure analysis in our exploration. The results will be presented here. The results will be useful for everybody who is worried about information security in organizations. Value of this paper is showing the need of multidisciplinary approach in management of information safety
Selected national approaches for achieving global standards in public administration. Education and training
The new reality of modern world places greater pressure on governments to put in place effective programs for education and training of public administrators. Indeed, this is the way to achieve greater excellence in public administration education and training, which has a main purpose to provide public administrators with the competencies and capacities to contribute to the improvement of the quality of life. This context outlines the focus of the article to examines and provide interesting insights into various national approaches for the delivery of public administration education and training from selected countries in the Americas and Europe. These countries have been chosen basically for two reasons; first, they represent traditional practice in their regions and second, they have excellent programs in public administration education and training for which they have had no major difficulties in seeking to reach the international standards of excellence in public administration education and training
Hybrid nature of modern threats for cybersecurity and information security
The paper deals with phenomena arising from radical disruptions in numerous spheres of human activity that challenge the conventional understanding of security. Authors endeavour to contribute to understanding of these changes and the emerging paradigm. The notions of cyber security, information security in relation to the cyber-physical systems security, and information security in broader sense which describes safeguarding the information flows to cyberspace and media were considered. Authors explore modern manifestations of these threats, and then dive into the hybrid nature of the threats to cyber- and information security, describing cyber threats and cyber attacks as merged with existing ‘conventional’ techniques. The examination of hybrids threats - the cyber leverages to diplomacy, the practice of cyber retaliation, cyber sabotage and espionage, cyber weapons and the cyber arms race - was given
History of trade between China and USA
This paper analyzes the overall situation of the development of the Sino-US trade. First, the evolution process of Sino-US trade relations is sorted out and divided into four stages: Sino-US trade review from the Qing Dynasty to the Anti-Japanese War; Sino-US trade review from the Anti-Japanese War to the establishment of new China; Sino-US trade review from the establishment of new China to the establishment of Sino-US diplomatic relations; the development and change of Sino-US trade after the establishment of Sino-US diplomatic relations. Second, from the perspective of total trade volume, China\u27s trade surplus with the U.S has been constantly increasing, which indicates that Chinese exports are increasingly dependent on the American market, and aggravates the asymmetry of Sino-US trade relations. The asymmetry of Sino-US trade relations has also brought great uncertainty and risk to the development of China\u27s economy and foreign trade. Finally, the trade imbalance between China and the U.S. is the major obstacle to the development of Sino-U.S. trade relations as well as the direct cause of Sino-US trade war