1,720,964 research outputs found
The information technology governance disclosures of state-owned entities
Get PDFM.Com. (Computer Audting)Abstract: Most organisations are now dependent on the use of information technology for their business operations and this has brought about an increase in information technology related spending. For most organisations with this excessive spend on information technology, there are also many unsuccessful information technology projects leading to fruitless expenditure. There is a need for organisations to implement information technology governance effectively. Effective information technology governance will result in beneficial information technology spend and consequently the reduction of unnecessary costs and overruns, and exploitation of information technology to enhance an organisation’s strategy. Information technology governance disclosures in an integrated report are important; they are an effective way for an organisation to communicate to stakeholders how they have implemented information technology governance. Globally state-owned entities (SOEs) contribute 20% to investments. Therefore these entities play a vital part to the South African economy; and thereby making public accountability for money spend by these entities particularly important. SOEs entities also use information technology extensively in their operations, just like their counterparts in the private sector. Information technology governance is therefore of utmost importance in the public sector as well. This study sought to investigate whether listed SOEs have adequately disclosed information technology governance in their integrated reports. This was achieved through a content analysis of the information technology governance disclosures contained in the SOEs’ integrated reports and compared to the principles contained in the King codes. The majority of SOEs do provide some disclosures regarding information technology governance; however, most of these disclosures are not sufficiently detailed. The integrated report disclosures reveal that only one SOE has fully complied with the King III code. Therefore, SOEs have a long way to go in terms of information technology governance disclosure requirements..
Mobile applications security controls in the South African banking sector
Get PDFM.Com. (Computer Auditing)Abstract: Mobile applications have grown to be the preferred mode of the banking sector and end-user’s means of conducting transactions due to benefits of ease of use and cost. The proliferation of mobile applications increases the likelihood that some may include IT security vulnerabilities. The objective of this paper is to examine the impact that mobile applications’ IT security risks have on the IT security controls in the South African (SA) banking sector – and the frameworks used by the organisations to assess the IT security controls related to mobile applications. An electronically administered questionnaire was sent to IT security analysts who are responsible for assessing IT security risks at the big four banking organisations in SA. The findings of this paper reveal that a number of IT security risks in mobile banking applications are related to inadequate software coding. Software programmers are more concerned with mobile application functionality than with IT security and this is the root cause of the noted finding. Banking organisations should ensure that mobile applications are secure before deployment to proactively prevent prospective attacks on their organisation’s IT control environment. This can be realised by conducting IT security audits, vulnerability assessments, and penetration testing throughout the software development lifecycle
Information Technology Factors Impacting Educators before and during COVID-19: A Study of Developing Countries
No full textPurpose: The purpose of the paper is to explore the negative impact of information technology (IT) factors prior to and during COVID-19 from the perspectives of developing country educators, to obtain context to the higher education environment to aid future teaching practices.
Design/methodology/approach: The study employs a mixed method approach comprising a questionnaire and interviews with educators situated in two African developing countries from the South African Development Community (SADC).
Findings: This paper found that the IT factors that most adversely impacted educators’ delivery of the academic programme, was the student element (students’ internet access, students’ access to IT equipment, students’ proficiency with technology and data costs for students). The IT factors negative impact was mostly also intensified amid the pandemic.
Implications/Originality/Value: Far from being just a disruption, the pandemic is an indication of the urgent need to build sustainable higher education institutions to ensure that educators deliver quality academic programmes to all. The research obtained an understanding of IT factors (past and present) that may hinder educators’ orientations towards the future. Bringing to the fore the IT hindrances, educators can act by means of their environment, to enable teaching to continue under all conditions
Using a learning portfolio to promote soft skill (pervasive skill) development
Get PDFAbstract: Objective of the study: The objective of this study is to examine the extent to which South African (SA) accounting academics use learning portfolios as a method of instruction, and to establish their views on whether this method can be used to transfer pervasive skills to students. Research method: An electronically administered questionnaire was sent to academics working at universities accredited by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants. Findings and conclusions: Prior research provides evidence of the value of learning portfolios in the transfer of pervasive skills to students. The findings of this paper reveal a gap between the use of learning portfolios by SA accounting academics when compared to their counterparts globally, and the views of accounting bodies. This gap can be attributed to a lack of awareness by SA academics of the competencies that can be transferred using learning portfolios, and the application of alternative teaching methods. Theoretical and practical implications: This paper provides insight into the use of learning portfolios by SA accounting academics whose traditional strengths were in technical teaching, and the reluctance of the majority of these academics to embrace learning portfolios into their academic programmes
Using role-playing exercises to promote soft skill (pervasive skill) development
Get PDFAbstract: The use of active teaching methods to develop pervasive skills has many advocates globally. As prior research provides evidence of the value of role-playing exercises in the development of pervasive skills, the objective of this article is to examine the extent to which South African (SA) accounting academics use role-playing exercises (an active teaching method) as a method of instruction, and to establish their views on whether this method can be used to develop pervasive skills. An electronically administered questionnaire was sent to SA accounting academics. The findings of this article reveal a gap in the use of role-playing exercises by SA accounting academics when compared to their counterparts globally. This gap can be attributed to the reluctance of academics to develop pervasive skills due to time constraints, an already loaded syllabus, and the perception that academics are not responsible for developing pervasive skills
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Core subjects in Accounting academic programmes : development of pervasive skills
Get PDFAbstract: Accounting education has, in recent years, increasingly emphasised the need for developing pervasive skills. This paper reports on a South African study of the perceptions of aspirant chartered accountants (CAs) on the importance of the core subjects during the academic programme, in developing pervasive skills, in the categories of ethical behaviour and professionalism, personal attributes, and professional skills. A questionnaire with open- and closed-ended questions was administered to aspirant CAs who had completed their academic programme, and were in the process of completing their training programme. Aspirant CAs reported that overall pervasive skills were most prevalent in the subject of Strategy. Ethical behaviour and professionalism skills were most prevalent in the subject of Audit, personal attribute skills were most prevalent in the subject of Strategy while professional skills were most prevalent in the subject of Accounting. Taxation received the lowest ranking overall for pervasive skills as well as for the different categories of skills. Educators need to make greater efforts to inculcate pervasive skills by using real-life, practical examples in their core subjects. Furthermore, pervasive skills should be integrated into core subjects, as these are complementary in nature, but also by integrating core subjects can enhance the acquisition of the pervasive skills
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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