Karin Hedström

Value conflicts for information security management

A businesss information is one of its most important assets, making the protection of information a strategic issue. In this paper, we investigate the tension between information security policies and information security practice through longitudinal case studies at two health care facilities. The management of information security is traditionally informed by a control-based compliance model, which assumes that human behavior needs to be controlled and regulated. We propose a different theoretical model: the value-based compliance model, assuming that multiple forms of rationality are employed in organizational actions at one time, causing potential value conflicts. This has strong strategic implications for the management of information security. We believe health care situations can be better managed using the assumptions of a value-based compliance model.

Exploring user participation approaches in public e-service development

It has been argued that user participation is important when public authorities develop e-services. At the same time there is limited research on the usefulness of existing user participation appro ...

The story of the sixth myth of open data and open government

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to describe a local government effort to realise an open government agenda. This is done using a storytelling approach. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical data are based on a case study. The authors participated in, as well as followed, the process of realising an open government agenda on a local level, where citizens were invited to use open public data as the basis for developing apps and external Web solutions. Based on an interpretative tradition, they chose storytelling as a way to scrutinise the competition process. In this paper, they present a story about the competition process using the story elements put forward by Kendall and Kendall (2012). Findings – The research builds on existing research by proposing the myth that the “public” wants to make use of open data. The authors provide empirical insights into the challenge of gaining benefits from open public data. In particular, they illustrate the difficulties in getting citizens interested in using ...

Towards a roadmap for user involvement in e-government service development

New technology means new ways of both developing, providing and consuming services. In the strive for government organizations to build and maintain relationships with its citizens, e-presence is highly important. E-services are one way to go, and it has been argued that user participation is an important part of developing said services. In this paper we analyze a selection of user participation approaches from a goal perspective to see how they fit in an e-government service development context., In doing so, we identify four challenges that need to be addressed when including users in the development: 1) Identifying the user target segment, 2) Identifying the individual user within each segment, 3) Getting users to participate, and 4) Lacking adequate skills.

Using Actor Network Theory to Understand Information Security Management

This paper presents an Actor Network Theory (ANT) analysis of a computer hack at a large university. Computer hacks are usually addressed through technical means thus ensuring that perpetrators are unable to exploit system vulnerabilities. We however argue that a computer hack is a result of different events in a heterogeneous network embodying human and non-human actors. Hence a secure organizational environment is one that is characterized by ‘stability’ and ‘social order’, which is a result of negotiations and alignment of interests among different actants. The argument is conducted through a case study. Our findings reveal not only the usefulness of ANT in developing an understanding of the (in)security environment at the case study organization, but also the ability of ANT to identify differences in interests among actants. At a practical level, our analysis suggests three principles that management needs to pay attention to in order to prevent future security breaches.

The Socio-Political Construction of CareSys

The purpose of this paper is to describe an analytical framework, which can be used for comparing how different groups experience the value of IT. As the actors’ interests and values are uncovered the framework illuminates the socio-political process of computerization. In order to validate the framework the paper exemplifies how it has been used in one case study involving the introduction of a new IT system in elderly care. For pedagogical reasons, the analysis is limited to comparing two actor groups’ experiences of the introduction of the new system — the politicians, and the home-help assistants. The result also shows that non-action is very important as a way to influence the usage and construction of a new IT system.

ICT in Medicine and Health Care : Assessing Social, Ethical and Legal Issues

Continuous developments in information and communication technologies (ICT) have resulted in an increasing use of these technologies in the practice of medicine and in the provision of medical care. This paper presents a series of perspectives from different areas of expertise on some of the ways in which ICT has changed the social picture in respect of the practice of medicine. The aim of the paper is to provide a context for further debate, in the form of a Panel Session, where the issue of Human Choice and Computing can be discussed with reference to a set of specific scenarios. The authors of this paper represent a wide variety of disciplines including law, ethics, medicine, philosophy and computer science, thus bringing a broad perspective to begin the discussions. The aim of the session is to provoke further discussion, encouraging input from other disciplines respresented by the participants, with a view to identifying the level of human choice in a social arena, which has at its heart a vulnerable community. In this environment, and in this era, the ‘social’ in social informatics has never been more important.

Challenges of introducing a professional eID card within health care

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the challenges that arise when introducing an electronic identification (eID) card for professional use in a health-care setting.Design/methodology/ ...

e-Government for all – Norm-critical Perspectives and Public Values in Digitalization

There are hopes that e-government will bring many benefits, including efficiency, democratization, participation, and emancipation of citizens. However, despite some evidence that supports these cl ...

Taking initial steps towards enterprise architecture in local government

The purpose of this study is to increase the understanding of immature use of Enterprise Architectures (EAs). In this paper we present results from an eGovernment initiative in a Swedish local government. This longitudinal case study illustrates the problems of taking initial steps of moving towards an EA during the development and implementation an eGovernment initiative. Through an analysis of goal achievements, we develop a better understanding of the challenges of using EA frameworks for local eGovernment-projects. Our results show that the immature use of the EA framework resulted in parts of the organization deviating from plan where individual members began to implement individual solutions, instead of basing decisions on the overall architecture. This impaired projects possibility to develop towards an EA in an efficient way.