Information Systems Security Threats and Vulnerabilities: A Case of the Institute of Accountancy Arusha (IAA)

All modern computer users need to be concerned about information system security (individuals and organisations). Many businesses established various security structures to protect information system security from harmful occurrences by implementing security procedures, processes, policies, and information system security organisational structures to ensure data security. Despite all the precautions, information security remains a disaster in Tanzania’s learning institutions. The fundamental issue appears to be a lack of awareness of crucial information security factors. Various companies have different security issues due to differences in ICT infrastructure, implementations, and usage. The study focuses on identifying information system security threats and vulnerabilities in public higher learning institutions in Tanzania, particularly the Institute of Accountancy Arusha (IAA). The study involved all employees of IAA, academics, and other supporting staff, which totalled 302, and the sample size was 170. The study utilised a descriptive research design, where the quantitative methodology was used through a five-point Likert scale questionnaire, and found that key factors that affect the security of information systems at IAA include human factors, policy-related issues, work environment and demographic factors. The study proposed regular awareness and training programs;an increase in women’s awareness of information system security;proper policy creation and reviews every 4 years;promote actions that lessen information system security threats and vulnerabilities, and the creation of information system security policy documents independently from ICT policy.

On China's Protection of Citizens' Right to Be Informed and Construction of Government Information Publicity System

I. The Unfolding Situation of the Philosophy of Right to Be Informed in China and Early Construction of Government Information Publicity System The origin of the thought,known as China＇s protection of right to be informed and the construction of government information publicity system

Metropolitan Housing Development in Urban Fringe Areas-A Case Study of Three Metropolitan Cities of South Africa: Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and Tshwane

Purpose:The metropolitan cities of Johannesburg,Ekurhuleni and Tshwane play an important role in the economy of the Gauteng province in South Africa.The region constitutes to 22.4 percent of the total population of South Africa and has a strong presence and contributes in areas of manufacturing sector,financial and business services,retail and wholesale trade,etc.The rapid urban population,increase in the informal settlements and socio-economic opportunities has resulted in considerable urban sprawl in and around the urban fringe areas of these metropolitan cities.The urban fringe areas of these metros often come under the influence of rapid urbanization process and pressures.Coupled with the economical and potential land dynamics and lack of priority of spatial development guidelines,these areas attract rapid and haphazard development from communities and developers.Research Design/Methodology:This research is based on a qualitative approach through a comprehensive literature review that included content analysis of key documents on housing sector such as IDPs(Integrated Development Plans),Municipal Annual Reports,Growth Development Strategies,and among other sectoral documents on housing sector.Some of the key priority issues considered in the housing sector included:eradication of housing backlogs,spatial restructuring of housing,provision of choice in terms of location,tenure and housing typology.Findings:The current paper discusses the approaches of metropolitan housing development processes in three metropolitan cities of South Africa from Gauteng region,namely:Johannesburg,Ekurhuleni and Tshwane.The paper discusses the existing housing sectoral scenario along with the fringe areas in three cities with focus on:formal and informal settlements,housing segregation and the backlogs,current institutional arrangements,role of public private participation,and scope for alternate mechanisms.The paper concludes in discussion on sustainable development options for housing development in urban fringe areas.

Does social information affect the settlement decisions of resident birds in their second breeding attempt?A case study of the Japanese Tit(Parus minor)

Individuals may gather information about environmental conditions when deciding where to breed in order to maximize their lifetime fitness.They can obtain social information by observing conspecifics and heterospecifics with similar ecological needs.Many studies have shown that birds can rely on social information to select their nest sites.The location of active nests and the reproductive success of conspecifics and heterospecifics can provide accurate predictions about the quality of the breeding habitat.Some short-lived species can facultatively reproduce two and/or more times within a breeding season.However,few studies have focused on how multiplebrooding individuals select nest sites for their second breeding attempts.In this study,we use long-term data to test whether the Japanese Tit(Parus minor)can use social information from conspecifics and/or heterospecifics(the Eurasian Nuthatch Sitta europaea,the Daurian Redstart Phoenicurus auroreus and the Yellow-rumped Flycatcher Ficedula zanthopygia)to select a nest site for the second breeding attempt.Our results showed that the nest boxes occupied by tits on their second breeding attempt tended to be surrounded by more breeding conspecific nests,successful first nests of conspecifics,and fewer failed first nests of conspecifics than the nest boxes that remained unoccupied(the control group).However,the numbers of breeding heterospecific nests,successful heterospecific nests,and failed heterospecific nests did not differ between the nest boxes occupied by tits on their second breeding attempt and the unoccupied nest boxes.Furthermore,the tits with local successful breeding experience tended to choose areas with more successful first nests of conspecifics than those without successful breeding experience.Thus,we suggest that conspecifics'but not heterospecifics'social information within the same breeding season is the major factor influencing the nest site selection of Japanese Tits during second breeding attempts.

The Role of Library and Information Science Education in the Development of Community Health Information Services for People Living with HIV/AIDS: Perspectives of Directors and Managers of Public Libraries

This article identifies the role of library and information science (LIS) education in the development of community health information services for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Preliminary findings are presented from semi- structured qualitative interviews that were conducted with eleven directors and managers of local branches in the Knox County Public Library (KCPL) System that is located in the East Tennessee region in the United States. Select feedback reported by research participants is summarized in the article about strategies in LIS education that can help local public librarians and others in their efforts to become more responsive information providers to PLWHA. Research findings help better understand the issues and concerns regarding the development of digital and non-digital health information services for PLWHA in local public library institutions.

Compensatory Damages in Personal Information Public Interest Litigation in China: Challenges and Prospects

In contrast to private interest litigation,public interest litigation provides a more potent solution to personal information infringements marked by extensive scope,unspecified victims,and limited individual loss.However,com⁃pensatory damages remain a contentious issue,both in theory and in practice,within the legal framework of personal in⁃formation public interest litigation.Through an empirical study conducted within China's judicial practice,this paper reveals that the pending issue concerning the nature and function of compensatory damages has caused highly contra⁃dictory verdicts regarding their calculation and allocation,as well as their relationship with other forms of pecuniary li⁃abilities.Only by acknowledging the role of compensatory damages imposed in personal information public interest liti⁃gation as"Skimming off Excess Profits",and affirming their function as deterrence rather than compensation can they truly achieve the broader objective of safeguarding personal information security and promoting public welfare,as well as avoid disrupting the harmony of the existing legal landscape.

Pro-Environmental Civic Participation in the USA: The Effects of Social Media, Pro-Environmental Lifestyle and Climate Experiences

This study addresses the link between social media use and pro-environmental civic participation considering the moderating effect of social media affordances (public realm) on one hand, and lifestyle behaviors and climate change experiences (personal realm) on the other. We combine communication theory and behavioral models and using a sample of USA individuals (N = 7225) based on the American Trends Panel to predict variations in pro-environmental behavior. We show that social networks rather than information are more effective in predicting pro-environmental behavior. Moreover, a pro-environmental lifestyle as well as climate change experiences at the community level increase the likelihood for pro-environmental participation. However, affordances related to socioeconomic variations generate variations to pro-environmental civic participation. We conclude that in order to capture the depth of pro-environmental civic participation, it is necessary to theoretically and empirically bridge between private and public expressions of pro-environmental awareness.

The Influence of Information Technology(IT)on Accrual Accounting Adoption:The Case of the Jordanian Public Sector

Jordan is one of many countries that intends to reform its public sector by adopting accrual accounting,which is primarily carried out through the International Public Sector Accounting Standards(IPSAS)implementation plan,scheduled to be completed by 2021.Considering the difficulties of adoption,this process cannot be completed without an appropriate Information Technology(IT)system capable of providing the accounting information required for this reform.Therefore,this study aims to examine the influence of IT on accrual accounting adoption in the Jordanian public sector.The study employed the quantitative survey approach.Based on 331 usable questionnaires,the descriptive findings showed that the use of IT in the Jordanian public sector is relevant to daily accounting transactions in general and to accrual accounting in particular.The regression analysis showed a positive,significant relationship between IT use and accrual accounting practice.The IT specialist should be able to understand the needs of public sector in adopting accrual-based accounting.In line with today’s digitalization age,which integrates advanced technologies and numerous techniques,this study suggests that a combination of accounting and IT experts is a value added to sharpen the competitiveness of public sector reform.This study contributes to the extant literature in public sector,concerning the relationship between IT and accrual accounting adoption in the context of Jordan.

Application of VPN Technique in the Construction of Public Health Information System

Summary： Data communication and sharing of five level network of Public Health Information System, i.e. nation, province, district （city）, county, and town, as far as to the countryside level were described, and how to apply the three solutions, i.e. Access VPN, Intranet VPN, and Extranet VPN of VPN technique to achieve the appropriation of the public network was also presented.

Soul-Searching on Performance of TV and Public Service Information Broadcast in Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, more than a dozen of private TV channels are operating and about 10 new channels are waiting with green signal for transmission. Bangladesh Television （BTV）, the only government owned and administered, and known as structurally a biased institution serves the audience the public service information most. At the same time it serves purposes of incumbent government. Public information （PI） broadcast means broadcasting towards public welfare which may bring about change in the betterment of life and work of people. Its main focus would be on information, education, and motivation values rather than entertainment. In case of information, dissemination, and documentation, all private TV channels in Bangladesh serve more entertainment and less public service information, whereas, BTV＇s focus is evident on more PI. The owners and operators of private channels think first of their business profit as well as pressure from government and political parties. During formulating planning and strategies or building program content, they become cautious as they fear that the government become angry and shut down the channel.

On the Expansion and Realization of the Right to Environmental Information in Environmental Protection Supervision

As an innovation in the environmental governance system that breaks the traditional hierarchical structure,environmental protection supervision has not only played a significant role in protecting tangible environmental rights but also expanded the basic scope of the right to environmental information—part of procedural environmental rights.In the supervision of environmental protection,the objects of the right to environmental information and the subjects of the obligation to provide environmental information have been both expanded,with the focus shifting from government information to Party information and from administrative organs to Party organs.This vividly demonstrates the Communist Party of China’s concrete efforts to protect human rights in the field of the endeavor to build an ecological civilization.At present,the realization of the right to environmental information in environmental protection supervision still faces problems such as insufficient standards and norms,disordered practice and operation,and lack of liability guarantee.In this context,based on renewing relevant subjects’cognition of the right to know in environmental protection supervision,we should further improve and specify the rule for disclosing information about environmental protection supervision,rationally distribute the obligations for information disclosure in environmental protection supervision,and clarify the accountability rules for violating relevant requirements for information disclosure,so as to promote the overall development of the environmental protection supervision system while guaranteeing the realization of the right to environmental information.

The Conflict and Balance Between Intellectual Property Rights and Public Freedom of Information in the“Anti-circumvention Clause”

There is a long-standing conflict between intellectual property rights and public freedom of information.The continuous development of the“anti-circumvention clause”has caused the conflict to intensify.As a basic human right,freedom of information is being gradually eroded by the expansion of intellectual property rights.The existing research mainly carries on the right balance from the negative protection path,but the positive protection path is more advantageous to realizing the public freedom of information and alleviates the conflict between the two kinds of rights.In practice,there are some problems in the application of the anti-circumvention clause,such as the legality of the aim,the division of the protected part,and the determination of the circumvention.This is mainly due to the lack of restrictions on technical measures,the failure to distinguish between“copyright protection”and“contact control”,and the offside and absence of administrative bodies in practice.We should protect public freedom of information by distinguishing the two measures of copyright protection and contact control and the two torts of access and use,increasing the restrictive conditions for the use of technical protection measures,and changing the functions of administrative supervision agencies.

Current status and future development of Chinese Government Public Information Online

Since its launch last year, the Chinese Government Public Information Online(CGPIO) platform's basic construction has developed rapidly. This paper describes the technology and service status of the platform, analyzes its problems, and details the future development of the alliance platform in the future.

A survey of public needs for digital information service in libraries and museums

Purpose:The purpose of the research is to investigate public needs for digital information service in the Chinese libraries and museums and seek ways to help these public service institutions improve their service to meet user needs.Design/methodology/approach:An online questionnaire survey was used to study the publicneeds for digital information service provided by libraries and museums.A total of 474 valid questionnaires were retrieved for analysis.Findings:The primary purpose of using the digital library and museum service was for knowledge acquisition,followed by work or class assignment and leisure and entertainment.Users need one-stop information service that provides information and service in a more integrated form and allows cross-database searching as well.Research limitations:A majority of the respondents were young and middle-aged people who often use the Internet.We would need to increase our sample size and include different groups of users such as children and retirees to make the sample more representative.Practical implications:Libraries and museums should collaborate to provide the users with one-stop digital information service.Meanwhile,the research can serve as a reference source for the future studies of digital library and museum service.Originality/value:Few studies were published on the public needs for digital library and museum service in China.This study bridges the gap and contributes to our understanding of the Chinese users’ needs for digital information service in libraries and museums.

THE PUBLICATION, LIBRARY & INFORMATION UNDERTAKINGS IN THE CAS SYSTEM

The CAS publication service was started at the founding of the CAS The CAS Bureau of Compilation & Translation inaugurated at the time was mainly assigned to resuming the publication of various science related periodicals and the founding of new journals including Scientia Sinica (Zhongguo Kexue) and Science Bulletin (Kexue Tongbao).Also,its daily routine included publishing some celebrated scholars’ works which had been suspended coming out at the eve of the Liberation in 1949 and introduction of foreign scien-

Analysis of the Standardization of Administrative Management in Colleges and Universities Under the Background of Information Technology

In the development of the information age,universities should recognize the significant impact of information technology on their own development.In practice,it is possible to effectively improve the efficiency and quality of work by dealing with and constructing information-based methods,innovating administrative management models,and adopting more efficient and scientific methods to address various problems and shortcomings encountered in work.As an important part of university management,administrative management is a complex task.Establishing a standardized management model through information technology can further improve the comprehensive efficiency of administrative management.In this regard,the administrative standardization in universities under the background of information technology is analyzed and studied in this paper.

Framework Design of Emergency Public Warning Information Release Platform in Hunan Province

Construction background of Hunan emergency public warning information release platform was introduced,and current status and demands of provincial information release were analyzed.Supported by GIS,Java,and Net,Hunan early warning information release platform of public emergency was constructed based on ORACLE database and Windows 2008 Server,achieving information collection,packaging,transmission,de-packaging,and releasing concentration,standard and processing.In addition,the framework and functional characters of the system were illustrated and the innovation points were explored.The system provides guarantee for meteorological services and disaster prevention or reducing of Hunan public emergencies.

Simulating the Spreading of Two Competing Public Opinion Information on Complex Network

In this paper, we investigate the regularity of spreading of information and public opinions towards two competing products in complex networks. By building its mathematical model and simulating its evolution process, we have found the statistical regularity for support rates of two different products at a steady stage. The research shows that strength of the public opinion spreading is proportional to the final support rates of a product.

Research on Architecture of Logistics Public Information Platform

On the basis of the discussion on main functions of logistics public information platform, and the summary of general functions of some typical cases at home and abroad, such as China electronic port and TradeLink, the logistics public information platform architecture is introduced from a technical point of view. It contains multiple levels, such as cloud computing platform and data storage layer, and discusses some new technologies available. Finally, the important trend of the logistics public information platform development is discussed.