Information technology industries Books

Book SynopsisUNCTAD set up the eT Ready Implementation Support Mechanism (ISM) in 2020 with a view to supporting beneficiary countries' implementation of eTrade Readiness Assessments. Through the ISM implementation reviews are regularly conducted, to build in-country capacities for effective implementation, based on the principles of country ownership, inclusivity, and results-based management. The Implementation Review done in 2020 was the first of its kind and allowed to capture the progress made by 13 eT Ready beneficiary countries. It formed the basis of further capacity building, knowledge sharing and stakeholder engagement activities that have helped to raise the profile of e-commerce in national and regional development agendas. The 2nd Implementation Review (IR) was done in 2021 with an improved methodology, building on the lessons learned and feedback received by the different stakeholders involved in the first implementation review process. It highlights 140 new achievements from 14 countries that have participated in the 2nd IR, gathered through an in-depth review of the data collected from in-country stakeholders by the eT Ready Focal Points, in collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders from line ministries, regulatory agencies and private sector entities. The 2nd IR was completed in early 2022 with the publication of this report

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Book SynopsisDesigned for graduate, advanced undergraduate, and practitioner project management courses with an information technology focus, Methods of IT Project Management is designed around the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), incorporating material from the latest seventh edition while still maintaining the book's process approach. The text provides students with all the concepts, techniques, artifacts, and methods found in the leading project management reference books and modern development methodologies (agile, hybrid, and traditional), while also conveying practical knowledge that can immediately be applied in real-world settings. Unlike other books in this area, the material is organized according to the sequence of a generic project life cycle—from project selection to initiation, planning, execution, control, and iteration or project closeout. Following this life-cycle approach, as opposed to covering the material by knowledge area or project performance domain, allows new learners to simultaneously study project management concepts and methods as they develop skills they can use immediately during and upon completion of the course. The text's structure also allows different programs to use the book during real-world student projects.Table of Contents About the Authors Preface Part 1 Project Management Overview 1. Introduction to Project Management 2. A Systems View and Systems Methodology 3. The Project Management Framework Part 2 Project Initiation and Planning Methods 4. Project Selection and Initiation 5. Project Scope and Resource Planning 6. Project Schedule and Cost Planning 7. Project Quality, Communications, and Stakeholder Planning 8. Project Risk Management Planning 9. Project Procurement Planning Part 3 Project Execution and Control Methods 10. Project Execution 11. Project Monitoring and Control, Part I 12. Project Monitoring and Control, Part II Part 4 Project Closeout Methods and Advanced Topics 13. Project Closure 14. Advanced Topics in Project Management Part 5 Appendixes A. Microsoft Project Help Guide B. Project Management Templates Glossary Index

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Book SynopsisInformation is an asset to all individuals and businesses. The value of an organization lies within its information - its security is critical for business operations, as well as retaining credibility and earning the trust of clients. Information security refers to the processes and methodologies which are designed and implemented to protect print, electronic, or any other form of confidential, private and sensitive information or data from unauthorized access, use, misuse, disclosure, destruction, modification, or disruption. Information security responsibilities include establishing a set of business processes that will protect information assets regardless of how the information is formatted or whether it is in transit, is being processed or is at rest in storage. Information security has become very important in most organizations. The main reason for this is that access to information and the associated resources has become easier because of the developments in distributed processing, for example the Internet and electronic commerce. The result is that organizations need to ensure that their information is properly protected and that they maintain a high level of information security. In many cases, organizations demand some proof of adequate information security from business partners before electronic commerce can commence. Organizations employ a dedicated security group to implement and maintain the organization’s information security program. The security group is generally responsible for conducting risk management, a process through which vulnerabilities and threats to information assets are continuously assessed, and the appropriate protective controls are decided on and applied. When information is not adequately protected, it may be compromised and this is known as an information or security breach. The consequences of an information breach are severe. For businesses, a breach usually entails huge financial penalties, expensive law suits, loss of reputation and business. For individuals, a breach can lead to identity theft and damage to financial history or credit rating. Recovering from information breaches can take years and the costs are huge. Threats to sensitive and private information come in many different forms, such as malware and phishing attacks, identity theft and ransomware. To prevent attackers and mitigate vulnerabilities at various points, multiple security controls are implemented and coordinated as part of a layered defense in depth strategy. This should minimize the impact of an attack. To be prepared for a security breach, security groups should have an incident response plan (IRP) in place. This should allow them to contain and limit the damage, remove the cause and apply updated defense controls.

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Book SynopsisThe United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is a founding member of the Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development, which is an international, multi-stakeholder initiative to improve the availability and quality of ICT data and indicators. One of its key achievements is the development of a core list of ICT indicators for the production of internationally comparable statistics. This list was first endorsed by the United Nations Statistical Commission at its 38th session in March 2007 and has since been updated regularly. The Commission encouraged countries to use that list in their data collection programmes; a first version of the Manual for the Production of Statistics on the Information Economy was published at the end of 2007. An updated version was published in 2009. The current edition, entitled Manual for the Production of Statistics on the Digital Economy, was prepared to reflect the many changes that have taken place in the past decade in terms of access and use of ICTs. Compared to earlier versions, it expands the coverage of the measurement of e-commerce, trade in ICT services and trade in ICT-enabled (or digitally delivered) services. It contains more model questionnaires and reflects the most recent revisions of the Partnership's list of core ICT indicators. The Manual is intended to guide statisticians from developing countries through all the steps involved in the production and dissemination of statistics related to e-commerce and the digital economy

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Book SynopsisOver the past two decades, the fixation on anti-state content has shaped the way Vietnamese authorities deployed various censorship strategies to achieve the dual goals of creating a superficial openness while maintaining a tight grip on online discourses. These considerations dictated how several regulations on Internet controls were formulated and enforced.Vietnamese censors also selectively borrowed from China's online censorship playbook, a key tenet of which is the fear-based approach. The modus operandi for the authorities is to first harp on what they perceive as online foreign and domestic threats to Vietnam's social stability. Then those threats are exhaustively used to enforce tougher measures that are akin to those implemented in China.But unlike China, Vietnam has not afforded to ban Western social media platforms altogether. Realizing that they would be better off exploiting social media for their own gains, Vietnamese authorities have sought to co-opt and utilize it to curb anti-state content on the Internet. The lure of the Vietnamese market has also emboldened Facebook and Google's YouTube to consider it fit to acquiesce to state censorship demands.

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Book SynopsisOrganized propaganda and public opinion manipulation are increasing in Indonesia's cybersphere. Specifically, since 2019, there has been a marked rise of cyber troop campaigns that serve to mobilize public consensus for controversial government policies.Cyber troop operations played a crucial role in three controversial events in which public opinion had been initially critical of the government policy at issue. These were, first, the revision of the Law on the Corruption Eradication Commission in September 2019; second, the launch of the New Normal policy during the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020; and third, the passing of the Omnibus Law for Job Creation in October 2020.In all three cases, there is clear evidence of cyber troops manipulating public opinion in support of government policy. In all three cases, the cyber troops manufactured consent by flooding social media with narratives that promoted the governing elite's agenda, often using deceptive messages and disinformation that were amplified by numerous "buzzer" and "bot" accounts. Thereby they effectively drowned out oppositional discourses on social media and neutralized dissent, especially as mainstream media simultaneously echoed the cyber troops' narratives.The ever more systematic use of cyber troops—and the considerable resources spent on such operations—indicates increasing co-optation of Indonesia's cybersphere for elite interests. This threatens to undermine the quality of public debate and democracy in Indonesia because cyber troop operations not only feed public opinion with disinformation but also prevent citizens from scrutinizing and evaluating the governing elite's behaviour and policy-making processes, which further exacerbates Indonesia's ongoing democratic regression.

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Book SynopsisThis article reports the findings of an online survey conducted in November–December 2021 on Indonesians' experience and perception of fintech tools, focusing on fintech adoption in the Greater Jakarta region, which besides Jakarta, includes Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi.One key finding is that, in the Greater Jakarta region, socio-economic status as measured by income is not a key determinant of fintech adoption. This is likely due to the more developed and mature ICT infrastructure in the Greater Jakarta region, which makes fintech tools readily accessible.However, the kinds of fintech tools that are more likely to be used—M-banking, E-wallet, Online Lending, Investment, Donations, and so on—are influenced by factors such as income, education, gender, age and occupation, suggesting that different fintech tools appeal to different groups in society according to their needs and resources.Psychological factors that are important in the adoption of fintech include having many choices in the needed financial services and feeling in control. While fintech users are concerned about data leaks and fraud, this does not deter them from using fintech.It may be anticipated that with the deepening of ICT infrastructure and public education on the safe use of fintech, fintech usage in Indonesia will continue to spread throughout the country.

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Book SynopsisSoutheast Asian autocracies of Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam have politicized vague definitions of "fake news" to justify diverse tactics of digital repression.In these countries, what constitutes falseness in "fake news" has hardly been clearly articulated. The governments instead focus on the grave threats the dissemination of "fake news" could pose to national security, public disorder or national prestige

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