Perceived Decrease in Workplace Security Since the Beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Importance of Management Styles and Work-Related Attitudes

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has reduced the sense of security of people in everyday life. The efforts of managers in the workplace to minimize the health risks and economic damage, however, can provide the employees with a greater sense of security. The aim of this study was to identify the types of workplace responses to the pandemic outbreak with respect to the characteristics of employees and their employers accomplishing the differences in subjective sense of workplace security before the pandemic and during the outbreak. Three hundred and thirty-seven Polish employees completed an online survey during the first 2 weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Using the cluster analysis, we identified four subgroups of employees differing in their sense of workplace security, work-related psychological factors, and perceived management styles of their supervisors. Employees led by developers and executive managers sustained a high sense of work security and positive attitude to work, while those led by compromisers and deserter managers suffered from the highest drop of subjective security. In this study, we proposed how employees can be protected from overreactions and unnecessary panic in a time of global crisis by virtue of the psychological competences of their supervisors and employers.

Public Security as a Cooperative Activity a Few Thoughts on the Social and Public Image of Law Enforcement Work

Law enforcement is a unique, clearly delineated area of state involvement. Enhancing security is an important aim of state involvement, which affects diverse areas. Research thereon relate the interdisciplinary concept of security to conflicts and socio-economic crises. As a consequence, setting up a framework of policies for the topic demands a plurality of methods. The Good State and Governance report, published in 2015, names security and trust as defining spheres of influence. More specifically, the following 5 indicators presented as dimensions of public security and catastrophe management (citizens’ sense of security in public places of their residential area; citizens’ trust in the police; the number of registered wilful murders, intentional bodily injuries, and robberies; government expenditure on public order, civil protection, fire and catastrophe management per 1000 citizens; and the human resources of law enforcement) show well the importance of the common mindset associated with the Good State and Government special report. It is acknowledged that public security is a measurable social phenomenon; the objective state of private security is shown by criminal statistics; and public opinion concerning public security informs us about subjective security.

The Perception of Security Threats in Lithuania: A Human Security Perspective

This article presents original research concerning subjective security and the perception of security threats in Lithuania. It is based on an analysis of data collected during qualitative interviews conducted in 2016 within the framework of a project titled Subjective Security in Volatile Geopolitical Context: Traits, Factors, and Individual Strategies. The investigation resides upon individual-based human security theory, and it addresses the threats that individuals consider to be important, as well as the ways in which various perceptions of security form within society.

The Contribution of Security to Well-being

Do unknown and unrealized risks of harm diminish an individual’s well-being? The traditional answer is no: that the security of prudential goods benefits an individual only instrumentally or by virtue of their subjective sense of security. Recent work has argued, however, that the security of prudential goods non-instrumentally benefits an individual regardless of whether or not they enjoy subjective security. In this paper, I critically examine three claims about the way in which unknown and unrealized risks of harm might diminish individual well-being: (i) it frustrates a desire to be secure, (ii) it frustrates the enjoyment of modally-robust goods, and (iii) it undermines the ability to make reasonable plans. Ultimately, I argue that all three of these hypotheses are mistaken, but that they deepen our understanding of the ways in which subjective security is an important constituent of individual well-being.

The Consequences of Perceived (In)security and Possible Coping Strategies of Lithuanian People in the Context of External Military Threats

In recent years, Lithuania’s changing geopolitical environment because of the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine has increased the potential military threat that inevitably affects the subjective perception of security of the population. Based on the data from representative surveys and interviews conducted in 2014 and 2016, the article examines Lithuanians’ subjective perception of external military threats in the new geopolitical context, the impact of this perception on their coping strategies and the factors that have an impact on the selection of these strategies. The article is based on Buzan’s (1983, 1991, 2007) theoretical insights into subjective security and the sociological subjective security analysis approach of Inglehart and Norris (2012), applying it to the practically unexplored subjective response (strategies chosen by individuals) to the research into the field of military threat field. These two theoretical approaches allow the analysis of how a country’s population comprehends threats to its security amid a changing geopolitical context and the examination of the impact of different groups and approaches in society when selecting coping strategies. The article argues that the perception of security changes over time, as following the events that created the feeling of insecurity in the first place, the feeling of security again starts to rise gradually. In addition, knowledge of not only the current geopolitical context but also the historical experience is important, as in societies that have undergone radical political transformations, attitudes towards the existing democratic and former Soviet regimes play a rather major part in determining subjective security. The subjective security of different social groups and their selected coping strategies also differ, as it is the most vulnerable social groups that feel least safe. The least vulnerable social groups are most inclined to defend their country, whereas more vulnerable groups choose to be passive or to look after themselves and their families first and foremost.

User Acceptance and Mobile Payment Security

There have been multiple studies detailing mobile payment and its market potential. There is a gap in the literature when it comes to the study of acceptance factors focusing on security and trust. The researchers asked which qualities of security have an influence on the acceptance of a mobile payment service provider. Therefore this study will focus on distinguishing security in two dimensions: objective and subjective security. Objective security represents the user's perception of existing technical safety mechanisms. Subjective security is intangible, based on the user's feelings and perception towards security (trust). The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was the theoretical model used in the study. About three hundred responses were collected using an online questionnaire. The study showed that despite the financial crisis banks are still the preferred providers for mobile payment services, where over 80% of the respondents would like to receive the service from a bank. In contrast, only 20% would like to receive such a service from a mobile phone producer. Additionally objective security does not substantially increase subjective security; hence the user trusts the provider rather than the technology itself.

Understanding of e-service security dimensions and its effect on quality and intention to use

Purpose Security has been a critical matter in the development of electronic services. The purpose of this research is to develop a new model to help e-service practitioners and researchers in the evaluation of e-service security and its effect on quality and intention to use e-services. Design/methodology/approach According to the literature, 13 security dimensions are extracted. Then, exploratory factor analysis is applied to reduce the number of security dimensions. This step is implemented based on end-users’ perception. Afterward, a hierarchical structure of e-service security is established to calculate the weights of security dimensions applying analytical hierarchy process method by contribution of e-service experts and providers. Finally, structural equation modeling using LISREL is applied to test the proposed theoretical model. Findings Results indicates that confidentiality, integrity, privacy, authentication, non-repudiation and availability are antecedents of consumers’ perceived security in e-service. Considering the high significance of perceived security, it is concluded that enhanced feelings of security will result in improved perception of quality. Furthermore, it is found that users will intend to use e-service if they feel that the quality of e-service is high. Originality/value Few studies have been done on users’ adoption behaviors of e-services and even those few have not investigated users’ security perception as a major factor affecting users’ intention to use e-services. Considering the increasing concerns of users about the security of their personal information and how it affects their adoption behaviors, there is a need to conduct more studies on the factors involved in this procedure. In this study, the concept of security from both perspective of objective security and subjective security is evaluated.

Tightroping between APT and BCI in small enterprises

Purpose The contemporary internet provisions increasingly sophisticated security attacks. Besides underlining the advanced nature of these attacks, the concept of an advanced persistent threat (APT) catalyzes the important perspective of longitudinal persistence; attacks are not only carefully planned and targeted but the subsequent exploitation period covers long periods of time. If an APT successfully realizes into such exploitation, information assets may be continuously monitored for harvesting business-critical information (BCI). These threats are relevant for the security of small enterprises, and this study aims to examine the qualitative factors that shape the security mindsets among these. Design/methodology/approach The data are collected with semi-structured interviews of six enterprises in a small regional market segment. The analysis is based on a fourfold taxonomy that delivers three mindset profiles, while particular emphasis is placed on the subjective security notions that shape the typical strategizing among enterprises. Findings APT is poorly understood among the observed segment, which tends to often also explicitly downplay the strategic relevance of the concept, but a more pressing challenge relates to the observation that business data is often perceived to have no value. The delivered results can be used to improve the situation. Originality/value This study is among the firsts to explore perceptions of small enterprises toward APT and BCI. The results reveal problematic mindsets and offers new avenues for practitioners as well as academics to study and improve the situation.

Subjective Security in a Volatile Geopolitical Situation: Does Lithuanian Society Feel Safe?

The geopolitical situation of Lithuania has deteriorated since the annexation of Crimea and the military conflict in Eastern Ukraine. It has affected the objective security of the state as well as subjective security of the Lithuanian population. This article analyses subjective security and deals with the subjective perception of geopolitical and military threats, mainly social attitudes towards national security and the willingness to defend the country. Article is based on theories of securitisation and human security and holds that individuals are the primary referents of security. Empirically, the article relies on the original data of the research project “Subjective Security in a Volatile Geopolitical Context: Traits, Factors and Individual Strategies”, funded by the Research Council of Lithuania. Article shows the dynamics of social attitudes towards security. Over the last 15 years, a clear shift towards the understanding of potential military threats has occurred. Nevertheless, the predominant concern about individual security, overshadowing security of the state and security of the global order, found in previous studies, has persisted. An individual, as a rule, feels most secure in his/her “closest” environment, e.g. family and friends, and least secure in the “farthest” environment, e.g. other continents.