Risk Assessment For nonprofit hospital Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Risk Assessment For nonprofit hospital - Essay Example Evidently, the industry is highly vulnerable to information theft more than ever before. In modern healthcare settings, risk factors are impulsive and hence comprehensive risk assessment programs are essential to meet the challenges. According to the current day concept, risk assessment is not simply a precaution but a preventive healthcare approach that mitigates the impacts of a number of risk factors (The National Patient Safety Agency, 2007). Why Risk Assessment It has been stated that â€Å"each technical advance brings new security holes† (Rogers, 2011, p. 2). According to the writer, storing data over the internet involves incessant threat from hackers and malware. Burger (2010) describes the Kern medical center’s intense struggle with computer virus to regain its data, for the virus had downloaded ‘tons of porn documents’ and crashed all computers causing great dilemma. The incident has been cited by many experts to show that hospital data is always vulnerable to identity theft. For instance, Fell (2010) also points out that hospital computer systems are under the threat of information theft referring to the mayhem caused by virus at Kern Medical Center. According to the officials of UC Davis Police Department, the author says that "Hospitals are a soft target where a cyber attack can cause a lot of damage quite easily† (as cited in Fell, 2010). ... 3-5), the business environment highly involves intense competition and technical complexity which raise considerable amount of vulnerability risk to organizations of every type. Hence it is important to have a reliable risk assessment program for every firm to ensure the security of their data and other areas of organizational functions. And risk assessment in the view of the writers is â€Å"a systematic process for describing and quantifying the risks associated with hazardous substances, processes, action, or events† (Covello & Merkhoher 1993, p.3). Risk Assessment Tools There are certain effective free vulnerability scanning tools that can help non-profit organizations to address this issue. Nessus is one of the most important security vulnerability scanning tools. The website gives very detailed information about the vulnerability scanning tool-Nessus. The site has included several frequently asked questions and their answers along with the basic instructions for its user s. A close analysis of Nessus’ official website gives a clear picture of its total functions (Nessus). The relevance of Nessus has been well described in Rogers (2011). According to the author, tools like Nessus have been helping organizations to assess the vulnerability of their systems. It can also be used to check for misconfiguration vulnerabilities like open mail relay and missing patches (p.291). Evidently, Nessus is widely accepted as the most comprehensive vulnerability scanning program available today, for it helps clients to assess the level of their system’s vulnerability to data theft or virus attack (Nessus: online encyclopedia). The website, SecTools.Org conducts regular surveys to identify and list the community’s favorite software through multiple

US Policy on Digital Learning Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

US Policy on Digital Learning - Research Paper Example Digital ecosystem describes varied concepts concerning the field of Information Technology (IT), e-learning, as well as Information and Communications Technology (ICT). In the field of IT, digital ecosystem refers to an accessible networking infrastructure found on the Internet. Institutions continually adopt digital ecosystem services or solutions that enable them to use all available e-business solutions to enhance their operations. In contrast, when used in ICT, digital ecosystems establish viable business ecosystems. However, in e-learning, which is the focus of this study, digital ecosystem or digital learning ecosystem is considered the ecological models of teaching and learning, appreciating infrastructure available for e-learning and implementing existing e-learning tools. Weigel (2001) posits that digital learning ecosystems aid the design of innovative learning tools. Conventional, digital learning ecosystems, allow education stakeholders to appreciate the evolution of digi tal learning users, tools, services and policies. This is a noteworthy advantage of digital learning ecosystems, which was unavailable in traditional, virtual learning environments. Education stakeholders make use of the ecological approach and define the intricate interactions between students and instructors, students, and interfaces, students and students and students, and content. These relationships exemplify the elements existing in digital learning ecosystem and shape students’ learning outcomes.... This is a noteworthy advantage of digital learning ecosystems, which was unavailable in traditional, virtual learning environments. Education stakeholders make use of the ecological approach and define the intricate interactions between students and instructors, students and interfaces, students and students and students and content. These relationships exemplify the elements existing in digital learning ecosystem and shape students’ learning outcomes. The examination of the aforementioned interactions is a vital part of creating in-depth appreciation of digital learning environments. This understanding helps in the standardization as well as promotion of effective digital learning practices. Digital learning ecosystem also encompass learning infrastructure such as software applications that support and manage digital learning. Since the 1990s, Learning Management Systems (LMS) were the conventional software applications used for managing and supporting digital learning. Howev er, following the advent of the social media, education stakeholders continually challenge the place of LMS in digital learning ecosystem (Quellmalz & Kozma, 2003). These stakeholders appreciate and seem to prefer the use of personal and open digital learning tools, for instance blogs, social networking sites and wikis. In essence, the perspective of digital learning ecosystems considers all learning-related services and tools as species existing within a digital ecosystem – according to emerging points of view, the â€Å"species† inherent to digital learning ecosystems as living and continually evolving in symbiosis with different user communities such as developers, facilitators, learners and administrators. US Policy on Digital Learning The US Foundation