-------- Original-Nachricht -------- Betreff: [AISWorld] JITCAR Volume 12, Number 3 has been published Datum: Fri, 1 Oct 2010 10:49:58 -0400 Von: Gordon, Steven gordon@babson.edu An: AISWorld@lists.aisnet.org
Dear Colleagues:
It is my pleasure to announce the publication of the 47th issue of JITCAR (Volume 12, Number 3) -- The Journal of Information Technology Case and Application Research (http://www.jitcar.org).
Sincerely, Steven R. Gordon Editor-in-Chief, JITCAR Professor, Information Technology Management Babson College, Babson Park, MA 02457 Tel: 781-239-4571 Web: http://faculty.babson.edu/gordon
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Journal of Information Technology Case and Application Research Volume 12, Number 3, 2010
Editorial Preface Knowledge Management Systems for Emergency Preparedness: The Way Forward Murali Raman, Multimedia University, Malaysia Murray Jennex, San Diego State University, USA
Research Article One Structuring Interactions With Technology: A Social Identity Approach Canchu Lin, Bowling Green State University, USA
Research Article Two Discovering the Hidden Dynamics of Learning Communities Francesca Grippa, Marco De Maggio, Angelo Corallo, and Giuseppina Passiante Scuola Superiore ISUFI, University of Salento, Italy
Research Article Three An Exploratory Study of the Contextual Factors That Influence Success of ICT Projects in Developing Nations: A Case Study of a Telecommunications Company in Ghana Millicent Yawa Atsu, MainOne Cable Company, Accra, Ghana Francis Kofi Andoh-Baidoo, University of Texas-Pan American, USA Babajide Osatuyi, New Jersey Institute of Technology, USA Kwasi Amoako-Gyampah, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, USA
The Expert Opinion An Interview with Maurice Leatherbury, Ph.D. Vice President and Chief Information Officer, University of North Texas, USA Conducted and Documented by: Daniel A. Peak, University of North Texas, USA
Book Review Enterprise 2.0: New Collaborative Tools for Your Organization's Toughest Challenges By Andrew McAfee Published in 2009 by Harvard Business Press, ISBN: 978-1-4221-2587-8; 231 pages Reviewed by Richard G. Platt, University of West Florida, USA
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Knowledge Management Systems for Emergency Preparedness: The Way Forward Murali Raman, Multimedia University, Malaysia Murray Jennex, San Diego State University, USA
INTRODUCTION "This is your captain speaking". "We are 30,000 feet above sea level and in flight MH009 (Malaysia Airlines) and are flying at a ground speed of 869KM//hour..." The destination is Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei..." Several hypothetical questions are on our minds as this paper is written. What if one or more of the passengers in this flight takes control, as in uses the flight (or the remaining time therein) as part of a well-coordinated attack linked to terrorism? Can any knowledge and work in the area of information systems (and knowledge management systems) prevent that from happening? Well, clearly evidence from numerous man-made emergency situations (e.g. the London Subway bombings, the 9/11, the Bali Blasts etc.) would suggest that the answer is a resounding No. So, then why are researchers concerned with issues surrounding the design, development, implementation, and use of knowledge management systems in support of emergency situations? Are we wasting our time, efforts, and energy? Again, the answer is a resounding No!
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Research Article One Structuring Interactions With Technology: A Social Identity Approach Canchu Lin, Bowling Green State University, USA
ABSTRACT This case study investigated social construction of technology from the perspective of social identity theory. Four pre-existing social categories were found to be important sources of social influence: professional, organizational, departmental, and disciplinary identities. Additionally, an emerging social category (cross-unit and cross-discipline faculty and staff committees and learning groups) influenced technology use as well. Organizational members drew on structural elements from these five sources in their social construction of an information communication technology system. Theoretical as well as practical implications were addressed with respect to technology use. The findings helped to show how social identity influenced people's interpretations of technology and then use and non-use of technology. It is suggested that organizations make efforts to identify all possible social identities that may influence technology use and non-use.
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Research Article Two Discovering the Hidden Dynamics of Learning Communities Francesca Grippa, Marco De Maggio, Angelo Corallo, and Giuseppina Passiante Scuola Superiore ISUFI, University of Salento, Italy
ABSTRACT This paper presents a framework developed to monitor the evolution of learning communities intended as open communities of peers, tutors, and mentors from industry and academia. The proposed framework is described through a case study that provides empirical evidence of the benefits of studying learning communities by observing group dynamics and detecting individual trends. It has been applied to observe and supervise a learning community built around a Master's Program intended to create e-Business Solutions Engineers. The framework is based on two dimensions of analysis: the individual growth and the team growth. The first is function of personal development and satisfaction, while the second depends on social networking dynamics and cooperative content creation. The analysis of data, collected through ten months of exchanged e-mails and five monthly web-surveys, has been validated through interviews of the Program's coordinator and the Program Director, as well as through the involvement of academic and industrial partners in the formal assessment of the learners' performance.
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Research Article Three An Exploratory Study of the Contextual Factors That Influence Success of ICT Projects in Developing Nations: A Case Study of a Telecommunications Company in Ghana Millicent Yawa Atsu, MainOne Cable Company, Accra, Ghana Francis Kofi Andoh-Baidoo, University of Texas-Pan American, USA Babajide Osatuyi, New Jersey Institute of Technology, USA Kwasi Amoako-Gyampah, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, USA
ABSTRACT Organizations use various information and communication technologies (ICTs) to support business operations. In the developing world, ICT has promise for socio-economic development of the people. Successful project implementation is necessary in order to obtain the needed benefits from ICT endeavors. Factors that contribute to the successful implementation of ICT projects are well known. However, the implementation of ICT projects in developing countries is a more recent phenomenon that has not been well researched. In this paper we use a case study of ICT project implementation within one company in Ghana to highlight factors that underlie the implementation of ICT projects and how these factors collectively impact project success. The study shows that some of the factors identified as important in developed nations were relevant in the developing nation environment. However, the relative ranking of the importance of the factors was different between developed and developing nations. The study also identified additional factors that were relevant in the developing nation context. Our study is informed by the diffusion innovation theory, Hofstede's cultural theory and DeLone and McLean's IS success model. We present a framework that ties the ICT project success factors together and can serve as a guideline in ICT implementations in similar environments.
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The Expert Opinion An Interview with Maurice Leatherbury, Ph.D. Vice President and Chief Information Officer, University of North Texas, USA Conducted and Documented by: Daniel A. Peak, University of North Texas, USA
INTRODUCTION Maurice Leatherbury has been an Air Force officer, a librarian, an entrepreneur, a college professor, and an IT manager at a large university in the course of his career. Graduating from the University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1966, he served four years in the Air Force then went to graduate school at Florida State University where he earned a Master's degree in Library Science in 1970. After working at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida for two years he went to the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned a Ph.D. in 1979, also working at the Houston Academy of Medicine Library for several years before finishing his doctorate. He and a fellow Ph.D. student formed a software company in 1970, MetaMicro Library Systems, where they developed a turnkey library system as well as performed contract programming for thirteen years. Maurice then went to the University of Missouri where he was an assistant professor in the School of Informational Sciences for two years before taking a similar position at the School of Library and Information Science at the University of North Texas. He switched to computer center administration two years after starting at UNT, and progressed in his career until he became the chief information officer of the University in 2007. He will retire on the first of October of this year.
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Book Review Enterprise 2.0: New Collaborative Tools for Your Organization's Toughest Challenges By Andrew McAfee Published in 2009 by Harvard Business Press, ISBN: 978-1-4221-2587-8; 231 pages Reviewed by Richard G. Platt, University of West Florida, USA
INTRODUCTION
Regardless of where you get your news, whether it is print, television, radio, internet or some other form, you have been inundated with stories that include references to some form of what is called social media. Politics, politicians, and elections are influenced by the blogosphere. Celebrities tweet constantly, whether personally or using robo-tweet software to generate the messages. Some tweeters (that's a new definition for the dictionary) even compete to have the largest number of "followers" on the Twitter service, and before you write this off as a fad of the younger generations, even Larry King of CNN fame has over a million followers. Millenials use MySpace and Facebook to stay constantly linked with hundreds of "friends." In fact, part of the sky rocketing increase in the number of SMS messages over cell phones occurs when Facebook members are notified every time one of their friends posts anything on that hugely popular social media site. Upon first inspection, one might conclude that these technologies, labeled as Web 2.0, simply allow individuals to keep in contact, but that their use in organizations would be relegated to employees wasting productive time keeping in contact with their friends. However, that is not the case and Andrew McAfee steps in to correct that misconception in Enterprise 2.0 starting with replacing the word "social" with the word "collaborative."
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