Australian Computer Society: ACS Digital Library
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Community Sector Organisations: a digital divide in communication and knowledge creation?
Get PDFIn 2002, the Centre for Community Networking commenced a research programme aimed at improving the understanding of the use of communications and information technology (ICT) by community and third sector organisations within Australia. The immediate goal of this research was the creation of the Monash Community ICT Index. This paper represents the first attempt to provide a more in-depth analysis of the data obtained in that survey, setting the results in the context of research undertaken by Zook (2001), Castells (2001) and Adamic (2001), who consider that not only is the Internet a natural fit with “winner-take-all” markets but reinforces existing patterns of geographic centralisation in the information society and economy. It will pay particular attention to factors such as the location and size of organisations, and whether there is any support for the notion of a digital divide in the social communications networks and creators of knowledge within the Australian community sector
"Help Me Pull That Cursor" A Collaborative Interactive Floor Enhancing Community Interaction
Get PDFIn this paper we describe the development, experiments and evaluation of the iFloor, an interactive floor prototype installed at the local central municipality library. The primary purpose of the iFloor prototype is to support and stimulate community interaction between collocated people. The context of the library demands that any user can walk up and use the prototype without any devices or prior introduction. To achieve this, the iFloor proposes innovative interaction (modes/paradigms/patterns) for floor surfaces through the means of video tracking. Browsing and selecting content is done in a collaborative process and mobile phones are used for posting messages onto the floor. The iFloor highlights topics on social issues of ubiquitous computing environments in public spaces, and provides an example of how to exploit human spatial movements, positions and arrangements in interaction with computers
A Design Approach for Tangible User Interfaces
Get PDFThis paper proposes a mechanism to design Tangible User Interface (TUI) based on Alexander’s (1964) design approach i.e. achieving fitness between the form and its context. Adapted to the design of TUIs, the fitness-of-use mechanism now takes into consideration the potential conflicts between the hardware of the artifact (electro-mechanical components) and the form of the user’s control (Physical-ergonomics). The design problem is a search for an effortless co-existence (fitness-of-use) between these two aspects. Tangible interface design differs from traditional graphical interface design as unsolved conflicts between hardware and ergonomics can deeply affect the desired interaction. Here we propose a mechanism (in the form of eight questions) that support the design by defining the boundaries of the task, orienting the hardware (electro-mechanics) and ergonomics of the design space for various sub-tasks and finally fitting the different components of the hardware and physical-ergonomics of the artefact to provide a component level fitness which will delineate the final tangible interfaces. We further evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of our approach by quantitative user evaluatio
Shared Visualizations in Support of Distributed Creative Communities
Get PDFThe paper is concerned with support for distributed groups of creative knowledge workers: in this case designers. We consider requirements that designers have regarding internalisation and externalisation of ideas and concepts as well as requirements relating to collaboration. We review an online system whose facilities for the graphical representation of data were found to be popular. The evaluation was in the context of a group task and the results, including instances of tacit knowledge sharing, have led us to formulate a number of recommendations as to how such systems might be made still more effective for collaborative working
Applying the Australian and New Zealand Risk Management Standard to Information Systems in SMES
Get PDFThis paper advocates the use of the Australia/New Zealand Risk Management Standard (SA/SNZ, 1999) in conjunction with of a modified version of Birch and McEvoy’s (1992) Structured Risk Analysis for Information Systems (SRA-IS) to identify information systems security risks in SMEs. The use of Internet based commerce by SMEs exposes them to information systems security risks that they are ill equipped to recognise let alone mitigate. Unlike the identification of some business risks, identification of risks associated with information systems requires certain technical expertise. The structure of the existing information system must be understood and modelled before risks can be identified and it is acknowledged that the required technical expertise may not be present in SMEs, thus the involvement of information systems consultants may be necessary. Once the information system has been modelled little information systems expertise is required to complete the analysis, keeping consultant involvement to a minimum and maximising owner/manager involvement
Exploring Virtual Enterprises Using Activity Theory
Get PDFFrom joint Industry – University research into the key success factors that sustain Virtual Enterprises (VE’s), it has been observed that conditions for the establishment of a VE do not necessarily sustain it. Transactions that are valued by the participants, a balance between similarity and complementarity attributes of the participants and effective utilisation of time are seen as important sustaining factors. Different communication and ICT tools are utilised in different circumstances, and successful collaborations develop formal or informal “rules” underlying their operation. Considering such attributes helps us understand what happens within a successful VE, but not necessarily how. Two case studies describing long-standing collaborations – one relating to a manufacturing network, and the other to a professional virtual community are presented. A third case study relating to the development of ICT tools to be used in a VE is also presented. Activity Theory is used as a framework for discussion of the organisational attributes associated with these cases and how they operate. It is suggested that exploration of the nature of tools, communities etc is helpful in understanding VE operations, and applied at multiple levels, Activity Theory is also useful in understanding the evolution of those tools, communities etc
The Significance of Electronic Commerce to Firms' Operations in Relation to Business Location: an empirical investigation
Get PDFGlobalization of production and increasing competition spurs greater business use of innovative information systems. As globalization extends its reach over cities and regions, the positions of those places within the emerging global paradigms of regional economies is changing. Only those regions and cities that can mobilize assets for local advantage would succeed. This research examines the implications of location for electronic commerce (EC) role in firm operations through the lens of managerial perceptions of EC systems, EC activities, agglomeration economies, firm-specific features and outputs relative to industry. The input-based view and industrial development frameworks provide the theoretical underpinning for this research. Fully completed instruments from 106 firms in Singapore and Lagos financial services sector, respectively, are the basis of our analysis. Our findings reveal varying results between industries across the two cities, supporting our propositions. Firms with well-configured EC systems are more likely to experience efficiency in EC activities and outputs, given conducive operational conditions. However, firm-specific features were not linked to output, a finding inconsistent with prior studies. Finally, EC business models that focus on operational efficiency strongly complement the historically relevant location variable in industrial operations. These findings provide basis for recommendations to policymakers, practitioners, and researchers
On Understanding Evaluation of Tool Support for IS Development
Get PDFEvaluation of IS tools has received considerable attention in the literature, yet no consensus is apparent on characterising the important dimensions of an evaluation process. From an analysis of the literature, we identify a weakness in extant methods to support evaluation activities, and posit a framework for IS tool evaluation. We conclude that there is a need for enriched method support to deal with the complex socio-technical issues involved in the summative assessment of IS tools
Usable Security and E-Banking: ease of use vis-a-vis security
Get PDFElectronic banking must be secure and easy to use. An evaluation of six Danish web-based electronic banking systems indicates that the systems have serious weaknesses with respect to ease of use. Our analysis of the weaknesses suggests that security requirements are among their causes and that the weaknesses may in turn cause decreased security. We view the conflict between ease of use and security in the context of usable security, a concept that is intended to match security principles and demands against user knowledge and motivation. Automation, instruction, and understanding can be identified as different approaches to usable security. Instruction is the main approach of the systems evaluated; automation relieves the user from involvement in security, as far as possible; and understanding goes beyond step-by-step instructions, to enable users to act competently and safely in situations that transcend preconceived instructions. We discuss the pros and cons of automation and understanding as alternative approaches to the design of web-based e-banking systems