1,720,993 research outputs found
Small business in a small country: Attitudes to “Green” IT
No full textNew Zealand is a small country and most of its\ud
businesses are small with 96 % of all enterprises employing\ud
fewer than 20 people. New Zealand takes pride in its “clean\ud
green” image, however small and medium sized businesses\ud
(SMEs) have limited resources, low awareness of the environmental\ud
impacts of the technologies they use, and perceive\ud
relatively few imperatives for changing their practices.\ud
In this paper we use institutional theory to frame a study of\ud
the factors which influence SMEs to adopt Green IS/IT\ud
practices. We found a diversity of viewpoints that suggest\ud
that adopting a one size fits all approach around encouraging\ud
organizations to adopt Green IS/IT is unlikely to be\ud
successful. However, it is doubtful that leadership in this\ud
area will arise in the small business sector, and coercive\ud
pressure from Government or other regulatory bodies is\ud
likely to be required. Market-place imperatives from customers\ud
and large players in supply chains can also be\ud
significant. Institutional theory was further used to understand\ud
the relative importance of these different pressures.\ud
These findings have relevance in other contexts as SMEs\ud
are the dominant form of business in many countries\ud
around the world and SMEs are estimated to have a\ud
combined contribution of around 70 % in terms of global pollutio
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Factors and consumer attitudes that affect the sustainable management of used mobile phones: A repertory grid analysis
No full textUsed mobile phones with their small size but vast numbers, create a unique problem when it comes to managing the part they play in the creation of electronic waste (E-waste). Whilst previous studies have identified what consumers appear to be doing with their used mobile phones, there is also a need to better understand why they are doing it. This study investigated what factors appear to influence consumer attitudes towards adopting a more sustainable approach when dealing with their used mobile phones. A reuse, refurbish and recycle strategy was used as a lens to examine the current literature from which an initial model was developed. Using the repertory grid interview technique a group of participants was interviewed to try to determine their core beliefs when it came to managing their used mobile phones. Analysis of the interviews was completed using several analysis techniques including word clouds, percentage similarity analysis, and Honey’s content analysis. The results of the study indicate that consumers care about the effect of used mobile phones on the environment although the degree of concern appears to vary across individuals. In addition, it was identified that in general, consumers perceive reuse, refurbishing, and recycling all as positive ways to sustainably manage used mobile phones, whilst environmental awareness appears to play a significant role in engaging people with recycling and being a rational for storing used mobile phones. Finally, the study suggests that telecommunication providers when trying to improve engagement with takeback schemes should focus more on consumers’ environmental concerns and social norms, rather than financial incentives or promoting easy engagement
Investigating the social dimension of alignment between it and business: focusing on communication and knowledge sharing
No full textStrategic alignment has been viewed as one of the main concerns of management and IT executives. Organizations have realized that in order to achieve competitive advantage, IT needs to be strategically aligned with business objectives. This is because business success has been found to be dependent on a company's ability to exploit the use of IT in their business processes.
While the importance of alignment and the benefits that can result from it are not questioned, achieving and maintaining alignment is still a major concern facing organizations. Organizations have taken many different approaches to achieve alignment between IT and business. Reich & Benbasat (2000) have focused on two dimensions of alignment, the intellectual dimension and the social dimension. The intellectual dimension focuses on the strategies, structure and planning methodologies organizations use to achieve alignment. However the social dimension concentrates on the role of people in achieving alignment and minimal research has been conducted in this particular area. Reich & Benbasat (2000) have identified four factors that influence the social dimension of alignment. However the intention of this study is to investigate the effect of the two factors of communication and knowledge sharing on alignment in detail.
Five IT companies were selected for this empirical case study. Two participants from each company were interviewed, the exception being one organization at which three participants took part in the research. One interviewee from each company represented the IT side and one interviewee represented the business side of their company.
The findings of the research revealed that the consistency of communication and knowledge sharing leading to alignment between IT and business objectives are of a high level. However the extent to which they can lead to alignment is affected by other factors that could result in inhibiting or enhancing their ability to a seamless alignment outcome
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Factor affecting the adoption of information and communication technology in the tourism sector of the Maldives
No full textFor many Small Island Developing States (SIDS) like the Maldives, tourism is a significant area of business. The increasing reliance on information and communication technology (ICT) in the tourism industry has become one of the major challenges facing developing countries, especially the SIDS. The success of the tourism industry in SIDS is closely associated with the use of ICT applications and e-business techniques.
This research studied the extent of utilisation of e-business and the issues that arise in its adoption and use in the organizations that make up the tourism industry of the Maldives. A theoretical framework was developed to identify the issues pertaining to use of ICT and e-business. The research was qualitative in nature and used a combination of grounded theory and multi-grounded theory approaches for data analysis in order to develop a new theoretical framework. This inductive process resulted in three emergent themes: representing three domains Country, Sector, and Information Systems (IS). ICT or e-business adoption and integration in the tourism organizations is affected by Sector, which is by and large influenced by the Country, which in turn impacts on the IS domain. These three complementary themes formed a new theoretical framework, generating a set of factors and institutional forces affecting the adoption and integration of ICT or e-business in the tourism organisations of the Maldives. This study contributes to our understanding of e-business in developing countries, in particular to small island developing states with islandness, like the Maldives
Exploring the use of ICTs in non-profit sector organisations: supporting the third act
No full textLife after retirement from full-time work is known as the third act of an individual. In New Zealand the third act has become longer, resulting in an ageing population. An implication of population ageing is the need for increased support and services for older people who live within the community. Non-profit sector organisations primarily cater to those that are either beyond the reach of state services or are unable to afford services offered by the commercial sector.
This study is guided by the central research question: how can non-profit sector organisations use ICTs to support service provision for older people living within the community? Using Lamb and Kling’s social actor model, adapted to the context of non-profit sector, the research project explores how ICT use is influenced by factors that are investigated under four key dimensions: affiliations, environment, identities and technology. Employing a case research method, it studies ICT use in four human services non-profit sector organisations.
The analysis of the case studies revealed how external influences are enacted within organisations. The study presents a framework which explains post-adoptive use in non-profit sector organisations incorporating external factors, the organisational view and social actor behaviours. The findings suggest that client and funder information requirements influence organisations to select one of four responses to external cues. Organisations adopt either a complementary perspective, a competing perspective, a compatible view or a negotiated view. These organisational information perspectives craft social actor behaviours within non-profit organisations.
Further, this study found information challenges associated with maintaining complex client requirements. Mobility of the work force, deficiencies in data capture and limitations of existing client information systems constrain information flow in these organisations. As a result analysis of service utilisation data fails to communicate the actual value created within communities.
This study has extended the understanding of ICT use in non-profit human services organisations in New Zealand and contributed to knowledge in the development of the social actor model within specific contexts. The original contribution of this study is the three-tier typology of social actor- information roles. The study presents social actor behaviour associated with a primary entity and an information role. Five main social actor- information roles were identified across three tiers and have been mapped against a spectrum of information behaviours associated with each role. When responding to external cues social actors engage in task related behaviours associated with their information roles. By contributing to ICT use practices, this research presents new perspectives on the components of value in organisational processes. Identifying value adding and value communicating information flows, information loss and informal ICT support roles this study presents a detailed analysis of the factors that enhance and constrain ICT use within human services non-profit sector organisations
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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