Proceedings
Online ISSN: 1535-0703
The crux of knowledge management theory is to devise different strategies to capture the tacit knowledge of the people in the organization, to make it explicit and to share it throughout the organization. This paper draws from the literature in cognitive psychology and highlights the limitation of the human mind by observing that knowledge is lost out of memory over time. Judgment and gut feelings ...
A fundamental of the formation of virtual organizations, or capturing effective organizational memory is the creation of an ontology. Existing organizational memory software systems uniformly suffer from the problem of initializing the ontology. Another, less recognized, problem of ontologies is their poor record in capturing implicit and informal relationships within and between actors. This pape ...
In this paper certain ethical and social issues, insights and lessons learnt surrounding the spread of misinformation resulting from a hoax e-mail sent in South Africa on September 11 2001, linking South Africans to the World Trade Center disaster in New York are considered. A case study, based on the South African newspaper press coverage that this incident received, is discussed. The factual con ...
Iivari and Ervasti’s (1994) Construct for User Information Satisfaction is used within a case study to examine information quality and the satisfaction of the students, teachers and guidance officers with curriculum and career guidance information. It was found that there are curriculum quality differences and dissimilar levels of IT resources available between schools. Independent school students ...
Organizations are introducing biometric devices into various sections of the economy for various reasons. What began as a security feature for a limited number of government organizations has been adapted to such diverse uses as paying for school children’s lunches to tracking employees’ work attendance. From an organizational perspective, justifications for use of biometric devices are plentiful. ...
This paper aims to analyze the process of knowledge creation, more specifically the four modes of knowledge conversion, on agricultural producers or farmers in Brazil, using the theoretical model of Nonaka and Takeuchi (1997). The research is an exploratory-descriptive study of a qualitative nature. The study demonstrated that for new knowledge to be created in the rural properties researched, at ...
An approach to improve communication processes in e-learning is introduced. Based on a separation of a content-related and a communicational part of e-learning environments a system to support both students and tutors in their communication endeavors is presented. The communication platform consists of administration, configuration, moderation, and certainly communication tools which are described ...
In this paper, we discuss foundations, requirements and first experiences with a mobile information system that supports, and is ecologically compatible with, human vision-based navigation and acquirement of spatial knowledge during movement through the physical world. The appliance assists a person finding his/her way from an origin to a destination by providing an egocentric (viewer-centered) ra ...
Knowledge is a model that enables premeditated change. Knowledge can be subdivided: the simplest element is information. Information aggregates/relations constitute a concept. Clusters of concepts make theories. Concepts and theories can be further branched into: conclusions, explanations, cognitions, etc, which together belong to a general class of Definition. Definitions are key elements of know ...
This paper presents our research into the possibilities to wirelessly enhance classroom teaching in a university environment. We explore current technologies, both hardware and software, and propose a vision of future possibilities.
There are a wide range of equally valid approaches to teaching networking. One approach is to teach internetworking technologies (switches, routers). However, an extensive analysis of educational materials in this area has indicated that these devices are typically treated as 'black boxes'. This is contrary to educational theory that supports the need for a conceptual model. Two state models were ...
This paper presents an application of Markov Decision Process (MDP) into the provision of traffic prioritisation in the best-effort networks. MDP was used because it is a standard, general formalism for modelling stochastic, sequential decision problems. The implementation of traffic prioritisation involves a series of decision making processes by which packets are marked and classified before bei ...
In an environment of growing information security threats, it is essential to raise the awareness and capabilities of business students entering the workforce to mitigate threats to the enterprise networks. Information security has emerged as the most critical component of any data network. This paper describes a research project jointly undertaken by the author and an undergraduate student in Inf ...
What can you do to virtually teach the hands-on skills traditionally taught in labs? If you include simulations, active experimentation, discovery-learning techniques, numerous questions with detailed feedback, video, animations, and photographs, you can effectively teach practical hands-on skills through multimedia technology. Through discussion and demonstration, this session will highlight prac ...
This work proposes to use Web services to turn information into actions by leveraging and unlocking the informational assets of an organization. Indeed, Web services allow cost-effective composition and re-engineering of business processes because of their ability to connect applications, systems, and organization partners through the Internet-based standards (XML, SOAP, UDDI). The work consists o ...
Looking for work is complex. It involves a synthesis of decisions relating to many separate jobseeking tasks, requiring discrimination of how an individual’s skills match the job description, whether the salary offered is acceptable, location of the work and the logistics of arranging suitable transport. These job-seeking tasks are even more difficult for the disabled, and despite the Web Access I ...
Taking a critical theory approach and the pluralist view of technology, this paper examines the problems in organizational communication that arose due to the implementation of a limited intranet electronic mail system as the main channel of communication between a rural state-owned organization and its city-based Head Office, installed at the sole discretion of the latter. The intranet was provid ...
In this paper we concentrate on one aspect of e-business applications, namely on its effects in supply chain management. We derive a mathematical model that shows how different changes in ordering costs as a result of using e-business can affect the optimal ordering intervals and quantity, average stock level and consequently total inventory-related costs. We study the sensitivity of the objective ...
The application of the internet to the Human Resource function (e-HR) combines two elements: one is the use of electronic media whilst the other is the active participation of employees in the process. These two elements drive the technology that helps organisations lower administration costs, improve employee communication and satisfaction, provide real time access to information while at the sam ...
In e-commerce, customers have become Information System users. In this environment of nonmandatory usage, remote, untrained users need to quickly feel comfortable and satisfied with a site encounter. Throughout the literature for four decades, a commonly cited factor pertaining to system success has been user participation in the systems development process. Among other things this is likely to le ...
This work examines the process of software development from Informing Sciences (IS) point of view. We explore how the three IS precursor theories--Shannon and Weaver’s Model of the communication process, Leavitt’s Change-equilibrium model, and the “Meta-approach” to mod-eling--justify a model-driven approach to software development and we argue that modeling through abstraction, metaphoric mapping ...
An ongoing investigation into the declining participation of women in IT education and professional level work has recently focused on professional women’s perceptions of the IT industry. This paper presents some of the findings from a discourse analysis of interviews with thirty-two female and two male IT professionals. The analysis identified a distinctive characteristic of the women’s discourse ...
The importance of teaching computer ethics is shown by its inclusion as core content in both information systems and computer science model curricula. This paper outlines a method for evaluating undergraduate computer ethics programs using the Defining Issues Test of moral judgment. A “before-and-after with a control group” research design was used. The experimental group exhibited a significantly ...
In this paper Nicholson’s (1994) four-fold conceptual framework has been applied to ethical issues in research by postgraduate students undertaking theses or dissertations in computing. Ethical dilemmas are explored showing how knowledge in this area is acquired, shared and integrated from one research project to the next and within any one postgraduate cohort. Ethics of performing research within ...
A requisitely holistic information support can help us improve our business operation, but such information is hard to attain and even harder to attain in virtual organizations presenting a specific, more fluid form of business systems. Important difficulties include complexity and complicatedness, time (real and future, and their difference from the past), information requirements (realistic defi ...
The software assets that an enterprise applies toward the management of its business processes are bound to evolve in response to business model transformations dictated by changing management environments. Both a given set of software and its associated data form an asset portfolio that needs to be well managed to generate the greatest possible return over time. Tradeoffs between the TCO (Total C ...
This paper attempted to develop and validate an instrument that measures users’ views about the usability of digital libraries. Users’ views toward the usability of digital libraries may serve as the major conduit to user acceptance and satisfaction, thus promoting positive learning experiences. The instrument, digital library usability, consisted of 12 items that described usability properties of ...
Failed Information Technology (IT) projects are common in organisations, as IT solutions often do not meet the expectations of business clients. Business experts often have a negative perception of the people working in the IT function. There seems to be a proverbial “chicken-and-egg situation”: the relationship between business and IT suffers because IT projects fail to solve the real business ne ...
Virtual communities have shown to be rich sources of knowledge if community members are sharing what they know. A look at virtual communities related to traveling in Australia suggests that often members are more than happy to share what they know about certain locations. In this paper, we outline, from a Location-oriented Knowledge Management (LoKM) perspective, the steps necessary to connect vir ...
Though not especially media-rich, mailing lists remain in use and retain popularity for their built-in technological controls and their capability to “reply” to a message (“continuing a thread”). The motivation for extracting knowledge fragments from the unstructured text of mailing lists is compelling, though successes doing so may be considered only partial because it requires mental processing, ...
Designing of web accessibility features need to accommodate cultural differences in the multicultural world. This paper finds the literature on how the web accessibility features of educational website can be improved for multicultural users by using the User Centred Design (UCD) approach. This paper reviews previous research on multicultural approach, accessibility functions and UCD approach. The ...
In this paper we describe a pilot project to develop and assess the potential of CD-ROM based resources to address the identified informational needs of a community of education professionals. We focus on the development process, although we also briefly describe the project evaluation and its results. The context in which the pilot was developed and implemented was the Social Well-being in Mackay ...
The paper deals with the question, how the efficiency and successfulness of web pages in information dissemination can be measured. The paper concentrates on the use of a corporate web page in public relations with different interest groups. Basic principles of public relations theory are summarized. The importance of web-page credibility is emphasized and different factors that can have influence ...
A problem that has been neglected in CIS/IT curricula is, how will students and recent graduates go about planning and selecting computer hardware, software, and services in a cost effective manner. The authors will present a list of compelling arguments for the establishment of such a course and describe its contents and the details of its implementation.
The Faculty of Education at Australian Catholic University offers an online postgraduate course that focuses on the use of e-learning tools to facilitate changes in thinking, teaching and learning. It incorporates project-based learning techniques that require participants to learn how to apply selected ICT and e-learning tools to improve learning within their workplace. This has been based upon o ...
A strategy to overcome challenges associated with teaching a foundation Information Systems (IS) course to large cohorts of Business students has been highly successful. To further refine the strategy, a survey was conducted to better understand attitudes and computer experience of the students. This study revealed that factors such as gender, age, study mode, type of secondary school attended, le ...
The effectiveness of delivering course contents for distance learning depends on the organization of the course material, interaction methods and selection of exercise/test questions. The selection of questions plays a role equally important as the course presentation material. The use of multimedia may help ease the learning experience and so does the interaction among the students. A systematic ...
In the choice of a pedagogy for a new unit on IT project management, an innovative single case study approach was chosen, in the hope of providing a ‘virtual environment’ in which students could embed themselves. By providing a single, rich, descriptive project environment for students, it was hoped that they would become deeply involved in the case and thus adopt a deeper approach to learning and ...
Retrofitting Generic Graduate Attributes: A Case-Study of Information Systems Undergraduate Programs
This paper discusses how a set of ‘mandated’ generic graduate attributes were incorporated, by a retrofit, into an IS undergraduate degree program. The current challenge is to implement these attributes completely by matching them to course objectives, by explicitly including and assessing them, and by refining teaching and learning strategies to be cognisant of them. Other considerations identifi ...
In this paper, we describe the theory and techniques we have employed within a pre-existing learning environment to provide personalised features for students within an IT related domain. Our system is based on concepts, both declarative and practical, that can be combined in different configurations, and displayed in different media formats to account for different students. We also use instructi ...
Business Information Systems education-such as majoring in Business Computing, E-Commerce and Business Computing, and Information Systems--is the basic foundation of all Information Systems professionals. So good planning of these programmes is an indispensable element in the development of computing disciplines. The traditional ways of planning an education programme are mainly based on understan ...
It is important for higher education institutions to produce Information Systems graduates who can think and solve problems effectively. This paper is a rich description of the first cycle in an action research project defined to investigate the effectiveness of using a specially developed unit in the first year of an Information Systems course in order to facilitate the enhancement of students’ c ...
An in-depth study of the business-IT interface produced numerous reasons why Information Technology (IT) solutions often do not meet the expectations of the business client. Major contributors towards the expectation gap are: Insufficient analysis of the business problem, bad user requirement specifications and documentation, ineffective communication and interpersonal relationship problems. All o ...
The IS professional is a person endowed with certain professional skills and attributes usually formally obtained through an education process. The IS professional may also have formal skills in peripheral, non technical areas that may too be obtained through a formal education process. This is typical now in the education of IS students who are aspiring IS professional. In addition they come with ...
To succeed in the global marketplace, companies must reposition themselves to tap the sources of sustainable growth. After failing to connect information technology investments with business performance, successful senior managers today know that ‘effective use of information’ does not equal merely a new IT solution. Instead, business performance can only be improved with an excellence at using in ...
Capstone courses are used extensively in teaching information technology to expose students to realistic, work-like situations, though in a controlled environment. The value of the experiences the student engages in, and the skills and knowledge they develop are not questioned, as they are accepted as a beneficial precursor to professional work. The pedagogical methods used to deliver capstone cou ...
A Computer Science degree includes a compulsory final year Project subject. The Project involves the design and implementation of a real-life computer application for a client, and gives students an opportunity to work in a setting emulating a real-life information technology environment. Students undertake the Project subject together with its co-requisite subject in English Language and Communic ...
The paper will report upon the experiences and reflections of undergraduate students undertaking industrial development projects, as part of their curriculum, in the situation where they have been required to utilize a prototyping / agile / lightweight methodology. The paper is partly evangelistic (demonstrating the author’s enthusiasm for a particular development methodological viewpoint), and pa ...
An introductory undergraduate database management course is quite common in the undergraduate IS/IT (Information Systems/Information Technology) curriculum. This paper describes the restructuring of such a course from a dominantly technical focus to having a much broader and more integrated approach within the Bachelor of Business (IT Major-Information Technology Major) degree programme at the Auc ...
The concept of distance learning by advanced educational technology is at present only emerging in Africa. This applies particularly to education and training in information and communication technology (ICT). A learner support system needs to be put in place to assist students to use relevant technologies. Learners in Africa tend to have difficulty understanding the technologies underpinning the ...
Technology and the corresponding constructivism are creating an educational agenda where the process of learning is valued at least as highly as the outcome. Since technology entered the classroom, learning goals have expanded from facts and knowledge by subject to intellectual curiosity and a love of learning. Students are engaging in their own meaning-making, or knowledge production, through pro ...
This paper presents a method for analyzing human conceptions related to e-learning, based on positioning data on what is called here a learning matrix. The set of dimensions comprising the matrix distinguish between emphasis on individuality and sociality in learning, between viewing learning as knowledge adoption and as knowledge construction, and between viewing learning as subjective and as obj ...
The purpose of this paper is to review the findings from a web enhanced course, SPE 304-800 Educational Planning for All Students, offered at SUNY Oswego in the fall 2003 semester. It discusses the rationale for developing a web enhanced class. It analyses the success of the webenhanced class from both the student and instructor prospective
Although there are many teaching styles in higher education, they can usually be reduced to two: the traditional, on campus attendance, lecturing, student-passive style and the newer, distance education, self-paced, student-active style. It is the contention of this paper, illustrated by two case studies of one Spanish and one Australian university, that the differences in technology seem to have ...
There is an ongoing and vigorous debate in academia concerning the role of Universities in the education process and the relationship Universities have with industry. In the broad sense, should we (the Universities) be educating or should we be training? Not withstanding that debate, it seems undeniable that the study of Information Systems has been spawned from the need to understand both the the ...
The emergence of the Internet has made many institutions involved in the delivery of distance education programs re-evaluate the course delivery framework. A variety of models and techniques co-exist in an often uneasy alliance at many such institutions. These range from the traditional distance learning model, which remains paper-based, to the purely online model. Recently, hybrid models have eme ...
This paper describes the planning, implementation and current progress of the Deakin Online Project which aims to establish a virtual campus for Deakin University. The project is built upon the WebCT Vista© learning management system. Strategies for eTeaching and eLearning are analysed and the dangers and opportunities are identified. Approaches to the preparation of both students and faculty for ...
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems offer a software-based system that handles an enterprise’s total information system needs in an integrated fashion. Such systems have seen a significant growth in the last decade in the US, Europe and Australian markets and, more recently, increasing growth in Asian countries. This increase in demand for ERP systems in Asia offers opportunities for the pr ...
This paper presents an instructional method for validating a relational database design. Data model validation is often overlooked in course projects involving relational database design, in part because while most database texts stress the importance of validation, few provide an instructional method for performing validation. Validation is a critical step, especially for students. A flawed data ...
BlueJ is a programming environment that has been used to teach object-oriented introductory programming since 1999 in two consecutive first year units at Monash University. An earlier evaluation of its effectiveness in helping students to learn OO programming in the first unit was inconclusive, although most students who participated in the study believed that it did help them to learn Java. It wa ...
This paper discusses a framework for teaching of mobile and wireless technology. The framework is evolving with the numerous changes that are occurring in the related technology as well as the changes that are occurring in the teaching environment. In today’s business environment the use of wireless applications is beginning to play an ever increasing important role. Many people use and interact w ...
MIS textbooks on the market are overly technology laden, with oversimplified coverage of the fundamentals in general and in particular with regard to the role of data and information in business. This thought-provoking paper is born out of frustration with the disparity between what we already know on the subject and what actually is being offered to our students and clients. The first part of thi ...
This positioning paper focuses on the selection of software for educational purposes and how the selection process may encourage usage. Computer Aided Software or Systems Engineering (CASE) tools provided an appropriate e software example for this study. The paper also seeks to examine if the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) such as CASE can aid the students’ understanding of syst ...
We have been engaged in research towards designing a software system called LOZ for learning the object oriented formal specification notation Object-Z. Initially, we conducted a survey to analyse the effectiveness of traditional methodologies for learning Z notation. In LOZ, the semiformal model UML is used in the intermediate phase between informal textual description and formal Object-Z descrip ...
In an era of increased accountability in assessing student learning outcomes, greater emphasis has been focused on factors that influence student learning. In this paper we examine the impact of instructional methods and information technology on student learning styles, all critical factors affecting student learning. A research framework that suggests the relationship of instructional processes ...
This article questions whether the PhD remains the most relevant advanced qualification for the majority of academic staff in Australian universities given the changes in the environment of the universities over the past two decades.
This paper explores the relationships between jazz and the development of information systems. Similarities are drawn between music in general and information systems development methodologies and jazz is taken as a specific focus. The idea of music as an information system in its own right is outlined. As systems development methodologies move from formal approaches towards more ad hoc forms, the ...
In the paper the author first presents the nature of work that is characteristic for computer and information systems managers. Then she turns her attention to the increasing need for those profile of personnel. The requirements for training and other qualifications of computer and information systems managers are discussed widely as well. In the end the author presents the activity of training an ...
Technology is a constant stream of innovations. Thousands of products are introduced each year. Potential adopters, including IT educators, must determine the right time, if ever, to embrace these new developments and to integrate them into their curricula and/or personal professional endeavors. It is the contention of the author that with regard to the adoption of innovations that purport to impr ...
This paper investigates the idea of organization transformation appropriate to the advent of information technologies (IT). Specifically, we describe a traceable framework of transformation, which accommodates the shift of information system (IS) support from automating to informating to knowledging. The paper intends to clarify the context of IT/IS-based organization transformation through the co ...
Markit© is an Automated Essay Grading (AEG) system capable of running on typical desktop PC platforms. Its performance compares favourably with human graders and with commercially available systems. A distinct advantage of Markit over existing commercial systems is that it requires only one model answer against which the student essays are compared. In this paper we report on a trial of Markit wit ...
The career paths of students are influenced and shaped by the subject choices that are made in the final years of secondary schooling. This paper presents the findings of an empirical study that identified the key factors influencing the decision of rural / regional Australian students to choose or not choose to study Information Processing and Technology. The findings revealed that career oriente ...
This paper presents an enhanced strategy to incorporate computer applications in a non-IT course, called Computer Immersion Strategy (CIS). Previous attempts to fully incorporate current technology in accounting courses highlighted the failure of those strategies to enable or motivate students to master analytical problem-solving skills. In response to this crucial shortcoming, CIS was developed f ...
The focus of this research is to determine whether the exposure to e-learning materials enables students to improve their English. Test scores before and after being exposed to e-learning material have been compared to discover whether there is any appreciable improvement in students’ English Language proficiency levels. Students’ profiles on the computer-assisted learning are studied to determine ...
Nowadays, many empirical studies are carried out based on educational projects. In these cases, instructors put forward requirements on educational projects from the perspective of education, and researchers also provide their requirements from the perspective of empirical study. How to design educational projects successfully from both educational perspective and research perspective becomes a pr ...
The paper describes ways to provide web based support for group learning especially in large subjects involving many groups. It begins by describing support tools that enable groups to carry out case studies. It distinguishes between different levels of support services ranging from group management systems, through support for informal exchange of information to proactive agent support systems th ...
This study explores students’ misconceptions with the particulate concept of matter in gaseous state. Then, based on promoting students’ learning and understanding from a constructivist perspective, the effectiveness of instructional activities by presenting a demonstration with computer simulation was investigated. Students were expected to benefit from computer monitored instruction in a number ...
This paper explores the impact of a variety of contextual factors on the diffusion of six administrative innovations. The paper explores the level importance of 13 contextual factors on decisions^) to implement (or not) administrative changes. It also examines the level of association between contextual factors and the diffusion of six administrative innovations, finding that the several contextua ...
The paper addresses the problem of dynamic analysis of barriers to entry in a chosen market. The role and importance of such analysis in enterprise strategy is explained. As a solution to the problem, the use of an intelligent tool is proposed. The tasks that such a tool should be able to perform and the expectations connected with such a tool are pointed out. Next, an architecture of an intellige ...
Organizational process and information delivery automation with workflow technologies is an effective method used by information technology departments to help reach institutional objectives by better informing their end users, clients and stakeholders. This presentation mentions four useful models of implementing workflow technologies. The focus is on no-search or zero-click messages or reports, ...
This paper presents findings of a recent study which explores rural women’s use of an agricultural decision support system, CottonLOGIC, within the Australian cotton industry. Meta-analysis is applied through the theoretical framework of structuration theory while diffusion theory is used for lower level analysis. The concept of communication is applicable to both theories. The significance of Cot ...
After a short introduction that describes the author’s interest in educational and vocational guidance, this paper reports on the psychological and pedagogical contributions to the analysis of the phenomenon. The limits of the above approaches are then analyzed and the need for the monitoring of the students’ cognitive, relational and affective spheres is explained. The last section of the paper f ...
This paper reports initial research results on the relationship between student learning styles and academic achievement in a distance education computing course with Internet-based student support. The learning styles of students in a computer concepts class were evaluated and classified according to the Felder-Soloman Learning Style Index. We have identified statistically significant differences ...
With our ever-changing society there seems to be more pressures on young people. Recent epidemiological studies in Australia have found that adolescent mental health is an important public health problem (Sawyer et al., 2001). As many as one in five Australian children aged from 4 to 17 have significant mental health concerns (Zubrick, Silburn, Burton, & Blair, 2000). However, only one in four you ...
Numerous researchers have employed Csikszentmihalyi's flow theory in their analyses of the behavior of Web users. Flow is a state of consciousness that is experienced by people who are deeply involved in an enjoyable activity such as surfing the Net. The experience is characterized by some common elements such as concentration on the task at hand, a sense of control, a merging of action and awaren ...
A historical account is presented of the evolution of a new postgraduate level university course dealing with the psychology of computer programming. An outline of the course is presented and its objectives are discussed, as well as possible reasons for its premature demise and initiatives that could be undertaken to resurrect the format in a new guise.
This paper presents the results of an empirical study of the learning styles of a group of computing students and the teaching styles of their tutors at The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand. This study of learning styles is based on Kolb’s learning model and the Felder-Soloman learning style instrument. To identify how close students’ learning styles match the teaching styles of their tutors we hav ...
In recent years several large organizations in Israel implemented CRM systems in order to increase efficiency. The difficulties managers and decision makers in all fields of business have to face are great as there is no one 'fixed formula' to guarantee the success of such a maneuver. However, there is a set of guidelines that can assure the road to success of such a change when one wishes to impl ...
Papers presented at the 2003 conference of HERDSA (Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia) proposed guidelines for change and innovation in higher education. This paper empirically studied these guidelines in the ICT environment of an institution. We explored change and innovation outputs by ICT staff at ITPs (Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics), aspects of the env ...
Interest in beginning a career in programming is declining. Programming is no longer selling itself to novices at high school and university levels as well as it once did. This paper considers why this is the case, what may happen if this trend continues, and what can be done to restore interest for the next generation of programmers.
The growth of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems since the 90’s has been immense. Their organisational wide functionality is vast and overall capabilities are enormous but their success, usability and the user perception is questioned in the information systems (IS) literature. This paper looks at an implemented ERP system in a large Australian University. The core aspect of the paper is t ...
The music scene in cyberspace is an example of how a legal framework has been developed to curb online copyright infringement. The emergence, in the mid-1990’s, of online music websites and software programs such as MP3 technology to compress and download music, have delivered considerable copyright threat to the music industry. This threat has been further exacerbated by the remarkable developmen ...
Users interact with a database system through a set of database languages and this makes designing database languages a very challenging task to a computer software engineer. A set of well-defined database languages must be easy to learn, easy to understand and powerful enough to capture semantic of a problem domain. This paper discusses design issues of a proposed database language, namely Extend ...
This study is aimed at determining the impact that web-based middleware systems can imprint in enhancing learning and assessment. Representative samples of students attending introductory computer classes at the Technikon, were assessed to determine the level of their knowledge and use of the Internet. Very few of them demonstrate high Internet knowledge and awareness. Over 80% indicate willingnes ...
This paper describes a case study concerning the human dimension in a Distance Learning (DL) program implemented at a telecommunications company in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The objective was to identify how the company addresses this perspective in the administration of their DL System. To attain the proposed objectives, documentation techniques, direct observation and interviews we ...
A community-based learning object repository supports the sharing and collaboration of learning object development within discipline or topic area communities. The repository is built using an object-oriented method and implemented using JADE, an object-oriented technology platform. The repository is a software system aimed at improving the creation, collection, quality assurance, and ultimately t ...
This paper describes an online course “Construction Engineering and Project Calculations”, conducted by 0stfold University College of Norway in 2002. The course was targeted to the college’s engineering students, mainly on campus, with a possibility for off-campus course participants. It was intended to introduce online courseware (LearningSpace) as a learning tool for the course, and the students ...
Recent e-commerce failures caused by poor e-customer service have motivated many researchers to explore the factors that influence e-customer service quality, which leads to business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce success. The research reported in this paper explored the perceptions of a group of New Zealand e-customers and e-users about e-customer service and the influence of their perceptions on t ...
This study shows that cyber crime is a recent addition to the list of crimes that can adversely affect businesses directly or indirectly. This phenomenon was not directly prosecutable in South Africa until the enactment of the ECT Act in July 2002. However this Act also prevents businesses to fully prosecute a hacker due to incompleteness. Any kind of commercially related crime can be duplicated a ...
This paper describes a case of an international student online project. The project was a part of cooperation between two European educational institutions, 0stfold University College in Norway and University of Wismar in Germany. An international student group consisting of three German students and five Norwegian students joined this project. Technically, the project was testing of an open sourc ...
One of the greatest concerns for many employers recruiting beginning information systems (IS) professionals is not the new recruit’s inadequacies in discipline skills or knowledge, but their general lack of the skills required to work effectively within a collaborative team in a changing workplace environment. It is the responsibility of education institutions to prepare beginning IS professionals ...
Project development is scheduled in the final year study of undergraduate students in computer science, software engineering, information technology, and other relevant programs. This final project provides students an opportunity to integrate all the skills and knowledge learnt from their previous studies into real practice. Experience in supervising student projects shows that student’s ability ...
Many organizations grapple with uncertainty and vagaries of economic and political climate. A number of companies attained dramatic competitive advantages in their fields by creating comprehensive, complex communication and information networks. These companies, facilitated by the increasing efficiencies and speed of information technology, remained flexible and adaptable to change by working in a ...
