bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Growing Pains in the Revitalisation of a 2nd Level Engineering and Spatial Science PBL Course
Authors: Goh Steven , Worden John , Zhou Hong , Clewett John
Published: March 2012

This chapter is a report on a 3-year study of the effects of curriculum reform on student learning outcomes and experiences in a 2nd level engineering and surveying PBL course which offers on-campus and off-campus modes of study. The investigation was initiated in 2007, producing a list of recommendations that led to structural changes in the subsequent 2008 course offer. Additional student feedback was collected in 2008 to further refine the model, and these student evaluations resulted in modifications to the course model that were implemented in 2009. Data collected and lessons learnt in 2009 were used to fine-tune the course design in 2010. The consequences of these course modifications were that even though curriculum reform has resulted in enhanced student learning, it gave rise to negative student experiences in 2009 and 2010. It can be argued that though the course design implementation process overall has been regarded as successful, academics’ attitudes towards PBL, opportunities for training and orientation in PBL, and familiarity with the new course design were evidenced as weaknesses in the delivery of the course. While both facilitators and students focus on the explicit teaching goals, such as technical and engineering aspects, there is less of a focus on the “hidden” curriculum of teamwork skills and group dynamics, and this can compromise the way in which the course is undertaken. Despite introduction to PBL methodology in a prior course that has a strong focus on team work and group skills, students fail to progress this acquired knowledge and continue to compartmentalize their learning. This scenario also alludes to the dynamics of change management involving large teaching teams, in particular, difficulties relating to academics’ willingness to buy-in and adherence to collective decisions.
Assessing the use of Blackboard for Course Delivery in an Engineering Programme
Authors: Uziak Jacek , Oladiran M. Tunde , Moalosi Richie
Published: March 2012

The purpose of the study covered in this chapter was to evaluate the preferences of mechanical engineering students at the University of Botswana regarding course delivery, with special consideration for Blackboard technology. The study was carried out during three consecutive years (from 2007/2008 to 2009/10 academic years) for one course in the mechanical engineering degree programme. A questionnaire was administered to three cohorts of third year mechanical engineering students; a total of 101 students participated in the study. As the results of this study were encouraging, it is recommended that more courses in the programme should migrate to a blended mode of instruction delivery using Blackboard or any other approved learning management system.
Sustainability
Authors: Thomas Ken D. , Muga Helen E.
Published: March 2012

The relation of sustainability to science and engineering will be delved into so as to validate the need for its inclusion in current engineering curricula. The chapter will highlight key elements of sustainability that need to be incorporated into a General Education requirement (i.e. lower level undergraduate) course as well as some options for elective (i.e. upper level undergraduate) or postgraduate courses. The chapter will act as a “how to” curriculum development guide to give ideas for the quick development of sustainability courses. It also highlights how engineering students can become engaged in service learning (something that is at the fore of importance for most engineering departments in the US) through their student organizations and associated academic staff advisors with sustainability at the core.
Reply Timing and Emotional Strategy in Mobile Text Communications of Japanese Young People
Authors: Kato Yuuki , Kato Shogo , Chida Kunihiro
Published: March 2012

In this chapter, the authors present two studies that examine the timing of replies to mobile text messages, especially the behavior of intentionally waiting before replying. As the first step in Study 1, 42 Japanese university subjects were asked by questionnaire survey whether they would wait before replying to mobile text messages they received, and if so, in which situations they would they wait. A large percentage of respondents suggested that they would sometimes wait before replying to a mobile text message. The freeform responses also indicated the involvement of an emotional aspect in most cases where subjects did not immediately reply to a mobile text message, even when they were capable of doing so. For Study 2, 224 Japanese university students were asked to rate on a 6-point scale whether they would wait before replying to mobile text messages from senders conveying each of four emotions: happiness, sadness, anger, and guilt. They were also asked to give a freeform answer as to why they would respond in such a way. The results showed that for each of the four emotional settings, subjects adjust the timing of message replies in order to manipulate the emotions of others or their own emotions, according to the situation. Individual differences were also observed in subjects’ thoughts about adjusting reply timing and manipulating emotions.
Applying Dramaturgy to Virtual Work Research
Authors: Long Shawn D. , Walton Frances , Brais Sayde J.
Published: March 2012

Dramaturgy as a research approach is a creative and useful tool to fully understand the complex dynamics of individuals interacting in a virtual work environment. Following Goffman’s seminal dramaturgical research techniques, this chapter applies the principles and tenants of dramaturgy to virtual work. The authors examine the historical and theoretical underpinnings of dramaturgy and offer a potential research design integrating this methodological approach. The chapter extends the dramaturgical approach to offer challenges and opportunities of using this research approach in an electronic work domain.
Analyzing the Capacity of Unsolicited Political Email
Authors: Johnson Kristin , Krueger Brian S.
Published: March 2012

Despite some promise, an emerging body of research suggests that email mobilization techniques generally will reinforce existing participatory patterns. Email mobilization campaigns rely heavily on individuals to first submit their email addresses for future contact. Because signing up for future political email is itself an act of political participation, mobilization resulting from these solicited contacts would serve to reinforce the engagement of those already willing and able to participate. Yet, many individuals do receive unsolicited political email. These unsolicited political emails hold the most potential to activate the inactive. Unfortunately, despite speculation about the mobilizing potential of these unsolicited email contacts, political scientists know little about whether unsolicited political messages induce engagement. This chapter seeks to answer the question: Does unsolicited political email independently induce individuals to participate in politics? Using data from a unique probability sample survey of U.S. Internet users, several multivariate regressions suggest that unsolicited email contact from mobilizing institutions does not induce individuals to engage in political activity. These results are robust even when analyzing subgroups most likely to be open to unsolicited email contact.
Exploring Internet and Politics
Authors: Calderaro Andrea
Published: March 2012

The Internet has largely been greeted as a technology able to create new spaces of political debate. In order to investigate the issue, scholars have paid attention to how transnational social movements use new information technologies. This has been done mainly exploring the use of the World Wide Web (WWW). However, new political spaces do not take place just on the WWW, and by consequence, research in this field cannot solely carry out Web analysis to explore the role played by the Internet in creating political debate. In looking at other areas of the Internet to understand the creation of new political space, other analytical approaches need to be adopted. The Internet also includes tools other than the WWW, such as E-Mailing Lists, Social Networks tools, Peer-to-Peer Networks, Instant Messaging tools, and so forth. This paper explores the role that E-Mailing Lists play in creating new political spaces. To explore if and how this happens, the author illustrates this crucial point with an analysis of the use of E-Mailing Lists by social movements. The case used is that of the organization of the protest during the G8 Summit held in Genoa in July 2001.
Between Individuality and Collectiveness
Authors: Kavada Anastasia
Published: March 2012

Decentralized and internally diverse, the Global Justice Movement (GJM) is thought to be influenced by its use of the internet. Operating in an environment characterized by the conditions of globalization and late modernity, the movement strives to be a collective that accommodates individual difference. Focusing on the organizing process of the European Social Forum, this article examines the role of email lists and physical meetings in realizing this ‘unity in diversity’. Based on interviews with movement activists and a content analysis of three email lists, this article examines how online and face-to-face communication practices engender different dynamics in terms of individuality and collectiveness. While communication on email lists tends to afford divergence, diversity, and individual autonomy, face-to-face contact enables convergence, unity and the affirmation of the collective. Thus, it is the combination of those two modes of communication that helps the movement to fuse seemingly opposing dynamics.
The Unintended Consequence
Authors: Nemati Hamid , Latif Amna
Published: March 2012

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are an important factor in the socio-economic development of transitioning and developing countries. Given the importance of ICT in global social and economic development, many researchers have examined its development and growth strategies from national and governmental policy perspectives. However, understanding the consequences of information and communication technologies in developing countries is complex and far from certain. Given the ambiguity, complexity, and diversity of what constitutes ICT, Heeks (2002) suggested the existence of incongruencies between what policy makers envision as ICT and the actuality of what is ultimately manifested, proposing the “design-actuality gap” framework to understand this inconsistency. Baqir et al. (2009) extended the design-actuality gap framework to show that the dimensions of design maybe different than those of the actuality, but did not provide an explanation for this gap. In this paper, the authors posit that the gap can only be explained based on the law of “unintended consequence” (Merton, 1936). This phenomenon can best be seen in developing nations where ICT’s impact on socio-economic development is exaggerated. The authors present the case of the Islamic Republic of Iran and show how the law of unintended consequence can explain the major chasm that exists between ICT development and the actuality of use.
Smart Textiles in Neonatal Monitoring
Authors: Seoane Fernando , Bouwstra Sibrecht , Marquez Juan Carlos , Löfhede Johan , Lindecrantz Kaj
Published: March 2012

Prematurely born and critically ill babies admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit require round-the-clock monitoring of vital signs and in special cases additional parameters such as brain functioning monitoring. Although close monitoring is fundamental for a good developmental outcome, the monitor systems are obtrusive, causing stress for the baby and hampering parent-child contact. New developments in textile and electronics offer opportunity in greatly improving the comfort and appearance of the monitoring systems for ECG as well as EEG monitoring by replacing the adhesive electrodes with textile electrodes. The authors present the designs of a neonatal jacket containing textile electrodes for ECG monitoring and textile electrodes intended to be integrated in a cap for brain functioning monitoring. The initial results presented show good prospect for further development. Accuracy and reliability are challenges specific for the medical application of smart textiles such as in neonatal monitoring. Furthermore, the mass-production of smart textiles requires improvement before smart garments can be introduced to the practice of neonatal care.
On-body UWB Communications for Health Monitoring
Authors: Wang Qiong , Wang Jianqing
Published: March 2012

Body area communication technique is an essential technical support for medical and healthcare services. This chapter presents on-body communication aspects using ultra-wide band (UWB) technique for neonates and infants monitoring service. With numerical analysis tool, the transmission characteristic around the infant body is first investigated in terms of on-body UWB path loss model, in which shadow fading around the body is modeled. Then the communication performance for impulse radio (IR) scheme system is evaluated based on the derived infant on-body UWB path loss model. The methodology for evaluating the average bit error rate (BER) in a shadow fading channel is proposed. The communication link budget for infants is thus presented based on the average bit error rate conclusions in infant on-body UWB fading channel.
Silent Alarms for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
Authors: Stuyfzand Ivo
Published: March 2012

The goal of this study on silent monitoring alarms is to make the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) quieter with the help of a context sensitive clinical monitoring alarm system. A work domain analysis in the NICU of Máxima Medical Centre in Veldhoven, the Netherlands, reveals that more than half of the monitoring alarm events occur when a nurse is treating the infant at the incubator in while the nurse is paying full attention to the infant. This provides an opportunity for silent lighting alarms. The proposed intelligent system detects whether the nurse is treating the infant at the incubator or not and changes alarm modality to light or audio accordingly. This intelligence based on level of attention does not require complex judgments on clinical relevancy of the alarms or optimization algorithms. The results of the work domain research and an experiment show that the proposed solution has potential to improve the alarm system at the NICU, but the success is heavily dependent on the design details, which thus reserve further attention.
Democratic Deliberation in Online Consultation Forums
Authors: Wang Kevin Y.
Published: March 2012

This chapter examines the extent to which the Internet can represent a place for negotiation, consensus building, and civic participation using Singapore’s online consultation portal and the debate over the decision to build the nation’s first casino resort as a case study. The structural design of the consultation portal and the entire content of a discussion thread with 508 posts were analyzed with a conceptual framework drawn from previous studies of democratic deliberation. Findings suggest that while the forum reflects some criteria for deliberation, the lack of transparency and government participation raises the question over the quality of the discourse and overall effectiveness of this online medium. Current challenges, recommendations, and directions for future research and development are discussed.
Citizen-Centric Service Dimensions of Indian Rural E-Governance Systems
Authors: Misra Harekrishna
Published: March 2012

E-governance systems in India have witnessed prolific advancement over the years. India has strategically adopted e-governance as a part of its policy. In recent times each state has its own e-governance plan to deliver services as planned. National policy also aims to provide formalized services across the nation while recognizing the importance of state specific services. This approach includes various mission mode projects under national e-governance plan (NeGP). Manifestation of such approach has resulted in 100,000 common service centers (CSC) in rural areas. It is expected that rural citizens would find them useful and it may contribute for effective governance. In this chapter it is argued that such an initiative would be successful if rural citizens find these CSCs useful for their livelihood security. Various dimensions of this phenomenon are also examined through some cases in this chapter to understand their contributions to successful CSCs in India.
The Other Side of “Big Brother”
Authors: Aspland David
Published: March 2012

A significant shift has occurred in the nature of policing over the past 30 to 40 years across jurisdictions and contexts. The paradigm of policing as a purely government function is under challenge. Policing is becoming more “pluralised” with a range of actors, both public and private. This shift has significant social implications for the general public, together with the public and private organisations that provide policing services. These implications are discussed and highlighted through the use of information technology by private police in two areas—CCTV surveillance and intelligence gathering. This case discusses this shift between public and private sectors in policing. The situation is more complex than a simple public/private divide and plays host to a range of interactions that bring many actors into contact, competition, and alliance in networks and assemblages. Most research and regulation remains focused on public policing even though, numerically, private policing is now a major provider of policing services in an increasingly fragmented, pluralized, and commodified market. This case considers the regulation of private policing as it exists in the Australian context and how it applies to the use of information technology, together with issues for human rights, especially privacy.
Using Web Sites to Improve Fiscal Transparency
Authors: Demirbas Tolga
Published: March 2012

Fiscal transparency today is considered as an essential element of both good governance and e-governance. Therefore, in the new public management and budgeting reforms made by governments, it is clearly observed that fiscal transparency is one of the key elements. E-government technologies, and especially the internet, are supportive to the efforts on the part of governments offering unprecedented opportunities to public administrations enabling the dissemination of fiscal information and improving the e-governance system. In Turkey, where there is the tradition of Continental Europe, the reforms made through new laws in early 2000 contain various legal and institutional regulations to improve fiscal transparency and encourage the public administrators to use websites in an attempt to enhance fiscal transparency. This chapter, within the context of evaluating the endeavors in question, examines the websites of municipalities in Turkey in terms of fiscal transparency and eventually presents some suggestions for the improvement of the e-governance system.
Towards a Customer Centric E-Government Application
Authors: Thominathan Santhanamery , Thurasamy Ramayah
Published: March 2012

Information Communication Technology (ICT) has played an important role in today’s global economy. Many countries have gained successful growth due to the implementation of ICT. In Malaysia, increased utilization of ICT has contributed significantly to the total factor productivity. One of the main contributing factors is the e-commerce and Internet based services. Therefore, this case study aims to examine the contribution of the newly introduced E-government application, namely E-filing system. E-filing system is a newly developed online tax submission services offered by the government to the tax payers in the country where they are able to easily, quickly and safely file their tax returns. The primary discussion in this case study concerns Malaysia’s ICT revolution, followed by the introduction of E-Filing system, the challenges and barriers faced by the government, and the chapter concludes with future trends in the implementation of this system.
Factors Affecting the Choice of Market Entry Modes in the African Telephony Industry
Authors: Chanakira Maxwell
Published: March 2012

This paper investigates the factors that influence the choice of market entry modes in the African mobile telephony industry - currently, a popular international investment destination. Using the survey methodology, the study focuses on six key enterprises, which account for over 60% of the cell phones in Africa. The empirical evidence suggests that market size in terms of population of the destination country and not psychic distance is the most important market selection criteria for enterprises entering Africa. The dominant entry market strategy for these enterprises is strategic alliances with a view to reduction of financial and commercial risk. Focused strategy is uncommon on the continent. More interestingly, and contrary to extant literature, political risk was not considered a market entry barrier. In any case, politically unstable countries tend to bring in higher returns. These findings are important in informing investors engaged in or with intentions to enter Africa and in enriching international literature. The Stages model and the Eclectic framework individually, are unable to explain the choice of market entry mode in Africa. The key contributions of this study are both theoretical and practical insights on the process of internationalisation.
Cooling and Heating with Ground Source Energy
Authors: Omer Abdeen Mustafa
Published: March 2012

In the recent attempts to stimulate alternative energy sources for heating and cooling of buildings, emphasis has been put on utilisation of the ambient energy from ground source and other renewable energy sources. Exploitation of renewable energy sources and particularly ground heat in buildings can significantly contribute towards reducing dependency on fossil fuels. This paper highlights the potential energy saving that could be achieved through use of ground energy source. It also focuses on the optimisation and improvement of the operation conditions of the heat cycles and performances of the DX GSHP. It is concluded that the direct expansion of GSHP are extendable to more comprehensive applications combined with the ground heat exchanger in foundation piles and the seasonal thermal energy storage from solar thermal collectors. This article discusses the principle of the ground source energy, varieties of GSHPs, and various developments.
The Establishment and Usability Evaluation on a Markerless AR-Based Hairstyle Simulation System
Authors: Lin Hao-Chiang Koong , Hsieh Min-Chai
Published: March 2012

In this work, the authors combine the AR and HCI techniques to develop a Markerless AR-based Hairstyle Simulation System (MARHSS). This system helps hair stylists to know well the expectation and need of customers. Before the hair cut, the customers can select their preferred hairstyles from MARHSS. Then, the system will simulate the hair style on the customer’s face through the AR-based image. After the system design, the System Usability Scale (SUS) with seventy-two participants were employed to evaluate the interface design of MARHSS. The research results showed that the system is usable; participants emotionally satisfied with the system; the system provides a good environment for hair stylists and customers to discuss the hairstyles.
Business Objectives and Business Processes
Authors: Páscoa Carlos , Belo Nuno , Tribolet José
Published: March 2012

The Portuguese Air Force has made an effort to remain at the forefront of organizations, examining problems like the inadequacy of Information Systems and the treatment of business as rigid hierarchical structures. The process of change initiated in 2009, which is transversal to the organization, recommends a set of actions, including the definition of business processes, to determine the organizational “AS IS” important to the establishment of “TO BE”. Simultaneously, the Air Force is studying concepts related to enterprise architecture while trying to deepen the relationship between mission, vision, goals, objectives, strategy, tactics, policy, business rules, and process architecture. In this context, considering important creating and identifying a way to validate the consistency between Enterprise Architecture and Process Architecture important, the authors propose the creation of a value matrix, representing objectives and processes associated with a set of rules for its creation and update.
To Emphasize Openness
Authors: Hartness Ken
Published: March 2012

Although open source software has existed, in a sense, throughout the history of computing, it has only more recently become recognized as a valid means of producing professional-quality software. Although primarily conceived as a zero-cost alternative to commercial software, open source software also supports customization and verification as a result of the software being available to all users in human-readable form. The availability of free software supports both researchers with limited budgets and those who seek to confirm the findings of researchers or use similar methods in related research.
Exploration of Social Capital and Knowledge Sharing
Authors: Liu Ying Chieh , Li FengChia
Published: March 2012

Although research on virtual teams is becoming more popular, there is a gap in the understanding of how social capital affects knowledge sharing and creating, and their impacts on virtual team performance. To fill in this gap, this study establishes a framework by incorporating social capital with the SECI model and further examines it with an experiment on 65 student virtual teams. The results show that three factors of social capital, namely network ties, shared vision and trust are positively related to the four SECI modes, namely socialization, internalization, combination and externalization, and the latter three factors are found to be positively related to virtual team performance. The contributions of this study are twofold. The framework examines the relationships between social capital and the SECI model, which brought a broader prospective of studying knowledge management in a virtual team context. Moreover, leaders and managers of virtual teams should be made aware of enhancing the effects of social capital to improve the processes of knowledge sharing and creating, and encouraging internalizationn, combination and externalization to substitute the role of socialization.
Group Modeling in Social Learning Environments
Authors: Stankov Slavomir , Glavinic Vlado , Krpan Divna
Published: March 2012

Students’ collaboration while learning could provide better learning environments. Collaboration assumes social interactions which occur in student groups. Social theories emphasize positive influence of such interactions on learning. In order to create an appropriate learning environment that enables social interactions, it is important to carefully choose group members. In this paper, a group modeling process designed both to help students learn better and to face problems in introductory programming courses together is described. The group model is supported by graph theory and used in a popular social network environment. The authors conducted action research, analyzed students’ activities and the social environment, all of which provided us with helpful experiences for further research.
Toward a Formal Semantics for Control-Flow Process Models
Authors: Bi Henry H. , Nolt John
Published: March 2012

A number of information systems have been developed to automate business processes. For process modeling, verification, and automation in information systems, a formal semantics of control-flow process models is needed. Usually process modeling languages (e.g., BPMN, EPC, IDEF3, UML, and WfMC standards) are used to represent control-flow process models. When these process modeling languages are developed, their informal semantics are typically described using examples, but their formal semantics are not defined. Although many different semantics for control-flow process models have been proposed, the existing semantics specifications have limitations because they do not support certain desirable features. In this paper, we propose a new formal semantics for control-flow process models. We show that it is more accurate, complete, and applicable than the existing semantics specifications.
The Role of the Internet in Shaping the Political Process in Egypt
Authors: Azab Nahed Amin
Published: March 2012

There has been a growing debate about the extent to which the Internet influenced the Arab World’s recent revolutions described as the “Arab Spring”. This belief that the Internet had a contribution is supported by several events and evidences that occurred prior to these revolutions and provided clear indications about the Internet’s power. This paper investigates the effect of the Internet on shaping politics in Egypt. Research was conducted a few months before the revolution (January 25, 2011) covering the relevant literature, and the news and events that took place. A questionnaire was sent to a sample representing different segments of Internet users in Egypt to recognize their perceptions towards the value of the Internet in politics. Findings indicate a high interest among Egyptians in accessing news online, especially international and privately owned media. In addition, survey participants recognize the Internet’s potential for committing political change. Survey results show that the Internet is perceived in Egypt as a strong tool that political candidates could use to communicate with citizens; however, it is still used primarily for mobilization and information dissemination. Moreover, it was proven that age, gender, education and reading frequency of online news all have varying effects on civic engagement and perception of the role the Internet can play in politics in Egypt.
A Taxonomy of Censors and Anti-Censors
Authors: Leberknight Christopher S. , Chiang Mung , Wong Felix Ming Fai
Published: March 2012

The tug-of-war on the Internet between censor and anti-censor technologies is intensifying. With an aim to raise awareness on Internet censorship and its circumvention, this paper and its companion Part II present a conceptual study of Internet censorship and anti-censorship. This first paper focuses on Internet censorship. It outlines an historical account of censorship through the lens of news coverage in the past decade, and presents a taxonomy of the principles, techniques, and technologies of Internet censorship. The interplay between social, political, and technological factors is presented to highlight the challenges in anti-censorship. Part II of the paper focuses on anti-censorship.
Exploring Cross-Cultural Value Structures with Smartphones
Authors: Shin Dong-Hee , Choo Hyungseung
Published: March 2012

Smartphone users in the U.S. and Korea were cross-surveyed to determine country-specific differences in product value perceptions. Usability factors and aesthetic values were combined using the theory of reasoned action (TRA). The strengths of the model’s relationships are discussed. The models were analyzed cross-nationally to explore differences in the compositions of technology adoption motives in the two countries. Although the results illustrate the importance of both usability and aesthetic values, the two countries show different value preferences as well as intention and adoption patterns. The results of this study suggest practical implications for employing cross-cultural strategies in the global marketing of smartphones as well as theoretical implications for cross-country studies, which are recommended accordingly.
Towards A Career Skills Oriented Undergraduate Information Systems Curriculum
Authors: Khoo Benjamin K.S.
Published: March 2012

The Information Systems (IS) curriculum needs to be updated to be current with the advances in information systems (IS), the technologies that drive IS, and also industry’s skill requirement of IS graduates. This paper is for IS academicians and it describes a career skills oriented approach to enhance the IS curriculum based on current information from recent career skills studies, IS2002 model curriculum recommendations, United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the current demand for information security professionals, professional certifications in demand, and the availability of the resources of a School of Management. Employers in industry are in serious need of IS professionals with the specialized skills required to strive in the Internet economy. The career skills oriented approach is an effective method to enhance the IS curriculum to educate and train IS undergraduates to meet the IS skills needs of industry.
Attitude of Undergraduate Students Towards Computer-Based Test (CBT)
Authors: Tella Adeyinka , Bashorun M. T.
Published: March 2012

This study examined the attitude of the students towards computer-based test (CBT) at the University of Ilorin, Nigeria. A case study research design was adopted to carry out the study. The sample consists of 2209 undergraduate students selected from seven out of the ten Faculties that made up the university. Data were collected through a computer based test attitudinal survey (CBTAS) and a focus group discussion. The results demonstrated that; generally, respondents have positive attitude towards CBT. More than average of the respondents prefer CBT to paper and pencil test. Respondents also demonstrate strong perception of increase in their learning performance as a result of taking CBT/examination. On the other hand, problems such as shortage of computers, lack of skills, loss of data in the process of writing CBT, slow network and hazard of reading on the screen were identified.
Course Management Systems Integration into Course Instruction
Authors: Keengwe Jared , Agamba Joachim Jack
Published: March 2012

The emergence of e-learning tools such as Course Management Systems (CMS) offer instructors a practical means to transition from face-to-face to blended delivery modalities that could better serve the needs of digital learners. However, instructors fail to take advantage of such existing modern classroom technologies to provide better learning experiences for their learners. Part of this is due to the lack of a system to determine the underuse of technological tools in a CMS. This project focused on examining the degree of Moodle technology integration into course instruction to support effective student teaching and learning by three instructors. This article stimulates reflections on pedagogical experiences with regard to course content material and instructor practices. The study illustrates that instructors and learners can believe technology is being used well in a CMS course site when the opposite is true.
Perception of African Youth on Personal Computer Utilization
Authors: Negash Solomon
Published: March 2012

The tendency to pursue innovativeness and adopt new technologies has been found more likely with younger individuals and a strong relationship between attitude and personal computer (PC) utilization has been found. However, research in these areas is mainly focused on high-income countries. Do these findings hold for low-income countries? What are the perceptions of African youth on the factors that impact PC use? There is a dearth of micro-level studies that promote understanding about the behavior of individuals in low-income countries. This study looked at demographic data including age, gender, grade level, region, and prior experience among 228 youth from Ethiopia and Rwanda. PC utilization constructs including complexity, long-term consequences, and facilitating conditions were studied. The author found access to PCs at least three times a week and providing structured computer training programs as major factor for increased PC utilization. Computer centers with more female instructors were found to have larger female enrollment. The author also found younger groups (15 year olds and younger) disagreed about PC utilization factors. Implications and directions for future research are also included.
Efficiency Measurement in
Authors: Cao Qing , Leggio Karyl B. , Schniederjans Marc J.
Published: March 2012

Banking is a competitive market since the industry deregulated. Consumers’ demand for convenience services led to an increase in the number of branches to serve a geographically dispersed customer base. Increasing the number of branches indiscriminately is not advisable since more branches increase the cost structure for the bank. Banking executives can evaluate the relative efficiency of branches, segments, and markets using analytical tools such as DEA. This research assists the branch manager with understanding the efficiency of branches and segments using two alternative intermediation models and a profit model. The results show that large markets are more efficient than small or rural markets, and large segments are generally more efficient than small market segments. The methodology employed in this study allows branch managers to proactively work to improve efficiency and control costs by adjusting inputs within the manager’s control, whether efficiency is measured based on profit models or the intermediation models.
Contingent Effects of System Development Life Cycle Critical Success Factors on Accounting Information System Effectiveness
Authors: Abu Khadra Husam , Al-Hayale Talal , Al-Nasir Nabil
Published: March 2012

The aim of this study was to explore the critical success factors that affect accounting information systems development fitness in Jordanian industrial companies. In addition, the paper aims to test the effectiveness level of the AIS and causality relation between the system development process and its effectiveness level. A survey using self-administered questionnaire has been carried out to achieve the study objectives. The study results reveal that Jordanian industrial companies do not have effective accounting information systems; there is no enough evidence that support the sole relationship between the system development process and its effectiveness level.
Smartphone-Based Mobile Learning with Physician Trainees in Botswana
Authors: Chang Aileen Y. , Littman-Quinn Ryan , Ketshogileng Dineo , Chandra Amit , Rijken Taatske , Ghose Sankalpo , Kyer Andrea , Seymour Anne K. , Kovarik Carrie L.
Published: March 2012

In recent years, mobile learning in medicine has been utilized to increase healthcare providers’ access to health information. This has improved healthcare providers’ ability to make appropriate clinical decisions at point-of-care, particularly in resource-limited settings. Mobile phones facilitate information and communication technology support for patient care and collaboration amongst providers. In this paper, the authors describe a smartphone-based mobile learning initiative with physician trainees at the University of Botswana School of Medicine, focusing on the authors’ experiences with recent scale-up efforts to remote areas of Botswana. The authors also explore the potential impact of mobile learning in developing health capacity.
Mobile Work Efficiency
Authors: Väätäjä Heli
Published: March 2012

Smartphones can be characterized as multipurpose mobile devices, or as pocket-sized mobile computers and multimedia devices. In the fieldwork of mobile journalists in news reporting, the efficiency of work could potentially be enhanced with smartphones. Smartphones equipped with mobile services and applications support various work tasks from preparing for the reporting to capturing and submitting or publishing the story or news material directly from the field. Based on ten studies on mobile news making the author discusses smartphones as enablers and characteristics that may constrain the usage and decrease the perceived work efficiency. The identified benefits of smartphones for mobile journalists are categorized as 1) temporal, 2) location, 3) convenience, 4) satisfaction, 5) informational, 6) communicational, 7) work process, and 8) monetary benefits. The costs and sacrifices are related to the ergonomics of working and lower level of working comfort, a lower perceived quality of the created news material and reporting, a feeling of loss of control over the capturing, and changes in the roles and responsibilities, for example. Balance between benefits, costs, and sacrifices of using smartphones in mobile news making seems to depend on the situation at hand as well as on the goals and objectives of news reporting.
The Role of IT Governance Practices in Creating Business Value in SMEs
Authors: Wilkin Carla
Published: March 2012

Much has been written about information technology governance (ITG) in larger organizations, wherein control of information technology (IT) is addressed with attention to three core elements, namely structures, processes, and relational mechanisms. These elements focus on governing the size of IT investment, the ubiquity of IT functionality to business processes and the demonstrated value from IT investment. For Small-to-Medium Enterprises (SMEs) it is less apparent how IT is or should be governed, how these core elements may contribute to ITG, and how this all contributes to the creation of business value. Through a survey of small SMEs in the Australian tourist accommodation industry regarding their use of and planning for IT investment to deliver business value, this paper delivers new understanding about SME practices related to governing IT. Findings revealed evidence of some sound practices but the opportunity to achieve greater strategic business value beyond the largely operational value already acquired. The paper concludes by proposing a redefined framework of the core elements of structures, processes, and relational mechanisms that is tailored to an SME context.
The Impact of Information Technology Internal Controls on Firm Performance
Authors: Carter Lemuria D. , Phillips Brandis , Millington Porche
Published: March 2012

Since the introduction of the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act in 2002, companies have begun to place more emphasis on information technology (IT) internal controls. IT internal controls are policies that provide assurance that technical systems operate as intended, provide reliable data, and comply with regulations. Research suggests that firms with strong internal controls perform better than those with internal control weaknesses. In this study, the authors evaluate the impact of IT internal controls on firm performance. The sample includes 72 publicly traded firms, 36 that reported IT internal control weaknesses and 36 that did not. The results of ordinary least squares (OLS) regression indicate that substantive IT internal control weaknesses negatively impact firm performance. Results and implications for research and practice are discussed.
Estimating Two-Stage Network Technology Inefficiency
Authors: Fukuyama Hirofumi , Weber William L.
Published: March 2012

The authors model the performance of DMUs (decision-making units) using the directional distance function within a two-stage framework. In the first stage of production, DMUs use inputs to produce an intermediate output. In stage 2, the intermediate output is used to produce final outputs. In contrast to DEA (data envelopment analysis) models, the two-stage directional model accounts for a network production structure and allows non-radial scaling of outputs and inputs. An empirical application of the method is provided for Japanese credit cooperative Shinkin banks. These banks use labor, physical capital, equity capital in a first stage to produce deposits, and then use the deposits to produce loans, securities investments, and other interest bearing assets in a second stage. The authors find evidence of greater inefficiency in the first stage of production than in the second stage of production. In addition, the findings indicate that models that ignore a network structure and measure performance using a black-box DEA model miss about 50% of total bank inefficiency when measured by the network model.
The male genital tract of Axymyiidae and Tanyderidae (Diptera)
Authors: Borkent Art , Sinclair Bradley J.
Published: March 2012

The male genital tract of Axymyiidae and Tanyderidae, represented by Axymyia furcata McAtee and Protoplasa fitchii Osten Sacken, respectively, are described and illustrated for the first time. The tract of A. furcata is foreshortened, with relatively short, thick vasa deferentia that meet medially at the ejaculatory duct, which empties dorsal to the ejaculatory apodeme. The accessory glands are large and either firmly appressed or fused medially. The tract of P. fitchii has elongate vasa deferentia that curve ventrally and enter the ejaculatory duct separately. The short accessory glands are separate but their exit is uncertain. Neither of these male genital tracts shed further light on the phylogenetic position of these families within the nematocerous Diptera, although Tanyderidae do lack the synapomorphic multi-chambered accessory glands grouping Ptychopteridae + Culicomorpha + Bibionomorpha.
A new Asio–Nearctic subgenus of Rhamphomyia (Diptera: Empididae: Empidinae)
Authors: Saigusa Toyohei
Published: March 2012

Vockerothempissubgen. nov., a new subgenus of Rhamphomyia, is described and includes the following species: Rhamphomyia (Vockerothempis) arakawae Matsumura, Rhamphomyia (Vockerothempis) calcarifera Saigusa, and Rhamphomyia (Vockerothempis) japonica Frey from Japan, and Rhamphomyia (Vockerothempis) umbrosa Loew, Rhamphomyia (Vockerothempis) brevisetosasp. nov., Rhamphomyia (Vockerothempis) chillcottianasp. nov., and Rhamphomyia (Vockerothempis) fortisetosasp. nov. from North America. Zoogeography, phylogenetic relationships within Vockerothempis and subgeneric classification of Rhamphomyia are discussed.
Helina richardi (Diptera: Muscidae), a remarkable new species from the Mediterranean subregion
Authors: Pont Adrian C.
Published: March 2012

Helina richardisp. nov. is described from Morocco and Spain. The presence of setulae at the base of vein R4+5 suggests placement in Mydaea Robineau-Desvoidy but other characters and the structure of the female ovipositor indicate that it is otherwise a typical species of Helina Robineau-Desvoidy.
An outbreak of canine aflatoxicosis in Gauteng Province, South Africa
Authors: Arnot Luke F. , Duncan Neil M. , Coetzer Heleen , Botha Christo J.
Published: March 2012

Sporadic outbreaks of aflatoxicosis occur in dogs when they consume contaminated dog food. During 2011, low-cost brands of pelleted dog food were contaminated with very high concentrations of aflatoxins. Approximately 100 dogs were presented to the Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital. Clinically, the dogs were depressed to collapsed and icteric, with haematemesis, melaena and haematochezia. The most common pathological findings were icterus, gastro-enterorrhagia and hepatosis. On histopathological examination, fatty hepatosis and bile duct proliferation were observed. A consistent, very characteristic finding was the presence of a blue-grey granular material within the bile ducts. A total of 124 samples of the dog food fed to the affected dogs was analysed to determine aflatoxin concentrations. Concentrations ranged from below the limit of quantification ( 5 μg/kg) to 4946 μg/kg and six samples were submitted to determine the ratio of aflatoxins in the feed. It is estimated that well over 220 dogs died in the Gauteng Province of South Africa as a result of this aflatoxin outbreak.