bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Division sociale de l'espace et globalisation. Le cas de la métropole parisienne
Authors: Preteceille Edmond
Published: May 2010

Can the present trends of change in the social division of space in the Paris region be analysed as consequences of the globalisation process and of Paris becoming a global city? The global service sector associated with the multinationals and financial markets is indeed the leading component in the economic restructuring of the region, but it represents a minority only of the economy of the region, and other components remain important, some being even linked to different globalisation processes. The changes in the overall social structure of the metropolitan area, far from supporting the social dualisation model proposed by S. Sassen, exhibit a general shift in favor of upper social categories, and, to a lesser degree, middle ones. The decrease of blue collar workers is only partly compensated by the growth of a new tertiary proletariat. As to the supposed spatial dualisation, the process does take place in those areas which were previously the most polarised -predominantly upper class and working class areas -, but not in the majority of suburban municipalities, which remain places of variegated social mixes, despite the overall social hierarchisation of urban spaces.
Formes et processus de ségrégation dans les quartiers anciens centraux réhabilités. L’exemple du quartier Saint-Georges à Lyon
Authors: Authier Jean-Yves
Published: May 2010

Cet article présente les fondements et les questionnements d’une recherche en cours qui se propose d’étudier les formes de ségrégation observables au sein même des quartiers anciens centraux réhabilités et de saisir les processus micro-ségrégateurs qui se nouent dans le temps à l’intérieur de ces quartiers. Il évoque également le dispositif d’enquête mis en oeuvre dans cette recherche et présente une première série de résultats et d’analyses.
Accords de collaboration et réseaux locaux. Le cas des artisans couvreurs
Authors: Roy Simon N.
Published: May 2010

Vingt années de crise n’ont pas freiné la progression des non-salariés dans le secteur du bâtiment en France. Loin d’être parfaitement autonomes sur les espaces d’échange, ces artisans et chefs d’entreprise sont amenés à établir des ententes de collaboration ou de sous-traitance avec les autres indépendants de l’industrie. Le cas du secteur de la couverture dans la région parisienne montre comment ces accords s’inscrivent dans des réseaux plus ou moins fermés composés de producteurs, d’architectes, de syndics et d’autres maîtres d’ouvrage qui commandent des travaux plus ou moins régulièrement. Or certains indépendants disposent d’un meilleur capital de liens de réseau que d’autres et cela tend à expliquer pourquoi leurs ententes de collaboration réciproques peuvent être plus ou moins équilibrées.
Une lecture comptable des budgets de Le Play
Authors: Buisan Georges
Published: May 2010

RÉSUMÉ: Les budgets qui accompagnent les monographies de F. Le Play se présentent comme une masse considérable d’observations chiffrées, d’une extrême précision mais d’une lecture assez difficile pour qui n’est pas un gestionnaire averti. Ils ont été cependant élaborés avec beaucoup de soin et méritent une lecture attentive. À travers la célèbre monographie des Mélouga, nous précisons la terminologie employée, le rôle de chaque tableau et les articulations qui donnent toute sa cohérence à l’ensemble; des exemples pratiques éclairent le jeu, parfois complexe, des écritures, et servent de base à une critique des évaluations. Nous tentons ensuite une relecture actuelle de ces documents compte tenu de l’évolution des mentalités et des techniques administratives depuis le XIX e siècle. Enfin, nous essayons de suivre la démarche de cet ingénieur des Mines, habile comptable, qui voyait dans ces tableaux chiffrés un moyen d’observation bien adapté à toutes les familles.
A propos du témoignage de Paule Verdet
Authors: Isambert-Jamati Viviane
Published: May 2010

Viviane Isambert-Jamati, whose intellectual and socio-political development was similar to that of Paule Verdet before she left for the United States, identifies the differences between her own initial research experiences within the context of French sociology, and those previously described by Paule Verdet. She also examines the first intellectual contact of the sociologists of work in Georges Friedmann’s group with the research done on the same subject at the University of Chicago during the same period.
La conception de la sociologie empirique d’Everett Hughes
Authors: Chapoulie Jean-Michel
Published: May 2010

The article presents several markers for understanding the characteristics of Hughes’ conception of sociology which are only implicit in his work. After reviewing the specific meaning of the notion of interaction in Hughes’ and Park’s work, the author identifies three original features of Hughes approach: analyses in terms of social relations; the wish to establish empirically the limits of the system of interaction within which the objects under study are situated; an unusual use of the comparative method which encourages an approach freed from established value judgements.
Quel devenir pour le service public postal : une grille d'analyse
Authors: Toledano Joëlle
Published: May 2010

RÉSUMÉ: L’ambition de l’article est de proposer des éléments d’appréciation sur l’avenir du service public postal après l’adoption par l’Europe des Quinze d’une directive. Le secteur postal a beaucoup changé depuis quinze ans. Le texte commence par une grille de lecture économique des éléments structurants de l’activité postale. Puis, il présente un panorama institutionnel des entreprises et de la réglementation en Europe. Ensuite, il revient sur la directive postale, ses principes et ses limites. Le débat européen des années à venir va de nouveau porter sur le développement d’un processus harmonisé de libéralisation. L’article constate l’insuffisance d’études approfondies sur les conséquences qui pourraient en résulter; en particulier, les délais retenus risquent d’empêcher la prise en compte des leçons à retirer des libéralisations en cours.
Le corps protestataire aujourd'hui : une économie de la menace et de la présence
Authors: Memmi Dominique
Published: May 2010

The protesting body today: an economy of threat and presence

Recent work on demonstrational action points in many ways to an important euphemization and self-control of physical violence today. To what extent could it then nourish an interpretation of protester’s manners in terms of an outbreak of civilization? This lead, though, should not bring one to disembody demonstrations too quickly, for fear one misses their specificity: that of political actions which intensely exploit body language. Taking into account this dimension of demonstrational action helps underline the complexity of the use of physical violence within a semiotic of threat which varies from one group of demonstrators to the other and, thus, could contribute to their characterization. This also, more generally, helps emphasize the numerous polemical qualities of sheer physical presence. Lastly, it enables one to rethink, in a more subtle way, the strategic dimension of demonstrations.
Les sans-domicile aux États-Unis. Leçons tirées de quinze années de recherche
Authors: Wright James , Rubin Beth A.
Published: May 2010

Cet article résume quinze ans de recherche sur les sans-domicile aux USA. Les nouveaux sans-domicile forment un groupe diversifié et hétérogène; y sont surreprésentées des personnes assez jeunes, très pauvres, appartenant aux minorités ethniques, et en très mauvaise santé. Plus que par le passé, les femmes et les enfants en constituent une part non négligeable. La plupart des sans-abri le sont seulement par épisodes, et non de façon chronique, ce qui aggrave la difficulté de les dénombrer. Cette difficulté tient aussi à la multiplicité des définitions de ces situations, aux différences entre estimation à une date donnée et sur une période donnée, aux efforts faits par les sans-domicile pour échapper aux autorités. Tout aussi controversées que le nombre de sans-domicile sont les raisons avancées pour ce phénomène. La plupart des explications sont centrées soit sur les facteurs structurels, soit sur les facteurs individuels. Ceux qui avancent des raisons individuelles citent la maladie mentale, la toxicomanie et l’alcoolisme. Quoique nous reconnaissions que ces facteurs contribuent au risque de se retrouver sans domicile, l’article soutient que la preuve est faite du rôle essentiel de la combinaison de l’augmentation de la pauvreté et de la diminution du stock de logements bon marché, dans un contexte de crise économique, de restructurations industrielles et de coupes dans les programmes sociaux. Les changements structurels ont eu pour conséquences l’aggravation de la pauvreté et son augmentation, ainsi que la diminution du nombre de logements abordables.
Formation ou culture, l'action des cadres et des ouvriers de la chimie CFTC-CFDT (1946-1971)
Authors: Brucy Guy
Published: May 2010

Training or Culture: the Union Action of CFTC and CFDT-Affiliated Middle Managers and Workers in the French Chemical Industry from 1946 to 1971.

This article first identifies the different conceptions of training that took hold in the CFTC (Conféderation Française des Travailleurs Chrétiens) union and its successor the CFDT (Conféderation Française Démocratique du Travail) in the French chemical industry in the period from the end of the Second World War through the 1960s. It then shows how these conceptions were influenced by political and social changes in union organization. Middle managers saw training as a means of adapting to technical change, better managing relations between the different social groups within the company, and being protected against unemployment. Workers, on the other hand, were most concerned with the social and political implications of the training of union officials. For them it was a matter of gaining access to culture in order to understand the world and thereby be able to transform it. In the 1960s, union activists influenced by theories of the •New Working Class” realized a project of federating the industry that brought together workers, technicians, and middle managers. With this change in the social composition of the organization, diffusion of managers’ conceptions to the federation as a whole became possible.
De l'intégration aux "patries imaginaires"
Authors: Jamous Haroun
Published: May 2010

Integration of immigrants or ethnic minorities can inaugurate new identity searches and constructions, reactualizing scenes invested with imaginary elaborations. This article put forward an analysis of this reactualizing process, and some of its specifications according to whether it concerns populations linked to a colonial history (France, Great-Britain) or longstanding established in a pluri-cultural nation (United-States). It is suggested that this inventive and imaginary stage aims at redefining and reappropriating the formally achieved integration process.
Juifs et Musulmans en France : le modèle républicain d'intégration en question
Authors: Cohen Martine
Published: May 2010

Jews and Muslims in France: the Republican Integration model under debate.

Taking in account the changes of pluralism and the transformations of the French State, I propose to compare the process of integration of Jews (during the XIXe Century) with that of Muslims in French society today. I first present the «confessional model» which characterizes the Jewish process of integration during the last century and I show how the Jewish community has moved away from this model. But French society had also changed: religions had followed a continuous process of adaptation to mundane values («internal secularization»); the French «laïcité» is also more opened to true religious pluralism and to public manifestations of religion. Following these changes, Muslims want to participate in them, especially the young generation which is more and more involved in the Muslim leadership and which claims the same rights as other religious groups. Therefore, while adopting the «confessional model», they refuse to be confined to that strict pattern which is the core of the «republican model of integration» they are required to follow.
Un cas d'expertise, l'étrange défaite de Marc Bloch
Authors: Damamme Dominique
Published: May 2010

RÉSUMÉ: À partir de l’ «Étrange défaite» de Marc Bloch, Dominique Damamme fait l’hypothèse que le paradigme des Annales n’a pas été sans effets dépolitisants sur la pratique politique de l’historien et il appréhende ce texte énigmatique comme un acte d’expertise, c’est à dire une combinaison de pratiques politiques et de pratiques scientifiques. A ses yeux, l’expertise ne recouvre pas seulement des textes de commande mais également des textes hybrides d’intervention politique fondés sur des savoirs scientifiques. L’auteur observe que ce type d’intervention est resté relativement rare en France, notamment en histoire.
Vichy aux États-Unis : perspectives populaires et savantes
Authors: Golsan Richard J.
Published: May 2010

RICHARD J. GOLSAN

Vichy viewed from the United States: popular and scholarly perspectives

The history and memory of the Vichy years, so controversial in France, have stirred considerable interest in the United States, especially since the nineteen eighties. This interest is due in part to an American preoccupation with the Holocaust as well as the memory and consequences of the Second World War. But a number of prejudices against France circulating in the media, as well as a pronounced and perhaps excessive interest in the reactionary and even fascistic elements of French culture, may well distort American perceptions of the Occupation years and of French attitudes since the war. A lack of familiarity with all aspects of recent French history and of French political and cultural institutions contributes to these difficulties.
L'enquête de terrain : quelques ficelles du métier
Authors: Becker Howard S.
Published: May 2010

RÉSUMÉ: L’article présente quatre démarches de recherche utilisables dans des enquêtes de terrain, mais aussi avec d’autres sources documentaires. La première, inspirée par l’analyse des préjugés de races de Hughes, vise à rendre explicite la proposition majeure d’un syllogisme qui n’est pas formulé car tenu pour une évidence dans la société considérée. La seconde, une forme d’induction analytique, repose sur la recherche de contre-exemples qui permettent d’élargir la compréhension d’un type de phénomènes. La troisième, inspirée par une remarque de Wittgenstein, vise à séparer l’accessoire de l’essentiel dans la perception d’un phénomène et d’isoler ainsi les traits génériques d’une série de cas. La dernière permet d’élargir le champ d’application d’un concept, en dépassant les limites qu’imposent les appellations ordinaires. Pour chaque démarche, l’auteur donne des exemples issus de ses propres recherches ou de recherches classiques.
Équilibre compétitif et contrainte budgétaire dans une ligue de sport professionnel
Authors: Andreff Wladimir
Published: May 2010

Résumé Le modèle américain d’équilibre compétitif des ligues de sport d’équipes professionnel est inapte à analyser les ligues européennes de football. Il oppose l’équilibre walrasien à l’équilibre compétitif quand les clubs maximisent le profit et remet en cause les régulations existantes. Son test empirique donne des résultats mitigés. Il est dépassé par des modèles où les clubs sportifs maximisent les victoires sous contrainte budgétaire et où l’offre de travail des joueurs est flexible, en jeu non coopératif. L’article ouvre trois pistes de recherche : introduire l’enjeu sportif dans ces modèles ; élaborer un modèle de déséquilibre où les clubs sont soumis à une contrainte budgétaire « molle » liée à leur faible gouvernance ; il teste un cercle vicieux entre revenus tirés de la tv et salaires du football français.
L'instruction publique de Condorcet
Authors: Le Chapelain Charlotte
Published: May 2010

Résumé Cet article défend l’idée de l’existence d’une analyse originale de Condorcet quant à l’idée de capital humain non relevée par les commentateurs. En effet, alors que Smith est habituellement reconnu pour ses réflexions en la matière, les analyses singulières de Condorcet ne sont pas mobilisées par la littérature. Pourtant, elles se distinguent, d’une part, de celles de Smith en ce qu’elles introduisent une réflexion quant à la nature risquée du capital humain. D’autre part, Condorcet s’illustre par une analyse originale du lien entre instruction et progrès économique centrée sur la question du progrès des sciences et des arts.
Ethnographie d'une rédaction en ligne Argentine
Authors: Boczkowski Pablo Javier
Published: May 2010

Résumé Cet article analyse les logiques de production des informations « chaudes » ( hard news ) et « froides » ( soft news ) à travers une ethnographie de la rédaction de l’un des sites de presse majeurs de l’Amérique du Sud et du monde hispanophone : le site argentin Clarín.com. Afin de répondre aux attentes supposées d’individus consultant les informations pendant les heures de travail, la rédaction s’est divisée en deux secteurs : l’un est chargé de couvrir l’actualité immédiate tandis que l’autre produit des informations de type magazine. L’analyse comparée de ces deux secteurs donne à voir l’évolution du travail journalistique sur internet, à travers des routines, des ambiances, des temporalités et des rôles professionnels marqués par de profondes différences.
Faut-il abandonner la politique aux marchés ? Réflexions autour de la consommation engagée
Authors: Cochoy Franck
Published: May 2010

Résumé Les marchés peuvent-ils porter efficacement des enjeux politiques ? Pour les promoteurs d’une consommation engagée (côté demande) ou d’une responsabilité sociale des entreprises (côté offre), la réponse est clairement positive : le marché et la politique seraient deux univers radicalement différents ; la politique devrait alors pénétrer les marchés pour rénover les voies de l’action publique. Après une présentation des travaux et des arguments qui soutiennent cette vision des choses, l’article s’efforce d’en montrer les limites et les dangers, afin de ne pas négliger la contribution politique des marchés ordinaires, et donc de ne pas abandonner trop vite la politique aux marchés.
L'innovation sociale dans les services d'aide à domicile. Les apports d'une lecture polanyienne et féministe
Authors: Degavre Florence , Nyssens Marthe
Published: May 2010

Résumé Cet article examine la dynamique d’innovation sociale à l’origine des services de garde-malade, apparus dans le champ de l’aide à domicile il y a une vingtaine d’années. À travers une lecture « polanyienne » de l’organisation socio-économique et des théories féministes sur le care , l’objectif est de proposer une grille d’analyse originale qui permet d’analyser le processus sous-jacent à cette innovation, ainsi que certains aspects des rapports de genre qui y sont en jeu. Il s’agit également de proposer des critères permettant de juger de la qualité d’une innovation sociale aboutie dans le champ de l’aide à domicile, et de les appliquer aux services auprès desquels la recherche a été menée en Wallonie.
Aide à domicile : de l'idéologie de la professionnalisation à la pluralité des professionnalités
Authors: Ribault Thierry
Published: May 2010

Résumé La professionnalisation des salariés des services d’aide à domicile repose actuellement sur l’hégémonie de la convention marchande de professionnalité. Cette hégémonie compromet la construction d’une relation vertueuse entre qualité d’emploi et de travail et qualité de service. L’approche que nous proposons en termes de conventions permet de réhabiliter la diversité des dimensions de la professionnalité. Une telle analyse alimente une vision démocratique et pluraliste de la professionnalisation qui ne tranche pas a priori le débat sur la hiérarchie et la valeur relative des différentes conventions mobilisées mais qui témoigne de leur nécessaire coexistence.
Les premières règles des jeunes filles : puberté et entrée dans l'adolescence
Authors: Mardon Aurélia
Published: May 2010

Résumé Les premières règles et plus largement la puberté ont rarement fait l'objet d'études sociologiques. En s'appuyant sur une enquête auprès de jeunes filles et de leurs mères, cet article entend montrer que la ménarche constitue un moment de transition identitaire. Présenté et accueilli par la famille comme un signe de féminité et de maturité, cet événement agit sur la définition que les filles se font d'elles-mêmes et de leur statut et implique pour elles des changements d'actions et d'attitudes. Par conséquent, les premières règles possèdent une place fondamentale dans l'entrée dans l'adolescence alors même que cet âge de la vie est surtout défini par ses codes culturels.
Understanding the Culture of Collaborative Attempts Among Academicians in Malaysia
Authors: Mansor Mahani , Osman Nazira , Nayan Surina , Shafie Latisha Asmaak , Maesin Anis
Published: May 2010

This paper attempts to understand the culture of collaborative attempts language academicians who are members of communities of practice share common professional activities. Participants of these communities of practice engage in a variety forms of collaborative attempts which include knowledge sharing via traditional means; conducting research, team teaching, mentoring, writing books and publishing articles, or online collaborative means; email, instant messaging, blogs, facebook, discussion groups and blogs. The paper discusses the trends of collaborative practices and the reasons for such collaborations.
SMEs: How to Make a Successful Transition From Conventional Training Towards e-Learning
Authors: Roy Andrée
Published: May 2010

The purpose of this study is to define what e-Learning consists of, its characteristics and the various barriers to it for SMEs and to verify, through a multiple case study, the extent to which Atlantic Canadian SMEs face the same barriers than larger organizations when they want to use e-Learning. The purpose of the study is also to present the different approaches, such as determine an overall learning strategy, develop a culture more conducive to e-Learning and upgrade the technological skills of the employees, that small and medium-sized businesses can use if they want to make a successful transition from traditional training to e-Learning to train their employees.
Managing Online Customer Service Operations
Authors: Barnes David , Hinton Matthew
Published: May 2010

This chapter investigates the implications of moving customer service operations online. Many organizations believe that e-business can provide opportunities to improve customer service operations by enabling them to get closer to the customer and enhance the customer contact experience. However, use of the Internet fundamentally changes the nature of a customer’s interaction with an organization, as the customer interacts with a computer screen rather than a human being. The online customer service encounter within the business processes of ordering and delivering was investigated in eight companies. It was concluded that an enhanced experience was only likely if the emotional aspects of customer service are considered alongside the functional.
Resource-Based Theory of the Firm
Authors: Gottschalk Petter
Published: May 2010

Emerging business models, value configurations, and information technologies interact over time to create competitive advantage. Modern information technology has to be studied, understood, and applied along the time dimension of months and years, where changes are the rule. Such changes created by interactions between business elements and resources are very well suited for system dynamics modeling. System dynamics models represent a frame-work for understanding both successful and unsuccessful IT management over time. Systems dynamics simulations provide insights into the important interactions between IT investments and firm performance over time.
Opportunities for Open Source E-Learning
Authors: Dewever Fanuel
Published: May 2010

eLearning is often conceived as a single product. In reality however the market offering is very heterogeneous with a large product variety. Think of Learning Management Systems, Virtual Classrooms, Authorware, Test & Assessment Tools, Simulators and many more. And each of these eLearning applications is available from multiple vendors and middlemen. Next to more than 250 providers of commercial Learning Management Systems, more than 40 Open Source LMS offerings can be identified. In this paper I discuss if today open source applications for eLearning offer an alternative to commercial offerings, specifically in the context of Education. The lessons drawn here also apply to other (public) organisations and applications.
Metacognition for Enhancing Online Learning
Authors: Chiazzese Giuseppe , Chifari Antonella , Merlo Gianluca , Ottaviano Simona , Seta Luciano
Published: May 2010

The existing research in the field of traditional didactics shows that students who have good metacognitive skills often achieve better scholastic results. Therefore, it seems that students who are aware of their cognitive processes and are able to self-monitor their learning activities tackle didactic tasks with greater success. The chapter presents an analysis of studies regarding applications of metacognition within technological learning environments which have been implemented in the last few years, and this is followed by a description of the features of the Gym2learn system. This system aims to reveal self-regulating processes and guide the student in acquiring all the steps of the executive control of some important comprehension strategies for understanding hypertexts.
CRM Practices and Resources for the Development of Customer-Focused Multinational Organizations
Authors: Batista Luciano C.
Published: May 2010

This chapter aims to provide a complete characterization of the different perspectives of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and its potentialities to support Knowledge Management practices in a multinational context. It describes the strategic and technological dimensions of CRM and how its adoption supports the development of a learning and customer-focused organization, with special emphasis on multinational corporations. CRM strategic approach entails the adoption of customer-focused initiatives and the development of learning relationships with customers. On the other hand, its technological dimension integrates a variety of different information and communication technologies, which makes a powerful system for improving the process of knowledge acquisition. This way, different subsidiaries of a multinational corporation can develop their learning capability so that they can better identify local market demands. As a result, the corporation is able to more accurately create a global knowledge stock about its different markets in different regions of the world.
Quality Assurance in the IMS-Based NGN Environment
Authors: Kos Andrej , Volk Mojca , Bester Janez
Published: May 2010

Commonly understood as the next generation networks (NGN), a composite environment of proven telecommunications and Internet-oriented mechanisms has become generally recognized as the telecommunications environment of the future. However, the nature of the NGN environment presents several complex issues regarding quality assurance that have not existed in the legacy environments (e.g., multi-network, multi-vendor, and multi-operator IP-based telecommunications environment, distributed intelligence, third-party provisioning, fixed-wireless and mobile access, etc.). In this chapter, a serviceaware policy-based approach to NGN quality assurance is presented, taking into account both perceptual quality of experience and technology-dependant quality of service issues. The respective procedures, entities, mechanisms, and profiles are discussed. The purpose of the presented approach is in research, development, and discussion of pursuing the end-to-end controllability of the quality of the multimedia NGN-based communications in an environment that is best effort in its nature and promotes end user’s access agnosticism, service agility, and global mobility.
Decision Support Systems and Representation Levels in the Decision Spine
Authors: Humphreys Patrick
Published: May 2010

Problem solving has been defined as the complex interplay of cognitive, affective, and behavioural processes with the aim to adapt to external or internal demands or challenges (Heppner & Krauskopf, 1987). In the realm of organizational decision-making, Herbert Simon (1977) describes the problem-solving process as moving through three stages: intelligence, design, and choice. In this context, design focuses on “inventing, developing and analysing possible courses of action,” where the design artefact being constructed for this purpose constitutes the “representation of the problem.” While a wide range of representation means and calculi have been proposed for decision problem solving purposes, practical implementations generally involve applying one or more of these means to develop the structure of the problem within one or more frames. Typically, these are future-scenario frames, multiattributed preference frames, and rule base-frames (Chatjoulis & Humphreys, 2007). Simon (1977) characterized decision problems according to the degree of problem-structure that was pre-established (or taken for granted as “received wisdom,” or “the truth about the situation that calls for a decision”) at the time participants embark on the decision problem solving process. He placed such problems on a continuum ranging from routine (programmed, structured) problems with wellspecified solutions to novel, complex (unprogrammed, unstructured) with ambiguous solutions.
ICT Policies in Africa
Authors: Adomi Esharenana E. , Igun Stella E.
Published: May 2010

During the last 20 years, information and communication technologies (ICTs) have greatly provided a wealth of new technological opportunities, with the rapid deployment of both the Internet and cellular telephony leading the way (Sarkar De, 2005). ICTs can serve as potent agents of change (Yamuah, 2005). These technologies have invaded every country that is willing to accept and adopt them. The most important differentiating factor currently is policy. Policy makes a great difference regarding how countries are able to take advantage of the technological opportunities available to them and exploit them for good. Countries with progressive policies are seeing these technologies spread quickly. However, countries that are yet to formulate and integrate ICT policy have been plagued by slow growth of technology and the consequent lessening of support for economic and social development (Sarkar De, 2005).
IT-Enabled Reengineering
Authors: Ozcelik Yasin
Published: May 2010

In this article, we first discuss the effects of ITenabled BPR on firm productivity by providing both empirical and theoretical evidence from the literature. We then highlight past experiences of several major firms in the United States with the IT-enabled BPR implementations. Finally, we comment on expected future trends in this area.
Factors Affecting Broadband Adoption for Mainstream Consumers
Authors: Adams Peter
Published: May 2010

This chapter explores whether past experiences with telecommunications providers and current ‘plans’ on offer serve as barriers between an individual consumers’ persuasion phase of the Innovation-Decision Process (Rogers, 2003) and the decision phase. With broadband in around 33% of Australian homes, it is important that telecommunications providers understand why the future mainstream segment of consumers will want to adopt broadband, and any barriers to this. This analysis suggests future studies are needed to investigate whether the telecommunications providers are collectively confusing potential broadband consumers in their attempts to differentiate a generic product in the market. It argues that future technology adoption studies need to consider including the complexity of the actual purchase decision when developing constructs for quantitative models. If we are to build a picture of why mainstream consumers adopt broadband, more than just the perceptions of using the technology itself need to be investigated.
Improving Virtual Teams through Swift Structure
Authors: Shwarts-Asher Daphna , Ahituv Niv , Etzion Dalia
Published: May 2010

There has been a transformation from individual work to team work in the last few decades (Ilgen, 1999), and many organizations use teams for many activities done by individuals in the past (Boyett & Conn, 1992; Katzenbach & Smith, 1993). The use of virtual teams has also become common particularly in international organizations and global companies. In light of this growing phenomenon, the traditional definition of “team structure” should be redefined, as part of the model that predicts the influence of the virtuallity and structural levels on processes, social, and tasks, that effect team output. A methodology will later be illustrated to examine the research model and a discussion of preliminary finding. The research contributes to better understanding of virtual teams in hope of improving the teams work in the virtual world. Virtual team design has so far been treated as an afterthought by virtual team researchers. Investigation of team structure in the virtual environment holds significant promise for research and practice (Powell, Piccoli, & Ives, 2004). Integration between virtual teams and structural characteristics raises the question: “Has the virtual era put an end to team structure?” Leavitt (1996) claims that the rapid changes impose organizations to relax structures. Hackman (2002), on the other hand, predicts that team structure will always exist and managers will continue to be bothered by team design.
Customizing Multimedia and Collaborative Virtual Environments
Authors: Sampaio Paulo N.M. , Rodello Ildeberto A. , Rodríguez Peralta Laura M. , Bressan Paulo Alexandre
Published: May 2010

Virtual reality (VR) represents a modern human-computer interface consisting of a three-dimensional (3D) environment generated by computer where the user can interact in different ways. VR can be applied in several applications domains such as medicine, education, entertainment, etc. In particular, interest is drawn to the application of VR in education since a student is able to interact and to be involved with a 3D environment, which simulates situations that are difficult or even impossible to be carried out in the traditional education process.
Cybercells for Virtual Teaching and Learning
Authors: Stevens Ken
Published: May 2010

A cybercell is a face-to-face group whose members extend their discussion to include virtual visitors (Stevens & Stewart, 2005a). This recent addition to the lexicon of e-learning describes the integration of actual and virtual discussions, meetings, and classes and has particular application in Internet-based networks of schools (Stevens, 2005b). Cybercells provide teachers with opportunities to discuss their respective work with other teachers on-site and online, for students to similarly discuss their work with other students and for teachers to engage students in both actual and virtual environments.
The Digital Divide in Education in the Knowledge Society
Authors: Mínguez Almudena Moreno , Ballesteros Enrique Crespo
Published: May 2010

Information and communication technology (ICT) is playing a central role in the development of modern economies and societies. Every young person will need to use ICT in many different ways in their adult lives, in order to participate fully in a modern society. This has profound implications for education, both because ICT can facilitate new forms of learning and because it has become important for young people to master ICT in preparation for adult life. But is ICT living up to its potential in schools and in the lives of young people? To start to answer this question, the extent to which young people are exposed to and making use of such technology and whether those who do so are achieving desirable learning outcomes must be determined. In this article we analyse the impact that the information communications technologies are having on the training of the youths. Also it will be analysed the unequal access to ICT depending on factors such as gender and family origin. To carry out the analysis, the source has been the PISA Report 2005, from the OECD.
Distributed Work Arrangements Supporting Organizational Needs
Authors: Roper Kathy O. , Kim Jun Ha
Published: May 2010

The objective of this paper is to provide understanding in developing high performance distributed work arrangements (DWA), and suggestions for an evaluation framework for measuring productivity changes in these distributed work arrangements. Globalization and development of information and communication technology (ICT) enables many organizations be more geographically distributed with work conducted in multiple locations. Distributed work and virtual organizations are at the center of much attention not only from the business world, but also from academia. In recent years, many different distributed work settings have been created to improve productivity while reducing costs.
e-Cat for Partner Profiling and Competency Management Tool
Authors: Hodík Jiri , Vokrínek Jiri , Becvár Petr
Published: May 2010

A modern industry environment requires very fast response to incoming business opportunities. Small and medium enterprises (SME) usually cannot satisfy complex customer needs on their own. Collaboration between enterprises is needed to cover all the business aspects and opportunities (Boughzala & Zacklad, 1999; Ríha, Pechoucek, Vokrínek, & Marík, 2002). To increase their competitiveness and to gain more business opportunities, SMEs form alliances. Such alliances may support their members by tools for effective partner search, social knowledge management, negotiation support, and others. This article presents a concept and a prototype of a tool for profile and competency management for SME clusters—the e-Cat. The main goal of our work is to simplify and integrate cooperation between SMEs by sharing information about their abilities, competencies, and services that collaboratively cover new business opportunities. The e-Cat is based on a hybrid architecture consisting of peer-to-peer cooperating units supported by centralized components. The user interface to the system is provided by thin clients through ordinary Web-page browsers.
Economic Development Alliances
Authors: Phillips Fred Young
Published: May 2010

Metropolitan and rural regions around the world compete to attract enterprises (private companies, NGOs, parastatals, and government agencies) that offer wellpaying jobs. Economic globalization and new technologies make necessary, and at the same time make possible, new strategies for economic development (ED). Increasingly, these new strategies involve intraregional and inter-regional alliances.
E-Markets as Meta-Enterprise Information e Systems
Authors: Grieger Martin , Hartmann Evi , Kotzab Herbert
Published: May 2010

Electronic marketplaces are inter-organizational information sharing systems that enable virtual business transactions and allow the exchange of price and product information between buyers and sellers (Kollmann, 2000). For many decades, such information systems were solely utilized for buying and selling of goods under “market conditions.” With the emergence of advanced IT, academia, and also businesses have begun to use electronic marketplaces for information sharing system and it is no longer only a medium for electronic buying and selling processes. In addition, electronic marketplaces are predicted to be a key-stone for integrating the information flows within inter-organizational systems such as supply chains (Grieger, 2004) where borderless organizational structures occur (see Picot, Reichwald, R., Wigand, 2001).
Environments for VE Integration
Authors: Cunha Maria Manuela , Putnik Goran D.
Published: May 2010

Most definitions of virtual enterprise (VE) incorporate the idea of extended and collaborative outsourcing to suppliers and subcontractors in order to achieve a competitive response to market demands (Webster, Sugden, & Tayles, 2004). As suggested by several authors (Browne & Zhang, 1999; Byrne, 1993; Camarinha- Matos & Afsarmanesh, 1999; Cunha, Putnik, & Ávila, 2000; Davidow & Malone, 1992; Preiss, Goldman, & Nagel, 1996), a VE consists of a network of independent enterprises (resources providers) with reconfiguration capability in useful time, permanently aligned with the market requirements, created to take profit from a specific market opportunity, and where each participant contributes with her best practices and core competencies to the success and competitiveness of the structure as a whole. Even during the operation phase of the VE, the configuration can change to assure business alignment with the market demands, traduced by the identification of reconfiguration opportunities and constant readjustment or reconfiguration of the VE network to meet unexpected situations or to keep permanent competitiveness and maximum performance (Cunha & Putnik, 2002, 2005a, 2005b)
E-Portfolios in Teacher Education
Authors: Marshall Kevin
Published: May 2010

The growing belief among all involved in education— that children and adults should be lifelong learners—has spawned the emergence of interest in the continuous, progressive, and transportable documentation of learning, or e-portfolios. At the same time, technology is opening up new possibilities regarding when and how learning can take place. Consequently, teacher education should aim to increase ICT literacy, but should also focus on how it can be used to improve pupil learning, to create more effective teaching resources and how to generate new learning models (Barron, 1998; Wishart & Blease, 1999).
A European Virtual Enterprise on Collaborative Data Mining and Decision Support
Authors: Mladenic Dunja , Lavrac Nada
Published: May 2010

One of the challenging research problems is to develop data mining and decision support integration techniques and to propose new methods for collaborative data mining. Advances in this area were achieved within the European project Data Mining and Decision Support for Business Competitiveness: A European Virtual Enterprise (SolEuNet, 2000-2003), in which a virtual enterprise model was proposed as a dynamic problem- solving link between a network of experienced data mining and decision support experts on the one hand, and customers in need of specific solutions on the other.
Fine-Grained Data Security in Virtual Organizations
Authors: Indraratne Harith , Hosszú Gabor
Published: May 2010

Controlling the access to data based on user credentials is a fundamental part of database management systems. In most cases, the level at which information is controlled extends only to a certain level of granularity. In some scenarios, however, there is a requirement to control access at a more granular way allowing the users to see only the data they are supposed to see in a database table. Fine-grained access control (FGAC) provides row-level security capabilities to secure information stored in modern relational database management systems. In case of creating the virtual networking infrastructure of virtual organizations, the security of the data stored in database management systems is a very important issue. Several models have been proposed by research community and database vendors for specifying and enforcing row-level access control at the database layer. This article reviews the most important facts of some significant FGAC models and current implementations of such in two commercial database management systems. We describe a novel concept of implementing FGAC in SQL Server 2005, which resembles Oracle 10g database management system’s FGAC solution virtual private databases (VPD).
Galois Lattice Quantum Model for NVOs
Authors: Lawless W. F. , Chaudron Laurent , Abubucker C. P.
Published: May 2010

A major reason for the failure of rational models (cognitive science, game theory) of organizations is the use of static concepts of interdependence to predict dynamic behavior. In contrast, a quantum model of organizations transforms the traditional model into a model of dynamic interdependence of uncertainty. In this study, we explore Galois lattices as a potential quantum model of networked and virtual organizations (NVOs) based on field and laboratory data.
Grid Computing for Social Science
Authors: Turner Kenneth J. , Lambert Paul , Tan K. L. , Gayle Vernon , Sinnott Richard O. , Prandy Ken , Bihagen Erik , van Leeuwen Marco H.D.
Published: May 2010

Grid computing is named by analogy with the electrical power grid. Power stations are linked into a universal supply that delivers electricity on demand to consumers. Similarly, computational resources can be linked into a grid that delivers computing or data on demand to the user’s desktop. The origins of grid computing lie in networked computing, distributed computing, and parallel computing. Grid computing coordinates distributed resources that are not subject to central control, using standard protocols and interfaces to meet the required levels of service (Foster, 2002).
A Historical Perspective of Web Engineering
Authors: Zheng Guangzhi
Published: May 2010

As Web-based information systems and applications have been growing more and more complex, the concept of “Web engineering” begins to prevail. Generally, Web engineering refers to a field concerned about the employment of systematic and disciplined approaches to the development and management of Web sites and Web applications (Lowe, 1999; Murugesan, Deshpande, Hansen, & Ginige, 1999). It utilizes diverse principles from multiple disciplines including hypermedia, software engineering, human computer interaction, conceptual modeling, information retrieval, networking, etc.
Integration and Information Sharing in E-Government
Authors: Akbulut Asli Yagmur , Motwani Jaideep
Published: May 2010

Citizens around the globe are demanding better services and more responsiveness from their local, state, and national governments. Governments are responding to this challenge by implementing a vast range of information technologies (IT) that crosses departmental and organizational boundaries. Integration and information sharing among government agencies have the potential to increase the productivity and performance of government operations, improve policy-making, and provide better services to citizens (Akbulut, 2003; Dawes, 1996; Landsbergen & Wolken, 2001). For example, September 11, 2001 terrorist-related events have shown the importance of integration and information sharing among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in order to protect the safety of citizens by combating crime and terrorism. As Whiting and Chabrow (2001) pointed out, “The intelligence gaps among law enforcement agencies became obvious in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks. Two of the suspected hijackers, for example, reportedly were on an INS watch list. But that information never found its way to the Federal Aviation Administration…” (p. 2). As the investigation into these attacks continues, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Customs Service, the INS, the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, as well as other law enforcement and intelligence agencies are trying to share information on an extraordinary scale.