bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Joint Uplink and Downlink Performance Profiling of LTE Protocol Processing on a Mobile Platform
Authors: Szczesny David , Hessel Sebastian , Showk Anas , Bilgic Attila , Hildebrand Uwe , Frascolla Valerio
Published: February 2011

This article provides a detailed profiling of the layer 2 (L2) protocol processing for 3G successor Long Term Evolution (LTE). For this purpose, the most processing intensive part of the LTE L2 data plane is executed on top of a virtual ARM based mobile phone platform. The authors measure the execution times as well as the maximum data rates at different system setups. The profiling is done for uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) directions separately as well as in a joint UL and DL scenario. As a result, the authors identify time critical algorithms in the protocol stack and check to what extent state-of-the-art hardware platforms with a single-core processor and traditional hardware acceleration concepts are still applicable for protocol processing in LTE and beyond LTE mobile devices.
Sponsored Search as a Strategic E-Service
Authors: Vragov Roumen
Published: February 2011

In addition to helping consumers navigate the web search engines offer a new kind of e-service known as sponsored search. A search engine provides an auction interface to advertisers that allows them to be included in a list of sponsored links. Consumers then search the list to find the best deal. This paper uses a version of traditional consumer price search models from economic theory to evaluate the extent to which consumers and advertisers can rely on sponsored search as an effective strategic infomediary. The article also describes steps that the manager of the search engine can take to improve the sponsored search service. The findings are relevant to web advertising as well as to mobile advertising.
Business to Consumer E-Services
Authors: Burgess Stephen , Breen John , Quiazon Regina
Published: February 2011

This article reports on a study involving analysis of the Web sites of 100 accounting practices located in Melbourne, Australia, and subsequent interviews with twenty practices. This article focuses on identifying the level of e-services that they employ. In this regard, Angehrn’s virtual dimensions of Web site spaces were used to classify the various service delivery strategies adopted by the different practices. The results suggest that information technology plays a critical role in the accounting industry and that the use of computer accounting packages is almost mandatory among clients. There is little evidence of the use of Web sites for the delivery of automated e-services. At the moment, the Internet is primarily used to support the delivery of services rather than completely automate it. Overall, the study suggests that Australian accounting firms currently take a fairly conservative approach to Web site use.
The Adoption of "E-Banking" by Lebanese Banks
Authors: Toufaily Elissar , Daghfous Naoufel , Toffoli Roy
Published: February 2011

This article examines the organizational, structural, and strategic factors that can speed up or slow down the adoption of E-banking innovations by financial institutions in the Lebanese market. A conceptual model is developed based on a review of the major innovation adoption theories and other research findings, and tested with a survey administered through a census of the population of Lebanese banks. Findings revealed that the organizational variables of bank size, presence of functional divisions, technical staff and infrastructure, as well as the degree of international experience and tolerance of risk of the decision makers exert a significant impact on the adoption of E-banking. Two structural characteristics, the internal technological environment, and relative advantage of the innovations were also found to impact adoption. The two strategic factors related to the banks’ degree of international operations were also found to positively influence the adoption of E-banking. Recommendations were provided on ways of accelerating the rate of adoption of E-banking in an important developing Middle Eastern country.
A User Centered Innovation Approach Identifying Key User Values for the E-Newspaper
Authors: Ihlström Eriksson Carina , Svensson Jesper
Published: February 2011

We have studied the pre-adoption phase of the e-newspaper, i.e. a newspaper published with e-paper technology. The research question of this article is: In what way can a user centered innovation process contribute to identifying key values in mobile innovations? The aim of this article is threefold: firstly, to identify key values for the e-newspaper, secondly, to examine the intention to adopt a new possible innovation and thirdly, to explore user centered design processes ability to capture user values early in the innovation process. We have identified seven key user values: mobility, availability, personalization, usability, interactivity, readability and environment. Furthermore, we found that surprisingly many would consider exchanging their traditional newspaper with an e-newspaper in the future, indicating that the e-newspaper have a fair chance of becoming an important innovation. Finally, we propose a four phase model for identifying user values in a pre-adoption phase of an innovation.
Proposing a Knowledge Amphora Model for Transition towards Mobile Government
Authors: Medeni Tunc D. , Medeni I. Tolga , Balci Asim
Published: February 2011

As an important project for Turkey to achieve Information/Knowledge Society Strategic Goals, the e-Government Gateway currently focuses on the delivery of public services via a single portal on the Internet. In later stages, other channels such as mobile devices will be available for use, underlying a transition towards mobile and ubiquitous government services. In order to provide a supportive base for this transition, the authors develop a modeling of knowledge amphora (@), and link this conceptual model with the e-government gateway. Based on Knowledge Science concepts such as ubiquity, ba (physical, virtual, mental place for relationship-building and knowledge-creation), ma (time-space in-between-ness), reflection and refraction, the modeling of Knowledge Amphora incorporates the interactions @ the Internet and mobile devices that contribute to cross-cultural information transfer and knowledge creation. The paper presents recent electronic and mobile government developments of E-Government Gateway Project in Turkey as an application example of this philosophical and theoretical modeling. The contributed Ubiquitous Participation Platform for Policy Making (UbiPOL) project aims to develop a ubiquitous platform allowing citizens to be involved in policy making processes (PMPs). The resulting work is a practical case study as that develops new m-government operations.
Poverty Reduction in Nigeria Using Information Technology
Authors: Akinyede R. O. , Boyinbode O. K. , Alese B. K.
Published: February 2011

According to a UNDP Report (1998), about 54% of Africa’s population is estimated to live in absolute poverty. Currently in Nigeria, rapid change and vigorous development in information technology (IT) is occurring, changing Nigerians’ way of life, as well as the country’s economic strength, national power, and international competitiveness. The status of a country or nation in the global political and economic framework depends on the general rule of the development and progress of IT. With development and innovation going hand in hand and knowledge becoming one of the most important factors in determining standard of living, most advanced economies and companies today are those that play the knowledge card as a tool to drive development. Therefore, in this paper, the authors examine the categories, causes, and effects of poverty and how poverty reduction can be achieved in Nigeria with information technology (IT).
Optimal Server Allocation and Frequency Modulation on Multi-Core Based Server Clusters
Authors: Zheng Xinying , Cai Yu
Published: February 2011

Multi-core processing has been widely used in high-performance computing systems. Power reduction and energy conservation are important in these systems to minimize operating cost. Two main strategies exist for power management: Dynamic Voltage/Frequency Scaling (DV/FS) and server number controlling: Vary-On Vary-Off (VOVF). In this paper, the authors explore the benefits of DV/FS and VOVF and apply them in a multi-core based server cluster. An optimization problem is formulated to get the optimal resource scheduling strategy given a parallel workload. The presented optimization model provides controllable and quantitative power consumption with theoretically guaranteed service performance. The authors further study the overhead of the proposed scheme and provide a Double Control Periods (DCP) method to compensate the transition overhead. The power optimization model is evaluated via extensive simulations. It is also justified by the real workload data trace. The results prove the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed model.
An Empirical Investigation of Environmental Kuznets Curve in Nigeria
Authors: Ayadi Folorunso Sunday
Published: February 2011

The possibility of the existence of environmental Kuznet curve (EKC) has been debated extensively in the literature. The reality of EKC is that, by pursuing growth in income, environmental objectives can be simultaneously accomplished without initiating extra intervention tools. Various studies have been conducted on the existence of EKC without any consensus. Therefore, in this paper, the author analyzes whether or not EKC exists and its shape. In this study, the author uses an explanatory variable to in the model, which is population density, showing the level of resilience of the environment to pollution. However, this research found that at the lower stage of income, environmental degradation declined with income growth, rises as income grew further, then declined. However, income did not contribute significantly toward the explanation of environmental degradation like population density. This research found no synergies between addressing poverty and environmental problems in Nigeria. Therefore, complementary environmental policies must be put in place when addressing poverty. Lastly, there are different shapes of the relationship between income growth and various measures of pollution and environmental degradation, and developing countries must recognize that no one size fits all in this relationship.
Production Blast-Induced Vibrations in Longhole Open Stoping
Authors: Henning John , Mitri Hani
Published: February 2011

This paper examines stope design approaches employed at a metal mining operation in Canada for extraction of transverse primary, transverse secondary, and longitudinal stopes. Variations in stope and slot design, blast design, and blast vibration attenuation are presented in detail. It is shown that the type of blasthole stoping technique employed varies according to stope sequence and ore zone width. Within this range of stopes, blasting design practices have been standardized in terms of drillhole diameter, powder factor, and the type and pattern of the explosives used.
A Numerical Approach for Simulation of Rock Fracturing in Engineering Blasting
Authors: Saharan Mani Ram , Mitri Hani S.
Published: February 2011

An approach for simulation of rock fracturing as a result of engineering blasting is presented in this paper. The approach uses element elimination technique within the framework of finite element method to capture the physics of engineering blasting. The approach does not require pre-placement of fracture paths which is the severe drawback of the other existing methodologies and approaches. Results of plane stress modelling for isotropic brittle rock behaviour are presented in this paper and these results are in good agreement with the existing knowledge base. The authors also review the existing approaches of numerical modelling to compare the efficacy of the element elimination technique. It is anticipated that the further developments with this approach can prove to be good experimental tool to improve engineering blasting operations.
Investigations on Impact of Blasting in Tunnels
Authors: Dey Kaushik , Murthy V. M. S. R.
Published: February 2011

Blasting with longer advance per round leaves an impact both visible (in the form of overbreak) and invisible (cracks) in the surrounding rockmass, however, a number of controlled-blasting techniques, that is line drilling, pre-splitting, and smooth blasting, have been developed to minimise this problem. These techniques require additional drilling, controlled charging, and detonation, and thus, are not preferred in regular development activities. Investigations have been carried out in five different horizontal development drivages of metal mines to assess the blasting impact using burn cut and arrive at the blast-induced rock damage (BIRD) model. Vibration monitoring close to the blast was carried out using accelerometers for the first time in India to develop vibration predictors and overbreak threshold levels for individual sites. This paper reports the development of the overbreak predictive model (BIRD) for burn cut blasting in hard rock drivages by combining the relevant rock, blast design, and explosive parameters. A multivariate statistical model has been developed and validated and the same can find ready application in tunnels and mines for exercising suitable engineering controls both in blast design and explosive selection for reduced basting impacts.
Supercomputers in Grids
Authors: Resch Michael M. , Gabriel Edgar
Published: February 2011

This article describes the state of the art in using supercomputers in Grids. It focuses on various approaches in Grid computing that either aim to replace supercomputing or integrate supercomputers in existing Grid environments. We further point out the limitations to Grid approaches when it comes to supercomputing. We also point out the potential of supercomputers in Grids for economic usage. For this, we describe a publicprivate partnership in which this approach has been employed for more than 10 years. By giving such an overview we aim at better understanding the role of supercomputers and Grids and their interaction.
Adaptive Processor Allocation for Moldable Jobs in Computational Grid
Authors: Huang Kuo-Chan , Shih Po-Chi , Chung Yeh-Ching
Published: February 2011

In a computational grid environment, a common practice is try to allocate an entire parallel job onto a single participating site. Sometimes a parallel job, upon its submission, cannot fit in any single site due to the occupation of some resources by running jobs. How the job scheduler handles such situations is an important issue which has the potential to further improve the utilization of grid resources as well as the performance of parallel jobs. This article develops adaptive processor allocation policies based on the moldable property of parallel jobs to deal with such situations in a heterogeneous computational grid environment. The proposed policies are evaluated through a series of simulations using real workload traces. The results indicate that the proposed adaptive processor allocation policies can further improve the system performance of a heterogeneous computational grid significantly.
A Performance Study of Secure Data Mining on the Cell Processor
Authors: Wang Hong , Takizawa Hiroyuki , Kobayashi Hiroaki
Published: February 2011

This article examines the potential of the Cell processor as a platform for secure data mining on the future volunteer computing systems. Volunteer computing platforms have the potential to provide massive computing power. However, privacy and security concerns prevent using volunteer computing for data mining of sensitive data. The Cell processor comes with hardware security features. The secure volunteer data mining can be achieved by using those hardware security features. In this article, we present a general security scheme for the volunteer computing, and a secure parallelized K-Means clustering algorithm for the Cell processor. We also evaluate the performance of the algorithm on the Cell secure system simulator. Evaluation results indicate that the proposed secure data clustering outperforms a non-secure clustering algorithm on the general purpose CPU, but incurs a huge performance overhead introduced by the decryption process of the Cell security features. Possible optimization for the secure K-Means clustering is discussed.
Interoperable PKI Data Distribution in Computational Grids
Authors: Pala Massimiliano , Cholia Shreyas , Rea Scott A. , Smith Sean W.
Published: February 2011

One of the most successful working examples of virtual organizations, computational grids need authentication mechanisms that inter-operate across domain boundaries. Public Key Infrastructures (PKIs) provide sufficient flexibility to allow resource managers to securely grant access to their systems in such distributed environments. However, as PKIs grow and services are added to enhance both security and usability, users and applications must struggle to discover available resources-particularly when the Certification Authority (CA) is alien to the relying party. This article presents how to overcome these limitations of the current grid authentication model by integrating the PKI Resource Query Protocol (PRQP) into the Grid Security Infrastructure (GSI).
Obtaining Security Requirements for a Mobile Grid System
Authors: Rosado David G. , Fernández-Medina Eduardo , López Javier , Piatini Mario
Published: February 2011

Mobile Grid includes the characteristics of the Grid systems together with the peculiarities of Mobile Computing, with the additional feature of supporting mobile users and resources in a seamless, transparent, secure and efficient way. Security of these systems, due to their distributed and open nature, is considered a topic of great interest. In this article we present the practical results of applying a secured methodology to a real case, specifically the approach that define, identify and specify the security requirements. This methodology will help the building of a secured grid application in a systematic and iterative way.
Persistence and Communication State Transfer in an Asynchronous Pipe Mechanism
Authors: Chan Philip , Abramson David
Published: February 2011

Wide-area distributed systems offer new opportunities for executing large-scale scientific applications. On these systems, communication mechanisms have to deal with dynamic resource availability and the potential for resource and network failures. Connectivity losses can affect the execution of workflow applications, which require reliable data transport between components. We present the design and implementation of p-channels, an asynchronous and fault-tolerant pipe mechanism suitable for coupling workflow components. Fault-tolerant communication is made possible by persistence, through adaptive caching of pipe segments while providing direct data streaming. We present the distributed algorithm for implementing: (a) caching of pipe data segments; (b) asynchronous read operation; and (c) communication state transfer to handle dynamic process joins and leaves.
A Security Prioritized Computational Grid Scheduling Model
Authors: Kashyap Rekha , Prakash Vidyarthi Deo
Published: February 2011

Grid supports heterogeneities of resources in terms of security and computational power. Applications with stringent security requirement introduce challenging concerns when executed on the grid resources. Though grid scheduler considers the computational heterogeneity while making scheduling decisions, little is done to address their security heterogeneity. This work proposes a security aware computational grid scheduling model, which schedules the tasks taking into account both kinds of heterogeneities. The approach is known as Security Prioritized MinMin (SPMinMin). Comparing it with one of the widely used grid scheduling algorithm, MinMin (secured) shows that SPMinMin performs better and sometimes behaves similar to MinMin under all possible situations in terms of makespan and system utilization.
Fuzzy Allocation of Fine-Grained Compute Resources for Grid Data Streaming Applications
Authors: Zhang Wen , Cao Junwei , Zhong Yisheng , Liu Lianchen , Wu Cheng
Published: February 2011

Fine-grained allocation of compute resources, in terms of configurable clock speed of virtual machines, is essential for processing efficiency and resource utilization of data streaming applications. For a data streaming application, its processing speed is expected to approach the allocated bandwidth as much as possible. Automatic control technology is a feasible solution, but the plant model is hard to be derived. In relation to the model free characteristic, a fuzzy logic controller is designed with several simple yet robust rules. Performance of this controller is verified to out-perform classic controllers in response rapidness and less oscillation. An empirical formula on tuning an essential parameter is obtained to achieve better performance.
Network Architectures and Data Management for Massively Multiplayer Online Games
Authors: Ma Minhua , Oikonomou Andreas
Published: February 2011

Current-generation Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG), such as World of Warcraft, Eve Online, and Second Life are mainly built on distributed client-server architectures with server allocation based on sharding, static geographical partitioning, dynamic micro-cell scheme, or optimal server for placing a virtual region according to the geographical dispersion of players. This paper reviews various approaches on data replication and region partitioning. Management of areas of interest (field of vision) is discussed, which reduces processing load dramatically by updating players only with those events that occur within their area of interest. This can be managed either through static geographical partitioning on the basis of the assumption that players in one region do not see/interact with players in other regions, or behavioural modelling based on players’ behaviours. The authors investigate data storage and synchronisation methods for MMOG databases, mainly on relational databases. Several attempts of peer to peer (P2P) architectures and protocols for MMOGs are reviewed, and critical issues such as cheat prevention on P2P MMOGs are highlighted.
Managing Inconsistencies in Data Grid Environments
Authors: Ahmed Ejaz , Bessis Nik , Norrington Peter , Yue Yong
Published: February 2011

Much work has been done in the area of data access and integration using various data mapping, matching, and loading techniques. One of the main concerns when integrating data from heterogeneous data sources is data redundancy. The concern is mainly due to the different business contexts and purposes from which the data systems were originally built. A common process for accessing data from integrated databases involves the use of each data source’s own catalogue or metadata schema. In this article, the authors take the view that there is a greater chance of data inconsistencies, such as data redundancies when integrating them within a grid environment as compared to traditional distributed paradigms. The importance of improving the data search and matching process is briefly discussed, and a partial service oriented generic strategy is adopted to consolidate distinct catalogue schemas of federated databases to access information seamlessly. To this end, a proposed matching strategy between structure objects and data values across federated databases in a grid environment is presented.
Evaluating Heuristics for Scheduling Dependent Jobs in Grid Computing Environments
Authors: Falzon Geoffrey , Li Maozhen
Published: February 2011

Job scheduling plays a critical role in the utilisation of grid resources by mapping a number of jobs to grid resources. However, the heterogeneity of grid resources adds some challenges to the work of job scheduling, especially when jobs have dependencies which can be represented as Direct Acyclic Graphs (DAGs). It is widely recognised that scheduling m jobs to n resources with an objective to achieve a minimum makespan has shown to be NP-complete, requiring the development of heuristics. Although a number of heuristics are available for job scheduling optimisation, selecting the best heuristic to use in a given grid environment remains a difficult problem due to the fact that the performance of each original heuristic is usually evaluated under different assumptions. This paper evaluates 12 representative heuristics for dependent job scheduling under one set of common assumptions. The results are presented and analysed, which provides an even basis in comparison of the performance of those heuristics. To facilitate performance evaluation, a DAG simulator is implemented which provides a set of tools for DAG job configuration, execution, and monitoring. The components of the DAG simulator are also presented in this paper.
The Role of Information Technology in the "Fit" Between Culture, Business Strategy and Organizational Structure of Global Firms
Authors: Katz Jeffery , Townsend James B.
Published: February 2011

This paper examines the impact of culture on the organizational and information technology infrastructures of global competitors while considering the role business strategy plays on both infrastructures. Prior research has suggested that when managers consider how culture impacts the information flow and structure of the organization, a more effective "fit" between business strategies and performance results. In this article, we propose a conceptual framework comparing national cultures and two important organizational factors-components of organizational structures and components of information systems. Specifically, we propose a framework for understanding how organizational structures and information technology will vary based on national culture within the confines of the firm’s chosen competitive strategy. We examine the differences in organizational structures and information technology in three cultures to demonstrate how our framework may be used by international management practitioners and researchers to better understand the impact of cultural differences on the operations of firms choosing to operate in international markets. Finally, we suggest propositions for future empirical testing by information management researchers as well as make suggestions for testing.
Knowledge Assets in the Global Economy
Authors: Malhotra Yogesh
Published: February 2011

This article has the following objectives: developing the need for assessing knowledge capital at the national economic level; review of a national case study of how intellectual capital assessment was done in case of one nation state; suggesting implications of use of such assessment methods and needed areas of advancement; and highlighting caveats in existing assessment methods that underscore the directions for future research. With increasing emphasis on aligning national information resource planning, design and implementation with growth and performance needs of businesses or nations, better understanding of new valuation and assessment techniques are necessary for information resource management policymakers, practitioners and researchers.
Information Technology for Relational Business Ecosystems
Authors: Joia Luiz A.
Published: February 2011

This article presents a framework to integrate effectively different information technologies in order to coordinate a relational business ecosystem, an innovative business model. The information technologies needed to create this new business environment are presented, as well as an integrated model based on a technology-service-process-production taxonomy. A case study addressing a major engineering company in Brazil, now playing the role of an integrator within a relational business ecosystem is presented in order to validate the proposed model. Some conclusions in this realm are presented addressing the main obstacles and hurdles to accomplish a relational business ecosystem as well as the solutions to overcome them, so as to make the findings and concerns applicable to other countries.
Contracts, Control and Presentation in IT Outsourcing
Authors: Kern Thomas , Willcocks Leslie
Published: February 2011

Information technology (IT) outsourcing continues to experience phenomenal growth, with an estimated market size of over $100 billion in 2000. Its adoption by some of the largest international corporations has seen outsourcing become considered a key component of the information management agenda. Critical to this agenda is the formulation of comprehensive contracts. For this, legal experts and/or advisors can be consulted, but enforcement depends very much on client and vendor account managers. A theoretical analysis of the contract contrasted with empirical data from client and vendor post-contract management practice revealed that the contract has a number of purposes beyond its sole legal nature, outlining a number of control dimensions both parties aim to enforce. This paper presents findings from 13 UK-based organisations on the role of the outsourcing contract and its purpose for ensuring control over the client’s outsourcing destiny.
Can National Information Infrastructures Enhance Social Development in the Least Developed Countries? An Empirical Investigation
Authors: Meso Peter , Duncan Nancy
Published: February 2011

The need for national information infrastructures (NII) in the world’s least developed countries (LDCs) tends to be overshadowed by the nation’s severe deficiencies in physical infrastructure. Consequently NII may be inadequately addressed by governments and supporting agencies in their plans for stimulating social growth. The example of Singapore’s TradeNet and other lesser-developed countries developing national, electronic information infrastructures, suggests that information technology infrastructure may enable an LDC to develop at a particularly advanced rate. This paper studies the relationship of information infrastructure and social development. It establishes a clear correlation between 1) levels of information infrastructure and social development, and 2) growth rates of information infrastructure and social development. The findings suggest that governments of LDCs may enhance their countries’ growth by developing strategic plans for NII development.
The Emergence of Networked Organizations in India
Authors: Dhillon Gurpreet , Moores Trevor , Hackney Ray
Published: February 2011

We present a potential misalignment that many emerging economies may face with respect to the advent of networked organisations. We argue that although it may seem that networked organisations appear to offer a viable option for the progress of a nation, a deeper analysis suggests otherwise. This will be exemplified through the case of The Engineering Corporation and its presence in India. While The Engineering Corporation does indeed provide employment to the local economy, the host country must determine the right mix of the aspects involved in the collaborative venture. If this care is not taken, there will be little benefit for the host country, thus resulting in a skewed orientation in the relationship.
IT Industry Success in Small Countries
Authors: Watson Rebecca , Myers Michael D.
Published: February 2011

Given the importance of the information technology industry in today’s global economy, much recent research has focused on the relative success of small countries in fostering IT industries. This article examines the factors of IT industry success in small developed countries, and compares two such countries, Finland and New Zealand. Finland and New Zealand are alike in many respects, yet Finland’s IT industry is more successful than New Zealand’s. Three major factors that impact on the development of a successful IT industry are identified: the extent of government IT promotion, the level of research and development, and the existence of an education system that produces IT literate graduates.
Generic Attributes of IS Graduates
Authors: Snoke Robert , Underwood Alan
Published: February 2011

This paper describes the final phase of a study that validates a group of generic attributes of graduates of Australian undergraduate degree programs with majors in Information Systems (IS). 105 academics from all Australian universities that offer IS undergraduate degree programs of study and 53 member of the Australian Computer Society (ACS) took part in this study. A three round Delphi questionnaire was used. The results of this study are compared with a previous study of generic attributes conducted by the authors in Queensland, Australia. Differences between academics and industry are identified. The top three attributes in each study are the same, although the order is reversed in the national study. Some of these include the higher ranking of interpersonal skills, teamwork, and knowledge of the IS discipline by academics compared with the higher ranking of industry of self-motivation and the ability to learn independently. Other major findings include the high ratings of the attributes of team participation and the commitment to further learning and intellectual development. Oral and written communications are significantly rated as more important than a comprehensive knowledge of IS. This study has a very strong overall correlation with the previous Queensland study.
Electronic Commerce and Strategic Change Within Organizations
Authors: Galliers Robert D. , Newell Sue
Published: February 2011

This article reviews and contrasts the experiences of two major companies in attempting significant change projects incorporating information and communication technologies. It does so by utilizing and critiquing the MIT "Management in the 1990s" model and by reflecting on socio-technical approaches to organizational change. It makes the point that while much of current attention is on electronic commerce as it pertains to industry transformation and inter-organizational relations, it is nonetheless a phenomenon that can impact complex internal relations and communication in addition. Additionally, conclusions are drawn with respect to the process of change and the need for further longitudinal studies when researching change projects of this kind.
Transfer of Information Technology to the Arab World
Authors: Straub Detmar , Loch Karen D. , Hill Carole E.
Published: February 2011

The complex societal beliefs and values of the Arab world provide a rich setting to examine the hypothesized influence of culture on information technology transfer (ITT). Two research questions arise in this context: (1) Do cultural beliefs and values affect the transference of information technology in the Arab world? and (2) Does contact with technologically advanced societies impact ITT and systems outcomes? The present study addresses these research questions by conceptualizing and testing a cultural influence model of ITT. In this model, cultural beliefs and values are one major construct while a counterbalancing variable is the external influence of technologically advanced societies. These constructs along with the variable “national IT development” form the conceptual basis for the model. This study is the second part of a program of research investigating ITT. The setting of the study was Arab society, which allowed us to test our “cultural influence” model in, perhaps, one of the more complex cultural and social systems in the world. The program of research took place in several phases. In the early phases, Arab-American businessmen and women as well as Arabs studying in American universities were studied. In the latter phases, the cross-disciplinary research team gathered primary data in the Arab cultures of Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and the Sudan. Both quantitative and qualitative techniques were used to explore the phenomenon of ITT. This paper reports quantitative findings from the latter phase. Findings suggest that the model has explanatory power. Arab cultural beliefs were a very strong predictor of resistance to systems and thus ITT; technological culturation was also a factor. These results have implications for future theory-testing and for technology policy-setting by responsible Arab leaders. Additionally, there are implications for transnational firms and managers charged with introducing IT in foreign ports, subsidiaries, offices, and plants.
Electronic Broker Impacts on the Value of Postponement in a Global Supply Chain
Authors: Robinson William N. , Elofson Greg
Published: February 2011

Global and electronic markets are increasingly forcing manufacturing enterprises to become more competitive. As a result, many manufacturing enterprises are seeking to manage their supply chains more effectively. Product differentiation timing is one important factor in supply chain management. Under an early product differentiation process, finished products are manufactured and stored in a distribution center until delivery. Under a delayed product differentiation process, partially completed product components are manufactured and stored in a distribution center; later, based on demand information, finished products are completed from the product components. The difference in value between early product differentiation and delayed product differentiation is the value of postponement. Prior research has analytically shown that the value of postponement is affected by information precision in demand forecasts. In this article, we investigate whether adding a market-making electronic broker to a supply chain increases the value of postponement. We hypothesize that it may do so by providing greater accuracy in demand forecasting. We test this relationship by comparing the results of agent-based simulations that vary between early and late differentiation strategies and the use of an electronic broker. In each simulation, the effects of demand correlation, demand variability, and demand pooling are considered. The simulations show that an electronic broker increases inventory cost savings (compared to a non-broker) and increases the value of postponement in the face of increasing demand variability, increasing demand pooling, and decreasing demand correlation. Moreover, an electronic broker may, through its own actions, increase demand variability and demand pooling, while decreasing demand correlation, thereby creating the environment in which is best operates.
Structural Influences on Global E-Commerce Activity
Authors: Markus M. Lynne , Soh Christina
Published: February 2011

An important line of research on global information management examines the effects of national culture on IT development, operations, management and use. This paper argues that global information management researchers should not lose sight of structural conditions related to business-to-business and business-to-consumer e-commerce activity. Structural conditions are physical, social and economic arrangements that shape e-commerce business models and influence individual and organizational use of the Internet. Examples include geography (which affects the physical distribution of goods purchased online), space (which influences the choice of access technology for e-commerce) and financial infrastructure (which is related to credit card use). Structural conditions differ from country to country—and even from location to location within country, but they are not necessarily related to dimensions of natural culture. Therefore, valid explanations of global differences in e-commerce activity require a careful assessment of relevant structural factors.
International Business and Global Information Management Research
Authors: Niederman Fred , Boggs David J. , Kundu Sumit
Published: February 2011

This work reviews the relationship between the disciplines of international business and global information management (GIM), examining how international business has served as a reference discipline for GIM and how GIM has contributed to the development of international business. GIM contributions are considered in terms of their findings as well as topic and approach. Based on a review of all Journal of Global Information Management (JGIM) articles since the inception of the journal, this paper identifies international business scholars that have been important to the field of GIM and some who might deserve more attention.
Cultural Differences in Developers' Perceptions of Information Systems Success Factors
Authors: Kim Chung S. , Peterson Dane K.
Published: February 2011

The current study examined the perceptions of information systems (IS) developers from Japan and the United States with regards to the strategies that are considered most important for successful implementation of an IS. The results of a principal components analysis revealed that the IS strategies could be reduced to five components: (1) Characteristics of the Team Members, (2) Characteristics of the Project Leader, (3) Management/User Input, (4) Proper Technology, and (5) Communication. The results indicated that there was a significant difference in the perceptions of Japanese and U.S. developers with respect to the importance of the five components. Japanese developers perceived the Project Leader as the most crucial component for determining the success of an IS project. Team Member Characteristics was viewed as the least important by Japanese developers. On the other hand, the developers from the U.S. viewed Communications as the most critical component. Project Leader Characteristics was perceived to be the least important by U.S. developers. The results were discussed in terms of cultural differences.
Information Systems Project Failure
Authors: Lemon Wayne F. , Liebowitz Jay , Burn Janice , Hackney Ray
Published: February 2011

Many organizations, regardless of size, engage in at least one, and often many information system projects each year. Many of these projects consume massive amounts of resources, and may cost as little as a few thousand dollars to ten, and even hundreds of millions of dollars. Needless to say, the investment of time and resources into these ventures are of significant concern to chief information officers (CIOs), executives staff members, project managers, and others in leadership positions. This paper describes the results of a survey performed between Australia and the United States regarding factors leading to IS project failure. The findings suggest that, among other things, end user involvement and executive management leadership are key indicators influencing IS project failure.
Global Comparison of Stages of Growth Based on Critical Success Factors
Authors: Gottschalk Petter , Khandelwal Vijay K.
Published: February 2011

With increasing globalization of business, the management of IT in international organizations is faced with the complex task of dealing with the difference between local and international IT needs. This study evaluates, and compares, the level of IT maturity and the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) in selected geographic regions, namely, Norway, Australia/New Zealand, North America, Europe, Asia/Pacific, and India. The results show that significant differences in the IT management needs in these geographic regions exist, and that the IT management operating in these regions must balance the multiple Critical Success Factors for achieving optimal local-global mix for business success.
Online Customer Stickiness
Authors: Khalifa Mohamed , Limayem Moez , Liu Vanessa
Published: February 2011

The growth of e-commerce has been mainly in B2B, while B2C is still facing major hurdles associated with consumer acquisition and retention. In the evaluation of B2C businesses, the focus is shifting from measures of visitor attraction such as pageviews and click-through ratios to measures of consumer retention such as stickiness. Most prior research focused on explaining/predicting the intention to adopt and the usage of online shopping rather than repeated behavior such as repurchase. In this study, we develop and empirically validate a model explaining online consumer stickiness as measured by repurchase. The results provide strong support for the importance of satisfaction in explaining repurchase and for the moderating effect of online shopping habit on the relationship between satisfaction and repurchase. The implications of these findings for theory and practice are discussed.
The Legislation Systems Project
Authors: Hocking Lynley
Published: February 2011

The LSP is a project where computerised technology has been used in an innovative manner to assist the creation of and access to legislation in Tasmania, Australia. It has had significant organisational implications and provides an insight into the computerisation of core government processes and the professional area of legal drafting. Particularly, it has induced standardisation and an increasingly technocratic approach with process, role and authority structure changes.
Information Technology Choices in Dissimilar Cultures
Authors: Downing Charles E. , Gallaugher John , Segars Albert H.
Published: February 2011

Empowerment is an important and desirable state for employees within business enterprises around the world. Yet, the pursuit of empowerment across national boundaries may vary due to innate diferences within cultures. This may be particularly true with respect to choice of technologies for achieving empowerment. Using an interpretive field study of Fellows within the Japanese MITI and U.S. Department of Commerce Manufacturing Technology Fellowship (MTF) Program, this study suggests that the achievement of empowerment through choice of information technology is matched to cultural context. Specifically, employees of Japanese companies prefer, need, and use media-rich information technologies in their efforts to achieve empowerment. In contrast, employees of American companies prefer, need, and use collaborative information technologies in the pursuit for empowerment. These findings suggest that information technology is used synergistically with cultural attributes in the enhancement of employee empowerment.
The Relationship of Some Organizational Factors to Information Systems Effectiveness
Authors: Seliem Ahmed A. , Ashour Ahmed S. , Khalil Omar E. , Millar Stephen J.
Published: February 2011

Most of the empirical evidence on the effectiveness of information systems and their determinants is confined to the use of data from Western countries. Evidence from other environments, where the social, economic, and cultural characteristics vary, is needed before generalizations can be made. This paper reports on an investigation designed to explore the relationship of three organizational factors—top management support, user involvement, and the maturity of the IS function—to systems effectiveness in an Egyptian setting. Data was collected from 214 managers, and the results indicate that the three organizational variables positively associate with systems effectiveness, measured by user information satisfaction and system use in improving decision making. Also, user’s tenure in the organization and ownership type were found to affect the relationships between the system’s effectiveness measures and the three organizational variables. These findings are discussed and implications are offered. The findings of this study suggest that the positive relationships of top management support, user involvement, and IS maturity to systems effectiveness may transcend cultural differences. This empirical evidence contributes to the external and international validity of the similar Western-based findings, which, in turn, add to the efforts toward building a general theory of trans-national global information systems (GISs).