Integrated Information and Communication Technology Strategies for Competitive Higher Education in Asia and the Pacific

Developing countries in Asia and the Pacific are rapidly reaching middle income economic status. Their competitive advantage is shifting from labor-intensive industries and natural resource-based economies to knowledge-based economies that innovate and create new products and services. Early adoption of information and communication technology (ICT) can allow countries to leapfrog over the traditional development pathway into production of knowledge-based products and services. Since higher education institutions (HEIs) are considered a primary engine of economic growth, adoption of ICT is imperative for securing competitive advantage. ICT is thought to be one of the fastest growing industries and is frequently heralded as a transforming influence on higher education systems globally and, consequently, is enhancing the competitive advantage of countries. It is increasingly becoming evident that an institution-wide ICT strategy covering all evolving functions of competitive HEIs is necessary. Such a system may be designed as an integrated platform but implemented in phases.

A collaborative multi-agent based conference planner application using web and grid services

Distributed Collaborative Computing services have taken over centralized computing platforms allowing the development of distributed collaborative user applications. These applications enable people and computers to work together more productively. Multi-Agent System (MAS) has emerged as a distributed collaborative environment which allows a number of agents to cooperate and interact with each other in a complex environment. We want to place our agents in problems whose solutions require the collation and fusion of information, knowledge or data from distributed and autonomous information sources. In this paper we present the design and implementation of an agent based conference planner application that uses collaborative effort of agents which function continuously and autonomously in a particular environment. The application also enables the collaborative use of services deployed geographically wide in different technologies i.e. Software Agents, Grid computing and Web service. The premise of the application is that it allows autonomous agents interacting with web and grid services to plan a conference as a proxy to their owners (humans). © 2005 IEEE.

The Figmentum Project: appropriating information and communication technologies to animate our urban fabric

This paper explores how we may design located information and communication technologies (ICTs) to foster community sentiment. It focuses explicitly on possibilities for ICTs to create new modalities of place through exploring key factors such as shared experiences, shared knowledge and shared authorship. To contextualise this discussion in a real world setting, this paper presents FIGMENTUM, a situated generative art application that was developed for and installed in a new urban development. FIGMENTUM is a non-authoritative, non-service based application that aims to trigger emotional and representational place-based communities. Out of this practice-led research comes a theory and a process for designing creative place-based ICT’s to animate our urban communities.

Measuring the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the classroom

In 2003, the “ICT Curriculum Integration Performance Measurement Instrument” was developed froman extensive review ofthe contemporary international and Australian research pertaining to the definition and measurement of ICT curriculum integration in classrooms (Proctor, Watson, & Finger, 2003). The 45-item instrument that resulted was based on theories and methodologies identified by the literature review. This paper describes psychometric results from a large-scale evaluation of the instrument subsequently conducted, as recommended by Proctor, Watson, and Finger (2003). The resultant 20-item, two-factor instrument, now called “Learning with ICTs: Measuring ICT Use in the Curriculum,” is both statistically and theoretically robust. This paper should be read in association with the original paper published in Computers in the Schools(Proctor, Watson, & Finger, 2003) that described in detail the theoretical framework underpinning the development of the instrument.

Developing within-company information and communication technologies (ICT) innovation diffusion networks : a study of three Australian major contractors

The innovation diffusion and knowledge management literature strongly supports the importance of communities of practice (COP) for enabling knowledge about how to use and adopt innovation initiatives. One of the most powerful tools for innovation diffusion is word-of-mouth wisdom from committed individuals who mentor and support each other. Close proximity for face-to-face interaction is highly effective, however, many organisations are geographically dispersed with projects being virtual linked sub-organisations using ICT to communicate. ICT has also introduced a useful facilitating technology for developing knowledge networks. This paper presents findings from a research program concentrating on ICT innovation diffusion in the Australian construction industry. One way in which ICT diffusion is taking place was found to be through within-company communities of practice. We undertook in-depth unstructured interviews with three of the major 10 to 15 contractors in Australia to discuss their ICT diffusion strategies. We discovered that in all three cases,within company networked communities of practice was a central strategy. Further, effective diffusion of ICT groupware tools can be critical in developing COP where they are geographically dispersed.

Extending the advanced forensic format to accommodate multiple data sources, logical evidence, arbitrary information and forensic workflow

Forensic analysis requires the acquisition and management of many different types of evidence, including individual disk drives, RAID sets, network packets, memory images, and extracted files. Often the same evidence is reviewed by several different tools or examiners in different locations. We propose a backwards-compatible redesign of the Advanced Forensic Formatdan open, extensible file format for storing and sharing of evidence, arbitrary case related information and analysis results among different tools. The new specification, termed AFF4, is designed to be simple to implement, built upon the well supported ZIP file format specification. Furthermore, the AFF4 implementation has downward comparability with existing AFF files.

Key organizational elements for effective information and knowledge management

Effective information and knowledge management (IKM) is critical to corporate success; yet, its actual establishment and management is not yet fully understood. We identify ten organizational elements that need to be addressed to ensure the effective implementation and maintenance of information and knowledge management within organizations. We define these elements and provide key characterizations. We then discuss a case study that describes the implementation of an information system (designed to support IKM) in a medical supplies organization. We apply the framework of organizational elements in our analysis to uncover the enablers and barriers in this systems implementation project. Our analysis suggests that taking the ten organizational elements into consideration when implementing information systems will assist practitioners in managing information and knowledge processes more effectively and efficiently. We discuss implications for future research.

Duty of police and ambulance services : what happens when the plaintiff refuses treatment?

In a recent case the New South Wales Court of Appeal considered the duty of care owed by ambulance and police officers, issues concerning breach and causation and the practical effect of the exclusion of the plaintiff's evidence.