Students' experiences using online support sites in NZ tertiary education

Major findings include: students who make use of online learning support sites judge that they do make a useful contribution to their academic success. Students especially value the opportunity to access learning support that is free from the time and space restraints of traditional on-campus support service delivery.

Understanding community and its possibilities in late modernity

This thesis argues that community is being reconfigured and practiced in new forms and behaviours. Examples of this can be seen in the way that communities have emerged through the interplay with developing technological mediums and out of the growing social discontent with contemporary forms of political alienation.

Examination of the relationship between advanced manufacturing technologies (AMTs) and workforce development activities : implications for organisational performance

This study examines the relationship among organisational performance, advanced manufacturing technologies and workforce development activities. A model of this relationship is proposed with the workplace needs acting as a mediator between technology and workforce development activities. This survey examined the technology and developmental practices of manufacturing companies in Hong Kong.

A multiliteracies perspective on the new literacies

The new communications environment of the 21st century offers unprecedented opportunities for multimodal meaning making, a transformed dynamics of social agency and divergence of discourses. Multi-literacies theory presents a set of educationally useable conceptual schemas and suggestions for an expanded repertoire of literacy practices as a response to these opportunities (Cope & Kalantzis, 2000a). The following discusses the theory and case study of a collaborative application if a set of schemas to address contemporary issues in multiliteracies pedagogy (Cloonan, 2008a).

ICT and gender issues in the higher education of entrepreneurs

Rapid technological innovations are currently occurring in higher education with differential effects on academics, students and ICT. This article, through literature review and author experiences, highlights the potential misperceptions of gender and related learning styles resulting from increased adoption of ICT in higher education. The authors emphasise the need for a collaborative approach between educators, learners, and the people and organisations that drive technological innovation, which contrasts the competitive forces that now abound. The authors also acknowledge the implied positions in dialogues about gender. One response is to initiate understanding at the strategic level and utilise the advances in ICT technologies that enhance connectedness in the educational experience. To improve the education of entrepreneurial managers and leaders, future policies must address the effects and accessibility of online education to meet employer and global technological requirements with equitable outcomes.

Democratic deliberation, citizenship, and networked computers

This study offers a multi-faceted response to the question of whether or not network computers can improve citizen power from the perspective of deliberative democratic theory. It concludes that in particular circumstances, computers can enhance citizens' power, and improve deliberation in liberal-democratic forums.

Enhancing the interfacial properties of Quickstep{u2122} cured biocomposites

This research has enhanced the performance of natural fibre composites by optimisation of the cure cycle under Quickstep{u2122} process and treatment time under atmospheric pressure glow discharge plasma. The study has also utilised many characterization methods, theoretical models, and established surface-property relationship to manufacture composites with optimum strength and toughness.

Social cognitive theory and the adoption of e-book devices

The book publishing industry has been revolutionised by the technological innovations created by the Internet. Electronic book (e-book) devices such as Kindle by Amazon, Nook by Barnes and Noble and the iPad by Apple are relatively new technological innovations that will change the way individuals purchase and read books. The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that will lead to a person adopting an e-book device. In this paper, a social cognitive theoretical framework is utilised to understand an individual’s intention to adopt an e-book device like the Kindle, Nook or iPad. A conceptual model is proposed, which focuses on the antecedents to a person’s adoption behaviour and is empirically tested through a survey of Australian youths. A portion of the conceptual model is supported. This suggests that marketing has an effect on a person’s intention to adopt an e-book device, which is mediated by their entrepreneurial orientation. The conceptual model proposed and tested has implications for the e-book industry as it demonstrates the internal and external environmental factors that influence adoption behaviour. The paper highlights for the book industry the important areas of e-commerce and m-commerce and how technological innovations are influenced by environmental factors. More recently, m-commerce has increased in usage as people can buy an electronic book via their e-book device anywhere in the world. E-book devices are a mobile device that people adopt in different ways depending on environmental factors

Ethics, entrepreneurship and the adoption of e-book devices

Electronic books (e-books) are rapidly gaining popularity as a technological innovation that will change the way people read books. A social cognitive perspective to understand how a person adopts an e-book device is utilised in this paper to empirically test the results of a survey. A portion of the conceptual model is supported by the results of the survey that demonstrates the importance of an individual's ethics and entrepreneurial orientation to the adoption behaviour they have about e-book devices. This paper highlights for practitioners the importance of focusing on marketing the ethical and innovativeness of e-book devices.

Cloud computing services : theoretical foundations of ethical and entrepreneurial adoption behaviour

Clouicomputing is an emerging service technology that has ethical and entrepreneurial implications. Due to technological innovations increasing the attention placed on cloud computing services, more people are focusing on the security and privacy issues determined by ethical guidelines and how the technology is evolving as an entrepreneurial service innov.ation. This paper presents a theoretical perspective on how a person adopts cloud computing. The literature on technology innovation and adoption behaviour is examined with a focus on social cognitive theory. A theoretical framework is then presented, which indicates a number of propositions to describe the intention of a person to adopt cloud computing services. The role of technology marketing capability, sustained learning and outcome expectancy are included in helping to understand the role of cloud computing applications. Suggestions for future research and practical implications are stated.

Digital games : literacy in action

Digital Games: Literacy in action is the result of a wide-ranging investigation into the educational possibilities involved in young people's games. From their creation in the classroom to analysing games and the world of games as text, academics and teachers are now taking seriously the serious play of young people.

The contributors use the interaction between the theoretical frameworks of games as text and games as action to explore a wide of range of issues relevant to the teaching of English and literacy. These include understanding games as media texts, the place of digital culture in young people's lives, the narrative and visual design components of games, exploring concepts of role play and identity in games, the potential for games to engage disengaged students, and issues of gender and social interaction in game playing.

Adopting global virtual engineering teams in AEC Projects: a qualitative meta-analysis of innovation diffusion studies

Purpose - This study aims to present an integrated conceptual model in order to highlight the major aspects of diffusion of innovations in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) context. To this end, a critical review of literature is conducted, accompaniedbysynthesising the findings of previous studies. The driving force behind this study is stemmed from the fragmentation of literature on innovation diffusion, and paucity of research on diffusion of Global Virtual Engineering Teams (GVETs) as the platform formany technological innovations in relevant literature. Thus, the present study is intended to facilitate filling the gap in GVETs literature. That is, the proposed model will offer a foundation for academia for grounding studies on any innovation including GVETs in the literature on innovation diffusion in the AEC context. Design/methodology/approach - This paper draws upon the qualitative meta-analysis approach encompassing a critical review of the relevant literature. To this end, the review builds upon studies found within 15 prestigious journals in AEC. The domain of this review was confined to areas described as "innovation", "innovation diffusion" and "innovation adoption", along with keywords used within a broad review of recently published GVETs literature. The rigour of review is augmented by incorporating 35 authoritative works from other disciplines published in 21 well-known journals in the manufacturing, business and management fields. Moreover, the study deploys the peer-debriefing approach through conducting unstructured interviews with five Australian scholars to verify a model presenting an aggregated summary of previous studies. Findings - The key findings of the study include the following items: Synthesising the fragmented studies on innovation diffusion in the AEC context. In doing so, a model capturing the major aspects affecting diffusion of an innovation in AEC projects is presented; providing a foundation to address the drawbacks of previous studies within the sphere of GVETs, based on the developed model. Research limitations/implications - The developed model was only enhanced using a small sample size of academics, as such not empirically validated. Originality/value - As possibly, the first literature review of innovation in the AEC context, this paper contributes to the sphere by sensitising the AEC body of knowledge on innovation diffusion as a concise conceptual model, albeit verified through the peer-debriefing approach. This study will also further establish the research field in AEC on GVETs along with other methods reliant on virtual working such as building information modelling (BIM) through providing an expanded foundation for future inquiries and creation of knowledge.

The driving force of government in promoting BIM implementation

The adoption of Building Information Modelling (BIM) is one of the greatest technological innovations in the construction industry to date. However, the implementation of BIM lags far behind its potential due to the existence of various barriers. Strong government support is critical for the successful development and deployment of complex technology systems. BIM could seek government support to drive its implementation process and overcome the barriers. Through a survey, this paper aims to discover stakeholders’ expectations of the government role in BIM implementation and explores specific ways for governments to promote BIM implementation. The research findings are expected to assist related departments to accelerate BIM implementation.

Mobile banking innovations and entrepreneurial adoption decisions

This paper examines an individual’s entrepreneurial adoption decisions to use mobile banking for both business and social reasons. A conceptual model based on social cognitive theory is developed to explain an individual’s propensity to adopt mobile banking. The theoretical framework examines how advertising, experience, perceived risk, learning inclination, and entrepreneurial proclivity influence a person’s intention to use mobile banking. This paper stresses the role of financial risk in determining a person’s intention to use mobile banking and whether their entrepreneurial nature is influenced by their experience and advertising they are subjected to about the advantages or disadvantages of mobile banking. This paper ties together research on technological innovation with entrepreneurship and learning studies. The author stresses the importance for financial institutions to market the innovativeness of mobile banking whilst addressing security concerns. The impact of a person’s social environment through personal contacts and acquaintances underpins social cognitive theory and helps to understand the motives for a person adopting mobile banking. The paper integrates mobile banking literature with current thinking on the importance of entrepreneurship and learning influences to how a person adopts a technological innovation.

Resistance: a medium for the successful implementation of technological innovation

Resistance to change has long been recognised as a critically important factor that can influence the success or otherwise of implementing any 'technological innovation. Information technology (IT) focused interventions, for example, business process re-engineering (BPR) and enterprise resource planning (ERP), are often quoted as examples of costly failures, with reported levels of dissatisfaction ·with strategic IT investments ranging from 20-70 percent and that employee resistance was to blame. The intention of this chapter is to rethink resistance. The author suggests that resistance remains to this day a complex, multifaceted phenomenon that continues to affect the outcomes of change, both negatively and positively. Although research has procured a solid understanding of resistance- and the benefits that can accrue to an organisation through its proper utilisation, it appears that the classical adversarial approach remains the dominant means ofmanaging resistance because such learning is not reflected in modern management techniques. The author concludes that as companies in every industry are now translating the power and possibilities 0/ e-business into strategic and operational realities, newapproaches in change managementare required to help organisations to understand the complex dynamics o/technological innovation and especially the multifaceted nature o/resistance.