Cultural differences, information and code systems

This paper explores an alternative way of framing information systems research on the role and impact of national culture. It argues that the widely accepted structural framework of Hofstede reduces interpretation to a simplistic categorical description which in many cases ignores differentiation within cultures. The alternative model suggests, that national culture can be better understood by seeking out the dominant codes that frame the discourse pervasive in a culture and understanding how that discourse affects the obvious social codes of ritual, custom and behavior and the textual codes which express the nature of that culture. This framework is applied to two different case studies—one in New Zealand and one in Thailand—to demonstrate its applicability.

Gender issues in the career development of IT professionals: a global perspective

Each period of technological change carries with it high expectations of societal and organizational restructuring that will favour the disadvantaged. The same is true for the Information and Communication Technologies. The fast expansion of the IT labour market, the need for diverse talents, the shift in the demand from technical to more general management and business skills, and the government's and employer's initiatives to improve women's representation in the IT sector created an image that? IT is one of the best-equal opportunity areas 'that provide wider opportunities for women to enter and succeed in this industry'. Nevertheless, the validity of these claims is yet to be established through empirical analysis.

Exploring the influences on requirements engineering during global software development

Through an interpretive study of global virtual teams, this research has explored the influences on the requirements engineering processes during global software development. Complex layers of explicit and implicit elements in the project environment, including systems methodology, project steering, management commitment and cultural differences, were found to influence these processes.

Decision support in interest based negotiation support systems: the AssetDivider system

Negotiation Support Systems (NSS) model the process of negotiation from basic template support to more sophisticated decision making support. The authors attempt to develop systems capable of decision support by suggesting possible solutions for the given dispute. Current Negotiation Support Systems primarily rely upon mathematical optimisation techniques and often ignore heuristics and other methods derived from practice. This chapter discusses the technology of several negotiation support systems in family law developed in their laboratory based on data collected and methods derived from practise. The chapter explores similarities and differences between systems the authors have created and demonstrates their latest development, AssetDivider.

Use of geographical information system and remote sensing techniques for planning culture-based fisheries in non-perennial reservoirs of Sri Lanka

 The presence of a wide areal extent of small-sized village reservoirs offers a considerable potential for the development of culture-based fisheries (CBFs) in Sri Lanka. To this end, this study uses geographical information systems (GISs) and remote sensing (RS) techniques to determine the morphometric and biological characteristics most useful for classifying non-perennial reservoirs for CBF development and for assessing the influence of catchment land-use patterns on potential CBF yields. The reservoir shorelines at full water supply level were mapped with a Global Positioning System to determine shoreline length and reservoir areal extent. The ratio of shoreline length to reservoir extent, which was reported to be a powerful predictor variable of CBF yields, could be reliably quantified using RS techniques. The areal extent of reservoirs, quantified with RS techniques (RS extent), was used to estimate the ratio of forest cover plus scrubland cover to RS extent and was found to be significantly related to the CBF yield (R2 = 0.400; P < 0.05). The results of this study indicated that morphometric characteristics and catchment land-use patterns, which might be viewed as indices of biological productivity, can be quantified using RS and GIS techniques. © 2014 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Health literacy toolkit for low and middle-income countries: a series of information sheets to empower communities and strengthen health systems

This series of information sheets introduces health literacy, its relevance to public policy, and the ways it can be used to inform the promotion of good health, the prevention and management of communicable and noncommunicable diseases, and the reduction of health inequities. It provides information and links to further resources to assist organizations and governments to incorporate health literacy responses into practice, service delivery systems, and policy.

Global positioning system: a new opportunity in physical activity measurement

Accurate measurement of physical activity is a pre-requisite to monitor population physical activity levels and design effective interventions. Global Positioning System (GPS) technology offers potential to improve the measurement of physical activity. This paper 1) reviews the extant literature on the application of GPS to monitor human movement, with a particular emphasis on free-living physical activity, 2) discusses issues associated with GPS use, and 3) provides recommendations for future research. Overall findings show that GPS is a useful tool to augment our understanding of physical activity by providing the context (location) of the activity and used together with Geographical Information Systems can provide some insight into how people interact with the environment. However, no studies have shown that GPS alone is a reliable and valid measure of physical activity.