Contexts of relevance in explanatory case studies in information systems : ubiquitous information technology implementation in organizations

Case studies of the organizational implementation of traditional business computing have often emphasized the importance of context in research design and data analysis. The emergence of computing phenomena that pervade different contexts within and even beyond the organizational boundary suggests the need to disaggregate the notion of context to allow for finer levels of contextual analysis. Indeed we demonstrate that a failure to consider interdependent levels of context in organizational case studies of computing technologies that even approach ubiquity runs the risk of partial and even incorrect conclusions being drawn. We illustrate this argument by means of two explanatory case studies of intranet and mobile technology implementation in organizations. Based on the extant literature on context in case study design and examples drawn from the cases, we propose a range of interconnected and interrelated contexts to consider in the research design of explanatory cases of ubiquitous technology implementation in organizations.

Case Study from Australia Post : towards the online economy with netPOS

Examines how the "old economy" of the traditional postal service has changed over time and how Australia Post is adapting to the many pressures that threaten its existence. With increasing adoption of e-mail as a means of communication, increased competition as a result of deregulation, and the strain of servicing a country with huge distances between inhabited locations and low population density, Australia Post needed to find a solution that would ensure the long-term viability of its business. The retail sector, with its 4,000-plus post office outlets, processed many different types of across-the-counter financial transactions, including banking transactions and utility payments. A project team was established to address the fundamental issue of how to structure the IT infrastructure to enable retail outlets to generate future revenue flows for Post. However, having established the Internet-based infrastructure to connect the extensive chain of retail outlets, the question was whether this new infrastructure would successfully entice third parties to buy into the model.

Benchmarking journalism courses with a focus on graduate employability : case Studies from three Australian universities

Benchmarking is commonly perceived as a key part of quality assurance and enhancement, and universities have had limited success to date in benchmarking, nationally or internationally, in matters concerning teaching and learning. This is partly due to the paucity of comparable quantitative indicators. The challenges are even greater when benchmarking is at course (program) level. As part of an Australian Learning and Teaching Council fellowship (Benchmarking partnerships for graduate employability), a process was designed to enable course leaders to engage in collaborative and confidential benchmarking at course level, with a particular focus on graduate employability (or, more specifically, the assurance of graduate capability development and achievement). Among the 24 benchmarking partners were three course leaders in undergraduate journalism. This paper describes their collective experiences and some of the outcomes of the benchmarking exercise. It also highlights some of the challenges of benchmarking in a discipline where graduates may follow a range of career paths, and where technology means professional practice is evolving at a very rapid pace. Given these underpinning uncertainties, discussions around employability and appropriate graduate capabilities are best had face to face with adequate time for establishing common understandings. This has also been a focused way of building capacity and scholarly networking.

Mislabeling marine protected areas and why it matters : a case study of Australia

As part of international obligations and national policies, most nations are working toward establishing comprehensive, adequate, and representative systems of terrestrial and marine protected areas (MPAs). Assigning internationally recognized International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) protected area categories to these MPAs is an important part of this process. The most recent guidance from the IUCN clearly states that commercial or recreational fishing is inappropriate in MPAs designated as category II (National Park). However, in at least two developed countries with long histories of protected area development (e.g., Canada and Australia), category II is being assigned to a number of MPAs that allow some form of commercial or recreational fishing. Using Australia as a case study, this article explores the legal and policy implications of applying protected area categories to MPAs and the consequences for misapplying them. As the Australian Government is about to embark on potentially one of the largest expansions of MPA networks in the world, ensuring the application of IUCN categories is both transparent and consistent with international practice will be important, both for the sake of international conventions and to accurately track conservation progress.

It's here! Are we ready? Five case studies of health promotion practices that address climate change from within Victorian health care settings

Issue addressed: Climate changes and environmental degradation caused by anthropogenic activities are having an irrefutable impact on human health. The critical role played by health promotion in addressing environmental challenges has a history in seminal charters − such as the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion − that explicitly link human well-being with the natural environment. The lack of documented practice in this field prompted an investigation of health promotion practice that addresses climate change issues within health care settings.

Methods: This qualitative study involved five case studies of Victorian health care agencies that explicitly identified climate change as a priority. Individual and group interviews with ten health promotion funded practitioners as well as document analysis techniques were used to explore diverse practices across these rural, regional and urban health care agencies.

Results: Health promotion practice in these agencies was oriented toward: active and sustainable transport; healthy and sustainable food supply; mental health and community resilience; engaging vulnerable population groups such as women; and organisational development.

Conclusion: Despite differences in approach, target population and context, the core finding was that health promotion strategies, competencies and frameworks were transferable to action on climate change in these health care settings.

I'm the slice of pie that's ostracised.... : Foucault's technologies, and personal agency, in the voice of women who are homeless, Adelaide, South Australia

In contrast to the international research (particularly in the United Kingdom and North America), much of the Australian literature regarding homelessness to date omits the perspective of people who are homeless. In contributing to the fledgling Australian literature in the field, the following article adopts a secondary approach to the data analysis of original research. When analysed, the voices of homeless women from an agency in Adelaide, South Australia exhibit elements of both Foucault’s technologies of domination and the self. While the results show that the women do have a powerful sense of the broader external issues exerted on them (reflecting both technologies of domination and the self), the analysis also reveals ambiguities in their responses. Apparent in the voice of homeless women is a sense of personal agency which appears to be absent in Foucault’s technologies. By considering the viewpoints of homeless women, various policy implications can also be drawn. Indeed, this is one of the motivations of the article, namely to inject into policy debate and development the voices of the people most adversely affected by it. The policy implications of the women’s voices centre around the desire to be included rather than remain on the margins, the need for supportive relationships, the necessity to take small steps to independent living, and the need for more affordable, independent housing.

An Eyre Peninsula report card : adaptation practice and research in the far west of South Australia

The formation of Natural Resource Management Boards in South Australia provided a robust and integrated, and well resourced, regional landscape planning quasi-­‐authority in South Australia that has had major beneficial outcomes to several SA regions in being able to better co-­‐ordinate long term and creative public and private land management strategies, as well as enable several unique research projects to be tackled that would not otherwise under traditional fragmented state government agency configurations and relationships.