Expanding the Customer Relationship Management scope to the non-profit organizations : an analysis focused on the e-university domain

Peer-reviewed

Combining Generic Programming and Service-Oriented Architectures for the Effective and Timely Development of Complex e-Learning Systems

Peer-reviewed

An Experimental Study on Peer Selection in a P2P Network over PlanetLab

Peer-reviewed

Individual Perception of Organizational Values

The objective of this master’s thesis was to examine how corporate values come true among the white-collar employees in the case organization. It was also studied if values were perceived similarly in the different departments. Impact of organizational position and education on value orientation was tested through hypotheses based on earlier values research. There are only few value scales available for measuring organizational values. The empirical study results indicate that personnel’s perception of organizational values can be measured statistically. When defining the scale it is utmost important to link the questions and claims close to the employees’ daily working environment. In this study, Work ethic appeared as the strongest organizational value reflecting respondents’ commitment to their duties. Related to corporate values, Performance was perceived as the strongest value and Emphasis on people the weakest. Value consensus between the departments varied. According to the previous research organizational position and educational level has an impact on value perceptions. In this study, employees in superior position or with higher education perceived organizational values to come true better than subordinates or employees with lower education. Empirical data (N=229) was collected by a web-based survey questionnaire among white-collar employees in the case organization in April 2008. Statistical analyses were performed by SPSS programme.

Market orientation and performance in entrepreneurial SMEs

Market orientation is the organizational culture that creates the necessary behaviors for continuous additional value for customers and thus continuous superior performance for the business. The field of market orientation has been studied repeatedly during the past two decades. Yet research has concentrated on large firms in large domestic markets creating a need for diversifying research. The master’s thesis at hand examined the general incidence of market orientation among SMEs from five different industries as well as its consequences on SME performance. The empirical part of the thesis was conducted with a web-based survey that resulted in 255 responses. The data of the survey was analyzed by statistical analysis. The incidence of market orientation varied among dimensions and market orientation did not show any direct effect on firm performance. Customer orientation was the only dimension that showed a direct (positive) effect. On the contrary, moderating effects were found which indicate that the effect of market orientation in SMEs is influenced by other factors that should receive further attention. Also industry specific differences were discovered and should be further examined.

Defining a framework model to determine total costs of managed desktops using ITIL best practices

In modern day organizations there are an increasing number of IT devices such as computers, mobile phones and printers. These devices can be located and maintained by using specialized IT management applications. Costs related to a single device accumulate from various sources and are normally categorized as direct costs like hardware costs and indirect costs such as labor costs. These costs can be saved in a configuration management database and presented to users using web based development tools such as ASP.NET. The overall costs of IT devices during their lifecycle can be ten times higher than the actual purchase price of the product and ability to define and reduce these costs can save organizations noticeable amount of money. This Master’s Thesis introduces the research field of IT management and defines a custom framework model based on Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) best practices which is designed to be implemented as part of an existing IT management application for defining and presenting IT costs.

Evolución y retos de la educación virtual : construyendo el e-learning del siglo XXI

Las autoras y autores de este libro ofrecen una descripción de la evolución general del e-learning apuntando los elementos clave hacia los que debe ir evolucionando. Parten de la experiencia y la práctica contrastada con las investigaciones sobre el tema. A lo largo de los distintos capítulos nos muestran cómo vive un estudiante virtual, su papel y la manera en que plantea y organiza sus actividades; nos acercan al profesorado analizando su rol en el diseño de la formación y la comunicación con los estudiantes; hablan de la colaboración, analizando cómo diseñar actividades colaborativas y señalando sus ventajas y límites; describen los diferentes recursos de aprendizaje que podemos disponer en el diseño de los cursos y, por último, acompañan nuestra mirada hacia el futuro próximo analizando las tendencias y los retos a los que debemos hacer frente para construir el e-learning del siglo XXI.

Mutual feedback in e-portfolio assessment : an approach to the netfolio system

Peer-reviewed

Metacognitive presence in asynchronous online learning environments : self, mutual and hetero-regulation

Peer-reviewed

El futur dels cursos massius oberts en línia

El MOOC són cursos en línia d'accés obert a través d'internet, dirigits a un nombre il·limitat de participants. Vídeos, exercicis i altre material encapsulat que es pot seguir des de qualsevol ordinador o tauleta. Una crítica als MOOC és que no són més que això, amb un fòrum de discussió entre usuaris i sense una supervisió de l'aprenentatge. Cursos de formació de pagament fa molt que existeixen a la xarxa

Educational Data Mining: cerrando el círculo del proceso de aprendizaje en entornos virtuales

Development of methods to explore data from educational settings, to understand better the learning process.

Sosiaalisen median hyödyntäminen ohjelmistoalan yrityksessä

Tässä työssä tutkittiin sosiaalista mediaa ja sen työvälineitä yritysten näkökannalta. Kirjallisuuden pohjalta selvitettiin sosiaalisen median käsitteitä, nykytilaa ja teknologioita sekä miten niitä voitaisiin parhaiten hyödyntää yrityksissä. Työn tavoitteena oli laatia suositus käyttöönotettavista Web 2.0 –teknologioista toimeksiantajayritykseen MaestroYhtiöihin. Tutkimuksen teoreettisessa osuudessa selvitettiin kirjallisuuden avulla sosiaalisen median nykytilaa yrityskäytössä. Teorian ja toimeksiantajayrityksen kanssa käytyjen keskustelujen perusteella laadittiin ehdotus sosiaalisen median käyttöönotosta kyseisessä yrityksessä. Ehdotuksena oli luoda sosiaalisen median strategia, jossa määritellään Web 2.0 –teknologioiden käyttö yrityksessä sekä sisäisesti että ulkoisesti. Strategiassa tulisi rajata, resursoida ja asettaa tavoitteet MaestroYhtiöiden sosiaalisen median käytölle, yrityksen näkyvyydelle erilaisissa virtuaaliyhteisöissä sekä Web 2.0 –teknologioiden hyödyntämiselle verkkoliiketoiminnassa. Samassa yhteydessä haluttiin päivittää myös asiakasyhteistyön ylläpitoon tarkoitettu Maestro ProForum vastaamaan nykyisiä ja tulevia asiakastarpeita.

Introducing online teaching in Humanities: A case study about the acceptance of online activities by the academic staff of classical languages

The purpose of this paper is to show the perceptions of the academic staff of classical languages (ancient Greek and Latin) concerning use of online activities during their courses. The study was carried out in three countries: Greece (three major Universities), Spain (University of Barcelona) and the United States (University of California, Berkeley) with the participation of thirty-three academic instructors. Depending on the level of use and acceptance of the ICT and following G. Moore¿s classification, we separated the participating academics in three groups: the conservatives, the mainstream and the early adopters. The fact that the smallest group is the third clearly shows the necessity for teachers¿ preparation and training before introducing innovative projects in the classroom. Since the starting point for the application of innovation in the classroom is the teacher, policy makers should focus on helping them become conscious of changes in teaching methods and include their opinion during the design of innovative projects.