The impact of information and communication technology (ICT), education and regulation on economic freedom in Islamic Middle Eastern countries

Our study investigated the impact of ICT expansion on economic freedom in the Middle East (Bahrain, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen). Our empirical analysis used archival data from 1995 to 2005; it showed that ICT expansion in the Middle East has been effective both in bridging the digital divide and also in promoting economic freedom in a region that was vulnerable to political, social, and global conflict. However, differences between countries, such as the educational attainment of their citizens and institutional resistance to technology acceptance, both enhanced and restricted the relationship between ICT and economic freedom.

A composite framework for the strategic alignment of information systems development

Information systems are corporate resources, therefore information systems development must be aligned with corporate strategy. This thesis proposes that effective strategic alignment of information systems requires information systems development, information systems planning and strategic management to be united. Literature in these areas is examined, breaching the academic boundaries which separate these areas, to contribute a synthesised approach to the strategic alignment of information systems development. Previous work in information systems planning has extended information systems development techniques, such as data modelling, into strategic planning activities, neglecting techniques of strategic management. Examination of strategic management in this thesis, identifies parallel trends in strategic management and information systems development; the premises of the learning school of strategic management are similar to those of soft systems approaches to information systems development. It is therefore proposed that strategic management can be supported by a soft systems approach. Strategic management tools and techniques frame individual views of a strategic situation; soft systems approaches can integrate these diverse views to explore the internal and external environments of an organisation. The information derived from strategic analysis justifies the need for an information system and provides a starting point for information systems development. This is demonstrated by a composite framework which enables each information system to be justified according to its direct contribution to corporate strategy. The proposed framework was developed through action research conducted in a number of organisations of varying types. This suggests that the framework can be widely used to support the strategic alignment of information systems development, thereby contributing to organisational success.

The evaluation of information systems in the organisational context of the National Health Service. Available in 2 volumes.

This thesis describes a project which has investigated the evaluation of information systems. The work took place in, and is related to, a specific organisational context, that of the National Health Service (NHS). It aims to increase understanding of the evaluation which takes place in the service and the way in which this is affected by the NHS environment. It also investigates the issues which surround some important types of evaluation and their use in this context. The first stage of the project was a postal survey in which respondents were asked to describe the evaluation which took place in their authorities and to give their opinions about it. This was used to give an overview of the practice of IS evaluation in the NHS and to identify its uses and the problems experienced. Three important types of evaluation were then examined in more detail by means of action research studies. One of these dealt with the selection and purchase of a large hospital information system. The study took the form of an evaluation of the procurement process, and examined the methods used and the influence of organisational factors. The other studies are concerned with post-implementation evaluation, and examine the choice of an evaluation approach as well as its application. One was an evaluation of a community health system which had been operational for some time but was of doubtful value, and suffered from a number of problems. The situation was explored by means of a study of the costs and benefits of the system. The remaining study was the initial review of a system which was used in the administration of a Breast Screening Service. The service itself was also newly operational and the relationship between the service and the system was of interest.

The evolving role of information specialists:change agents in process redesign

The research investigates the past, present and potential future role of Information Specialists (ISps) in process oriented companies. It tests the proposition that ISps in companies that have undertaken formal process reengineering exercises are likely to become more proactive and more business oriented (as opposed to technically oriented) than they had previously been when their organisations were organised along traditional, functional lines. A review of existing literature in the area of Business Process Reengineering and Information Management reveals a lack of consensus amongst researchers concerning the appropriate role for ISps during and after BPR. Opinion is divided as to whether IS professionals should reactively support BPR or whether IT/IS developments should be driving these initiatives. A questionnaire based ‘Descriptive Survey’ with 60 respondents is used as a first stage of primary data gathering. This is followed by follow-up interviews with 20 of the participating organisations to gather further information on their experiences. The final stage of data collection consists of further in-depth interview with four case study companies to provide an even richer picture of their experiences. The results of the questionnaire are analysed and displayed in the form of simple means, frequencies and bar graphs. The ‘NU-DIST’ computer based discourse analysis package was tried in relation to summarising the interview findings, but this proved cumbersome and a visual collation method is preferred. Overall, the researcher contends that the supposition outlined above is proven, and she concludes the research by suggesting the implications of these findings. In particular she offers a ‘Framework for Understanding and Action’ which is deemed to be relevant to both practitioners and future researchers.

A linguistic study of interview and conversation

The present thesis focuses on the overall structure of the language of two types of Speech Exchange Systems (SES) : Interview (INT) and Conversation (CON). The linguistic structure of INT and CON are quantitatively investigated on three different but interrelated levels of analysis : Lexis, Syntax and Information Structure. The corpus of data 1n vest1gated for the project consists of eight sessions of pairs of conversants in carefully planned interviews followed by unplanned, surreptitiously recorded conversational encounters of the same pairs of speakers. The data comprise a total of approximately 15.200 words of INT talk and of about 19.200 words in CON. Taking account of the debatable assumption that the language of SES might be complex on certain linguistic levels (e.g. syntax) (Halliday 1979) and might be simple on others (e.g. lexis) in comparison to written discourse, the thesis sets out to investigate this complexity using a statistical approach to the computation of the structures recurrent in the language of INT and CON. The findings indicate clearly the presence of linguistic complexity in both types. They also show the language of INT to be slightly more syntactically and lexically complex than that of CON. Lexical density seems to be relatively high in both types of spoken discourse. The language of INT seems to be more complex than that of CON on the level of information structure too. This is manifested in the greater use of Inferable and other linguistically complex entities of discourse. Halliday's suggestion that the language of SES is syntactically complex is confirmed but not the one that the more casual the conversation is the more syntactically complex it becomes. The results of the analysis point to the general conclusion that the linguistic complexity of types of SES is not only in the high recurrence of syntactic structures, but also in the combination of these features with each other and with other linguistic and extralinguistic features. The linguistic analysis of the language of SES can be useful in understanding and pinpointing the intricacies of spoken discourse in general and will help discourse analysts and applied linguists in exploiting it both for theoretical and pedagogical purposes.

Institutions, finance and the level of development:the impact on entrepreneurship in transition

We investigate the impact of institutions on entrepreneurial entry, based on a large cross-country sample, combining working age population data generated by the GEM project with macro level indicators. Our four key findings indicate that: (a) institutional obstacles to entrepreneurship have different impact in rich countries compared to poor countries; (b) institutional obstacles have a stronger impact on 'opportunity entrepreneurship' than on 'necessity entrepreneurship'; (c) two institutional indicators - property right protection and access to finance - appear to have a dominant impact on entrepreneurship; (d) institutions have a long term impact. More than ten years after the Soviet system imploded in Central and Eastern Europe, these countries still experience significantly lower levels of entrepreneurship than economies coming from different legal traditions.

The impact of stressors and regulatory focus on creativity:a dual level of analysis

Presentation

Using process-oriented holonic (PrOH) modelling to increase understanding of information systems

Methodologies for understanding business processes and their information systems (IS) are often criticized, either for being too imprecise and philosophical (a criticism often levied at softer methodologies) or too hierarchical and mechanistic (levied at harder methodologies). The process-oriented holonic modelling methodology combines aspects of softer and harder approaches to aid modellers in designing business processes and associated IS. The methodology uses holistic thinking and a construct known as the holon to build process descriptions into a set of models known as a holarchy. This paper describes the methodology through an action research case study based in a large design and manufacturing organization. The scientific contribution is a methodology for analysing business processes in environments that are characterized by high complexity, low volume and high variety where there are minimal repeated learning opportunities, such as large IS development projects. The practical deliverables from the project gave IS and business process improvements for the case study company.

Implicit leadership and followership theories 'in the wild':taking stock of information-processing approaches to leadership and followership in organizational settings

For over 30. years information-processing approaches to leadership and more specifically Implicit Leadership Theories (ILTs) research has contributed a significant body of knowledge on leadership processes in applied settings. A new line of research on Implicit Followership Theories (IFTs) has re-ignited interest in information-processing and socio-cognitive approaches to leadership and followership. In this review, we focus on organizational research on ILTs and IFTs and highlight their practical utility for the exercise of leadership and followership in applied settings. We clarify common misperceptions regarding the implicit nature of ILTs and IFTs, review both direct and indirect measures, synthesize current and ongoing research on ILTs and IFTs in organizational settings, address issues related to different levels of analysis in the context of leadership and follower schemas and, finally, propose future avenues for organizational research. © 2013 Elsevier Inc.

Alignment of information systems and organisation structure:developing an executive information systems with a cybernetic method

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The use of information technology in less developed environments:the case of Greece

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