ICT shared services in the higher education sector : foundations, benefits, success factors and issues

Universities are more and more challenged by the emerging global higher education market, facilitated by advances in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). This requires them to reconsider their mission and direction in order to function effectively and efficiently, and to be responsive to changes in their environment. In the face of increasing demands and competitive pressures, Universities like other companies, seek to continuously innovate and improve their performance. Universities are considering co-operating or sharing, both internally and externally, in a wide range of areas to achieve cost effectiveness and improvements in performance. Shared services are an effective model for re-organizing to reduce costs, increase quality and create new capabilities. Shared services are not limited to the Higher Education (HE) sector. Organizations across different sectors are adopting shared services, in particular for support functions such as Finance, Accounting, Human Resources and Information Technology. While shared services has been around for more than three decades, commencing in the 1970’s in the banking sector and then been adopted by other sectors, it is an under researched domain, with little consensus on the most fundamental issues even as basic as defining what shared services is. Moreover, the interest in shared services within Higher Education is a global phenomenon. This study on shared services is situated within the Higher Education Sector of Malaysia, and originated as an outcome resulting from a national project (2005 – 2007) conducted by the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) entitled "Knowledge, Information Communication Technology Strategic Plan (KICTSP) for Malaysian Public Higher Education"- where progress towards more collaborations via shared services was a key recommendation. The study’s primary objective was to understand the nature and potential for ICT shared services, in particular in the Malaysian HE sector; by laying a foundation in terms of definition, typologies and research agenda and deriving theoretically based conceptualisations of the potential benefits of shared services, success factors and issues of pursuing shared services. The study embarked on this objective with a literature review and pilot case study as a means to further define the context of the study, given the current under-researched status of ICT shared services and of shared services in Higher Education. This context definition phase illustrated a range of unaddressed issues; including a lack of common understanding of what shared services are, how they are formed, what objectives they full fill, who is involved etc. The study thus embarked on a further investigation of a more foundational nature with an exploratory phase that aimed to address these gaps, where a detailed archival analysis of shared services literature within the IS context was conducted to better understand shared services from an IS perspective. The IS literature on shared services was analysed in depth to report on the current status of shared services research in the IS domain; in particular definitions, objectives, stakeholders, the notion of sharing, theories used, and research methods applied were analysed, which provided a firmer base to this study’s design. The study also conducted a detailed content analysis of 36 cases (globally) of shared services implementations in the HE sector to better understand how shared services are structured within the HE sector and what is been shared. The results of the context definition phase and exploratory phase formed a firm basis in the multiple case studies phase which was designed to address the primary goals of this study (as presented above). Three case sites within the Malaysian HE sector was included in this analysis, resulting in empirically supported theoretical conceptualizations of shared services success factors, issues and benefits. A range of contributions are made through this study. First, the detailed archival analysis of shared services in Information Systems (IS) demonstrated the dearth of research on shared services within Information Systems. While the existing literature was synthesised to contribute towards an improved understanding of shared services in the IS domain, the areas that are yet under-developed and requires further exploration is identified and presented as a proposed research agenda for the field. This study also provides theoretical considerations and methodological guidelines to support the research agenda; to conduct better empirical research in this domain. A number of literatures based a priori frameworks (i.e. on the forms of sharing and shared services stakeholders etc) are derived in this phase, contributing to practice and research with early conceptualisations of critical aspects of shared services. Furthermore, the comprehensive archival analysis design presented and executed here is an exemplary approach of a systematic, pre-defined and tool-supported method to extract, analyse and report literature, and is documented as guidelines that can be applied for other similar literature analysis, with particular attention to supporting novice researchers. Second, the content analysis of 36 shared services initiatives in the Higher Education sector presented eight different types of structural arrangements for shared services, as observed in practice, and the salient dimensions along which those types can be usefully differentiated. Each of the eight structural arrangement types are defined and demonstrated through case examples, with further descriptive details and insights to what is shared and how the sharing occurs. This typology, grounded on secondary empirical evidence, can serve as a useful analytical tool for researchers investigating the shared services phenomenon further, and for practitioners considering the introduction or further development of shared services. Finally, the multiple case studies conducted in the Malaysian Higher Education sector, provided further empirical basis to instantiate the conceptual frameworks and typology derived from the prior phases and develops an empirically supported: (i) framework of issues and challenges, (ii) a preliminary theory of shared services success, and (iii) a benefits framework, for shared services in the Higher Education sector.

Future Information Communication Technology and Applications : ICFICE 2013

Focuses on the various aspects of advances in future information communication technology and its applications Presents the latest issues and progress in the area of future information communication technology Applicable to both researchers and professionals These proceedings are based on the 2013 International Conference on Future Information & Communication Engineering (ICFICE 2013), which will be held at Shenyang in China from June 24-26, 2013. The conference is open to all over the world, and participation from Asia-Pacific region is particularly encouraged. The focus of this conference is on all technical aspects of electronics, information, and communications ICFICE-13 will provide an opportunity for academic and industry professionals to discuss the latest issues and progress in the area of FICE. In addition, the conference will publish high quality papers which are closely related to the various theories and practical applications in FICE. Furthermore, we expect that the conference and its publications will be a trigger for further related research and technology improvements in this important subject. "This work was supported by the NIPA (National IT Industry Promotion Agency) of Korea Grant funded by the Korean Government (Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning)."

Social Media Sites as Online Information Grounds : An exploratory study of the ways in which Information Technology (IT) professionals experience social media

Social media tools are often the result of innovations in Information Technology and developed by IT professionals and innovators. Nevertheless, IT professionals, many of whom are responsible for designing and building social media technologies, have not been investigated on how they themselves use or experience social media for professional purposes. This study will use Information Grounds Theory (Pettigrew, 1998) as a framework to study IT professionals’ experience in using social media for professional purposes. Information grounds facilitates the opportunistic discovery of information within social settings created temporarily at a place where people gather for a specific purpose (e.g., doctors’ waiting rooms, office tea rooms etc.), but the social atmosphere stimulates spontaneous sharing of information (Pettigrew, 1999). This study proposes that social media has the qualities that make it a rich information grounds; people participate from separate “places” in cyberspace in a synchronous manner in real-time, making it almost as dynamic and unplanned as physical information grounds. There is limited research on how social media platforms are perceived as a “place,” (a place to go to, a place to gather, or a place to be seen in) that is comparable to physical spaces. There is also no empirical study on how IT professionals use or “experience” social media. The data for this study is being collected through a study of IT professionals who currently use Twitter. A digital ethnography approach is being taken wherein the researcher uses online observations and “follows” the participants online and observes their behaviours and interactions on social media. Next, a sub-set of participants will be interviewed on their experiences with and within social media and how social media compares with traditional methods of information grounds, information communication, and collaborative environments. An Evolved Grounded Theory (Glaser, 1992) approach will be used to analyse tweets data and interviews and to map the findings against the Information Ground Theory. Findings from this study will provide foundational understanding of IT professionals’ experiences within social media, and can help both professionals and researchers understand this fast-evolving method of communications.

Development of the palliative care needs assessment tool (PC-NAT) for use by multi-disciplinary health professionals

Needs assessment strategies can facilitate prioritisation of resources. To develop a needs assessment tool for use with advanced cancer patients and caregivers, to prompt early intervation. A convenience sample of 103 health professionals viewed three videotaped consultations involving a simulated patient, his/her caregiver and a health professional, completed the Palliative Care Needs Assessment Tool (PC-NAT) and provided feedback on clarity, content and acceptability of the PC-NAT. Face and content validity, acceptability and feasibility of the PC-NAT were confirmed. Kappa scores indicated adequate inter-rater reliability for the majority of domains; the patient spirituality domain and the caregiver physical and family and relationship domains had low reliability. The PC-NAT can be used by health professionals with a range of clinical expertise to identify individuals' needs, thereby enabling early intervention. Further psychometric testing and an evaluation to assess the impact of the systematic use of the PC-NAT on quality of life, unmet needs and service utilisation of patients and caregivers are underway.

Indonesian LIS professionals’ understanding of Library 2.0 : a pilot study

The concept of Library 2.0 with its participatory and user-centred focus increasingly has been incorporated in library practice around the world. However, research on this topic is either limited or non-existent in developing countries which are often restricted by tight budgets and varying levels of technological infrastructure. This poster presents the findings of an ongoing pilot project which investigates Library 2.0 in the specific cultural context of Indonesia as well as strengthens the general evidence base in this research area. Data was collected through an online survey with library and information (LIS) professionals from across the information sector in Indonesia. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to explore their understanding of the concept of Library 2.0. The preliminary data collected from this study will be used to inform a more complex future research project. As well, findings are intended to aid in LIS curriculum development in Indonesia to support the education of LIS students.

The university of the digital future : a reimagining based on the learning strategies of professionals in the digital media sectors

This article explores how universities might engage more effectively with the imperative to develop students’ 21st century skills for the information society, by examining learning challenges and strategies of successful digital media professionals. The findings support a significant body of literature, which argues that legacy university structures and pedagogical approaches are not conducive to optimal professional learning in the digital age. A model of one reimagining of the university is presented, which draws upon the learning preferences of the professionals in this study, as linked with extant theory relating to informal, situated, self-determined learning, communities of practice and personal learning environments.

Integrating Poverty and Gender into Health Programmes : a Source Book for Health Professionals : Module on Curricular Integration

Over the past two to three decades, our understanding of poverty has broadened from a narrow focus on income and consumption to a multidimensional notion of education, health, social and political 1 participation, personal security and freedom and environmental quality. Thus, it encompasses not just low income, but lack of access to services, resources and skills; vulnerability; insecurity; and voicelessness and powerlessness. Multidimensional poverty is a determinant of health risks, health seeking behaviour, health care access and health outcomes. As analysis of health outcomes becomes more refined, it is increasingly apparent that the impressive gains in health experienced over recent decades are unevenly distributed. Aggregate indicators, whether at the global, regional or national level, often tend to mask striking variations in health outcomes between men and women, rich and poor, both across and within countries...

ICT and internet usage in early childhood education : a comparative study of Australian and Malaysian teachers' beliefs and current practices

The thesis is a comparative study of ICTs and Internet use of Australian and Malaysian early childhood teachers in terms of their personal and professional comfort with ICTs, pedagogical beliefs, and their reported classroom practice. The study discovered teachers from both countries as relatively comfortable with digital technologies and the Internet, with most teachers held positive beliefs about ICT usage. The structural barriers in classrooms include lack of Internet access and the wide gap that exists between teachers’ positive beliefs and classroom practice. The study suggests the need for strategic and targeted professional development for teachers.

Do palliative care health professionals settle for low level evidence?

The findings of the recent independent review of the UK Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP)1, following substantial concerns raised by members of the public and health professionals found that the implementation of the LCP is often associated with poor care1. The Neuberger Report highlighted the complexity of various ethical, safety, clinical practice and negligence issues associated with pathway usage and how, despite technological advances, diagnosing dying continues to be challenging. The UK Government’s decision to phase out the LCP as policy following these findings, has generated considerable debate both within and beyond the UK. However, another key issue raised by the Neuberger’s report is the issue of the palliative care community’s perceived willingness to readily adopt new clinical practices in the absence of evidence. It is this translational issue that this editorial explores.

Towards growing Indigenous culturally competent legal professionals in Australia

The Review of Australian Higher Education (Bradley Review: 2008) identified the need for tertiary institutions to incorporate Indigenous knowledges into curriculum to improve educational outcomes for Indigenous Australians and to increase the cultural competency of all students. It recommended that higher education providers ensure that the institutional culture, the cultural competence of staff and the nature of the curriculum supports the participation of Indigenous students, and that Indigenous knowledge be embedded into curriculum so that all students have an understanding of Indigenous culture. While cultural competency has been recognised as an essential element of professional practice in health services internationally, and legal practice in the United States, very little work has been done to promote the cultural competency of legal professionals in the Australian context. This paper will discuss a pilot cultural competency professional development program for legal academics at Queensland University of Technology (Brisbane) developed with the assistance of a Faculty of Law Teaching and Learning Grant in 2011-2012, and tell one Murri’s journey to foster Indigenous cultural competency in an Australian law school.

Educating for digital futures : what the learning strategies of digital content professionals can teach higher education

Beginning in the second half of the 20th century, ICTs transformed many societies from industrial societies in which manufacturing was the central focus, into knowledge societies in which dealing effectively with data and information has become a central element of work (Anderson, 2008). To meet the needs of the knowledge society, universities must reinvent their structures and processes, their curricula and pedagogic practices. In addition to this, of course higher education is itself subject to the sweeping influence of ICTs. But what might effective higher education look like in the 21st century? In designing higher education systems and learning experiences which are responsive to the learning needs of the future and exploit the possibilities offered by ICTs, we can learn much from the existing professional development strategies of people who are already successful in 21st century fields, such as digital media. In this study, I ask: (1) what are the learning challenges faced by digital media professionals in the 21st century? (2) what are the various roles of formal and informal education in their professional learning strategies at present? (3) how do they prefer to acquire needed capabilities? In-depth interviews were undertaken with successful Australian digital media professionals working in micro businesses and SMEs to answer these questions. The strongest thematic grouping that emerged from the interviews related to the need for continual learning and relearning because of the sheer rate of change in the digital media industries. Four dialectical relationships became apparent from the interviewees’ commentaries around the learning imperatives arising out of the immense and continual changes occurring in the digital content industries: (1) currency vs best practice (2) diversification vs specialisation of products and services (3) creative outputs vs commercial outcomes (4) more learning opportunities vs less opportunity to learn. These findings point to the importance of ‘learning how to learn’ as a 21st century capability. The interviewees were ambivalent about university courses as preparation for professional life in their fields. Higher education was described by several interviewees as having relatively little value-add beyond what one described as “really expensive credentialling services.” For all interviewees in this study, informal learning strategies were the preferred methods of acquiring the majority of knowledge and skills, both for ongoing and initial professional development. Informal learning has no ‘curriculum’ per se, and tends to be opportunistic, unstructured, pedagogically agile and far more self-directed than formal learning (Eraut, 2004). In an industry impacted by constant change, informal learning is clearly both essential and ubiquitous. Inspired by the professional development strategies of the digital media professionals in this study, I propose a 21st century model of the university as a broad, open learning ecology, which also includes industry, professionals, users, and university researchers. If created and managed appropriately, the university learning network becomes the conduit and knowledge integrator for the latest research and industry trends, which students and professionals alike can access as needed.

Modelling the salient factors influencing retired business professionals' participation in episodic skilled volunteering in rural settings

Retired business professionals represent an unexplored source of skill support for struggling rural communities. This research examined the feasibility of drawing on this valuable pool of knowledge and experience by engaging retirees in short term, project based volunteering roles in rural, not for profit agencies. Using the theory of planned behaviour and the functional approach to volunteering, the program of study generated a model comprising the key psychological and contextual factors determining the volunteers' decision to provide skill assistance in rural settings. The model provides a useful resource for creating suitable volunteering opportunities and for informing volunteer recruitment strategies.

Factors influencing health professionals' response to victims of domestic violence

This thesis examined factors influencing health professional's response to victims of domestic violence in Vietnam. As this is the first time that this type of research has been conducted in Vietnam, it was expected that the results would contribute significantly to local knowledge and should add to global perspectives. Since it is the first questionnaire about this topic to be developed in Vietnam, the psychometric property of the questionnaire was primarily established, resulting in the questionnaire being recommended to use for further study. By explaining the factors that affect the intentions to respond of health workers, this project provides key data for authorities to design intervention strategies to improve the responses of health professionals to victims of domestic violence in Vietnam.

Education of health professionals for preventing diabetic foot ulceration (Protocol)

This is the protocol for a review and there is no abstract. The objectives are as follows: To investigate the effects of educational interventions on the behaviour and clinical practice of health professionals, and subsequent patient outcomes related to prevention of foot ulceration in people with diabetes.

‘Crack in the pavement’ : pedagogy as political and moral practice for educating culturally competent professionals

This paper explores the reception of Indigenous perspectives and knowledges in university curricula and educators’ social responsibility to demonstrate cultural competency through their teaching and learning practices. Drawing on tenets of critical race theory, Indigenous standpoint theory and critical pedagogies, this paper argues that the existence of Indigenous knowledges in Australian university curricula and pedagogy demands personal and political activism (Dei, 2008) as it requires educators to critique both personal and discipline-based knowledge systems. The paper interrogates the experiences of non-Indigenous educators involved in this contested epistemological space (Nakata, 2002), and concludes by arguing for a political and ethical commitment by educators towards embedding Indigenous knowledges towards educating culturally competent professionals.