Construction informatics in Turkey: strategic role of ICT and future research directions

Construction Informatics deals with subjects ranging from strategic management of ICTs to interoperability and information integration in the construction industry. Studies on defining research directions for Construction Informatics have a history over 20 years. The recent studies in the area highlight the priority themes for Construction Informatics research as interoperability, collaboration support, intelligent sites and knowledge sharing. In parallel, today it is widely accepted in the Architecture/Engineering/Construction (AEC) industry that ICT is becoming a strategic asset for any organisation to deliver business improvement and achieve sustainable competitive advantage. However, traditionally the AEC industry has approached investing in ICT with a lack of strategic focus and low level of priority to the business. This paper presents a recent study from Turkey that is focused on two themes. The first theme investigates the strategic role of ICT implementations from an industrial perspective, and explores if organisations within the AEC industry view ICT as a strategic resource for their business practice. The second theme investigates the ‘perspective of academia’ in terms of future research directions of Construction Informatics. The results of the industrial study indicates that ICT is seen as a value-adding resource, but a shift towards the recognition of the importance of ICT in terms of value adding in winning work and achieving strategic competitive advantage is observed. On the other hand, ICT Training is found to be the theme of highest priority from the academia point of view

Construction informatics in Turkey: strategic role of ICT and future research directions

Construction Informatics deals with subjects ranging from strategic management of ICTs to interoperability and information integration in the construction industry. Studies on defining research directions for Construction Informatics have a history over 20 years. The recent studies in the area highlight the priority themes for Construction Informatics research as interoperability, collaboration support, intelligent sites and knowledge sharing. In parallel, today it is widely accepted in the Architecture/Engineering/Construction (AEC) industry that ICT is becoming a strategic asset for any organisation to deliver business improvement and achieve sustainable competitive advantage. However, traditionally the AEC industry has approached investing in ICT with a lack of strategic focus and low level of priority to the business. This paper presents a recent study from Turkey that is focused on two themes. The first theme investigates the strategic role of ICT implementations from an industrial perspective, and explores if organisations within the AEC industry view ICT as a strategic resource for their business practice. The second theme investigates the ‘perspective of academia’ in terms of future research directions of Construction Informatics. The results of the industrial study indicates that ICT is seen as a value-adding resource, but a shift towards the recognition of the importance of ICT in terms of value adding in winning work and achieving strategic competitive advantage is observed. On the other hand, ICT Training is found to be the theme of highest priority from the academia point of view

Fostering Continuous User Participation by Embedding a Communication Support Tool in User Interfaces

This paper critically reviews previous IS literature on user participation and argues that the literature is mainly empirically or normatively oriented and lacks design research on developing system prototypes in order to foster continuous user participation. It then contributes to the current research by introducing a system prototype, a communication tool that enables users to participate while using their application systems in their work contexts. The prototype provides different communication channels for supporting user-designer communications and knowledge sharing among users with respect to application usage. When integrated in the interface of an application system, the tool can help to adapt and redesign the application. The initial evaluation of the communication tool within the context of an application system indicates its usefulness and usability

Consultant supported ERP implementation – a learning opportunity?

Management consultants are often described as accumulators, generators and disseminators of knowledge in the business world. Little research has however been devoted to the extent to which and the processes by which organizations hiring management consultants learn. This issue is addressed in the current paper based on a study of a consultant-supported ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) implementation project. It is concluded, that projects in which consultants and employees of the hiring organization interact extensively provide large opportunities for individual learning. This learning is facilitated by the braking down of organizational boundaries in the improvement project, enabling open and intense interaction. Tensions were however observed between the improvement project and employees in day-to-day operations. The collaboration in this interface was more strained and thus impeded learning and knowledge creation within the day-to-day business. These barriers between the improvement project and the daily operations were created by the same forces that created the open atmosphere between consultants and client personnel in the project.Management Consulting; Learning; Knowledge transfer; ERP implementation

College Access and Completion among Boys and Young Men of Color: Literature Review of Promising Practices

This literature review examines challenges and promising practices for increasing college access and completion among boys and young men of color. It moves beyond issues of academic preparation to other factors that appear to mediate college access and success for boys and young men of color

Planning for Change While Changing the Plan: A Case Study of Staff Perceptions of an Elementary ELL Program Redesign

This study shows how I, the leader, conceptualized and implemented a program redesign over the course of two years (2009-11). At the time of this study I was faced with multiple factors which led to the inspiration for change: (a) the relatively rapid increase in the number of students needing ELL services, (b) a growing teacher concern for ELLs performing in the core academic areas, and (c) greater emphasis on improving level of English proficiency and overall academic performance for placement purposes in the ELL program and in the regular education class, and (d) the change of exit criteria in January 2010 by the state for ELL students. The purpose of this research study was to assess how administrators and teachers in an elementary school perceived the first two years of a new ELL program at Wiley from conceptualization to implementation. In order to answer the exact questions of inquiry identified in the following chapters, I gathered a team of five staff members who would review and assist with this complex change process. I chose to use a case study methodology approach that focused on the change process experienced by the district while conceptualizing and implementing a program redesign for ELLs. I gathered data through the use of surveys, interviews, and artifacts to draw my conclusions. Overall, staff appreciated the awareness and identification of the issue of the changing ELL population and setting a plan to address the concerns. However, because this study was based on a two year process, the findings indicated a need for more time to address the entire process. More time would be used to create a culture of collaboration for staff and schedule additional time to fully implement a three- to five-year redesign plan

Using popular culture to enable health service co-design with young people

This paper reports on participatory service design with young people with type 1 diabetes – a long-term condition that can impact their emotional wellbeing and where poor self-care often leads to negative health consequences. The paper describes a project working with young people with type 1 diabetes to design innovative health services. The project consisted of eight creative workshops, in which we used popular cultural references as a means to create enjoyable activities and encourage the young people to engage with design. These cultural references can be understood as creating design language games that allowed the young people to understand and participate in the activities required at each stage of the design process. However, not all popular culture references worked equally well and this paper explores the reasons for this