Brave New Wireless World: Mapping the Rise of Ubiquitous Connectivity from Myth to Market

This dissertation offers a critical and historical analysis of the myth of ubiquitous connectivity—a myth widely associated with the technological capabilities offered by “always on” Internet-enabled mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. This myth proclaims that work and social life are optimized, made more flexible, manageable, and productive, through the use of these devices and their related services. The prevalence of this myth—whether articulated as commercial strategy, organizational goal, or mode of social mediation—offers repeated claims that the experience and organization of daily life has passed a technological threshold. Its proponents champion the virtues of the invisible “last mile” tethering individuals (through their devices) primarily to commercial networks. The purpose of this dissertation is to uncover the interaction between the proliferation of media artifacts and the political economic forces and relations occluded by this myth. To do this, herein the development of the BlackBerry, as a specific brand of devices and services, is shown to be intimately interrelated with the myth of ubiquitous connectivity. It demonstrates that the BlackBerry is a technical artifact whose history sheds light on key characteristics of our media environment and the political economic dynamics shaping the development of other technologies, workforce composition and management, and more general consumption proclivities. By pointing to the analytic significance of the BlackBerry, this work does not intend to simply praise its creators for their technical and commercial achievements. Instead, it aims to show how these achievements express a synthesis that represents the motivations of economic actors and prevailing modes of thought most particularly as they are drawn together in and through the myth of ubiquitous connectivity. The narrative arc of this dissertation is anchored by moments of harmonization among political economic interests as these shape (and are shaped by) prevailing modes of producing and relating through ubiquitous connectivity

A correlational study of telework frequency, information communication technology, and job satisfaction of home-based teleworkers

In 2008, 33.7 million Americans teleworked from home. The Telework Enhancement Act (S. 707) and the Telework Improvements Act (H.R. 1722) of 2009 were designed to increase the number of teleworkers. The research problem addressed was the lack of understanding of factors that influence home-based teleworkers\u27 job satisfaction. Job dissatisfaction has been found to have a significant impact on voluntary turnover. The purpose of the study was to assess the relationship among telework frequency, information communication technology (ICT), and job satisfaction. The research questions were designed to answer whether correlational relationships exist among telework frequency, ICT, and job satisfaction and to identify primary concerns of home-based teleworkers regarding social interaction, recognition, and career advancement. Sociotechnical theory was the theoretical framework used in this quantitative correlational study. Data were collected from 218 home-based teleworkers via an online survey. Correlation and multiple regression analyses were performed to test the hypotheses. A Pearson product-movement analysis showed a significant positive relationship between ICT usage and job satisfaction. There was no significant relationship between telework frequency and job satisfaction. Pattern matching analysis indicated that teleworkers\u27 concerns centered on a perceived desire for increased face-to-face communication with managers and coworkers. Organizational leaders could use the results of this study to develop strategies that leverage ICT media to enhance communication and collaboration and improve the quality of work life in virtual organizations

Semantic discovery and reuse of business process patterns

Patterns currently play an important role in modern information systems (IS) development and their use has mainly been restricted to the design and implementation phases of the development lifecycle. Given the increasing significance of business modelling in IS development, patterns have the potential of providing a viable solution for promoting reusability of recurrent generalized models in the very early stages of development. As a statement of research-in-progress this paper focuses on business process patterns and proposes an initial methodological framework for the discovery and reuse of business process patterns within the IS development lifecycle. The framework borrows ideas from the domain engineering literature and proposes the use of semantics to drive both the discovery of patterns as well as their reuse

Modelling the current state and potential use of knowledge management in higher education institutions

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Occasioning Dialogic Spaces of Innovation: The pan-Canadian EHR, Infoway and the Re-Scripting of Healthcare

The Canadian public healthcare system appears to currently be under considerable strain. Escalating costs, dwindling budgets and growing patient dissatisfaction are just a few of the systemic pressures that have called into question our current ways of delivering healthcare. As a consequence, there is a growing recognition that renewal is needed, and that this renewal, to be successful, should meet the needs of a wide array of stakeholders, hence calling for unprecedented levels of collaboration among increasingly fragmented interests. In order to bring about this renewal, the federal government seems to be intent on implementing a pan-Canadian electronic health record (EHR) system. To that end, in 2001, Canada Health Infoway was born out of a novel collaboration between federal and jurisdictional health ministries with the specific mandate to accelerate the implementation of EHRs across Canada. In this thesis, I use material-semiotic and dialogic approaches to gain a more nuanced understanding of how the pan-Canadian EHR system is unfolding and in what ways Infoway is trying to accelerate that unfolding. I conclude by suggesting that a more dialogic approach to innovating, in which the innovator focuses on finding various ways to occasion dialogic spaces, may better foster the creation of new meanings of the innovation and therefore result in a more, and not less, harmonious change process. Furthermore, through these dialogic spaces, it is not just multiple meanings of the innovation that are being occasioned, but the innovation itself seems to become more meaningful

Critical analysis of interpersonal trust determinants in virtual teams, working in capability planning in the identification of capability gaps or needs, to provide required future military capability in the UK’s MOD

The United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence (MOD) balances defence policy aspirations and available resources through the capability planning process. Arguably, the cornerstone of this process is the cross-functional integration of skills and capabilities across defence. This is realised through a construct of Virtual Teams (VTs) called Capability Planning Groups (CPGs). Literature on the topic of interpersonal trust in VTs highlights the development of trust as a key element, if not the most significant, in pursuing desired outcomes. Furthermore, literature on this topic, in a defence context, is scarce. This thesis undertakes a specific research approach, in accordance with its aim: To develop a critical analysis of interpersonal trust determinants in VTs, working in capability planning for the identification of capability gaps or needs, to provide required future military capability. Consequently, three research questions are investigated: What are the pertinent determinants of interpersonal trust in the CPG?; What, if any, are the issues surrounding those determinants within the CPG?; and, What risks are there, beyond the interpersonal relationships, which could influence the trust behaviour of CPG members? A critical review of pertinent literature is followed by the development of a research methodology under a phenomenological paradigm. Building from this, fieldwork was undertaken in two phases. As a result of semi-structured interviews to the members of a number of CPGs, the way in which interpersonal trust is generically perceived was conceptualised, and confirmation of the interpersonal trust determinants considered in an adapted model of interpersonal trust in CPGs was provided. In addition, a cross-case analysis allowed the integration of the data gathered, in order to identify target areas to be covered in the second wave of data collection. Subsequently, in Phase II, information was gathered through a survey questionnaire addressed to the whole population under consideration, in order to increase the robustness of the study, by confirming and providing further insights about key issues identified, as well as underpinning more powerful conclusions. From this, interpersonal trust determinants pertaining to the CPGs, as well as the issues and risks regarding interpersonal trust, were asserted. A major finding was the conceptualisation of these issues and risks, because they are critical in determining if a specific behaviour will be taken. Moreover, as highlighted in the Defence Reform Report (2011), some of these are already identified as very real concerns, and appear as structural or enduring problems at MOD level. These elements are deemed a central focus for future research, because of their significance as contextual variables that have to be addressed in order to stimulate interpersonal trust and, consequently, improve performance in the CPGs. As the use of VTs is considered most likely to increase over time in MOD organisations, the findings from this research will be useful to all personnel involved in capability planning, and other cross-functional activities. In particular, it could inform the design of organisational processes and systems as capability management is taken forward. Finally, the issues and risks associated with such virtual trust are asserted as not believed to be a manifestation of dysfunctional strategic planning because defence organisations can have clarity of purpose, can have clear direction, and yet still send competing messages. Paradoxically, that is the weakness of being strong. The analysis suggests that action has to be taken in order to stimulate interpersonal trust, because it is important to avoid or mitigate negative effects of contextual variables influencing CPGs. To this end, it is crucial to understand the role that interpersonal trust plays in the cross-functional work that is critical for the successful integration of skills and capabilities, and to ensure that people involved in capability planning and other cross-functional activities are assisted in understanding the nature of this challenging and complex context

The drivers of Corporate Social Responsibility in the supply chain. A case study.

Purpose: The paper studies the way in which a SME integrates CSR into its corporate strategy, the practices it puts in place and how its CSR strategies reflect on its suppliers and customers relations. Methodology/Research limitations: A qualitative case study methodology is used. The use of a single case study limits the generalizing capacity of these findings. Findings: The entrepreneur’s ethical beliefs and value system play a fundamental role in shaping sustainable corporate strategy. Furthermore, the type of competitive strategy selected based on innovation, quality and responsibility clearly emerges both in terms of well defined management procedures and supply chain relations as a whole aimed at involving partners in the process of sustainable innovation. Originality/value: The paper presents a SME that has devised an original innovative business model. The study pivots on the issues of innovation and eco-sustainability in a context of drivers for CRS and business ethics. These values are considered fundamental at International level; the United Nations has declared 2011 the “International Year of Forestry”

Call centre employment a qualitative study

This study explores aspects of the nature and experience of call centre employment. In 1972 only 42% of UK households had a home-based telephone (BIFU, 1996). By 2000 98% of UK homes had access to either fixed-line or mobile telephone services (Oftel, 2001). The commercial exploitation of this artifact is now being realised through call centres employing sophisticated information and communications technologies. Virtually unheard of a decade ago, UK call centres provided jobs for an estimated 264,000 people in 2001 (Datamonitor, 1999). They have increasingly attracted public and academic attention, much of the latter focused on issues of employee control and surveilance. This study uses analyses of call centre-related newspaper articles, a survey of Scottish recruitment and employment agencies, covert participant observation, and interviews with agency representatives and call centre employees to explore issues such as recruitment and selection, the nature and experience of employment, and employee turnover in call centres. The ethics of using covert methods are discussed. Four main conclusions emerge from the study. First, call centre employment can be differentiated from other occupations on the basis of recruitment and selection practices, employee skils and differences in work environments, performance monitoring and supervision practices and regulation of workplace behaviour. Second, job characteristics may predispose employees to low levels of job-related well-being and burnout. Third, levels of employee turnover may be linked to occupational novelty and the availability of pre-employment realistic job information. Fourth, automated systems are beginning to replace routine, repetitive, low value tasks, resulting in changes in the nature of call centre employment. Those jobs that remain seem likely to be more demanding with complex tasks and an emphasis on quality rather than quantity of interactions. The implications of the study's findings and conclusions for future research and for call centre employers and their employees are considered