120,038 research outputs found
Multimethodology in series and parallel: strategic planning using hard and soft OR
Abstract: This paper examines two distinct ways in which hard and soft operational research (OR) methodologies can be combined, in series and in parallel. Multimethodology in series is acknowledged as the simpler and more common approach. Multimethodology in parallel is identified as having the potential to provide significant benefits to projects in political, changing, or âwicked â contexts that multimethodology in series cannot. Observations regarding these approaches to multimethodology are examined in light of an information systems strategic planning project in the Australian public sector. Two distinct methodologies were combined in the project: soft systems methodology and project management. These methodologies are based on the soft and hard paradigms, respectively. However, findings in this paper have the potential to be transferred to combinations of other hard and soft OR methodologies
Towards a Taxonomy of Performance Evaluation of Commercial Cloud Services
Cloud Computing, as one of the most promising computing paradigms, has become
increasingly accepted in industry. Numerous commercial providers have started
to supply public Cloud services, and corresponding performance evaluation is
then inevitably required for Cloud provider selection or cost-benefit analysis.
Unfortunately, inaccurate and confusing evaluation implementations can be often
seen in the context of commercial Cloud Computing, which could severely
interfere and spoil evaluation-related comprehension and communication. This
paper introduces a taxonomy to help profile and standardize the details of
performance evaluation of commercial Cloud services. Through a systematic
literature review, we constructed the taxonomy along two dimensions by
arranging the atomic elements of Cloud-related performance evaluation. As such,
this proposed taxonomy can be employed both to analyze existing evaluation
practices through decomposition into elements and to design new experiments
through composing elements for evaluating performance of commercial Cloud
services. Moreover, through smooth expansion, we can continually adapt this
taxonomy to the more general area of evaluation of Cloud Computing.Comment: 8 pages, Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Cloud
Computing (IEEE CLOUD 2012), pp. 344-351, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, June 24-29,
201
Competency Implications of Changing Human Resource Roles
[Excerpt] The present study examines which competencies will be necessary to perform key human resource roles over the next decade at Eastman Kodak Company. This project was a critical component of an ongoing quality process to improve organizational capability. The results establish a platform that will enable Kodak to better assess, plan, develop, and measure the capability of human resource staff
Research into literacy and technology in primary classrooms: an exploration of understandings generated by recent studies
Whilst much has been written about the implications for âliteracyâ for practices surrounding digital technologies (Gee, 2000a; Luke and Carrington, 2002; Snyder, 1998), there has been surprisingly little research investigating new literacies in primary classrooms (Andrews, 2003; Labbo and Reinking, 2003: Lankshear and Knobel, 2003). This review examines the kinds of understandings that have been generated through studies of primary literacy and technology reported during the period 2000-2006. It uses Greenâs distinction between âoperationalâ, âculturalâ and âcriticalâ dimensions of primary literacy (Lankshear and Bigum, 1999; Snyder, 2001) to investigate the focus and methodology of 38 empirical studies. It explores ways in which research may be informed by assumptions and practices associated with print literacy, but also highlights the kinds of studies which are beginning to investigate the implications of digital texts for primary education. The paper concludes by arguing for further ethnographic and phenomenological studies of classroom literacy practices in order to explore the complex contexts which surround and are mediated by digital texts
Philosophical Commitments, Empirical Evidence, and Theoretical Psychology
The philosophical or theoretical commitments informing psychological research are sometimes characterized, even by theoretical psychologists themselves, as nonempirical, outside the bounds of methodological consideration, and/or nonrational. We argue that this characterization is incoherent. We illustrate our concern by analogy with problematic appeals to Kuhnâs work that have been influential in theoretical psychology. Following the contemporary pragmatist tradition, we argue that our philosophical/theoretical commitments are part of our larger webs of belief, and that for any of these beliefs to have meaning their content must be informed by our practical engagement with the world, i.e., they are based on empirical evidence, broadly construed. It is this empirical basis that allows us to recognize our commitments at all and rationally to assess and criticize them when necessary. We conclude by demonstrating a rational assessment of the philosophical/theoretical commitments underlying a recent study in the social psychology of religion
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An ontology to model the research process in information systems
The IS community has relied mostly on two main paradigms to undertake IS research: positivist and interpretivist. This paper argues that the ongoing debate around which of these paradigms is better suited to undertake IS research has created confusion amongst IS researchers, particularly between those who are relatively inexperienced (e.g. PhD researchers). Inexperienced researchers tend to place emphasis on the justification of their research approaches in the context of existing paradigms without offering a clear description of how the chosen methods and paradigms are applied in the context of their own research, a key issue to assess and understand any research output. This paper does not attempt to give any suggestions as to which research methods/paradigms should be used for IS research, but to raise the awareness that the way we currently communicate our thoughts in the research methods domain may not be very effective. We argue that an initial step to undertake this challenge could be to take a more âpracticalâ approach by focusing on the process of thinking and planning the research activity rather than focusing on the justification of the use of one or many research methods usually âloanedâ from other discipline
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Co-guarantor attributes: a systemic approach to evaluating expert support
The paper suggests features of a generic framework which can assist in highlighting good practice as well as revealing shortcomings in expert support for management decision-making. Following the earlier writings of Habermas, I argue that expertise might be identified and considered as a set of �co-guarantor attributes� based upon knowledge constitutive interests. Co-guarantor attributes can be used as a benchmark for evaluation, where affirmative features of expert support can be identified as well as the incidence of �false guarantor� attributes which might be significant in perpetuating costly and unsuccessful intervention
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