Focal Spot, Winter 2008/2009

https://digitalcommons.wustl.edu/focal_spot_archives/1110/thumbnail.jp

The Role of SMS in Mobile Data Service Diffusion in China: A Longitudinal Case Study Based on Actor-Network Theory

While Japan’s I-mode failed to be adopted in other countries and WAP also did not succeed in promoting mobile data services, a rather simple technology of SMS made its way to facilitate the growth of mobile data services in China. In this paper, we conduct a case study based on actor- network theory in order to explain 1) how mobile data services are developed and adopted in China, 2) what is the role of SMS in facilitating the development of mobile data services, and 3) what technological and social factors attribute to the adoption process of mobile data services. Drawing upon actor-network theory (ANT), this paper investigates longitudinally the driving forces fueling the development of data services in the China market. By analyzing the network structures formed by the various actors such as mobile data service providers, government departments, technical artifacts, customers, etc., we can better understand the dynamics of the mobile data service development in China and provide valuable references for the rest of the world

Ontological support for the evolution of future services oriented architectures

Services Oriented Architectures (SOA) have emerged as a useful framework for developing interoperable, large-scale systems, typically implemented using the Web Services (WS) standards. However, the maintenance and evolution of SOA systems present many challenges. SmartLife applications are intelligent user-centered systems and a special class of SOA systems that present even greater challenges for a software maintainer. Ontologies and ontological modeling can be used to support the evolution of SOA systems. This paper describes the development of a SOA evolution ontology and its use to develop an ontological model of a SOA system. The ontology is based on a standard SOA ontology. The ontological model can be used to provide semantic and visual support for software maintainers during routine maintenance tasks. We discuss a case study to illustrate this approach, as well as the strengths and limitations

The Mutualistic Relationship between Information Systems and the Humanities

The paper explores the nature of the relationship between the study fields of Information Systems and the humanities. Although literature on Humanities Computing states in principle that there is a bi-directional, beneficial symbiotic relationship, most studies and reflections investigate only the application of information technology in the humanities. This implies that the relation is commensalistic rather that mutualistic. However, studies do exist that implement theoretical constructs borrowed from the humanities in various aspects of Information Systems. Therefore, the author pleads that more recognition be given to the pre-discipline of Humanities-enriched Information Systems and proposes theoretical and practical ways to make the field more independent. The paper uses an interpretive research approach and explores the issue at hand on a meta-theoretical level. It suggests that, by building on the foundations of existing, pre-disciplinary enrichment endeavors, a new paradigm of Information Systems research may be acknowledged and nursed in order to facilitate further growth of the discipline

The UCF Report, Vol. 17 No. 18, March 31, 1995

Business execs, educators speak out against budget cuts; University takes preventive steps with buildings; Surfing the net to become the norm on UCF campuses

The Virtual Organization: Evidence of Academic Structuration in Business Programs and Implications for Information Science

Virtual forms of organization, including outsourcing, are expected to bring broad, structural transformations to American business. Yet, little is known about the formal response of U.S. Business Schools to the boundary-spanning challenges that virtual organization presents. In this study, key elements of Adaptive Structuration Theory (AST) are utilized as a means to investigate the effects of virtual organization on academic disciplines. Results of a survey of 471 Business School faculty members, including 63 Information Systems faculty, on the role of virtual organization in academic curricula are analyzed in the terms defined by the AST framework. Results indicate significant variation by discipline, concept area, and appropriation of the concepts related to virtual organization. Implications for Information Science include the need for establishing academic leadership as well as attending to perceived limitations in virtual organization tools and technologies. In addition, the results have implications for the ongoing dialogue on the role of Information Science and related academic disciplines