Computer-supported Environmental Scanning: A Case Study

The identification of strategic options, conducted on a periodic basis, is a critically important aspect of today's modern organisational life. Many business leaders are aware that the clarity with which they view these strategic issues can directly impact on the successful operation of their firms. The current turbulent business environment makes clarity and long range planning difficult. The use of periodic environmental scanning and analysis allows necessary ,adjustments to the overall strategic plan. Researchers have explored the issues of how Computer-Supported Collaborative Work (CSCW) may aid the overall strategic planning process but there has been little attention paid to the processes actually used during environmental scanning and CSCW. This paper analyses the various tasks involved in environmental scanning. It also examines how the tools of CSCW may aid the identification of strategic issues in 'ill-structured' or 'wicked' environmental conditions. A case example, taken from a New Zealand firm involved in a restructuring process, is provided to illustrate the computer-supported environmental scanning approach and to show how information technology can help sorting out strategic planning issues faced by organisations and subunits of,.. organisations

TOWARDS A BETTER ARTICULATION BETWEEN CREATIVITY, INNOVATION AND ICTS: THE CASE OF AN ENVIRONMENTAL SCANNING CSCW PROJECT FOR A TUNISIAN ADMINISTRATION CONTEXT

Public administrations have long been criticized for their bureaucratic and pyramidal model which could justify their inaction, partitioning and their rigid functional mode toward their environment. The advent of ICTs precipitated by the Information Economy triggered a boost within these organizations to openness, flexibility and revising their methodology of work. Tunisian Administration has not escaped this trend, the case mentioned in this article illustrates this desire to mobilize the intellectual capital available within its structures and those of its partners. A collaborative platform project‘s implementation is initiated as Computer supported Collaborative Work (CSCW) to structure Environmental scanning activity. The implicit idea behind is that technology will act as —button press“ to run the system without calling into question the existing one. But sensemaking triggered by uncertainty and ambiguity of environmental information is essentially a creative process that could generate knowledge only under favourable structuring conditions and culture. Given the complexity of such human intelligence based system, and the importance of organizational and structural dimensions of the solution, a repository of diagnosis was deemed necessary to identify obstacles that might emerge especially at the baiting phase. Our contribution through this article is at two levels: the definition of a conceptual framework integrating ES and CSCW for better links between creativity and innovation and the proposal of a repository of diagnosis for practitioners. Our aim is to propose at the end of this ongoing longitudinal study recommendations for consulting teams intervening within Tunisian administration context in the field of information system mainly Environmental Scanning System (ESS).These recommendations are intended to draw their attention to the impact of the neglect of organizational and structural dimensions and to help design the systems‘ specifications to ensure a good articulation between creativity and innovation

Location-based and contextual mobile learning. A STELLAR Small-Scale Study

This study starts from several inputs that the partners have collected from previous and current running research projects and a workshop organised at the STELLAR Alpine Rendevous 2010. In the study, several steps have been taken, firstly a literature review and analysis of existing systems; secondly, mobile learning experts have been involved in a concept mapping study to identify the main challenges that can be solved via mobile learning; and thirdly, an identification of educational patterns based on these examples has been done. Out of this study the partners aim to develop an educational framework for contextual learning as a unifying approach in the field. Therefore one of our central research questions is: how can we investigate, theorise, model and support contextual learning

Final report of work-with-IT: the JISC study into evolution of working practices

Technology is increasingly being used to underpin business processes across teaching and learning, research, knowledge exchange and business support activities in both HE and FE. The introduction of technology has a significant impact on the working practices of staff, often requiring them to work in a radically different way. Change in any situation can be unsettling and problematic and, where not effectively managed, can lead to poor service or functionality and disenfranchised staff. These issues can have a direct impact on institutional effectiveness, reputation and the resulting student experience. The Work-with-IT project, based at the University of Strathclyde, sought to examine changes to working practices across HE and FE, the impact on staff roles and relationships and the new skills sets that are required to meet these changes

Taking our learning and teaching strategy to the next level through technology enhanced campus development

Over the last three years Abertay University has radically evolved its strategy for teaching and supporting learning. This paper outlines Abertay’s journey over the last few years, including the key features of our new pedagogic approach and its impact so far. For example, in 2016 Abertay was the highest ranked modern Scottish University in the National Student Survey (NSS) and shortlisted for the prestigious Times Higher Education “University of the Year” award.In order to further enhance our students’ progression, attainment and employability we have recognized the need to invest further in two key (and related) areas: technology enhanced learning and estate development in order to create a so-called “sticky campus” i.e. somewhere our students will want to come and stay. This has included full implementation of electronic management of assessment (EMA); blended learning; new technology-rich collaborative learning environments and science laboratories which promote richer student-staff interactions and new ways of learning; and a planned complete refurbishment of the University library which will provide a variety of learning environments (formal and informal) from summer 2017.The paper will detail the drivers for these changes; the change management processes involving a staff-student partnership involving management, academic and professional services; successes;challenges; lessons learned and future plans

Embedding sustainability through systems thinking in practice: some experiences from the Open University

One initiative that has emerged during the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) through the work of the Open University Systems group has been its postgraduate programme in Systems Thinking and Practice (STiP). Built on some forty years’ experience of systems teaching and research at the Open University (OU), this open learning, distance taught programme is designed to develop students’ abilities to tackle complex messy situations, to provide skills to think more holistically and to work more collaboratively to avoid systemic failures. This paper critically reviews the trajectory of this programme –its past, present and future. It discusses the STiP programme’s many boundaries with other programmes and across sectors. Challenges of epistemology, ethics and purpose are explored, in relation to education for sustainability. The programme’s many and varied teaching and learning processes are explicated. The pedagogy of the STiP programme is grounded in a diverse range of students’ experiences and needs that by no means all focus explicitly, or primarily, on sustainability or sustainable development. Many OU students study part-time alongside their other commitments, both work and community-based. STiP students are all interested in systems and learning. But what STiP is a part of for them varies considerably. Students come mainly from the UK and rest of Europe. Many of their interactions are online through several different fora. A diverse, active and critical OU STiP alumni community has developed, initiated by the early graduates of the programme. Academics responsible for the programme also participate in this community’s deliberations, at the invitation of student alumni. In this paper, the authors build on their various experiences of the STiP programme and re-explore its contexts and boundaries from an ESD point of view. They use some of the systems heuristics that they teach, to critically reflect on both what is being achieved through this programme in relation to education for sustainability and what they and some of their past students and associate lecturers think ought to be occurring in this respect as they go forward