A model for evaluating the institutional costs and benefits of ICT initiatives in teaching and learning in higher education

Significant investments are being made in the application of new information and communications technologies (ICT) to teaching and learning in higher education. However, until recently, there has been little progress in devising an integrated cost‐benefit model that decision‐makers can use to appraise ICT investment options from the wider institutional perspective. This paper describes and illustrates a model that has been developed to enable evaluations of the costs and benefits of the use of ICT. The strengths and limitations of the model are highlighted and discussed

ICT, Consulting and Innovative Capabilities

This paper analyzes the impact of the decision to contract ICT consulting on firms' innovative incentives. The paper develops a theoretical model and estimates some of its implications for a sample of German firms. In particular, the paper estimates the average treatment effect of the decision to contract ICT consulting on firms' innovative incentives, considering the role of endogeneity and unobserved heterogeneity in the correlated random coefficient model. The paper shows three main results. First, the theoretical model shows that ICT consulting increases aggregate incentives to innovate. This result is not corroborated by the empirical application. ICT consulting does not affect neither the probability of introducing product or process innovations nor the number of such innovations. The empirical results show that ICT consulting affects negatively the value of the introduced product and processes innovation. Second, the theoretical model suggests that low productivity firms might evidence either lower, unaffected or higher incentives to innovate. The empirical application shows that low productivity firms exhibit higher incentives to innovate. Third, although the theoretical analysis shows that the lower the productivity level the more the incentives to contract ICT consulting, the empirical evidence is inconclusive on this matter. These results suggest that firms optimize their innovations portfolio through ICT consulting. --ICT Consulting,Competition and Innovation

The Effects of Technology and Innovation on Society

Various models of the information society have been developed so far and they are so different from country to country that it would be rather unwise to look for a single, allencompassing definition. In our time a number of profound socio-economic changes are underway. The application of these theories and schools on ICT is problematic in many respects. First, as we stated above, there is not a single, widely used paradigm which has synthesised the various schools and theories dealing with technology and society. Second, these fragmented approaches do not have a fully-fledged mode of application to the relationship of ICT and (information) society. Third, SCOT, ANT, the evolutionary- or the systems approach to the history of technology when dealing with information society – does not take into account the results of approaches studying the very essence of the information age: information, communication and knowledge. The list of unnoticed or partially incorporated sciences, which focuses on the role of ICT in human information processing and other cognitive activities, is much longer

Towards modeling of comprehensive assessment for licensing in higher education

In the modern society information technologies, services, quality become the determinative factors of success of any business. The questions of quality management are especially relevant in social sphere, since organization oriented on quality of its processes provides the improvement of people living standards. Information computer technologies (ICT) are the powerful tool for increasing the performance of decision-making processes. Formalization of management problems and adequate mathematical models provide ICT with techniques and methods of solving the application problems in different domains and improving business performance. Higher education is a unique social and economic environment. The quality of its functioning influences many processes of successive development of society.Therefore elaboration of ICT in higher education domain remains the challenging problem for specialists in computer sciences

Systematic Analysis of Rebound Effects for "Greening by ICT" Initiatives

The application of ICT can lead to considerable reductions in the energy consumption of society. Although ICT itself consumes energy, there are many good reasons to explore the possibilities of 'green ICT'. After decades of experiments and research, ICTs designed to be 'green' still holds the promise of leading to substantial ecological benefits by means of dematerialisation, more efficient production processes and changed (more sustainable) human behaviour. Up till now, the effects of ICT on energy consumption are much less straightforward due to rebound effects: effects that have a negative influence on the intended positive effect. In parallel, rebound effects themselves have in turn other side effects as well, so there are many interacting effects to account for, greatly adding to complexity of the discussion. Despite evidence that suggests otherwise, initiatives that focus on 'greening by ICT' do notaccount for a consistent analysis of these rebound effects. This paper proposes an approach that enables to map and analyze these rebound effects systematically. This approach is applied in two related cases, teleworking and the use of Smart Working Centres. The Rapid Assessment Program (RAP) is used as a simulation model to identify which chains of effects are most interesting to consider for intervention. The application in the two cases demonstrates that rebound effects can by structured and that the RAP is a very suitable way to do so and provides a good assessment of net sustainability effects.rebound effects, Rapid Assesment Program, greening by ICT, teleworking.

Goods Follow Bytes: The Impact of ICT on EU Trade

This paper empirically assesses whether the deployment and use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure at the national level affects trade flows within the European Union (EU) and between the EU and its main trading partners. The analysis tests the hypothesis that availability and use of ICT enhances trade by reducing transaction costs and through network effects that materialize when both trading partners are advanced users of ICT. The empirical analysis is based on the application of gravity equations in various robust specifications. The results suggest that ICT does have a significant impact on EU trade. In particular, we find trade to be enhanced if both trading partners reveal advanced ICT endowments, which supports the expected network effects. Additionally, we observe trade diversion effects from less to highly ICT developed countries.Exports, ICT, gravity model, international trade, network effects

Development and Deployment of VoiceXML-Based Banking Applications

In recent times, the financial sector has become one of the most vibrant sectors of the Nigerian economy with about twenty five banks after the bank consolidation / merger exercise. This sector presents huge business investments in the area of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). It is also plausible to say that the sector today is the largest body of ICT services and products users. It is no gainsaying the fact that so many Nigerians now carry mobile phones across the different parts of the country. However, applications that provide voice access to real-time banking transactions from anywhere, anytime via telephone are still at their very low stage of adoption across the Nigerian banking and financial sector. A versatile speech-enabled mobile banking application has been developed using VXML, PHP, Apache and MySQL. The developed application provides real-time access to banking services, thus improving corporate bottom-line and Quality of Service (QoS) for customer satisfaction

The use of learning management platforms in school context - a national study

This report results from a national study carried out under the Project “Educational application of learning management platforms”, supported and funded by the Computers, Networks, and Internet in Schools department of the Portuguese Ministry of Education- General Directorate for Innovation and Educational Development. This report has been developed by the ICT Competence Centre of the Faculty of Sciences- University of Lisbon, during the school year 2007/2008

Innovation and communication technologies + Problem based learning: a new approach for teaching architecture

This article presents the results obtained during its first year of application in the educational innovation project called “New frameworks of teaching: ICT applied to problem based learning in technical bachelors” (PIE 15-166) developed at the School of Architecture in the University of Malaga. This has been focused on the development of educational strategies based on exploiting the potential of ICT, taking as a framework the ABP. Its application on subjects from different areas of knowledge (architectural composition, urban planning, projects and architectural constructions) has allowed assessing the adaptability of this methodology depending on the content. Among the obtained results can be highlighted the improvement in cross curricular coordination between subjects from different fields of studies, providing different ways of synchronous and asynchronous communication between students and teachers to generate a greater interaction between all the involved subjects; increasing in addition the interest and an improvement of the results.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec