Contextual factors, knowledge processes and performance in global sourcing of IT services: An investigation in China

Copyright @ 2011, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. Reuse of this article has been approved by the publisher.In this paper, the authors explore the influences of two major contextual factors—supplier team members’ cultural understanding and trust relationship—on knowledge processes and performance in global sourcing of IT services. The authors discuss a joint investigation conducted by a cross-cultural research team in China. Cultural understanding is measured by individualism with guanxi and mianzi, two Chinese cultural concepts, and trust relationship is measured by adjusting trust, a notion reflecting the uniqueness of the Chinese people. Knowledge processes are characterized by knowledge sharing. Performance is measured by the outcomes of global sourcing, which is represented by product success and personal satisfaction. Data are collected in 13 companies in Xi’an Software Park, with 200 structured questionnaires distributed to knowledge workers. The results of quantitative data analysis indicate that cultural understanding influences trust relationship greatly, as well as knowledge sharing and performance in global sourcing of IT services. Trust relationship significantly impacts knowledge sharing, whereas trust relationship and knowledge sharing have no impact on performance. This study suggests that special aspects of the Chinese context have significant direct impacts on knowledge processes while no direct and immediate impacts on performance in global sourcing of IT services.National Natural Science Foundation of China, Program for Humanity and Social Science Research, Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University in China and Brunel University's Research Development Fund

The intention to use mobile digital library technology: A focus group study in the United Arab Emirates

IGI Global (“IGI”) granted Brunel University London the permission to archive this article in BURA (http://bura.brunel.ac.uk).This paper presents a qualitative study on student adoption of mobile library technology in a developing world context. The findings support the applicability of a number of existing constructs from the technology acceptance literature, such as perceived ease of use, social influence and trust. However, they also suggest the need to modify some adoption factors previously found in the literature to fit the specific context of mobile library adoption. Perceived value was found to be a more relevant overarching adoption factor than perceived usefulness for this context. Facilitating conditions were identified as important but these differed somewhat from those covered in earlier literature. The research also uncovered the importance of trialability for this type of application. The findings provide a basis for improving theory in the area of mobile library adoption and suggest a number of practical design recommendations to help designers of mobile library technology to create applications that meet user needs

Central securities depositories and securities clearing and settlement: Business practice and public policy concerns

© 2016 by IGI Global. All rights reserved. This chapter describes the emergence of national and international central securities depositories (CSDs) and the systems of tiered account-based security ownership they support. It examines clearing and settlement risks, including principal risk now largely removed by DVP, and liquidity risk reduced but far from fully removed by multilateral netting. Liquidity demand and the complexity of some underlying transactions results in a surprisingly high volume of postponed settlements (trade fails). Systems of clearing and settlement were resilient during the crisis of 2008, but the remarkable complexity of these networks suggests two policy concerns that need further examination. Problems in clearing and settlement could still magnify or transmit systemic financial risk in a future crisis, if firms do not again obtain public sector support; and the sheer complexity of clearing and settlement arrangements may both create operational risks and heighten barriers to entry, hence reducing competition and raising costs to investors. © 2016, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited

Behavioral intention to use mobile technology in language teaching: A qualitative analysis of a UAE case study

Copyright © 2020, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. This study aimed to qualitatively investigate the factors that influence teachers\u27 behavioral intention to use mobile technology (BIU) for language teaching employing the original technology acceptance model (TAM) as a framework. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 Arabic and English teachers. The study results revealed that there were several external variables influencing teachers\u27 behavioral intention to use mobile technology. It was also found that participants had mixed levels of perceived ease of use (PEOU), perceived usefulness (PU), and attitude toward use (ATU). Moreover, it was concluded that ATU had a direct impact on BIU and PU was the responsible factor for participants who had a mixed ATU

Ethics of Security : From Personal Safety to Cyber Security

This chapter aims to identify and analyse the ethical problems of security, particularly cyber and digital threats. The concepts of security and safety are defined based on existing literature. The chapter ad-dresses the key results and research gaps in the field (i.e., security issues in different areas) and future challenges, both theoretical and empirical. Moreover, the discussion is linked to an analysis of the relationship between utilitarian ethics and deontological ethics, which brings a new perspective to the debate on security ethics in general and cybersecurity. Finally, comprehensive security and absolute safety ideas are discussed, which sheds new light on the complexity of security concerns.© 2021, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Professional Development Opportunities for Academic Subject Librarians

This chapter appears in Revolutionizing the Development of Library and Information Professionals: Planning for the Future, edited/authored by Samantha Schmehl Hines. Copyright 2014, IGI Global, www.igi-global.com. Posted by permission of the publisher

Computer Science News

New M.S. Computer Science Online Program Dr. Cook’s Advanced Java book now available on Amazon Dr. Zhang’s book on YinYang Bipolar Relativity published by IGI Global Dr. Bradford sets up MedITechFirst, a medical consulting compan

Pilot implementation Driven by Effects Specifications and Formative Usability Evaluation

This chapter reports on the usability-engineering work performed throughout the pilot implementation of an Electronic Healthcare Record (EHR). The case describes and analyzes the use of pilot implementations to formatively evaluate whether the usability of the EHR meets the effects specified for its use. The project was initiated during the autumn of 2010 and concluded in the spring of 2012. The project configured and implemented an EHR at a Maternity ward at one hospital located in a European region and then transferred this system to another ward at another hospital in the same region. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-4046-7.ch010 Copyright ©2013, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. Pilot Implementation Driven by Effects Specification

Appropriation of mobile cultural resources for learning

Copyright © 2010 IGI Global. This article proposes appropriation as the key for the recognition of mobile devices - as well as the artefacts accessed through, and produced with them - as cultural resources across different cultural practices of use, in everyday life and formal education. The article analyses the interrelationship of users of mobile devices with the structures, agency and practices of, and in relation to what the authors call the "mobile complex". Two examples are presented and some curricular options for the assimilation of mobile devices into settings of formal learning are discussed. Also, a typology of appropriation is presented that serves as an explanatory, analytical frame and starting point for a discussion about attendant issues