Why haven’t YOU thought of that? Over 15 great mobile app ideas for improving the quality of life of a young person with type 1 diabetes

Introduction The use of mobile devices to look up health-related information is of increasing importance to young people, who have a radically different view of technology than either their parents or practitioners. We explored what young people with type 1 diabetes required from social media and mobile technology by seeking their views and ideas, enabling the eventual design of innovative new tools to help them engage with health services and their own health in their preferred manner. Methods Data collected by semi-structured, in-depth qualitative interviews (n=9) of people with type 1 diabetes aged 18-21. Interviews were transcribed and loaded onto the qualitative data analysis tool NVivo. Baseline data analysis was then undertaken to locate potential ideas for mobile App development. Results Over fifteen innovative new ideas for mobile Apps not currently available were suggested including: • Twitter - contacting other people with type 1 diabetes, an emergency link for contacting the health service and receiving direct messages from clinic staff which would help to personalise diabetes care. • Hypoglycaemia awareness - advice on what to do for friends, family and colleagues who might come into contact with the participant. • Illness information. • News/information on existing/new diabetes technology. Summary We have explored what young people with type 1 diabetes want from social media and mobile technology, so that the design and implementation of new technology to help self-management is more patient-centred, more likely to be used and more likely to improve quality of life

Information technology and computer science programs: How do we relate?

In this panel session, the relationship between computer science programs and information technology programs at universities that house both will be explored. People outside the computing disciplines often find the distinction between these programs confusing. The panelists, who have experience with both types of program, will discuss strategies for differentiating the programs in the eyes of administrators, for advising students into the correct program, and for maintaining focus and excellence in both computer science and information technology programs

Information Technology as Coordination Infrastructure

Business information technology is traditionally viewed as information provision technology. In this view, organizations use their IT to implement databases that provide people with information when they want it. This view is persistent even though information provision is never an end in itself but always has the further purpose to support the coordination of activities of people. The role if IT as coordination technology became more prominent in the 1980s with the advent of network technology, that allowed activities across different businesses to be coordinated. This trend has accellerated since the growth of Internet usage, and today IT is used to support an increasingly varied range of processes performed by a variety of partners that do not all have a hierarchical relation to each other. This makes it difficult to analyze requirements for IT support and specify IT solutions: Business processes may not be well-defined, and interests of different businesses may clash. This report argues that to deal with this in requirements engineering and IT solution specification, business information technology should not be viewed as IT support for business processes but as IT support for the coordination of activities in one or more businesses. We will identify three basic coordination mechanisms, namely coordination by price, by management, and by shared norms, and for each of these mechanisms, we will identify requirements for IT support. The advent of flexible and standardized networking technology has facilitated the creation of novel coordination mechanisms within these three general paradigms, and we will give an inventory of generalized coordination mechanisms made possible by current IT. Finally, we will draw conclusions for requirements engineering methods for IT support for each of the coordination mechanisms identified by the framework

Testing the spirit of the information age

Every age has a 'spirit," The Information Age seems to be a more extreme case than most eras, with the constant barrage of messages promising social and individual salvation. Information and information technology are heralded as\ud great, new possibilities not just for reform but perfection, with some even predicting the end of physical death (using information technology. by the end of the next century. The intensity of our current period's fascination with technology is partly due to the technology itself-ideas or sales pitches get out to more people more quickly than ever before in history, and, as a result it\ud is easy to be blinded by all the promises and hype. It is no accident that ideas like "ecommerce" and "knowledge management' are unifying concepts for many in this era, but although there is nothing intrinsically wrong with them, there is something amiss with how they are discussed. This essay comments on the latter issue, the hyperbole of the Information Age, from three perspectives: 1) as a consumer of information technology; 2) as an educator in a field (archives and records management) utilizing information technology; and 3) as an individual convinced about the relevancy of basic Judaic-Christian beliefs as one means to shift critically the many conflicting and confusing messages promulgated by the so-called modern Information\ud Age

Information Technology and the Workplace: Implications for Persons with Disabilities

The Internet improves access to employment and community for many people. However, there is growing concern that many Web sites are inaccessible to people with certain disabilities. This article examines the impact on people with disabilities of online human resources processes used for employee recruitment, benefits, and training. In 2002, Cornell University staff reviewed the accessibility of 10 Job boards and 31 corporate e-recruiting Web sites. Human resource (HR) professionals are well positioned to report on key issues regarding these processes. A survey of 433 HR representatives was conducted regarding their organizations\u27 use of information and Web technology in HR processes; knowledge of computer/Web barriers to employees with disabilities; and familiarity with assistive technology and resources. The authors summarize current literature and legislation relevant to Web accessibility, and discuss implications of their findings for businesses and people with disabilities in the workplace