The role of an intermediary agent in technology integration within developing countries: a film industry perspective

AbstractThe Bangladesh Film Industry has been attempting to move from traditional analogue film production to digital production during the last decade without much success. One major problem is that the digital technology has to be acquired from international donors in advanced countries and the Government's public procurement policy stipulates that this transfer of technology from the donor to the recipient must be expedited by a local ‘intermediary agent’ (e.g. business entrepreneurs). Our research findings have confirmed that the local film industry (recipient) requires support with installation of technology, film distribution/ exhibition, and maintenance (production level) and some management tasks. All of which is not usually provided because of incompetency on the part of the intermediary agents and because of limitations in the public procurement policy for this industry sector. One policy implication is whether government procurement policy should target more direct B2B contact between the technology recipient and the international donor. This could help upgrade innovation capabilities of local industry. Our empirical research findings are based on direct insights gained from six semi-structured face-to-face interviews with key respondents based in Bangladesh (e.g. Directors and Senior Management staff of the Bangladesh Film & Development Corporation and other key respondents). Note: findings reported here are from a larger study of 40+ interviews on the theme of digital technology integration in Bangladesh film industry. We report that policy makers should direct policy toward the development of technological system, infrastructure and technical training in the long run, rather than mainly focusing on boosting foreign technical assistance, which does not appear to help support manufacturing processes in film making to make a smooth transition from analogue to digital technology use. There should also be a sterner public evaluation body that pre-evaluates and post-evaluates the success or otherwise of the technology integration process

Next generation software environments : principles, problems, and research directions

The past decade has seen a burgeoning of research and development in software environments. Conferences have been devoted to the topic of practical environments, journal papers produced, and commercial systems sold. Given all the activity, one might expect a great deal of consensus on issues, approaches, and techniques. This is not the case, however. Indeed, the term "environment" is still used in a variety of conflicting ways. Nevertheless substantial progress has been made and we are at least nearing consensus on many critical issues.The purpose of this paper is to characterize environments, describe several important principles that have emerged in the last decade or so, note current open problems, and describe some approaches to these problems, with particular emphasis on the activities of one large-scale research program, the Arcadia project. Consideration is also given to two related topics: empirical evaluation and technology transition. That is, how can environments and their constituents be evaluated, and how can new developments be moved effectively into the production sector

The organizational implications of medical imaging in the context of Malaysian hospitals

This research investigated the implementation and use of medical imaging in the context of Malaysian hospitals. In this report medical imaging refers to PACS, RIS/HIS and imaging modalities which are linked through a computer network. The study examined how the internal context of a hospital and its external context together influenced the implementation of medical imaging, and how this in turn shaped organizational roles and relationships within the hospital itself. It further investigated how the implementation of the technology in one hospital affected its implementation in another hospital. The research used systems theory as the theoretical framework for the study. Methodologically, the study used a case-based approach and multiple methods to obtain data. The case studies included two hospital-based radiology departments in Malaysia. The outcomes of the research suggest that the implementation of medical imaging in community hospitals is shaped by the external context particularly the role played by the Ministry of Health. Furthermore, influences from both the internal and external contexts have a substantial impact on the process of implementing medical imaging and the extent of the benefits that the organization can gain. In the context of roles and social relationships, the findings revealed that the routine use of medical imaging has substantially affected radiographers’ roles, and the social relationships between non clinical personnel and clinicians. This study found no change in the relationship between radiographers and radiologists. Finally, the approaches to implementation taken in the hospitals studied were found to influence those taken by other hospitals. Overall, this study makes three important contributions. Firstly, it extends Barley’s (1986, 1990) research by explicitly demonstrating that the organization’s internal and external contexts together shape the implementation and use of technology, that the processes of implementing and using technology impact upon roles, relationships and networks and that a role-based approach alone is inadequate to examine the outcomes of deploying an advanced technology. Secondly, this study contends that scalability of technology in the context of developing countries is not necessarily linear. Finally, this study offers practical contributions that can benefit healthcare organizations in Malaysia

Exploring and mapping the knowledge and practice terrain

Postprin

Elementary Science Literacy: Implementing and Enhancing Student Skills and Outcomes

The purpose of this study is to describe the implementation of science literacy through the one student one video program and the impact of science literacy learning on students' science literacy skill and science learning outcome. The research subjects were fifth grade students of Madrasah Ibtidaiyah Muhammadiyah Purwodadi, Tembarak, Temanggung, Central Java. This research is action research with data collection of observation, interview, documentation, and test question. Data analysis technique is descriptive quantitative. The result showed an increase in students' science literacy skill and science learning outcome. Sawa Sado Program notably enhanced students' science literacy skills. Group 1 achieved a maximum improvement of 100% across all measured aspects, followed by Group 2 and 3, which also displayed substantial advancements. However, Group 4 showed greater variability in results, with varying improvements across different aspects. The Sawa Sado Program has generally succeeded in boosting students' science literacy skills. Nonetheless, the varied outcomes among the groups suggest different extents and patterns of improvement. This indicates the program's effectiveness but also underscores the need for a deeper understanding of the differing outcomes

Of Models, Rationales and Prototypes: Studying Designer Needs in an Airborne Maritime Surveillance Drawing Tool to Support Audio Communication

International audienceIn this work, we seek to understand the needs of interaction designers involved in industrial system engineering processes. While current research offers a set of methods and tools for them, we believe that more empirical user studies focusing on designers are needed, in particular to support how model-based activity analysis may inform their decisions. Our designers’ need analysis is conducted through participatory design and contextual inquiry, and applied through a real use-case project: a distributed tactile tool for airborne maritime surveillance. Thanks to this study, we report on our insights on the usability problems and needs related in particular to scenario-based modeling, model-based design rationales and design-based model refinement

How Design Plays Strategic Roles in Internet Service Innovation: Lessons from Korean Companies

In order to survive in the highly competitive internet business, companies have to provide differentiated services that can satisfy the rapidly changing users’ tastes and needs. Designers have been increasingly committed to achieving user satisfaction by generating and visualizing innovative solutions in new internet service development. The roles of internet service design have expanded from a narrow focus on aesthetics into a more strategic aspect. This paper investigates the methods of managing design in order to enhance companies’ competitiveness in internet business. The main research processes are to: (1) explore the current state of internet service design in Korea through in-depth interviews with professional designers and survey questionnaires to 30 digital design agencies and 60 clients; (2) compare how design is managed between in-house design groups and digital design agencies though the case studies of five Korean companies; and (3) develop a taxonomy characterizing four roles of designers in conjunction with the levels of their strategic contributions to internet service innovation: visualist, solution provider, concept generator, and service initiator. In addition, we demonstrate the growing contributions of the strategic use of design for innovating internet services, building robust brand equity, and increasing business performance. Keywords: Design Management; Internet Business; Internet Service Design; Digital Design; Digital Design Agency; In-House Design Group, Case Study</p