Academic integrity advisers : do they have confidence in themselves?

This chapter presents the results of an international survey of "academic ethics officers" (AEOs), mainly integrity officers, ombudsmen and directors of doctoral schools. In view of the diversity of proposals put forward by the respondents, the authors wonder about the possibilities of increasing their self-confidence in a changing world. The object of the research must be defined: trust. A semiotic analysis of the verbatims makes it possible to induce a model with five dimensions to which the GDRs feel more or less close, and therefore mobilised in a variable way: identity proximity, network proximity, process proximity, technological proximity and functional proximity. For each of these dimensions, observations are made and proposals are made as to what IRAFPA can or cannot do to reinforce them

Exploring the Influence of Social Media Information on Interpersonal Trust in Virtual Work Partners

This developmental paper aims to start an exploratory investigation regarding the impact of social media information on interpersonal trust in virtual work partners. The potential impact will be examined via the lens of three key social theories used for studying virtual teams in Information System (IS) research. An initial theoretical model is proposed at the end of the paper

Gestión del conocimiento en la era de los mensajes poco confiables. ¿Los estudiantes universitarios confían en los mensajes en línea? (Una encuesta de Oriente Medio)

We are exposed to a constant stream of messages many of which originate from unreliable or untrustworthy sources. Moreover, it is not possible to control the messages before they are published and allow the dissemination of the verified ones only. Growing a critical mind can be a practical way to prevent the accumulation of incorrect or inaccurate information in our brains. The current study tried to see whether or not university students hold a critical view of social media messages. First, in a qualitative study, hundreds of messages shared on social media were observed, 12 of which were chosen based on the popularity of their central themes. Many of the messages contained an extraordinary claim such as the existence of mermaids, human-like complex emotions in animals, etc. Then, in a survey, the chosen messages were shown to 379 university students. The respondents were asked to express their opinions about the messages. For each of the 12 messages, between 36 to 94 percent of the respondents just assumed the messages to be true. The analysis of the responses revealed weak critical thinking among the students.    Estamos expuestos a un flujo constante de mensajes, muchos de los cuales se originan en fuentes no confiables o fidedignas. Además, no es posible controlar los mensajes antes de su publicación y permitir la difusión únicamente de los verificados. Desarrollar una mente crítica puede ser una forma práctica de prevenir la acumulación de información incorrecta o inexacta en nuestro cerebro. Este estudio trató de ver si los estudiantes universitarios tienen una visión crítica de los mensajes de las redes sociales. Primero, en un estudio cualitativo, se observaron cientos de mensajes compartidos en las redes sociales, 12 de los cuales fueron elegidos en función de la popularidad de sus temas centrales. Muchos de los mensajes contenían una afirmación extraordinaria, como la existencia de sirenas, emociones complejas similares a las humanas en los animales, etc. Luego, en una encuesta, se mostraron los mensajes escogidos a 379 estudiantes universitarios. Se pidió a los encuestados que expresaran sus opiniones sobre los mensajes. Para cada uno de los 12 mensajes, entre el 36 y el 94 por ciento de los encuestados simplemente asumieron que los mensajes eran verdaderos. El análisis de las respuestas reveló un débil pensamiento crítico entre los estudiantes

Bringing Global Sourcing into the Classroom: Experiential Learning via Software Development Project

Global sourcing of software development has imposed new skill requirements on Information Technology (IT) personnel. In the U.S., this has resulted in a paradigm shift from technical to softer skills such as communications and virtual team management. Higher education institutions must, consequently, initiate innovative curriculum transformations to better prepare students for these emerging workforce needs. This paper describes one such venture between Marquette University (MU), U.S.A. and Management Development Institute (MDI), India, wherein IT students at MU collaborated with Management Information Systems (MIS) students at MDI on an offshore software development project. The class environment replicated an offshore client/vendor relationship in a fully virtual setting while integrating communications and virtual team management with traditional IT project management principles. Course measures indicated that students benefited from this project, gained first-hand experience in the process of software offshoring, and learned skills critical for conduct of global business. For faculty considering such initiatives, we describe the design and administration of this class over two semesters, lessons learned from our engagement, and factors critical to success of such initiatives and those detrimental to their sustenance

Goal Congruence, Trust and Organisational Culture: Strengthening Knowledge Links

Collaboration between organizations benefits from knowledge links -- a form of strategic alliance that gives organizations access to the skills and capabilities of their partner and opportunity to create new capabilities together. Using the example of alliances between two universities and SAP AG, the market leader in Enterprise Software, the paper suggests some management practices to improve goal congruence, trust and alignment between different organizational cultures. For example, face-to-face interactions are critical for building a close relationship over time. A theoretical framework of the five phases of partnership development and the three challenges faced by knowledge link partnerships is proposed, along with implications for management, universities and research

Research on Global Information Technology Teams and Project Success - Research in Progress

The objective of this project is to determine how the composition of cross-cultural information technology (IT) development teams contributes to project success. Increasingly, IT projects are conducted across cultural boundaries, and this research will address the issues relevant to project success in this context. A cross-cultural IT team is defined as a project team responsible for an IT project. Part of the team is responsible for one phase of the project, and another part of the team is responsible for another phase of the project. For example, the requirements definition of the project may be handled by the U.S., and the implementation may be handled by Indian developers. The composition of cross-cultural teams will be defined by the cultural difference factors identified by Hofstede (2001). These factors include: Power Distance Index (PDI): society’s endorsement of inequality, hierarchy; Individualism Index (IDV): individuals look after themselves, not the overall good; Masculinity (MAS): assertive, competitive orientation; and Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI): feeling of discomfort in an unstructured situation