Technology and marginalization: a case study of the limited adoption of the intranet at a state-owned organisation in rural Australia

Taking a critical theory approach and the pluralist view of technology, this paper examines the problems in organizational communication that arose due to the implementation of a limited intranet electronic mail system as the main channel of communication between a rural stateowned organization and its city-based Head Office, installed at the sole discretion of the latter.The intranet was provided only to the administration division and managers of some units due to financial constraints. This required others to receive information carried via the intranet through a gatekeeper who due to information and work overload, failed to disseminate the information effectively and efficiently. Using a combination of qualitative data collection methods, this study found that the intranet had marginalized those without access to it and reinforced the privileged position of those already with higher status within the organization, contrary to the utopian predictionsof new technologies as leading to social equality.<br /

Social capital in large-scale projects and it's impact on Innovation: Social network analysis of Genome Canada (2000-2009)

The contemporary era is witnessing a systemic transition in the Canadian science and research paradigm. The research world is shrinking rapidly in response to modern technological developments, commercial and regulatory integration, faster communications and transportation and proactive science, technology and innovation policy. It is increasingly challenging to make competitive progress in world-class innovation or to gain global leadership in science. Big-science is now proposed as one of the means to realize national innovation goals and international competitiveness. As a result, government support for large-scale innovation projects has increased multifold. This dissertation examines a range of hypotheses large-scale research projects enhance investigator exchanges and generate social capital that has significant downstream benefits, which would provide a reason to support big science beyond the instrumental goals of the projects themselves. Taking Genome Canada as an example, this dissertation examines the production and role of social capital generated through large-scale research projects to assess the evidence base for funding big science research. A group of 139 investigators who raised capital in the Genome Canada Applied Bioproducts and Crops (ABC) Competition in 2009 are examined in the context of their engagements and networks in 2000-2009 in four relational arenas, namely their area of expertise, institutional connections, research grants, and co-publications. The investigation reveals three main findings. First, large-scale innovation projects as delivered through Genome Canada, comply with the fundamentals of contemporary innovation network theory. Second, the ties amongst investigators generate social capital, which offers positional advantage and differential superior access to networked resources. Third, the social capital generated in actor relations has pronounced long term impacts on downstream research success. Inter-disciplinary and cross-institutional large-scale research projects that have strong elements of knowledge production and financial exchange are found to assist the federal government in advancing research and innovation objectives. The results of the current investigation provide a strong rationale for the integration of people, disciplines, and institutions under the umbrella of large-scale genomics and proteomics research, and possible lessons for other research fields

Exploring Experiences of Diverse Faculty With Diverse Students in Distance Education

This study aims to explore faculty’s experiences regarding teaching methods and student-teacher interaction. The interaction between the majority groups and diverse (minority) groups on the college and university campuses needs to be addressed in order for colleges to achieve the universal goal of education for all (Akombo, 2013). Such interactions can be achieved through a curriculum that fosters cultural perspectives within the college communities (Akombo, 2013). Due to the diversity and pluralism of educational environments, academic faculty must be able to discuss multiple cultural perspectives in the classroom (Akombo, 2013). For this reason, the Roger’s Diffusion of Innovation Theory will be used to explore the experiences of diverse faculty with diverse students. Moreover, this diffusion of innovation will empower faculty to establish a platform that advocates cultural competence as well as adopts best practices for cultural awareness and inclusion. In view of that, the purpose of this study is to explore the following: (a) faculty experiences with diverse students in an institute of higher learning, (b) faculty experiences cultivating student learning, and (c) instructor’s resources and best practices that are available for diverse faculty in addressing student learning. The target population of this study will consist of administrators, faculty, instructional designers, and online success coaches from business technology program at the institute of higher learning

News and Radio: Social Media Adoption and Integration by @RadioProducers and its Impact on Their #MediaWork

This research analyses how news talk radio program producers are using social media in their daily work practices and routines, and how doing so has impacted on their media work. Currently, the majority of scholarly attention has focused on the apparent crisis facing print media in light of continuous technological innovations in newsrooms, as a condition of media convergence. However, there has been significantly less scholarship considering how the introduction of various Internet and new media technologies has impacted on radio broadcasting. Structural transformations of the radio industry have triggered workplace shifts in news talk production that has altered the media work of radio program producers. It is therefore the aim of this thesis to explore the changing nature of radio work, and the way in which news talk radio producers adopt and integrate Internet and new media technologies into their daily work practices and routines. This research examines the use of Internet and new media technologies by three news talk program production teams within the community, commercial, and public service broadcasting sectors in order to explore how each have taken to social media in their daily workflows. Based on participant observation and semi-structured interviews with each of the radio producers, the research uses an inductive ethnographic research methodology to understand the technology access and workload challenges they are facing in developing social media skills, particularly concerning program pre-promotion and audience interaction. The research indicates that access to reliable computing technologies is a contentious issue amongst the commercial and community radio stations observed and which ultimately impacts upon the radio producers’ ability to effectively complete their daily media work. Further, the research indicates that the workload of each of the producers has increased significantly with their incorporation and adoption of social media in their daily workflows. The study suggests that further research is necessary in order to provide a more comprehensive analysis of the changing nature of media work within radio production

CONCEPTUALIZING THE IMPACT OF WORKAROUNDS – AN ORGANIZATIONAL ROUTINES\u27 PERSPECTIVE

Employees’ acceptance and resistance of new technology and social structure are frequently examined in Information Systems research. Resistance is expressed in various forms, including a lack of cooperation, workarounds, and physical sabotage. Workarounds, in particular, have a dual nature and can refer to both, undesirable behavior that contradicts organizational structure and to desired organizational innovation. While antecedents and different forms of workarounds have been explored, literature has remained silent on how and why workarounds of an individual employee can affect activities performed by other employees and thereby, change work routines on an organizational level. Since employees’ day-to-day performances constitute the ostensive patterns of a routine, we argue that workarounds will not only impact performances of adjacent routines, but also transform the organization as a social structure. With a preliminary set of qualitative data from 24 interviews, we used a multiple case study design to conceptualize six patterns that illustrate how and why workarounds can spread through an organization. The patterns are systematized by a framework that considers three types of collaboration and two types of handoffs across routines. This first evidence points at the nature of complex desired and undesired consequences that can emerge through workarounds performed in an organization

News and Radio: Social Media Adoption and Integration by @RadioProducers and its Impact on Their #MediaWork

This research analyses how news talk radio program producers are using social media in their daily work practices and routines, and how doing so has impacted on their media work. Currently, the majority of scholarly attention has focused on the apparent crisis facing print media in light of continuous technological innovations in newsrooms, as a condition of media convergence. However, there has been significantly less scholarship considering how the introduction of various Internet and new media technologies has impacted on radio broadcasting. Structural transformations of the radio industry have triggered workplace shifts in news talk production that has altered the media work of radio program producers. It is therefore the aim of this thesis to explore the changing nature of radio work, and the way in which news talk radio producers adopt and integrate Internet and new media technologies into their daily work practices and routines. This research examines the use of Internet and new media technologies by three news talk program production teams within the community, commercial, and public service broadcasting sectors in order to explore how each have taken to social media in their daily workflows. Based on participant observation and semi-structured interviews with each of the radio producers, the research uses an inductive ethnographic research methodology to understand the technology access and workload challenges they are facing in developing social media skills, particularly concerning program pre-promotion and audience interaction. The research indicates that access to reliable computing technologies is a contentious issue amongst the commercial and community radio stations observed and which ultimately impacts upon the radio producers’ ability to effectively complete their daily media work. Further, the research indicates that the workload of each of the producers has increased significantly with their incorporation and adoption of social media in their daily workflows. The study suggests that further research is necessary in order to provide a more comprehensive analysis of the changing nature of media work within radio production

E-mail and the Flow of Information in an Organization: An Investigation within an Academic Institution

The focus of this thesis is e-mail as a tool for the dissemination of information. Literature on e-mail has suggested that e-mail might influence and change communication patterns such as socialization, interdependence, and attention focus. Specifically, this study examined hierarchical similarities/differences in e-mail transmission and reception and user’s perceptions within an academic institution. Variables studied for their effect include the number of messages sent and received, gender, attention a message is given, message subject matter, message origination, whether participants felt that technology inhibits or enhances communication and whether there were differences between hierarchical levels. Among results were the following. For all messages and internal messages (examined independently) sent and received, as the receiver’s status decreased, the sender’s status generally increased — the same pattern as seen with traditional organizational messages. Differences were found in the attention a message is given in that more messages were read entirely from superiors, peers, and subordinates than from those whose status could not be identified. Messages received from those whose status could not be identified were more often scanned. One of the few gender differences found was that females received significantly more messages from females than did males. Additionally, participants who use e-mail, in general felt that e-mail was perceived as enhancing communication