Characterising Information Systems in Australia: a theoretical framework

The study reported in this volume aims to investigate the state of the Information Systems academic discipline in Australia from a historical and current perspective, collecting evidence across a range of dimensions. To maximise the strategic potential of the study, the results need to be capable of integration, so that the relationships within and across the dimensions and geographical units are understood. A meaningful theoretical framework will help relate the results of the different dimensions of the study to characterise the discipline in the region, and assist in empowering the Australian IS research community. This paper reviewed literature on the development of disciplines, before deriving a theoretical framework for the broader study reported in this volume. The framework considered the current and past state of IS in Australian universities from the perspective of the development of a discipline. The components of the framework were derived and validated through a thematic analysis of both the IS and non-IS literature. This paper also presents brief vignettes of the development of two other related disciplines. The framework developed in this paper, which has been partly guided by Whitley's Theory of Scientific Change, has been used to analyse data collated from the Australian states and the Australian Capital Territory. The degree of variation in Australian IS as an indication of its professionalisation, the nature of its body of knowledge and its mechanisms of control, will be used to frame the analysis. Research reported in several of the papers that follow in this volume has drawn upon the theoretical framework presented below

From Biological to Synthetic Neurorobotics Approaches to Understanding the Structure Essential to Consciousness (Part 2)

We have been left with a big challenge, to articulate consciousness and also to prove it in an artificial agent against a biological standard. After introducing Boltuc’s h-consciousness in the last paper, we briefly reviewed some salient neurology in order to sketch less of a standard than a series of targets for artificial consciousness, “most-consciousness” and “myth-consciousness.” With these targets on the horizon, we began reviewing the research program pursued by Jun Tani and colleagues in the isolation of the formal dynamics essential to either. In this paper, we describe in detail Tani’s research program, in order to make the clearest case for artificial consciousness in these systems. In the next paper, the third in the series, we will return to Boltuc’s naturalistic non-reductionism in light of the neurorobotics models introduced (alongside some others), and evaluate them more completely

Physical World Assumptions and Software World Realities (And Why There Are More P2P Software Providers Than Ever Before)

Rights holders have been successful in every major copyright action brought against peer-to-peer (P2P) software providers. By 2005, those behind Napster, Aimster, Grokster, Morpheus and Kazaa have each been held liable for their users' infringements and effectively exited the market. But those successes did not result in any reduction in the availability of P2P file sharing software. In fact, the opposite occurred: soon after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of rights holders in Grokster, there was exponential growth in the number of P2P file sharing applications available. This Article argues that this came about because the pre-P2P and current U.S. secondary liability laws were and are based on a number of physical world assumptions that are simply not tenable in the software context. After identifying those assumptions, and contrasting them with the relevant software world realities, the Article demonstrates that the explosion in the number and availability of P2P apps can be traced directly to the Supreme Court's failure to recognize the mismatch between the two paradigms

The Learning Styles and Approaches of Students Studying the Fundamental Algorithmic Concepts course at the University of the Witwatersrand

Student Number : 8109673 - MSc research report - School of Science Education - Faculty of ScienceMany students fail the Fundamental Algorithmic Concepts course, in first year Computer Science at the University of the Witwatersrand. To obtain an understanding of why this occurs, the learning styles and learning approaches of the students studying the course and the relationship of these concepts with student grades were researched. A predominately qualitative paradigm was used, supplemented with quantitative data. Two research designs were selected: a survey to get a broad overview of the sample and an ethnographic design to provide an in-depth description of a small group. Existing instruments were used for the survey, namely Felder and Soloman’s Index of Learning Styles and a learning approach diagnostic test that was constructed in South Africa. An interview with open-ended questions was used for the ethnographic research. Contrary to expectations, the results of the study indicated that the adoption of a deep learning approach did not imply success. The findings suggest that a strategic learning approach may be required to achieve good grades. In contrast to other studies, over 65% of the sample population were black students. It was found that black students tend to adopt a deeper learning approach than the rest of the students. From a learning style perspective there was some new evidence to indicate that the more intuitive or global a student was, the deeper the approach the student adopted to learning. A large percentage (over 80%) of the population were visual learners and an unusually high percentage (over 60%) were reflective learners. The lecturer should match the workload and assessment methods with the desired learning approach of the students. The lecturer should also encourage the students to adopt a strategic learning approach where appropriate. In addition, the lecturer should pay particular attention to incorporating teaching styles that accommodate students with visual and active learning style preferences