Access Anytime Anyplace: An Empircal Investigation of Patterns of Technology Use in Nomadic Computing Environments

With the increasing pervasiveness of mobile technologies such as cellular phones, personal digital assistants and hand held computers, mobile technologies promise the next major technological and cultural shift. Like the Internet, it is predicted that the greatest impact will not come from hardware devices or software programs, but from emerging social practices, which were not possible before. To capitalize on the benefits of mobile technologies, organizations have begun to implement nomadic computing environments. Nomadic computing environments make available the systems support needed to provide computing and communication capabilities and services to the mobile work force as they move from place to place in a manner that is transparent, integrated, convenient and adaptive. Already, anecdotes suggest that within organizations there are social implications occurring with both unintended and intended consequences being perpetuated. The problems of nomadic computing users have widely been described in terms of the challenges presented by the interplay of time, space and context, yet a theory has yet to be developed which analyzes this interplay in a single effort. A temporal human agency perspective proposes that stakeholders’ actions are influenced by their ability to recall the past, respond to the present and imagine the future. By extending the temporal human agency perspective through the recognition of the combined influence of space and context on human action, I investigated how the individual practices of eleven nomadic computing users changed after implementation. Under the umbrella of the interpretive paradigm, and using a cross case methodology this research develops a theoretical account of how several stakeholders engaged with different nomadic computing environments and explores the context of their effectiveness. Applying a literal and theoretical replication strategy to multiple longitudinal and retrospective cases, six months were spent in the field interviewing and observing participants. Data analysis included three types of coding: descriptive, interpretive and pattern coding. The findings reveal that patterns of technology use in nomadic computing environments are influenced by stakeholders’ temporal orientations; their ability to remember the past, imagine the future and respond to the present. As stakeholders all have different temporal orientations and experiences, they exhibit different practices even when engaging initially with the same organizational and technical environments. Opposing forces emerge as users attempt to be effective by resolving the benefits and disadvantages of the environment as they undergo different temporal, contextual and spatial experiences. Insights about the ability to predict future use suggest that because they are difficult to envisage in advance, social processes inhibit the predictability of what technologies users will adopt. The framework presented highlights the need to focus on understanding the diversity in nomadic computing use practices by examining how they are influenced by individual circumstances as well as shared meanings across individuals

Planning and implementing field operational tests of intelligent transport systems: a checklist derived from the EC FESTA project

To date, the main focus of intelligent transport systems (ITS) research programmes has been on technology development and proof of concept, rather than on understanding the implications of system implementation. Improved knowledge is needed about the ways in which drivers use ITS, their short- and long-term effects and how system performance can be optimised. The field operational test, or FOT, is a sophisticated evaluation method that can be used to answer these and other critical questions, and to stimulate market acceptance and demand for ITS. Although the large-scale FOTs conducted to date have yielded important insights into both the positive and potentially negative impacts of ITS, there is considerable scope for improving the design and implementation of FOTs. There are many advantages in doing so. The authors outline, in the form of a checklist, the critical steps and considerations involved in successfully planning and implementing an FOT, drawing on work undertaken in the EC-funded FESTA (Field opErational TeSt support Action) project

Tutorial: Identity Management Systems and Secured Access Control

Identity Management has been a serious problem since the establishment of the Internet. Yet little progress has been made toward an acceptable solution. Early Identity Management Systems (IdMS) were designed to control access to resources and match capabilities with people in well-defined situations, Today’s computing environment involves a variety of user and machine centric forms of digital identities and fuzzy organizational boundaries. With the advent of inter-organizational systems, social networks, e-commerce, m-commerce, service oriented computing, and automated agents, the characteristics of IdMS face a large number of technical and social challenges. The first part of the tutorial describes the history and conceptualization of IdMS, current trends and proposed paradigms, identity lifecycle, implementation challenges and social issues. The second part addresses standards, industry initia-tives, and vendor solutions. We conclude that there is disconnect between the need for a universal, seamless, trans-parent IdMS and current proposed standards and vendor solutions

Deeper Roots: Strengthening Community Tenure Security and Community Livelihoods

Utilizes concrete experiences from Bolivia, Colombia, Brazil, South Africa, Tanzania, India, Nepal, Indonesia, and the Philippines to highlight emerging issues, and offers strategies for advancing community forest tenure security

Occasional Papers on Northern Life, No. 02

This bibliography was prepared while the author was a research associate with the Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska, Fairbanks. The research project under which this bibliography was prepared was funded jointly by the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service through a research contract to IAB. The opinions and annotations expressed herein are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the policies of either of these two agencies, the University of Alaska or the opinions of their personnel.Published by the Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, under contract number CX-9000-6-0098 from the National Park Service.Preface and Acknowledgements -- Section I: Introduction, Organization -- Section II: Annotated Sources -- Section III: Library and Archival Sources: Elmer E. Rasmuson Library, Fairbanks; Alaska Historical Library, Juneau; Federal Records Center, Seattle; National Archives, Washington, D.C.; National Anthropological Archives Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. -- Section IV: Unannotated Sources -- Appendix I: Libraries, Archives and Unpublished Sources -- Appendix II: Bibliographies and Search Tools Utilize

FESTA. Handbook version 2

In Japan and in the United States Field Operational Tests (FOTs) have been introduced as an evaluation method for driver support systems and other functions several years ago with the aim of proving that such systems can deliver real‐world benefits. In Europe too, FOTs have been conducted at a national or regional level, particularly on speed support systems and lane departure warning systems. These FOTs have proven to be highly valuable. Recently FOTs have been identified as an important means of verifying the real‐world impacts of new systems at a European level and in particular to verify that European R&D has the potential to deliver identifiable benefits. This Handbook is the result of a joint effort of several research institutes, OEMs and other stakeholders from across Europe to prepare a common methodology for European FOTs. It is also highly relevant, and it is hoped useful, for FOTs conducted at a regional or national level within Europe as well as outside Europe

Cyber Bullying: A Quantitative Study on the Perceptions and Experiences of Female Emirati University Students

Within the last decade, increased media coverage has been given to incidents associated with acts of violence associated with bullying, cyber bullying, and other associated acts of incivility. The increased media coverage has garnered the attention of researchers from a diverse field of disciplines. However, much of the research that has been conducted has remained focused in North America and Europe. This study identified a limitation in the research available that focused on bullying in the Middle East region of the world, specifically the perceptions and experiences of cyber bullying behavior by female university students in the United Arab Emirates. The study employed a quantitative approach to the research. Participants in the study completed a survey, which collected data related to individuals’ personal experiences and perceptions pertaining to cyber bullying. The study employed the theoretical framework of Perception Theory, Symbolic Interaction Theory, and Conflict Theory. This study provides better understanding on the perceptions and experiences of cyber bullying experiences of female university students at Zayed University in the United Arab Emirates. A quantitative study with a sample size of 655 (n=655) participants, the study yielded responses that demonstrated a significant online social media presence of 90.3% (n=592), 47.39% (n= 291) have reported experiencing harassment online, and 95% reported a desire to create a kind and respectful online world. The information from this study will help the greater field of conflict resolution by gaining an understanding of the widespread impact of cyber bullying on an international level

Journalists or Cyber-Anarchists? A qualitative analysis of professional journalists' commentary about WikiLeaks

New media for sharing information online have presented a challenge to professional journalism in a variety of ways, as new tools or media for communicating information allow more of the public to share information in a publicly available way. WikiLeaks, an online site that began publishing secret and classified information in 2007, provides a useful lens through which to examine professional journalists' responses to one such challenge. In responding to these challenges, journalists may engage in paradigm repair, making efforts to reinforce and police their professional norms and practices by identifying and normalizing violations. This study examines the terms and the frames used in commentary about WikiLeaks by professional journalists, in an attempt to understand how professional journalists define and defend their own profession through their efforts at paradigm repair, and to consider the professional, social, and political consequences of those efforts. Journalists primarily framed WikiLeaks as a non-journalist actor, one that threatened the national security of the United States. This framing can be seen as paradigm repair, as journalists excluded WikiLeaks from their profession on the basis of its lack of editorial structure, physical location, and concern for U.S. public interest. The consequences of this exclusion are to leave WikiLeaks and other non-traditional journalistic actors more vulnerable, and to make it more difficult for professional journalists to stay relevant and adopt improved practices in the changing media ecology

Electronic patient records system in Hamad Medical Corporation, Qatar: perspectives and potential use

Since the 1990 the use of Electronic Patient Records (EPR) in health services has become increasingly prevalent world wide. EPR has become an important aspect of the continuous improvement of patient care. Transferring all patient records from paper based to electronic is now a priority for many health services. The research reported in this thesis is sponsored by Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) to provide opportunity to explore the potential role for EPR in the Medical Records Department. The study has been designed to gain better understanding of the users perspectives with regard to the use of patient records. In order to analyse and understand the complex dynamic involved in the management and use of patient records, it was recognised that systems thinking offered an appropriate framework for this research. Soft System Methodology (SSM) was therefore applied to the analysis of the data and used to inform the development of a conceptual model. Using SSM in combination with the structured questionnaire survey and telephone semi-structured interview, triangulation of methods was achieved. Use of these generated rich data revealing for example the general dissatisfaction expressed with the existing manual patient records system, the lack of confidentiality, poor legibility, shortage of space and the frequent misfiling of records. The need to address these problems has informed the strategic plan for the development and implementation of EPR for HMC. The research has successfully addressed the stated aims and research questions and guided the formulation of proposals for improvements