Information Systems Development as Value Co-Creation

In this research, we investigate information systems development (ISD) as value co-creation and how different actors perform co-creation as an ISD approach. For this purpose, we present a case study of an ISD project that developed a digital game on the topic of climate change in a not-for-profit, intergovernmental context. The project had limited resources. It involved a number of youth and used a social media platform. We apply a taxonomic framework for value co-creation that we derived from a taxonomy of Web-based co-creation. The taxonomy had originally been developed for a commercial context and researchers have not empirically validated it before. Our study shows that the taxonomic framework explains the project as value co-creation especially with regard to co-creators’ motivation and the types of value they created. We further discuss our findings in reference to information systems (IS) literature on service innovation. This literature contributes to additionally explaining what value co-creation is and how one can perform it as an instance of ISD practice. Against this background, we offer some propositions for how future ISD research could benefit from adopting a value co-creation perspective. Although we derived our findings from a specific project in a particular setting, we argue that they can be used to 1) prepare any co-creation project, 2) cope with co-creation during the development process by explaining co-creation as an approach to ISD, and 3) reflect and derive lessons learnt. While researchers need to further empirically validate these claims, we develop insight into value co-creation in ISD with respect to participatory approaches to ISD beyond conventional environments, roles, and participant and contributor types

TOWARD AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE INFLUENCES OF MEANINGFUL FRAMING ON USER PARTICIPATION IN A GAMIFIED INFORMATION SYSTEM

Gamification with meaningful framing is a diegetic gamification approach that goes beyond points, badges, and leaderboards. Diegesis – the notion of connecting elements of the game, including tasks, narratives and stories – can help to imbue even very work-centric games with fantasy and a meaning-ful framing. This study proposes to investigate the influences of such meaningful framing, including meaningful framing of the game and the meaningful framing of the task, on users’ participation in a gamified information system. We apply the S-O-R framework to construct interrelationships among a story-based game environment, user engagement, and player behaviors and propose a research model with hypotheses. We aim to uncover the role of story-based gamification in information systems re-search and encourage more research investigations in this direction

A critical evaluation of the standardisation potential of business plan evaluation aids (BPEA) used in venture capital investment decision-making

The research objective was to perform a critical evaluation and comparison of four, representative Business Plan Evaluation Aids (BPEA) to facilitate constructive discussion of the proposition that greater standardisation of venture capital decision-making might be both desirable and possible.The four BPEA were systematically compared using a structured, taxonomic process employing seven key criteria. The evidence of this investigation suggests a clear superiority for BPEAs, which are based on the known attributes of successful ventures and use actuarial modelling. Discussion centred on the importance of using BPEAs in a quest for greater consistency of venture capital investment decision-making.<br /

Perceived technology clusters and ownership of related technologies: the case of consumer electronics

We contribute to the understanding of how technologies may be perceived to be part of technology clusters. The value added of the paper is both at a theoretical and empirical level. We add to the theoretical understanding of technology clusters by distinguishing between clusters in perceptions and clusters in ownership and by proposing a mechanism to explain the existence of clusters. Our empirical analysis combines qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate clusters of consumer electronics for a sample of Dutch consumers. We find that perceived clusters in consumer electronics are mostly determined by functional linkages and that perceived technology clusters are good predictors of ownership clusters, but only for less widely diffused products.Technology clusters, consumer electronics, innovation

Solved! Making the case for collaborative problem-solving

This report argues that the ability to solve problems with others is a crucial skill for our young people in the workplace of the future but the current education system does little to support it. Key findings Collaborative problem-solving (CPS) is an increasingly important skill to teach young people in order to prepare them for the future. Despite strong evidence for its impact, CPS is rarely taught in schools but if structured well it can reinforce knowledge and improve attainment. Significant barriers exist for teachers implementing this practice, from behaviour management to curriculum coverage, to task-design. For CPS to gain ground, a concerted shift is needed including teacher training, better resources and system level support. This report is part of Nesta’s ongoing commitment to equipping young people with the skills they need to succeed. It makes a series of recommendations on how organisations and policymakers can help support and embrace the implementation of CPS. Nesta is following this up with a series of small-scale pilots of aligned programmes in order to evaluate impact and explore how CPS can be implemented in a range of practical settings. Policy recommendations Stimulate production of quality collaborative problem-solving (CPS) resources and training, from primary education onwards. Fund existing, aligned programmes to scale and evaluate impact. Educate and involve the out-of-school learning sector and volunteer educators. Develop smarter collaborative problem-solving assessment methods. Help higher education organisations and MOOCs to track what works

Effects of Exogenous Yeast and Bacteria on the Microbial Population Dynamics and Outcomes of Olive Fermentations.

In this study, we examined Sicilian-style green olive fermentations upon the addition of Saccharomyces cerevisiae UCDFST 09-448 and/or Pichia kudriazevii UCDFST09-427 or the lactic acid bacteria (LAB) Lactobacillus plantarum AJ11R and Leuconostoc pseudomesenteroides BGM3R. Olives containing S. cerevisiae UCDFST 09-448, a strain able to hydrolyze pectin, but not P. kudriazevii UCDFST 09-427, a nonpectinolytic strain, exhibited excessive tissue damage within 4 weeks. DNA sequencing of fungal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions and comparisons to a yeast-specific ITS sequence database remarkably showed that neither S. cerevisiae UCDFST 09-448 nor P. kudriazevii UCDFST 09-427 resulted in significant changes to yeast species diversity. Instead, Candida boidinii constituted the majority (&gt;90%) of the total yeast present, independent of whether S. cerevisiae or P. kudriazevii was added. By comparison, Lactobacillus species were enriched in olives inoculated with potential starter LAB L. plantarum AJ11R and L. pseudomesenteroides BGM3R according to community 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. The bacterial diversity of those olives was significantly reduced and resembled control fermentations incubated for a longer period of time. Importantly, microbial populations were highly dynamic at the strain level, as indicated by the large variations in AJ11R and BGM3R cell numbers over time and reductions in the numbers of yeast isolates expressing polygalacturonase activity. These findings show the distinct effects of exogenous spoilage and starter microbes on indigenous communities in plant-based food fermentations that result in very different impacts on product quality. IMPORTANCE Food fermentations are subject to tremendous selective pressures resulting in the growth and persistence of a limited number of bacterial and fungal taxa. Although these foods are vulnerable to spoilage by unintended contamination of certain microorganisms, or alternatively, can be improved by the deliberate addition of starter culture microbes that accelerate or beneficially modify product outcomes, the impact of either of those microbial additions on community dynamics within the fermentations is not well understood at strain-specific or global scales. Herein, we show how exogenous spoilage yeast or starter lactic acid bacteria confer very different effects on microbial numbers and diversity in olive fermentations. Introduced microbes have long-lasting consequences and result in changes that are apparent even when levels of those inoculants and their major enzymatic activities decline. This work has direct implications for understanding bacterial and fungal invasions of microbial habitats resulting in pivotal changes to community structure and function

The design-by-adaptation approach to universal access: learning from videogame technology

This paper proposes an alternative approach to the design of universally accessible interfaces to that provided by formal design frameworks applied ab initio to the development of new software. This approach, design-byadaptation, involves the transfer of interface technology and/or design principles from one application domain to another, in situations where the recipient domain is similar to the host domain in terms of modelled systems, tasks and users. Using the example of interaction in 3D virtual environments, the paper explores how principles underlying the design of videogame interfaces may be applied to a broad family of visualization and analysis software which handles geographical data (virtual geographic environments, or VGEs). One of the motivations behind the current study is that VGE technology lags some way behind videogame technology in the modelling of 3D environments, and has a less-developed track record in providing the variety of interaction methods needed to undertake varied tasks in 3D virtual worlds by users with varied levels of experience. The current analysis extracted a set of interaction principles from videogames which were used to devise a set of 3D task interfaces that have been implemented in a prototype VGE for formal evaluation

Simple identification tools in FishBase

Simple identification tools for fish species were included in the FishBase information system from its inception. Early tools made use of the relational model and characters like fin ray meristics. Soon pictures and drawings were added as a further help, similar to a field guide. Later came the computerization of existing dichotomous keys, again in combination with pictures and other information, and the ability to restrict possible species by country, area, or taxonomic group. Today, www.FishBase.org offers four different ways to identify species. This paper describes these tools with their advantages and disadvantages, and suggests various options for further development. It explores the possibility of a holistic and integrated computeraided strategy