The current state of E-commerce in Jordan: Applicability and future prospects

This study aimed at determining the current state of e-commerce in Jordan, as well as its future prospects. The research population consisted of all Jordanian industrial, service and/or trade companies that have a registered website. The population size was 712 companies. A total of 118 questionnaires were distributed to randomly selected companies and 95 were returned. Cronbach alpha measure was used to test the reliability of the organizational questionnaire and was calculated to be 0.80 reflecting stability and consistency of the scale and indicating the goodness of the measure. Other statistical tests were used to test the research hypotheses such as One-Sample t-test, Independent-Samples t-test, One-Way ANOVA, Chi-Square and Bivariate Correlations (Pearson). The research indicated that Jordan has adequate and efficient e-commerce requirements in general, but there is no suitable and appropriate Community Culture in order to reach E-commerce Readiness Stage. Some recommendations are then made based on research findings

INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS ON POVERTY REDUCTION PROGRAM IN THE SOCIETY: A CASE STUDY OF NATIONAL PROGRAM FOR COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT OF INDEPENDENT URBAN (PNPM-MP) IN SEMARANG, INDONESIA

Institutional PNPM-MP in Semarang put poverty alleviation as the main priority of the empowerment-based development policy. The strategy developed is to synergize government agencies with community institutions built by PNPM-MP program at the village and base level, that is, Community Institutional Agency (BKM) and the Community Self-Reliance Group (KSM). The problem studied in this research is: How does PNPM-MP institutional in society involve in poverty reduction, with the aim of describing and analyzing institutional programs in the community. The research approach used phenomenological qualitative, by conducting interviews, observation, focus group discussion to obtain data from informants (BKM / KSM). Informants include two BKM and ten KSM which is purposively selected (deliberately) from two villages in two districts. The analysis was performed interactively, that is, analysis techniques which are integral cycle among data collection, data reduction, data performance and conclusion withdrawal. Research conclusion: PNPM-MP institutional at the village and base level (BKM / KSM) has not been able to be a driving force in poverty reduction and is still seen by the community as a program requirement, not institutionalized on both horizontal and vertical level. Recommendation for the research result is that it needed awareness that poverty reduction requires a synergy between government agencies and community agencies embodied in the development planning of one village one planning

Shifting new media: from content to consultancy, from heterarchy to hierarchy

This is a detailed case history of one of London’s iconic new media companies, AMX Studios. Some of the changes in this firm, we assume, are not untypical for other firms in this sector. Particularly we want to draw attention to two transformations. The first change in AMX and in London’s new media industry more generally refers to the field of industrial relations. What can be observed is a shift from a rather heterarchical towards a more hierarchical organized new media industry, a shift from short-term project networks to long-term client dependency. The second change refers to new media products and services. We want to argue for a shift from cool content production towards consultancy and interactive communications solutions

Information Society Strategies in the European Context: The Case of Greece

This article sets out to analyze the policies adopted by the Greek government in its effort to accelerate the pace of reform towards a knowledge-based economy. These policies have to take into account the position that the country occupies within the emerging information society and, of course, the opportunities created by EU initiatives that aim to promote economic competitiveness and reduce regional disparities. Within this framework Greek policy makers have recognized the need for a coordinated, coherent and integrated approach, which attempts to diminish inequalities both within the country and with respect to other European Union economies. What emerges as a distinctive feature of the Greek information society strategy is the emphasis placed on the pivotal role of the state and the adoption of active interventionist policies