Understanding Coordination in the Information Systems Domain: Conceptualization and Implications

In this paper, we suggest a new conceptualization of coordination in the information systems (IS) domain. The conceptualization builds on neurobiological predispositions for coordinating actions. We assume that human evolution has led to the development of a neurobiological substrate that enables individuals to coordinate everyday actions. At heart, we discuss six activity modalities: contextualization, objectivation, spatialization, temporalization, stabilization, and transition. Specifically, we discuss that these modalities need to collectively function for successful coordination. To illustrate as much, we apply our conceptualization to important IS research areas, including project management and interface design. Generally, our new conceptualization holds value for coordination research on all four levels of analysis that we identified based on reviewing the IS literature (i.e., group, intra-organization, inter-organization, and IT artifact). In this way, our new approach, grounded in neurobiological findings, provides a high-level theory to explain coordination success or coordination failure and, hence, is independent from a specific level of analysis. From a practitioner’s perspective, the conceptualization provides a guideline for designing organizational interventions and IT artifacts. Because social initiatives are essential in multiple IS domains (e.g., software development, implementation of enterprise systems) and because the design of collaborative software tools is an important IS topic, this paper contributes to a fundamental phenomenon in the IS domain and does so from a new conceptual perspective

US Elite Discourse on the EU as a Security Actor

Constructivist accounts of the EU’s emergence as a security actor typically focus on changing conceptions of the Union’s role within a European context, at both national and EU levels. But few studies have analysed how significant Others in the international system understand the EU’s evolving role, which is assumed to play an important role in EU identity construction. This thesis analyses the nature of the US elite’s discourse on the EU, assessing the relative influence of factors - internal and external to the elite - in shaping its evaluations of EU security action

Media ethnography

Contents Editorial Thematic Focus: Media Ethnography Media Ethnography and Participation in Online Practices / David Waldecker, Kathrin Englert, Wolfgang Ludwig-Mayerhofer, Oliver Schmidtke The Story is Everywhere. Dispersed Situations in a Literary Role Play Game / Wolfgang Reißmann Co-operation and/as Participant Observation: Reflections on Ethnographic Fieldwork in Morocco / Simon Holdermann Ethnomethodological Media Ethnography: Exploring Everyday Digital Practices in Families with Young Children / Clemens Eisenmann, Jan Peter, Erik Wittbusch Cooperation and Difference. Camera Ethnography in the Research Project ‘Early Childhood and Smartphone’ / Bina E. Mohn, Pip Hare, Astrid Vogelpohl, Jutta Wiesemann Reports Coordinations, or Computing is Work / Sebastian Gießman

Where Capital Slows: An Ethnographic Reorientation of Amazon\u27s Inbound, Stow

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College

Beliefs and Technology - Does One Lead to the Other? Evaluating the Effects of Teacher Self-Efficacy and School Collective Efficacy on Technology Use in the Classroom

This exploratory mixed method study builds upon previous research to investigate the influence of teacher self- and collective efficacy on technology use in the classroom. This population was purposefully sampled to examine first- and second order technology barriers, instructional strategies, and human influences on technology. The quantitative finding was supported by qualitative analysis of the teacher interviews and led to the conclusion that even thought there were strong teacher tendencies towards a belief in using technology actual practice demonstrated a lack of productivity or transference of that belief into classroom practice. A high self- and collective efficacy had no effect on technology use in the classroom and a belief in technology did not lead to the use of technology. The study explored three research questions: 1) what is the effect of teacher self-efficacy on technology use in the classroom, 2) what is the effect of collective efficacy on technology use in the classroom, and 3) what is the relationship among teacher self-efficacy, collective efficacy, and barriers that inhibit technology use in a K-12 classroom setting? Thirty-five teachers in a New Jersey K-8 school district volunteered to take a 36-question survey. Three teachers were interviewed to corroborate the survey data. This study is unique in the combined analysis of self- and collective efficacy and technology. It raises several questions for future study. Teacher responses overwhelmingly identified first order or extrinsic barriers as impediments to technology. These included poor technical support, access, time issues, and a lack of vision and training. These barriers are decades old and have been acknowledged for as long as technology has been in the classroom. Why, despite thirty years of technology in education, do the same barriers that existed in the very beginning continue to be strong deterrents of technology use? Teachers identified administrators as the least influential on teacher practices. If this is so, how can there be such a high sense of collective efficacy? How much influence does the collective agency have on classroom teacher behavior? Specifically, at what point in a teacher\u27s decision-making does the collective agency over-ride personal beliefs and what are the characteristics that contribute to this conflict and possible submissive behavior? Finally, are we seeking answers to the wrong questions? Is it possible that teachers and educational systems are not able to modify intrinsic and standard operating practices to utilize technology successfully

The future of work and global governance: international organisations in the fourth industrial revolution

The future of work emerged in the 2010s as a key problem for global institutions. The social consequences of the ‘fourth industrial revolution’ represented a major concern in international policy spheres. Global forecasts about the risks of automation, the rise of the platform economy and the spread of algorithmic management, led international policy makers to take technological change seriously and develop measures to prevent major disruptions. This research examines the process by which the future of work became a global issue, one that gathered the attention of the most influential players in global social and labour policy: the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Organisation for Economic Co Operation and Development (OECD), the World Bank, international business associations and global unions. From a theoretical perspective, the study looks at the articulation of multiple streams in these organisations in the context of the future of work agenda: problem definitions, policy solutions and political conflicts. Each of them showed a particular articulation of these streams, leading to different institutional outcomes. In terms of methods, the thesis refers to a large number of documents produced by these agencies – statements, reports, briefs-, as well as to elite interviews conducted with staff and high-level officials from each of them. The conclusions are that the future of work agenda in the 2010s eroded the conventional distinction between ‘social’ and ‘economic’ actors in global social governance, leading to a ‘Schumpeterian consensus’ that urges countries to ‘invest in people’ and prepare their workforce for a new technological era

CPAC: The Origins and Role of The Conference in the Expansion and Consolidation of the Conservative Movement, 1974-1980

The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is an annual event that brings conservative politicians, public intellectuals, pundits, and issue activists together in Washington, DC to discuss strategies for achieving their goals through the electoral and policy process. Although CPAC receives a great deal of attention each year from conservative movement activists and the news outlets that cover it, it has attracted less attention from scholars. This dissertation seeks to address the gap in existing knowledge by providing a fresh account of the role that CPAC played in the expansion and consolidation of the conservative movement during the 1970s. Audio recordings of the exchanges that took place at CPAC meetings held between 1974 and 1980 are transcribed and analyzed. The results of this analysis show that during the 1970s, CPAC served as an important forum where previously fragmented single issue groups and leaders of the Old Right and New Right coalitions were able to meet, share ideas, and coordinate their efforts. Through their discursive exchanges at CPAC, these actors united behind a common set of policy positions and political strategies. As they engaged with each other and shared their grievances, they also developed a stronger sense of collective identity rooted in opposition to a common enemy - modern liberalism

Attitudes on International Standards for Criminal Hacking in the Public and Private Sector

There is a current gap in the literature regarding uniform and consistent standards and policies for addressing criminal hacking at the international level. The purpose of this quantitative dissertation was to explore the relationship between individuals in the public and private sectors and their attitudes toward the need for international law defining criminal hacking and the penalties associated with the act. Since the advent of information and communication technologies, there has been a need to address security holistically. The security and sustainability of evolving technologies are examined in light of the threat landscape of criminal hacking, privacy concerns, and policies and laws. Role theory in connection with empathy served as the theoretical base for the research. Data were collected through an anonymous survey of 228 respondents from cybersecurity related organizations from public and private employment sectors. The data analyses resulted in no significance among the groups of employment sectors and the independent and dependent variables, although there were statistically significant results between age groups, gender, infrastructure affiliation, and hacking ability among the questions of the study. Proactively addressing and securing global societies from criminal hacking is paramount in helping to alleviate escalating economic and personal losses among organizations and individuals worldwide. The research insights can be used for positive social change in drafting and implementing cyber policies and laws for criminal hacking among local, state, national, and international bodies