Exploring the IT usage in SMEs from New Zealand, Columbia and Chile using action-research methodology

The theory on the adoption and use of information technology (IT) in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is abundant. However, methodologically speaking, action-research (AR) has been little explored as a method of construction of this theory, despite the use of this methodology could improve understanding of how SMEs use IT. Therefore, we researched the use of IT in SMEs using a methodology adapted from AR. The methodology was tested in companies from New Zealand, Colombia and Chile. The use of this methodology was well evaluated by the top management of SMEs, in fact, the recommendations coming from the analysis were well received by the management of participants. These results are auspicious regarding the use of AR in SMEs and could help encourage other researchers to use this methodology, which remains little used in information systems research

A Technological Alignment Diagnosis Test (TDAT) for SMEs

This paper presents a test that helps practitioners and researchers to measure ICT alignment in SMEs. Practitioners and researchers have suggested SMEs use ICT in a way less than optimal, wasting important and limited resources. Although researchers have proposed several instruments to solve this problem, they show operative problems when applied to SMEs. We developed and applied a test that helps SME managers to diagnose and measure the misalignment of ICT in their firms. Additionally, we propose the usage of two indicators of misalignment of ICT in SMEs. We applied this test to 34 SMEs of different regions in Chile with positive feedback on behalf of the SME owners. SMEs are less misaligned at a strategic level than at the process level (23.9% and 42.6% respectively). Also, the findings showed statistically significant differences of alignment between firms of different regions. An open question: whether it is possible that in SMEs the process-level alignment delivers more information than strategic level alignment

Proposition of a method based on mind maps to study changes in users’ perceptions during an IS/IT adoption process

Although knowledge about IS/IT adoption is very broad, it is fragmented, and we still do not understand well how users move dynamically from one stage to another during the adoption process, that is, from when a user knows a new technology until, if the process is successful, she/he incorporates it into her/his routine. One of the causes of this theoretical limitation relates to the lack of methodologies that help researchers analyze longitudinally collected data and distinguish changes that occur over time as participants experience the implementation of the new system. In this article, we present a method based on mind maps that allows researchers to graphically synthesize the mental processes experienced by individuals as they adopt a new system. The method allows comparing and measuring changes among mental models of an individual in different stages of the adoption. Findings show that this method better reflects user perceptions than others based on surveys and technical processing of textual data. Using mind maps is a novel contribution to researching and understanding technology adoption in a holistic way and with methods that include time as a contextual variable in the adoption process

The Surface Array planned for IceCube-Gen2

IceCube-Gen2, the extension of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, will feature three main components: an optical array in the deep ice, a large-scale radio array in the shallow ice and firn, and a surface detector above the optical array. Thus, IceCube-Gen2 will not only be an excellent detector for PeV neutrinos, but also constitutes a unique setup for the measurement of cosmic-ray air showers, where the electromagnetic component and low-energy muons are measured at the surface and high-energy muons are measured in the ice. As for ongoing enhancement of IceCube’s current surface array, IceTop, we foresee a combination of elevated scintillation and radio detectors for the Gen2 surface array, aiming at high measurement accuracy for air showers. The science goals are manifold: The in-situ measurement of the cosmic-ray flux and mass composition, as well as more thorough tests of hadronic interaction models, will improve the understanding of muons and atmospheric neutrinos detected in the ice, in particular, regarding prompt muons. Moreover, the surface array provides a cosmic-ray veto for the in-ice detector and contributes to the calibration of the optical and radio arrays. Last but not least, the surface array will make major contributions to cosmic-ray science in the energy range of the transition from Galactic to extragalactic sources. The increased sensitivities for photons and for cosmic-ray anisotropies at multi-PeV energies provide a chance to solve the puzzle of the origin of the most energetic Galactic cosmic rays and will serve IceCube’s multimessenger mission