Vision, Mission, and Technology Implementation: Going One-to-One in a Catholic School

As one-to-one computing initiatives become commonplace, some Catholic school educators might find themselves wondering what, if anything, such technologies might have to do with Catholic identity. This case study drew upon survey and interview data to explore the intersection of Catholic vision and mission with the implementation of a one-to-one (BYOD) initiative. The study finds that Catholic values informed the school’s support of teachers, as well as its efforts to help students navigate the personal and social issues associated with devices. In the end, teachers were positive about one-to-one. Many teachers had experimented with devices in their classrooms, and some even reported using devices for social justice purposes. In other words, the school’s unique vision and mission enabled it to engage in activities that might not occur elsewhere. The implications of this study on how to conceptualize about technological change and how to lead technology initiatives are discussed. A medida que las iniciativas cara a cara con dispositivos se convierten en cotidianas, algunos educadores de escuelas católicas se preguntan qué tiene que ver la tecnología con la identidad católica. Este estudio de caso se basó en datos de encuestas y entrevistas para explorar la intersección entre la visión y la misión católicas con la implementación de una iniciativa cara a cara (BYOD, o “traiga su propio dispositivo”). El estudio halla que los valores católicos informaron del apoyo a los maestros por parte de las escuelas, así como los esfuerzos por ayudar a los estudiantes a navegar a través de los problemas personales y sociales asociados con los dispositivos. Al final, los maestros mostraron reacciones positivas hacia los cara a cara. Muchos maestros habían experimentado con dispositivos en sus clases y algunos informaron que los usaban para la justicia social. En otras palabras, la visión y misión especial de la escuela permitió su participación en actividades que no podrían ocurrir en ningún otro lugar. Se discuten las implicaciones de este estudio en cómo conceptualizar el cambio tecnológico y cómo dirigir iniciativas tecnológicas. Palabras clave: cara a cara, implementación, visión escolar, identidad escolar, tecnologí

The power of LinkedIn: Will professionals leave their organizations for professional advancement because of their use of LinkedIn?

With the growth of Web 2.0/3.0, social network sites have been created for various purposes for a wide spectrum of users. Creating a digital footprint has become imperative, especially for professionals seeking career development and professional advancement. This study explores professionals’ intention to leave an organization for professional advancement (ILPA) based on their use of a professional social network site, LinkedIn. Our framework leverages self-determination theory (SDT) to demonstrate why professionals use this online social networking service. To validate our theoretical framework, 379 randomly selected active LinkedIn users completed an online questionnaire. The extent to which using LinkedIn influences ILPA is examined and the results support all our hypotheses. Our post-hoc analysis indicates a strong relationship between needing support and motivation for participating in LinkedIn. We attempt to explain the findings by using the time perspective concept. This study is also of practical value to companies seeking to set policies to retain professionals. Implications for theory and practice are discussed

Are Antecedents in the Adoption Stage Affecting IS Effectiveness in the Implementation Stage

Department of Management and MarketingRefereed conference pape

Comparing e-Learning Tools’ Success: The Case of Instructor–Student Interactive vs. Self-paced Tools

E-learning tools have profoundly transformed modern pedagogical approaches. Vendors provide different types of systems, such as self-paced (SP) and instructor–student interactive (ISI) e-learning tools. Although both types of tools represent promising solutions to facilitate the learning process, it is important to theoretically identify a framework to evaluate the success of these tools and assess whether one type of tool is more effective than another. Toward this end, we (1) propose a model to evaluate e-learning tools’ success by extending and contextualizing Seddon’s information systems (IS) success model for the e-learning environment and (2) formulate four hypotheses to predict the differences in the success factors between SP and ISI tools. We test the model and hypotheses using data from 783 students across seven higher education institutions in Hong Kong. The results support the proposed e-learning tool success model and three of the four hypotheses. ISI tools outperform SP tools in terms of system quality, perceived usefulness, satisfaction, and learning outcome

GOVERNANCE MECHNISMS IN IS OUTSOURCING PROJECTS IN TRANSITION ECONMIES

Pevious IS outsourcing research studies failed to provide evidences on how IT client-vendor relationships should be governed to ensure project success and relational continuity. More importantly, it is even challenging for companies to achieve outsourcing success in transition economies facing an environment characterized by institutional instability. This article draws from theories of institutions and organizations to develop a model examining outsourcing relationship governance mechanisms which would affect outsourcing success in state-owned and non-state-owned Chinese companies. Results of 72 state-owned and 54 non-state-owned outsourcing projects show that the positive relationship between contractual governance and outsourcing success is stronger in state-owned firms than in non-state-owned firms. On the other hand, non-state-owned firms have stronger effects on the relationships between relational governance and outsourcing success, and between outsourcing success and relational continuity

An Aircraft Service Staff Rostering using a Hybrid GRASP Algorithm

The aircraft ground service company is responsible for carrying out the regular tasks to aircraft maintenace between their arrival at and departure from the airport. This paper presents the application of a hybrid approach based upon greedy randomized adaptive search procedure (GRASP) for rostering technical staff such that they are assigned predefined shift patterns. The rostering of staff is posed as an optimization problem with an aim of minimizing the violations of hard and soft constraints. The proposed algorithm iteratively constructs a set of solutions by GRASP. Furthermore, with multi-agent techniques, we efficiently identify an optimal roster with minimal constraint violations and fair to employees. Experimental results are included to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm

Antidumping Charges Against China: A Comprehensive Analysis Of Proponents, Opponents, And Its Impact On U.S. Companies

Few nations have changed as fast—or as Dramatically—as China has since the 1970s. The world’s most populous nation has radically liberalized its economy and gone from producing low-quality and simple export to sophisticated high- technology goods, while nurturing a vibrant private sector and attracting nearly $500 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI). China’s total exports grew eightfold—to over$380 billion—between 1990 and 2003. China’s share of global exports will reach 6 percent in 2003, compared to 3.9 percent in 2000. The U.S. has lost about 2.6 million manufacturing jobs since 2001. While private economists say that most of he job losses reflected improved productivity at U.S. factories, many in Congress and within industry say China blame China. China’s soaring economy has turned it into manufacturing juggernaut that maintains the largest trade surplus of many nations, including the U.S. U.S. law provides for the protection of American manufacturers form unfair foreign trade practices. If U.S. companies believe that foreign competitors are dumping merchandise in the U.S. or are being subsidized by foreign governments, they may file for relief with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration and the U.S. Trade Commission.  Antidumping levies duties on goods dumped on the U.S. market. One of the most contested issues is whether U.S. trade laws, in particular the antidumping laws, should be open to negotiation. It should for the benefits of U.S. customers and U.S. businesses.  This research will focus on dumping charges against China and evaluate pros and cons of U.S. antidumping laws against foreign companies and its impact on U.S. consumers and businesses

Podosomes and Invadopodia: Related structures with Common Protein Components that May Promote Breast Cancer Cellular Invasion

A rate-limiting step in breast cancer progression is acquisition of the invasive phenotype, which can precede metastasis. Expression of cell-surface proteases at the leading edge of a migrating cell provides cells with a mechanism to cross tissue barriers. A newly appreciated mechanism that may be relevant for breast cancer cell invasion is the formation of invadopodia, well-defined structures that project from the ventral membrane and promote degradation of the extracellular matrix, allowing the cell to cross a tissue barrier. Recently, there has been some controversy and discussion as to whether invadopodia, which are associated with carcinoma cells, are related to a similar structure called podosomes, which are associated with normal cells. Invadopodia and podosomes share many common characteristics, including a similar size, shape, subcellular localization and an ability to promote invasion. These two structures also share many common protein components, which we outline herein. It has been speculated that podosomes may be precursors to invadopodia and by extension both structures may be relevant to cancer cell invasion. Here, we compare and contrast the protein components of invadopodia and podosomes and discuss a potential role for these proteins and the evidence that supports a role for invadopodia and podosomes in breast cancer invasion

Efeitos gerais nos distritos escolares do uso de dados em sala de aula

In the present study, an examination is conducted in three school districts of how data are used to improve classroom practice.  In doing so, we explore the effects that attitudes toward data, principal leadership, and computer data systems have on how data are used to affect classroom practice.  Findings indicate that educators are ambivalent about data: they see how data could support classroom practice, but their data use operates in the presence of numerous barriers.  Many of these barriers are due to principal leadership and computer data systems; these barriers often have negative effects on attitudes toward data and disrupt the progression from using data to inform classroom practice.  It is hypothesized that many of these barriers can be removed through effective district policies to improve structures and supports for using data.En el presente estudio, se examinan como tres distritos escolares usan datos para mejorar la práctica docente. Se exploraron que efectos tienen las actitudes hacia los datos, el liderazgo de los directores/as, y los sistemas de procesamiento de datos para modificar prácticas en el aula. Los resultados indican que los educadores son ambivalentes acerca de los datos: ven cómo los datos podrían apoyar prácticas en el aula, pero el uso de datos funciona en presencia de numerosas barreras. Muchas de estas barreras se deben al liderazgo de directores/as y a los sistemas de procesamiento de datos informáticos. Estas barreras suelen tener efectos negativos en las actitudes hacia los datos e interrumpen la incorporación de datos para mejorar prácticas en el aula. Se formula la hipótesis de que muchas de estas barreras pueden ser removidas a través de políticas distritales eficaces que mejoren las estructuras y brinden apoyos para el uso de datos.Neste estudo, examinamos como três distritos escolares utilizaram dados para melhorar a prática docente. Foram explorados os efeitos de atitudes em relação aos dados, a liderança dos/as diretores/as, e os sistemas de processamento de dados para alterar as práticas de sala de aula. Os resultados indicam que os educadores são ambivalentes respeito a o uso dos dados: observam como os dados podem apoiar as práticas de sala de aula, mas o uso de dados se faz na presença de muitas barreiras. Muitas dessas barreiras são devidas a liderança  dos/as diretores/as e aos sistemas e processamento de dados informáticos. Essas barreiras tendem a ter efeitos negativos nas atitudes com o uso dos dados e interrompem os processos de incorporar dados para melhorar as práticas de sala de aula. Se formula a hipótese de que que muitas dessas barreiras podem ser removidas através de políticas distritais eficazes que melhoram as estruturas e fornecendo suporte para o uso de dados