D03. OTC and SBDC: Services and Updates

Corresponding author (Office of Technology Commercialization): Gregory Sechrist, [email protected]://egrove.olemiss.edu/pharm_annual_posters/1025/thumbnail.jp

Competitive Intelligence Software Evaluation Taxonomy (SET) for SMEs in Malaysia - An Effectiveness Report

The increasing need for competitive advantage in fast moving industries such as Information, Communication Technologies (ICT), means some SMEs are looking at Competitive Intelligence (CI), a systematic process for gathering, analysing, and managing information that can affect a company's plans, decisions, and operation. Some software companies have developed online tools and software that promise to enhance the CI process and the value CI brings to organisations. The success of these CI software tools depends, however, on the sophistication of an organisation’s understanding of the CI process and scope. Different companies derive different values from different approaches to CI, and therefore require a online tool or software that is specific to their company’s needs, resources and management style. This research investigated the management structures and contexts of ICT SMEs in Malaysia to develop a more customised approach to the effective use of CI software for SMEs in the ICT sector, as well as in the selection of appropriate CI software. This paper describes the two-stage research approach. The first stage involved identifying the management style and context of a group of 680 SMEs, in the Malaysian Government’s Multimedia Super Corridor, a government supported area for local businesses. This stage used a cluster analysis approach, to create a taxonomy of ten SME clusters and their management style. These clusters were then used as the basis for the second stage to develop suitable criteria to evaluate available online tools and software for conducting competitive intelligence from an SME perspective. The evaluation criteria were applied to eight CI-ready software packages to identify the most suitable software for each cluster of SMEs. Finally, the research surveyed a small sample of managers to obtain the prospective users’ perceptions of the recommended software. The research findings provide evidence of a range of SME structures in a variety of contexts. Levels of importance placed on different levels in the CI process are identified, as well as aspects that need support, automation and/or augmentation. The software evaluation in the second part of the research provided ten recommendations of suitable software package(s) for each SME cluster. The perceived effectiveness study that concluded the research provided mixed responses. All in all, the research confirms that SMEs can be analyzed by clusters but further research would be necessary to confirm the effectiveness of using the recommended CI software over a longer period of time. The authors would like to note that some of the diagrams (Diagrams 3 and 4) and tables (Tables 1 and 2) featured in this article are only partially shown and had to be resized and cropped to fit the publication’s requirements and dimensions. (Abstract by authors

National library websites: how do they market the library?

National library websites: how do they market the library

Information Science student IT experience and attitude toward computers: results of a five-year longitudinal study

Information Science student IT experience and attitude toward computers: results of a five-year longitudinal stud

Constructing a Test Bank for Information Science based upon Bloom's principles

This paper outlines an approach to creating questions for a subject-based question bank for use in UK library schools. The authors outline a concept map for information science and describe how Bloom’s taxonomy can be adapted to the creation of higher level questions than the commonly used and simple recall type. Sample questions were created using the International Encyclopedia of Information and Library Science (IEILS) and subjects defined by staff at the Department of Information Science at Loughborough University. A role is suggested for the Learning and Teaching Support Network for Information and Computer Science (LTSN-ICS)

Origins of competitive intelligence : a fundamental extension of CI education

Origins of competitive intelligence : a fundamental extension of CI educatio

Complexity in decision making: Determining university library opening hours.

Making decisions on academic library opening hours is complex with many pressures on managers. This research surveys senior academic library managers from the UK, using a questionnaire to reveal views on library opening hours, the decision making process, and the pressures which influenced their decisions. A variety of factors were found, in particular satisfying undergraduate demands. The research also revealed the sources of information important in making decisions on opening hours and the influence of ‘political’ issues in the decision making process. Some institutions remove complexity by utilising 24/7 opening, though this is not an option for many

Computer‐assisted assessment: suggested guidelines for an institutional strategy

Online Learning examines the influence of new technologies on online pedagogy and provides an authoritative synthesis of existing research in the field. It also investigates the direction of e-Learning in the digital age

Multiconfiguration Loads Analysis for Missions with an Uncertain Rideshare Manifest

Rideshare or “multi-manifest” missions – where several smaller “rideshare” spacecraft are launched together, usually with a larger “forward” spacecraft – are becoming increasingly common. In many cases, the properties or configuration of the rideshare spacecraft are not well-defined during initial launch manifesting and may not be finalized until a few months before launch. In this paper, a multiconfiguration loads analysis (MLA) process is presented that can enable flexibility in the mission manifesting process by allowing for uncertainty in the final rideshare configuration, including late manifest changes or swaps, without requiring additional loads analyses to those specified in the Load Cycle Process. By applying the MLA process, a set of adequately conservative loads can be generated for the forward spacecraft, launch vehicle, and potential rideshare spacecraft that account for uncertainty in the rideshare manifest and minimize the potential for issues late in the process. The MLA process will also define a mission-specific dynamic properties envelope that would allow rideshare spacecraft that “fit” within the envelope to be swapped. If all parts of the system are verified to match the models used in analysis and designed to survive the bounding loads, the launch manifest can be changed after analyses are completed, much closer to launch, without incurring increased risk