The importance of national ICT visions for information society in South East Asia

This paper addresses the question &lsquo;How necessary is a national information and communications technology (ICT) strategy/vision for the development of an information society?&rsquo; For the purpose of this paper, &lsquo;information society&rsquo; is reduced to two key dimensions: penetration of ICT, and access to government information on-line. In considering the question, the paper calls on data contained in the International Telecommunication Union&rsquo;s (ITU) case studies of e-readiness in eight South East Asian (SEA) nations (Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam). The background to the paper includes an overview of the SEA nations in terms of demographics and a discussion of the dilemma of government involvement in developing an information society in the light of the &lsquo;small government mantra&rsquo; that has dominated in recent years. National ICT strategies visions of each nation are presented, followed by on overview of their information society policies and practices and their ICT penetration. The importance of the vision is then contrasted with other factors including level of development and national income. The conclusions draw attention to the importance of a vision irrespective of level of development and resource availability. In fact, for the least developed nations, poor infrastructure may be an opportunity to leap frog to the most advanced networks supporting an information society, if the vision is relevant, powerful and broadly held.<br /

Offshore Outsourcing and Organizational Learning: A Model of Cultural Occlusions

Offshore outsourcing of information technology services is a recent global trend. Organizations may not have considered the impact of outsourcing on their learning capabilities for future competitive competencies. The impact on learning may depend on the national cultures of the client organization and of the offshore outsourcing vendor. A conceptual model of cultural occlusions to organizational learning in IT outsourcing relationships is developed in this paper. Suggested solutions include employing boundary spanners to mitigate of any unfavourable impacts. The cultural occlusions model may inform IT practitioners in an offshore outsourcing relationship, and the IT industry strategy of developing countries offering offshore outsourcing services

The Internet Implication in Expanding Individual Freedom in Authoritarian States

The Internet has been heralded as the media for social revolution. However, the question remains: what impact will the Internet have on freedoms in authoritarian regimes? This paper addresses this question with a focus on Iran. After a background on the Iranian context, the United Nation’s Articles on Human Rights are considered in the light of common Internet activities. Government responses to individual and group attempts to restore and grow human rights via the Internet are set out. The implications for Iranians are discussed and conclusions are drawn

Why don\u27t GPs go online?

A 2003 study of the adoption of online medical applications by Victorian GPs showed that not only are very few using them, but also very few have plans to do so. This paper asks why this is so. Three possible explanations are investigated: that their current IS/IT aligns with their strategy, rendering change unwarranted; that they do not have the requisite means; and that there are non-strategic, non-means reasons. After an analysis of the relevance of concepts of strategy and alignment to the medical profession, relevant concepts are applied to the data. The findings are not encouraging for government plans to improve access, equity and efficiency through online medical applications

Aboriginal and non-aboriginal Australia : the dilemma of apologies, forgiveness, and reconciliation

This article presents a qualitative study of the indigenous Australian perspective on reconciliation with nonindigenous Australia, with a focus on the role of an apology for the oppression and violence perpetrated by nonindigenous Australians, and forgiveness on the part of indigenous Australians. A brief historical analysis of the relationship between Aborigines and waves of settlers is presented to demonstrate the extent of the wrong that was perpetrated against Aborigines and the need for social as well as practical reconciliation in the current context. It is argued that negotiated forgiveness is a concept that is pertinent to the discussion of reconciliation, because it requires a dialogue between the parties and ultimately for the wrongdoer to accept accountability and responsibility for offending actions, thereby opening the door for forgiveness and, ultimately, possible reconciliation. It is suggested that a first step in the required reconciliation dialogue is an apology, but the issue of who should give and receive an apology is a complex one. The issue of who should forgive and who should be forgiven is shown to be similarly complex. Qualitative analysis of interview data from 10 participants indicated that at this point in time, forgiveness might not be salient to the indigenous population, whose primary focus is more on the matter of an apology. This suggests that negotiated forgiveness and reconciliation will remain elusive goals until the matter of an apology is resolved.<br /

Data quality issues in practice and theory : a cross-cultural example

Practical considerations and traditions play a substantial role in data collection exercises, often limiting the focus of study to either qualitative or quantitative issues. An industry with a particularly strong quantitative emphasis is the insurance and reinsurance industry, where actuarial decisions are based on detailed and exacting numerical analysis of data that are assumed to be reliable and valid. However, the qualitative investigation of the quality of data in one reinsurance setting reported in this paper shows that where the meanings of the questions asked and of the answers provided are subject to interpretation, the quality of data collected for entry to databases can be poor. While this can be exacerbated in cross-cultural contexts, it is also generally true. Due to the constrained nature of insurance practice, the existence of a range of techniques combining qualitative and quantitative methods is somewhat academic. Therefore, because researchers have the latitude to investigate both qualitative and quantitative factors in the industrial context, a call is made for researchers and industry to work more closely together.<br /

Psychiatrists’ views on recovery colleges

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide insight into the views and attitudes that psychiatrists have about Recovery Colleges (RCs). Design/methodology/approach: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 psychiatrists from the Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust (NSFT). Findings: Psychiatrists had a strong concept of the RC model, and were broadly positive about it, recognising many benefits. Various challenges were also acknowledged including how the RC model interacts with the medical model. Originality/value: This is the first known study to explore solely psychiatrist’s views of RCs, a group who are likely to be particularly influential within services. The sample was relatively unexposed to RCs, enabling insight into how the RC is perceived by those outside of its functioning as well as the state of wider organisational support, which is important for the success of RCs