Ontological Meta-Analysis and Synthesis

We present ontological meta-analysis and synthesis as a method for reviewing, mapping, and visualizing the research literature in a domain cumulatively, logically, systematically, and systemically. The method will highlight the domain’s bright spots which are heavily emphasized, the light spots which are lightly emphasized, the blank spots which are not emphasized, and the blind spots which have been overlooked. It will highlight the biases and asymmetries in the domain’s research; the research can then be realigned to make it stronger and more effective. We illustrate the method using the emerging domain of Public Health Informatics (PHI). We present an ontological framework for the domain, map the literature onto the framework, and highlight its bright, light, and blank/blind spots. We conclude with a discussion of how (a) the results can be used to realign PHI research, and (b) the method can be used in other information systems domains

Ontological Meta-Analysis and Synthesis

We present ontological meta-analysis and synthesis as a method for reviewing, mapping, and visualizing the research literature in a domain cumulatively, logically, systematically, and systemically. The method highlights a domain’s bright spots that have been heavily studied, the light spots that have been lightly studied, the blind spots that have been overlooked, and the blank spots that have not been studied. It highlights the biases in a domain’s research; the research can then be realigned to make it stronger and more effective. We illustrate the method using the emerging domain of public health informatics (PHI). We present an ontological framework for the domain, map the literature onto the framework, and highlight its bright, light, and blind/blank spots. We also present detailed analyses using the ontological maps of dyads and triads. We conclude by discussing how (a) the results can be used to realign PHI research, and (b) the method can be used in other information systems domains

An Ontology of Megaprojects

Megaprojects are symbolic milestones of human history. From the Great Pyramid of Giza and the Great Wall of China to the Hoover Dam and the Manhattan Project, history is marked by an array of megaprojects. Some megaprojects are born out of necessity while others showcase power and status of individuals, groups, or countries. Most megaprojects are one-of-a-kind endeavors to which traditional project management principles are neither applicable nor suitable, rendering the holistic study of megaprojects especially difficult. Regardless of the recent uptick in research on megaprojects there is no systemic framework that can help systematically assess and guide megaprojects and megaproject research. In the absence of such a framework there is a significant risk of bias in planning the projects and the topics researched. In this paper, we present an ontology of megaprojects and discuss how it can help analyze individual megaprojects and synthesize the corpus of megaproject research

MODIFICATIONS AND INNOVATIONS TO TECHNOLOGY ARTIFACTS

What happens to a technology artifact after it is adopted? It has to evolve within its particular context to be effective; if it doesn’t, it will become part of the detritus of change, like the many genes without a discernible function in a living organism. In this paper, we report on a study of post-adoption technology behavior that examined how users modified and innovated with technology artifacts. We uncovered three types of changes conducted to technology artifacts: personalization, customization, and inventions. Personalization attempts are modifications involving changes to technology parameters to meet the specificities of the user; customizing attempts occur to adapt the technology parameters to meet the specificities of the user’s environment; and inventions are exaptations conducted to the technology artifact. The paper presents a grounded theoretic analysis of the post-adoption evolution based in-depth interviews with 20 software engineers in one multi-national organization. We identify a life-cycle model that connects the various types of modifications conducted to technology artifacts. The life-cycle model elaborates on how individual and organizational dynamics are linked to diffusion of innovations. While the research is still in progress and the post-adoption evolution model has to be refined, the research has significant value in understanding the full life-cycle of adoption of technological artifacts and how is maximum value derived from them

Introduction to Technology Mediated Collaborations in Healthcare and Wellness Management Minitrack

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Envisioning the Future of Portfolio, Program, and Project Management (P3M): An Ontology

The vision of Portfolio, Program, and Project Management’s (P3M) future has to be visible in all its sagacity, complexity, and granularity to be effective. It has to be visible and meaningful to all stakeholders – to align them, to avoid dysfunctional conflicts among them, and for them to shape the future collaboratively, systematically, and systemically. Such visibility will help: (a) translate the vision into reality without distortion, (b) provide a coherent framework to manage uncertainty and change, (c) create a culture leading to excellence, (d) serve as a constant reference for assessment, feedback and learning throughout the P3M lifecycle, and (e) sustain the viability of P3M. We present an ontology to make the vision of P3M’s future visible. The ontology encapsulates the logic of the vision – its many dimensions, layers of elements, and innumerable components. It is parsimonious and can elucidate the vision’s complexity at different levels of granularity