Integrating content-based language learning and intercultural learning online: An international eGrops collaboration

Learning language through content in the tertiary context presents a challenge in that language teachers, particularly in EAP/ESP contexts, are not necessarily experts in their students’ speciality subject areas, while subject experts might lack language teaching methodology. Furthermore, intercultural awareness, a key qualification in today’s global work environment, tends to take a back seat in a content-based approach. This paper reports on a didactic concept which integrates subject-based language learning with intercultural experience through online collaboration in an international eGroups set-up. The creation of a collaborative learning space aimed to bring together learners from different cultural contexts (New Zealand and Germany) and with different target languages (German and English) towards shared learning outcomes. Data from student interactions will help illustrate to what extent the eGroups model promoted interactive, communicative and intercultural competence through content-related bilingual collaboration

Stimulating Discourse on Topical Themes in Information Systems Research

Editorial for JITTA volume 18, issue 1

Value-oriented process modeling - towards a financial perspective on business process redesign

To date, typical process modeling approaches put a strong emphasis on describing behavioral aspects of business operations. However, they often neglect value-related information. Yet, such information is of key importance to strategic decisionmaking, for instance in the context of process improvement or business engineering. In this paper we propose a valueoriented approach to business process modeling based on key concepts and metrics from operations and financial management. A simple case study suggests that our approach facilitates managerial decision-making in the context of process re-design

ChangeHER – Ein Prozessmodellbasiertes Change Management-System für Hochschulverwaltungen

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Towards Creativity-Aware Project Management – An Initial Study on Creativity in Research Projects

Creativity is a key resource in research projects where uncertainty is high and working methods and outcomes are only loosely defined. Project management has to ensure that it encourages, channels and manages creativity, while, at the same time, optimises the typical constraints of resources, time and scope. This can only be successfully done if emphasis is put on understanding the core of any creative project: the occurrence and nature of creativity. This paper documents an exploratory case study which analyses how creative work is distributed along various project phases and how it can be characterised and attributed. Two types of creativity within research projects have been identified: Creativity of the technical project lead to create and manage the project vision and creativity of the subject matter experts to generate research results. An understanding of their differences and implications helps project managers in the definition of a suitable management approach for research projects