The Impact of Computer Mediation on Group and Individual Preferences in Social Dilemmas

As sensitivity to social issues increases, corporations face a particularIy difficult challenge when confronted with trade-oEs between corporate self-interest and the public interest. The difficulty OE resolving sese socid d i l e m a s in groups is amplified by value conflicts across group members and also b y conflicts bciween an individual\u27s p e r s o d values and those of the corporation. This study investigates the impact of group suppol-\u27,s y s t e ~ (sGSS) on persuasive processes md fiecison outcomes associated with social dilerrunas. The theoretical foundafronfor the study is the literature on group gol&zation, in particular the theories of persuasive arguments and social comparison (Isen\u27ksg 1986)

Origins and Outcomes of Electoral Institutions in African Hybrid Regimes: A Comparative Perspective

In the early 1990s most African countries carried out extensive reforms of their electoral regimes. Adopting a historical institutionalist approach, this paper critically examines the role of institutional path dependence in accounting for the setup of six African electoral regimes. For this purpose, we distinguish between different types of path dependence. The paper further analyzes the extent to which the development of electoral institutions contributed to the regime-type outcome (democratic/hybrid/autocratic). The main emphasis herein is on so-called hybrid regimes; in other words, regimes existing in the grey zone between democracy and autocracy. The paper finds that, while institutional path dependence has a limited but important impact on the setup of the electoral regimes, it is ultimately the process of decision-making during critical junctures that accounts for the regime type outcome. Hybrid regimes lack long-term institutional ownership

Adoption of Software Engineering Innovations in Organizations

Designing effective strategies to facilitate the adoption of new software engineering technologies is a complex endeavor. This document describes the experiences of organizations in the defense industry that have considered and in many cases adopted any one of five software engineering technologies: structured programming, program design languages, software cost models, complexity metrics, and ADA. In all, 296 respondents participated in the entire study. These respondents represented approximately 120 business units within approximately 75 defense contractor organizations. Data were collected using a structured survey instrument administered over the telephone. This report examines the motivations behind technology acquisition and adoption decisions, the use of various technology transfer mechanisms during the stages of the adoption process, and the relationship between technology transfer mechanisms and the timing, pass through, and smoothness of adoption process stages. Adoption is assumed to be a multi-stage process that may proceed in a linear or non-linear fashion. Also explored is the relationship between managerial level of the advocate (i.e., top management, middle management, technical management, and broad-based support) and the speed and smoothness of technology acquisition and adoption. Analysis of data supports the notion that organizations and change agents (e.g., the Department of Defense) should carefully tailor transition mechanisms and the choice of technology advocate to the specific stage of the adoption process, rather than adopt a single strategy for the entire process. Moreover, a single adoption strategy is not applicable to all technologies. These strategies must also be tailored depending on the subtleties of the particular technology