Using Technology Enabled Qualitative Research to Develop Products for the Social Good, An Overview

This paper discusses the potential benefits of the convergence of three recent trends for the design of socially beneficial products and services: the increasing application of qualitative research techniques in a wide range of disciplines, the rapid mainstreaming of social media and mobile technologies, and the emergence of software as a service. Presented is a scenario facilitating the complex data collection, analysis, storage, and reporting required for the qualitative research recommended for the task of designing relevant solutions to address needs of the underserved. A pilot study is used as a basis for describing the infrastructure and services required to realize this scenario. Implications for innovation of enhanced forms of qualitative research are presented

Comparing the Effectiveness of Public vs. Private Blogging in a Management Information Systems Strategy Course

This paper reports on a study of the use of blogs to support a Management Information Systems Strategy class requiring higher level thinking skills. Comparison of the use of private vs. public blogs showed that public sites were more effective in providing students with the skills to assess the potential of emerging technologies and to integrate blogs into their daily activities

Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence Skills for Information Systems Graduates: Analysis Based on Marketplace Demand

In an effort to keep information systems (IS) curriculum current with emerging technologies, this research reports the result of a survey of marketplace demand for database, data warehousing and business intelligence skills. Sample job and skills data were obtained from Dice.com’s online postings for jobs that required a bachelor’s degree in IS or equivalent qualifications. Cluster analysis revealed some skill overlap among the three job categories. Significant skills for each category of jobs, along with skill and vendor rankings, are reported

Professional and Personal Social Networking and Enhancement of Social Capital in Young Adults

PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL SOCIAL NETWORKING AND ENHANCEMENT OF SOCIAL CAPITAL IN YOUNG ADULTS ABSTRACT This study compares the use of personal and professional social networking sites by young adults for social capital enhancing activities. The research is based on a survey of college-age adults (n=292) who were asked about their use of two social networking sites of contrasting architectures: the more interactive, social/personal\-oriented site Facebook, and the relatively less interactive, professional/business-oriented site LinkedIn. Data were analyzed to determine the relationships among demographic and technology experience factors, and respondents’ use of these sites for social capital enhancing activities. Findings suggest that increasing age and number of SNS profiles are positively related, while gender is not related significantly with social capital enhancing activities on Facebook and LinkedIn. Higher income levels were significantly and positively related with Facebook use but not with LinkedIn use. Surprisingly, the more social-oriented Facebook was used in more social capital enhancing ways than the more professional-oriented LinkedIn, suggesting that for college-age students, socially-oriented sites such as Facebook serve as a platform for the interactions which form a foundation of social connections on which more professional, social capital enhancing activities are based. Keywords: Social Media, social networking, social capital, Facebook, LinkedI