Many scientific fields share common interests for research and education. Yet, very often, these fields do not communicate to each other and are unaware of the work in other fields. Understanding the commonalities and differences among related fields can broaden our understanding of the interested phenomena from various perspectives, better utilize resources, enhance collaboration, and eventually move the related fields forward together. In this article, we present a conceptual framework, namely the Information-Model or I-model, to describe various aspects of information related fields. We consider this a timely effort in light of the evolutions of several information related fields and a set of questions related to the identities of these fields. It is especially timely in defining the newly formed Information Field from a community of twenty some information schools. We posit that the information related fields are built on a number of other fields but with their own unique foci and concerns. That is, core components from other fundamental fields interact and integrate with each other to form dynamic and interesting information related fields that all have to do with information, technology, people, and organization/society. The conceptual framework can have a number of uses. Besides providing a unified view of these related fields, it can be used to examine old case studies, recent research projects, educational programs and curricula concerns, as well as to illustrate the commonalities and differences with the information related fields.

Utah, isolated from other people, while exploring the area and sharing daily chores. Email provided our only means of contact; all mission-related messages were mediated by a remote mission support team. This protocol enabled a systematic and controlled study of crew activities, scheduling, and use of space. The study was primarily a methodological experiment in participant observation and work practice analysis, gathering quantitative data as part of an ethnographic study. The work practice analysis focused on two questions: Where did the time go—why did the crew feel rushed and unable to complete their work? How can we measure productivity, to compare habitat designs, schedules, roles, and tools? Analysis suggests that a simple scheduling change—having lunch and dinner earlier, plus eliminating afternoon meetings—increased the available productive time by 41%. Furthermore, observation of work practices suggested how to eliminate direct use of GPS devices by the crew, illustrating how an ethnographic study can help produce dramatically new operations concepts.

As the service sector has come to account for most U.S. employment, researchers are asking whether service jobs can provide the livable wages and security that manufacturing jobs have in the past, particularly for workers without post-secondary education. This paper addresses that question by presenting a case study of a unionized supermarket firm, supplemented with industry data. The findings are that the supermarket industry has changed in the past several decades: while it once provided full-time, well-paid jobs, the majority of workers now hold part-time, low-wage positions. This change is due to increased competition and deunionization within the industry. Our case study firm has followed the industry trends in several ways: while jobs at this firm can offer long-term wage growth and job security, entry-level wages have eroded and the use of part-time workers has increased. However, the firm stands out in some positive ways: it is an industry leader with regard to technology and t...

Our objective in this paper is to show how the firm value framework can be used to examine IT investments and research on IT investment decisions. The firm value approach adds to the process-oriented approach through simultaneous evaluation of all of the factors that affect firm value. We demonstrate how to use the firm value framework in evaluating two streams of research in MIS, event studies of IT investment announcements and ecommerce initiatives.

Knowledge management is a diverse, complex and often contradictory activity ( Newell et al. 2001). This paper investigates a study of operators at a printing company. The operators are characterised as knowledge workers and the possibilities to introduce information based knowledge support for these workers were investigated. To deal with the complexity, a five perspective interpretative framework is suggested. A complex picture emerged; different intertwined and interacting knowledge management themes were found. The outcome of the study is a discussion of the necessity to discuss different and very diverse aspects of knowledge management in an integrated way.

This paper is primarily concerned with a theoretical discussion of how new markers of social status are beginning to emerge from differences in people’s access to information and communication technologies. It also addresses various social distinctions that digital technologies are thought to generate and exacerbate. It posits that the current emphasis on economic activity that is ICT intensive produces a bias towards ‘dematerialisation ’ and the valorisation of dematerialised activity. It further posits that this bias will both ‘intermediate and redimension ’ community perceptions of social status and prestige. Drawing parallels to the industrial era where transportation technologies (cars, trains, boats and planes) shaped and conditioned a hierarchy of status symbols, the paper argues that ICTs are now beginning to dynamically intermediate in symbolic processes that 1) define and allocate social status and social honour; 2) define and mark social inclusion and exclusion; and 3) shape community defined prestige hierarchies. This paper has been published in Neice, D.C.(1998), ’ICTs and Dematerialization: Some implications for status differentiation in advanced market societies’, ACTS/FAIR Working Paper No.43, Brighton:SPRU,March.

Assosiaatiosäännöt ja louhittujen sääntöjoukkojen karsiminen …..…...................80

Abstract: Governments around the world are increasingly turning to information sharing and integration to help solve problems in a wide range of programs and policy areas. These complex interorganizational efforts face not only the technical challenges of many information technology initiatives, but also the difficulties derived from interacting among multiple and diverse organizations. Trust has been identified as one the most important organizational factors for cross-boundary information sharing and integration. However, more research is needed regarding the determinants of trust building in this multi-organizational contexts. This paper highlights the relevant role of trust in cross-boundary information sharing initiatives and provides evidence about three of its most important determinants. 1.

Abstract—Twenty years after the publication of Patricia Sullivan’s “Beyond a narrow conception of usability testing” in the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION, three scholars—all Sullivan’s students—reflect on the history and development of usability testing and research. Following Sullivan, this article argues that usability bridges the divide between science and rhetoric and asserts that usability is most effective when it respects the knowledge-making practices of a variety of disciplines. By interrogating trends in usability method, the authors argue for a definition of usability that relies on multiple epistemologies to triangulate knowledge-making. The article opens with a brief history of the development of usability methods and argues that usability requires a balance between empirical observation and rhetoric. Usability interprets human action and is enriched by articulating context and accepting contingency. Usability relies on effective collaboration and cooperation among stakeholders in the design of technology. Ultimately, professional and technical communication scholars are best prepared to coin new knowledge with a long and wide view of usability. Index Terms—Empirical research, history, methodology, participatory design, rhetoric, science, usability, user-centered design. The “problem ” of usability has been a source of great scholarly and practical interest for many

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