Linda V. Knight

Adapting Peer Review to an Online Course: An Exploratory Case Study

With demonstrated benefits to higher level learning, peer review in the classroom has been well researched and popular since at least the 1990s. However, little or no prior studies exist into the peer review process for online courses. Further, we found no prior research specifically addressing the operational aspects of online peer review. This research addresses that gap by comparing the issues involved in managing peer review for an online course with those for a traditional classroom course. In an exploratory case study, two sections of the same introductory level course were taught by the same professor in the same academic term, one section in the traditional classroom and one as an online section. Both sections covered the same material in the same order. Online students had access to narrated PowerPoint recordings that tracked in-class lectures. The same assignments and exams were used. The two sections used a joint discussion board for posting questions and answers about the course material. In short, the two courses were almost identical, except for the steps necessary to make peer review operate in an online environment.

The Relevance of Information Systems Research: Informing the IS Practitioner Community; Informing Ourselves

Discussion of the relevance of Information Systems research to the practitioner community began in the 1990s. Though the issue has faded from top-tier journals, the problem remains. This article provides the first comprehensive consideration of the major papers relating to IS research relevance. It also recognizes that the problem of relevance is not one that is likely to be solved at the global IS level, or even the university level. Rather, the relevance of IS research ultimately will be determined by each individual researcher. To facilitate individual researchers’ progress in moving toward greater relevance, this research provides a concise plan of specific actions that are within the control of each individual IS researcher. These actions involve both how researchers attempt to inform the practitioner community about their work, and how researchers inform themselves about the concerns of practitioners. Several specific actions for improving the relevance of individual research are detailed.

An Exploratory Analysis of Intranet Benefits

An exploratory survey of business professionals from a broad range of organizations indicates that potential intranet benefits are both difficult to achieve and highly interrelated. Although many organizations implement intranets in the hope of generating cost savings or improving knowledge sharing across organizational units, this study indicates that the only likely benefit of implementing an intranet is faster access to information. The study also suggests that the most difficult benefit to achieve is generating a more cooperative work environment, and that developing an intranet that improves the quality and relevance of information is foundational to achieving most other intranet benefits.

Project Duration and Risk Factors on Virtual Projects

This research examines how project duration relates to specific individual risk factors that threaten virtual projects, i.e. where team members are not co-located and must rely heavily on computer mediated communication. A total of 557 project management practitioners completed an online survey concerning the impact of each of 55 risk factors on one of their recently completed virtual projects. MANOVA analysis on the ten factors with the highest risk effect (REff) levels demonstrated a clear relationship between project duration and six of the ten factors. These six risks were significantly higher on longer duration projects, suggesting that (1) these risks need to be followed more closely on longer duration projects, and (2) projects whose schedules increase over time may be at greater risk than their risk analyses might indicate. Reasons why some risk factors have a duration effect, while others do not, are explored.

Technology Related Risks on Virtual Software Development Projects

Virtual software development projects have a greater reliance on technology than traditional co-located projects because of the need to leverage technology to facilitate or enhance communication among virtual team members. The goal of this research was to determine whether technology-related risks pose a greater risk to virtual projects than to traditional projects. Seven technology-related risks were identified from the literature, individual interviews with IT practitioners, and a focus group. Then 154 practitioners, primarily project managers, participated in an electronic survey that explored the impact of these factors. Results indicate two technology-related risks exhibited a significantly greater impact on virtual IT projects. Project managers need to be aware that 1 traditional project risks can have greater impact on virtual projects, and 2 of the technology-related risk factors, inexperience with the company and its processes and inadequate technical resources have been shown here to pose a greater threat to virtual projects than to traditional projects.

Informing Young Women about Computer Careers: Examining the Pervasiveness of the Geek Image

Organizations attempting to attract more women to the Information Technology field often focus on convincing young women that the computer field is not composed primarily of geeks and loners. However, relatively little prior research focuses on whether the geek or loner image is in fact a reality in the minds of young women. This research reports on the results of a study of 412 girls, ages sixteen through eighteen, in a major Midwestern United States city. The study found that, contrary to popular opinion, most of these girls do not view those who choose computer related careers as being geeks or loners. These results call for reassessment of resources currently allocated to combat the geek and loner image, particularly in large urban areas. The research also uncovers unexpected racial differences in how those who choose computer careers are perceived. Material published as part of this publication, either on-line or in print, is copyrighted by the Informing Science Institute. Permission to make digital or paper copy of part or all of these works for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that the copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage AND that copies 1) bear this notice in full and 2) give the full citation on the first page. It is permissible to abstract these works so long as credit is given. To copy in all other cases or to republish or to post on a server or to redistribute to lists requires specific permission and payment of a fee. Contact Publisher@InformingScience.org to request redistribution permission.

Encouraging Minority Enrollment in IT Degree Programs through Participatory Organizations

Worldwide demand for qualified IT workers has employers exploring under-represented segments of the workforce. The percentage of women IT workers is not keeping pace with the growth of the industry. Minority populations, which are country specific, are also under-represented segments. This paper focuses on three significant minority segments in the United States: women, African Americans and Hispanic Americans. Studies have shown that increasing the number of these three groups enrolled in university computer science programs can help ease the shortage of qualified IT workers. One approach to attract and retain these students is to encourage the use of participatory organizations. This paper traces the initial efforts of one university to retain these segments through student-led chapters of the Association for Computing Machinery – Women, National Society of Black Engineers and Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. Critical success factors are identified for use by other universities interested in initiating similar programs.

Framework to Enhance Nurses’ Use of EMR

Abstract The ability of nurses to adopt and successfully use EMR is expected to have a significant impact on achieving benefits such as reduction in healthcare costs and improvement in healthcare quality. A review of the current research literature reveals issues and concerns relating to the adoption and use of EMR by nurses in hospital environments. This article presents a literature review of such issues and concerns, and suggests a framework for enhancing the adoption and use of EMR by nurses and hospitals.

A Compilation of Web Resources for Educators

In this assemblage of Web resources for educators, we identify specific sites that provide high quality, free services of interest to teaching professionals. These resources will be of particular interest to schools whose budgets are strained or whose faculty or students are working with limited funds. While there is a wealth of resources available on the Web, faculty have had little guidance in terms of weeding through the contenders to identify those no-charge resources that are of ample quality. In this manuscript, we identify blog hosts, wiki hosts, social networking site hosts, and website hosts that we have found suitable for educational use. We also identify excellent sources for free website templates and HTML/CSS editor software. In the process of describing these resources, we simultaneously identify key criteria to consider when making a selection in each of the categories we discuss. We do not duplicate the rich existing literature on the educational use of these resources, but rather add information on specific effective software and services available without charge.

Selecting an Appropriate Publication Outlet: A Comprehensive Model of Journal Selection Criteria for Researchers in a Broad Range of Academic Disciplines

Building upon previously published articles from 18 different disciplines, this research delves into the area of how academics inform one another, addressing the issue of how academic scholars can determine the optimum journal for submission of their research. A comprehensive model of the journal selection process is developed, including 39 detailed considerations spread over three major categories: likelihood of timely acceptance; potential impact of the manuscript (journal credibility, prestige, visibility); and philosophical and ethical issues. Specific guidelines are given for evaluating such concepts as manuscript-journal “fit,” journal prestige, and journal visibility. The graphical model developed here assists authors in comparing journal alternatives and provides new researchers with insights into how the three primary journal selection categories are weighed and balanced. In addition, less commonly understood concepts, such as Time to Publication, Review Cycle Time Delay, and Publication Time Delay, are identified and named, and their relationships are defined in this article. On a broader level, this research demonstrates that scholars across disciplines have substantial common interests with respect to journal publishing, that the ties that unite academics seeking to publish are strong, and that the potential for future crossdisciplinary research in the area of how academics inform one another is correspondingly robust.