Martin Grossman

Does UML make the grade? Insights from the software development community

The Unified Modeling Language (UML) has become the de facto standard for systems development and has been promoted as a technology that will help solve some of the longstanding problems in the software industry. However, there is still little empirical evidence supporting the claim that UML is an effective approach to modeling software systems. Indeed, there is much anecdotal evidence suggesting the contrary, i.e. that UML is overly complex, inconsistent, incomplete and difficult to learn. This paper describes an investigation into the adoption and use of UML in the software development community. A web-based survey was conducted eliciting responses from users of UML worldwide. Results indicate a wide diversity of opinion regarding UML, reflecting the relative immaturity of the technology as well as the controversy over its effectiveness. This paper discusses the results of the survey and charts of the course for future research in UML usage.

Knowledge‐sharing intention in Vietnamese organizations

Purpose – This research seeks to obtain a better understanding of the factors impacting the intent to share knowledge within the Vietnamese organizational context. While the literature provides some examples of cross‐cultural studies involving knowledge sharing, there has been a lack of research on emerging economies such as Vietnam.Design/methodology/approach – The theoretical foundation for the paper is the theory of reasoned action (TRA), a social psychology framework that has been used extensively to explain many types of human behavior. The research model was formulated based on the original TRA framework as well as additional factors taken from the literature. Six variables were tested to determine their impact on the intention to share knowledge in an organizational context. Primary data were obtained from a survey administered to 124 employees in six multinational companies in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.Findings – Regression analysis shows that TRA, for the most part, has explanatory power within t...

Knowledge capture within the biopharmaceutical clinical trials environment

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of knowledge capture in the biopharmaceutical industry, focusing primarily on the transition from paper‐based to electronic data capture (EDC) systems.Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on biopharmaceutical industry literature and data from example clinical studies to describe the issues involved in transitioning to EDC in the clinical trials environment.Findings – While electronic data capture systems provide greater efficiencies along the clinical trial supply chain, the industry is still far from achieving wide scale utilization of such technologies. The barriers to successful implementation are multifaceted, involving not only the information technology itself, but also user acceptance issues, lack of interoperability standards, and regulatory compliance. Major shifts in organizational culture and a unified effort within the industry will be necessary in order to derive full benefits from electronic capture systems in the future....

Business networks, “brain circulation”, and the American Chinese diaspora

Purpose – Overseas Chinese business networks have had a profound effect on the economic development of mainland China and on the global economy as a whole. Such networks are based predominantly on familial, language and cultural factors and provide a foundation on which business is conducted, often with reduced transaction costs and with resilience to major shifts in the financial markets. This paper aims to explore business networks in the US Chinese diaspora.Design/methodology/approach – The paper begins with a brief introduction to the concept of ethnic business networks. Subsequent sections provide historical background on the Chinese diaspora and the role Chinese business networks have played around the world. An examination of how such networks have evolved in the US context follows. Finally, implications are discussed and a research agenda is suggested.Findings – It is suggested that a different type of business networking pattern has evolved in the US context, one that is less reliant on the tradi...

An emerging global knowledge management platform: the case of iBridge

Purpose – This paper seeks to serve as an introduction to a networking platform called iBridge, recently launched by the administrative office of Zhongguancun Haidian Science Park (HSP) in Beijing, China. With the goal of enabling knowledge sharing and collaboration between members and businesses across the world, iBridge has evolved to include features such as communities, blogs, search, recommendation and content customization. The emergence of iBridge is viewed in the context of Chinas national innovation policy, paying specific attention to the role that collaboration plays as a means of fostering the exchange of ideas and innovation. The paper also aims to discuss the challenges involved in adopting this approach.Design/methodology/approach – The information for this paper was gathered through visits by the author to HSP in 2006 and 2008, as well as through secondary written and web‐based sources.Findings – The paper finds that, since its inception in 2006, the iBridge platform has incorporated many...

Towards sustainable small hydro power development in Himachal Pradesh, India

Long considered to be a non-polluting and renewable energy source, small hydroelectric power (SHP) has been promoted as an alternative approach to electrical energy production in India. In recent years the government has opened up the SHP sector to private investors, offering tax breaks and other incentives to stimulate development. Such accelerated expansion has come at a cost. In many cases development has proceeded with inadequate feasibility analysis and with a lack of consideration of the risk factors and environmental, social and economic impacts. This paper explores sustainable SHP development in India, focusing on the state of Himachal Pradesh (HP). Using publically available state government data, as well as web-based and academic literature sources, the paper presents multiple perspectives on sustainable SHP development in the state of HP. We conclude with reflections on how sustainable SHP development in India might be achieved and suggestions for future policy-making and research.