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1 – 10 of 19Matthew Warren and Richard Lucas
This paper aims to introduce a special section based on papers from Australasian Conference for Information Systems 2014.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to introduce a special section based on papers from Australasian Conference for Information Systems 2014.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper comments on key contextualisation moments in relevant history.
Findings
This paper describes the initiative in Australia to widen Information and Communication Technology ethics awareness.
Originality/value
This is a new attempt to bring Ethics and Information Systems academics closer together.
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The purpose of this paper is to analyze the factors influencing the presence of works councils in Polish companies. The study also considers the incidence of councils in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the factors influencing the presence of works councils in Polish companies. The study also considers the incidence of councils in organizations and management’s attitude towards these institutions of employee participation.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a sample of 402 Polish private companies, the probit model was calculated to identify the determinants of a works councils’ presence. The coverage of active councils was evaluated on the MRPiPS database and the GUS database.
Findings
The data show that the coverage of works councils in Polish organizations fell suddenly after the introduction of the amendment of the Act from 2009. Moreover, trade union density has a strong positive influence on the occurrence of works councils in companies. Councils are also more likely to be found in older foreign-owned companies in which forms of direct participation are used. Additionally, a higher share of shift workers in companies is associated with a higher probability of works councils’ presence.
Research limitations/implications
There are some difficulties with obtaining a precise analysis of the coverage of works councils in Poland.
Practical implications
Polish findings may be useful for other countries of Central and Eastern Europe with similar characteristics of industrial relations and similarly short traditions of works councils.
Originality/value
This paper extends the previous research on the operation of works councils in Polish industrial relations by providing an econometric analysis of the determinants of councils’ presence in companies. Such an analysis has been conducted in Poland for the first time.
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Alfredo Biffi, Rita Bissola and Barbara Imperatori
The purpose of this paper is to illustrate and discuss the main features and key challenges of an original post-graduate education program designed according to an innovative…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to illustrate and discuss the main features and key challenges of an original post-graduate education program designed according to an innovative theoretical framework promoting design thinking in a rhizomatic approach. By involving different stakeholders, the aim of this entrepreneurship education program is to disseminate rhizomatic, design-based learning competencies and thereby contribute to revitalizing a region’s socio-economic fabric.
Design/methodology/approach
Through the use of a pilot case, the paper exemplifies the application of the design thinking approach combined with the rhizomatic logic. Design thinking enables dealing with the complexity, uncertainty, and ill-defined problems that often characterize a business reality while the rhizomatic process combines the production of collective knowledge through a non-linear, complex and emergent path that nurtures innovation.
Findings
This entrepreneurship education program exemplifies a viable strategy to deal with a regional economic crisis by engaging different local actors including enterprises, local institutions, municipalities, and universities. It demonstrates the potential value of a new educational approach as a powerful lever to activate the energy of people, their competencies, relationships, shared projects, and new entrepreneurial ventures. The first edition of the program offers ideas, practices, and challenges to all stakeholders of potentially similar education projects.
Originality/value
The depicted pilot case allows us to exemplify how a design thinking framework reinterpreted on the basis of a Deleuzian rhizomatic perspective can enable developing innovation as a way of overcoming difficulties and succeeding, an essential prerequisite for many entrepreneurial organizations today.
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This paper aims to explain the development of the social economy by analyzing when, why and how the community interest company (CIC) legal structure was established in the UK. The…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explain the development of the social economy by analyzing when, why and how the community interest company (CIC) legal structure was established in the UK. The CIC legal structure was designed for social enterprise to ensure that company assets are committed to public benefit in perpetuity.
Design/methodology/approach
This research paper uses archival data and semistructured interviews to analyze the historical development of the social economy, emergence of social enterprise and the establishment of the CIC legal structure.
Findings
The historical analysis describes why and how the idea for the CIC emerged from practitioners and explains how collaboration between practitioners, lawyers, civil servants and politicians established the CIC as a new legal structure for social enterprise.
Practical implications
The analysis explains how practitioners influenced policy development and demonstrates how practitioner influence can be usefully incorporated into policy development.
Social implications
The CIC legal structure advanced the social economy by creating an institutionally recognized brand identity for social enterprise that locks assets to public benefit in perpetuity.
Originality/value
The paper presents a detailed empirical account of the establishment of a new legal structure for social enterprise and applies theoretical concepts to develop an integrated account of social economy advancement.
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This paper aims to examine the variation in Arab/Muslim consumers’ willingness to buy (WTB) from product’s origins (POs) involved in the Arab/Muslim-Israeli animosity case despite…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the variation in Arab/Muslim consumers’ willingness to buy (WTB) from product’s origins (POs) involved in the Arab/Muslim-Israeli animosity case despite their common nationality and religious affiliation.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative research methodology is used. A total of 30 Arab and Muslim individuals were interviewed, and web documents were analysed. A grounded theory approach is adopted to analyse the data collected.
Findings
The results reveal that the variation in WTB from offending PO among Arab/Muslim consumers is influenced by the intensity of animosity (IOA) as perceived by the individual consumer towards the PO. IOA is a variable affected by the antagonistic emotional impact which is evoked by the egregiousness of the PO’s actions (PO involvement) and consumer connection with the political issue (consumer involvement) and is moderated by the time of the PO’s egregious actions.
Practical implications
Politically favourable POs in the Arab/Muslim world need to target consumers who perceive greater connection with the political issue, whereas politically unfavourable POs need to target consumers who perceive weaker connection with the political conflict, in addition to distancing themselves from it.
Originality value
This is an original attempt to gain insight into the different levels of willingness of fellow nationals to buy a product from an offending nation in the context of Arab/Muslim-Israeli animosity which is explained through the IOA model of foreign product purchase.
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W. James Jacob, Huiyuan Ye, Miranda L. Hogsett, Annette T. Han, Midori Hasegawa, Lili Jia, Lin Jiang and Shangmou Xu
In this chapter, the authors provide a historical overview of the development of comparative and international education societies throughout the earth. In most cases, these…
Abstract
In this chapter, the authors provide a historical overview of the development of comparative and international education societies throughout the earth. In most cases, these societies have gradually grown and continue to thrive; in other cases, some comparative education societies have become dormant and a few no longer exist. A historical analysis that outlines the rise and fall of comparative education societies is provided. An overview of the World Council of Comparative Education Societies is also discussed, including its lead organizational role in serving as a historical hub to help comparative education societies preserve and disseminate their respective histories. The chapter concludes with suggestions on how anyone can get involved to help contribute to the history preservation of comparative education at the individual, national, regional, and global levels.
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Abstract
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The purpose of this paper is to explore the differences and similarities between computer ethics, internet ethics and cyberethics as reflected in the contents of the published…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the differences and similarities between computer ethics, internet ethics and cyberethics as reflected in the contents of the published literature as well as the search trends on Google.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper opted for an informetrics approach, and more specifically content analysis, to investigate the inter-relationships between computer ethics, internet ethics and cyberethics. The data sources for this study included Google Trends, Google Scholar and the Web of Science citation indexes. Different search queries were used, depending on the structure of each data source, to extract the relevant data sets.
Findings
Using different methods and techniques to analyse the data, the paper provides an alternative means of investigating relationships among concepts. The findings indicate that there is still no clear distinction between the concepts in terms of subject and title terms used to describe the published literature on the three concepts, as well as the research areas where the three concepts are applied. Going by the current trend, the paper envisages that cyberethics may, in the future, become a broader term to include computer ethics and internet ethics.
Research limitations/implications
The data sources that were selected for the study might have not been comprehensive in the coverage of the published literature on the three concepts and therefore there is need for further research, which will expand the scope of the data sources.
Practical implications
The paper’s findings may apply in the practice of indexing and abstracting as well as thesaurus construction as far as the three terms are concerned.
Originality/value
The paper offers an alternative technique that can be used to investigate relationships among concepts. The value of the paper could include curriculum development of programmes dealing with ethical issues that arise when developing and using computers and related technologies.
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Oliver K. Burmeister and John Weckert
It has been argued that it is in the best interests of IT professionals, to adopt and enforce professional codes in the work place. But there is no code for usability engineers…
Abstract
It has been argued that it is in the best interests of IT professionals, to adopt and enforce professional codes in the work place. But there is no code for usability engineers, unless one accepts that it is a branch of software engineering. The new joint ACM/IEEE‐CS Software Engineering Code of Ethics is applied to actual usability cases. This enables usability engineers to interpret this code in their profession. This is achieved by utilizing four case studies both directly in terms of the ethical issues involved and in the light of the code. Also examined are the short‐comings of the code for the domain of usability engineering, and suggestions are made for enhancements for future revisions of the code.
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Ron Dvir and Edna Pasher
Innovation is the process of turning knowledge and ideas into value. An “urban innovation engine” is a system which can trigger, generate, foster and catalyze innovation in the…
Abstract
Innovation is the process of turning knowledge and ideas into value. An “urban innovation engine” is a system which can trigger, generate, foster and catalyze innovation in the city. This paper describes the concept of the “urban innovation engine”, provides some historical and contemporary examples, and suggests a set of guidelines for turning ordinary urban institutions into innovation engines. The paper has two purposes: to trigger further theoretic and action research and exploration in the domain of urban innovation. In recent years there has been intensive research about the conditions (“ecology”) which enable and catalyze knowledge development and innovation in the business world. A second new focus area in the research of knowledge development is the role of the city as a hub for intensive flows and exchanges of knowledge among its habitants and additional stakeholders. We suggest weaving the learning from the business and urban worlds by attempting to apply the dimensions of innovation ecology models to knowledge cities. More specifically, we look at multiple traditional urban constructs, and show how they might act as significant drivers for creativity and renewal. Typically an urban innovation engine is a complex system that includes people, relationships, values, processes, tools and technological, physical and financial infrastructure. We suggest that what innovation engines really do is to create conversations – which are the foundation of most innovations. We bring some examples and snap‐shots from several urban innovation engines such as the museum, the library, the stock exchange, the café, the brownfield, the grand fair, the outlook tower, and the industrial district. The paper conceptualizes the notion of “urban innovation engines”. Based on this concept, it provides a set of guidelines for creating a knowledge city using innovation engines as its building blocks, and innovation ecology elements as an important part of its operating system.
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