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Article
Publication date: 15 February 2008

Vivienne Waller, Robert B. Johnston and Simon K. Milton

This paper aims to examine the differences in epistemological underpinnings of conventional information systems analysis and design (ISAD) approaches (such as structured system…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the differences in epistemological underpinnings of conventional information systems analysis and design (ISAD) approaches (such as structured system and analysis design methodologies) and a recently developed situated ISAD approach.

Design/methodology/approach

This empirical investigation involved constructing a simulated field situation to allow a conventionally trained IS analyst to analyse the same case as had been previously analysed by applying the situated ISAD methodology.

Findings

While the conventional approach focuses on articulated knowledge and observes the system under study with a detached stance, the situated approach includes tacit knowledge and recognises the importance of the environment. The situated analyst is immersed in the system, attempting to take the subject position of an actor in the system, while also maintaining some analytical distance.

Research limitations/implications

The research method and framework presented is a novel way to compare the epistemological underpinnings of other systems analysis and design methodologies. Validity issues are explicitly addressed in the paper; although it is based on a single case, the fact that it is a real‐world problem gives it high external validity.

Practical implications

The investigation is based on an actual system design case and shows that, in analysis and design, the different epistemological underpinnings affect what is identified as a problem and hence the type of solution proposed.

Originality/value

There has been little previous work comparing epistemological commitments of alternative ISAD methodologies as they are played out in actual application. This paper makes a significant contribution to the theoretical foundations of IS.

Details

Journal of Enterprise Information Management, vol. 21 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-0398

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 April 2021

Shaoan Zhang, Mark Carroll, Chengcheng Li and Emily Lin

This paper aims to expand the theory of situated learning with the application of technology and provides a technology-based situated learning model with suggestions for doctoral…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to expand the theory of situated learning with the application of technology and provides a technology-based situated learning model with suggestions for doctoral program design.

Design/methodology/approach

A literature review of the relevant topics was conducted. Themes emerged by the systematic review of the relevant studies and theoretical framework.

Findings

Studies reveal that part-time doctoral students often feel unsupported, dissatisfied and disconnected with their program. Many of these issues may be mitigated by faculty and peer mentoring, and various forms of asynchronous communication through a situated learning framework with interactive communication technologies.

Research limitations/implications

Research of doctoral education should pay more attention to part-time doctoral students and investigate the quality of their programs given their individual needs, and how their progression and completion can be achieved through the innovative approaches proposed in this study.

Practical implications

Program designers may use a technology-based situated learning approach in program design to fulfill part-time doctoral students’ needs toward enhancing mentorship, students’ academic self-efficacy and career preparation. Further support is offered through a virtual community of practice.

Social implications

This paper draws researchers’ attention to program design and part-time doctoral students’ retention and completion of a doctoral program.

Originality/value

This study provides an innovative synergetic model that helps administrators and program designers to design doctoral programs and motivates researchers to conduct research regarding part-time doctoral students.

Details

Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education, vol. 12 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-4686

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 May 2022

Michiel Bal, Lander Vermeerbergen and Jos Benders

This paper aims to identify why warehouses do or do not succeed in putting to use digital technologies for order picking.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to identify why warehouses do or do not succeed in putting to use digital technologies for order picking.

Design/methodology/approach

Building on structuration theory, the authors investigate the situated use of one such a digital technology, more particularly the head-worn display (HWD). Based on a most-similar comparative case study of two Belgian warehouses pioneering HWDs, the authors focus on whether and how order pickers and their manager interact to modify the properties, functionalities, and the context in which the HWD is used.

Findings

In one warehouse, using the HWD was discontinued after implementation. In the other, order pickers and the order pickers' manager succeeded in implementing the HWD into their work. The authors find that the prime explanation for these opposite findings lies in the extent to which order pickers were given room to improve the properties and functionalities of the HWD as well as the conditions that unfold in the HWD's use context. In the latter warehouse, pressing issues were overcome and improvement suggestions were implemented, both regarding the HWD itself as well as regarding the job-related and person-related conditions.

Originality/value

Theoretically, the authors contribute to the situated use of technology stating that (1) giving room to alter the use of digital technologies, and (2) fostering continuous employee participation regarding conditions stemming from the use context are necessary to realize the promising and unexploited potential of digital technology in practice. Empirically, this paper exposes distinct types of interactions that explain whether and how digital technologies, in particular HWDs, are put to use for order picking practices.

Details

The International Journal of Logistics Management, vol. 34 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-4093

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 March 2020

James Walker, Dave Towey, Matthew Pike, Georgios Kapogiannis, Ahmed Elamin and Ran Wei

It is possible for civil engineering (CE) students to graduate from a degree programme without gaining experience on a construction site. The implementation of virtual field trips…

Abstract

Purpose

It is possible for civil engineering (CE) students to graduate from a degree programme without gaining experience on a construction site. The implementation of virtual field trips using virtual reality (VR) in CE education is a development that can address this phenomenon and help facilitate the consolidation of abstract theories into tangible competences. This project aims to solve a fundamental CE education problem: once a structure has been completed, it is often impossible to see how it was built; hence, how can you demonstrate the construction process to a student?

Design/methodology/approach

This research used the opportunity of a new campus library development to record its construction sequence. This was achieved by visiting the site eight times to take panoramic stereoscopic photos of the construction process. By its nature, using VR as a didactic tool facilitates experiential learning, but this project also incorporates discovery learning and situated cognition to develop students’ understanding of the construction process.

Findings

The use of VR in education is becoming increasingly common, but the explicit pedagogy used in these environments is rarely obvious or stated. This project draws upon current VR education discussions and explores the development of a VR environment with a pedagogical context.

Originality/value

The development of the VR resource draws upon the pedagogical frameworks of discovery learning (Bruner, 1961) and situated cognition (Lave and Wenger, 1991). A further unique aspect of this research is the use of stereoscopic cameras to capture the library’s construction over time.

Details

Interactive Technology and Smart Education, vol. 17 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-5659

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 September 2009

Maged Ali and Laurence Brooks

This paper aims to provide a comprehensive framework of a situated culture approach to studying culture within the IS discipline.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to provide a comprehensive framework of a situated culture approach to studying culture within the IS discipline.

Design/methodology/approach

This is achieved via an articulation of structuration theory and the provision of an approach to study cross‐cultural phenomena within the IS discipline. The paper proposes two main components of a structuration theory based analysis model which is proposed as a way to study culture within IS discipline. First, the paper presents ideas behind the practice lens for studying the use of technology, as proposed by Orlikowski. Second, the paper presents a structurational analysis approach as detailed by Walsham. The paper argues that using a practice lens contributes to identifying the mediated shared structures between actors through understanding the actions of the actors within the phenomena. Then, using a structurational analysis approach contributes to identifying the cultural dimensions that are embedded in the identified mediated shared structures.

Findings

This paper contributes to cultural studies within the IS discipline and provides a framework for researchers aiming to investigate cultural influences for different phenomena within IS.

Originality/value

Cultural anthropology seeks to understand the similarities and differences among groups of people in the contemporary world. Although there are many different models of national culture, most IS research has tended to rely almost solely on Hofstede's cultural model. However, Hofstede's cultural model been criticised, and using structurational analysis will provide researchers within cultural studies in the IS discipline with a more broad perspective for the phenomena.

Details

Journal of Enterprise Information Management, vol. 22 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-0398

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 June 2012

Viviane Sergi

The purpose of this paper is to suggest a situated conception of projects, in order develop finer understanding of how these endeavors emerge and unfold over time. The author…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to suggest a situated conception of projects, in order develop finer understanding of how these endeavors emerge and unfold over time. The author proposes that these understandings should be rooted in a process ontology, conceive action as situated and focus on actual practices as they are performed by all project actors. Taken together, these dimensions can renew how one views and approaches projects and their management.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is illustrated with examples taken out of a study of a software development project, conducted in the ethnographic tradition.

Findings

The examples expose how a specific practice, planning, was accomplished differently depending on the moment and was affected by different circumstances and constraints. The paper also discusses how preferring a processual worldview is especially befitting projects. As endeavors instigated to create or to make something happen, projects are perpetually changing and in movement; it is therefore relevant that their conceptualization takes fully into consideration their intimate nature.

Originality/value

The originality and value of the paper lie in the combination of perspectives, which can be both useful in theorizing projects differently, and in enhancing practitioners' reflexivity. This combination, it is argued, can address a wide array of issues in the context of projects, can favor localized reflection on project management prescriptions and tools, and can help practitioners to sharpen their sensitivity to their own practice.

Details

International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, vol. 5 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8378

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 31 May 2016

Margaret Byrne Swain

This chapter engages cosmopolitan and feminist paradigms of knowledge production through their shared ethics of social justice, equality, and diversity, promoting integration into…

Abstract

This chapter engages cosmopolitan and feminist paradigms of knowledge production through their shared ethics of social justice, equality, and diversity, promoting integration into an emerging postdisciplinary focus on embodied cosmopolitanism(s) as a promising way forward in tourism studies. Cosmopolitan paradigms theorize the dialectics of cultural diversity and universal rights, while feminist cosmopolitanism focuses on gender and sexuality equality and difference within this intersection. An embodied approach combines work on “the body” and “situated embodiment” with the cosmopolitan to embrace all human differences and acknowledge that the researchers’ own embodied cosmopolitanism affects research questions, ethics, and praxis toward transformation in research communities and the academy.

Details

Tourism Research Paradigms: Critical and Emergent Knowledges
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78350-929-4

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 May 2007

Johan Lundin and Urban Nuldén

The purpose of the paper is to show how professional tools trigger workplace learning. The daily mundane work of Swedish police officers has been studied to investigate how the use

1250

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to show how professional tools trigger workplace learning. The daily mundane work of Swedish police officers has been studied to investigate how the use of police tools triggers learning through discussions in police practice.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected through a field study consisting of extensive observations and interviews. The interviews mainly took place in the actual practice of the officers. Situated learning and communities of practice served as an analytical lens.

Findings

The study revealed how the use of specific police tools resulted in conversations among the officers. Theses conversations are claimed to be vital parts of the community, and thus the learning of the community of police practice. The paper shows how tools make the ways of working, i.e. police practice, available for discussion and collective reflection.

Originality/value

The paper is an in‐depth investigation of a relatively closed sector of society. The paper can inspire researchers to embark on similar studies of other practices. The paper provides novel ways of thinking about how learning takes place in everyday work, not planned and organized by management, but rather as a necessity driven by new tools, and how tools are involved in work.

Details

Journal of Workplace Learning, vol. 19 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-5626

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 December 2018

Mirko Guaralda, Severine Mayere, Glenda Caldwell, Jared Donovan and Markus Rittenbruch

Community involvement is a common strategy to negotiate changes to the built environment. Traditional community involvement approaches are increasingly augmented through playful…

Abstract

Purpose

Community involvement is a common strategy to negotiate changes to the built environment. Traditional community involvement approaches are increasingly augmented through playful elements or through the use of technology. The purpose of this paper is to present a case study of a community involvement approach aimed at expanding participants’ ability to contribute to the issue. Through the design of bespoke interactive approaches to asking questions and receiving responses, the InstaBooth shifts the involvement process toward an open discussion between community members.

Design/methodology/approach

The InstaBooth methodology established in this paper is based on the use of a physical interactive installation for situated community involvement and place-making, the InstaBooth. This methodology embeds design thinking and collaborative approaches to move the focus of the engagement from data gathering to data sharing and content co-creation.

Findings

In 2015, the authors worked with the local community of Pomona, Queensland, Australia, to inform the new masterplan for the town center by using the InstaBooth as a community involvement methodology. Examining the case of Pomona reveals how the InstaBooth approach allows participants to join a discussion about their own environment in a playful and unstructured way. This is achieved through the application of design thinking across three key phases of the community engagement; 1) planning the engagement strategy, 2) implementation of the strategy and deployment and 3) data co-analysis.

Originality/value

The InstaBooth is an interactive methodology which has allowed citizens to engage in the discussion about the future development of their town strengthening their sense of place and sense of community. The significance of this paper is applicable to others interested in community involvement and place-making, as it presents a novel methodology that combines different methods for different contexts while embedding co-creation in its approach.

Details

Journal of Place Management and Development, vol. 12 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8335

Keywords

Open Access
Book part
Publication date: 20 February 2023

Brita Ytre-Arne

This chapter focuses on how the idea of ‘an ordinary day in the life’ can serve as an entry point for understanding media use. I discuss how everyday media use can be

Abstract

This chapter focuses on how the idea of ‘an ordinary day in the life’ can serve as an entry point for understanding media use. I discuss how everyday media use can be conceptualized as mundane and meaningful, and as most easily noticed when changing. Building on day-in-the-life interview segments from qualitative studies, I discuss methodological merits and challenges of this approach. The analysis follows media users an ordinary day from morning to night, as they wake up with the smartphone, navigate across social domains, and seek connection and companionship. I argue that seemingly mundane media use practices are made meaningful through the connection they entail, and particularly discuss the conflicted position of smartphone checking in everyday life. The chapter empirically substantiates the arguments made in Chapter 1 about the centrality of smartphones in digital everyday lives.

Details

Media Use in Digital Everyday Life
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80262-383-3

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