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This paper discusses the development of a system using SMS (short messaging system) to facilitate learning and also as a new method in the evaluation of teaching and learning.

The design of a system that uses SMS for the quiz is proposed as an alternative for formative assessment of teaching and learning for courses at institutions of higher learning in Malaysia. The fundamental idea of the SMS assessment system is based on the SMS function which is the basic feature of the normal mobile phone to receive and send text messages at anytime and anywhere. This will allow the formative assessment to be done in a course with a more flexible approach.

It is found that the quiz through SMS has the potential to be used in the teaching and learning environment. However there are some constraints and issues in the operation of this system that needs to be addressed before the system can be utilized optimally. These constraints and issues involve the system stability, the users/students and other general issues.

This article offers a new alternative for lecturers, teachers and students in the implementation of formative assessment quizzes via SMS.

This invited article explores current developments in supply chain risk management (SCRM) practices by revisiting the classical case of Ericsson (Norrman and Jansson, 2004) after 15 years, and updating its case description and analysis of its organizational structure, processes and tools for SCRM.

An exploratory case study is conducted with a longitudinal focus, aiming to understand both proactive and reactive SCRM practices using a holistic perspective of a real-life example.

The study demonstrates how Ericsson's SCRM practices have developed, indicating that improved functional capabilities are increasingly combined across silos and leveraged by formalized learning processes. Important enablers are IT capabilities, a fine-grained and cross-functional organization, and a focus on monitoring and compliance. Major developments in SCRM are often triggered by incidents, but also by requirements from external stakeholders and new corporate leaders actively focusing on SCRM and related activities.

Relevant areas for future research are proposed, thereby increasing the knowledge of how companies can develop SCRM practices and capabilities further.

Being one of few in-depth holistic case studies of SCRM, decision-makers can learn about many practices and tools. Of special interest is the detailed description of how Ericsson reactively responded to the Fukushima incident (2011), and how it proactively engaged in monitoring and assessment activities. It is also exemplified how SCRM practices could continuously be developed to make them “stick” to the organization, even in stable times.

This is one of the first case studies to delve deeper into the development of SCRM practices through taking a longitudinal approach.

Many of today’s information and technology systems and environments facilitate inquiry, learning, consciousness-raising and knowledge-building. Such platforms include e-learning systems which have learning, education and/or training as explicit goals or objectives. They also include search engines, social media platforms, video-sharing platforms, and knowledge sharing environments deployed for work, leisure, inquiry, and personal and professional productivity. The new journal, Information and Learning Sciences, aims to advance our understanding of human inquiry, learning and knowledge-building across such information, e-learning, and socio-technical system contexts.

This article introduces the journal at its launch under new editorship in January, 2019. The article, authored by the journal co-editors and all associate editors, explores the lineage of scholarly undertakings that have contributed to the journal's new scope and mission, which includes past and ongoing scholarship in the following arenas: Digital Youth, Constructionism, Mutually Constitutive Ties in Information and Learning Sciences, and Searching-as-Learning.

The article offers examples of ways in which the two fields stand to enrich each other towards a greater holistic advancement of scholarship. The article also summarizes the inaugural special issue contents from the following contributors: Caroline Haythornthwaite; Krista Glazewski and Cindy Hmelo-Silver; Stephanie Teasley; Gary Marchionini; Caroline R. Pitt; Adam Bell, Rose Strickman and Katie Davis; Denise Agosto; Nicole Cooke; and Victor Lee.

The article, this special issue, and the journal in full, are among the first formal and ongoing publication outlets to deliberately draw together and facilitate cross-disciplinary scholarship at this integral nexus. We enthusiastically and warmly invite continued engagement along these lines in the journal’s pages, and also welcome related, and wholly contrary points of view, and points of departure that may build upon or debate some of the themes we raise in the introduction and special issue contents.

The purpose of this paper is to present a case study of the World Health Organization’s Global Healthcare Workforce Alliance (GHWA). Based on a commissioned evaluation of GHWA, it applies network theory and key concepts from systems thinking to explore network emergence, effectiveness, and evolution to over a ten-year period. The research was designed to provide high-level strategic guidance for further evolution of global governance in human resources for health (HRH).

Methods included a review of published literature on HRH governance and current practice in the field and an in-depth case study whose main data sources were relevant GHWA background documents and key informant interviews with GHWA leaders, staff, and stakeholders. Sampling was purposive and at a senior level, focusing on board members, executive directors, funders, and academics. Data were analyzed thematically with reference to systems theory and Shiffman’s theory of network development.

Five key lessons emerged: effective management and leadership are critical; networks need to balance “tight” and “loose” approaches to their structure and processes; an active communication strategy is key to create and maintain support; the goals, priorities, and membership must be carefully focused; and the network needs to support shared measurement of progress on agreed-upon goals. Shiffman’s middle-range network theory is a useful tool when guided by the principles of complex systems that illuminate dynamic situations and shifting interests as global alliances evolve.

This study was implemented at the end of the ten-year funding cycle. A more continuous evaluation throughout the term would have provided richer understanding of issues. Experience and perspectives at the country level were not assessed.

Design and management of large, complex networks requires ongoing attention to key issues like leadership, and flexible structures and processes to accommodate the dynamic reality of these networks.

This case study builds on growing interest in the role of networks to foster large-scale change. The particular value rests on the longitudinal perspective on the evolution of a large, complex global network, and the use of theory to guide understanding.

The purpose of this paper is to codify a comprehensive array of executive education (EE) revenue growth ideas that are implementable in their own right or that spark other, related growth ideas.

The EE revenue growth ideas presented are an outgrowth of: a collective and personal “reflections from practice” process that embraced nearly a century of combined years in the talent management and EE sales, design, and delivery arena; and a focused “ideation” process sparked by the contemporary business literature devoted to profitable growth models.

In total, a robust list and description of 90 EE revenue growth ideas are succinctly chronicled.

The 90 ideas presented here, although rooted in nearly a century of the authors’ combined EE experience, are nonetheless limited by their experience. The array of ideas, and variants of those presented, are constrained only by the unique experience and creativity of other conscientious EE program designers and stewards. The inventory of 90 ideas is a robust start that can be extended, modified, and used as a catalyst for ongoing EE revenue growth discussions and research.

The growth ideas presented are immediately actionable and potentially galvanizing for EE providers. In addition, EE clients whose interest is piqued by any of the ideas, can approach their own providers to initiate a tailored talent development process rooted in one or more of the ideas. Of note, the extensive list has been crafted to have a long shelf life and thus this paper can effectively serve as a reference for ongoing use.

The authors are not aware of any prior articles presenting such a myriad of ideas for EE providers (and clients) to potentially renew and expand their portfolio of activities with the aim of revenue growth. Moreover, the paper is both an inventory of ready ideas as well as an array of catalysts for specific providers (and clients) to pursue their own related, or parallel, ideas.

This paper aims to study a change process on a university campus from a pedagogical perspective. The aim of the process, as expressed by facilities management and faculty leadership, was to create campus learning landscapes that promote social encounters and learning between students and researchers, as well as other embedded groups. The paper addresses how pedagogical needs are or should be integrated in the design process.

The data of this case study regarding change on campus consist of semi-structured interviews of information-rich key stakeholders identified using snowball sampling method. The interviews were analysed to find common themes and reference to pedagogical needs and expectations.

Campus usability and reliability are improved when pedagogy informs the design, and needs such as sense of belonging (human) and connectivity (digital) are fulfilled. User-centred design should be followed through during the whole campus change process, and there should be sufficient communications between user groups.

The discussion is based on one case. However, the recommendations are solid and also reflected in other related research literature regarding campus change initiatives.

The paper states recommendations for including pedagogical needs in campus learning landscape change and underlines the role of real user-centred processes in reaching this goal.

The study introduces the concept of campus reliability and highlights a missing link from many campus change cases – pedagogy – which is suggested to be essential in informing campus designs that produce usable and reliable future-ready outcomes.

This study focuses on the Critical Success Factors (CSF) for developing sustainable entrepreneurship in the Pakistani telecommunication industry. Despite the efforts made by governments and stakeholders to stimulate sustainable entrepreneurship initiatives, contributions in the telecommunications sector are lacking. Therefore, this study has the major objective of identifying a transformation path for these firms. This is done by providing a theoretical framework for sustainable entrepreneurship in the telecommunications industry, focusing on managerial and operational practices that should be modified according to a set of CSFs identified by experts in Pakistani firms.

This article proposes a novel Multiple Attribute Decision Making (MADM) approach based on Grey Systems Theory (GST) and Best-Worst Method (BWM) while unveiling endogenous relationships among current managerial/operational practices and the CSFs for sustainable entrepreneurship in the telecommunications industry.

CSFs for achieving sustainable entrepreneurship in the Pakistani telecommunications industry were found to rely on a tripod, based on effectiveness, transparency, and accountability that are embedded within the ambit of managerial and operational practices, such as focusing and reducing digital illiteracy, targeting poor communities, helping the young in structuring start-ups.

This article contributes to the MADM research stream by proposing a novel use of the BWM technique based on GST to promote sustainable entrepreneurship CSFs in Pakistani telecommunications firms.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse a women entrepreneurial model that promotes inclusive strategy and organizational structure for sustainable outcomes in a masculine society.

The paper adopts qualitative research methods, such as case study and in‐depth interviews, to analyse possible factors that promote sustainable outcomes among rural women entrepreneurs, such as purpose, processes and products of the strategy and stakeholders. The paper reviews existing literature on women entrepreneurship, especially in a masculine society.

The analysis reveals that women face three primary challenges: ability to take financial risk, ability to mitigate organisational risk, and ability to empower as a social collective. It also highlights that there are different phases of enterprise development and each phase requires a dedicated strategy. Lastly it identifies several social, political and economic advantages that are embedded in a social enterprise, if a social entrepreneurial sustainable model is adopted.

This paper is confined to qualitative methods applied to key resource persons and case study. The paper does not include a survey of all the beneficiaries.

The outcome of this paper shall be useful for the government, funding agencies, and non‐government organisations to formulate an inclusive and sustainable policy that enables women to become successful entrepreneurs.

This paper will influence across South Asia that faces similar socio‐economic challenges of women marginalization.

The paper is unique in providing a social entrepreneurship sustainable model for promoting inclusive outcomes in a masculine society.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the assessment methods used in higher education to assess students' learning, and to investigate the effects of college and grading system on the used assessment methods.

This descriptive study investigates the assessment methods used by teachers in higher education to assess their students' learning outcomes. An instrument consisting of 15 items (each item is an assessment method) was distributed to 736 undergraduate students from four public universities in Jordan.

Findings show that traditional paper‐pencil test is the most common method that is used to assess learning in higher education. Results also show that teachers in colleges of science and engineering and colleges of nursing use different assessment methods to assess learning, besides traditional testing such as: real life tasks (authentic assessment), papers, and projects. Also, the results show that teachers use the same assessment methods to assess learning, despite the grading systems (letter or numbers) used at their institutes.

The sample of the study was limited to undergraduate students and teachers' points of views about the frequent use of assessment methods were not studied.

Higher education institutes should encourage teachers to use new and modern assessment methods as well as traditional paper‐pencil testing, and study the reasons for not using these new methods.

The paper should alert the higher education institutes about the important of developing the assessment process, through knowing their students' points of view about the assessment methods. This will help to get students involved in the learning process.

This study aims to identify the gap between the requirements of the accreditation bodies and the widely used learning management systems (LMSs) in assessing the intended learning outcomes (ILOs). In addition, this study aims to introduce a framework, along with the evaluation of the functionality of the LMS, for measuring the ILO.

A qualitative method was deployed to examine the gap between the requirements of the accreditation standards and the LMS functionalities. The researchers collaborated to design a mechanism, develop a system architecture to measure the ILO in alignment with the accreditation standards and guide the development of the Moodle plugin. The appropriateness and effectiveness of the plugin were evaluated within the scope of assessment mapping and design. Focus group interviews were conducted to collect feedback from the instructors and program leaders regarding its implementation.

The results of this study indicate that there is no standardized mechanism to measure course and program ILO objectively, using the existing LMS. The implementation of the plugin shows the appropriateness and effectiveness of the system in generating ILO achievement reports, which was confirmed by the users.

This study proposed a framework and developed a system architecture for the objective measurement of the ILO through direct assessment. The plugin was tested to generate consistent reports during the measurement of course and program ILO. The plugin has been implemented across Gulf University’s program courses, ensuring appropriate reporting and continuous improvement.