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The purpose of this paper is to profile various types of Web-based tools to facilitate research collaboration within and across institutions.

Various Web-based tools were tested by the author. Additionally, tutorial videos and guides were reviewed.

There are various free and low-cost tools available to assist in the collaborative research process, and librarians are well-positioned to facilitate their usage.

Librarians and researchers will learn about various types of tools available at free or at low cost to fulfill needs of the collaborative research process.

As the tools highlighted are either free or of low cost, they are also valuable to start-ups and can be recommended for entrepreneurs.

As the realm of Web-based collaborative tools continues to evolve, the options must be continually revisited and reviewed for currency.

Extends the concept of e‐service to the whole phase of manufacturing. Develops an e‐service platform prototype based on this concept with Java Web solution including the mobile agent broking technologies and application service provider (ASP) principle. The key point to implement the platform is to enable an open Web information service infrastructure for the whole product manufacturing chain. Inside this infrastructure, product‐specific online manufacturing system can be created by means of using a kind of bidding model. All users participating in the manufacturing process are able to cooperatively finish manufacturing tasks in real time through sharing the same platform. With the help of BOM flow, the global information service flow can be controlled easily. In addition, the legacy hardware/software can also be encapsulated with aglets that are Java mobile agents. As to new ASP software packages, they can be configured simply via the plug and play mode to the e‐service platform. In this way, the on‐line networked manufacturing can be tested.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate postgraduate students' research behavior and requirements to come up with essential components to support research collaboration in a personal digital library (PDL).

This study was conducted using a questionnaire survey method along with a few follow up interviews. A structured questionnaire was circulated among postgraduate students of the Department of Computer Science and Information Technology (CSIT) of the University of Malaya (UM). A total of 100 participants answered the questionnaire, and 15 students participated in the follow up interview. The data collected were analyzed using SPSS statistical software.

This research presents the benefit of collaboration in research. In addition, by reviewing collaborative support tools, it was inferred that the ability to share data and resources is the most important step in developing tools to support collaboration. Moreover, the important role of a virtual research environment (VRE) and social network to support research collaboration was examined. Furthermore, a closed-ended questionnaire survey together with a follow up open-ended survey was deployed among postgraduate students of CSIT of UM, to elicit students' collaboration requirements in research.

Few attempts have been made to study about collaboration services within PDL systems and their impact on students' research. This paper proposes a prototype model of a PDL and highlights the importance of sharing e-resources as the prominent research collaboration activity among postgraduate students.

The purpose of the paper is to discuss the scope for improving the delivery of FM services through the use of wireless web‐based communications infrastructure, delivered via an application service provider (ASP) business model. This paper discusses the findings from case studies of three organisations and their approach to the management of facilities.

An investigation was undertaken to ascertain the current state of play in terms of managing and tracking processes within the facilities management department of three different organisations. These case studies were chosen from distinct sectors, namely health care, higher education, and banking. Emphasis is placed on analysing how the organisations currently operate with their existing FM systems and the degree of influence technology has on existing processes. This was considered mainly in terms of computer‐aided facilities management (CAFM) and computer‐integrated facilities management (CIFM).

The study found that a new wireless web‐based service for FM systems would be considered useful. Although notoriously slow adopters of new technology, there was an acceptance by the facilities managers interviewed that a wireless web‐based approach would improve current practice, especially with respect to real‐time job reporting and tracking and in the determination of FM operative working time utilisation.

Further work by the author is focusing on the development of a suitable demonstrator to illustrate the key concepts of a wireless web‐based FM service which will then be tested and evaluated. For further information, visit the research project web site at www.wirelessfm.org Originality/value – The paper hopefully stimulates discussion in the area of emerging wireless technologies that have the potential to streamline and improve current practices for the management of facilities, in particular that of real‐time job reporting and tracking.

The purpose of this chapter is to explore the use of a web-based collaborative platform for virtual literacy coaching and how the technology influenced reflective practice.

This qualitative study explored the use of virtual literacy coaching by examining 18 coaching sessions between a university-based literacy coach and a first-grade reading interventionist using Adobe® Connect, a web-based collaborative tool. The application provided a virtual meeting space and through the use of video pods the teacher and coach had synchronous audio and video communication. Each coaching session lasted approximately one hour and included a pre-observation discussion, an observation of a 30-minute individualized lesson with a struggling reader, and a debriefing conversation. Data, including transcriptions of the coaching sessions, interviews with participants, field notes, and journal entries were analyzed using the constant-comparative method.

Findings showed the ability to link teachers and coaches in a virtual space creates new possibilities for engaging in reflective practice that certainly are not trouble-free, but do provide opportunities to think deeply about teaching and learning without being face-to-face.

As school districts continue to experience budgetary cuts, it is important to explore alternative ways to support teachers. The findings identified in this study underscore the differences between face-to-face and virtual coaching. Understanding and accepting the limitations of the technology and recognizing the importance of the teacher/coach relationship could provide a starting point for school districts interested in computer-mediated communication.

This paper aims to explore student teachers’ views related to the online academic support e-tools used under the COVID-19 lockdown.

Mapping a pragmatic research approach, an explanatory mixed methods design was used for the study.

Empirical evidence revealed that student teachers were satisfied and experienced the academic support tools as being positively applied to their online learning. Furthermore, it is reported that student teachers preferred the discussion forum as the most appropriate academic support e-tool in the course under coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown.

This exploratory pragmatic study extends the knowledge of the online academic support e-tools for an open distance e-learning (ODeL) context that was used under COVID-19 lockdown. This study provides additional evidence concerning a revised academic support frame for an ODeL online learning context. Research limitations: small sample size was used, and therefore caution must be applied, as the findings might not be transferable to a similar context. The current study has only examined a teacher education course and could not be generalised to similar conditions as those under COVID-19 lockdown. This exploratory research has raised many questions that require further investigation. More research is required to determine the efficacy of the academic support e-tools with regard to student learning in other online courses and contexts.

The student teachers that participated in this study were empowered to using the academic support e-tools to support them under COVID-19 lockdown. The discussion was mostly preferred academic supportive e-tool as an engaged, participatory and communicative platform for accelerated learning in the teaching methodology of economics course.

A noteworthy contribution was made in the design and testing of the reliability of methodological tools, which could be replicated in blended and ODeL contexts.

The challenge of global product design and manufacturing in the networked enterprise is to have an information hub supported by an information infrastructure that is difficult to imitate by competitors. The global company can use this global network to share information among its members and provide fast response to customers. The purpose of this paper is use to the dispersed production network to show where knowledge management can be deployed in operations for gaining competitive advantage.

The case study method was selected as the research method. The case of Hasbro Far East Ltd is presented to depict the components of the information hub and why knowledge management can be effectively deployed in the management of the collaborative product development process.

The findings of the case study support the argument that the streamlined collaborative process can be institutionalised in the form of information hub to facilitate the use of a new business model for global product design and outsourced manufacturing. The new business model guides an incremental approach in transforming the operations of a global enterprise which serves a show case in business process management for benchmarking.

This paper offers a business model of knowledge management in networked enterprise for global product design and manufacturing. The success of using the model depends on the sponsor in the creation of the knowledge‐based system and the ability in resolving conflicts through information sharing among members of networked enterprise. Future research should concentrate on developing enterprise performance tools to facilitate the alignment of views from different participants of the network so that they can become sponsors earlier in committing to the development of an information hub for knowledge management and achieve the new dispersed production network business model.

Findings may pose interesting implications for global entrepreneurs, policymaker, suppliers and supporting institutions, for the way they work together to gain the most benefits and competitive advantage from the new business model.

The purpose of this paper is to make a strong case for investing in information and communication technologies (ICT) for building up of quality human resource capital for economic upliftment of India. An attempt has been made to explore the possibilities of online learning (OL)/e‐learning towards building up of quality human resources in higher education for a developing nation like India. A comprehensive environmental scanning of various e‐learning experiments, tools, projects to facilitate e‐learning or various institutional level efforts has been carried out. The paper also seeks to highlight the options available with traditional institutes for deploying ICT and for implementing e‐learning.

The paper is a descriptive account of the contemporary situation in India with regard to education especially e‐learning and draws on a variety of secondary sources both published and unpublished.

Argues that the development of e‐learning has been limited and reasons out why. The challenges of traditional face‐to‐face education vis‐à‐vis e‐learning in India are enlisted and suggestions for management of the e‐learning process by institutes which intend to venture into e‐learning are enumerated. The paper advocates the urgency for the traditional institutions to put an impetus on investment in ICT for providing e‐instruction for delivery of knowledge by riding the information super highway.

Presents a review of literature developed from secondary sources.

Models of e‐learning that exclude any face‐to‐face contact may have limited prospects, but blended learning offers significant potential both on and off campus and should be pursued if the benefits of e‐learning are to be fully realized.

This paper provides a useful overview of a scenario of OL/e‐learning in India's higher education; and, from this summary of the present situation, goes on to suggest possible ways to transform the “digital divide” into “digital opportunities”.

The business engineering (BE) methodology is used to design process-oriented and customer-centred companies in a systematic and holistic way. However, BE demands a high learning effort with regard to the logical flow, instruments and supporting software. The purpose of this paper is to explore which elements of action learning are most useful regarding BE.

To enable students to learn BE, a graduate-level course based on action learning is designed. Within a one-week schedule, participants are guided through the three phases of BE covering 31 learning elements. A post-test measures the learning experience. Regression analysis identifies elements that lead to high learning performance.

Results from five courses with 79 students reveal that action learning is useful to obtain declarative and procedural knowledge of BE. Learning elements delivering theoretical input and the use of an exemplary case could be reduced, while more time should be devoted to group work on a self-developed case study.

The paper is based on a specific course design for the topic of BE, which might limit the results’ transferability to other business process management (BPM) teaching areas. However, it provides implications about the decisive elements for learning how to design process-oriented companies.

The results can be used by instructors to design more meaningful courses on BE.

The paper delivers new insights into how issues of BPM should be taught. This area, particularly regarding BE, has received little research attention.

This chapter presents two case studies to address the challenge of how students in large, diverse classes can become effectively engaged in their learning through the support of technology. Implementation of two modules in the University of Exeter Business School is explored: a first-year management module wherein students make use of camcorders and a master's module where students use wikis. Each has been important in coming to understand the inter-relationship of pedagogic processes and technology use, in particular in the context of group work. Data on student outcomes and perceptions have been collected through ongoing monitoring, individual and group reflective accounts, tutor and student-led surveys and informal verbal feedback. Overall, the use of both technologies is highly valued by most students and by the teachers, despite the many (and sometimes unexpected) difficulties associated with their management. The main benefits are in the way that they can be used to support attendance, group cohesion and quality of work, in an ethos where the importance of group work is central to learning and where individuals are recognised for what they can contribute despite the large cohort size and the many different nationalities.