Journal of Systems and Information Technology

BeynonDavies, Paul; Tudhope, Douglas; Mackay, Hugh

1999 Journal of Systems and Information Technology

doi: 10.1108/13287269980000741

In this paper we discuss some of the particular features of user involvement in information systems IS development projects with reference to the idea of the trajectory of development being a politicalcultural process. The main aim is to attempt to supply more depth to an understanding of the pragmatics of user involvement in IS development projects. We illustrate how in one particular project, differences in organisational subcultures, and in particular the way in which the technology was framed, led to differences in the way in which an information system was conceived. These differences, in turn, contributed to elements of organisational conflict between stakeholder groups over the future trajectory of the IS development. We conclude with a critique of some generally held assumptions concerning user involvement.

McQueen, Robert J.; Rayner, Karen; Kock, Ned

1999 Journal of Systems and Information Technology

doi: 10.1108/13287269980000742

Facetoface business meetings are a widely used method of group interaction, and a rich source of data on what actually happens in group discussions. Active participation in a meeting is usually perceived to be making an oral contribution of some kind to the discussion. This paper describes a field study of ten facetoface business meetings which were videotaped and subsequently analysed. Participant contributions were coded, and the data summarized. The mean contribution was approximately 12 seconds and 18 words. The most common contribution type was information giving. The highest single contributor in each meeting captured, on average, about 30 of the available airtime, while the two highest, combined, captured over half of the airtime. These findings are discussed within the context of requirements for designers of collaborative technology systems to support group interpersonal communication through the use of computing and data communication technologies.

Flores de Frutos, Rafael; GraciaDez, Mercedes; PrezAmaral, Teodosio; VegaCatena, Pedro J.

1999 Journal of Systems and Information Technology

doi: 10.1108/13287269980000743

In this paper we address the question of how telecommunications affect economic growth, by estimating the effect of direct investment in telecommunications infrastructures on aggregate output, employment, and investment in Spain. In contrast with previous studies, the problem is analyzed in a dynamic multivariate framework which allows for explicit consideration of feedbacks among all the variables. We find significant effects of the investment in infrastructures of telecommunications on aggregate output, employment and investment which extend for several years. This might justify a policy for stimulating investment in this sector.

Papakonstantinou, Athanassios P.; Rogakos, Vassilis I.; Metaxiotis, Kostas S.

1999 Journal of Systems and Information Technology

doi: 10.1108/13287269980000744

Within the last decade many projects have been implemented in order to provide technical assistance TA to countries, which have initiated their transition from centrally planned to market economies mainly countries of Central and Eastern Europe being previously under the Soviet regime. The monitoring and evaluation exercise aims at assisting these TA projects in achieving their objectives, by providing management information on the projects implementation, so that structured management decisions can be taken, if and when needed. In this framework, the necessity for creation of an overall M&E database system emerged. The IMES was developed for the needs of the European commission DGLA and its main objective was to improve the Management Reporting on Tacis progress and results, by extracting relevant information on projects performance from the monitoring and evaluation reports and by producing overall statistics at NIS New Independent States level.