<p> The Participatory GIS literature (PGIS) focuses on how community based organizations (CBOs) use geographic information. With its large population and history of community development the City of Long Beach is a perfect case study to explore this. For this research, I used a mixed methodology: conceptualization, interviews and surveys.</p><p> I conducted interviews covering five distinct subject areas to learn that connected organizations are more likely to use maps and geographic information. I then conducted a survey with 29 questions to find how this is the case. One idea is that there is a process of organization. Another is the possibility of predicting map usage using development level and organization type. Finally, this research proposes that new research qualitatively trace usage using a broad population.</p>

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Information technology, particularly the Internet has the potential to radically change the way business is conducted, offering a competitive edge and a gateway to the global marketplace. The explosive growth and commercialisation of the Internet has opened up a vast arena providing more opportunities for businesses, particularly SMEs to sell their products and service to a global audience than they would have be able to afford to reach using the traditional methods. There is tremendous potential for SMEs to harness the power of the Internet to improve their productivity and sharpen their competitive edge in both local and international markets. The Internet is viewed as a means through which SMEs could extend their geographic reach at minimal cost and to integrate and expand their business practices globally. Through such means it is argued that small companies could compete effectively against larger firms as the Internet is believed to be a great equaliser. The contribution of SMEs is extremely important to the economy of many countries and their contribution cannot be over emphasised. SMEs account for more than 50% of private sector employment in the UK and are currently contributing most of the private sector employment growth. This research reports on the empirical study of SMEs usage of the Internet. The intention is to present evidence on the current status of Internet use among SMEs and show the factors that influence their decision to adopt the Internet in business. Although the Internet has experienced tremendous growth world wide, very little empirical research has been conducted to examine this phenomenon in SMEs context. Questions about what SMEs are using the Internet for and what is driving them to use the technology in their business are still lacking. It is therefore of importance that insight be gained into how SMEs are currently using the Internet and the factors that influence their decision to adopt the Internet in business. In order to achieve these objectives, the research uses a quantitative and qualitative approach in order to provide an in-depth description of how SMEs currently use the Internet and the factors that influence their decision to adopt it. A questionnaire was used to survey 400 SMEs in the UK and 92 usable response (23%) were received. The survey result shows that communication, customer services, information gathering, and advertising are the areas the Internet is used most in SMEs. While the case study result shows that technological, organisational and environmental factors influence SMEs' decision to adopt the Internet. These factors are used to develop a theoretical model for conceptualising the organisational issues around the adoption and use of the Internet--issues that have been largely missing from contemporary discussions of Internet usage in SMEs. The study thus has important implications for research and practice. Specifically, the theoretical model and findings suggest that technological and organisational factors, rather than environmental factors, play a significant role in Internet adoption. Similarly, the study suggests that practitioners will be better able to adopt the Internet in business, if they understand how these factors influence its adoption and usage. The limitations of the study, the contributions of the research, the implications of the research findings and future research are discussed.

<p> The Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) presents an ever present and more growing threat to organizations across the globe. Traditional Information Technology (IT) incident response falls short in effectively addressing this threat. This researcher investigated the use of single-loop and double-loop learning in two organizations with internal incident response processes designed to combat the APT. Two cases were examined within organizations employing an internal incident response team. The third case was examined from an organization providing incident response as a service in addressing APT compromises. The study developed four themes: the inefficacy of single-loop learning in addressing APT, the need for better visibility within corporate infrastructure, the need for continuous improvement and bi-directional knowledge flow, and the need for effective knowledge management. Based on these themes, a conceptual model was developed modifying the traditional incident response process. Three implications were derived from the research. First, perimeter defense falls short when addressing the APT. Second, the preparation phase of incident response requires modification along with the addition of a new baseline loop phase running contiguously with the entire process. Finally, opportunistic learning needs to be encouraged in addressing the APT.</p>

<p> This study sought to investigate whether the popularity of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) would impact the behavioral intention (BI) to use of these technologies to aid in interpersonal task completion. Out of the ICTs available today, the most popular is text-messaging, especially among a sizable percentage of the college population. Approximately 600 students at a small, private junior college in eastern North Carolina were invited to participate in this study with a target of 248 responses needed to comprise an adequate sample. A total of 259 usable surveys (n = 259) were received and analyzed.</p><p> Qualitative data collection instruments consisted of an open-ended questionnaire and other open-ended responses that were solicited throughout the data collection phase. Quantitative data collection instruments consisted of a 22&ndash;item Likert-scale survey and a forced-choice ordinal scale instrument that measured computer user self-efficacy (CUSE) and experience using technology (EUT). Situated in the context of academic help-seeking (AHS), vignettes were developed, validated and administered to offer AHS scenarios where a problem was presented and the participants were then asked to reveal which type of ICT he or she would utilize to seek academic help (AH) in that particular situation.</p>

This thesis presents a solution-oriented analysis of current issues in digital content distribution management and content networks. The findings support the view that the recent development in the area has created a few congestion points, both in content distribution and content business, that gather increasing technical, social, financial, and political influence in the world. As pointed out in the work, this is against the ideas of information democracy, network neutrality, and the original visions of the Internet and the World Wide Web. Furthermore, leading content companies are answering to the demands of the exponential content and traffic growth by  continuously adding rather similar technological solutions, which increases the environmental problems, i.e., energy consumption and e-Waste, at the rate of this growth. The research time period of this dissertation matches with the emergence and rise of P2P file sharing networks that have introduced a new challenging way of distributing content. In this thesis, they are presented as the main comparison points and controversy to the centralized client-server architecture that dominates the content business. The essential question of this work is simply: How to build a better content network? To understand the meaning of "better" in this context and to state what is a better digital content network, it is necessary to understand existing solutions and their shortcomings. The thesis contributes an analytical framework of concepts and principles for the development of future content networks. How do we change the threat of P2P file sharing into an opportunity for professional content publishers? Actually, all the listed objectives in this work – under performance, privacy, network neutrality, e-commerce, and green computing – are societal in nature. Thus, the objective of this dissertation is to improve societal issues through understanding information technology and its closely related context. Through active participation in the file sharing scene, this work presents the development of content networks from computer networks capable of messaging between machines and systems to user networks where people share digital content. Easy copying to friends with rapidly changing user behavior have created a content platform where culture is evolving at an accelerated speed. Drawing from ten research projects and a score of technical prototypes, this thesis concludes that the P2P content sharing applications with their modern protocols effectively create a more advanced network as overlay than the underlying Internet can offer. The operators, who are excited about Internet technology for their networks, are actually limiting their possibilities right from the beginning. It is essential to distinguish between the development of the Internet and the development of large-scale content distribution network. / Denna avhandling presenterar en lösningsorienterad analys av aktuella frågor avseende det digitala nätverket och distributionshantering av digitalt innehåll. Resultaten talar för att den senaste utvecklingen inom området har skapat en del flaskhalsar både vid distribution av innehåll och den digitala medieindustrin, som samlar ökat tekniskt, socialt, ekonomiskt och politiskt inflytande i världen. Som påpekas i arbetet är detta emot idéerna om informationsdemokrati, nätverksneutralitet och de ursprungliga visionerna av Internet och World Wide Web. Vidare svarar ledande digitala företag mot kraven från det exponentiella innehållet och ökande trafik genom att bidra med tämligen likartade tekniska lösningar vilka ökar miljöproblemen, det vill säga energiförbrukning och e-avfall, i takt med denna tillväxt. Forskningens tidsperiod för denna avhandling matchar med uppkomst och ökad användning av P2P-fildelningsnätverk vilket har introducerat ett nytt utmanande sätt att distribuera innehåll. I denna avhandling presenteras de som de viktigaste jämförelsepunkterna och kontroverserna till den centraliserade klient/server-arkitekturen som dominerar innehållet inom den digitala mediemarknaden. Den mest väsentliga frågan i detta arbete är helt enkelt; Hur bygger man ett bättre nätverk för digitalt innehåll? För att förstå betydelsen av "bättre" i detta sammanhang och ange vad som är ett bättre digitalt nätverk är det nödvändigt att förstå existerande lösningar och deras brister. Avhandlingen bidrar med en analytisk ram av begrepp och principer för utvecklingen av ett framtida digitalt nätverk. Hur ändrar vi P2P-fildelning från att vara ett hot till att vara en möjlighet för professionella digitala utgivare? Faktiskt är alla uppställda mål i detta arbete - under prestanda, integritet, nätneutralitet, e-avfall och gröna datorer - samhälleliga av naturen. Således är syftet med denna avhandling att förbättra samhällsfrågor genom förståelse för informationsteknik och dess nära relaterade sammanhang. Genom ett aktivt deltagande i fildelningsscenen presenterar detta arbete utvecklingen av digitalt nätverk från datornätverk kapabla att sända meddelanden mellan maskiner och system till användarnätverk där människor delar digitalt innehåll. Okomplicerad kopiering till vänner med ett snabbt föränderligt användarbeteende har skapat en plattform med ett innehåll där kulturen utvecklas med en accelererande hastighet. Tio forskningsprojekt och en värdering av tekniska prototyper ger slutsatsen att P2P-fildelningsapplikationer med sina moderna kommunikationsprotokoll effektivt skapar ett mer avancerat överliggande nätverk än vad Internet kan erbjuda. Operatörerna, som är entusiastiska över Internet-teknik för sina nätverk, begränsar faktiskt sina möjligheter redan från början. Det är viktigt att skilja mellan utvecklingen av Internet och utvecklingen av det storskaliga distributionsnätverket. / QC 20110519

When developing countries move from dictatorship to democracy the intent is to move from State controlled communications and information sharing, to open and free decentralised debate. Policy formulation moves from a centralised one to a participatory one. Citizens, private and public, need to become more tolerant and respectful of the social and economic need of others. Public servants need to replace a paternal, controlling view of government with one that respects specialist interests. Citizens need to start taking responsibility for initiating reform. / Developing countries also need to think strategically about new communication and information technologies (C&IT) as an economic and social development issue. Placing their nation appropriately in the global C&IT industry supply chain is a major policy issue, which countries like India, Singapore and the USA, have recognised. This is despite it being a particularly messy policy issue given the rapidly changing form of C&IT. Koreas past specialisation in the area of childrens games, for example, is turning into a significant advantage in military and medical applications. However, C&IT is not only about gadgets and calculating machines. C&IT is about communicating, learning and sharing information. A democracy cannot take its place in the global economy without the assistance of emails, web pages, chat rooms, Voice-Over-Internet-Protocol (VOIP) and other multimedia/two-way communications. For example, farmers deciding what to grow and how to grow it, need to share and access information on world markets, weather trends etc, quickly and globally so that they can make informed decisions. / Thesis (PhDBusinessandManagement)--University of South Australia, 2006.

University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Information Technology. / As IT environments grow in complexity and diversity, their strategic management becomes a critical business issue. Enterprise architectures (EA’s) provide support by ensuring that there is alignment between an enterprise’s business objectives and the IT systems that it deploys to achieve these objectives. While EA is a relatively new discipline, it has already found widespread commercial application. It is likely that EA will receive even more focus as IT environments continue to grow in complexity and heterogeneity. Despite this widespread acceptance of EA as a valuable IT discipline, there are several serious challenges that contemporary EA approaches are yet to overcome. These arise from the fact that currently, there is no unified EA modelling language that is also easy to use. A unified EA modelling language is one that is able to describe a wide range of IT domains using a single modelling notation. Without a unified, easy to use EA modelling language, it is impossible to create integrated models of the enterprise. Instead, a variety of modelling languages must be used to create an EA, leading to enterprise models that are inconsistent, incomplete and difficult to understand. The need to use multiple modelling languages also places a high cognitive load on modellers and excludes non-IT specialists from developing or using these models, even though such people may be the most important stakeholders in an EA program. The research presented in this thesis tackles these problems by developing a metaphor-based approach to the construction of unified EA modelling languages. Contemporary approaches to the understanding of metaphor are surveyed, and it is noted that one way to understand metaphor is to view it as part of a dynamic type hierarchy. This understanding of metaphor is related to the development of enterprise models and it is shown that highly abstract metaphors can be used to provide conceptually unified models of a range of enterprises and their component structures. This approach is operationalised as methodology that can be used to generate any number of unified EA modelling languages. This methodology is then applied to generate a new, unified EA modelling language called ‘LEAN’ (Lightweight Enterprise Architecture Notation). LEAN is evaluated using a mixed-methods research approach. This evaluation demonstrates that LEAN can be used to model a wide range of domains and that it is easy to learn and simple to understand. The application of the theoretical principles and methodology presented in this thesis can be expected to improve the understandability and consistency of EA’s significantly. This, in turn, can be expected to deliver significant tangible business benefits through improved strategic change management that more closely aligns the delivery of IT services with business drivers. The findings in this research also provide fertile ground for further research. This includes the development and comparative evaluation of alternative unified languages, further research into the use of the methodology presented to align architectures at various levels of abstraction, and the investigation of the applicability of this theoretical approach to other, non-IT disciplines.