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Interactive multimedia offers a degree of richness that lies outside the scope of conventional design methods for computer based learning. This research seeks to develop an interdisciplinary approach to design, that recognises the ways in which the combination and integration of different media forms can be exploited to stimulate experiential, intuitive, perceptual, and social/communicative aspects of learning. The goal of the project has been to develop a conceptual design model for the development of multimedia learning environments (MLEs), for humanistic learning applications, by using interactive drama. The models and methods developed though a practical design project have been founded upon theory from the realms of psychology, social sciences, learning and education, the arts and media, and software design. They address the cognitive and social aspects of learning, the use and interpretation of interactive media, the creation of learning environments, and the activities involved in design. As a vehicle to test the theoretical perspective, a design project has been undertaken, that has involved: 0 learning needs analysis and subject matter development; 9 development of a structural model for the MLE; 9 information structure, navigation and interface design; scripting, design and development of media materials for the development of interactive drama; formative evaluation. The subject area chosen for the design project is that of pregnancy and childbirth. The primary reasons for this choice was a desire to address the issues of design for informal learning experiences (that do not fit in the remit of institutional curricula) and an interest in finding ways to represent the social and interpersonal dimension to learning. Such learning processes have been described as 'humanistic learning' for the purposes of this research project. To help fulfil these goals, it was decided to work with playwright Simon Turley to develop a number of interactive drama scenes. Not only did this enable some of the more sensitive and personal issues of pregnancy to be addressed, but it also gave an opportunity to explore the world of drama, film and theatre as a means to create interactive learning experiences. The research has shown the benefits of interdisciplinary design practice, produced a framework of the theoretical issues that inform designers, and developed an approach to the design of MLEs for humanistic learning applications. These elements have been brought together to form the conceptual design model.

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Both total quality management (TQM) and the use of information technology (IT) have been widely researched over recent years. However, there has been no well-founded empirical research on the two together - on how IT can support TQM practices. A scarcity of empirical studies on the role of IT in TQM, especially in the non-manufacturing sector, which can illustrate the importance or otherwise of IT for TQM, has prompted this study. Thus the study sought to provide such an empirical base. This study investigated the extent to which IT has been used to support TQM among selected Malaysian public agencies. It also identified the external, organisational and technological factors that may influence the use of IT in TQM. A framework based on the literature of TQM has been derived and used as the conceptual base for the creation of a questionnaire to determine the use of IT in TQM. The questionnaire was sent to 110 Malaysian public agencies that have implemented TQM. The results presented were based on the responses from 47 agencies. The study reveals that IT is helpful for implementing TQM but its usage varies across the nine aspects of TQM processes. 'Important Innovations' exhibits the highest level of IT usage followed closely by 'Information and Analysis'. 'Supplier Quality Assurance', on the other hand, shows the lowest level of IT usage. Regression analysis showed that four independent variables have a significant effect on the use of IT. They are IT experience, top management support, public accountability and IT structure (in order of importance). The responding agencies were then classified into three distinctive IT-usage groups (i. e. low, moderate, and high) according to their IT-usage level. Contextual influences (external, organisational and technological) were then explored using regression analysis. The results revealed that when the IT-usage level is high, technological factors play an important role. However, when the usage level is low, organisational factors become more influential. For the moderate group, both technological and organisational factors affect the usage level.

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Living in the Information Age, organisations must be able to exploit their data alongside the traditional economic resources of man, machine and money. Accordingly, organisations implement data warehouses to organise and consolidate their data, which creates a decision support system that is “subject oriented”, “time variant”, “integrated” and “non-volatile”. However, the organisation's ability to successfully exploit their data is determined by the degree of strategic alignment. As such, this study poses the question: how can a data warehouse be successfully and demonstrably aligned to an organisation's strategic objectives? This thesis demonstrates that strategic alignment can be achieved by following a new "top down" data warehouse implementation framework, the Configuration Approach, which is based upon determining an organisation's target configuration. This was achieved by employing Miles and Snow's Ideal Types to formulate a questionnaire that reveals an organisation's target configuration in terms of its approach to the Entrepreneurial, Administration and Information Systems challenges. Crucially, this thesis also provides the means to choose a data warehouse architecture that is wholly based on the organisation's target configuration. The Configuration Approach was evaluated using a single case study undergoing a period of strategic transformation where the implementation of a data warehouse was key to its strategic ambitions. The case study illustrated how it is possible to articulate an organisation's strategic configuration, which becomes the key driver for building a warehouse that demonstrably supports the resolution of its Entrepreneurial and Administration challenges. Significantly, the case study also provides a unique opportunity to demonstrate how the target configuration helps organisations to make the right choice of data warehouse architecture to satisfy the Information Systems challenge. In this case, the Configuration Approach provides a basis for challenging the architectural choices made by a consultancy on behalf of the participating organisation. Accordingly, it can be asserted that data warehouses are strategic investments, if implemented using the Configuration Approach.

Information systems, by nature, are open to interpretation from a number of viewpoints. This thesis emphasizes that information systems are not 'technical' systems that have behavioural and social consequences, they are 'social systems' that rely to an increasing extent on information technology for their functions. Hence any systems development methodologies used cannot deal simply with the problem of how one designs technically reliable and cost effective information systems. Instead it regards systems development as an example of multidimensional social change, the application of technology may not be a desirable solution to the situation. The choice of a development methodology should therefore take into account its sensitivity to the cultural, social, and political aspects of systems design. The aims of the thesis are three-fold. The first aim is to transform an idea or perception of needs into actionable drivers for change in a public sector organisation in Brunei Darussalam. The second aim is to identify and diagnose the problems associated with the management of information. Finally, the study aims to identify a suitable methodology that can be used to investigate a number of organisational issues. This work incorporates a practical case study of a problem situation at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the sole government agency responsible for perpetuating and disseminating Islamic teaching in Brunei Darussalam. The methodology used to investigate the problem situation is Checkland's Soft System Methodology (SSM). This is well chosen as the case study deals with human activity systems that are not well defined. Systems intervention via a semi-structured and informal discussion interviews were used to identify the unstructured problem situation (stage 1) of the SSM. The SSM progressed through to the recommendation of actions that constitute culturally feasible and desirable change. In fact, although manual systems are less efficient and effective than their computer-based counterparts, they are preferred in the first instance. Only when the manual system has reached maturity should a computer-based replacement be considered.

With over forty institutes of higher education in Lebanon, each offering undergraduate and graduate degrees in Computer Science and IT-related majors, it is surprising and disappointing not to have any academic publications in IT managerial issues. This complete silence may be partly due to the fact that the focus of such programs is more technical than managerial, and partly because the majority of Lebanese universities are “teaching-oriented”, rather than “research-oriented” institutions. One of the major contributions of this thesis is to pioneer IT managerial research in Lebanon and pave the way for future research in this vital area. The main scope of this thesis is to determine how to derive business value from enterprise IS investments, and what conditions maximize that value. While each of the extant theoretical models provides insight on one key aspect of the IT value proposition, what seems missing is a model that combines the salient points from each of various models, and one that incorporates both a process and variance orientation, providing a more comprehensive explanation of the IT value proposition. Therefore, the main contribution of this thesis is development of a comprehensive new IT value model, providing a framework of the processes and factors needed to derive optimal business value from such investments. The new model incorporates salient features of extant IT value models, and is grounded in the data gathered in this thesis. The strength of the new model lies in combining three individual IT value research threads. The first is the RBV research stream, which posit that to derive business value from IS investments, organizations must invest in organizational resources, and must develop individual and organizational IS competencies. The second is the IS process research stream, which evaluates the path that IT investments take from value conception to value creation, and proposes a sequence of phases and activities that must be followed during that investment journey. The third research stream stresses the importance of considering additional contextual factors when engaging IS investments. A review of the extant literature is conducted to develop an initial conceptual framework combining salient features of existing IT value models. Next, using multi-grounded theory and multiple investigative methods, primary data is gathered from thirty-six large Lebanese organizations representing several business sectors. In order to ensure validity and reliability, data is gathered in iterative phases, starting with one-on-one structured interviews with CIOs, followed by a survey and CIO group discussions using the “communities of practice” method, and culminates in one-on-one structured interviews with all other stakeholders involved in the IS value proposition at four of the thirty-six participating organizations using the “deep case study” method. The data is analyzed to determine the key challenges inhibiting the success of IS investments, the key competencies and factors needed to derive business value from such investments, to validate and refine the initial conceptual IT value model, and to ground the attributes of the new model to reflect the Lebanese experience. The thesis concludes by suggesting guidelines for how organizations may develop and nurture the proposed organizational competencies. It also paves the way and suggests possible future research opportunities in Lebanon and beyond.

Background Making system functionality available via multi-channel access (MCA) can be achieved through exposing functions and business processes as software services. When offering MCA to a business process, system performance is an important consideration due to network limitations and verbose messaging in service-oriented technologies. Aims The first aim of this study is to investigate the potential impact on system performance and agility that may occur when an underlying business process is exposed for MCA. The second aim is to investigate if reengineering a system as a service-oriented architecture (SOA) improves agility. The work also aims to create an MCA reengineering method to transform systems from single-channel into multi-channel. Methods A case study was used, along with an experiment, to compare the performance and agility of native language calls (NLC) and protocol based messaging (PBM) for service messaging in a business process. The case study also investigated if reengineering a system as an SOA improves agility by comparing system and code metrics. A multi-channel access reengineering method (McARM) was created and evaluated. Results No significant difference was found between the performance of the PBM and NLC binding technologies. However, NLC bindings were found to be less agile than PBM. Reengineering a system as an SOA was found to improve the agility of a system. A method was created which was used to reengineer a system for MCA. Conclusions Based on the results, the recommendation is that NLC should not be used instead of PBM for messaging between the services and business processes in a system reengineered for MCA. Measures should be taken to ensure that the reengineering of a system for MCA does not affect performance. Finally, an SOA can be used to improve system agility.

This thesis presents Organisational Sustainability Modelling (OSM), a new method to model and analyse risk and return systematically for the adoption of large systems such as Cloud Computing. Return includes improvements in technical efficiency, profitability and service. Risk includes controlled risk (risk-control rate) and uncontrolled risk (beta), although uncontrolled risk cannot be evaluated directly. Three OSM metrics, actual return value, expected return value and risk-control rate are used to calculate uncontrolled risk. The OSM data collection process in which hundreds of datasets (rows of data containing three OSM metrics in each row) are used as inputs is explained. Outputs including standard error, mean squared error, Durbin-Watson, p-value and R-squared value are calculated. Visualisation is used to illustrate quality and accuracy of data analysis. The metrics, process and interpretation of data analysis is presented and the rationale is explained in the review of the OSM method. Three case studies are used to illustrate the validity of OSM: • National Health Service (NHS) is a technical application concerned with backing up data files and focuses on improvement in efficiency. • Vodafone/Apple is a cost application and focuses on profitability. • The iSolutions Group, University of Southampton focuses on service improvement using user feedback. The NHS case study is explained in detail. The expected execution time calculated by OSM to complete all backup activity in Cloud-based systems matches actual execution time to within 0.01%. The Cloud system shows improved efficiency in both sets of comparisons. All three case studies confirm there are benefits for the adoption of a large computer system such as the Cloud. Together these demonstrations answer the two research questions for this thesis: 1. How do you model and analyse risk and return on adoption of large computing systems systematically and coherently? 2. Can the same method be used in risk mitigation of system adoption? Limitations of this study, a reproducibility case, comparisons with similar approaches, research contributions and future work are also presented.