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Groupware was developed to address the limitations of existing Information Technologies in facilitating an increased level of collaboration in todays' customer focused industries. These systems are a hybrid between a database, to organise and store previously unstructured knowledge, and an e-mail system, to disseminate this knowledge across entire organisations. Lotus Notes has become the recognised industry standard for a Groupware system, providing an application development platform on which can be built a company's knowledge infrastructure, and the research concentrates on this system. Groupware systems are not designed to replace existing technologies, rather supplement them by capturing the information outwith the structure that they impose, and there are many applications where the implementation of a Lotus Notes application is not feasible. A review of the literature revealed that there is a limited amount of guidance on what constitutes a suitable candidate for implementation. From an analysis of the functionality of the system, the research develops a detailed reference model of the ideal Lotus Notes application, in order to provide a method of rapidly assessing the suitability of a potential application to the implementation of Groupware. Three case studies are presented, utilising the reference model to identify suitable candidates and following the implementation of these through to a point where the results can be assessed, providing a level of validation for the developed model. The case studies provide the opportunity to highlight methods of overcoming the potential barriers to success, revealed by an audit against the reference model. This experience is collected together as design guidelines, cross-referenced against the reference model. The overall result being the production of a series of tools, and a methodology for their use, intended to facilitate the implementation of successful Groupware applications, maximising the benefit that an organisation can achieve from its investment in new technology.

This study investigates the influence that increasing end user autonomy has on organizational data models. The independence offered by microcomputer technology offers users increasing independence in their information-handling activities. As independence increases, uniformity of data models across the organization is theorized to diminish. The problem motivating this study is the potential for improper allocation of resources that may result from a misinterpretation of organizational data. This study suggests that the expanding use of microcomputers in the business setting will contribute to diversity of data models. This may eventually lead to confusion and even lack of confidence in the information produced.

Over the last few years 3D avatar virtual worlds (AVW) have emerged on the Internet. These are computer generated, multi-user, graphical spaces within which people meet, form social groups and interact with each other in real time, typically through the exchange of text or audio messages. Each user is represented within the space by a digital image known as an avatar, which is usually humanoid in form, and is predominantly under the control of the person it represents. This thesisd escribesa creativep roject that is concernedw ith aspectso f social communication between users of "Ws. In particular, an avatar is designed that is capable of performing body language, and a set of useful gestures are implemented that support aspects of social interaction and integrate with verbal discourse in a meaningful way. In addition to this, a number of scenic properties are derived that enable better comprehension of the non verbal communication, e. g. spatial arrangement, camera position and lighting effects. The research consists of a number of interrelated design activities which include reviewing the literature on avatar design in order to locate goals and variety of the project, therefore building on the on the work of others; a comparative review of three popular 3D AVWs to explore the design problem; a study that aims to gain an understanding of the social dynamics involved; the adaptation of a diagrammatic technique for the purpose of modelling social interaction; the development of 2D and 3D prototype techniques exploring the application of the social interaction modelling technique; a body of creative work developing ideas for conveying non verbal communication and the appraisal of the effectiveness of this creative work. The research contributes to the field of avatar design in a number of ways. Firstly, it develops our understanding of social dynamics in virtual worlds. Secondly, it postulates modes of non verbal communication for both individuals and social groups that supports multi-participatory social discourse. Additionally, a number of useful research techniques have been devised, such as a linear diagramming technique that can be used to represent the structure of conversation thereby facilitating the exploration and understanding of the dynamics of AVW social discourse. The work is of interest to those working in the field of avatar and multi-user virtual world design. It may also be of interest to anyone thinking of using an avatar virtual world for the application of collaborative leaming, collaborative games and conferencing.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong. / Bibliography: leaves 164-166.

Today a paradigm shift in the field of organisation and management theories is no longer disputed and the need to switch from the Command-and-Control to the Leaming Organisation Paradigm (LOP) in the area of organisational theory is well understood. However, it is less well appreciated that learning organisations cannot operate effectively if supported by centralised databases and tailor-made application programs. LOP emphasises adaptability, flexibility, participation and learning. It is important to understand that the changes in organisational and management strategies will not on their own be able to produce the desired effects unless they are supported by appropriate changes in organisational culture, and by effective information systems. This research demonstrates that conventional information system strategies and development methods are no longer adequate. Information system strategies must respond to these needs of the LOP and incorporate new information systems that are capable of evolving, adapting and responding to the constantly changing business environment. The desired adaptability, flexibility and agility in information systems for LOP can be achieved by exploiting the technologies of the Internet, World Wide Web, intelligent agents and intranets. This research establishes that there is a need for synergy between organisational structures and organisational information systems. To obtain this desired synergy it is essential that new information systems be designed as an integral part of the learning organisational structure itself. Complexity theory provides a new set of metaphors and a host of concepts for the understanding of organisations as complex adaptive systems. This research introduces the principles of Complex Adaptive Systems and draws on their significance for designing the information systems needed to support the new generation of learning organisations. The search for new models of information system strategies for today's dynamic world of business points to the 'swarm models' observed in Nature.

The 21st century is an age of conducting business electronically. The benefits of dealing electronically with customers, suppliers, government and others is a fact that will continue the push towards further use of digital technology. This research work aims to address the following research question. How can a small to medium size enterprise (SME)etransform to be competitive in a globalised, rapidly changing, digital world? There are two components to this question; firstly the nature of competitiveness in a globalised environment, and secondly, the issue of how an orgaisation can etransform.The background material investigated at the initiation of this work can be broadly categorised into two types (1)theoretical possibilities; proposing 'potential' uses of internet technologies and (2)case studies reporting on existing ebusinesses. A detailed literature review of eBusiness was conducted to discover what made these organisations different from a traditional business. The next phase in this research work involved development of the eTransformation Roadmap, a tool that served two purposes. Firstly, to measure the current Information Technology sophistication of a business. Secondly, to show the steps that an organisation can take to become an eBusiness. The Roadmap was also used to analyse data collected from a survey of Western Sydney businesses. Overall, this research has provided a holistic view of how an organisation can transform itself to compete in a rapidly changing, digital world. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

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