The emergence of Information Architecture within the information systems world has been simultaneously drawn out yet rapid. Those with an eye on history are quick to point to Wurmanâ s 1976 use of the term â architecture of information,â but it has only been in the last 2 years that IA has become the source of sufficient interest for people to label themselves professionally as Information Architects. The impetus for this recent emergence of IA can be traced to a historical summit, supported by ASIS&T in May 2000 at Boston. It was here that several hundred of us gathered to thrash out the questions of just what IA was and what this new field might become. At the time of the summit, invited to present a short talk on my return journey from the annual ACM SIGCHI conference, I entered the summit expecting little and convinced that IA was nothing new. I left 2 days later refreshed, not just by the enthusiasm of the attendees for this term but by IAâ s potential to unify the disparate perspectives and orientations of professionals from a range of disciplines. It was at this summit that the idea for the special issue took root. I proposed the idea to Don Kraft, hoping he would find someone else to run with it. As luck would have it, I ended up taking charge of it myself, with initial support from David Blair. From the suggestion to the finished product has been the best part of 2 years, and in that time more than 50 volunteers reviewed over 20 submissions. ... In this overview I am exercising my prerogative as editor to outline the Big Six issues that have dominated discussions among IAâ s since that landmark summit in Boston.

India is considered as an emerging knowledge economy; however, Indian citizens are not fully prepared to take up the challenges and opportunities of globalization. Lifelong learning helps in smooth transition in a rapidly changing workplace environment. This paper describes the lifelong learning process in the context of Indian society. This paper also elaborates how Indian public policies, particularly which are recommended by the National Knowledge Commission, supplement efficacies of knowledge economies by preparing young citizens in the country.

<p> Information technology (IT) investment decision makers are required to process large volumes of complex data. An existing body of knowledge relevant to IT portfolio management (PfM), decision analysis, visual comprehension of large volumes of information, and IT investment decision making suggest Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) and hypervariate display techniques can reduce cognitive load and improve decision confidence in IT PfM decisions. This dissertation investigates improving the decision confidence by reducing cognitive burden of the decision maker through greater comprehension of relevant decision information. Decision makers from across the federal government were presented with actual federal IT portfolio project lifecycle costs and durations using hypervariate displays to better comprehend IT portfolio information more quickly and make more confident decisions. Other information economics attributes were randomized for IT portfolio projects to generate Balanced Scorecard (BSC) values to support MCDM decision aids focused on IT investment alignment with specific business objectives and constraints. Both quantitative and qualitative measures of participant comprehension, confidence, and efficiency were measured to assess hypervariate display treatment and then MCDM decision aid treatment effectiveness. Morae Recorder Autopilot guided participants through scenario tasks and collected study data without researcher intervention for analysis using Morae Manager. Results showed improved comprehension and decision confidence using hypervariate displays of federal IT portfolio information over the standard displays. Both quantitative and qualitative data showed significant differences in accomplishment of assigned IT portfolio management tasks and increased confidence in decisions. MCDM techniques, incorporating IT BSC, Monte Carlo simulation, and optimization algorithms to provide cost, value, and risk optimized portfolios improved decision making efficiency. Participants did not find improved quality and reduced uncertainty from optimized IT portfolio information. However, on average participants were satisfied and confident with the portfolio optimizations. Improved and efficient methods of delivering and visualizing IT portfolio information can reduce decision maker cognitive load, improve comprehension efficiency, and improve decision making confidence. Study results contribute to knowledge in the area of comprehension and decision making cognitive processes, and demonstrate important linkages between Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Decision Support Systems (DSS) to support IT PfM decision making.</p>

<p> The purpose of this paper was to create a primer for a security awareness program to educate senior level executives on the key aspects of cyber security. This is due to the gap area that was discovered in the lack of both executive security awareness programs, and the lack of executives that fully abide by their company's security policies. This, coupled with research showing that executives are highly targeted by attackers, was the impetus behind this project. It was determined that the content of an executive security awareness program should be similar to that of a security awareness program for all other employees, with the differences being in the delivery and time frame of each segment. Due to this, literature was reviewed on the various topics of security awareness. Research revealed the importance of capturing an executive's attention, in order to keep their interest in the program. It was recommended that individuals charged with creating an executive security awareness program begin by having one on one meetings with the executives in their company. These meetings will help assess the time constraints of their company executives as well as their current knowledge of the various security awareness topics. This will help with tailoring the program specifically to their company executives. This primer may be used by any company or organization in the beginning stages of creating their own security awareness program for executives. Keywords: Cybersecurity, Professor Albert Orbinati, Executive Security Awareness, Internet Safety.</p>

<p> Collaboration is vital in today's information age, and tools are increasingly used to bring together teams that are geographically dispersed. Second Life, a 3D virtual world, can incorporate most of the visual, hearing and spatial elements of the real world, and can create a feeling of presence or the sense of actually "being there" for users. Common 2D groupware collaboration tools, such as web conferencing and conference calls used for virtual team collaboration in professional contexts, are key enablers for virtual teams. However, businesses and organizations have not adopted virtual worlds for virtual teams and workgroup collaboration. Shen &amp; Eder (2009) conducted a study using their modified Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) applied to the adoption of Second Life for business purposes. For participants, they used college students who were new to Second Life. The purpose of this research is to examine how the seven factors identified in the Shen and Eder's (2009) extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) relate to the behavioral intention to use workgroup collaboration tools in the Second Life using a non-student sample of experienced Second Life users that was more demographically representative of the Second Life population. Although this research supported many of Shen and Eder's findings, it found a negative relationship between the construct of perceived enjoyment and behavioral intent. This finding is important because contrary to positive relationship with gaming and entertainment environments, perceived enjoyment is not an antecedent for behavioral intention of 3D virtual worlds when used for productivity activities. The results of this study may provide insight for tool developers and integrators on where to focus efforts that lead to improved adoption of these workgroup collaboration tools.</p>

<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>

The contemporary information context is paradoxically antipathetic to the traditional information professions, and there are indications that, in order to survive, they will need to undergo radical transformation. This would require a re-conceptualisation of the "objects" of their knowledge domain, the entities and phenomena which comprise it, and the relationships between these entities (with particular reference to the concept of "information" itself). The term "information" is used in a multitude of contexts in the so called "Information Society", and this overuse has undermined the disciplinary and professional position of the information professions: the site of information work is contested. Furthermore, the changing context of the Information Society has challenged and diminished the essential task of the information professions: to deal with society's information problems and needs, as distinguished from the provision of information and communication technologies. In addition, access to information itself is contested as it is increasingly mediated by technology. The aim of this work is to develop a conceptual model by stabilising the defining concepts and constructs of information work, so that the social objectives and praxis of the field are elucidated and supported. The study proposes that such a theoretical framework could support an emergent metacommunity of information professionals.

The contemporary information context is paradoxically antipathetic to the traditional information professions, and there are indications that, in order to survive, they will need to undergo radical transformation. This would require a re-conceptualisation of the "objects" of their knowledge domain, the entities and phenomena which comprise it, and the relationships between these entities (with particular reference to the concept of "information" itself). The term "information" is used in a multitude of contexts in the so called "Information Society", and this overuse has undermined the disciplinary and professional position of the information professions: the site of information work is contested. Furthermore, the changing context of the Information Society has challenged and diminished the essential task of the information professions: to deal with society's information problems and needs, as distinguished from the provision of information and communication technologies. In addition, access to information itself is contested as it is increasingly mediated by technology. The aim of this work is to develop a conceptual model by stabilising the defining concepts and constructs of information work, so that the social objectives and praxis of the field are elucidated and supported. The study proposes that such a theoretical framework could support an emergent metacommunity of information professionals.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.