This report is part of a series of publications on the status and development of the North-American Information Systems (IS) field and Wirtschaftsinformatik (WI), its counterpart in German speaking countries. Information systems in businesses and organizations are the main subject of research in IS and WI. Hence, both disciplines are applied fields of research. Thus, the valuation of research results and graduates by business practice are vital indicators for the disciplinesâ status and success. Between 1991 and 2001 a plethora of articles were published in leading Information Systems (IS) journals and conference proceedings addressing the issue of relevance of IS research and teaching. This research report provides a comprehensive content analysis of this â relevance debateâ in the North-American Information Systems field. The perceptions, opinions, and recommendations of the contributors are presented structured according to statements of valuation, perception, explanation, and recommendation. The reconstruction of the main IS relevance debate indicates that all debate participants agree that relevance to practice plays a vital role for the IS discipline, but that the field largely lacks relevance in terms of research as well as in terms of teaching. The lack of relevance is, for example, illustrated by the general perception that research results rarely impact practice and that IT/IS professionals usually do not read academic IS journals. In order to analyse if the debate has lead to any changes in terms of practice relevance of the IS field the most recent literature and studies available on IS relevance are evaluated. Analysis results indicate that no significant changes took place. But various IS researchers still report on problems in terms of acceptance and perception of IS degree programs and research. Based on the perspectives of experienced researchers from WI and other European IS communities the concluding remarks of this report attempt to explain the apparent lack of change in the North-American IS field and provide suggestions for improving the current status of the IS field in terms of relevance.

Christine Bruce, " Information Literacy as a Catalyst for Educational Change: A Background Paper," July 2002, White Paper prepared for UNESCO, the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, and the National Forum on Information Literacy, for use at the Information Literacy Meeting of Experts, Prague, The Czech Republic. / no abstract given

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<p> Many projects fail despite the use of evidence-based project management practices such as Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB), Earned Value Management (EVM) and Risk Management (RM). Although previous researchers have found that integrated project management techniques could be more valuable than the same techniques used by themselves, these findings do not address the benefits of integrated EVM with PMB created from RM-based Work Breakdown Structures (WBS) that could positively influence project results. The success of a project is partly dependent on accurately forecasting the performance of future states of current projects. The focus of this quantitative descriptive study is to improve current project management knowledge by identifying whether the integration of EVM with PMB created from RM-based WBS adds project value in accurately predicting the future performance of current projects. This study was conducted by surveying project leaders who have had some experience in EVM with project management. The results of this research significantly support the belief that integration of EVM with PMB created from RM-based WBS adds value to a project.</p>

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The aim of this study was to determine the role the library should play in a problem-based curriculum. The Flexner Report of 1910 and the Edinburgh Declaration of 1988 gave momentum to major changes towards a problem-based learning curriculum in medical education. The Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State also changed to a problem-based learning curriculum in response to a regulation passed by the Minister of Health as well as the regulation passed by the South African Qualification Authority. The different steps in problem-based learning, the history, advantages and disadvantages of problem-based learning are discussed. The role of various libraries in selected countries with regard to problem-based learning is investigated, as well as the requirements that have been put to the University of the Free State. A model is proposed that can be used to indicate the role the library can play in a problem-based learning curriculum.

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<p>Electronic medical records (EMRs) or electronic health records have been in use for years in hospitals around the world as a time-saving system for patient record keeping. Despite its widespread use, some physicians disagree with the assertion that EMRs save time. The purpose of this study was to explore whether any time saved with the use of the EMR system was actually devoted by doctors to patient-care and thereby to improved patient-care efficiency. The conceptual support for this study was predicated employing the task-technology fit theory. Task-technology theorists argue that information technology is likely to have a positive impact in individual performance and production timeliness if its capabilities match the task that the user must perform. The research questions addressed the use of an EMR system as a time-saving device, its impact on the quality of patient-care, and how it has influenced patients? access to healthcare in Nigeria. In this research, a comparative qualitative case study was conducted involving 2 hospitals in Nigeria, one using EMRs and another using paper-based manual entry. A purposeful sample of 12 patients and 12 physicians from each hospital was interviewed. Data were compiled and organized using Nvivo 10 software for content analysis. Categories and recurring themes were identified from the data. The findings revealed that reduced patients? registration processing time gave EMR-using doctors more time with their patients, resulting in better patient care. These experiences were in stark contrast to the experiences of doctors who used paper-based manual entry. This study supports positive social change by informing decision makers that time saved by implementing EMR keeping may encourage doctors to spend more time with their patients, thus improving the general quality of healthcare in Nigeria.