Although studies are conducted on economical gains due to BI system adoption, limited knowledge is available on factors which influence BI system usage. Identifying these factors is necessary for organisations because this may enable the design of effective BI systems, thus increasing the chance of firms adopting them to realise the actual value inherent in the exploitation of BI systems. The purpose of this study is, therefore, to investigate factors which influence BI system usage. The investigation employed constructs derived from three theoretical frameworks, namely technology acceptance model (TAM), task-technology fit (TTF) and social cognitive theory (SCT) as follows: intention to use, perceived usefulness, perceived ease use, task characteristics, technology characteristics, task-technology fit and computer self-efficacy. To test the hypotheses, data was collected by administering the study to 682 BI system users in a South African financial institution, SA-Bank, wherein 193 usable responses were received. The findings of the study with partial least squares (PLS) analysis indicated support for the joint use of constructs from the three theoretical frameworks, explaining 65% of BI system usage variance. Furthermore, the perceived usefulness of a BI system reflected a stronger influence as a factor of BI system usage over the beliefs that the system was easy to use, and the belief that it was aligned to the performance of business tasks. An unusual outcome in this study was the lack of influence of computer self-efficacy on BI system usage. Nonetheless, the study extended validation of the use of constructs derived from the three theoretical frameworks for a BI technology in the context of SA-Bank, thereby contributing to theory. Finally, the results of hypothesis testing suggested a starting point for practitioners towards designing BI systems, and recommendations and suggestions are included in this report.

We use the labor force ad hoc module "transition from work into retirement" to analyze the link between individual as well as pension system characteristics and planned retirement age within the European Union. We find that timing of retirement is correlated between partners who are, already at the stage of retirement planning. In richer countries of the EU15, standard retirement age seems to have a larger effect on planned retirement age than in poorer EU15 states or in new EU member states. The effect of pension wealth is largest in the new EU member states and smallest in rich EU15 countries. Furthermore, industry and occupation effects differ by country type. (authors' abstract)

Organizations that have come to depend on legacy systems face quite a paradoxical problem. Maintaining the system might prove ineffective in accommodating necessary changes, but a system migration project is expensive and incurs a high amount of risk. Organizations are therefore hesitant to respond to the legacy system problem by undertaking action. Legacy system are often not causing their organization any problems at present, but a focus on the future with regard to the legacy system problem is lacking. This results in IT systems reaching an end-of-life state. The research therefore set out to explore a future-oriented perspective on legacy systems by means of observation, a literature review and a survey. The researcher found the key concept of a future-oriented perspective to be that any system that is limiting an organization to grow and innovate can be regarded as a legacy system. A framework to designate legacy status to IT systems is proposed in order to guide practitioners to acknowledge a problematic IT system to facilitate appropriate response at the right time. In relation to a future-oriented perspective, when to designate legacy status is best determined according to the system’s flexibility towards change and the alignment of the system with the business. In that regard, IT systems are end-of-life systems when they are too inflexible to change, and as a result become unaligned with either current operations or a future business opportunity or need.

<p>This thesis suggests a set of system characteristics to be used when evaluating or analyzing the IT security of a distributed information system. Each characteristic is meant to be considered in the evaluation of relevant distributed system components. This is considered to be the first step towards finding a technique for modeling and evaluating the security of a system. The work also includes a definition of distributed information system components and a categorization of the found characteristics. The means used to identify the set of characteristics include a thorough investigation of the literature on the relevant subject, as well as a brainstorming session. Thereafter the material has been structured to form the results presented in this thesis.</p>

This thesis suggests a set of system characteristics to be used when evaluating or analyzing the IT security of a distributed information system. Each characteristic is meant to be considered in the evaluation of relevant distributed system components. This is considered to be the first step towards finding a technique for modeling and evaluating the security of a system. The work also includes a definition of distributed information system components and a categorization of the found characteristics. The means used to identify the set of characteristics include a thorough investigation of the literature on the relevant subject, as well as a brainstorming session. Thereafter the material has been structured to form the results presented in this thesis.

No / Prior work on the technology acceptance model (TAM) is mainly devoted to the influence of TAM’s core motivational factors and their impact on behavioral intent toward IS acceptance. Relatively little research has focused on what specific system design characteristics motivate individuals toward IS acceptance. This article identified specific systems design factors and examined their impact on TAM’s motivational factors through the TAM. The findings will help designers to design and implement better user-accepted systems.

Knowledge management has roots in a variety of disciplines, such as philosophy, psychology, social sciences, management sciences and computing. As a result, a wide variety of theories and definitions of knowledge and knowledge management is used in the literature. Irrespective of the theory or definition used, is it recognised that expert knowledge and insight are gained through experience and practice and that it is a key differentiator as an organisational asset. This shift to knowledge as the primary source of value results in the new economy being led by those who manage knowledge effectively. Today’s organisations are creating and leveraging knowledge, data and information at an unprecedented pace – a phenomenon that makes the use of technology not an option, but a necessity. It enables employees to deal with multifaceted environments and problems and make it possible for organisations to expand their knowledge creation capacity. Software tools in knowledge management are a collection of technologies and are not necessarily acquired as a single software solution. Furthermore, these knowledge management software tools have the advantage of using the organisation’s existing information technology infrastructure. Organisations and business decision makers spend a great deal of resources and make significant investments in the latest technology, systems and infrastructure to support knowledge management. It is imperative that these investments are validated properly, made wisely and that the most appropriate technologies and software tools are selected or combined to facilitate knowledge management. The purpose of this interpretive case study is to consider these issues and to focus on an understanding of the key characteristics of a knowledge management system architecture by exploring and describing the nature of knowledge management. Based on the findings of this study, a list of key characteristics that a knowledge management solution must comply with was collated, which expanded the existing knowledge management model towards describing a knowledge management system architecture. / Computing / M.Sc. (Information Systems)

Knowledge management has roots in a variety of disciplines, such as philosophy, psychology, social sciences, management sciences and computing. As a result, a wide variety of theories and definitions of knowledge and knowledge management is used in the literature. Irrespective of the theory or definition used, is it recognised that expert knowledge and insight are gained through experience and practice and that it is a key differentiator as an organisational asset. This shift to knowledge as the primary source of value results in the new economy being led by those who manage knowledge effectively. Today’s organisations are creating and leveraging knowledge, data and information at an unprecedented pace – a phenomenon that makes the use of technology not an option, but a necessity. It enables employees to deal with multifaceted environments and problems and make it possible for organisations to expand their knowledge creation capacity. Software tools in knowledge management are a collection of technologies and are not necessarily acquired as a single software solution. Furthermore, these knowledge management software tools have the advantage of using the organisation’s existing information technology infrastructure. Organisations and business decision makers spend a great deal of resources and make significant investments in the latest technology, systems and infrastructure to support knowledge management. It is imperative that these investments are validated properly, made wisely and that the most appropriate technologies and software tools are selected or combined to facilitate knowledge management. The purpose of this interpretive case study is to consider these issues and to focus on an understanding of the key characteristics of a knowledge management system architecture by exploring and describing the nature of knowledge management. Based on the findings of this study, a list of key characteristics that a knowledge management solution must comply with was collated, which expanded the existing knowledge management model towards describing a knowledge management system architecture. / Computing / M.Sc. (Information Systems)