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Thesis (Ph.D.)--George Mason University, 2008. / Vita: p. 99. Thesis directors: Ravi Sandhu, Daniel Menascé. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Information Technology. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Jan. 8, 2009). Includes bibliographical references (p. 94-98). Also issued in print.

M.Comm. / Most modern and even not so modern businesses are currently investing in the hire or purchase of private access branch exchange (PABX) equipment. Usually the main concern is one of reduced costs to the company, since the internal calls between users on the same PABX are not routed via the public telecommunications operator (Telkom) and therefore free of charge [ James, 1997: 17 ]. Larger companies are experiencing the problem that their offices are distributed countrywide. They can install PABX equipment at each regional office, but this will only allow the employees within the regional office to communicate via internal calls. These organisationssoon realise the need for a voice network that provide them with the capability to communicate internally on a country-wide and in some cases, even a worldwide scale. A private voice network can be established by following two routes. If the company is relatively small and cannot afford its own transmission infrastructure in the form of openwire routes. coaxial cables. microwave routes, satellite routes and the associated multiplexers and flexible multiplexers. then they can lease transmission infrastructure from the public telecommunications operator (Telkom) and pay rental and other associated charges for usage thereof If the company can afford the capital investment in its own transmission infrastructure, it will be capable of communicating on a countrywide basis without relying on the service provided by the public telecommunications operator. In most cases, however, the latter option is illegal, due to regulatory protection of the national telecommunications operator. as stipulated by the telecommunications act (103/1996). In some cases, like the Transnet group, legislation requires the use of a private telecommunications network. The reason for this was that a major catastrophe in the transport industry might result due to problems with the telecommunications facilities. In that case, the public telecommunications operator would not accept any responsibility for the consequences of the break in communications. Transtel is the business unit that acts as a "private telecommunications operator" for the Transnet group . Transtel provides both voice and data communications to its clients within the Transnet group . In this case the main concern is not one of reduced costs, and therefore Transtel is implementing a tariff structure similar to that of the public telecommunications operator. The problem of providing voice communications between geographically distributed offices must be solved reliably and efficiently by the private voice network implemented by Transtel to serve the Transnet group. This implies that Transtel have the challenging responsibility to implement a managed voice network, in order to ensure better service levels than can be obtained from Telkom. The next problem that faces the private telecommunications operators for organisations with several business units and a plethora of departments, is that the costs for telecommunications facilities must be broken down into separate amounts per business unit and per department. This breakdown of costs must also reflect actual usage of the communications network and the billing systems must have the capability to generate detailed reports on network usage, as requested. In organisations like Transnet, where lower costs were not the primary objective of the private communications network, usage of the private network as well as usage of a combination of the private and public network, is being billed back to the department that uses the service. In short, the private telecommunications operator must rely on highly efficient and reliable billing systems to keep track of network costs and clients, since it operates as a separate business unit within the group and have to show a return on the investment on network technology [ Wasnick, 1998 : 26 ]. Inevitably, the private communications operator will need to ensure its clients of superior telecommunications services, and in many cases formal service level agreements will define the acceptable service level from the client's point of view. In order to place the private operator in a position to honour the service level agreements, its networks and especially its voice network must be managed by a global, integrated network management system. The network management system must be global in the sense that it manages all the resources in the voice network as well as resources in other networks that are utilised by the voice network. In order to facilitate optimal service levels, the network management system must be fully integrated with the rest of the operator's information technology infrastructure. It is, however, not enough to have a network management system in place that can cater for all the technical network management needs of the organisation. The organisational structure, management philosophies and business processes must also be adapted, in order to fully utilise the potential benefit of the technical network management functionality [ Sutherland, 1998 : 8 ]. A multi-faceted approach to voice network management will ensure that bi-directional information flow and a balance is established between the technical network side, the business side and the organisational structure, as depicted in Figure 1.1. A major disadvantage will be overcome by focusing on the total telecommunications environment, rather than emphasising the business environment, the technical environment or the organisation. No modern telecommunications operator will be able to survive in the highly competitive environment without a strong business focus integrated with technical excellence and supported by an appropriate organisation structure.

M.Comm. / The limited availability of South African case studies created the opportunity to compile an authentic South African business case study to be presented in a usable manner. The goal of the case study is to explore the challenges of the implementation and management of an integrated computer system. This dissertation gives a brief review on the characteristics of a business case study and the associated benefits of the case method. It also looks at the properties needed to create a successful case study. The new case study "Genesis: Exodus or Revelations? The implementation and management of an integrated computer system" is included in this dissertation and is supplemented by a facilitator's manual. The manual supplies the facilitator with enough information to use the case study effectively in the training environment. Lastly, a group of students and their facilitator evaluate the case study.

A gap exists in the literature between general diffusion of technological innovations and socioeconomic development that results in an ambiguous connection between theory, academia, and professional practice. To inform governments in sub-Saharan Africa on how to achieve the diffusion of innovation for economic development through the voices of regional stakeholders, this qualitative multiple case study was conducted to gain deeper understanding on the views of stakeholders on rapid technology diffusion and its implication on labor market challenges within their regions of Angola. Information from semistructured interviews with 8 adult participants, male and female, born and residing in impoverished communities in Angola, and possessing knowledge regarding their experiences with the topic of the study, observational field notes, and archival data were collected to obtain information regarding specific stakeholders’ experiences with the rapid diffusion of innovation. Identifiable themes emerged through thematic analysis of the textual data and cross-case synthesis analysis. A total of 7 categories that enclose a total of 17 themes were identified. The categories are (a) diffusion of innovations and adoption circumstances, (b) compatibility of technology with social values, (c) trialability within the cultural context, (d) adoption of technology, (e) innovation decision process factors, (f) trust in technology by community stakeholders, and (g) inclusive innovation for low-income stakeholders. Findings enhanced social change efforts by providing insights on the potential impact of the rapid diffusion of innovations among impoverished communities in sub-Saharan Africa and the implications faced by stakeholders on labor market challenges within their regions.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 181-191).

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Local area networks (LANs) provide links between computing devices, such as workstations, file servers, and printers, over a relatively small geographic area (usually within a single building or organization). While computer networks have existed for almost thirty years, networking technology has only recently become available to small organizations. In the late 1980's the use of LANs has begun to mushroom, and presumably has begun to affect the organizations which use LANs. A review of the literature reveals many technical and product-oriented articles about LANs, but no previous research into the organizational effects of LANs. However, a strong tradition of studying the effects of technology on social structures exists. This dissertation describes a study which builds from this tradition. The research described herein is an exploratory study of the effects of LANs on a small business environment. The particular environment chosen, the auto parts industry, is representative of many inventory-intensive, transaction-oriented small businesses. Forty-six respondents, all auto parts retailers, were asked about their reasons for acquiring their LANs and about their level of satisfaction with their LANs. Growth trends, employment trends, and regional differences in LAN usage were also studied. In brief, the major findings of the research are the following: Acquisition and satisfaction. (1) Three clusters of factors stand out among the reasons why auto parts firms have made the investment in networking technology: financial controls, managerial controls, and external factors impinging on the firm. The financial controls cluster is the most important. (2) A high level of satisfaction with computer networks exists in the auto parts user community. (3) The reasons for the high level of user satisfaction reported in Finding 2 were examined. Users report being most satisfied with financial objectives, followed closely by managerial objectives. As a group they are less satisfied with external objectives. Growth. (4) Auto parts companies which have purchased computer networks have shown significant growth, as reflected in increases in the total number of employees since the purchase. (5) Auto parts companies which have purchased computer networks have not experienced significant changes in the number of office employees since the purchase. Employment trends. (6) In the auto parts industry, the use of unskilled, or lesser-skilled, employees on the auto parts counter is increasing and is likely to continue to increase. (7) In the auto parts industry, the number of women in non-traditional positions (such as working on the parts counter or in management) has increased in the last decade. Regional differences. (8) The proportion of stores in the metropolitan Boston area which have computer networks is significantly lower than the proportion in all other areas contacted during the interview process.