How to Design a Virtualized Platform?

2014 ◽  
pp. 64-83
Author(s):  
Valérie Fernandez ◽  
Laurie Marrauld
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Communication Tool ◽  
Management Skills ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Collaborative Communication ◽  
Remote Management ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Interview Survey

In this chapter, the authors present the project “WITE 2.0.” This project is at the crossroads of various issues related to mobility (Urry, 2007) and use of Information and Communication Technologies. WITE 2.0 is a part of the designing process of a collaborative communication tool: “a virtualized and unified platform.” The authors define scenarios of teleworking practices, “equipped” by ICTs, and use these scenarios to better specify the platform. The project started at the end of 2010 and continued for a period of 18 months. The analysis is based on several complementary methodologies: a qualitative study (47 semi-structured interviews) and an experimentation of the platform. They present the main results of the interview survey through the following themes: remote management, skills, articulation of private and professional spheres, and the maturity of technologies. The authors also describe how these elements help the understanding of the evolution of workers’ practices.

How to Design a Virtualized Platform?

2017 ◽  
pp. 728-748
Author(s):  
Valérie Fernandez ◽  
Laurie Marrauld
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Communication Tool ◽  
Management Skills ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Collaborative Communication ◽  
Remote Management ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Interview Survey

In this chapter, the authors present the project “WITE 2.0.” This project is at the crossroads of various issues related to mobility (Urry, 2007) and use of Information and Communication Technologies. WITE 2.0 is a part of the designing process of a collaborative communication tool: “a virtualized and unified platform.” The authors define scenarios of teleworking practices, “equipped” by ICTs, and use these scenarios to better specify the platform. The project started at the end of 2010 and continued for a period of 18 months. The analysis is based on several complementary methodologies: a qualitative study (47 semi-structured interviews) and an experimentation of the platform. They present the main results of the interview survey through the following themes: remote management, skills, articulation of private and professional spheres, and the maturity of technologies. The authors also describe how these elements help the understanding of the evolution of workers' practices.

scholarly journals A Implementação da Telemedicina em Cabo Verde: Fatores Influenciadores

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Artur Correia ◽  
Vanda Azevedo ◽  
Luís Velez Lapão
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Critical Factor ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Cape Verde ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Conditioning Factors ◽  
Information And Communication

Introduction: Telemedicine is the provision of health services, where distance is a critical factor, using information and communication technologies. Cape Verde has bet on using this tool to increase access of the population of its islands to specialized care.Material and Methods: Qualitative study, covering the period between 2013 and 2014. It uses document analysis, semi-structured interviews and focus groups to collect data and analysis of content for their analysis. The participant population includes doctors, nurses and professionals from some institutions related to telemedicine.Results: The priorities of the National Telemedicine Program are set, the cores and reference centers are operational, with trained personnel and equipment installed. Several other policy instruments and conditioning factors and facilitators of the program have been identified.Discussion: Telemedicine is contributing to the reduction of inequalities in access to health, in Cape Verde. However, the full adoption of a service based on a new technology depends on conditioning factors and facilitators, and several success factors of telemedicine, identified in the literature, are not observed and in conjunction with other existing weaknesses affect the overall development of the National Telemedicine Program. However the strengths and capabilities are highlighted opportunities to act.Conclusion: Despite the progress, some telemedicine success factors highlighted on the literature are not seen in the country.

scholarly journals An analysis of the policies of Information and Communication Technologies for Agriculture in Mali

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 100-117
Author(s):  
Macire Kante ◽  
Patrick Ndayizigamiye
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Policy Documents ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Production Areas ◽  
National Framework

To harness the potential of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), developing countries need to develop national ICT policies that will serve as a framework for integrating ICTs at all levels of society. In the absence of that, different actors often engage in various actions for the same beneficiaries and in pursuit of the same objectives. That raises the need to define a national framework for the promotion and application of ICTs in the various production areas, particularly agricultural ones. It is for that reason that this study examined through qualitative methods (policy documents and semi-structured interviews) the national policy of Mali on the use of ICTs in agriculture. Data was analysed using the Qualitative Content Analysis (QCA) method with the aid of NVIVO 12 software. The results showed that the country has two policy documents that articulate the country’s strategy towards the use of ICTs in the agricultural sector, that is, the Agricultural Orientation Law and the National Strategy for the Development of the Digital Economy. Further examination revealed that that these two policy documents are neither appropriate nor coherent in today's Malian landscape. This has resulted in an underutilisation of digital tools by agricultural extension officers which led to the low agricultural productivity in the country. This study recommended therefore the recasting of both documents to take into account the reported observations

scholarly journals The Impact of Mobile Phone Uses in the Developing World

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 20-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvain K. Cibangu ◽  
Mark Hepworth ◽  
Donna Champion
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Mobile Phones ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Impact

In recent years, the rise of information and communication technologies (ICTs) contrasted with the dire living conditions of the world's poorest has been the subject of debate among industry and academia. However, despite the amount of writings produced on mobile phones, Western bias is surprisingly unbridledly prevailing alongside the fêted dissemination of mobile phones. Expansive literature tends to present the rapid adoption of mobile phones among rural individuals, with little to no indication of how local values and voices are respected or promoted. We undertook semi-structured interviews with 16 rural chiefs to inquire into ways in which mobile phones enabled socio-economic development in the rural Congo. Rather than using quantitative, large-scale, or top-down data, we sought to give voice to chiefs themselves about the role of mobile phones. We found that Western bias dominates the literature and deployment of mobile phones more than usually acknowledged. We suggested some paths forward, while bringing the African communal Utu or Ubuntu culture to the center stage.

Participatory Design and Creativity in Development of Information and Communication Technologies

2011 ◽  
pp. 75-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nette Schultz ◽  
Lene Sørensen ◽  
Dan Saugstrup
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Participatory Design ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Development Project ◽  
Communication Tool ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Ict Development ◽  
Mobile Ict

This chapter presents and discusses a new design framework for involving users at an early stage in a mobile ICT development project. A user-centered design process, in which participatory design principles are combined with creativity techniques, is used in order to create scenarios as a communication tool between users and system designers. The theoretical basis for the framework is described, leading to a new participatory design and creativity framework. Empirical insight into how the framework has been developed and used in practice is presented based on the experiences and results from a large ICT development project within the ?eld of mobile communication. Finally, the value of applying creativity as part of a participatory design process is discussed.

THE PHENOMENON, CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF INTEGRATING ICTS IN MANUFACTURING PRODUCTS

2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (02) ◽  
pp. 335-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOAKIM BJÖRKDAHL
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Business Model ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Manufacturing Firms ◽  
Wide Spread ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Total Product ◽  
Provision Of Services ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
The Way

The rapid and persistent improvement in the performance and cost of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) with respect to their capabilities for capturing, processing, displaying, communicating and storing information provide abundant opportunities. This paper aims to explain the causes and effects of the phenomenon in which manufacturing firms integrate ICTs in their established manufacturing products. The study of this phenomenon is based on structured interviews with executives of 37 large Swedish manufacturing firms. The results show that the phenomenon is wide-spread among manufacturing firms, that the number of products that integrate ICTs is growing relative to firms' total product portfolios, and that the revenues from these products are increasing. Competition is a significant reason why firms integrate ICTs into their goods, but firms also want to reap the rewards of the value provided. Important here is that firms often find it necessary to transform aspects of the way they do business (business model) in order to create a better fit between activities that create value for their customers and activities that produce profits for themselves. They also try to find innovative ways to be rewarded for the value they deliver, mainly based on the provision of services.

scholarly journals Too Old For Technology? How The Elderly Of Lisbon Use And Perceive ICT

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bárbara Barbosa Neves ◽  
Fausto Amaro
Keyword(s):  
Digital Divide ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Mobile Phones ◽  
Quantitative Data ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Stratified Sample ◽  
Information And Communication

The elderly have traditionally been an excluded group in the deployment of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). Even though their use of ICT is increasing, there is still a significant age-based digital divide. To empower elderly people’s usage of ICT we need to look at their patterns of usage and perceptions. To understand how Portugal’s elderly (65 and above) use and perceive mobile phones, computers and the Internet, we surveyed a random stratified sample of 500 individuals over 64 years of age, living in Lisbon. Of those surveyed, 72% owned a mobile phone, 13% used computers, and 10% used the Internet. The quantitative data was followed-up by ten qualitative (semi-structured) interviews. The implications of the results are discussed herein.   Keywords: Elderly, Aging, ICT, Ageism, Digital Divide, Mobile phones, Computers, Internet, Portugal, “faux users”

Ethical Issues Arising from the Usage of Electronic Communications in the Workplace

2011 ◽  
pp. 1999-2018
Author(s):  
Fernando A.A. Lagraña
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Corporate Culture ◽  
Unethical Behavior ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Communication Tool ◽  
Electronic Communications ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
E Mail

E-mail has become the most popular communication tool in the professional environment. Electronic communications, because of their specific nature, raise a number of ethical issues: e-mail communications are distance, asynchronous, text-based, and interactive computer-mediated communications and allow for storage, retrieval, broadcast and manipulation of messages. These specificities give rise to misunderstanding, misconduct in the absence of the interlocutors, information and mail overload, as well as privacy infringement and misuse of shared computing resources. Inexperience explains some users’ unethical behavior. Other forms of unethical behavior find their roots in corporate culture, internal competition and management styles. E-businesses, as early adopters of information and communication technologies, are being particularly exposed to such behaviors, since they rely heavily on electronic communications. They should therefore assess their internal situation and develop and enforce e-mail policies accordingly.

Mobile Networked Text Communication

2011 ◽  
pp. 269-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Barkhuus
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Communication Technology ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Text Messaging ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Everyday Activities ◽  
Information And Communication

This chapter introduces a qualitative study of the use of mobile text messaging (SMS) and re?ects on how SMS in?uences social interaction. It describes how this new communication technology is used to maintain social relations and how it generally assists users in their everyday activities. Three issues are highlighted: how users use SMS to overcome shyness, how they use it for micro-grooming, and how they are able to control messages to their advantage. It is argued that SMS facilitates users in their everyday life through the ways it supports awareness and accountability. These characteristics make the communication channel a “social translucent” technology, contributing to its popularity. It is suggested that simple information and communication technologies such as SMS can provide powerful tools in new designs of information and communication technologies.

Working at the Seams of Colonial Structures: Alternative Sociotechnical Infrastructures Revealed by Hurricane Maria

2021 ◽  
pp. 016224392110584
Author(s):  
Fatima K. Espinoza Vasquez
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Local Actors ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Relief Efforts

This study explains why and how Puerto Rican activists responded effectively to the crisis in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. By relying on a structural approach, this study analyzes the local institutional environment. Using the seamful work framework, it examines activists’ practice to reveal activists’ relation with their official state infrastructure and their interactions with said infrastructure before and after Maria. Using semi-structured interviews, observations, and publicly available documents, this study shows that activists navigate the state’s unequal infrastructure by building their infrastructures, called alternative sociotechnical infrastructures, which consist of a set of heterogeneous assortments of actors, organizations, and technologies to address state-driven inequality and natural disasters. Activists do not work to restore existing state infrastructures, instead, they deploy their expertise in their communities to address many of the challenges brought on by disasters. This study emphasizes a bottom-up approach, highlighting local actors’ agency by focusing on the convergence of their knowledge, organizations, and Information and Communication Technologies. Moreover, this research proposes that state-community disconnect is rooted in neoliberal and colonial measures and cautions against considering disasters as opportunities to start anew. Finally, this research proposes new possibilities to plan bottom-up relief efforts that acknowledge the role of civil society and activists.

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