Debates In Information Technology

The purpose of this book is to highlight major debates in Information Technology (“IT”) that might be of interest to fledgling MIS students to help them get a sense of the big ideas in their field. This book is intended for graduate and undergraduate audiences but is easily accessible to practitioners and students alike. Each big idea is presented as a resolution for discussion, one per chapter, and each chapter opens with a broad overview of the resolution, followed by pro and con discussions weighing the merits of the issue. These informative chapters should help students quickly get up to speed on the facts of the issue in order to stimulate more fruitful class discussion. Chapters were authored and reviewed entirely by graduate students as part of an online class project spanning two semesters from 2013 to 2014. Over 80 students contributed to writing it. Faculty editorship enhanced the chapters’ consistency and where necessary, smoothed the writing style. As a whole, this work embodies an important achievement for which these students should be commended. It shows (once again) just how capable students really are.

This volume presents the papers and summarizes the discussions of a workshop held in Goa, India, in January 2004, organized by the Indian National Institute of Advanced Science (NIAS) and the U.S. Committee on International Security and Arms Control (CISAC). During the workshop, Indian and U.S. experts examined the terrorist threat faced in both countries and elsewhere in the world, and explored opportunities for the U.S. and India to work together. Bringing together scientists and experts with common scientific and technical backgrounds from different cultures provided a unique opportunity to explore possible means of preventing or mitigating future terrorist attacks.

This book captures a range of important developments that have occurred in Information Systems over the last forty years, with a particular focus on India and the developing world. Over this time, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Information Systems (IS) have come to play a critical role in supporting, complementing and automating managerial decisions, shaping and transforming industries, and contributing to deep societal and economic change. This volume examines a range of topics for those interested in the adoption and use of these technologies across varied situations. It combines empirical studies on the application and impact of IS with commentaries, debates and insights on the transformative role that IT and the IT industry have played, and continue to play, within India as well as globally. The book draws attention to issues and challenges that organizations grapple with in tech-enabled environments, and provides insights on the role of automation and computational techniques. It explores the global impact of the technology revolution on economic growth and development, electronic globalization, and the wider opportunities and challenges of a hi-tech world. The chapters cover various themes such as e-government in India, internet-based distribution systems, internet banking, and use of collaborative IT tools and functions to support virtual teams in the software industry and the business process outsourcing industry. Other chapters focus on methodological advances, such as systems thinking which finds applications in organizational decision-making, and the use of fuzzy logic. This volume will interest professionals and scholars of information technology and information systems, computer studies, IT systems, economics, and business and management studies.

"Will technology replace the school and university? Will technology replace the teacher? What do we really know about technology and learning? Does technology make education more individualized? What does the future hold for technology and education? What can be learnt from the history of technology use in education? In a thoroughly revised edition of this successful book, Neil Selwyn takes a critical look at some of the major current debates and controversies concerning digital technologies and education. Focusing on the social as well as the technical aspects of these issues, Selwyn addresses fundamental but often unvoiced questions about education and technology. Over the course of eight chapters, the book gives careful thought to the people, practices, processes and structures behind the rapidly increasing use of technologies in education, with an emphasis on the implications of digital technologies for individuals and institutions. The book focuses attention on the connections between recent technology developments and broader changes in education practice, education policy and education theory over the past 10 years. It also challenges us to reflect on future directions and controversies for education in the (post)digital age. Expanded study questions, annotated further reading and a new glossary of key terms are included to support readers. An updated companion website links to case study examples, two bonus chapters and much more for students and lecturers."--...

Will technology replace the school and university? Will technology replace the teacher? What do we really know about technology and learning? Does technology make education more individualized? What does the future hold for technology and education? What can be learnt from the history of technology use in education? In a thoroughly revised edition of this successful book, Neil Selwyn takes a critical look at some of the major current debates and controversies concerning digital technologies and education. Focusing on the social as well as the technical aspects of these issues, Selwyn addresses fundamental but often unvoiced questions about education and technology. Over the course of eight chapters, the book gives careful thought to the people, practices, processes and structures behind the rapidly increasing use of technologies in education, with an emphasis on the implications of digital technologies for individuals and institutions. The book focuses attention on the connections between recent technology developments and broader changes in education practice, education policy and education theory over the past 10 years. It also challenges us to reflect on future directions and controversies for education in the (post)digital age. Expanded study questions, annotated further reading and a new glossary of key terms are included to support readers. An updated companion website links to case study examples, two bonus chapters and much more for students and lecturers.

Over the past decade, Vietnam has become a major player in the rapidly growing region of Southeast Asia. Anyone who has visited the country has sensed the extraordinary energy of its commercial activities. Few outsiders, however, have been granted access to the individual decision making processes that have driven this rapid development. With the publication of this book, that situation has changed. The ten discussion cases included in the collection examine important choices facing Vietnamese decision-makers in a broad range of contexts. Examples of these contexts include: a locally developed ERP considers how to compete with much larger international players, a coffee shop examines how IT might be harnessed to address employee theft, a burgeoning eCommerce site that leads in book sales wonders what it should sell next, an IT manager tries to decide whether or not to risk failure by accepting a promotion to a new level, a textile manufacturer seeks to use IT to more effectively manage production, a local investment company attempts to redesign its portal, and the list goes on--and even includes one entry from Vietnam's neighbor, Thailand. The ten case studies provided in this book are all open, authentic, discussion cases. What makes them open is that none of them have a "right" answer--although each has strong and weak responses to the situation described. They are authentic because each has been meticulously researched by its authors and, with the exception of some of the names (which have been disguised), they describe an actual situation faced by the key decision-maker. Most importantly, what makes them discussion cases is the fact that they are specifically optimized for use as a basis for discussion in the classroom, the teaching technique known as the case method.

Design and technology is a relatively new subject compared to more traditional subjects, and during its brief existence, it has garnered widespread debate in schools. This book aims to explore some of these debates and challenges the reader with new perspectives about the subject by presenting and questioning arguments about the purpose, content and place of design and technology in the school curriculum. It will encourage the reader to critically reflect on their own beliefs and practices to reach informed judgements and perspectives that will affect how they teach and think about design and technology. Exploring the major issues that design and technology teachers encounter in their professional lives as well as introducing new topics they may never have considered before, this comprehensive second edition has been fully updated with 16 chapters focusing on emerging and enduring debates: How do we do race in design and technology? What’s so special about design and technology anyway? What is design cognition in design and technology classrooms? What is the potential of feedback in the creative processes of a design and technology classroom? Does food fit in design and technology? What is the role of making in design and technology? With its combination of expert opinion and fresh insight, Debates in Design and Technology Education is the ideal companion for any student or practising teacher engaged in initial training, continuing professional development or master’s-level study.

An authoritative collection of leading critical and contemporary writings published in the field of technology and organizations. The set spans a 50-year time period taking the reader from the first and most influential papers from the early 1950s through to some recent publications which address contemporary and emerging debates in the field at the dawn of the 21st century. Each of the 4 volumes has a particular focus upon this area of research and scholarship: the early debates; theories, paradigms and concepts; critical empirical studies; and emerging themes and future debates. The editors provide an introduction to, and overview of, the themes, debates, perspectives, theories and paradigms which characterize this area of organization studies, and set out a "route map" to help guide the reader through the four volumes.