The purpose of this paper is to highlight the complexities involved in higher education provision and how systems thinking and socio-technical systems (STS) thinking approach can be used to understand the education ecosystem. Systems thinking perspective is provided using two case studies: the development of European Learner Mobility (EuroLM)…

Large quantities of data are now being generated, collated and processed within schools through computerised systems and other digital technologies. In response to growing concerns over the efficiency and equity of how these data are used, the concept of "open data" has emerged as a potential means of using digital technology to…

There is growing interest in collectibles of many types, as indicated by the popularity of television programs such as the History Channel's "Pawn Stars" and "American Pickers" and the Public Broadcasting Service's "Antiques Road Show." The availability of online auction sites such as eBay has enabled many people to collect items of interest as a…

Lane County, Oregon, has 16 school districts, and up until last year, every one of them had its own online learning program. Some were more like correspondence courses, while others were closer to online curriculum delivery. No one had ever explored the options available, the cost savings that district collaboration might provide, or the benefits…

A major task involved in the management, analysis, and integration of qualitative data is the development of a coding schema to facilitate the analytic process. Described in this paper is the evolution of a coding schema that was used in the analysis of qualitative data generated from online forums of middle-aged women with chronic conditions who…

Most UK universities can trace their current management information systems back to significant investments made in the 1990s, largely fuelled by concerns about the millenium bug and a change from character interfaces to graphical user interfaces following the introduction of the personal computer. It was during this period that institutions also…

Montana State University (MSU) Libraries (where the authors serve as web services librarian and digital initiatives librarian, respectively) is perhaps unique because it has no current periodicals room due to lack of space. As a result, finding current journals for research is difficult for its patrons, who do not always know how or where to…

Universities in Australia, like their counterparts abroad, are making available several different kinds of electronic information services for their student communities. University students need different types of information for the frequently entwined purposes of learning and living, and such information may be available from a variety of…

No school is an island; it is a part of a continuum or a pipeline of institutions which together form an educational pipeline through which groups of students pass. To turn a body of data into useful information for knowledge-based decision-making at any level, data must be collected, organised, analysed and reflected upon. The purpose of this…

In this paper, we propose a conceptual and operational framework for process reengineering (PR) in higher education (HE) institutions. Using a case study aimed at streamlining exam scheduling and distribution in a distance learning (DL) unit, we outline a sequential and non-linear four-step framework designed to reengineer processes. The first two…

Explains personal information management (PIM) systems and suggests a user-subjective approach to PIM system design. Advocates that PIM systems relate to the subjective value-added attributes that the user gives the stored data so that the user can find information again, recall it when needed, and use it effectively in the next interaction.…

Knowledge Management (KM) and knowledge sharing are important factors that support lifelong learning, and enable people to continue developing throughout their careers. The concept of a Community of Practice ( Wenger, 2000) is attractive in drawing together people whose work shares similar aspects, and consideration is given here to how technology…

Reviews several noncyclical, nonrepetitive hypotheses that try to predict broad spectrum maturational stages of overall information technology growth. Based on the areas of convergence among the hypotheses, several predictions are offered, and it is suggested that we are at a major transition point entering the third stage of computerized…

Discusses the integration of knowledge management into business applications. Topics include the difference between knowledge and information; performance-centered design (PCD); applying knowledge to support business outcomes, including context, experience, and information quality; techniques for merging PCD and knowledge management, including…

Presents the main ingredients for successful computer-systems administration. Discusses training and ongoing support, change management for system upgrades, developing a problem-reporting form and keeping the documentation history, managing technical support, and having a disaster-recovery plan. (AEF)