The most influential IS research article for me (thus far) has been one entitled The Identity Crisis within the IS Discipline: Defining and Communicating the Discipline’s Core Properties by Izak Benbesat and Robert Zmud. This is one of those articles that almost anyone within the IS discipline has heard of – especially the CGU IS&T PhD students, as we were required to read it for one of our core classes (IS 360). This article spotlights the issue we all face as IS researchers when someone outside the discipline comes to any of us, asking that core and basic question “What is IS research?” Information Systems (IS) and Information Technology (IT) research, at is center, is concerned with computing of differing scopes and methods (from large corporate databases to your internet ready cell phone). Computing is everywhere, whether you are aware of it or not. Because of this, it is hard to draw the line between what is considered IS or IT research and what is not. This article is an attempt to provide guidelines for our top journal editors and researchers as to what we should consider true IS or IT research and what research would be better off published in the journals of other disciplines. For me, this article helps to establish what research is considered “publishable” by the “powers that be” in the top IS journals.

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Leo – In reference to your observations on Leonardo’s Laptop, I also had some misgivings about this book, though not the same ones you mention. In reading your blog entry, I agree with you that Schneiderman presents his concepts of “old” and “new” computing as non-overlapping stages, rather than two complementary goals for which all technologies should  strive to meet in order to be the helpful and usable technologies for those who use them. Looking at technologies with a focus of what the technologies can do versus what the user can do (and therefore the technology will support) separates these two very integral concepts from one another. In supporting a user, a technologist must look at what the user needs done and incorporate this with what the technology can do. A quick note as to my earlier reference about my personal misgivings in regards to Leonardo’s Laptop. When reading this book, I was struck with two different ideas. One was that this book is filled with a lot of the hype about technology that tends to precede each new technology, except it spans the horizon in terms of the technologies and expectations for the future. My other thought was that Schneiderman’s call for consumers to “demand” better of the technologies they use is a nice thought, but in this day and age where John Q. Public cannot be persuaded to vote for the issues and candidates (s)he spends time complaining about, how can (s)he be persuaded to demand better from organizations where direct input is not solicited (as it is in elections) such as the private firms that supply much of our technology?

Nathan – When reading your reactions to Blink, I was struck with your insight as to the connection between rapid cognition and its effect on research. When I read Blink, I read it in terms of how to improve my personal cognition. To me, the main message was that in order to have really good rapid insights, we need to become experts in the fields we are in. I did not think of the implications for survey or interview data collected that asks participants to explain why they do something or how they reached a conclusion. It would seem that most people, even those who make really good snap decisions (such as those featured in Blink) have a hard time verbalizing the internal mechanics of their thought processes, therefore it may be unfruitful to question participants on this.

Nimer – In your favorite/least favorite gadget section, may I assume that your least favorite gadget is your desktop computer and not your physical desktop? :) I’m not sure your desktop, meaning the top of your desk, counts as a “gadget” In reading your response to one of the Leonardo’s Laptop questions, I felt really bad for you in reading your seemingly endless list of technology horror stories. It looks like you have scrapped 2 computers due to viruses/spyware/malware? What a bummer:(

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 My favorite gadget is probably my laptop. Despite being an IS major throughout my college career (bachelors, masters and now PhD), I bought my first laptop computer last fall. The freedom it allows me in terms of working where ever I am, combined with the availability of wireless internet signals in more places than ever before makes this, easily my favorite gadget. Although in terms of laptops, mine is really nothing special, I guess you always have a special place for your first…whatever:)
 

My least favorite gadget would have to be my cell phone. I have an older flip phone type of cell phone. Lately it has taken to not closing completely with the cover on it. There’s nothing technically wrong with it, but I look forward to buying one of the newer ones. In terms of general technology, I have not found a wireless setup for my cell phone that is comfortable. With my new cell phone, I will look into a Bluetooth wireless headset for my phone. This will hopefully be a better setup than the wired ones I have tried in the past.

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Academic Advising

Chapter 18

Technological Delivery Systems

 

• Technology transforming higher education from a teaching institution into a learning institution.
• There is a challenge to provide quality advising services to distance learners (students who take internet-based courses and typically are not on campus).
• Technology in Person to Person Advising
• Synchronous Advising – same-time, same-pace, different-place, person-to-person advising
• Video Conferencing – provides advisor and student with audio and video communication.
• Some systems allow for text based chat and file sharing.
• Most economical systems are web-based, but some provide for point-to-point direct connections.
• Computer Chat and Computer Audioconferencing – chat allows for text based communication and audio conferencing allows for voice over the internet (VOIP?)
• Instructional Delivery Systems – Broadcasts over cable TV, radio, and satellite for delivery of advising information.
• Typically used for group advising
• Asynchronous Advising - Person-to-person advising that is delivered through technology that is anytime, anyplace, anypace advising.
• E-mail and V-mail – text-based and audio-based direct messages sent between advisor and student.
• Technology in the Self-help Age
• World wide web pages
• Content includes – applications, forms, degree audits, electronic evaluation for articulation.
• Other WWW content
• listservs, newsletters, and electronic bulletin boards
• Technology based advising
• affected by the digital divide
• students with disabilities may have a hard time benefiting from technology-based advising

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Academic Advising

Chapter 17

Technological Resources that Support Advising

 

• Advising by hand (i. e. not using any technology) is time consuming in terms of the amount of information, such as: information needed on each student, university and degree requirements, and academic policies.
• Technology has been developed to aid in the tedious record keeping and information gathering portion of an advisor’s job. This has lead to a shift of advising duties being prescriptive to developmental.
• IT tools to aid advisors include:
• Degree Audit tools – Matches completed coursework with sets of degree program requirements, tracking a student’s progress from declaration of major to completion of a degree.
• Reduces in clerical duties of advisor
• Can support additional peripheral tasks such as monitoring for academic honors and executing NCAA eligibility checks.
• Systems need to be “mindful” of exceptions to typical degree progress, such as course substitutions.
• Computerized Transfer Course Equivalency Systems – Systems that present to students with courses that receive transfer credit at various 2- and 4-year institutions.
• Systems can provide a vehicle by which students can “shop” for a school that offers the most expedient route to degree completion.
• Online systems tend to be more up-to-date than typical printed course-equivalency booklets
• Touch-Tone Registration Systems – Typically a telephone based system, its purpose is to allow immediate feedback to students as to their class choices and provide alternate section information for classes that are closed.
• Alleviates or eliminates the time and resource intensive in-person registration of the past.
• Many schools offer real-time course schedules and registration through the internet.
• Computerized Appointment Calendar Systems – Allows students to schedule themselves for meetings with advisors and depending on the reasons for the visit, allocates the appropriate amount of time.
• Gives students a feeling of ownership over their advising interview
• Allows for more time for advisors to prepare for student meetings.
• Electronic Advisor Notebooks – software that allows the advisor to keep advising information in an electronic form.
• Allows flexibility for taking standardized notes for recording advisor-student interactions.
• Allows for easier viewing of longitudinal information regarding the student and their progress.
• Automated Student Profile Systems – Systems that allow for gathering of secondary school information on students, beyond transcripts and grades.
• Allows for gathering of helpful information such as:
• extracurricular activities
self-assessed knowledge in some subjects

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A techy by trade, what about a section on the fact that Claremont Graduate University embraces the part time PhD student.

Although i'm making mere assumptions, the part time student will frequent campus less than the fulltime student (it only seems logical). Now by what means do these students continue communications with their graduate/dissertation advisers. Are the relationships largely technical (email,phone,blogs/wikis). And does technology impede or induce progress in the various stages of the graduate lifecycle.

It's just one more angle to adopt, since CGU is very unique to most other doctoral programs, where part timers are not welcome. (Brian)

I think this may be something we can incorporate into the survey in the form of one or two questions. It would be very interesting to see how students who are not on campus regularly keep in touch with their advisors (with the assumption that they consider their formal school-provided advisors as the person they go to for advising). Either to incorporate into the survey we are going to create or as a follow on type of thing. (Nicole)

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Create your new page here!

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When Mr. Wicker was speaking about the Berger & Luckmann portion of our readings, and Leo questioned the idea of alternate realities, a thought struck me. I remember as a child wondering if the world would continue to exist if I was not there to view it. I thought, without realizing it, that I was the only “real” person and the others I interacted with were players in my reality. This thought pattern stemmed from the fact that we all see the world through our individual sets of eyes, much like a video recorder records the world around it.

Mr. Wicker spoke of social reality – the idea that two people “learn” to interact with each other and generate routines for interacting with each other. “This is the way we do things around here.” When other people outside this one-on-one reality come into the picture, they need to learn the patterns of interaction that the two within the original reality have learned and sometimes mastered to the point that words are unnecessary for interaction.

I liked Mr. Wicker’s quote: “Treat memory as a pest.” – To me this means do not hold to routines generated by past experiences. These will limit your thinking and creativity. It seems hard to ignore your natural tendency to ritualize your experiences; but it will help keep your mind and thinking open. 

<<thinking, totally off the subject>>Mr. Wicker has a really small bottle of waterJ

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The Convocation was an interesting roadmap of where CGU is headed for this academic year. The beginning was an overview of the financial status of CGU, in looking back  at the last 5 years or so and extending the trends forward. In shorthand, the budget is balanced (your tuition dollars hard at workJ), the endowment fund is on the rise, FTEs (Full –Time Equivalent – see Wikipedia for a “quick and dirty” definition http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full-time_equivalent) are on the decline (less students), but applications for admission are forecasted to be on the rise this next school year. Bad news (for students anyway) – tuition is set to increase by 4% (but this is less than the national average). And for those roughing it in our on-campus housing, the housing project was approved and is set to break ground October-November of this year, to be finished by December 2007, welcoming its first set of inhabitants in Spring of 2008.

The more interesting portion of the Convocation (at least to me) was President Klitgaard’s speech on the future of CGU. He framed this upcoming academic year as a year of “Change and Renewal.” Of course, intellectual trespassing and transdisciplinarity were major focui, but he also brought up some emerging trends in doctoral education, such as challenges to the way PhD programs prepare students to face real-world challenges and he outlined how CGU is meeting and exceeding these challenges. He brought up a book called More Like Us, in looking at adaptation. The central idea is that we need to capitalize on our strengths in order to meet the challenges ahead. All in all it was an interesting speech (although I personally think the President is an excellent speaker, so all of the speeches I have seen him give are interesting) and a good set up for the new school year.

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