Aspects Of Information Systems Research Articles

Balancing software and training requirements for information security

Information security is one of the key areas of consideration to assure reliable and dependable information systems (IS). Achieving an appropriate level of IS security requires concurrent consideration of the technical aspects of IS and the human aspects related to the end users of IS. These aspects can be described in the form of information security requirements. We propose an approach that helps select and balance information security software requirements (iSSR) and information security training requirements (iSTR) according to the information security performance of end users. The approach was tested in an experiment involving 128 IS professionals. The results showed that using the proposed approach helps IS professionals with limited experience in information security make significantly better decisions regarding iSSR and iSTR.

English

Moi University was established in 1984 and its first decade of growth and expansion necessitated the adoption and utilisation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to manage information generated by its operations. Through Dutch Joint Financing Programme for Cooperation in Higher Education (MHO) and other donors’ assistance, it established an ICT centre charged with, among other functions, initiation and development of information systems, including the Academic Register Information System (ARIS). Many challenges slowly cropped up and choked ARIS and other systems before implementation. This study was undertaken to ascertain and investigate issues that led to pre-implementation failure of information systems in one of Kenya’s public universities, using a case study of Moi University. This paper presents the views of Moi University’s ARIS and other Information System (IS) project participants on the factors that led to their systems’ failure to reach their operational phase. Although the findings may sound critical of certain aspects of IS and general organisational management at Moi University (MU), they provide real examples of what can happen to IS projects in practice. They provide valuable opportunities for learning, especially in typical sub-Saharan Africa’s public universities. Key words: Pre-implementation failure, failure factors, information systems development, public university, Kenya.

User Satisfaction with Information Systems: A Comprehensive Model of Attribute-level Satisfaction

In this study, we introduce and test a comprehensive model of attribute-level satisfaction to measure user satisfaction with information systems (IS). Recognizing that, as complex “objects”, IS feature multiple subsystems, components, and attributes, we draw on marketing research and attribute satisfaction theory to assess user satisfaction across three levels of abstraction. We first assess overall satisfaction as the most abstract level then move to satisfaction with each major IS component (i.e., information, system, and service satisfaction). Subsequently, we measure user satisfaction with key attributes of each major IS component (e.g., information format, system reliability). The results provide a parsimonious yet practical model along with associated measures that can assess user satisfaction across various IS aspects (i.e., components and attributes) and different user interactions with IS.

IS Supported Global Information Exchanges in New Media Environments: An Interview with Jin-Gyu Kim, Manager of IT Operation of Yonhap News Agency, Seoul, Korea

This interview provides insights into the growing role of information systems (IS) and information technologies (IT) in the media industry. The interview also identifies the different aspects of IS...

Business Security Threat Overview Using IT and Business Intelligence

Through a critical reflection on how information systems (IS) are currently defined in the IS literature, this study aims to contribute to a more profound knowledge of information systems (IS). The research identifies a number of definitions of IS that may be found in the literature by employing the hermeneutic method for literature reviews. The examination of these definitions allows for the differentiation of four distinct perspectives on information systems (IS): a technology view, which emphasizes the technological aspects of IS; a social theory, which highlights the sociocultural factors of IS; a socio-technical view, which emphasizes the interconnection of technology and social elements; and a process view, which emphasizes the activity orientation of IS. This study critically examines the many methods of understanding and conceptualizing information systems and explores their contributions and limits. Based on this examination, the paper argues for developing an alternative socio-material understanding of IS based on a non-dualist, relational ontology.

Human Capital Management Process Based on Information Technology Models and Governance

Human capital management (HCM) inside large systems is very complex and demanding, to achieve successful accomplishment high quality information support is necessary. There are many cases where human capital management process is not conducted in a satisfactory way. Key decisions usually come late, very often because of impossibility to consider a problem in its entirety. The cause of it usually lies in weakness and understatement of the human capital management itself and in this connection data management is not given adequate consideration. Data originating from inside and outside sources within information system (IS) are not integrated in a way which will provide an optimal use. In this connection, this article examines possibilities to innovate the entire human capital management process through the integration of respective data. Data warehousing (DW) possibilities and position within the integral business intelligence (BI) concept are noted as a first step towards its realization. In this article the necessity to innovate and promote permanently the quality of human capital management process is considered; the main features of the process are given as well. Business process innovation (BPI) as a systematic approach with a view to achieve significant business process change is presented; its connection with data aspect of IS is given too. According to the research of this article, HCM BPI is achieved by the data integration within existing IS. DW model intended for HCM has been elaborated as a solution which will innovate the process itself. The position and the role of DW within entire BI organization concept have been established as well. Finally, the benefits achieved by the research are explained.

Improving Student Learning about a Threshold Conceptin the IS Discipline

The threshold concepts of a discipline are the portals to a deeper understanding of disciplinary knowledge, form the keys to learning progression, and are typically difficult to explain and learn. The notion of information systems (IS) as social systems is proposed as a threshold concept in the IS discipline. From this perspective IS are considered to be systems of people performing purposeful organizational activity, supported by embedded information technology (IT). Without an understanding of IS as social systems students are unlikely to come to terms with the complex notions underlying the development of IS in business organizations. This paper describes a study that sought to improve undergraduate student learning about IS as social systems. Three learning activities were designed to specifically target key aspects of IS as social systems. Questionnaires were used to categorize 30 students’ understanding before and after participating in the learning activities. A statistically significant improvement in students’ understanding was identified.

Using formal metamodels to check consistency of functional views in information systems specification

UML notations require adaptation for applications such as Information Systems (IS). Thus we have defined IS-UML. The purpose of this article is twofold. First, we propose an extension to this language to deal with functional aspects of IS. We use two views to specify IS transactions: the first one is defined as a combination of behavioural UML diagrams (collaboration and state diagrams), and the second one is based on the definition of specific classes of an extended class diagram. The final objective of the article is to consider consistency issues between the various diagrams of an IS-UML specification. In common with other UML languages, we use a metamodel to define IS-UML. We use class diagrams to summarize the metamodel structure and a formal language, B, for the full metamodel. This allows us to formally express consistency checks and mapping rules between specific metamodel concepts.

The Information Systems Academic Discipline in Korea: A Focus on Leading Universities

Information Systems (IS) as an academic discipline is in different stages of evolution across countries because of different environmental and situational factors. In spite of thist, most previous studies on IS have been focused mainly in western countries, while scant attention has been given to understanding its status in non-western countries especially in the Pacific Asia Region (PAR). To address this shortcoming, and as a part of the Pacific Asia multi-country case study called IS-in-PA, this study explores the status of IS as an academic discipline in Korea by analyzing the characteristics of IS programs and IS research across 10 leading Korean universities. In order to do this, in-depth interviews and intensive secondary data gathering and analysis based on the case study approach were conducted. The results of this study offer a basic understanding of the unique aspects of IS as a discipline in Korean universities, thereby enabling more effective AIS initiatives to enhance the IS discipline in Pacific Asia, in general, and Korea, in particular. This can also serve as an early groundwork for other researchers seeking to understand the current situation and emerging trends in IS as a discipline in Korea.

THE USE OF BUSINESS RULES FOR THE SPECIFICATION OF DYNAMIC ASPECTS OF IS

In the paper Output driven Information systems (IS) requirements specification method (ODRES) is overviewed emphasizing the problems of recording certain requirements. It is suggested that the method can be extended with business rules recording capabilities. Business rules-based requirements specification method is used to extend ODRES by incorporating method’s rules submodel into an ODRES metamodel in order to support non-structural business rules as additional knowledge about static and dynamic aspects of IS. Presented extension of ODRES concerns only the specification of dynamic aspects of IS. BRS RuleSpeak, which is the basis for a suggested rules submodel, is also overviewed in the paper and the benefits of the extension are outlined.

Planning Implications of the Information Systems Strategic Grid: An Empirical Investigation

In recent years, information systems (IS) planning has come to represent a key IS management tool to practitioners and researchers. Concurrently, there has been increasing recognition by organizations that their IS can be viewed as a strategic resource. This research is an attempt to explore the relationship between these two aspects of IS. It analyzes, in an empirical setting, the contingent nature of some IS planning‐related variables in the context of the strategic relevance of an organization's IS. The basis for the empirical test is the IS strategic grid framework developed by Cash, McFarlan, McKenney, and Vitale [6]. A questionnaire survey method is employed to elicit information on the strategic orientation of IS and IS planning issues within respondent organizations. The difference in emphasis on various planning aspects in organizations with different IS environments is analyzed. Results of the analysis indicate that there is empirical support for the strategic grid framework and that there are differences in planning aspects among organizations, depending on their location in the grid. The implications of these findings for IS and IS planning are then discussed.