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This paper is based on an ongoing study that looks at farm management practices by Australian women cotton growers using farm management software, most particularly an agricultural decision support system, CottonLOGIC. The study is informed through a theoretical framework of structuration theory as a metatheory for probing the recursiveness of farm management and technology usage, and diffusion of innovations theory as a lower-level theory for analysing software adoption characteristics. Empirical research indicates that effective information exchange flows from homophilous communication. In this paper, the principles of homophily and heterophily in communication networks were initially drawn from diffusion theory. The findings suggest that despite apparent gender disparities, the presence of empathy and shared goals between farming partners overrides 'gender heterophily' to become gender homophily. Therefore cotton growers are informed of scientific research through homophilous communication, influencing the construction and reconstruction of innovative software usage and existing farm management practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the way women perceive and talk about the nature of their work, in the context of the declining participation of women in the Information Technology (IT) industry. The study is part of an ongoing project (WinIT), commenced in 1995, that has examined the attitudes of high school and university students and IT personnel towards IT education and careers. The research so far has shown that most students have a poor understanding of IT education and work and perceive IT as a difficult, boring and masculinised domain. IT education is not attracting high achieving students in general and female students in particular. Interviews of women working in IT reinforce widely held impressions of the IT industry. This paper discusses a recent study (1999-2000) in which 32 female and 2 male IT professionals were interviewed. The data were initially sorted and analysed by the third author, using NUD*IST, an Australian qualitative analysis software tool. Giddens' Structuration Theory (1984) was used to interpret the discourse, revealing that the professional women's discourse is characterised by dualisms that are not always consistent with the women's lived experiences. The dualisms discussed in this paper are those relating to skills and attributes, such as technical and people skills, as well as gender specific dualisms, such as attention to detail and assertiveness. The dualisms in the interview discourse represent skills and attributes as either/or propositions associated with gender. The interview data, however, also reveals contradictions in these dualisms, indicating that these polarised views of women and IT work are being undermined by women in the IT industry. The perceptions of the interviewees are discussed as structures of signification that need to be altered in order to successfully challenge these dualisms. For example, the gendering of IT work is being undermined by men as well as women who are discouraged by the need to adapt to the... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on the use of audience response technology to support a focus group session that was conducted as the first phase of a study exploring the use of ICTs in small to medium tourism enterprises (SMTEs) in the Australian States of South Australia and Victoria. A variety of large and small group support technology was considered before the audience response technology was adopted. The paper explores the way that such technologies can be used to successfully support research that utilises focus groups. Valuable lessons were learned from the first focus group session and the outcomes informed the subsequent semi-structured interviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines an ad-hoc collaborative exercise arranged between a group of undergraduate students studying an introductory MIS course in the USA and a group of Australian masters students studying a Collaborative Information Systems (CIS) course. As part of a visit to the US the first author, who normally taught the Australian CIS course, taught the introductory MIS course and the timing of the evening course coincidently crossed over with the Australian morning session. The availability of a collaborative tool (ThinkTank) at the US hosting institution suggested the possibility of a collaborative exercise within the Web 2.0 space that would support the content, to varying degrees, of the two courses. Although the focus of the meeting was defined the outcome more closely resembled e-graffiti than an organized discussion. The rather hastily arranged exercise met with mixed responses from both sets of students and this paper considers the benefits and problems of arranging such ad-hoc exercises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents findings of a recent study which explores rural women's use of an agricultural decision support system, CottonLOGIC, within the Australian cotton industry. Meta-analysis is applied through the theoretical framework of structuration theory while diffusion theory is used for lower level analysis. The concept of communication is applicable to both theories. The significance of CottonLOGIC as a communication medium for technology transfer of industry re-search to cotton farms is evaluated in this paper. The findings suggest that CottonLOGIC is a recognised means of information exchange but even more valuable is the cooperation of stake-holders to influence effective reconstruction of farm management practices and technology usage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International forums for doctoral students offer a fertile context for developing strategic partnerships between higher education institutions, as well as for building the intercultural capacity of early career academics. However, there is limited research investigating the benefits of international doctoral forum partnerships. This paper presents learnings from a recent international doctoral forum held in Beijing, China and attended by doctoral students and academics from Beijing Normal University (China) and Queensland University of Technology (Australia). Drawing on qualitative case study method and a model of boundary crossing mechanisms, we identify the beneficial outcomes of the forum. We describe how the forum arose from a strong ongoing partnership between the Education Faculties of Beijing Normal University and Queensland University of Technology. We then identify how, at the institutional and individual level, international doctoral forum participants can be challenged and benefit in four areas: collaboration, intercultural capacity, academic enhancement and program development. Implications for engaging successfully in international doctoral forum partnerships are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a qualitative pilot study which explores the attitudes and aspirations of international students in the Master of Information Systems (MIS) program at an Australian university. The findings are preliminary but suggest that the MIS program is an extrinsic motivator since it is used by students as a catalyst to change their future careers and lives. Furthermore, the students are appreciative of the MIS program's flexibility and the life-long learning initiative it encourages, as opposed to the more structured curricula in their countries of origin. While the findings indicate that the students approve overall the technical and business mix of courses in the MIS program, nevertheless, they are critical of the perceived lack of industry contact which would expose them to Australian social values and organisational cultures, thus preparing the students further for the workforce. This study makes a contribution as the basis of future research investigating the alignment between the academic preparation of MIS graduates and the industry expectations of technology intensive organisations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile phones in Australia record one of the world's highest rates of ownership among children under 18. This paper examines issues of mobile phones and Australian children and the various discourses (systematic frames) used in discussing their effects. These are the optimistic (gains); pessimistic (losses, costs or harms); pluralistic (technology per se is neutral but how it is used matters); historical development (importance and skills learnt); futuristic predictions (promises and dangers); current uses (connectivity, convergence and interactivity); and techno-realist view (as a mixed blessing). Taking the Justification View of Technology that sees technological adoption as a gamble and borrowing from Joshua Meyrowitz, it examines how mobile phones have eroded parental power over how, when, where and with whom their children communicate, while at the same time, becoming a 'digital leash' for parents to re-establish their control and an 'umbilical cord' of children to remain connected with parents at all times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discipline formation in information management is investigated through a case study of the origination and development of information services for scientific and technical information in Australia. Particular reference is made to a case of AESIS, a national geoscience, minerals and petroleum reference database coordinated by the Australian Mineral Foundation. This study provided a model for consideration of similar services and their contribution to the discipline. The perspective adopted is to consider information management at operational, analytical and strategic levels. Political and financial influences are considered along with analysis of scope, performance and quality control. Factors that influenced the creation, transitions, and abeyance of the service are examined, and some conclusions are drawn about an information management discipline being exemplified by such services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]