An enterprise resource planning system innovation and its influence on organisational culture: a case study in higher education

Many organisations are adopting new enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems to address their organisational and business problems. These technologies may promise utopian visions of information management, yet often they have the potential to re-shape organisational life and bring even more control to the workplace; in some instances outcomes that are unpredictable and detrimental to the organisation. The study of ERPs and their influence on organisational life and culture is a complex and highly contested area of research which has been the subject of much theorising. This paper adds to the debate through a longitudinal case study of an integrated information system implementation undertaken within a large UK university. The system (known as SITS – strategic information technology services) was introduced into a university in 2006 and the focus of the research has been on culture change within the SITS environment. Document analysis, interviews and participant observation were used to collect data. What has emerged from this study is that many current approaches are unable to account for the complexity of cultural studies within an integrated information systems environment. Therefore we have adopted an approach which acknowledges technology’s power to facilitate or constrain, as well as the role that individuals play in the use of technology to organise.     

论“文化自觉”在高校文化育人中的价值与实践

“文化自觉”是文化的自我觉醒、自我反省、自我创建。“文化自觉”在高校文化育人中具有重要的理论价值和实践指导意义。本文以“文化自觉”理论作为研究点,从物质文化、精神文化、制度文化、行为文化等方面分析经济全球化和文化多元化下高校文化育人中存在的主要问题及其原因,提出了以“文化自觉”引领和推动大学文化育人院完善大学物质文化,拓展物质文化的育人熏陶作用;凝练特色大学精神,突出精神文化的育人主导作用;构建现代大学制度,发挥制度文化的育人引导作用;打造大学行为文化,突出行为文化的育人示范作用。旨在唤醒文化自觉意识,更好地发挥高校“文化育人”的功能,促进高校教育的发展。     

Information culture and records management: a suitable match? Conceptualizations of information culture and their application on records management

Good information and records management is assumed to promote organizational efficiency. Despite established management regimes and available technology, many organizations still consider information and records management challenging. The reason may be cultural factors. This study based on a literature review, aims to explore the academic discourse on information culture and to discuss its relevance for records management. The findings show that the concept information culture is used in various ways: as an explanatory framework; as an analytical and evaluative tool; or as normative standard. The research on information culture addresses several areas: business performance, systems implementation, the manifestation of information culture in different organizations, and a few concerns records management practices. The research settings and the objects of study varied, why general conclusions are difficult to draw, but often a positive correlation between culture and performance is assumed. The focus has been on how information is used, shared and disseminated, while the production and management, that is the vital object of records management, has with few exceptions been neglected. If information culture should fully function as an analytical framework concerning records management, a widened and more inclusive conceptualization is required, which also will enrich information culture as a theoretical concept.     

基石、灵魂与肌体：中国大学科研发展生态的框架分析

［］从新制度主义的角度看,构成大学科研发展生态的基本要素包括大学外部的制度环境、大学理念、大学内部的正式制度。其中,制度环境是基石,大学理念是灵魂,正式制度是肌体。制度环境是根本性的,它决定和制约着大学内部的制度设计,影响着大学理念的形成。正式制度既是制度环境的具体体现者,也是大学理念的具体承载者。良好的大学理念一旦形成,就能为大学科研的发展提供精神凭借和理念支撑,推动大学形成各种良好的正式制度和非正式约束。这就实现了新制度主义所说的制度与意识形态方面的良性互动。在一个良性互动的大学科研发展生态体系中,一以贯之的是作为理念、文化与制度的“学术自由”。     

Performance-based university research funding systems

The university research environment has been undergoing profound change in recent decades and performance-based research funding systems (PRFSs) are one of the many novelties introduced. This paper seeks to find general lessons in the accumulated experience with PRFSs that can serve to enrich our understanding of how research policy and innovation systems are evolving. The paper also links the PRFS experience with the public management literature, particularly new public management, and understanding of public sector performance evaluation systems. PRFSs were found to be complex, dynamic systems, balancing peer review and metrics, accommodating differences between fields, and involving lengthy consultation with the academic community and transparency in data and results. Although the importance of PRFSs seems based on their distribution of universities’ research funding, this is something of an illusion, and the literature agrees that it is the competition for prestige created by a PRSF that creates powerful incentives within university systems. The literature suggests that under the right circumstances a PRFS will enhance control by professional elites. PRFSs since they aim for excellence, may compromise other important values such as equity or diversity. They will not serve the goal of enhancing the economic relevance of research.     

公共数字文化服务体系的要素协同研究

当前针对公共数字文化服务体系及其关键要素的研究并不多见。文章着眼于公共数字文化服务体系的构建,为公共数字文化服务实践提供理论上的借鉴。文章引入协同学理论,分析其对公共数字文化服务的适用性,提出公共数字文化服务体系的概念模型,并利用调研数据验证了公共数字文化服务体系的模型。文章认为作为要素的信息主体、信息环境、信息内容相互作用可形成公共数字文化服务体系。作为信息主体的社会主体不仅直接作用于服务内容,其还通过影响保障环境影响服务内容。研究表明在公共数字文化服务中,社会主体、保障环境、服务内容三者相互作用能更好实现公共数字文化服务体系的有效布局。     

Web 2.0 and folksonomies in a library context

Libraries have a societal purpose and this role has become increasingly important as new technologies enable organizations to support, enable and enhance the participation of users in assuming an active role in the creation and communication of information. Folksonomies, a Web 2.0 technology, represent such an example. Folksonomies result from individuals freely tagging resources available to them on a computer network. In a library environment folksonomies have the potential of overcoming certain limitations of traditional classification systems such as the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH). Typical limitations of this type of classification systems include, for example, the rigidity of the underlying taxonomical structures and the difficulty of introducing change in the categories. Folksonomies represent a supporting technology to existing classification systems helping to describe library resources more flexibly, dynamically and openly. As a review of the current literature shows, the adoption of folksonomies in libraries is novel and limited research has been carried out in the area. This paper presents research into the adoption of folksonomies for a University library. A Web 2.0 system was developed, based on the requirements collected from library stakeholders, and integrated with the existing library computer system. An evaluation of the work was carried out in the form of a survey in order to understand the possible reactions of users to folksonomies as well as the effects on their behavior. The broad conclusion of this work is that folksonomies seem to have a beneficial effect on users’ involvement as active library participants as well as encourage users to browse the catalogue in more depth.     

高校创新文化刍议

本文提出必须从大学理念、大学制度、大学环境三个方面构建高校创新文化体系,从而为建设创新型国家提供强大的文化动力。     

Going offline: An exploratory cultural artifact analysis of an internet dating site's development trajectories

In this study, we develop a theorisation of an internet dating site as a cultural artifact. The site, Gaydar, is targeted at gay men. We argue that contemporary received representations of their sexuality figure heavily in the site's focus by providing a cultural logic for the apparent ad hoc development trajectories of its varied commercial and non-commercial services. More specifically, we suggest that the growing sets of services related to the website are heavily enmeshed within current social practices and meanings. These practices and meanings are, in turn, shaped by the interactions and preferences of a variety of diverse groups involved in what is routinely seen within the mainstream literature as a singularly specific sexuality and cultural project. Thus, we attend to two areas—the influence of the various social engagements associated with Gaydar together with the further extension of its trajectory ‘beyond the web’. Through the case of Gaydar, we contribute a study that recognises the need for attention to sexuality in information systems research and one which illustrates sexuality as a pivotal aspect of culture. We also draw from anthropology to theorise ICTs as cultural artifacts and provide insights into the contemporary phenomena of ICT enabled social networking.     

A national systems view of university entrepreneurialism: Inferences from comparison of the German and US experience

Examining parallels in the long-term evolution of the German and US university systems, this paper formulates hypotheses about the rise and decline of university entrepreneurialism at the national level. Three macro-level antecedents of university entrepreneurialism are identified: (1) decentralized competition; (2) latitude in mission and revenue mix; (3) a nationwide, diversified bidding system for the funding of large-scale university-based research. Of these, the third is real lynchpin of university entrepreneurialism. Arguing for a multidimensional understanding of such entrepreneurialism (i.e. beyond just the commercialization of scientific discoveries), the paper identifies three developments within universities emanating from a favorable national environment: (1) organizational innovations for achieving economies of scope; (2) an institutionalized capacity for strategic selection of research foci; and (3) a capacity to contribute to the development of new industries. The analysis suggests that as national university systems grow and run into cost containment problems, political pressures for reform increase, leading to system homogenization; system homogenization weakens the contextual sources of entrepreneurialism and triggers a process of decline.     

Intelligent agent systems for executive information scanning,filtering and interpretation: Perceptions and challenges

Using intelligent agent-based systems to support information processing for executives has not been significantly advanced in both theory and practice. Research into this field tends to focus more on technical aspects than on social perspective. When executives are faced with increasing information availability and uncertainty in the business environment, using intelligent agent-based systems to enhance executives’ information processing capability appears both an opportunity and a necessity. This study examines UK executives’ perceptions of intelligent agent-based systems for information scanning, filtering, interpretation and alerting. The study follows a deductive research design, i.e. hypothesis formulation and testing from the user’s perspective. Qualitative data was collected through focus groups and interviews with executives in the UK. The study produces rich evidence that challenges preconceptions of using agent-based information processing system by executives. The findings develop insight into executives’ behavior in information processing, which has implications for intelligent system developers and organizational information processing practice.     

Entrepreneurial transformations in the Swedish University system: the case of Chalmers University of Technology

Since the beginning of the 1990s, Sweden has been transforming its national research policy into policy for innovation. One of the bottom up responses to this top d initiative has been an attempt on the part of some Swedish universities to transform themselves into entrepreneurial institutions. This paper uses a case study of one particular Swedish University; Chalmers University of Technology’s transformation process to reflect on the new research policy. Chalmers’ journey is examined against the backdrop of the changing national climate for universities as well as local factors within the university itself.The case confirms existing knowledge in that it shows that creating an entrepreneurial university takes several years as both infrastructural and cultural changes are necessary to achieve success. The case also shows that despite the long history of public-private in Sweden, the new emphasis on commercialisation and commodification of knowledge creates some degree of role uncertainty for universities. The paper concludes that one of the elements required for Swedish innovation policy is macro (policy vision and implementation) and micro (university organisation) level flexibility and diversity.     

浅述公安高校图书馆专业特色数字资源开发建设的必要性

21世纪,云计算作为一种以数据为中心的新型网络计算方式,已经深刻地影响到了互联网的运作和服务模式。做为公安高校专业性较强的图书馆,面对这种IT新技术带来的强烈冲击,必将受到更为严峻的挑战和考验。如今,云计算已经使图书馆的文献信息服务工作进入了一个崭新的发展阶段;应用云计算的模式,将从根本上改变公安高校图书馆传统文献信息的服务理念。所以,公安高校图书馆应该尽快适应云环境,抓住机遇,全力应对云计算泛知识环境带来的挑战;加快开发具有公安警察文化特色的专业数据库步伐,并对如何开发高质量的公安警察类特色数字资源进行了阐述。     

区域尺度环境污染实物量核算体系设计与应用

自然资源核算是全面揭示环境-经济耦合系统物质流动过程的重要方法,也是平衡区域经济发展与环境保护、实现可持续发展的重要手段,环境污染实物量核算是自然资源核算的重要组成部分。本文在回顾环境污染实物量核算发展历史的基础上,借鉴国际最新核算体系研究和绿色国民经济核算经验,梳理了核算体系编制的原则;依托现有国民经济核算和环境统计数据,设计了由环境污染实物量核算账户、平衡表和环境质量综合评价指标体系三部分所构成的区域尺度环境污染实物量核算体系;归纳了产排污系数法在区域污染实物量核算研究中的应用;以浙江省湖州市为例,初步进行了编制实践,并对实践结果进行了分析和总结。结果表明：①为适应区域自然资源核算的需要,环境污染实物量核算体系设计应遵循相容性、针对性、导向性和可行性四个原则;②在区域环境污染实物量核算中,宜使用指标体系方法综合反映环境质量,并设立实物账户核算经济活动中污染物和废弃物的产生、处理、排放和消纳;③核算体系的运行可以使政府、居民和企业多方获益,同时该体系也需要政府及社会各界的广泛参与和支持。     

融媒体环境下公共图书馆文旅融合度的评价指标体系构建研究

【目的/意义】融媒体环境下,传统文化资源与融媒体传播的有机结合有效推动了文旅融合的发展,本研究旨在构建融媒体环境下公共图书馆文旅融合度的评价指标体系,为我国公共图书馆文旅融合度的测量和评价提供理论依据。【方法/过程】本研究基于融媒体网络评价平台,以技术文化共生为阐释思路,应用爬虫技术获取八家代表性公共图书馆的用户评论数据,基于用户感知角度和扎根理论进行三级编码,提炼公共图书馆文旅融合度的评价指标,构建公共图书馆文旅融合度评价指标体系。【结果/结论】构建以文化盛宴、餐饮美食、住宿场所、地理位置、交通便利、空间布局、旅游胜地、文创产品、旅游纪念品、文化展览、文娱活动为一级指标的公共图书馆文旅融合评价体系,较为全面地概括了融媒体环境下公共图书馆文旅融合的评价维度。【创新/局限】本研究选取八家代表性图书馆作为研究对象,属于小样本研究,得到的评价指标尚未经过大样本检验。     

Knowledge management supporting education and research at a university cleanroom

At the university, each institute or chair can be seen as a small independent enterprise in respect of education and research. For this reason, the efficiency of management as well as the improvement of education and research within this unit is more and more at a premium. The students need a good working environment and the opportunity to gain and share information in order to carry out successful research and course work. This paper shows how education at a university semiconductor laboratory can be improved by using a content management system to build a knowledge management system. The structuring and implementation will be shown as well as students’ rating of it. The results support the conclusion that the knowledge base is a great step forward for improving education and research in a complex environment.     

Universities and Communities: A Case Study of Change in the Management of a University

The role of universities has been evolving over the last 20 years, from a focus on teaching and research towards an enabling, partnership role with industry, government and communities in their proximate geographical spaces. Universities are increasingly linked to place. This paper reports on a case study of a peri‐urban Australian university that has chosen to link its identity with the development of its proximate communities. In doing so, a number of levers of change have been employed, amidst ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors that have challenged the institutionalisation of change. The strategies employed by university managers have included: industry, government and community participation in university governance; a cooperative education programme; and changes to systems for promotion, performance and recognition. There have been a number of obstacles to change, some of which continue to beset the embedding of a focus on regional and community engagement. Although at a formative stage, this change is already showing promising results. The change levers employed provide some interesting insights for university managers, academic staff and students of organisational change, more generally.     

浅谈高校后勤文化建设的意义

高校的后勤服务是保证教学科研工作顺利开展,为师生营造健康生活环境的重要基础,而后勤文化的建设则对维持后勤管理稳定发展有着重要的作用。高校后勤文化建设对于提高后勤服务水平,营造和谐校园文化氛围有着重要的推动作用。本文从我国高校后勤文化建设的现状、特点分析了后勤文化建设的意义,并结合实际探讨了如何推动后勤文化建设。     

A microfluidic co-culture system to monitor tumor-stromal interactions on a chip

The living cells are arranged in a complex natural environment wherein they interact with extracellular matrix and other neighboring cells. Cell-cell interactions, especially those between distinct phenotypes, have attracted particular interest due to the significant physiological relevance they can reveal for both fundamental and applied biomedical research. To study cell-cell interactions, it is necessary to develop co-culture systems, where different cell types can be cultured within the same confined space. Although the current advancement in lab-on-a-chip technology has allowed the creation of in vitro models to mimic the complexity of in vivo environment, it is still rather challenging to create such co-culture systems for easy control of different colonies of cells. In this paper, we have demonstrated a straightforward method for the development of an on-chip co-culture system. It involves a series of steps to selectively change the surface property for discriminative cell seeding and to induce cellular interaction in a co-culture region. Bone marrow stromal cells (HS5) and a liver tumor cell line (HuH7) have been used to demonstrate this co-culture model. The cell migration and cellular interaction have been analyzed using microscopy and biochemical assays. This co-culture system could be used as a disease model to obtain biological insight of pathological progression, as well as a tool to evaluate the efficacy of different drugs for pharmaceutical studies.     

校园文化特色及影响力提升路径研究

校园文化特色是当前我国校园建设的重要组成部分,由于学校的外部环境变动对校园文化特色的建设有一定的驱动力,在校园文化建设方面应当遵循相关的原则以及流程,应当对原有传统的思维方式加以创新,对原有的流程体系加以重构。本文就当前我国校园文化的特色建设加以分析,进而探析校园文化特色影响力提升的相应策略和途径。