Guest editorial

Citation

Al, M., Ghoneim, A. and Irani, Z. (2009), "Guest editorial", Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy, Vol. 3 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/tg.2009.32603baa.001

Guest editorial

Article Type: Guest editorial From: Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy, Volume 3, Issue 2

About the Guest Editors

Dr Maged Ali is lecturer of Business and IT at Business School, Brunel University (UK). He has achieved a multi-disciplinary research background in Information Systems, Cross-Cultural Studies and Business Management. He has been a Visiting Lecturer at several Universities in UK and abroad. He is a Business Consultant for several companies in UK and abroad. He is in a member of editorial committee of several journals, as well as co-and-mini-track chair to international conferences. He has edited special issue journals, and publishes his scholarly work in well established journals and conferences.

Dr Ahmad Ghoneim is a Lecturer at Brunel Business School. He holds an MSc in Information Systems and a PhD in Information Systems Evaluation with a focus on IT indirect costs. He is a member of the Information Systems Evaluation and Integration Group (ISEing) which is a research centre of excellence that supports a number of Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) funded networks and projects. He published his work in well acclaimed journals such as the European Journal of Operational Research as well as in international conferences and book chapters. He is on the editorial team of the newly established journal Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy. He also co-edited special issues for the European Journal of Information Systems and the International Journal of Cases in E-commerce. He is the Programme Chair of the yearly European and Mediterranean Conference on Information Systems (EMCIS) conference. His current research interests include eGovernment, information systems investments evaluation and network Quality of Service (QoS).

Professor Zahir Irani is Head of the Business School at Brunel University (UK). He leads a multi-disciplinary group of International PhD students that research information systems evaluation and application integration. He has been recognized as the Hooker Distinguished Professor at McMaster University (Canada) as well as being a Visiting Professor at several Universities. He is the editor-in-chief of the established Journal of Enterprise Information Management and Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy. Professor Irani is on the editorial-board of several journals, as well as co-and-mini-track chair to international conferences. He has edited special issue journals, and publishes his scholarly work in leading journals that include: IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, Information & Management, Information Systems Journal, Journal of Management Information Systems and European Journal of Information Systems.

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the second issue of the third volume of Transforming Government: People, Process, and Policy. This issue is dedicated to the publication of selected papers researching in the public sector domain from the European Mediterranean Conference on Information Systems (www.emcis.org) (2008). In this issue there is an eclectic presentation of research covering topical issues associated with eGovernment.

This issue starts off with an invited viewpoint from Rocky J. Dwyer, where an examination of the literature was utilized to identify management techniques and work methodologies regarding generational differences and unique characteristics of four organizational workgroups – Veterans, Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y, which may be an underlying factor in the attainment of organizational success. The paper enhances personal knowledge and understanding at the theoretical and practical levels enabling leaders to gain insight regarding the generational differences and unique characteristics of the four organizational workgroups. In doing so, advocating that an understanding of generational differences may enable management to structure strategies and transformation techniques to motivate employees to the full extent of their skills and abilities in order to support the realization of organizational goals and objectives.

Then Ozkan et al. have highlighted the importance of evaluation of information systems within the growing e-learning sector, and this research study proposes a conceptual e-learning assessment model, Hexagonal e-Learning Assessment Model (HELAM). HELAM has been applied to 42 e-learners who are graduate learners at Middle East Technical University’s (METU) Informatics Online program where participation is exclusively through the Internet. METU, one of the top three public universities in Turkey, is fully financed by the government. The statistical analyses demonstrate that the learners’ perceived satisfaction from the distance learning program overall is high. A number of validity and reliability tests have been applied to validate the proposed model. Qualitative and quantitative findings have been presented, which will be valuable for academics and practitioners doing research in e-learning evaluation. Although HELAM has been applied only in Turkey so far, it has been developed to be independent from country specific features such as culture, literacy, socioeconomic level, etc. Therefore, the model can be easily adopted by other online learning programs all around the world.

Fernando et al. then have discussed the effect age related cognitive impairments on older adults usage of web service An analysis of the relationship between the cognitive changes of aging and the usage of web services, that was supported by field research with the key stakeholders, including older adults and organisations that provide services for older adults. This consisted of focus group sessions with key stakeholders and individual interviews with older adult users. Older adult users also completed an online form using a think aloud protocol. The data were analysed using a thematic content analysis technique. The findings have showed, issues around older adults’ relationship with technology and the challenges they face along with the strengths and weaknesses of online forms and means to improve them. In particular there were issues of fear and frustration, inconsistency and visual clutter, and a feeling of neglect by service providers. Users also identify a strong need for human rather than machine support when struggling with the technology. The finings have implications in form design and transaction delivery for online services.

Saatçioglu et al. then provide a research paper on transport applications and discuss the critical success factors of e-transport applications in Turkey. Based on literature review on e-government applications, this paper builds on theoretical understanding of critical success factors in e-transport applications. Considering the critical success factors in transport related e-goverment services in Turkey, Saatçioglu et al. have identified some of the opportunities for the development of information technology in Turkey, which are: increasing logistics and transportation activities, national information system strategy towards the advanced information technology applications, adoption of EU and international standards, awareness of transport industry about the importance of information technology, new regulations for information technology, and priorities in providing financial incentives for information technology based innovation projects. In terms of threats, insufficient use of e-transport services due to security and privacy problems, need for substantial financial resources, fragmented nature of organizational aspects, limited number of information technology providers in transport applications, insufficient amount of R&D and need for substantial financial resources are determined as threats for transport related government services. The results can be used to develop policies to increase e-government adoption.

Sabry and AlShawi then highlighted some learning and teaching challenges in relation to universities and colleges in the Gulf region, including students’ learning preferences, and cultural aspects. It explores the sequential-global learning styles profile of undergraduate students as part of a continuous research in Information Systems Design with a particular focus on the design of Interactive Learning Systems (ILS). The research paper examined the learning style profile of undergraduate students for a cohort of Management Information Systems at a regional university in the UAE. It used the Index of Learning Styles instrument as a tool for measuring the sequential-global learning styles dimension. Also, the study conducted a literature review of different aspects related to current challenges facing undergraduate students in the Gulf region as well as design principles related to the interactivity of learning systems. The results have shown overall equal tendency towards both the sequential and global styles, different from a previous study conducted in a UK university. The study highlighted some students’ differences that should be catered for in ILS design.

Naseer et al. then in their paper have compared the results of comprehensive reviews over the period 1997-2006 on the application of simulation in two sectors: Military & Aerospace, and Healthcare. The main purpose of their reviews is to see whether it is possible to learn any lessons from the Military & Aerospace sector(s) to be applied in the Healthcare sector. Results of the review show that, simulation has been commonly used in the two sectors; however, inconsistency in terms of the level of implementation in both the sectors is quite vivid. There is clear evidence that Healthcare lags behind other sector(s), particularly in terms of stakeholder engagement and, consequently, in terms of implementation of simulation outcomes. This paper provides key insights into some challenges of applying simulation methods in Healthcare, whilst presenting an up-to-date overall picture of simulation in two main sectors from an academic point of view.

Kamal and Themistocleous have explored the adoption lifecycle phases and perform the mapping of factors influencing the decision making process for Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) adoption on the adoption lifecycle phases in two Local Government Authorities (LGAs). A case study based research approach using interviews with the decision makers was utilised to investigate the less acknowledged phenomena like EAI adoption. This approach will assist in examining the phenomenon in its natural setting, examine the in-depth complexities and processes, and provide considerable flexibility during interviews and observations. According to the empirical findings, the factors influencing EAI adoption and the adoption lifecycle phases are appropriate for studying the research context. The analysis and study of the factors and adoption lifecycle phases was made carefully and specifically to fit and be compatible within the context of LGAs. As a result, it was apparent from the empirical findings that most of the factors have influenced the decision making process for EAI adoption on each phase of the adoption lifecycle in the case organisations with exception to few factors. The combination of theoretical discussions, analysis of the literature and empirical research presented in this paper illustrates a start for research on EAI adoption in LGAs. However, the theoretical and empirical data collected are confined to the limited context of two LGAs within the region of England. The structure of LGAs varies in different parts of UK. In the light of the reflections and the research limitations of this paper it is recommended that further work could usefully be pursed to validate the adoption lifecycle phases and perform the mapping of the factors at each phase of the adoption lifecycle in the context of other types of LGAs, different cities and countries.

We hope you enjoy reading this issue as much as we enjoyed assembling it for you, and look forward to receiving your valuable contributions for the coming issue.

Maged AliSenior Guest EditorAhmad GhoneimGuest Editor, andZahir IraniEditor