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Like many other organizations undertaking strategic alliances, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, Inc. (BCBSF) needed to effectively monitor alliance activities, or track their return on investment in those activities.

This case shows in detail how BCBSF developed a metrics framework, a standard set of value measures, and introduced a new alliance management software platform. By setting up this process, the company's Alliance Management Group helped the organization manage the value generated through its alliance relationships.

Key lessons learned about alliance software: Start simple and be flexible. Try to capture useful data and look for simple ways to aggregate it. Ensure that metrics are used to guide positive change, not to grade performance. Emphasize benefits of the metrics program to alliance managers. Be realistic about frequency of reporting cycles. Make subjective metrics more rigorous by having multiple points of review and require data to support metric conclusions.

This is a case study produced by corporate managers of the firm. It has been peer reviewed but has not been subjected to independent audit.

Armed with the new analysis techniques and tools, alliance managers and enterprise alliance groups can gauge critical factors in the relationship that might seem too complex or subjective to measure. In the process, they can generate tremendous benefits and enhance corporate value in terms of operations, strategy and financial performance for both their companies and their partners.

By setting up an alliance monitoring system with sophisticated metrics, top management can routinely track: How alliances contribute to incremental revenues, enhanced profits, expanded customer base, and increased market penetration. How an alliance relationship is delivering not only financial, but also strategic value. Whether relationships with alliance counterparts are sound and based on a foundation of trust that will enable them to achieve their business objectives.

Mobile devices, through their capacity to enable anytime-anywhere learning as well as capture, annotate and share multimedia, offer entirely new ways for students to learn. This chapter provides review of mobile learning with a particular focus on learning design. First various definitions and characteristics of mobile learning are examined in order to establish a common understanding of its boundaries and meaning. Example uses of mobile learning in schools and higher education are described as a way to provide a more concrete understanding of design possibilities. Benefits of mobile learning are unpacked, as distilled from the literature, including the ability to provide flexible, accessible, authentic, personalized, ubiquitous and seamless learning. Mobile learning issues are also examined, including technical problems, cognitive load issues, distraction, equity and safety. A primary school science and a university pre-service teacher education vignette are described so as to offer a more in-depth illustration of what mobile learning can look like and achieve in practice. Finally, mobile learning research findings and observations are synthesized into recommendations, to inform and guide evidence-based mobile learning design practices. Opportunities for future research and investigation are also discussed.

This chapter aims to establish a positive vision for the technology-enhanced learning design field. It commences by summarizing the current state of technology-enhanced learning research, as established by the previous analysis, in order to clarify the foundations upon which the field can build. The future of learning technology is considered, in the first instance, by extrapolating trends in information and communication technologies throughout history. This process showcases how the most impactful technologies are those that bring information closer to us, support sharing, and offer more visceral learning experiences. The nature of learning technology trends occurring in recent Horizon Reports, for instance, gesture-based computing, augmented reality, Massive Open Online Courses, and table computing, are analyzed and explained in terms of Roger’s Diffusion of Innovation Theory and Gartner’s Hype Cycle. This leads to identifying teachers as the critical lynch pin in order for society to derive greatest educational benefit from the exponential advances in technology. Consequently, support for educators is argued as essential. Into the future the learning technology field will only optimize its progress if educators and researchers work together to understand design issues and possibilities. Directions forward for educators and researchers are proposed, emphasizing a research-driven, pedagogically focused, creative, and collaborative approach to technology-enhanced learning design.

The paper's purpose is to investigate the issues of IT governance, funding and structure of a public university in Malaysia.

The study uses a case study approach, i.e. a series of interviews with users and information services provider of campus information system.

The university lacks a common approach to decision making or forum for making comprehensive assessments of IT planning and funding strategy. The campus information system was developed in an uncoordinated manner, reflecting interests of different departmental units, and a decision support system is almost non‐existent. A new IT planning structure with clear roles and responsibilities is proposed to overcome existing barriers to effective campus information system.

This is the first study to investigate the issue of IT governance, funding and structure in Malaysian universities using a case study approach.