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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™

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Selected Works

Helen Hasan

2008

Articles 1 - 9 of 9

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Design As Research: Emergent Complex Activity, Helen M. Hasan May 2008

Design As Research: Emergent Complex Activity, Helen M. Hasan

Helen Hasan

There is current interest in design science as a research method in the field of Information Systems. This paper explores this proposition by incorporating established theories into the design research process. These include a view of information systems as essentially socio-technical, notions of tool mediation and expansive learning from Activity Theory and the concept of emergence from Complexity Theory where good design outcomes come from non-deterministic and organic processes. A case of innovative collaborative systems development illustrates how this view of design science may be of value.

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The Challenges Of Introducing Off-The-Shelf Systems Into Complex Work Organisations, Helen M. Hasan, Wannapa Suratmethakul May 2008

The Challenges Of Introducing Off-The-Shelf Systems Into Complex Work Organisations, Helen M. Hasan, Wannapa Suratmethakul

Helen Hasan

This paper describes research into problems commonly experienced when implementing an off-the-shelf information system into the complex work-practices of an organisation. Encountering such an occurrence, the authors employed a grounded theory approach to study the case though the collection, analysis and interpretation of a variety of data. The case concerned the troubled introduction, into a large educational institution, of a complex class timetabling system that was already well established in another similar organisations. Unanticipated problems encountered by various stakeholders in the system during and following the implementation of the system are documented and classified into three categories: knowledge issues, system …

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Sna As An Attractor In Emergent Networks Of Research Groups, Helen M. Hasan, Hamid Pousti May 2008

Sna As An Attractor In Emergent Networks Of Research Groups, Helen M. Hasan, Hamid Pousti

Helen Hasan

While many progressive enterprises are becoming more network-centric, many research-oriented organisations retain a traditional hierarchy with an ego-centric culture. Paradoxically, network-centrism is associated with technology, innovation and creativity, the hallmarks of cutting-edge research. Using concepts of emergence from complexity theory, this study takes a developmental, action research approach to the application of social network analysis in legitimising a network of research groups in a traditionally managed institution. The results indicate that an emergent network is as valid an organisational structure as an imposed hierarchy for research management. The study also demonstrates the use of social network analysis and similar technological …

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An Activity-Based Model Of Collective Knowledge, Helen M. Hasan May 2008

An Activity-Based Model Of Collective Knowledge, Helen M. Hasan

Helen Hasan

In the challenges faced by organisations in the area of knowledge management, there is clearly a role for information and communications technologies in supporting the exploitation of business knowledge. This paper proposes a model of knowledge processes, based on the concept of "activity", i.e. what people do, as determined by the cultural-historical activity theory. The evolutionary development of an implementation of the model in currently available technology is described, together with the results of an evaluation of its suitability and effectiveness. This work is substantiating both the practicability of the implementation and the usefulness of the structure for the extraction …

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Lessons From Go*Team Simulations On Shared Situation Awareness, Helen M. Hasan, L. Warne, H. Mitchard May 2008

Lessons From Go*Team Simulations On Shared Situation Awareness, Helen M. Hasan, L. Warne, H. Mitchard

Helen Hasan

The ancient game of Go is traditionally played by two opposing players (black and white) who take turns laying stones on a board of up to 19x19 squares. The stones can be laid so they eventually encircle stones of the opposing colour, thereby capturing territory and stones. Go has been the inspiration for Go*Team which has been developed as a web-based application for two or more teams; each team with a number of players. Go*Team emulates some of the issues that a Network Centric (NC) environment might bring and consequently allows investigation of issues such as situation awareness. It is …

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The Co-Evolution Of An Accessible But Secure Virtual Space For Collaborative Activities, Kate Crawford, Helen M. Hasan May 2008

The Co-Evolution Of An Accessible But Secure Virtual Space For Collaborative Activities, Kate Crawford, Helen M. Hasan

Helen Hasan

This paper describes, analyses and interprets a research and development process taking place over several years concerning the evolution of a socio-technical system. By ‘socio-technical system’ we mean a dynamic system that is socio-culturally situated and involves both human activity and technical elements. The system design, that is the focus of this research, brings together the human and technical dynamics of the intricate and highly engaging processes of effective collaboration. In particular, an investigation of the various integrated elements of the socio-technical system has provide us with the insight and confidence to build a virtual environment that actually supports innovative …

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Social And Commercial Sustainability Of Regional Web-Based Communities, A. Connery, Helen M. Hasan May 2008

Social And Commercial Sustainability Of Regional Web-Based Communities, A. Connery, Helen M. Hasan

Helen Hasan

New information and communications technologies have disrupted many traditional forms of community but enabled the emergence of new ones. This paper examines pertinent characteristics of communities, before describing three case studies of commercially operated web-based communities. The research demonstrates the social and commercial value of the concept of community.

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Using Olap And Multidimensional Data For Decision Making, Helen M. Hasan, P. Hyland May 2008

Using Olap And Multidimensional Data For Decision Making, Helen M. Hasan, P. Hyland

Helen Hasan

Managers see information as a critical resource and require systems that let them exploit it for competitive advantage. One way to better use organizational information is via online analytical processing and multidimensional databases (MDDBs). OLAP and MDDBs present summarized information from company databases. They use multidimensional structures that let managers slice and dice views of company performance data and drill down into trouble spots. For over a decade, proponents have touted these tools as the ultimate executive information system, but most of the hype comes from product vendors themselves. Based on our experience with several OLAP tools, we have developed …

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Innovative Socio-Technical Systems For Complex Decision-Making, Helen M. Hasan, Kate Crawford May 2008

Innovative Socio-Technical Systems For Complex Decision-Making, Helen M. Hasan, Kate Crawford

Helen Hasan

This paper views the complex activities and decision-making of self-directed groups as socio-technical systems. Seven innovative ICT-based tools are presented that underpin such activities. Three projects are then described where suitable selections of these tools are used creatively in harmony with human and social processes. The Activity Theory hierarchy is used to explain how, in these three projects, the capacity of technology is exploited, where appropriate, to automate operations, while the choice and execution of actions remain with the people engaged in the activities. This provides a picture of decision support systems as socio-technical in nature, involving the exploitation of …

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