Sokraattinen keskustelu, viisaus ja etiikka : integratiivinen opetuskokeilu
Domestication of a laptop on a wireless university campus: a case study
<span>This study reports how university students domesticate their personal laptops at the beginning of studies on a wireless campus. The aim was to examine how students integrate the laptop into their personal education experience, what sort of processes were experienced to render the laptop useful and meaningful, and how gender and IT proficiency influenced this process. Qualitative interview data with twenty students (identified and selected by quantitative survey) was analysed using the grounded theory approach during which a multi-aspect domestication process was identified. Results highlight the importance of a structured way of organising laptop initiatives in universities. It …
Entrepreneurship and small businesses in Russia: A review of empirical research
PurposeEntrepreneurship and small businesses in Russia have been of academic interest for over 15 years. This paper seeks to bring together current knowledge concerning the phenomenon, and to suggest further directions for research.Design/methodology/approachThe study consists of a systematic review of 48 refereed empirical articles on entrepreneurship and small businesses in Russia.FindingsFrom the articles reviewed it appears that entrepreneurs in Russia use non‐material resources to overcome the financial and institutional obstacles, which still seem to afflict the market. However, theoretical and methodological issues are, in many cases, poorly reported and this undermines the scientifi…
University Teachers’ Conceptions of Their Role as Developers of Technology-Rich Learning Environments
This phenomenographic study examines how a diverse group of university teachers conceptualised their role as developers of technology-rich learning environments at one university in Finland. The research findings illustrate a variety of conceptions. Five qualitatively different ways of understanding teachers’ roles regarding the development of technology-rich learning environments were found: 1) innovator, 2) early adopter, 3) adaptive, 4) sceptic and 5) late adopter. In order to connect the whole set of interconnected roles to a theory of change, Everett Rogers’ innovation diffusion theory was exploited in the last phase of analysis. Finally, hierarchically structured categories were creat…
Information Systems Development as an Intellectual Process: Designers’ Perceptions of Users
The modern society is transformed by digital convergence towards a future where technologies embed themselves and disappear into the fabric of everyday life. This ongoing merging of social and technological infrastructures provides and necessitates new possibilities to renovate past notions, models and methods of information systems development (ISD) that accommodates humans as actors within the infrastructure.
Combating social exclusion of young people with ICT applications
Social exclusion of young people is a major socio-economic challenge all over Europe. This paper discusses the development and use of ICT applications to tackle the problem. The paper begins with a review to existing research on the possibilities of the ICT in social inclusion of young people. Secondly, as a way forward, a multidisciplinary approach is suggested, which would combine perspectives from social sciences, information systems, human-computer interaction, information technology and electronic commerce. The suggested approach combines technological and economic parameters of ICT development with social factors related to well-being, quality of life, gender, cultural and social cond…
Introduction: Reframing Humans and Information Systems
Recent development of information and communication technologies (ICT) provides information systems (IS) designers with new potentialities to build systems for various purposes. The ongoing digital convergence refers to and discloses new views on the interactive reconfiguration of technological and social arrangements on a large scale in the contemporary society (Tilson et al. 2009). In addition to work-related activities, people use new technologies for increasingly diverse purposes, for example organizing their domestic affairs, for finding information and e-services, and for staying in touch with their friends and relatives (Lyytinen and Yoo 2002; Sorensen and Yoo 2005; Iivari et al. 201…
A Deployment Model to Extend Ethically Aligned AI Implementation Method ECCOLA
There is a struggle in Artificial intelligence (AI) ethics to gain ground in actionable methods and models to be utilized by practitioners while developing and implementing ethically sound AI systems. AI ethics is a vague concept without a consensus of definition or theoretical grounding and bearing little connection to practice. Practice involving primarily technical tasks like software development is not aptly equipped to process and decide upon ethical considerations. Efforts to create tools and guidelines to help people working with AI development have been concentrating almost solely on the technical aspects of AI. A few exceptions do apply, such as the ECCOIA method for creating ethic…
Governance of Ethical and Trustworthy Al Systems: Research Gaps in the ECCOLA Method
Advances in machine learning (ML) technologies have greatly improved Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems. As a result, AI systems have become ubiquitous, with their application prevalent in virtually all sectors. However, AI systems have prompted ethical concerns, especially as their usage crosses boundaries in sensitive areas such as healthcare, transportation, and security. As a result, users are calling for better AI governance practices in ethical AI systems. Therefore, AI development methods are encouraged to foster these practices. This research analyzes the ECCOLA method for developing ethical and trustworthy AI systems to determine if it enables AI governance in development process…