Jonathan J Foster - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Jonathan J Foster

arXiv (Cornell University), Aug 22, 2021

Despite their potentially transformative impact, few studies have investigated how commercially-d... more Despite their potentially transformative impact, few studies have investigated how commercially-driven digital platforms such as mobile money facilitate ecosystem value co-creation in the global South. Consequently, using a boundary resources model and platform governance approaches, this paper aims to examine how a payment platform facilitates ecosystem value co-creation with third party actors. An in-depth qualitative inquiry was adopted for the study using an embedded single-case design. The results show that although ecosystem value co-creation was enabled by the introduction of boundary resources tools, some platform governance practices hindered some complementors from harnessing the affordances of the platforms. These constraints include lack of visibility of the boundary resources and transparency challenges in the acceptance criteria. We thus argue that platform generativity on its own is not sufficient to support ecosystem value co-creation, but requires appropriate platform governance to deal with behavioural complexity of ecosystem actors by using optimal control mechanisms.

Increasingly information systems and services are being tailored to the needs of individuals and ... more Increasingly information systems and services are being tailored to the needs of individuals and groups through the use of user-centred design techniques. In this paper we consider the ways in which the users of digital cultural heritage have been previously characterised and grouped. Despite recognising the importance of adopting user-centred techniques, there appears to be little prior work that has compared user groupings across user studies. Through a preliminary review of previous literature we compare ways in which users have been categorised and provide points for open discussion. The dimensions of domain knowledge, technical experience and motivation provide a way of distinguishing previously identified groups. We believe discussions about user categories and models is warranted and will help in the future design of digital cultural heritage services.

Communications in Computer and Information Science, 2017

Data is emerging as a key asset of value to organizations. Unlike the traditional concept of a bu... more Data is emerging as a key asset of value to organizations. Unlike the traditional concept of a business value chain, or an information value chain, the concept of a data value chain has less currency and is still underresearched. This article reports on the findings of a survey of employees of a financial services company who use a range of data to support their financial analyses, and investment decisions. The purpose of the survey was to test out the idea of the data value chain, as a useful abstract model for organizing the different discrete processes involved in data gathering, data analysis, and decision-making, to further identify issues, and suggest improvements. While data and its analysis is clearly a tool for supporting the delivery of financial services, there are also a number of risks to its value being realized, most prominently data quality, along with some reservations as to the relative advantages of data-driven over intuitive decisionmaking. The findings also raise further data and information governance concerns. If implemented such programs would aid in the realization of value from data within the organization, while also mitigating the risks of this value not being realized.

Journal of Educational Media & Library Sciences, 2009

Collaborative information seeking (CIS) turns out to be a focus of research in the Internet envir... more Collaborative information seeking (CIS) turns out to be a focus of research in the Internet environment. How collaborative information seeking can be successfully performed in a Research Methods class is a concern of this study. A successful CIS means the team members reach the mutual goal and accomplish the class project. This paper attempts to identify the elements for successful CIS as well as the obstacles. An action research in a class setting was designed and data for teachers' observation as well as students' journals for the collaborative processes were collected. Students' team projects were analyzed. Barriers as well as key elements for successful CIS were identified and discussed. New model for CIS instruction was proposed and recommended for future implementation.

International Journal on Digital Libraries, 2018

Museums are increasing access to their collections and providing richer user experiences via web-... more Museums are increasing access to their collections and providing richer user experiences via web-based interfaces. However, they are seeing high numbers of users looking at only one or two pages within 10 s and then leaving. To reduce this rate, a better understanding of the type of user who visits a museum website is required. Existing models for museum website users tend to focus on groups that are readily accessible for study or provide little detail in their definitions of the groups. This paper presents the results of a large-scale user survey for the National Museums Liverpool museum website in which data on a wide range of user characteristics were collected regarding their current visit to provide a better understanding of their motivations, tasks, engagement and domain knowledge. Results show that the frequently understudied general public and non-professional users make up the majority (approximately 77%) of the respondents.

Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 2018

While always integral to scientific activity, data work has recently emerged as a key set of proc... more While always integral to scientific activity, data work has recently emerged as a key set of processes within societal activities of all kinds. While data work presents new opportunities for discovery, value creation, and decision-making, its emergence also raises significant ethical issues, including those of ownership, privacy, and trust. This article presents a review of data work, and how negotiating a trade-off between its value and risks requires locating its processes within the contexts of its conditions and consequences. These include international, national, and sectoral conditions of law, policy and regulation at a macro level; organizational conditions of information and data governance that aim to address the value and risks of data work at a meso level; along with attention to the everyday contexts of data and information handling by data information and other professionals at a micro level. In conclusion, a conceptual framework is presented which locates the processes of data work within the matrix of its macro meso and micro conditions, its consequences for individuals organizations and society, and the relations between them. Suggestions are given for how research into the study of data work-its value risks and governance-can be advanced by using this framework.

Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 2017

This paper proposes that the value of information is a topic worth re-visiting in the contemporar... more This paper proposes that the value of information is a topic worth re-visiting in the contemporary era. While the topic has been of perennial interest to information professionals and others, since at the least the early 1980s, we believe that it is timely to re-revisit this question in the context of a more connected and networked environment of data, information, and knowledge. The principal argument is that existing models of information exchange and use do not sufficiently take account of the multiplicity of networked users as a source of value, e.g. their implicit and explicit interactions with other users, and with the information system. We briefly review existing kinds of value that have been theorised, operationalized, and measured in the information science literature. Principally, these are the notions of information as embedded value; and information and information systems as adding value. To these notions we add the further notion of connected or co-created value. We conclude our opinion paper with a set of questions intended to orient future research into the question of the value of information in the contemporary era.

Education for Information, 2007

Although studies of students' study approaches in face to face learning environments are commonpl... more Although studies of students' study approaches in face to face learning environments are commonplace, studies investigating the role of students' study approaches in online learning environments is currently a less explored area. This paper presents the findings of a survey aimed at investigating the relationship between students' approaches to studying and their perceptions and use of a computer-supported learning environment in e-business and e-commerce. Participants in the study were a group of postgraduate students studying an E-Business and E-Commerce module. The ASSIST inventory is used to identify the main study approaches within the population. Descriptive statistics of the responses to the inventory confirm the validity and consistency of the results, while a factor analysis identified two main study approaches within the population, a 'deep-strategic' and a 'surface-strategic' study approach. Positive correlations were found (i) between WebCT and two aspects of a deep and one aspect of a strategic approach and (ii) between the E-Business and E-Commerce CSLE and two aspects of a strategic approach and one aspect of a surface approach. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research investigating study approaches in online learning environments.

Academic program Multi disciplines Multi disciplines Multi disciplines

iConference 2016 Proceedings

This poster describes the design and facilitation of a Deliberation Day (D-Day) implemented in an... more This poster describes the design and facilitation of a Deliberation Day (D-Day) implemented in an educational setting. The purpose of the D-Day event was to provide an enabling context for new students to explore their capacity to discuss a key informational issue in a public setting, and to experience the benefits and pitfalls of small group work. The informational issue being discussed was the European Court of Justice May 2014 Ruling on the Right To Be Forgotten. The preparation and design of the Deliberation Day is presented. Some preliminary findings from the Day are reported relating to three Polls taken before, during, and after students' public deliberations on the Right. Analysis of the poll data identifies a clear shift in opinion throughout the Day, from majority agreement in favor of the Right before discussion to a more diverse and circumspect range of opinions after deliberation.

Journal of Electronic Commerce in Organizations, 2004

This paper presents an evaluation of a collaborative e-business planning assignment implemented o... more This paper presents an evaluation of a collaborative e-business planning assignment implemented on two e-business and e-commerce modules: an undergraduate Information Management in the Digital Economy module and a postgraduate E-Business and E-Commerce module. The modules were delivered to students of information management and information systems. The paper outlines the general design of the modules, and a specific assessment in the form of a collaborative e-business planning assignment is presented. An evaluation of this assignment is presented, based on the findings of a survey instrument distributed to the students at the end of the module. Data were collected on students’ domain knowledge and transferable skills acquired as a result of undertaking the task. Analysis of the data suggests that the task was an effective learning tool for the students in acquiring domain knowledge and transferable skills appropriate to learning about, and for the practice of, e-business and e-comme...

Journal of Information Systems Education, 2005

This paper presents findings from a study investigating the knowledge students acquire from and a... more This paper presents findings from a study investigating the knowledge students acquire from and apply to an online auction assignment. As part of an E-Business and E-Commerce module students were asked to buy and sell goods in an online marketspace and report on their ...

… of the second international conference on …, 2002

This paper presents and discusses the design and evaluation of an innovative educational exercise... more This paper presents and discusses the design and evaluation of an innovative educational exercise that combines elements of both learning about and learning for e-commerce. The principle guiding the design of the exercise was the provision of an opportunity for postgraduate information management and information systems students to learn about and for e-commerce through the collaborative development of a business plan. A survey distributed at the end of the module collected data on students' acquisition of knowledge and skills related to their learning about and for e-commerce on the business plan exercise. The data analysis focuses on students' acquisition of knowledge and skills relevant to entrepreneurship, and demonstrates that the collaborative development of a business plan can be an effective learning tool for students to acquire not only specific domain knowledge of e-commerce topics such as business strategy, e-commerce business models, and e-commerce technology, but also generic information, communication, and management skills, relevant to learning about and for entrepreneurship.

IFIP International Federation for Information Processing

It has been argued that the widespread use of information and communications technology has contr... more It has been argued that the widespread use of information and communications technology has contributed to a crisis in traditional systems of representative democracy and that a new form of informational or digital democracy is emerging. Hence a key claim made in current discussions of 'electronic' or 'digital' democracy is that information and communications technologies have a role to play in providing opportunities for government and citizens to engage in direct rather than representative forms of democracy. Using a deliberative democratic framework this paper presents results from a case study of decision-making on a professional development workshop in information and communications technology skills. The discussion highlights some of the problems of engaging in a democratic process that places a premium on deliberation and negotiation. These problems include different conceptions of democracy and of the public good, time constraints, education for democracy; and the relationship between decision-making and action. The paper concludes that if information and communications technology are to help democracy to expand beyond its current representative model and incorporate more direct and deliberative forms then both government and citizens may need to learn procedures as to how to engage in this deliberative process.

International Journal of Performance Arts & Digital Media, 2010

Abstract: This article discusses the issues and challenges arising from the archiving and replay ... more Abstract: This article discusses the issues and challenges arising from the archiving and replay of an interactive mixed reality performance work called Rider Spoke. After a description of the work, a practice-based approach to the development of an information architecture for the archiving and replay of the work is presented. The approach includes the design of a website, a cross-disciplinary approach to the development of metadata and the development of a visual prototype implemented using a Digital Replay System (DRS). The ...

ABSTRACT This paper considers the implementation of IT infrastructures from the perspective of th... more ABSTRACT This paper considers the implementation of IT infrastructures from the perspective of their ongoing performance. Based on a case study of the implementation of Lotus Notes in a manufacturing company in the UK, it depicts this performance as the interaction between issues and concerns emerging from use the of Lotus Notes and the hosting organization. Drawing on Star and Ruhleder (1996) three levels of analysis are identified: resources, contextual effects, and long-standing disputes or controversies, and the interactions between them are explored. The paper concludes with an account of infrastructures and their implementation that emphasises the need for dynamic models that place emphasis on dealing with issues that emerge during an extended implementation process and as an infrastructure becomes progressively embedded into the organizational context.

Leonardo, 2010

The article presents findings from an exploratory study investigating the nature of collaborative... more The article presents findings from an exploratory study investigating the nature of collaborative research and development in creative industries. Participants in the study are two creative SMEs with extensive experience of participating in collaborative projects. A collective case study approach is adopted with data collected on the factors impinging on the effectiveness of such collaborations. Findings are presented at the macro and micro levels of such collaborations. The paper concludes with a summary of some of the challenges faced by small creative SMEs when collaborating with other organizations during the research and development process.

Journal of Documentation, 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to identify the organization, functions, and forms of talk... more PurposeThe purpose of this research is to identify the organization, functions, and forms of talk that occur as groups collectively review, interpret, and organise information sought and retrieved as part of a learning activity.Design/methodology/approachParticipants in the study were undergraduate students conducting a series of group investigations into the topic of information management. A content analysis of the discourse generated during the presentation‐planning stage of the group investigations was conducted.FindingsFindings relate to the discovery of a focus formulation step; speakers' use of structuring, informing, eliciting, and summarizing sequences; and speakers' use of exploratory, coordinating, disputational, and cumulative forms of talk. Variations in the use of the functions and forms of talk across the steps of the task and across the groups are discussed.Research limitations/implicationsIssues relating to the reliability and validity of the content analysi...

Journal of Documentation, 2013

Purpose – This article aims to develop a framework that considers digital archiving as a form of ... more Purpose – This article aims to develop a framework that considers digital archiving as a form of networked information production, in which the different stages of producing a digital archive are modularized and distributed across different actors. The framework is applied and developed within the context of designing a digital archive for the electronic artwork Rider Spoke. More specifically the framework is applied and developed within the context of designing a subject scheme that provides its users with consistent yet relevant access to the content of the archive. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 74 postgraduate students from the Information School at the University of Sheffield were invited to tag four videos from the Riders Have Spoken archive as a voluntary exercise. Students were evenly distributed across the four videos and each participant was invited to generate up to ten tags; with each tag or annotation representing a point of interest in the content of the vide...