Ray Dawson | Loughborough University (original) (raw)

Papers by Ray Dawson

International Journal of Information Management, 2003

It is generally assumed that because it is not necessary to react to email messages when they arr... more It is generally assumed that because it is not necessary to react to email messages when they arrive, employees will read their messages in their own time with minimum interruption to their work. This research has shown that email messages do have some disruptive effect by interrupting the user. Employees at the Danwood Group in the UK were monitored to see how they used email. It was found that most employees had their email software check for incoming messages every 5 min and responded to the arrival of a message within 6 s. A recovery time between finishing reading the email and returning to normal work also existed though it was shorter than published recovery times for a telephone interrupt. This analysis has suggested that a number of methods can be employed to reduce this interrupt effect. Employee training, changing the settings and modes of using the email software and the introduction of a one line email facility are all shown to have beneficial effects. This has led to a series of recommendations that will enable the Danwood Group to make better use of email communication and increase employee effectiveness. r

Journal of Systems and Information Technology, 2001

The use of email by employees at the Danwood Group was studied and it was found that the interrup... more The use of email by employees at the Danwood Group was studied and it was found that the interrupt effect from emails is more than generally believed. Employees allowed themselves to be interrupted almost as frequently as telephone calls and the common reaction to the arrival of an email is to react almost as quickly as they would respond to telephone calls. This means the interrupt effect is comparable with that of a telephone call. The recovery time from an email interruption was found to be significantly less than the published recovery time for telephone calls. It is to be concluded, therefore, that while Email is still less disruptive than the telephone, the way the majority of users handle their incoming email has been shown to give far more interruption than expected.

A cost-benefit analysis of the use of email was carried out at the Danwood Group at Lincoln in th... more A cost-benefit analysis of the use of email was carried out at the Danwood Group at Lincoln in the UK. This was a pilot exercise forming part of a larger exercise to evaluate the costs and benefits of the whole IT infrastructure at the company.

A pilot exercise on the cost-benefit analysis of the use of internal email was performed at the D... more A pilot exercise on the cost-benefit analysis of the use of internal email was performed at the Danwood Group. This forms part of a larger exercise to evaluate computer communication to help enhance performance throughout the organisation. The paper has resulted in the creation of an internal email costing process showing when it starts to become a more efficient means of communication.

Universities currently take some steps towards preparing their students for the real world, but f... more Universities currently take some steps towards preparing their students for the real world, but fall short when it comes to people issues. Through the use of case studies, the paper shows that students may encounter problems with the people they meet. A general lack of competence on technical matters and an inability to seek help, accept advice or admit they are wrong may be found in the graduate's new employers. This may be compounded by a work atmosphere of misunderstanding, lack of communication and mistrust.

Communications of The ACM, 2003

... back to top. To minimize the effect of email interruption on employee productivity, limit the... more ... back to top. To minimize the effect of email interruption on employee productivity, limit the frequency of new-email alerts (silence them, too), make it easier to assess each message's importance, and remove the reply-to-all facility. back to top. ...

Software Quality Journal, 1999

Whole life costing refers to the cost of ownership of a product from initial concept until eventu... more Whole life costing refers to the cost of ownership of a product from initial concept until eventual retirement with all cost categories taken into consideration. Traditionally software engineers have only been interested in the software development life cycle. This paper surveys research into whole life cost research in industry and finds that interest is greatest where the market is most competitive. In recent years the falling cost of computers has lead to increasing use of whole life cost in the marketing and advertising of IT products though there is very little published case study data available. Trends in other industries have shown that research will increase until more data is available and whole life costing is considered part of the normal design methodology. It will also be included in university computer science courses to train the professionals of the future in whole life cost techniques.

Software Quality Journal, 2007

A detailed question set is required to test and measure the true extent that a software quality m... more A detailed question set is required to test and measure the true extent that a software quality management system is adopted and implemented across a large company like Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) plc. The analysis of the gathered data reveals specific topics of weakness that can also reflect the cultural acceptance or resistance that management groups have towards the adoption of quality systems. Having identified detailed problems and barriers, effective strategies and programmes can be deployed to improve the level of implementation and, therefore, the effectiveness of a software quality management system. This paper presents the question set used and the subsequent results obtained from the implementation assessment for 55 software systems at AWE plc. The data is collated into management groups and the associated cultures discussed. The topics of weakness are highlighted together with the very specific actions that are least undertaken. A range of improvement actions is also presented.

Software Quality Journal, 2006

The analysis of audit findings should prove useful in uncovering the problems practitioners have ... more The analysis of audit findings should prove useful in uncovering the problems practitioners have in implementing a software quality management regime. The understanding gained from this analysis could then be used to solve the issues involved, and make software management, e.g. development or procurement, more effective. This case study presents an initial analysis of audit findings that led to the need to review some of the approaches taken in gathering audit data. This review included the techniques used and the motivation of auditors. A detailed implementation rating system was devised to further investigate and accurately identify specific problems. It was also used to test and validate initial conclusions and highlight problems with audit sampling. Without proper management, particularly for the analysis of audit findings, the internal audit process can be an ineffective use of resources. The recommendations made by this paper can provide practical solutions to making internal auditing a cost-effective, problem solving, management tool.

Telematics and Informatics, 2009

The recommendations described in this paper are a continuation of research previously reported in... more The recommendations described in this paper are a continuation of research previously reported in the Telematics and Informatics journal. This paper explains how the tourism organisations from sub-Saharan Africa can evolve their websites into marketing tools and how they can overcome the impediments to e-commerce adoption and usage. The recommendations also explain how the other major players within the economies of these countries can make the environment conducive for e-commerce development and growth so that the tourism organisations from this region can break into the lucrative international tourism market. The recommendations were tested by sending them to the African organisations and experts in e-commerce and tourism who have worked in, or are currently based in Africa, south of the Sahara. The results showed most organisations and experts who responded think that these recommendations will help African tourism organisations adopt and use e-commerce. African tourism organisations that intend to implement or are in the process of implementing e-commerce systems should follow the recommendations outlined in this paper to help sub-Saharan Africa reach its tourism potential.

This paper reports research to investigate how tourist organisations based in Africa acquire, dis... more This paper reports research to investigate how tourist organisations based in Africa acquire, disseminate and apply knowledge through their websites. Interactivity is the key to put information into context to become knowledge. A survey found there are some interactive knowledge-transfer tools provided on the websites of African tourist organisations, but only on the few, fully-fledged e-commerce websites was knowledge transfer being effectively utilised. The authors recommend that organisations incorporate more tools to acquire and apply knowledge as it is fundamental for ecommerce success.

Knowledge management initiatives often fail to live up to expectations and many result in failure... more Knowledge management initiatives often fail to live up to expectations and many result in failure. Unfortunately, many knowledge management initiatives fail because they have been introduced, simply because knowledge management has been recognised by senior management as a "good thing" and something their competitors are undertaking. This can lead to a knowledge management being appointed without any clear direction and knowledge management initiatives being undertaken without any clear purpose or measurable target criteria.