Research Proposal

I am beginning to write up a proposal, and it is all starting to come together. Clare advised me that I had a topic in the waiting and that I just had to get it on paper succintly! I feel that for 300 hours and 12,000 words I can break up my research into 2 areas. The first being a literature review of ICT in SME's in NZ and the second half being a practorioum (case-study mold), where I actuall apply the adoption of ICT into a SME in Nelson.

Self Evaluation for Blog

Evaluation for blog:

RES300#1-2008 Marking Schedule – Self assessment

Name Andy Hall

This is the self-assessment schedule for the journal. When assessing your journal and giving yourself marks, it may help to think in terms of a four point scale such as:

0.25 Poor

0.50 OK but a major rethink for next time

0.75 Pretty good but not perfect

1.00 Fantastic!

Criterion	Your mark	Marks Available
Easy to find information: How easily can you find what you are looking for? How much unnecessary stuff is in there?	2	2 marks
Increasingly sophisticated: Did the format or structure of your journal change as your work developed?	.75	1 mark
Useful content: How useful were the things that your recorded in your journal?	1	1 mark
Consistent use/recording: Did you use it fairly frequently, or just occasionally?	.75	1 mark

General Comments: Put any comments here that you think help to explain why you have given yourself the marks you have.

I found the Blog process a good way of recording thoughts. It is advantageous as in today’s world increasingly more resources are electronic, so the blog allows you to add links to such resources. I felt my content was relevant and the fact that I added dates and tags mean that retrieving info was easier. I found that at the start I was prone to use the blog but as the course went on, I was pretty sure on my research area, so I did not need to add as much content. Adding more content more often would be something I could have utilised further. I will endeavour to use the blog for my research project.

Total………….4.5/5

Rsearch journal reviews after thoughts

I found the critique process supringsly enjoyable and founf the review proccess to be not so difficult.

I found I chose relevant articles and all 3 where written by NZ academics on NZ specific IT areas.

At this stage I am going to endevaour a proposal that focuses on IT on SME's and somehow include a case study/user viewpoints on the area.

Some time to knuckle this topic out will be my next step.

Clare reaised some interesting points regarding ethics today, but they are not too valid in my research approach.

Thoughts on research process

Sprawling through google scholar I found it hard to find a journal site with unlimited access. this brought back some flashbacks of undergraduate study with hazes of proquest and emerald. So I went to these websites but found them hard to use as I wasnt registered (I think Otago had an account we could use, Is hould check if NMIT has similar).

In short, finding resources isn't as easy as it should be!!

Assignment 1 write up

E-Commerce Technology Adoption Framework by New Zealand

Small to Medium Size Enterprises. M. A. Rashid

R.I.I.M.S., Massey University

What the paper is about?

Increasing role of ICT in SME’s

95% of businesses are SME’s.

NZ EC rates are low in comparison with other APEC countries.

Adoption rate is high but limited in commercial transactions.

Lack of knowledge by SME’s on EC potential.

Lack of guidance in implementation and perceived costs.

Most companies would use Internet/email and have a website but that’s the extent.

Strategies to adopt EC in SME’s, govt influence?

What did the author(s) do?

Based his observations on findings from a PWC extensive survey on SME’s. Also used Ministry of Commerce publications for commentary purposes. Major themes of paper:

EC and its role in SME.

EC rates in NZ.

Limitis to adoption.

Adoption traits.

Why did you choose this paper?

It is a NZ written article by a kiwi academic, shows direct relevance and interest. When searching the area focuses on large-scale businesses, this article appealed as it was on smaller business (like the majority of NZ businesses).

Was the paper was worth reading? Why (or why not)?

I found this paper quite interesting and some of the adoption traits where interesting. The factors that can influence EC adoption are very relevant. The paper was published in 2001, so it may be of some irrelevance now as im sure EC adoption is higher but none the less a good article.

Do you believe the results/findings or the paper? Why?

Yes I believe findings of the paper. They were based on surveys conducted by outside organisations, including NZ govt.

What form of research approach did the researchers follow?

Descriptive Research

Descriptive research tells "what is."

Do you feel that this was an appropriate approach? Why?

Yes as the resources used were reputable and up to date at the time of publish. Conducting empirical research could be a large task and difficult to administer in terms of finding the right industry focus group.

Title on the board.

Intro

What is a SME? What %? What is EC?

Example, restaurant.

What factors would hinder EC – mention the authors on board.

EC in NZ

A govt backed framework.

Why I choose, papers merits

Research approaches:
http://edweb.sdsu.edu/Courses/ED690DR/Class01/ResearchTypes.html

SOme interesting articles:

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/10006933/ABSTRACT?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0
The future for direct retailing of travel and tourism products: the influence of information technology

http://jtr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/39/2/192

Adoption of Information Technology in U.S. Hotels: Strategically Driven Objectives

http://cqx.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/41/1/30

Experience-based Travel

More research ideas

After last week's class Clare put some emphasis on us to isolate a project area. I will aim to look at the increasing role of IT in Tourism in Nelson. This may be to broad so I will focus it down to Motel Mangement as I have first hand access to MANZ motels in Nelson through association. This topic also flows on from my project in INF755 which is a hands on development of the IT infrastructure in a motel in Nelson.

Clare suggested I look at some IT developments that include virtualisations of motel website, i.e. 3d renderments of motel environments, this could be sometihng to look at ehich would be quite enjoyable. But I think my background and abilitis lies more with academic analysis rather than hands on IT development with new technology.