Managing Web Usage in the Workplace: A Social, Ethical, and Legal Perspective - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1930708181 ISBN 13: 9781930708181

Publisher: Igi Global, 2002

Synopsis

The nature of the Internet is dramatically revolutionizing the manner in which organizations and individuals alike acquire and distribute information. Unfortunately, the problem of web abuse has developed in kind. This interesting new book includes chapters that embrace a wide array of Internet abuse issues such as, the impact of web abuse on individuals, groups, organizations, and societies, and the problem of web abuse within other cultures and countries. Geared toward business professionals, academicians and students from a variety of disciplines among others, Managing Web Usage in the Workplace: A Social, Ethical and Legal Perspective focuses on the phenomenon of Internet abuse and its consequences.

About this title

About the Author

Murugan Anandarajan is an assistant professor of management information systems in the department of management at Drexel University. His current research interests include artificial intelligence-based classification, artificial life, and Internet addiction and abuse. His research has appeared in journals such as Behavior and Information Technology, Computers and Operations Research, Decision Sciences, Industrial Data Management Systems, Information and Management, International Journal of Information Management, Journal of Management Information Systems, Journal of Global Information Systems, Journal of International Business Studies, and the Omega-International Journal of Management Science, among others. He is the editor of a special section on “Internet Abuse in the Workplace” in the Communications of the ACM (December 2001). He is a coauthor of the book entitiled Artificial Neural Networks in Glaucoma Classification: A Concise Approach (2002). Anandarajan was ! awarded the Lindback Award for outstanding research (1999) and the Pearson Horner Award for the best application paper (1999).

Claire A. Simmers received her PhD from Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in strategic management. She is currently an assistant professor in the management and information systems department at the Erivan K. Haub School of Business at Saint Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She teaches courses at the undergraduate, MBA and executive level in business policy, international management, and developing managerial skill sets. Her research interests are: strategic decision-making, work/life issues, and understanding the sociotechnical interface in using the Internet. Her work has been published in Behaviour and Information Technology, the Journal of Business and Economics Studies, and the Journal of Organizational Behavior. She is an active member of the Academy of Management, the Strategic Management Society, and the Information Resources Management Association.

From the Inside Flap

Anytime, anyplace, any subject is an emerging theme for distance learning in higher education throughout the world. Portable wireless devices and other emerging interactive media are giving traditional classroom and distance education professors a growing array of tools to provide instruction wherever it is needed or desired. Educators now have an expanding repertoire of interactive media enabling both traditional pedagogical options and just-in-time situational learning in a wide variety of environments. Currently about 16 million Americans attend colleges and universities of all kinds. With the growth in distance education, this figure could rise significantly. People who could not attend a class now have the opportunity. Many predict that by this time next year handheld devices and virtual classrooms will be ubiquitous, enabling students to log on to the Internet for assignments and to participate in chat room discussions with students across the globe.

While the new technology is complex and expensive, it is a growing necessity for higher education. Christopher Dede of Harvard s Graduate School of Education says, Within a couple of decades, refusal to use interactive media in teaching will be considered professional malpractice.

Although online education is still in the early stages, it is now starting to show its impact as it extends through adult and lifelong learning. It is growing fastest in the area of higher education. Universities are the most wired community on the Web with more than 90% of college students accessing the Internet. In 1999, Market Data Retrieval reported the results of a survey that 72% of two-year and four-year institutions offered online courses, up 48% from a year earlier. By next year (2002), 2.2 million students are expected to enroll in distance learning courses, up from 710,000 in 1998, according to Merrill Lynch researchers. They expect the online higher education market to grow from $1.2 billion in 1999 to $7 billion in 2003.

While a growing number of students and instructors have enthusiastically embraced distance learning, some point out that they may be losing human contact with their counterparts. There are concerns about finding a balance between information technology on the one hand and traditional, humanistic learning on the other. Martz and Sheppard s chapter (Section II) presents a study and discussion on some of the human aspects of distance education.

Not all students, faculty and university administrators agree that the Web is the answer to the problems of the world of education. In fact, some say that the Internet may create some new challenges and problems. There is a growing backlash among professors and administrators who question the merit of computers in the classroom or in place of the classroom. They believe students are distracted by technology and understaffed institutions are unable to maintain the costly infrastructure and the computer clutter associated with high-tech classrooms. Many top-tier universities are taking a cautious approach as professors battle with administrators over intellectual property rights concerning who has ownership of courses and materials. Instructors see technology changing their ranks to that of a knowledge disseminator who spreads information for a profit. These challenges are described in Section II of this book. Detractors of distance education point to the high-profile venture ! at Western Governor s University that has not been a great success.

Software and e-learning programs have made a world of difference for those involved in distance education. For a distance student, all one has to do is look online to find what must be done. Students are more in control of their time and are less occupied with logistics. Parking for classes is no longer a problem. This has made life easier for them, but it has forced instructors to provide more structure for their classes. Since web-based classes are often required to be online weeks in advance, a professor can no longer prepare for classes at the last moment. Increased quality control is seen through the use of course directors or administrators.

The purpose of this book is to increase understanding of the major issues, challenges and solutions related to distance education. With such large numbers of individuals learning at a distance from traditional central locations, it is critical that we understand the impacts of these arrangements, the major issues and challenges, and how to best manage and develop distance education programs. This knowledge will enable organizations to implement and improve programs. It will also further our understanding of the impact of technology, particularly when it is used to replace face-to-face communications among both individuals and groups.

ORGANIZATION OF THE BOOK

The book is organized into three sections. The first part identifies the role and evolution of distance education into higher education. This part reports on the development of educational experiences as they have changed in the distance environment. Besides the availability of new technology, much of the motivation for distance programs stems from the perceived need to accommodate nontraditional students when university budgets are squeezed to the point that localized convenient educational experiences are out of the question. There is a clear demand for new course delivery, content, and curriculum. This section shows how organizations have changed, grown, and progressed to meet this demand.

Section II brings a multidimensional discussion of the faculty, student, and program challenges of distance education programs. The evolution of computers and online capacity into the world of higher education has evoked in many a sense of foreboding and fear, while others have welcomed this new approach as a valuable cost-effective tool for delivering educational needs in today s world. Course delivery methods have been modified due to the physical distance between the instructor and the student. The dimensions described in this section point out the significant impact on course delivery, student-to-professor interactions, student-to-student interactions, and assessment vehicles.

Section III gets down to the business of implementing programs and examining the designs and experiences of those who have had their organizations commit resources to distance programs. These are the early adapters or pioneers of this technology who have already made significant progress in the use of computers and the World Wide Web for teaching courses completely online or for adding course sections taught at a main or distant location. Today, these are examples of only a very small portion of the educational workforce in the world. Opportunities are awaiting those who are willing to step up and move into the arena of the ever-evolving educational challenges of education at a distance. This part tells the story of experiences and includes technical, pedagogical, and organizational issues

Edition details

• Publisher: Igi Global
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1930708181
• ISBN 13: 9781930708181
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 376
• Editor: Anandarajan Murugan, Simmers Claire A.