Research Articles (Information Science)

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Browsing Research Articles (Information Science) by Author "Parry, Douglas A."

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    Computing research in South Africa : a scientometric investigation
    (South African Institute of Computer Scientists and Information Technologists, 2019) Parry, Douglas A.
    Limited attention has been afforded to mapping the ‘landscape’ of South African computing research. Prior studies have considered singular sub-disciplines, publications, or publication types. Given the growing prominence of computing disciplines, it is necessary to identify the patterns of research production, publication, collaboration, and impact of South African computing research. This study presents a scientometric investigation in this regard. Through the analysis of data accessed from the Scopus citation enhanced bibliographic database, the investigation presents findings in relation to annual research production, institutional differences in outputs, topics, collaboration, and citation impact. While characterised by institutional differences, over the period considered, South African computing research output has increased at a greater rate than that of South African research at large. Additionally, despite accounting for a greater proportion of all outputs, conference papers account for a smaller proportion of citations relative to journal articles or book chapters. Corresponding to previous investigations, there exists a tendency towards applied computing topics in contrast to more theoretical topics. Finally, the collaboration network was shown to be particularly de-centralised with many researchers clustered around institutions. The findings are of interest to all researchers conducting computing or related research in South Africa.
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    In-lecture media use and academic performance : investigating demographic and intentional moderators
    (South African Institute of Computer Scientists and Information Technologists, 2018) Parry, Douglas A.; Le Roux, Daniel B.
    The growing prevalence of continuous media use among university students in lecture environments has potential for detrimental effects. In this study we investigate the relationships between in-lecture media use and academic performance. Previous studies have shown that students frequently engage with digital media whilst in university lectures. Moreover, multitasking imposes cognitive costs detrimental to learning and task execution. We propose, accordingly, that the constant distractions created by digital media, interrupt the thought and communication processes of students during lectures and, subsequently, obstruct their ability to learn. To test this proposition we conducted a survey-based empirical investigation of digital media use and academic performance among undergraduate university students. A significant negative correlation was found between the number of in-lecture media use instances and academic performance. Furthermore, this effect was found to be pervasive independent of individual demographic factors and the intention with which a medium was used.
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    Working in a post Covid-19 world : towards a conceptual framework for distributed work
    (AOSIS, 2019) Henry, Michael S.; Le Roux, Daniel B.; Parry, Douglas A.
    Purpose: Against the backdrop of the increased prevalence of telework practices as a result of Covid-19, the purpose of the present article is to address the conceptual confusion, overlap and ambiguity characterising much of the published literature in this domain through the development of an integrated conceptual framework describing distributed work practices at various levels of organisations. Design/methodology/approach: To develop the framework, a collection of definitions for distributed work concepts were systematically selected and reviewed. These concepts include telework, remote work, distributed work and virtual work, as well as telecommuting, virtual teams, virtual organisations and distributed organisations. The reviewed definitions were systematically analysed to elicit the key principles underlying each concept, and then integrated to produce the conceptual framework. Findings: Our analysis suggests that virtuality and distributedness can be defined as distinct continua which, when combined, can be used to describe particular work settings. Additionally, we identify four factors which impact organisational policy in terms of virtuality and distributedness: interdependence of tasks, nature of work, technological environment and temporal distance. Practical implications: The framework offers managers a foundation for establishing distributed work policies and determining policy implications. Additionally, researchers conducting empirical investigations of distributed work practices can utilise the framework to differentiate between and describe particular work settings. Originality/value: The conceptual integration of virtuality, distributedness and organisational levels present a novel and important development. As organisations adapt to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the framework we propose serves as a useful artefact to support and inform their decision making.