GITM2004 Tracks

Fifth Annual
GLOBAL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT (GITM)
WORLD CONFERENCE
June 13, 14, & 15, 2004, San Diego, California

Track Codes	Track	Email	Chair	Affiliation
AOM	Applications of AI in Operations Management	khauser@b202.usu.edu	Karina Hauser	Utah State University
AIS	Attitudes Toward EC in Newly Independent States	jean.pratt@usu.edu	Jean Pratt	Utah State University
BBW	Buying Behavior on the Web	gwscheff@mtsu.edu	G. Scheffelmaier & John Vinsonhaler	Middle Tennessee State University
CDA	Culture in the Diffusion, Acceptance, and Use of IT	enmao@uwm.edu;msrite@uwm.edu	En Mao & Mark Srite	University of Wiscosin-Milwaukee
DKM	Decision Support & Knowledge Management	nemati@uncg.edu	Hamid Nemanti	Univerity of Noth Carolina, Greensboro
DIS	Diversity in Information Systems	MULBERKE@uvsc.edu	Keith Mulbery	Utah Valley State College
DSC	Doctoral Consortium	basuc@uww.edu	Choton Basu	University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
EBS	E-business	venky@cisunix.unh.edu	Venky Venkatachalam	University of New Hampshire
ECS	E-Commerce and E Services	tstaffor@memphis.edu	Tom Stafford	University of Memphis
ESG	Economics and Strategies of Global IT	jwang@iup.edu	Jianfeng Wang	Indiana University Pennsylvania
EGV	E-governance	ssharma@bsu.edu	Sushil Sharma	Ball State University
EGL	Emerging Global Learning Technologies	mills@b202.usu.edu, hill_t@cob.sjsu.edu	Bob Mills & Tim Hill	Utah State University, San Jose State University
EIN	Enterprise Integration	dpaper@b202.usu.edu	David Paper	Utah State University
ECP	Exploring the E-Commerce Process	pedersen@infowest.com	Eric Pedersen	Dixie College
GPM	Global Business Process Management	pb@asu.edu	Pierre Balthazard	Arizona State University
GRM	Global Customer Relationship Management (CRM)	ykim@b202.usu.edu	Yong Seog Kim	Utah State University
GEC	Global Electronic Commerce	lsiyer@uncg.edu	Lakshmi Iyer	University of North Carolina, Greensboro
GES	Global ERP Systems	Simon_sj@mercer.edu	Steve Simon	Mercer University
GCA	Global IT Cases and Applications	jrodger@iup.edu	James Rodger	Eberly College of Business & Information Technology
GTE	Global IT Education	jmann@odu.edu	Joan Mann	Old Dominion University
GTO	Global IT Outsourcing	theos@christa.unh.edu	Theo Statopoolos	University of New Hampshire
GRS	Global IT Research Strategies	sharm.manwani@henleymc.ac.uk	Sharm Manwani	Henley Management College
GRI	Global IT Research: Issues and Challenges	kumar1a@cmich.edu	Anil Kumar	Central Michigan University
GTS	Global IT Threats & Security	kwibowo@iup.edu	Kustim Wibowo	Indiana University Pennsylvania
GSD	Global Software Development	pdembla@cisunix.unh.edu	Pamela Dembla	University of New Hampshire
ICT	ICT in Small Island Developing States	fuatai.purcell@mof.gov.ws	Fuatai Purcell	National Bank of NZ
ISA	Intelligent Systems for Global Application	iandoli@unina.it	Luca Iandoli	Università di Napoli Federico II
EWI	Internet & Web Related Issues	achita.muthita@wichita.edu	Achita Muthitacharoen	Wichita State University
IGN	IT for Government and National Development	licker@oakland.edu	Paul Licker	University of Cape Town
IAF	IT in Africa	licker@oakland.edu	Paul Licker	University of Cape Town
IAS	IT in Asia	enmao@uwm.edu;msrite@uwm.edu	En Mao & Mark Srite	University of Wiscosin-Milwaukee
ICH	IT in China	bingwang@cc.usu.edu	Bing Wang	Utah State University
IJP	IT in Japan	sherry@eller.arizona.edu	Sherry Thatcher	University of Arizona
ITM	IT in Manufacturing	kfkj000@tamuk.edu	Kai Jin	Texas A&M University Kingsville
IMX	IT in Mexico	mcorrales@itesm.mx	Martha Corrales	ITESM Monterrey
IME	IT in Middle Eastern Countries	bshore@hypatia.unh.edu	Barry Shore	University of New Hampshire
IMC	IT in Multinational Companies	celia_romm@hotmail.com	Celia Romm	Wayne State University
INI	IT in Newly Industrialized Countries	okunoye@xavier.edu	Adekunle Okunoye	Xavier University
INA	IT in North America	alicekienholz@nucleus.com	Alice Kienholz	Alice Kienholz Associates, Calgary, CANADA
ISC	IT in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises	cpollard@postoffice.utas.edu.au	Carol Pollard	University of Tasmania
ISC	IT in South and Central America	bshore@hypatia.unh.edu	Barry Shore	University of New Hampshire
IPR	IT in the Pacific Region	v.khandelwal@uws.edu.au	Vijay Khandelwal	University of West Sydney
IMU	IT Management in Europe	dpaper@b202.usu.edu	David Paper	Utah State University
ITT	IT Training Transfer	cunningham@suu.edu	Tom Cunningham	Southern Utah University
MDN	Meeting the Diverse Needs of Global IT Education	gbutler@regis.edu	Greg Butler	Regis University
MUT	Military Utility of IT	jrodger@iup.edu	James Rodger	Indiana Unversity - Pennsylvania
MCM	Mobile Commerce	jussi.puhakainen@tukkk.fi	Jussi Puhakainen & Ville Harkke	Turku School of Economics and Business Administration
MPI	Modeling Process Improvement	mokw@email.uah.edu	Wai Yin Mok	University of Alabama
SEG	Social Issues and Ethics in Global IT	jill.kammermeyer@unh.edu	Jill Kammermeyer	University of New Hampshire
SIM	Societal Impacts of Global IT	Tai.Purcell@nbnz.co.nz	Fuatai Purcell	National Bank of NZ
SAG	Strategic Applications of Global IT	mraising@gsm.udallas.edu	Mike Raisinghani	University of Dallas
TGU	The Global User Towards E-Culture	kyeong@it.uts.edu.au	Kyeong-Soon Kang	University of Sydney
TDF	Transborder Data Flows and Privacy Laws	douglas@walton.uark.edu	David Douglas	University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

In recent years, artificial intelligent tools, like Genetic Algorithms, Neural Networks etc. have become very popular as tools for optimization in the operations management field. Some of the applications are machine layout problems, assambly line balancing and workload smoothing where the use of more conventional methods results in exponential growth of computing time when the data set gets large. This track is organized to discuss innovative applications of AI in operations management. Case studies and/or other innovative research are especially welcome.

E-commerce is in various stages of acceptance and implementation throughout the world. This track focuses specifically on the newly independent states (NIS) in Russia and barriers to and facilitators of implementation there. Contributors to consumer/developer attitudes toward e-commerce acceptance/implementation include culture, government, mafia, IT infrastructure, religion, and knowledge.

In an increasingly global business environment, there is a growing need to utilize information technology (IT) to achieve efficiencies, coordination, and communication. Additionally, technology has been one of the driving forces behind the internationalization of commerce and service. However, the concept of culture has been has been little studied by information systems (IS) researchers. This track focuses on cultural issues and their impact on the diffusion, acceptance, and use of information technologies. The beliefs and values, regarding IT, that permeate societal groups can be examined from a variety of perspectives such as national, ethnic, organizational, and professional culture.

Papers (completed or in-progress: about 20 double spaced pages), extended abstracts (completed or in-progress research: about 4-6 pages), and panel and workshop proposals (2-4 pages) dealing with (but not limited to) the following topics are invited. Please mention the name of this track on the cover page.

Doctoral Students are encouraged to apply to this International Doctoral Consortium. The conference organizers have graciously lowered the conference registration fee to $125 per student, which includes a copy of the conference proceedings.The Doctoral Consortium is based on the following requirements and rules:

1. Doctoral Consortium is open only to Doctoral Students who have started on their dissertation topic or research

2. Each applicant must submit a 2-3 page short paper on their primary research topic to the track chair by November 15, 2003.

Track chair e-mail: basuc@uww.edu Choton Basu at University of Wisconsin Whitewater.

3. If the paper is accepted for the International Doctoral Consortium you must register for the 2004 GITM World conference. However note highly reduced rates at $125 per student.

4. Please apply or contact the track chair immediately since only 12 spots are available for the conference.

a) You will be required to make a 15 minute presentation at the conference during the doctoral consortium.

d) Submit all papers in MS-Word or in PDF format. Possible outline may include Abstract, Research Objective, Research Design, Research Questions, Research Model (*strongly recommended), Expected Contribution

Please note that you are not expected to have your research completed. The goal of this doctoral consortium is to assist you and provide valuable feedback with your research. Also this is a perfect conference for you to network with international researchers and doctoral students who can provide assistance in data collection, contacts, collaboration and even translation and testing of your work in other languages.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the GITM Doctoral Consortium Chair, Dr. Choton Basu at University of Wisconsin at Whitewater. His e-mail is basuc@uww.edu or Work: 262-472-5005.

In the digital economy, we continue to find new and innovative ways to serve and satisfy customers through the use of Internet technology. Selling goods and consumer services via the Internet is an endeavor that has come into its own; we are know investigating ways to optimize and expand this common business offering. However, with the increasing diffusion of Internet technology among businesses and consumers, technologists are also finding new ways to deliver IT functionality by the network. Called “app-on-tap,” or more commonly e-services or web services, this provision of computer applications on demand across the Internet is the emerging field of inquiry in e-commerce, as we begin to find ways to influence adoption and use of computer functionality provided via the Internet.

Research that documents, investigates and explains the increasing use and utility of selling goods and services online is welcome, as is research that speculates on likely business models and adoption processes for emerging e-services offerings. Submissions are encouraged in Microsoft Word or Adobe .pdf formats. If submitting an Adobe file, be sure to remove author and affiliation information from the title page.

Economics and strategies of GIT concerns economic and strategic problems with adoption and application of GIT, especially of how international factors affect the efficiency and performance of GIT and how GIT may influence global business development. The research problems can be as detailed as the economies of system interface that can convert bewteen different languages. There are many interesting strategic problems such as strategic impacts of GIT on global deployment of large companies.

Information Technology has changed the way we teach and learn in organizations. Online learning has provided companies with the opportunity to provide training to their employees worldwide. This track is designed as a forum for the discussion an collaboration on research related to the technologies, and strategies related to global learning and training.

In this track participants will explore the entrepreneurial processes involved with electronic commerce. Specific electronic commerce topics include: fundamental skills and knowledge, opportunity identification, market research, competitive assessment, strategy development, finance development, risk assessment, technical development, web review, initial launch, and on-going innovation. This track will provide a "big picture" of the processes involved with electronic commerce.

In the global economy, the need to integrate business processes, technological innovations, and a country/organization's differentiated skills and talents in order to maintain economic competitiveness, is assuming increased importance. Whether driven by market demands, increased communication bandwidth, or emerging technologies, the management of business processes and human resources has increased in complexity and significance. The Global Business Process Management track focuses on the various approaches to technology and human resource management and development, over the world for processes that may have a multi-national or global perspective.

. Innovations in human resource management and organizational development in tech-centered organizations

. Entrepreneur, intrapreneur, venture capitalist for technological innovation of multi-national or global reach

. Selection, training, payment, motivation of knowledge workers in global enterprises

The Internet revolution changes the pattern of information flow and creates virtual business communities governed by new rules and interactions among participants across national borders. That is, the Internet revolution changes the way we think, produce, trade, and consume by creating new value-chains and reorganizing distribution channels the Internet revolution transforms. In addition, rapid advances in information systems and technologies including database and data warehouse technology make it possible to easily save and access a great amount of information of customers. In order to take advantages of Internet and IT innovation, many firms try to the integration of innovation in IT with the firm's overall strategic planning such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM) program.

Currently, many firms in various industries from the Internet banking to cell phones have been facing both internal and international competitors, and it is critical in a global business environment to develop an effective and successful CRM program based on societal, cultural, and personal characteristics of customers. Clearly, knowledge about characteristics of potential markets and marketing programs tailored to potential buyers will provide multinational companies significant strategic advantages. Ultimately, well-planned CRM programs make the firm easily acquire, retain, and maximize customers' life time values. This track intends to boost the attention of researchers and practitioners on the importance of CRM, and hence will focus on understanding the sophistication of the global market and developing new algorithms and methodology of CRM programs in traditional brick-and-mortar business and e-Business.

Papers (completed or in-progress: about 20 double spaced pages), extended abstracts (completed or in-progress research: about 4-6 pages), panel and workshop proposals (2-4 pages) dealing with (but not limited to) the following topics are invited. Please mention the name of this track on the cover page.

Forrester research predicts that by the year 2004, the value of goods and services traded between organizations over the Internet will represent 4 percent of the global economy (approx. $1.3 trillion). To survive and compete in the 21st century, companies need to identify new business models and redesign products that integrate with them. Only digital business models and products have the capability to fully leverage the power of e-commerce. This track will examine the future trends and emerging technologies, opportunities, and challenges of conducting business in the new millennium. This track focuses on the critical success factors for global e-commerce, the economics of e-commerce, and the practical issues and best practices involved with e-commerce in various applications.

The growth of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems in the global environment continues at a rapid pace. Advances in electronic commerce have made the functionality provided by ERP systems a requirement to insure fulfillment, reverse fulfillment, customer resource management, material and production tracking, logistics, and other critical functions. Configuration, implementation, and administration of ERP systems in the global environment has proven to be amongst the greatest challenges to IS departments. Issues include but are not limited to: strategic fit to organization structure, cultural issues, system configuration, training, government rules and regulations, and control vs. coordination to name a few. This track will explore the issues surrounding the current generation of ERP systems and extend the view of researchers and practitioners to the next generation of ERP, Enterprise Application Integration (EAI).

This track is designed to relate the rationale used by the Department of Defense (DOD), for the military to adapt the principles of information technology (IT), to meet increasing global crises, and to find ways to more effectively manage manpower and time. For example, mobile IT packages have been developed by the DOD to collect and transmit near-real-time, far-forward medical data and to assess how this web-based capability enhances medical management of the battlespace. IT has been successful in resolving uncertain organizational and technological military deficiencies and in improving medical communications and information management. Deployable, mobile IT is the centerpiece of this package. The associated IT teams have the capability of inserting essential networking and communications capabilities into austere theaters and establishing an immediate means for enhancing health protection, medical decision support, collaborative planning, situational awareness, and strategic decision-making through web-based internet applications.

This track focuses on issues concerning the delivery of Global IT education to students at all levels and in every type of institution. It also provides an avenue to discuss many issues related to this expanding field. Papers in this track can be research oriented but best practices, international case projects and other pedagogical material are also welcomed. Panels and workshops are highly encouraged. Topics include, but are not limited to: What is the theoretical foundation for global education, Methods for integrating Global IT material into our programs, Design, implementation, and assessment of GIT curricula within programs, Global IT course curriculum issues (what to cover, when), Best Practices, Solutions to global IT education challenges, Case stories about teaching success or lessons learned from failures, Challenging and insightful global IT case studies for use in classes, Comparative studies, Customizing Global IT curriculum or course material to the local situations, Diffusion of Internet-based education in Developing countries, and Reviews of previous global IT literature.

IT Outsourcing - the transfer of IT development process, services, or systems maintenance to another organization - has become one of the most important trends in IT management in the last 10 years. Companies are increasingly outsourcing business functions and their related IT operations. This trend is fueled by a need to create more efficient organizations in the face of increased global competition and by mergers and acquisitions that create redundant systems. Global IT outsourcing enables organizations to face these challenges on a global scale by allowing another organization to be an extension of your business operations. Theoretically, outsourcing has the potential to allow organizations to focus on what they do best and outsource the rest.

The scope of the track is to explore and propose Global IT Research Strategies. Themes may cover a wide spectrum of areas from multinational corporations to public sector and from cross-cultural to specific regional issues. This track encourages new thinking and conceptual frameworks in Global IT themes. Also welcomed will be papers covering innovative management strategies related to Global IT.

- What have been the main strategies of Global IT Research (e.g. journal reviews)
- What should be the future themes of Global IT Research
- Creation or evaluation of Global IT research frameworks

- What research methodologies are most appropriate to Global IT
- How can cross-country teams conduct Global IT Research

1. Have we established a theory or theories, which have a clear set of definitions and methods that define this area?

2. Do we have a consensus on what we are trying to measure while we conduct research in this area?

3. What are the common threads of research in the global IT area and is there continuity in the research being conducted?

4. What are the future implications for researchers in this area and are there any concepts that need to be integrated with existing frameworks that would help define this area of research?

In our attempt to address all or some of the above questions we are inviting papers ranging from conceptual frameworks, models, theoretical reasoning and support. We would like to encourage author(s) to extend their work beyond examining artifacts in global IT. Please note that we are looking for articles that present radical ways to address the area of global IT or sub-areas within this domain of research. Manuscripts raising new research questions and assumptions (challenging existing ones), presenting innovative ways of investigating global IT and finally resulting in articles that can stand the test of time. We are not interested in articles that stop at examining current issues in global IT. Author(s) need to dedicate a major effort in extending the current models, frameworks and assumptions in global IT and emerge as visionaries. We are also keenly aware that given the nature of this special issue the manuscripts will range from theoretical or conceptual to case studies and may involve more data driven methodologies. Author(s) are encouraged to support their efforts with anecdotal evidence (where appropriate).

It is also important to note that all of the above articles can be applied to any (sub) area within the global IT domain. The editors strongly recommend that author(s) submit a 2-page proposal to receive initial feedback.

After 9-11, the notion of Information Technology (IT) security changed from malicious acts of individuals and groups against an organization’s data and information to threats against the whole information security in the society and environment. This broader interpretation includes social, economic, political, and environmental threats that not only come from local and surrounding areas of the organization and society, but also from anywhere around the world.

We will discuss and define our concerns of Global IT threats and security and will provide suggestions and solutions in preventing and solving the problems. We will have to identify and define the threats and security problems that could potentially damage the whole information system of society, also the area in the world from where the threats and security problems came or potentially could come. To prevent and resolve the global threats and security problems will involve many facets of the society and environment including technology, management, organizational policy, governmental regulations, and international treaties and agreements. These will cover a very large body of knowledge and disciplines. Therefore, we will accept any paper that studies or discusses any part and any angle of the global IT threats and security problems and solutions for our next GITMA conference.

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Market globalization and the diffusion and growth of ICT has modified companies structures and their inter-organizational relationships. Companies belongs more and more to transnational networks made up by quasi independent units operating on the global market. There are many potential drivers inducing companies to build this kind of networks, and they are not only limited to the necessity to enlarge market scope at the international level, but they include, for example, the management of complex supply chain involving partners from all over the world, the construction of technological competence networks aimed at exchanging and integrating specialized know-how, the optimization of the purchasing process performance on a global scale market.

ICT can contribute to provide useful means for the coordination and the management of both intra and inter organizational networks, nevertheless it is proven that ICT alone represent nothing but a high potential platform. Actually, it emerges more and more the necessity to implement on such platforms intelligent tools able to manage and elaborate large quantity of information, mainly deriving from computer and network transactions in geographically dispersed areas, and able to support decision making both at the operational and at the strategic level for organizations operating in a global environment.

The huge amount of available data collected through network transactions, the possible geographic dispersion of such information, the necessity of interfacing and coordinating different networks systems belonging to different companies belonging to the network, create new management problems usually not solvable through traditional tools and methodologies. Furthermore, and probably even more important, information is not only quantitatively rich but also its content becomes more and more complex; thus, in many cases, its the semantic aspect of information that has to be managed, as it happens with language-based information and interaction on the world wide web. Information management becomes more and more difficult because it involves the management of both syntactic and semantic aspects and it requires an approach more oriented to Knowledge management than to traditional Information Systems one.

By keeping into account the remarkable progresses obtained in the field of advanced computation and Artificial Intelligence in the recent years, one may asks if the development of intelligent technologies based on the integration of ICT and computational techniques can provide interesting and promising solutions for the management of organizational networks in a global environment.

The focus of this track is to collect interesting contributions in this direction involving the development and the design of innovative IT tools based on the application of advanced computational techniques for the resolution of problems related to the coordination, knowledge and information management, operations management in complex networked organizations.

RECOMMENDED TOPICS

The emergence of the Internet has a profound effect on the way people live their lives. It allows people to communicate and make transactions in a more effective manner. It also helps people adjust themselves to today's lifestyles. Organizations are using the Internet and Web technologies to sell products and services globally. It is predicted that in the U.S. alone, more than 50 percent of households has Internet access (http://www.esa.doc.gov/508/esa/anationcharts.htm). This number is almost doubled from the one in 1998. While people and organizations are recognizing the growing importance of the Internet, there appears to be several of myths of how the Internet has affected us. People outside the US may have a similar or different view of the Internet. They may use the Internet for different purposes and scopes. This track attempts to collect international perspectives of how the Internet is viewed and adopted by people and organizations. IS researchers around the world are encouraged to participate in this exciting track. Below is the list of recommended topic to be submitted to this track.

Use of IT to improve national economies; e-Government initiatives; B-G and G-B electronic commerce; use of IT to foster transparency and democracy in government; government intervention and standards for national IT; intergovernmental IT; socio-political development and IT; the international digital divide; effects of IT on economic well-being and income distribution; national IT policies; political entities and multinational
corporations; transborder data flow.

Innovative uses of IT in Africa or for Africa; teaching IT in Africa; special considerations for system development or management in Africa; international IT issues involving Africa; E-commerce in Africa; African national development issues affected by IT; specialized African information
technology; economic and social issues connected with IT introduction and use in Africa.

IT has played a major role in the rapid development of the Asian "tiger economies" and this fact has not been lost on Asia's newly emerging economies. Yet while a number of Asian governments are now building their national development plans around IT, others have only just obtained a connection to the Internet. While the region's major industrial and financial institutions are deploying IT in their bids to brace themselves for a global competitive stance and have proved that leapfrogging exists in IT development, the vast majority of Asians have yet to make a phone call, much less use a computer. The track on IT in Asia seeks to showcase IT/IS research and implementations that address these and other issues relating to the use of IT in Asia.

Manufacturing firms have shown great interest in developing flexible and agile manufacturing systems because of the increasing global market competition. In order to delight customers and success in the competition, manufacturing firms are seeking enable techniques to produce the right product, with the right quality, in the right quantity, at the right price, and at the right time. Correct and timely information is key to meeting these goals, and information technology, such as database management systems, data communication, enterprise resource planning systems, simulation, and computer-aided design and manufacturing tools, has become indispensable to most manufacturing enterprises. Information technology not only supports manufacturing processes, but also is one of the catalysts for process and product change. In the past decade, there are a lot of changes in production processes in a number of manufacturing industries, such as the appearance of virtual enterprise and CAD/CAPP/CAM integration. Authors are invited to submit papers related to information technology in manufacturing. The nature of the papers could be theoretical, and practical, based on surveys or case
studies.

The focus of the IT in Mexico Track is to explore concepts, methods, frameworks, design, implementation and assessment of information, technology and communication systems in Mexico. In particular, we invite papers that present innovative approaches in:

1. Architecture, Systems, Telecommunications and Infrastructure
2. Management of IT - Strategy, Planning, Policies
3. Virtual Communities and Virtual Organizations
4. Economic, National, and Societal Issues (Economic Value, Digital Divide, NIS, e-Government)
5. Teaching and Research Cases on IT Issues in Mexico

This track focuses on a range of issues to do with IT in multinational companies, including: Communication patters (virtual teams, virtual communities, virtual organizations), production issues (supply chain management across borders, across regions, across cultures). Issues such as outsourcing, IT Governance and IT management within multinational companies would also fit within this track.

While the recent switch from agricultural to industrial economies is the main shared feature among the newly industrialized countries (NIC's) they are nevertheless characterized by witnessing high rising incomes and high growth rate. Most of the NIC are also actively involve in production and consumption of information Technology. Cases of organizations in NIC could result into theories that could explain IT implementations and other related issues in least developed countries (LDC). The particular progress made by NIC's in harnessing IT in their development process shows the possibility of digital leapfrogging and the role of IT in national development. We encourage submission of papers that specifically focus on IT issues in NIC's (e.g. Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, and South Korea, India, Mexico and South Africa)
and how IT has contributed to the local and global developments. Paper that compares (or that can be used to compare) IT issues in NIC's with other countries (outside NIC's) is also of particular interest to the track.

Being strong players in the global political and commercial environments, governments and organizations in the United States and Canada are looked to for leadership in the development and application of IT for enhancing competitiveness. This reality will constitute a major focus for this track. Yet, with Mexico also being part of the North American region, the purpose of this track must be more inclusive and efficacious. Research and theories concerning trends and issues of IT in these three North American nations generally are therefore encouraged, as are those that reflect our responsibility for including its more human aspects. Philosophical, historic and/or futuristic perspectives concerning how we need to be thinking and what we need to be doing to become the standard bearer for global information technology management in the new millenium are especially encouraged. This may include, but is not limited to, systemic thinking and the ethical, aesthetic and spiritual dimensions of developing and implementing IT initiatives in North America.

The purpose of this track is to provide an opportunity to share and discuss the practice of teaching information technology and research into the teaching of information technology to meet the diverse needs of a global population.

Suggested topics include the effective use of distance education and classroom technology in teaching information technology, innovative approaches to teaching information technology, studies identifying pedagogical and andragogical techniques that are effective for facilitating learning of various IT topics, integrating ethics into IT coursework, addressing the learning needs of diverse student populations, and enhancing students' life-long learning skills.

E-Mail : ville.harkke@abo.fi

Mobile Commerce is defined as an extension of electronic commerce from wired to wireless computers and telecommunications, and fixed locations to anytime, anywhere and anyone, i.e. the use of mobile technologies and devices to provide, sell and buy services and products. The customers of mobile commerce can be found from various groups, for example B2B, B2C, B2E and P2P (peer-to-peer).

The Mobile Commerce Track encourages the submission of quality papers, dealing with (but not limited to) the following topics: Case Studies of Wireless and M-commerce Implementations, Success Factors and Guiding Principles to Successful Implementation, Application Development for Handheld and Wireless Devices, Technology enablers for mobile applications, Usability and Human Computer Interaction issues related to mobile devices and applications, Wireless business models and their impact on different sectors of commerce.

Emphasis has been placed on the technical issues of information technology. For this reason only a narrow segment of social issues and ethics in information technology has been seriously considered; yet a wide spectrum of issues impact the way information technology is viewed and practiced. The Social Issues and Ethics Global Information Technology Track is intended to explore this spectrum. These issues include, but are not limited to, unauthorized access to information, privacy, software piracy, inappropriate use of resources, knowledge hoarding, inappropriate sharing of information, freedom of speech, censorship, intellectual property, use of non-traditional workers, cross cultural impacts, education of information technology professionals, and 24/7 implications for managing personal and professional boundaries.