| Gurstein, Michael on Fri, 19 May 2006 10:02:58 +0200 (CEST) |
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| <nettime> FW: [isworld] Call for participation Global Text Project - IS book |
-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Watson [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: May 16, 2006 2:34 PM
To: AISWORLD Information Systems World Network
Subject: [isworld] Call for participation Global Text Project - IS book
THE GLOBAL TEXT PROJECT - Engaging many for the benefit of many more
An interviewer with BBC News Magazine asked Sir Richard Branson how
he felt, as a multi-millionaire, when he visited impoverished regions
of Africa. He responded: "Anyone would feel an enormous sense of
guilt going to one of these places-and if you're in a position to do
something about it you've got to make an effort."[1]
Most IS scholars are relatively wealthy compared to those who live in
the developing regions of the world. They are also rich in knowledge,
and we believe IS scholars should lead the academic world in making
their knowledge more accessible to students and faculty in poor
countries by participating in the creation of free, open content
textbooks.
Textbooks are considered expensive in Europe and the U.S., but they
are far beyond the reach of many in developing economies. For
example, a $108 Biology textbook sells for $51 in Africa,[2] but the
U.S. GNI per capita is $41,400, and the figure for Uganda is $250.
[3] Obviously, the developed world's textbook business model does
not meet the needs of those in the developing world. We need a
publishing model that can meet the needs of Uganda and the many other
countries that are not among the World Bank's high-income countries
(those with GNI per capita above $10,066).
Mass education has created tremendous opportunities and wealth for
people in developed countries. It has enabled many to escape
poverty. Mass education for the developing world is dependent among
other things on finding low cost means of delivering free, quality,
content to many. We believe we have a model for developing the
necessary content, and we need your support to start an endeavor that
can engage many for the benefit of many more. It is called the
Globaltext project.
The Globaltext project was initiated in early 2006 to develop a
series of free, open content, electronic textbooks using modified
wiki software. A complete description of Globaltext is available on
the project's website at http://globaltext.org. Please take a moment
and read about the project's history and positioning before reading
this document. Briefly, the project was initiated as a result of
two events: (1) the announcement and enthusiastic reception of the
One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project at MIT http://laptop.org, also
known as the $100 laptop project, and (2) the experience in the
developing a free wiki XML textbook by faculty and students at the
University of Georgia since 2004. The XML textbook may be viewed at
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/XML.
The impetus for developing the information systems text as one of
the first in the series is based on:
* The worldwide community of IS academics is a closely-knit
community. Individuals know each other and have a long history of
cooperating with each other on a global scale. Creation of an open
content textbook will require the cooperation of the worldwide
community of faculty and their students, as well as practitioners.
* The IS community, of all academic communities, should be the
one that is an early adopter of technology that holds the promise of
being able to create a state-of-the-art textbook.
* The textbook created by the community will be best-in-class,
up-to-date, and, perhaps most importantly, made available at no cost
to students anywhere in the world, but particularly in the developing
world in line with the goals of the OLPC project.
Members of the Globaltext core team are Wayne Huang (Ohio
University), Don McCubbrey (University of Denver), Chris Wagner (City
University of Hong Kong) and Rick Watson (University of Georgia).
Additional information on the core team is available on the project's
website.
THE EDITORIAL STRUCTURE
The editorial board created for each book will ensure the necessary
degree of consistency and quality. Rick Watson and Don McCubbrey
will serve as Co-Editors-in Chief of the Information Systems text.
The initial outline for the book (described below) was developed by
the founding members of the editorial board: Gordon Davis, Don
McCubbrey, and Rick Watson. In developing the initial outline,
reference was made to the most recent Model Curriculum and Guidelines
for Undergraduate Degree Programs in Information Systems as approved
by The Association for Computing Machinery, The Association for
Information Systems, and The Association of Information Technology
Professionals [5] as well as the participants' familiarity with more
recent trends. In the spirit of open content development,
suggestions for changes to the initial outline are welcomed.
Volunteers are needed to serve as chapter editors. As explained in
greater detail on the GlobalText website, chapter editors will
develop detailed chapter outlines, encourage contributions from the
community, and, in general, take responsibility for ensuring the
overall quality of a chapter.
Importantly, chapters do not have to cover the content domain in
excessive detail. Chapters only need to cover the essential content
that every undergraduate needs to know. Using wiki software permits
chapter editors and contributors to insert links throughout the
chapter to locations where a topic is covered in more detail. The
link may be to another page in the wikitext itself or to another
website entirely. Also, the use of wiki software enables faculty and
students to contribute to the text, and chapter editors are
encouraged to find ways in which to engage students in the creation
of content.
THE OVERALL APPROACH OF THE TEXT
Introductory information systems textbooks often present the topic
in somewhat of a vacuum. That is, they focus on information systems
without really succeeding in showing how IS is integrated in
organizations, how knowledge workers are supported, and how important
IS is for an organization's success. Many undergraduate students do
not understand why they are required to take an IS course since they
are not IS majors. Many also expect the introductory course to focus
on personal productivity software. This textbook will teach students
how to exploit IS in a technology-rich environment. It will
emphasize why, no matter what their major, information and
communications technologies (ICT) are, and increasingly will be, a
critical element in their personal success and the success of their
organizations. In other words, they need to be introduced to
concepts, principles, methods, and procedures that will be valuable
to them for years to come in thinking about existing organization
systems, proposing new systems, and working with IS professionals in
implementing new systems.
Students need to understand systems and the systems concept, and they
need to understand the role of ICT in enabling systems. Students
will learn the characteristics of good systems (e.g. intuitive,
likable, error-resistant, fast, flexible, and the like). Knowing the
characteristics of good systems will permit students to demand well-
designed systems and to suggest how existing systems should be
changed. Students need to understand the affordances, directions,
and limits of hardware, software, and networks in both personal and
organizational dimensions. They also need to appreciate that, as
technical capabilities change and new ones arise, more opportunities
to apply ICT for efficiency, effectiveness, and innovation are
afforded. They need to understand the process for developing and
implementing new or improved systems and the activities of IS
professionals in this process.
SHORT TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART I: ORGANIZATIONAL SUCCESS AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Chapter 1: Being a Systems Innovator
Chapter 2: Achieving Efficiency and Effectiveness Through
Systems
Chapter 3: Achieving Efficiency and Effectiveness Through
Systems Design
Chapter 4: Implementing Systems
PART II: THE TECHNICAL FOUNDATIONS OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Chapter 5: How Hardware and Software Contribute to
Efficiency and Effectiveness
Chapter 6: How Networks and Communications Technologies
Contribute to Efficiency and Effectiveness
Chapter 7: Organizing and Managing Data for Efficiency and
Effectiveness
Chapter 8: Utilizing Data for Efficiency and Effectiveness
PART III: OPPORTUNITIES AFFORDED BY INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Chapter 9: Opportunities in my Role as a Knowledge Worker
Chapter 10: Opportunities in Business to Customer Systems
Chapter 11: Opportunities in Business to Business Systems
Chapter 12: Opportunities in Person to Person Systems
Chapter 13: Opportunities for New Organizational Forms
PART IV: ETHICS, RISKS, AND THE FUTURE OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Chapter 14 Corporate and Social Responsibilities of the
Systems Innovator
Chapter 15: Avoiding Systems Failures
Chapter 16: Creating the Products and Services of the Future
CHAPTER STRUCTURE
Learning objectives and a chapter overview will be provided at the
start of each chapter. At the end of each chapter the following
elements will be included:
* Summary
* Key terms and concepts list (bolded in the text with a mouse
over definition)[4]
* Short-answer questions
* Discussion questions
* Short projects - that require your students to apply what
they've learned in a particular chapter
As noted on the Globaltext website, many of the end of chapter
materials will be contributed by faculty and students from all parts
of the world, thus giving the text as distinctly global flavor and
encouraging cross-cultural communications and collaborations.
NEXT STEPS
Please take a moment to examine the outline and forward a short
statement of your interest and qualifications to serve as a chapter
editor and indicate the chapter or chapters that interest you. We
are currently seeking financing for the project, with the intention
of compensating chapter editors $2000 per year in order to pay their
costs for attending the ICIS Conference where an annual meeting of
chapter editors will be held. Expressions of interest or questions
may be sent to Rick Watson at <[email protected]> or Don
McCubbrey <[email protected]>.
Join us in starting a textbook revolution that can change the world.
Cheers
Don McCubbrey and Rick Watson
References:
[1] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4942704.stm
[2] http://www.maketextbooksaffordable.com/newsroom.asp?id2=3D15618
[3] http:// worldbank.org/
[4] The mouse over definition capability is not available in the
current Wiki software but will come with the first release of the
modified software.
[5] Gorgone, et al, 2003, "IS 2002 Model Curriculum and Guidelines
for Undergraduate Programs in Information Systems", Communications of
the Association for Information Systems, Volume 11, Article 1,
January 2003.
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