Research Areas

SCIT Research Groups
Information Technology in Tourism and Travel
 Tourism and Travel is one of the largest, most global and rapidly expanding industries in the world. Tourism is also by far the Jamaica’s major earner of foreign exchange.  Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) are both enabling and revolutionizing the industry, since information, collaboration and partnership are the lifeblood of the complex tourism-travel product. However, full exploitation and organizational integration of ICT features and functionalities require operators to reengineer their operating models, reconfigure their value chain-networks and redefine their business roles and relationships.

Tourism is here regarded in a wide sense, including a wide range of public and private organizations such as accommodation, transport and catering providers, attractions, event and festival organizers, destination management offices/organizations, tourism intermediaries (e.g. travel agents, tour operators, Global Distribution Systems).

The objectives of this research track are to disseminate findings and exchange experiences on the development of new research theories, methodologies and applications for the development of the tourist industry. Theoretical, empirical, experimental, and policy-oriented contributions as well as case studies are included.

Chair: Mr. Basil Clarke

 
E-Business Models
 The new digital economy offers new business opportunities for old businesses but also gives rise to a plethora of new business forms. Because of the internet, few companies can leave their business models untouched, and the need to revise business models is needed increasingly often in most organizations. Digital economy business models often differ radically from those in the traditional economy, and their elements may be hard to distil. After working out the business models, they still have to be “sold” to different stakeholders, such as business owners, suppliers, financial institutions, regulators, and, most importantly, – customers. A question by itself is whether a rational business model can always be developed, or whether business in the digital economy is just developing itself incrementally by learning. For academic researchers, new economy business models pose a big challenge, as, understandably, companies are often unwilling to document and publish these models very exactly. In addition, the tools to describe these business models might not be up to date – traditional tools for describing business models face a challenge in the Internet economy. Another interesting question is whether business models are a characteristic of an organization, or whether they should actually be allocated to different value chains.

Chair: Ms. Susan Muir

 
Software Development
Information systems are intended to do more than support back-office, routine business processes.  Instead, systems must be designed that enable globally dispersed, dynamic processes and that support the evolving needs of consumers, its customers.  Moreover, much of the emphasis today is on reduced cycle time and “good enough” software.  This area of research focuses on the implications of these trends on software development and software quality management.  We also examine research relating to project management, and behavioural issues such as conflict in software development processes and user participation in systems development.  Research utilizing any type of research method to examine the systems development process and quality management processes is of interest to this track.
Chair: Mr. Richard Pyne

 
Information Security, Cyber Crime and Infrastructure Protection
 Information systems used in critical infrastructures without built-in security functions are unthinkable today. Security refers to the fact that protection goals are achieved in spite of malicious attacks and system failures. Typical security goals can be confidentiality, integrity, accountability and availability. Security in information systems addresses both technical and organizational aspects. The technical functions of information security are typically realized by authentication mechanisms, access control and cryptographic mechanisms. Organizational functions concern global corporation-wide aspects, e. g. human resources, personnel security, physical security and business continuity management. Meanwhile organizations can get a certificate, which confirms that both the technical and organizational level of security of a company meet some formal requirements, for instance the ISO 17799. This way security becomes a strategic asset for a company.

Chair:  Mr. Sean Thorpe
 
Strategic Management of I.S. and I.T.
 It is time to consider IT architectural decisions as part of the firm’s strategic intent, and thus a major factor in setting the practical range of business strategies a firm can implement in the short term without jeopardizing possibilities of evolution in the long term. Positioning strategic architecture, as an essential management choice requires rethinking IS governance. Strategic IS changes the organization and its products, services and internal procedures, thus leading the organization towards new organizational designs and behaviours. The objectives and the features of the IS portfolio have been changing such that its aim is not only to lower costs and facilitate management control but also to increase strategic organizational effectiveness, learning and innovation. Three trends have become apparent: 1) rapid innovation of new information technologies; 2) ideas and concepts about information itself; and 3) extensive development of new organizational forms and business strategies. Accordingly, the focus of this area will be on understanding the fundamental organizational conditions and forces enabling the generation and development of competitive strategy through IS. Moreover, this area of research will consider how ambiguous definitions and intra-organizational conflict about the role and meaning of IS inhibit its development as a strategic resource in the firm.
Chair: Mr. Arnett Campbell

 

Mobile Communication and Ambient Intelligence
 Mobile communication and ambient intelligence are currently driving the frontiers of e-business related developments. These technologies are further steps towards a ubiquitous availability of information and communication technology characterized by ubiquitous computing, ubiquitous communication, and intelligent user interfaces putting humans at the centre of technological developments. They will further impact value creation in terms of new intra- and inter-organizational arrangements, relationships between different actors, new processes of value creation, novel products and services, and new service and technology infrastructures.
Areas of application range from RFID tags reshaping the supply chain, organizational design towards responsive, agile, adaptable and flexible ‘ambient organizations’, home appliances creating intelligent environments, and business model design comprising product and service design challenges to user-targeted issues like human-computer-interaction and the design of superior customer experience. Several firms and industries are already dealing with the challenges of integrating mobile communication and ambient intelligence concepts into their strategic and operational activity.
Accordingly, this area will focus on the understanding of the technological developments on the one hand by analyzing the latest developments and their potentials in the field of mobile communication and ambient intelligence including new portable and ubiquitous devices, network technologies like ad-hoc networks, human-computer interface design, standards, etc. On the other hand, the utilization of these technologies will be studied in a business context. Emphasis will be put on issues like innovative products and customer-driven product development, emergent business models, impact on organizations and industries, future organization of work, including new work methods and collaborative work environments, adoption and diffusion issues as well as human and societal concerns.  This area will also include artificial intelligence.
Chair: Ms. Karlene Black