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    Agricultural software : a case study of feed and animal information systems in the New Zealand dairy industry : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements of a Masters of AgriCommerce at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2017) Hammond, Hamish
    Every farmer utilises agricultural software, either directly or indirectly, as part of feed and animal information systems (IS) used for decision making and compliance on New Zealand (NZ) dairy farms. With continued development and availability of advanced information and communication technologies (ICT), more farmers are using software in their IS. This study investigates: how NZ dairy farmers use agricultural software in their feed and animal IS; the software attributes that influence the use and impact of these software; and, the drivers and inhibitors of software use and impact. A case study research approach was used to investigate these questions. Evidence was collected using semi-structured interviews with six NZ dairy farmers with farms of different scale and ownership structure, and with five commercial agricultural software providers. Results show that feed and animal IS are particularly useful for farmer decision making and compliance at the operational and tactical management levels, but also produce data and information critical for strategic management. The number of software products used and the degree of data and information collation in animal IS compared to feed IS are considerably different. Animal IS were streamlined, with data and information collected and collated together in a limited number of software with only one or two ‘focal’ software as the centrepiece of the IS. In contrast, feed IS were less streamlined, with data and information flowing into a number of different software. Six important software attributes that influence use and impact of software were identified by farmers and providers, with ‘simplicity’ and, 'integration with software and hardware’, the most highly recognised attributes. The delivery of software with these attributes was achieved by providers in a number of instances, however, other software failed to fully meet farmer needs. Organisational and people drivers/inhibitors had a greater effect on software use and impact than technological drivers/inhibitors indicating that these IS dimensions should be the focus of future improvements.
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    Using Web 2.0 technology to support humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations : applying the lessons learnt from the United States Military response to the 2010 Haiti Earthquake to improve the utilisation of the New Zealand Defence Force's communications and information systems during humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Arts in Defence and Strategic Studies at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2012) Jones, Liam Stewart
    Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HA/DR) Operations are complex multidimensional environments requiring the deployment of a military force. These operations will have multiple agencies responding including military forces, emergency responders, United Nations agencies, None Government Organisations (NGOs) and Private Volunteer Organisations all of which specialising in the provision of the necessities of life to survive a disaster including food, shelter, water, sanitation, medical and logistics support. The coordination of the relief effort and ensuring resources are applied where they can achieve maximum impact is a significant challenge. Information and communications technology, and in particular the Internet, has matured to a level now where this technology can be used to aid with the coordination challenges facing the multiple responders in a HA/DR operation. This paper examines the command and control arrangements that the New Zealand Defence Force has in place to support deployment on HA/DR operations and looks at modern commercial information technology trends, labelled broadly as Web 2.0, and proposes ways that these trends in information and communications technology might be utilised to increase the effectiveness of a New Zealand Defence Force Deployment. It examines the use of Web 2.0 type technology that was used by the United States Military during their deployment to Haiti and compares this with the use of information and communications technology by the New Zealand Defence Force during a response to a major earthquake in Christchurch and on an HA/DR exercise in the South Pacific. It seeks to highlight ways that the New Zealand Defence Force might use information and communications technology to enhance responses to HA/DR incidents in the future.
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    Strategic factors in agile software development method adaptation : a study of market-driven organisations : a thesis presented in partial [fulfilment] of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Information Technology at Massey University, Albany campus, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2011) Lal, Ramesh
    Agile methods now provide an alternative to the structured approach for software development. Since their early adoption in the mid-1990s, there has been a growing acceptance of agile methods as a legitimate development approach amongst the information systems development community. Amongst some of the talked about agile benefits in comparison to the structured approach are improvements in delivery and quality standards, productivity levels and knowledge transfer within the organisation, and customer satisfaction through collaboration and frequent delivery of implemented features. The agile philosophy of a team approach and ownership for product development creates a feel-good and motivational factor for engineers. Regardless, the inventors of the agile approach strongly emphasize adaptation to achieve continuous product development success. As a result, an understanding of the adoption of agile methods cannot be separated from an understanding of its adaptation by development teams. Using a theoretical framework relating to software development process adaptation, developed by Fitzgerald (1998), and through two case studies (agile adopters) qualitative data in relation to agile adaptation was gathered and analysed to determine the nature of agile adaptation. This revealed that adaptation is a critical feature of agile approaches. These adaptations enhance the strategic nature of the organisational factors and the chosen agile approach to develop market differential products. The main contribution of the thesis is that it presents an adapted agile adaptation framework showing that at a conceptual level the main structures (the organisational and methodology factors) that influence software development remain consistent when moving to agile development. However, the underlying elements of these factors are comprehensively adapted, transforming an organisation into an agile organisation in a market-driven environment. Further, in this environment the organisational and development structures will keep evolving due to the emerging market factors and improvements in product development technologies.
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    Improving effectiveness of dialogue in learning communities : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Ph. D. in Information Systems at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2009) Yang, Jingyu
    In a learning community, conventional discussion forums are integral to webbased interventions in traditional classrooms as well as on-line learning environments. Despite popular belief that they are a great success in fostering deep and meaningful discussions and support active learning; research has found that there are millions of messages posted by users to express such an opinion, but it is hard to be directly delivered to all users. Finally there are millions of postings in databases across the country stored away and never reused. This thesis introduces a PhD student’s current research work. It proposes a distributed intelligent discussion forum system dedicated to supporting both students and teachers. The system is developed with the primary goal of reducing the number of problems associated with conventional discussion forum systems in web-based environments and improving the effectiveness of dialogue between students with each other and with teachers so that it can enhance each individual student’s ability to share and learn knowledge.
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    Electronic clinical decision support (eCDS) in primary health care: a multiple case study of three New Zealand PHOs : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Information Systems at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2009) Engelbrecht, Judith Merrylyn
    Health care providers internationally are facing challenges surrounding the delivery of high quality, cost effective services. The use of integrated electronic information systems is seen by many people working in the health sector as a way to address some of the associated issues. In New Zealand the primary health care sector has been restructured to follow a population based care model and provides services through not-for-profit Primary Health Organisations (PHOs). PHOs, together with their District Health Boards (DHBs), contributing service providers, and local communities, are responsible for the care of their enrolled populations. The Ministry of Health (MoH) is streamlining information sharing in this environment through improvements to computer based information systems (IS). By providing health professionals with improved access to required information within an appropriate time frame, services can be targeted efficiently and effectively and patient health outcomes potentially improved. However, the adoption of IS in health care has been slower than in other industries. Therefore, a thorough knowledge of health care professionals’ attitudes to, and use of, available IS is currently needed to contribute to the development of appropriate systems. This research employs a multiple case study strategy to establish the usage of IS by three New Zealand PHOs and their member primary health care providers (PHPs), with a focus on the role of IS in clinical decision support (CDS). A mixed method approach including semi-structured interviews and postal surveys was used in the study. Firstly, the research develops and applies a survey tool based on an adaptation of an existing framework, for the study of IT sophistication in the organisations. This provides the foundation for an in-depth study of the use of computerised CDS (eCDS) in the PHO environment. Secondly, a conceptual model of eCDS utilisation is presented, illustrating the variation of eCDS use by member general practitioner (GP) practices within individual organisations. Thirdly, five areas of importance for improving eCDS utilisation within PHO’s are identified, contributing information of use to organisations, practitioners, planners, and systems developers. Lastly, the research provides a structure for the study of the domain of eCDS in PHOs by presenting a research approach and information specific for the area.