Rodreck DAVID

"Digital twins have been used in manufacturing to describe, predict, and prescribe responses to complex problems. The digital twin is a constellation of technologies that mirror physical objects in the virtual world, including what has happened, is happening and could or should happen in the future for the mirrored object. What is common in previous conceptualizations of digital twins is that there is a physical boundary to the extent that digital twins can mirror real objects (sometimes including the objects’ environments). We propose a blended approach, using McKinsey’s straw man and Parmar et al.’s. (2020) framework, to offer a more rigorously structured process for arriving at a refined conceptualization of digital twins in the educational service environment."

"Background: Platform ecosystems are a recent business model and organizational form (Gawer, 2014) that have changed the traditional ‘pipeline’ business models and the organization of resources and services. Their greatest advantages are in cutting inefficiencies and hierarchical controls in the traditional model (Jacobides, Cennamo & Gawer, 2018). They link consumers of resources and services directly via a platform (technological intermediary) to producers and suppliers; and they leverage network effects to generate digital innovation. When they gain traction, platforms form ecosystems that attract millions to billions of consumers globally, making it possible for competition and innovation to flourish amongst producers and suppliers seeking to provide their services to such a large market. Problem space: Despite the opportunities presented by platform ecosystems, the trend has been that this business model and form organizing is largely used to generate organizational profit by parent providers. This has meant that most consumer-facing platforms are largely monopolistic (Hovenkamp, 2020). A few parent providers of platforms can have massive control of a significant portion of national and even global services and resources (e.g., online commerce, social interactions, transportation, accommodation, media consumption, etc.). Consequently, they can also wield so much control over some of the most complex aspects of human life. This includes aspects that have traditionally been regulated through national institutions of government that often need to have a social contract with the general population. Thus, current forms of platform organizing complicate the approach to address challenges emerging from such form of organizing, such as over consumption & rampant consumerism, unsustainable sourcing, monopoly & antitrust behaviour, and the spread of mis-dis-information. Research agenda: This new research programme aims to develop an alternative to how platforms are designed and oriented, to focus on utilizing the same principles that make platforms so successful (e.g., critical mass, network effects, collective action, co-sourcing, openness, and generative architecture, etc.) but re-purposing these principles to address major societal challenges – placing sustainability and good will as a critical condition from the very conception and design of platforms. The intention is to move platform ideas from monopolistic “winner-takes all” business models to a “winner benefits all” model, from monopoly to collective action, from single parent providers to large scale inter-organzational collaboration. This research programme will focus on two main areas: (i) the environment and sustainability challenge - covering areas such as sustainable consumption of fashion and food, transportation, and accommodation, and (ii) the societal challenge - covering areas such as promotion of healthy social interactions, open communications, and addressing mis/dis information in online media."

"This paper examines how the critical mass challenge manifests itself during inter-organizational platform development. In previous research, critical mass is treated as an issue that occurs after platform launch. Strategies proposed, such as tactful pricing, opening the platform, user onboarding, and side-switching assume the platform to have already been launched. They may not work well in conditions where the platform is still under development. Over a two-and-a-half-year time period, this study traced the development of a data platform in a revelatory case within the New Zealand tourism sector. It revealed five critical mass issues faced by the platform sponsor in phases of development that occur before platform launch: (i) attracting initial interest, (ii) aligning heterogenous goals, (iii) sustaining commitment to the project (iv), negotiating architecture design, and (v) sustaining commitment to implementation. These findings provide a foundation for problematizing critical mass theory and its boundary conditions in inter-organizational platform development."

"Introduction: Citizen involvement in scientific projects has become a way of encouraging curiosity and greater understanding of science whilst providing an unprecedented engagement between professional scientists and the general public. In this paper we specifically focus on the impact of online citizen science (OCS) participation in the science education of primary school age children in New Zealand. Methods: We use four exploratory cases within a broader research project to examine the nature and impact of embedding OCS projects that use web based online crowdsourcing and collaboration tools within classroom environments of primary school science learners. Results & Discussion: Our findings provide insights into primary school teachers' perception of OCS. They offer initial insights into how teachers embed OCS in a classroom environment, and why this improves science learning aptitudes, inquisitiveness and capabilities in primary school age children. We also notice that successfully embedding OCS projects in education is affected by the project context, how the results are disseminated, and inclusivity in socio-cultural aspects."

"The architecture of information systems in complex organisations is increasingly becoming platform-based, creating ecosystems of platforms in which several contributors exist to benefit and complement. As such systems become complex, it is necessary to think about the evolutionary dynamics necessary to ensure continued survival and success of the architecture that holds them in place. Of specific interest are three perspectives to IS architecture, its design, governance and context. The premise of this paper is that adaptive evolution of information systems (IS) architecture in complex ecosystems has the necessary attributes to cope with evolutionary dynamics existing in its design, governance and context. The paper presents a theoretical perspective on how the rapidly changing, complex, uncertain and disruptive ecosystem environment in which IS architectural ecosystems are increasingly existing can adaptively evolve. It contributes to theoretical thinking about adaptive evolution in increasingly unstable, volatile and complex IS ecosystems. As it centres on IS architecture, the paper is directly addresses the IS artefact often skirted treated as a black box."

"Infopreneurial behaviour amongst University graduates has the potential to guarantee employment and bridge the gap between job-security and the perceived insecurity of an own information business. At present, the National University of Science and Technology in Zimbabwe offers infopreneurship and entrepreneurship courses to students in the faculty of Communication and Information Science. The course content and presentation are similar in nature as they all relate to the selling, marketing and promotion of information products and services. However distant and limited research has been done to find out the impact of this course in creating an infopreneurial behaviour among graduating students. The researchers conducted a questionnaire-based survey to find out the infopreneurial behaviour among students who graduated from 2008 to 2012 in the faculty. The exploratory investigation reported by this paper brings out the status of these graduates in utilising their acquired knowledge in infopreneurship and entrepreneurship with regards to the selling and marketing of information products and services, especially through small physical or online/internet-based businesses. The major finding of this study was that the later crop of students between 2011 and 2012 have been making initiatives to establish internet-based information businesses but lack further business and technical skills necessary to translate these initiatives into „real‟ businesses. These business and technical skills are lacking in the course contents. The researchers conclude by making recommendations on possible adaptations that can be introduced to the courses to improve infopreneurial behaviour among graduating students in information science."