Recent studies on buying services have shown that service specifications and agreements present an ongoing process in which service definitions evolve through buyer-service provider interactions. In the case of professional ICT services this interaction process is far from clear. Many organizations have been confronted with failing ICT projects, financial losses, and less-useable software and s...

Purpose – This paper explores the roles of libraries within Second Life from the viewpoint of the librarians experienced in experimenting within virtual worlds. Design/methodology/approach – Exploration of currently available literature was undertaken to determine the important issues affecting libraries and librarians within virtual worlds. To explore these issues further, ten Second Life libr...

Grid computing is concerned with the sharing and coordinated use of diverse resources in dynamic distributed virtual organizations The dynamic nature of Grid environments introduces challenging security concerns that demand new technical approaches In this brief overview we review key Grid security issues and outline the technologies that are being developed to address those issues We focus in ...

Does chance have a role in intelligent environments? In this work-inprogress paper we argue that chance and non-deterministic behaviour can play a fundamental and important role in intelligent environments. We discuss how this behaviour can be both destructive and constructive. Underpinning our ideas is the view that intelligent environments may be seen as a complex system of interacting servic...

In recent business literature, the model of the learning organisation has been proposed as a solution to the problem of continually changing environments and increasing consumer expectations of maximum quality and value for money. The model seems highly appropriate for health services, which are staffed by educated professional staff who must become more adaptive and concerned with improving co...

Background and Objectives: This paper has attempted to explore physicians and staffs' views about evaluation system problems and its impact on maintaining professional behavior in clinical setting within the context of Iran. Methods: Data were collected through 22 focus group sessions from October 2015 to March 2016. Findings: All o...

decentralisation has been described as an empty concept that lacks clarity. yet there is an enduring interest in the process of decentralisation within health systems and public services more generally. many claims about the benefits of decentralisation are not supported by evidence. it may be useful as an organising framework for analysis of health systems but in this context it lacks conceptu...

Low-threshold support services are provided within the basket of services of German long-term care insurance as a part of respite care to support family carers and people with dementia. This study investigates various stakeholders' (providers, coordinators, volunteers, family carers and people with dementia) perspectives on low-threshold support service regarding its organisation and conceptual...