Bruce Armstrong

Coffs Coast visitor survey

D Bruce Armstrong et al. — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 16:18:36 PDT

Destination choice - visitor behaviours in a coastal tourism destination on Australia’s east coast (Occasional paper)

Don Fuller et al. — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 16:18:35 PDT

User satisfaction: an evaluation of a carbon credit information system

William Smart et al. — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:35:21 PDT

This paper presents the analysis of user satisfaction with a web-based system that enables users to calculate the value of carbon credits for landholdings based on user-defined parameters including size of landholding, monoculture species, site quality, management & perpetration etc. For the purposes of this project, User Satisfaction was evaluated using questions based on the User Information Satisfaction (UIS) surveys demonstrated to validate the DeLone and McLean (1992, 2003) model of information systems success. The items in the survey used to test the UIS for this study were modified to suit the nature of the system under investigation, that is, a public, web-based information system. This differs from most previous UIS surveys which have been primarily used to examine proprietary, in-house applications. The paper reports the structural validity of the instrument using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and structural equation modelling (SEM).

Managing your business through effective IT management - secure it or lose it

D Bruce Armstrong et al. — Mon, 25 May 2009 21:42:10 PDT

Validation of a computer user satisfaction questionnaire to measure IS success in small business

D Bruce Armstrong et al. — Mon, 25 May 2009 21:14:25 PDT

The determination of factors that influence success in small business information systems (IS) is of obvious importance to the individuals running those businesses and to the regional economies where the businesses are located. The first step in this process is to develop models of interacting factors that contribute to success. Considerable progress has already been made in this area. DeLone and McLean (1992), for example, identified six inter-related factors that help to account for success. Their model has served as a platform for other researchers in this area (e.g., Seddon & Kiew, 1996). A second important step in this process is the development of well-validated instruments that can be used to measure the constructs making up the models. Without such instruments, it is not possible to go beyond mere speculation about possible contributors to small business IS success. The present study reports on the factorial validation of an instrument that can be used to assess core constructs identified by previous researchers as predictors of success. The instrument also contains a two-item measure of user satisfaction, a variable that is commonly accepted as a surrogate measure of IS success.

Destination choice - visitor behaviours in a coastal tourism destination on Australia’s east coast

Don Fuller et al. — Mon, 25 May 2009 21:14:24 PDT

It is important to better understand the main drivers affecting the choice and later evaluation of a tourism destination by consumers. The experience usually involves the consumption of both products and services requiring a relatively high level of expenditure. More recently, studies have begun to investigate satisfaction levels relating to the quality of particular experiences by tourists visiting a destination. Within this context, the case study presented in this paper aims to investigate the motivation, behaviour and satisfaction levels of tourists to the Coffs Coast Tourism Region, located on the East Coast of Australia, within the State of New South Wales. The findings presented here should assist the development of strategies by planners aimed at better recognising and responding to changing demand patterns among potential visitors to important tourism regions such as that represented by the Coffs Coast Tourism Region.

Legal awareness: issues in computing ethics

D Bruce Armstrong et al. — Mon, 25 May 2009 21:14:22 PDT

Exploring user satisfaction with information systems in a regional small business context

Gerard J. Fogarty et al. — Mon, 25 May 2009 21:14:19 PDT

In 1996 Seddon and Kiew undertook a partial test of DeLone and McLean's (1992) model of Information Systems (IS) success in small business, albeit with some changes to the underlying theoretical assumptions. This paper reports the findings of a study that used the model proposed by Seddon and Kiew as the basis for a survey of small businesses on the Mid North Coast Region of New South Wales in Australia. The path model provided a good fit to the data and accounted for 42 percent of the variance in perceived system usefulness and 67 percent of the variance in user satisfaction. Implications for IS success in small business operations are discussed.

Testing relationships among variables measuring credit management in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

Margaret Frances Drever et al. — Mon, 25 May 2009 21:14:17 PDT

Small business failure has been the subject of considerable research effort (Beaver, 1966: Berryman, 1983: Holmes, 1988: Bickerdyke, 2000). Peel and Wilson (1996) found that there was a substantial amount of both theoretical and empirical small business research relating to credit management and its relationship to the failure of small businesses. However, there does not seem to be much research that focuses on sorting out the relationships among the many measures of credit management that have been used by these researchers.

This paper describes an exploratory investigation of the relationships among a set of items used to measure the management of credit in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The data was obtained from a survey of SMEs located on the Mid North Coast of NSW, conducted in 2000. The relationships among the items were initially examined using correlation analysis and the high number of correlations among the items then led to the testing of latent variable models to see if the items were in fact reflective traits of higher order factors. Future analysis will examine the variables using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to validate the identifiable models then examine the relationships among the variables discussed in this paper and other demographic items that were used in the survey. The findings reported in this paper describe only the first part of the analysis planned for this study.

An electronic feedback tool for distance education students called ‘‘MarkIt’’

Margaret Frances Drever et al. — Mon, 25 May 2009 21:14:15 PDT

This paper examines the characteristics of ‘MarkIt’, a PC-based application that provides feedback on assessment items. The application has been prototyped over the past 3 years. The initial impetus for its development was the need to mark a large number of assignments submitted by students studying in distance education mode, and the need to coordinate and standardise the marking of several markers in one subject. The resultant software package incorporates features that provide students with information on the performance of their peers, plus the capacity for markers to enter detailed and consistent feedback at all stages of the marking process. A survey of students who received feedback from MarkIt showed a high level of support for its features and the level of comment on individual assessments (Armstrong, Cook, 1995; Armstrong, Cimino & Dingsdag, 1998). The need for effective feedback has been recognised by Rowntree (1987) who states that feedback is '…intentional and of the essence' and Ramsden (1992) who found students become angry if they do not receive an appropriate level of feedback. Research is currently being undertaken to assess the learning outcomes of subjects assessed with MarkIt and perceptions of students in units (subjects) that are using the current version of MarkIt to provide feedback on assessments. Key features of the system permit generation of e-mail feedback, use of key feedback comments across different units, and retention of feedback on each student’s assessment. Modules under development include marks allocation, and a web-based query interface.

Internet and computer usage: comparisons among metropolitan centres, coastal regional centres and inland regional centres

D Bruce Armstrong et al. — Mon, 25 May 2009 21:14:12 PDT

In this exploratory paper the authors compare Internet and computer usage data from the Basic Community Profiles (BCP) of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2001d). The data is compiled from Census information collected in 2001. The comparisons examine data extracted from three metropolitan centres, three regional coastal centres, and three regional inland centres. The data collected by the ABS enabled comparison of computer usage by age categories and gender. Data on Internet usage enabled comparison by gender and usage location (work, home, school, etc). The picture of computer and Internet usage shown by the ABS data differs from that painted by some government sources, however, the differences could be due to varied samples and skewed distributions based predominantly on metropolitan based respondents.

Factors for business establishment in regional Australia: an analysis of the Mid North Coast of New South Wales

Douglas Neil et al. — Mon, 25 May 2009 21:14:09 PDT

This paper examines reasons why businesses relocated or established on the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The region is characterised by having one of the highest levels of unemployment in Australia, one of the lowest average incomes and a high dependency on social security infrastructure. The region also has a climate, which has been described as one of the best in Australia. These conditions make it an attractive location for ‘lifestyle’ reasons as well as a large reserve of unutilised labour.

Data used in the preparation of the paper was gathered initially in 1996 and updated in 1999 via an extensive survey of businesses that achieved a response rate in excess of 90%. The data was collated into a regional research database called the Regional Business Register, which was formally known as the Business Enterprise Register.

The focus of this paper highlights the reasons why businesses relocate to this region. It concludes that further research is needed to investigate the impact of the decision-making models particularly in relation to business start up and relocation to regional Australia.

Reasons why businesses relocate to a coastal region (Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia)

Margaret Frances Drever et al. — Mon, 25 May 2009 21:14:07 PDT

This paper describes the findings of a research project that investigated the reasons why businesses relocated to the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The region is characterised by one of the highest levels of unemployment in Australia, one of the lowest average incomes and a high dependency on social security infrastructure. It also has a climate which has been described as the best in Australia. It is an attractive location and not surprisingly ‘lifestyle’ was the main reason cited by small business proprietors for relocating or commencing operations in the region.

Data used in the preparation of the paper was gathered initially in 1996 and again in 1999 via an extensive survey of businesses conducted jointly by Southern Cross University and the four Business Enterprise Centres in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales. The data was collated and entered into a database for regional research called the Business Enterprise Register (BER) that has subsequently been renamed the Business Mid North Coast (BMNC) Register.

Scales measuring characteristics of small business information systems

D Bruce Armstrong et al. — Mon, 25 May 2009 21:14:05 PDT

There is a definite focus in Information Systems (IS) research that is based around the identification of variables that measure the factors that influence IS success in small business. Identification of measures is of importance to the individuals running those businesses as well as researchers seeking to enunciate the value of IS. The first step in this process is to develop models of interacting factors that contribute to success. DeLone and McLean (1992) identified six inter-related factors that help to account for success of IS in small business. Their model has served as a platform for other researchers in this area (e.g., Seddon & Kiew, 1996; Thong & Yap, 1995). A second important step in this process is the identification of antecedent factors and core constructs that predict the success of IS. Without such instruments, it is not possible to go beyond mere speculation about possible contributors to small business IS success. In this paper the authors report on the factorial validation of an instrument that can be used to access core constructs that measure CEO characteristics, organisation characteristics and decision-making related to IS. They also provide a descriptive analysis of these scales to illustrate their relationships with each other and the core demographic items from the survey. Later analyses will examine these constructs as predictors of the constructs measuring IS success using structural equation modelling.

Macleay district business profile

D Bruce Armstrong et al. — Mon, 25 May 2009 21:14:03 PDT

Expected employee increases of business on the Mid North Coast of NSW

D Bruce Armstrong et al. — Mon, 25 May 2009 21:14:02 PDT

Business census report: Hastings Region

D Bruce Armstrong et al. — Mon, 25 May 2009 21:14:00 PDT

Report on agricultural and general engineering manufacturing plant and activities on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales

D Bruce Armstrong — Mon, 25 May 2009 21:13:58 PDT

Analysis of risk in information systems projects

D Bruce Armstrong — Mon, 25 May 2009 21:13:57 PDT

Information systems strategies of the 90s

D Bruce Armstrong et al. — Mon, 25 May 2009 21:13:55 PDT