The International Federation for IT and Travel & Tourism (IFITT)!

IFITT is a not-for-profit organisation aiming to promote international discussion about information and communication technologies and tourism. It's worth a virtual visit!

Japanese man marries virtual girlfriend

Social change looms large for the younger set ... this young Japanese man has married his virtual girlfriend, a fictional character from the Nintendo DS "love simulator" Love Plus.

I'm going to refrain from further comment but please don't let that stop you ...

"Intelligent" and "less intelligent" queries and the results in Google

It's time for some more humour.

You know how, when you start to type your query in on the google search box, the site comes with auto-fill suggestions?
Also, you will know that there are intelligent ways of asking questions and less intelligent ways of asking questions: of course you know that - you lot are smart intelligent Master's students :-)

Now, you can have fun with the auto-fill suggestion box, using less and more sophisticated search terms. The results can be hilarious.

See this site for some ideas.

Thanks to one of my favourite blog authors, Stan, at http://tywkiwdbi.blogspot.com/ for inspiring this post.

Profit and the internet: seven misconceptions

This link leads to a pdf of a very useful article on misconceptions surrounding making profit using the internet. Use this article to talk about your website, or for your portfolio (or both!). It was originally published in MIT Sloan Management Review; Summer 2001; 42, 4; by ABI/INFORM Global.
Remember always to cite the original source in your work.

E Commerce and web site design: academic article

This link will take you to an academic article by H. Joseph Wen, Houn-Gee Chen, and Hsin-Ginn Hwang, called "E-commerce Web site design: strategies and models", published in the journal Information Management & Computer Security 9/1 [2001] pp.5-12

Cloud computing: the future?

You may recall the excellent seminar on the TED talks series by Kevin Kelly where he explores the future of the internet (posted here on this blog site). In that seminar he mentions "the cloud" as the whole of the interactive web. Here is an article from the Sydney Morning Herald discussing the recent release of a white paper by Microsoft outlining "privacy concerns businesses should consider prior to leaping into the computing 'cloud' ".

Hmmm, why am I not surprised that Microsoft would not be too keen to promote confidence in the Web?

As was discussed in class after watching the TED talks clip, it's interesting to consider what would be the repercussions for the software giant Microsoft if more and more people use the Web rather than the more traditional, Microsoft marketed programs on sale. Now, equally interesting to consider, are the repercussions and significance for the Web if Microsoft are (as I imagine) attempting to undermine public and corporate confidence in the Web. What effect will the Cloud have on the various economic models created by ICT?

Very interesting food for thought and discussion.

Newspaper article: In Qantas's airport of the future, chips will abound but staff may not

Click here to read an article in the Sydney Morning Herald about a $200 million project by Qantas aiming to improve customer service and introduce more automation in airports.

The management of this process, and its outcomes and implications, will be interesting to follow.

Measuring website effectiveness using the Kano model

A link to a good article on this can be found here

Powerpoint: Web design strategy and techniques

Powerpoint: Some notes on Strategic ICT plans

Blogging trials

Hello Naresuan class and SCU class! Well done on your blogging efforts so far.

If you like, post a comment here with the url (address) of your trial (or your real assignment) blog site so I can see how you are going. You don't have to make this blog site your final assignment site but you are more than welcome to. You can edit, change, delete or save any post you have made so what you write (post) today is not the final result.

I look forward to seeing your creativity!

EndNote help resources

EndNote: Online training

There are some excellent online tutorials freely available on the Web. Try any or all of these – they cover the same content as SCU's on-campus sessions, and more:

• Official EndNote Site tutorials Download and watch live tutorials or webinars.
• Monash University online tutorial - Covers the basics of setting up a library, entering your references and using EndNote with Microsoft Word.
• QUT online tutorials
• University of Newcastle - EndNote tutorial (updated for EndNote X): highly recommended.
• University of Melbourne online tutorials - Excellent online tutorials

Further information

• EndNote website - for hints and tips, extra filters, connection files and styles
• University of Queensland Endnote page - brilliant and comprehensive tips and guides
• Searchable discussion list archive hosted by Adept Scientific.

Dr Mieke is in Bangkok

Sawasdee ka!

I've arrived in Bangkok and am looking forward to meeting the Nareusan cohort this evening. I've had a lovely healthy Thai green curry for lunch so I am sure I'll be fit and well for classes today.

Here is a photo I took when I was in Bangkok last year, one of the incredible wall paintings at the temple of Wat Pho (Wat Phra Chetuphon) and the Grand Palace. The paintings themselves are not just works of art, they are stories and history and teaching, all rolled together in glorious colours.

Progress report

Hello students ...
I've noticed that some students are getting behind in their work for their assignments. The assignments are all due fairly late in the trimester, but they are not the sort of assignments that you can leave till the last minute! You will need to work on the assignments every week so that when the time comes t complete them you won't be stressed.

So, I would like you to fill in this brief progress report and email it to your lecturer. In this way you and your lecturer can see how well you are on track with which assignments (or not, as the case may be). Please be honest. We only want to help you as best we can!

Lecture: ICT in Tourism

Lecture: IT Systems - Past and Future

Knowledge Management: An Evolutionary View

Here is some information about what seems to be a pertinent article on knowledge management, social networking and social effects. Alternative link here. Please let me know in a comment if either of the the links don't work for you (and which campus you were on if it doesn't).

Audio podcasts on ICT

The wonderful ABC Radio National has a regular program on "new technologies, new approaches and new ways of thinking" (sounds like a great tag-line for a great university, don't you think? ;-) ). This last week while driving to the Tweed I heard a wonderful section of an interview about the strategic implementation of ICT with museums! They interviewed Seb Chan, the Head of Digital, Social & Emerging Technologies, Powerhouse Museum, Sydney. I found it fascinating. You can access previous podcasts related to the interview here .
If you want to know more about the program click on this link.
You can if you wish use a radio podcast like this as a popular source for your portfolio.
Happy listening!

Notes on the ABC presentation on Googlemania

This lecture slide series was generated by the class (at the TGCC) using a mind mapping program.

Lecture: Understanding search engines and the Web

Cohort 2009

Hello all ISY00244 students out there, wherever you may be living! Wecome to Trimester 2009. I'd like you to respond to this post with some information about yourself. Introduce yourself to your student colleagues, let us know where you are from, what you're studying, what your strengths are in this unit. Let us know a bit about your professional background, too. Please include a note indicating whether you're enrolled with Naresuan, or SCU, and if with SCU whether internal or external.

How Google works

Looking at the Google phenomenon: This ABC Radio program was aired in 2006, but I found it does offer a very clear explanation of how Google works, how search engines function, and how web-builders can increase traffic to their websites. You'll understand so much more about how it all works if you listen to the podcast or read the transcript.
This link will bring you to the transcript. (You need to click on "show transcript")
I'll endeavour to make the podcast available to all students soon.

Huge thanks to the Australian Broadcasting Company, ABC Radio National, and Background Briefing for their excellent research.

Translate your webpage or blog into other languages

Would you like to have a button on your webpage or blog site that allows readers to read your site in other languages? This widget offers a free Google Site Translator. Visitors can click on a country's flag to view any page of your blog or site in a selection of languages. For more on Widgets see the earlier post on this site.

Before there was email ...

ICTs & Internet Adoption in China’s Tourism Industry

Jennifer Xiaoqiu Ma, the renowned Dimitrios Buhalis, and Haiyan Song have written and published an excellent article on “ICTs & Internet Adoption in China’s Tourism Industry”. You can access the article here.

Room change Tweed campus in week 10

Dear Tweed Master's students
Firstly, thank you for participating in a lovely, lively and rewarding session today! You all did so well.
Just a housekeeping notice: On the 5/6 November 2009 the Deans and Directors of Higher Degree Research will be conducting their Bi Annual Meeting at Tweed Heads Riverside campus. The rooms affected will be Harvard 1 and Harvard 2.
As a result your classes for Thursday 5 November 2009 and Friday 6 November 2009 (Week 10 only) will be moved to R223. There will be no change in the times the classes are run.

Lecture slides introductory lecture Tri C 2009

Unit Information Guide

You can access the Unit Information Gudie for ISY00244 here.

Lecture slides Knowledge Management