Browsing by Author "Brown, Irwin"

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    Collaborating partnerships: A project-based legitimizing strategy amongst east african e-learning providers
    (IGI Global, 2017) Tossy, Titus; Brown, Irwin
    This chapter examines the phenomenon of e-learning in East Africa. The classic grounded theory methodology was used to carry out the study. Through multiple encounters with 24 e-learning providers, the investigation revealed legitimizing of e-learning projects to be a significant issue for these providers. Developing collaborating partnerships was a key strategy used by the providers to legitimize e-learning projects. The study identified two types of collaborating partnerships: Asymmetrical and Reciprocal. These findings are positioned within literature to highlight the contribution that this paper makes to the discourse on e-learning projects in developing countries.
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    Collaborating partnerships: A project-based legitimizing strategy amongst East African E-Learning providers
    (IGI Global, 2017) Tossy, Titus; Brown, Irwin
    This chapter examines the phenomenon of e-learning in East Africa. The classic grounded theory methodology was used to carry out the study. Through multiple encounters with 24 e-learning providers, the investigation revealed legitimizing of e-learning projects to be a significant issue for these providers. Developing collaborating partnerships was a key strategy used by the providers to legitimize e-learning projects. The study identified two types of collaborating partnerships: Asymmetrical and Reciprocal. These findings are positioned within literature to highlight the contribution that this paper makes to the discourse on e-learning projects in developing countries.
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    Cultivating recognition: a classic grounded theory of e-learning providers working in East Africa
    (IGI Global, 2017) Tossy, Titus; Brown, Irwin
    The E-learning provision in East Africa including Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda is rapid gaining its way. E-learning providers are all groups tasked with e-learning activities including design, delivery, implementation and others. The e-learning providers are surrounded by issues and challenges (main concerns). The purposed of this study was to identify and examine the main concern amongst e-learning providers in East Africa (Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda). In this study the Classic Grounded Theory Research Methodology was used in order to identify the main concern of e-learning providers. In the course of repeated encounters with e-learning providers, this study found the concept of Cultivating Recognition to emerge as the main concern or core variable amongst these e-learning providers. The core variable within the Classic Grounded Theory research methodology is the main entity that accounts for most of the variation in the data. The core variable of the theory, the basic social psychological process of Cultivating Recognition is characterized by Legitimizing and Credentializing. The process of legitimizing involves convincing the e-learning stakeholders that the e-learning programs and projects will be delivered in a timely, valid and sustainable manner. Legitimizing process is achieved through Collaborating (reciprocal and asymmetric), Referral Networking and Strategic alliancing. Credentializing aims to enhance the stakeholders' belief in the e-learning providers' competence prior to the provision of the e-learning programs and projects. While Credentializing is achieved through Endorsementizing, Result Orienting and Prioritizing Duties, Result Orienting itself is achieved through Visualizing, Professionalizing, Focalizing and Role Delineating. This study will help e-learning providers and other groups to cultivate recognition and pave a way for their success in implementation of e-learning.
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    Doing classic grounded theory research in information systems: trust in emergence
    (IGI Global, 2017) Tossy, Titus; Brown, Irwin; Lowe, Andy
    Grounded Theory (GT) is a latent pattern recognition research method that was developed by Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss (1967). GT, which can use either quantitative or qualitative data, is a general research methodology and it produces empirically grounded but modifiable theory. Since the development of GT in 1967, some researchers have attempted to modify the original GT method, and remodelled GT approaches have been widely used in Information Systems (IS) research, often with unfortunate results due to disregard of the basic rules of the original GT. The continued use of remodelled GT methods has caused confusion and has prevented those in the IS research community from stimulating the development of new theory, which is the main benefit of using GT as it was originally outlined. Following publication of the original grounded theory by Glaser and Strauss (1967), Glaser (1978) went on to explain in detail how to operationalize the GT method. Despite this, some researchers mistakenly continued to classify GT as a subset of the qualitative data analysis research methodology. In doing so, they reveal that they have misunderstood both the purpose of GT and how to use it correctly. In this paper the author will concentrate on the authentic approach to GT, which is termed “Classic Ground Theory” (CGT), so as to differentiate it from any misconceived remodelled version of the theory. This paper explains how CGT can be carried out in an IS context by trusting in the emergence from the data of the required information, rather than forcing it.