var abstract1 = "This article reports four consecutive semesters of continuous effort to refine an Information Systems (IS) development course in a public university. The course seeks to impart IS undergraduates, future Information Technology (IT) professionals, on the importance of agility, flexibility and adaptability in enterprise-level software development. Several unique characteristics of the course include (1) the emphasis on team-based guidance rather than traditional lecture-based teaching, (2) the stress on providing working, integrated software solution, (3) the value of adopting progressive and flexible method of software development, and, most notably, (4) the importance of being adaptive to changes in system requirements. A hybrid agile methodology developed for conducting the course is also discussed.<br/><br/><div style='text-align:center;'><i>-- End of Abstract --</i></div>";
var abstract2 = "Personal blogs have traditionally been used to document daily life experiences and individual opinions. In recent years, there is a growing trend of commercial activities taking place in personal blogs. This research seeks to identify the factors influencing a blogger's intention to engage in commercial exchange, which refers to two parties, e.g., the blogger and another member of the blogring, giving and receiving something of value to each others. Future research direction is also discussed together with the potential theoretical and practical contributions.<br/><br/><div style='text-align:center;'><i>-- End of Abstract --</i></div>";
var abstract3 = "The competitive nature of today's business environment has made it necessary for educators to inculcate in our students a sense of innovativeness in Information Systems (IS) development. While working on real-world projects presents the most ideal opportunity to achieve this objective, it is not always possible to gain access to them. This paper proposes how the case study pedagogy using problem-based learning can be synergized with project-based learning to provide a feasible alternative. An integrative research model based on the IS development methodology acceptance theories is used to investigate the usefulness, satisfaction and acceptance of the proposed business innovation process.<br/><br/><div style='text-align:center;'><i>-- End of Abstract --</i></div>";
var abstract4 = "Blogging has fast emerged as an unparalleled social computing phenomenon not to be ignored. This paper begins by reviewing the motivation factors for blogging identified in the extant literature. These factors can be broadly classified as either activities-based or behavioral-based. We then propose that a root motivation factor based on the theoretical underpinnings of self identity and social identity can better explain blogging motivation compared to the existing factors. Specifically, we posit that individuals could be receptive toward a migration of their real world self and social identities to the online virtual blog environment and thereby cumulates in the formation of blogger virtual identities. Blogger virtual identities is conceptualized as a second order formative construct formulated through two first-order reflective subconstructs, namely the virtual self identities and virtual social identities. Drawing on the theory of planned behavior, we propose a virtual identities model of blogging intention to investigate how the blogger virtual identities can lead to blogging intention and actual blogging behaviour. A two-stage research methodology consisting of a qualitative content analysis and followed by a survey is also proposed. We conclude with a brief discussion on the potential theoretical and practical contributions of this paper.<br/><br/><div style='text-align:center;'><i>-- End of Abstract --</i></div>";
var abstract5 = "Despite the prevalent use of blog for various personal reasons, there is a paucity of research examining the commercialization of blog. Even though it is possible to forge strong buyer-seller relationships among blogger and readers in a blog social network through collective social interaction, a fundamental prerequisite towards blog commercialization is the blogger's willingness to engage in commercial exchange. Consequently, this paper examines the blogger's decision making process on using his/her blog for commercial exchange. The decision process involves the appraisal of two novel theoretical notions, namely blog-blogger-reader-product similarity (BBRPS) and perceived reader-negative reaction (PRNR). Drawing on the cognitive-motivational-relational theory, we posit that the blogger's emotional responses to the two appraisal factors affect how the blogger copes with the exchange situation. The coping strategy adopted by the blogger in turn increases or decreases exchange intention. Results from an experiment we conducted provide support for this model. Specifically, when BBRPS is high and PRNR is low, the blogger would be inclined towards using his/her blog for commercial exchange. Even when PRNR is high, it is plausible for blogger to persist in the use of his/her blog for commercial exchange as long as the negative emotional barrier is not excessively high.<br/><br/><div style='text-align:center;'><i>-- End of Abstract --</i></div>";
var abstract6 = "Prior research on groupware tends to focus on understanding the task processes and how technology can be deployed to facilitate the task completion. However, the socio-emotional processes among Global Virtual Team (GVT) members who use the groupware have not been given due consideration. In this paper, we propose a conceptual framework explaining how the various social capital dimensions of social interaction tie, trust, reciprocity, identification and shared language can enhance the socio-emotional processes leading to improved GVT performance and satisfaction. The antecedent factors leading to the creation of the social capital are groupware features that facilitate social awareness, social presence, social identity and mutual knowledge. We then make a case for the viability of using Social Networking Sites (SNSs) such as Facebook as groupware and identify specific Facebook features that fit into our conceptual framework. A methodology is also proposed for future research to validate the conceptual framework.<br/><br/><div style='text-align:center;'><i>-- End of Abstract --</i></div>";
var abstract7 = "Managing changing business environments and requirements in Information Systems (IS) development is becoming increasingly important. IS development project courses could thus benefit from the infusion of agile, flexible, and adaptable processes. This article reports two years of continuous effort in refining the IS development project course in the National University of Singapore to illustrate how undergraduate students could be effectively taught the agile IS development approach. The course design process was based on the system approach model to instructional design and followed the principles of instructional events suggested by Dick and Carey [1991] and Gagne et al. [1992]. Input from students, as well as pedagogic principles drawn from the extant literature, were used to rigorously refine the course design over time. The final course design exhibits five distinctive characteristics. The two most important characteristics were (1) the adoption of a hybrid agile methodology incorporating the best practices in both coding and project management drawn from three established agile methodologies, and (2) the introduction of requirement shocks at appropriate junctures to train students to react to changes in business requirements. The effectiveness of the course design was assessed using objective measures of learning operationalized as the numerical scores obtained by students. Statistical analysis results indicate that the students who were taught using the final course design obtained higher scores than those who were taught with the initial design. Our course design effort was, therefore, deemed successful.<br/><br/><div style='text-align:center;'><i>-- End of Abstract --</i></div>";
var abstract8 = "Acquiring the knowledge to assemble an integrated Information System (IS) development process that is tailored to the specific needs of a project has become increasingly important. It is therefore necessary for educators to impart to students this crucial skill. However, Situational Method Engineering (SME) is an inherently complex process that may not be suitable for students to apply in a classroom IS development project. SME is defined as the systematic creation of new methods from parts of existing methods, i.e., the method fragments, by taking into account the specific business situation of each IS development project. A less complex pedagogical approach is to teach students how to design an IS development process variant that incorporates the building blocks of various existing processes in order to leverage the advantages of each individual process. This paper first proposes a framework for teaching students the designing of process variants, followed by a preliminary empirical study conducted in a genuine classroom setting to determine whether the framework benefits students. Through the preliminary study, we discuss how the student IS development project teams had successfully applied our framework to design and use their own process variants. The initial observations obtained from the study also suggest that students who designed their own process variant appeared to consistently outperform those who did not, i.e., students which opted to use the traditional waterfall model.<br/><br/><div style='text-align:center;'><i>-- End of Abstract --</i></div>";
var abstract9 = "Trends observed among bloggers worldwide suggest that self-presentation is a main motivation to blog and a greater majority of bloggers do so with the aid of third party hosting services and tools. Thus, providing tools that are designed to meet the usability requirement of bloggers with respect to self-presentation may increase blogging satisfaction. Grounded on the theory of impression management, we propose that a blogger actively engages in impression management with content, functional and aesthetic blog design features. This can lead the blogger to obtain a perceived confirmation from the readers of his or her identity, i.e., perceived identity verification. Perceived identity verification may heighten blogging satisfaction since it helps the blogger to achieve the goal of self-presentation. Results obtained from an online survey, which was preceded by a focus group discussion, provide support for our conjecture. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.<br/><br/><div style='text-align:center;'><i>-- End of Abstract --</i></div>";
var abstract11 = "Providing explanation to justify product recommendations is critical in the online purchase decision process. Bulk of the extant literature has focused on the provision of decision aids facilitating screening of product alternatives and presenting of filtered alternatives. In comparison, few studies are conducted to examine decision aids that support the assessment and evaluation of the presented product alternatives prior to actual purchase, i.e., explanation-featured decision aid. This article conceptualizes three implementations of explanation aid differed by the forms of explanation elaboration. Experimental results indicate that a more elaborated explanation aid could heighten a consumer's decision confidence leading to lesser cognitive effort expended and inferior product choice made.<br/><br/><div style='text-align:center;'><i>-- End of Abstract --</i></div>";