This award supports an Organizational Communication and Information Systems (OCIS) Doctoral Colloquium at the 2010 Academy of Management (AOM) Annual Meeting to be held August 6-10, 2010 in Montreal, Canada. The OCIS division within the AOM conference brings together researchers in areas of communications and information systems who study issues related to the contemporary information-based society. The focus of the OCIS Doctoral Consortium is the intellectual content of the students' doctoral dissertations. These represent cutting edge research in the field of organizational communication and information systems. The OCIS doctoral consortium brings together highly talented students and several senior researchers, facilitating the development of a social network that will play a major role in the career success of new researchers. Since both faculty and students are diverse on several dimensions (research topics, methodological approaches, national and cultural background), the students' horizons are broadened at a critical stage in their professional development.
The NSF workshop grant helped to fund doctoral students to attend a doctoral consortium to enhance their dissertation research projects. The Doctoral consortium workshop was held Friday Aug 6-7, 2010 at the annual meeting of the Academy of Management in Montreal, Quebec. The Organizational Communications and Information Systems (OCIS) division sponsored the workshop. This division promotes research in the important areas of information technology (IT) diffusion and use and the impact of IT on communication and organizational effectiveness. Dr. Elizabeth Davidson, University of Hawaii at Manoa, organized the consortium. Application was open to all students working on a PhD in related areas. Of the 35 students (internationally) who applied, 28 were admitted to the workshop, based on the fit of the dissertation topic to OCIS division and the progress of the student towards dissertation research study. Included were 17 U.S. based students, all of whom received partial funding through the grant to cover travel costs, and 11 students from outside the US, including Canada, Australia, UK, and France. There were 12 women and 16 men among the students. Faculty mentors for the students included senior scholars in OCIS field from throughout the US and the UK. Dissertation topics presented at the workshop covered a variety of OCIS-related topics, including health information technology and patient communication and in virtual communities; incorporation of technologies into everyday work practices; virtual teams, IT and communications; and, transformations in retailing and service industries through IT. Key outcomes of the workshop include (i) improved focus of the students’ PhD study through discussion and feedback from peers and mentors; (ii) established mentor/mentee relationships with senior scholars; (iii) established network among peer PhD students for ongoing support and advice; and, (iv) introduction of students to the AoM professional community. Many attendees served as paper reviewers for 2011 program and submitted papers themselves. The effectiveness of the workshop event was evaluated through surveys of participants and follow-up on students’ progress. This NSF workshop grant supports the NSF’s goals of promoting scientific education and research to develop student researchers within a discipline, so as to enhance their future contributions to knowledge in that discipline.
