[AISWorld] Vol. 9, Issue 2 of the Journal of the Southern AIS

[Michael Cuellar]

The Journal of the Southern Association for Information Systems is pleased to announce the publication of volume 9, issue 2 (https://aisel.aisnet.org/jsais/vol9/iss2/): a six paper special issue. 

SPECIAL ISSUE: Information Systems in the Time of Covid

Advances in Information Systems (IS) are constantly changing how we work, live, and learn. IS has impacted the way we communicate and collaborate for decades. However, the critical importance of IS was brought to the forefront by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic suddenly and dramatically impacted all aspects of human life, most notably the traditional workday and education. Organizations found themselves in a situation where they were racing to rework traditional face-to-face situations, and experiences using IS.

While we are all ready for the pandemic to come to an end, some of the changes and effects of COVID-19 will likely remain. This special issue explores how IS supported and enabled the necessary changes in our work, life, and learning during the pandemic. The papers in this special issue cover a wide range of IS issues and emerging research-based due to COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced all education into remote learning. The paper by Joyce, Sahawneh, and Dixon explores the use of Discord in cybersecurity courses. Discord was used to facilitate and create a virtual community for remote learning. The results showed students positively responded to the use of Discord. Many of the students used Discord to create their own virtual communities for streamlining communication. https://doi.org/doi:10.17705/3JSIS.00026 <https://doi.org/doi:10.17705/3JSIS.00026>
The paper by Phillips and Shipps investigates the digital divide in minority-serving institutions. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the problems that still exist due to those who have access to technology and those who do not. This case study investigates how students and minority-serving institutions responded during the pandemic due to a lack of digital resources and aspires to understand better the barriers to closing the digital divide. https://doi.org/doi:10.17705/3JSIS.00025 <https://doi.org/doi:10.17705/3JSIS.00025>
The paper by Monroe-White and McGee studied the impact COVID-19 had on careers trajectories for black, indigenous, and Latino Information Technology graduate student and professionals. This study contributes to the research area of the pandemic's impact on career plans and suggests recommendations for mitigating its effects. https://doi.org/doi:10.17705/3JSIS.00027 <https://doi.org/doi:10.17705/3JSIS.00027>
Holt et al.'s paper explores how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted individuals who contribute to open-source communities, specifically English Wikipedia. This research contributes to the understanding of IS during unusual times, specifically in the context of open source communities that rely on volunteer time and effort. https://doi.org/doi:10.17705/3JSIS.00028 <https://doi.org/doi:10.17705/3JSIS.00028>
The paper by Ashish Kakar seeks to understand the psychological needs profile of social media users pre-COVID-19 pandemic and post-COVID-19 pandemic. The findings of this study provide valuable suggestions for product or project managers in understanding user motivations for engaging in social media and how social media can be designed to enhance user participation further. https://doi.org/doi:10.17705/3JSIS.00023 <https://doi.org/doi:10.17705/3JSIS.00023>
Lastly, the paper by Adarsh Kakar investigates how COVID-19 impacted perceptions of software products. Their study expands the software classifications from utilitarian and hedonic perspectives to include a new category for social products. The social products category represents software that provides symbolic value to its users.  https://doi.org/doi:10.17705/3JSIS.00024 <https://doi.org/doi:10.17705/3JSIS.00024>
We hope you enjoy this special issue on IS in the Time of COVID-19.

Richelle Desouza

Joy Godin

Christopher Kreider

Jeannie L. Pridmore

Special issue Editors

 

 



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Michael Cuellar, PhD, PMP
Associate Professor, 
Enterprise Systems and Analytics
Georgia Southern University

Parker College of Business
Enterprise Systems and Analytics Department
PO Box 7998
Statesboro, GA  30460-7998
email: mcuellar at georgiasouthern.edu
phone: (404)-405-4510

Editor-In-Chief Journal of the Southern AIS
Senior Editor, JISE