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Colloquially, myth denotes a widely held belief that is fictional or erroneous. Its anthropological usage, however, does not carry the same pejorative charge: myths are simply conceptual schemata, embodying core metaphysical concepts and moral wisdom. It is in this latter sense that I dub alignment as a myth; not to question its factuality (a nonsensical property in the case of a belief) but to highlight and interrogate the cultural work that it does (). Barthes (1973) defines myth as a type of speech, a “second order semiological system” of signs drawn from the medium of language in which their original meanings are modified to suit the myth-building role. Any elementary (the definition is broad, encompassing visual imagery as well as language) can be symbolically coopted as raw material by the mythical system. Barthes uses a cover page of depicting a French negro soldier saluting the tricolour as an exemplar. Beyond the naive meaning, the second-order mythical signification is easily read: “France is a great Empire, that all her sons, without colour discrimination, faithfully serve under her flag...” (, p. 116). Other symbols conveying the same underlying idea may readily be imagined. Through a matrix of such varied , the myth of French colonialism as a beneficent force is constituted.

The success of agile software development has drawn attention to coaching as an alternative management style. In this paper, we argue that coaching, with its focus on trustful relationships, empathetic communication, mental models, and experiential learning, is suitable to facilitate the sustainable application of agile software development.

In recent years, complexity theory has been shown to throw light on a number of issues related to the management of organizations. Examples include the use of complexity notions to help understand situations such as mergers and acquisitions and assist in the successful facilitation of these events by suggesting appropriate enabling infrastructures (). Complexity theory has similarly helped in an understanding of information systems failures and perhaps goes some way to explaining perennial problems such as the alignment problem: a problem near the top of serious issues reported by researchers into concerns expressed by CIOs and business managers.

Governments all over the world are encouraging broadband Internet connectivity to both residential and small business consumers. Despite large investments for developing the enabling infrastructure and the provision of access at affordable prices, however, demand for broadband has not increased the expected rate in many countries. The slow rate of broadband adoption can be viewed as being “supply constrained” in the developing world where countries are lagging behind in infrastructure development, but “demand constrained” in countries where high-speed access is already available to the majority of the population. In order to achieve greater uniformity in rates of adoption and use of broadband in both residential and small business contexts, and to reduce the digital divide, it is essential to focus upon understanding both macro- and micro-level factors influencing adoption and consequent use of broadband. The overall aim of this panel is to stimulate discussion and contribute to an understanding of the diffusion of broadband from a global perspective. In order to realise the overall aim, a number of studies from a range of different countries (including Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and United Kingdom) are integrated within the panel discussion.