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Clarke, Rodney Professor

Faculty Member

  • Faculty of Business and Law
  • Discipline: Management

Overview

Rodney J. Clarke is a multidisciplnary researcher in organisational and societal systems. He is the Foundation Head of Discipline (Operations) and is Professor of Operation and Systems in the School of Management, Operations and Marketing (SMOM), University of Wollongong (UOW) and also holds the rank of Associate Professor in Information Systems at Karlstad University, Sweden (KAU). He received his Ph.D. in information systems and semiotics from the UOW (2000) and was awarded a higher doctorate known as a Docent in Information Systems (Docent i Informatik) from KAU in 2007 for his work in business processes, hyper systems research, and decision making. Rod is an elected Fellow of the British Computing Society (FBCS), a foundation member serving on the Advisory Board of the AIS Special Interest Group on Pragmatic IS Research (SIGPrag), a member of the Association of Information Systems (AIS) and a member of the Australian Council of Professors and Heads of Information Systems (ACPHIS). He was elected President of the Australasian Association of Information Systems (AAIS) in December 2019.

Rod is an ARC ERA 2018 REC expert reviewer for IS and Business & Management (FoR 0806, 1503) and an ERA 2015 Reviewer for the Faculty of Business (FoR 15 Codes). His career earnings to date are in excess of $4.7 million. Most of this income has been derived from Contract Research and also Competitive Grants (2 x EPSRC, 1 x ARC) projects in Australia, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Sweden. Two of his notable projects are the MTR Project- a 'Learning Organisations' Initiative, Hong Kong. He leads that project along with Snr Prof. Pascal Perez as Co-Lead. Another high impact project was the PetaJakarta Project, a crowdsourced flood mapping system using social media. He was the Research Leader for the Geo-social Intelligence group. Rodney is also a respected Research Supervisor. He has seen to completion 1 x Post-doc, 8 x PhDs and 2 x MRes and has been twice nominated for the Vice Chancellors Research Award for Excellence in Supervision.

He has been involved in developing research centres and groups at the Faculty of Business. In May 2011, he proposed the creation of the Collaboration Laboratory (Co-Lab) at the SMART Infrastructure Facility to assist it by providing Business and Social Science knowledge to enrich projects as well as supporting existing projects and creating new ones. He had been working with Swedish researchers from CTF (Services Research Center) at Karlstad University, Sweden developing methods to support video ethnography in transport systems and sought to extend this further at SMART. In 2013, Rod headed a team of academics who successfully applied for a Block Infrastructure Grant to develop the Business Research Laboratory, an advanced observational laboratory. He is also a foundation Co-Director of the Centre for Responsible Organisations and Practices (CROP), the largest research centre in the Faculty.

He holds or has held a variety of significant administrative positions at the University and Faculty levels. At the University level this includes being a representative of the Technology Transfer Office (TTO) Committee (since 2018) and the High Performance Computing (HPC) Steering Committee (since 2016). Previous University-level positions have included being the elected Faculty representative of Academic Senate (2007-2008) and the Thesis Examination Committee (2007). Other significant administrative activities at the University-level have included being involved in the Review of the Information Systems Discipline at UOW (2006), the School Review- SMOM (2018) and the development of the Operations Discipline (2014-) within the Business Faculty, where he serves as the Foundation Head of Discipline. At the Faculty-level, since 2014 he has served on Faculty Research Committee (FRC). He has also been the Business Faculty representative on the Faculty of Law. At the School level, he has served as the Head of Postgraduate Studies for the School (2018-2011) and on two occasions been School Research Director (2010; 2013).


Top Publications

Research Overview

  • Rodney has been responsible for applying and developing Systemic Semiotics, a combination of Systemic Functional Linguistics and Social Semiotics, to the study of information technologies in organisations.

    His main research interests include the contextual analysis of systems in organisations, the development of communicative and semiotic methods for modelling business processes, and services, coalitions and virtual communities, and the development of multimedia techniques for representing work spaces and work practices in organisations.

    He has been a reviewer or member of the Review Panels for the European Journal of Information Systems (EJIS), Journal of Services Science, Management and Engineering (JSSM), Journal of Research and Practice in Information Technology (J. Res. Prac. Inf. Tech), the European Journal of Business Research Methods (EJBRM), and an Associate Editor for Signs, Systems, Signs and Actions: An International Journal on Communication, Information Technology and Work.

Selected Publications

Impact Story

  • The development of a decision support tool for defence is part of D.Start Ignite 2021, an innovation and entrepreneurship program delivered by <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/work-with-us/funding-programs/programs/Innovation-programs/DStart-Ignite" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CSIRO</a> in partnership with <a href="https://www.dst.defence.gov.au/partner-with-us/opportunities/dstart" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Defence Science and Technology Group (DST)</a> <a href="https://www.dst.defence.gov.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"></a>that empowers Australian researchers and small to medium enterprises to connect with Defence.

     Detail View
  • The development of a decision support tool for economics will be presented at <a href="https://www.eiasm.org/frontoffice/event_announcement.asp?event_id=1492%20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Innovation and Product Development Management (IPDMC) Conference 2021</a>

     Detail View
  • <p>PetaJakarta.org (Map Jakarta) was the result of a world-first Joint Pilot Study initiated by researchers at the SMART Infrastructure Facility, University of Wollongong (UOW), in collaboration with the Jakarta Emergency Management Agency (BPBD DKI) and social media giant Twitter. Jakarta is regularly devastated by flooding during the annual monsoon. The infrastructure of this dense metropolis tends to <a href="http://voices.nationalgeographic.org/2015/11/05/how-to-draw-a-city-the-basics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lag behind its rate of growth</a>, making it vulnerable to natural disasters such as severe, city-wide flooding.</p><p>Citizens had constantly criticised Jakarta’s Government Emergency Management Agency for their slow responses to natural disasters. As the tenth largest city in the world and with one of the highest numbers of Twitter users on the planet, there was an opportunity for this social media platform to play a significant role in flood management in Jakarta.</p><p>For the first time, PetaJakarta.org empowered Jakarta citizens who know flooding in their locale the best, to actively report to government, enabling greater information sharing and data coordination among citizens and government agencies; this had, although long been desired, never ever possible before. Citizens of Jakarta could identify locations of flooding in real-time, helping them safely navigate the city. The novel technical solution has fostered equitable and collaborative adaptability and resilience to increasing environmental disasters with climate change.</p>

     Detail View
  • The redesign of four project management subjects and the adoption of a tool to assist students in improving the quality of project plans (QPLAN.EDU) will be presented at Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia (HERDSA) Conference in 2021

     Detail View

Potential Supervision Topics

  • Projects and Interests: I have supervised, and am interested in supervising, research topics that involve the use or development of systems (technical or otherwise) in organisational contexts. especially from a meaning-making (semantic approach) with the potential of using semiotic, critical theory or functional linguistic approaches that emphasis how communication functions in social settings. As a multidisciplinary researcher I have supervised students in a wide range of disciplines including, information systems, operations, management and marketing.

    Administration and Experience: I have previously been a Head of Postgraduate Studies and so I am aware of the administrative requirements of supervision. I have been accredited as a supervisor from the UK tertiary education sector having successfully completed a year long research supervisor course. I have also the equivalent of 3.5 PhDs as I am the holder of a post-graduate award from Karlstad University, Sweden and so I understand both PhDs by monograph as well as by publication. I have been twice nominated for the Vice-Chancellor's Excellence in Research- Supervision (2013 and 2018).

    Completions: I have seen to completion 1 Post-doctoral candidate (Karlstad University, Sweden) and 10 Higher Degree Research (HDR) students 8 PhD and 2 MRes (7 from UOW, 3 elsewhere). I currently am supervising 8 students (all PhDs 5 as First Supervisor). I have been involved in the supervision of another 9 students who for various reasons did not complete their candidature or changed institutions. I have also been involved in overseas PhD Examinations and Viva Preparation, supervised 5 MSc Projects and a further 28 Masters of Commerce, MBA and MIS projects.

    I am active in the training and support of supervisors and students at a national and international level. Some examples include:

    2018 Mentor, Doctoral Consortium, 29th Australian Conference on Information Systems (ACIS 2018), University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), Sydney
    2018 Invited Academic, "Higher Degree Research Student Mentoring" EU RRASMUS Plus Program Karlstad University Sweden
    2018 Panel Member, "Complex Supervisions" Faculty of Business Academic Staff Research Supervisor Training
    2017 Invited Scholar, 2017 Doctoral Consortium (SIS_DC_2017) School of Information Systems, Queensland University of Technology (QUT) P-Block, Gardens Point, 24th November
    2016 Co-chair (with John Campbell ANU and Marta Indulska UQ) Doctoral Consortium Convenor, 27th Australasian Conference on Information Systems (ACIS 2016), UOW, 2/1216-4/12/16
    2015 Mentor, Doctoral Consortium, 26th Australian Conference on Information Systems (ACIS2015), Adelaide, University of South Australia
    2011 Chair/Convenor, Doctoral Day, Institutionen for informatik och media, Uppsala University, Sweden, 27/9/11
    2011 Invited Discussant, Swedish Research School on Management and IT (MIT), Uppsala University, Sweden

    I have also devised Doctoral-level education program in particular in 2006, Systems in Context: Applying Systemic Semiotics to Systems Use and Development in Organisations (Doctoral Research Subject) Delivered at Karlstad University Sweden.

Advisees

  • Graduate Advising Relationship

    Degree Research Title Advisee
    Doctor of Philosophy Consumer Engagement in Online Consumption Communities: An Empirical Investigation of Antecedents and Outcomes in Mental Health Communities Dent, Kendall
    Doctor of Philosophy An exploratory study of Australian baby boomers' health planning attitudes and behaviours toward retirement; an alzheimer's disease perspective He, Xiaoshan
    Doctor of Philosophy Improving Diversity in Corporate Australia: Embedding Indigenous Employment Strategies into Policy and Procedures. Murray, Nyssa
    Doctor of Philosophy Contesting Digital Innovation in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation: A Semantic Approach to Socio-technical Documentation McGregor, Kirsten
    Doctor of Philosophy (Integrated) The future of financial advice in Australia Robertson, Jo
    Doctor of Philosophy Managing the Impact of Corporate Knowledge Loss: Examining Knowledge Acquisition & Knowledge Usage as Research Interventions Patrick, Melinda

Education And Training

  • Docent, Karlstad, SE
  • Graduate Diploma of Business Information Systems,
  • B.A.,
  • Ph.D. in Information Systems 1992 - 2000

Teaching Overview

  • Dr. Clarke has developed and taught into numerous courses at diploma and undergraduate level including Systems Development Prototyping (2nd in Australia to do so), Multimedia in Organisations (1st subject of its type in Australia), and Systems Thinking and Simulation (1st subject of its type in Australia). At graduate level, he has developed many subjects including Office Automation and Intranets, Critical Issues in Information Systems (both at UOW) and various E-Commerce offerings, the Usable Interface Design and Multimedia Systems and Applications (in the UK). 

    Many countries around the world develop advanced research subjects in specific domains for higher degree research students for Master of Philosophy or Masters of Research and PhD students. Dr. Clarke has been responsible for developing and delivering PhD level courses overseas, see for example the "Systems in Context" course. He was also a co-organiser of Science and Technology and Economic Progress (STEP 2005) National Doctoral Programme, held at the University of Wollongong, 4-9 December 2005. 

    He has also taught into a variety of other subjects at various levels internationally, including Sweden, Denmark, Portugal (as part of the EU Socrates Erasmus programme), USA, Singapore and the United Kingdom. He has advised Scandinavian Universities on the EU Bologna Process in particular the design of IS Masters Programs. He was a member of the first team in the Faculty of Commerce to win a prestigious Committee for the Advancement of University Teaching (CAUT) Grant in 1995, a predecessor to the current Australian Learning and Teaching Council scheme. He is an accredited University of Wollongong Peer Reviewer of Teaching.

Keywords

  • Social media semantics and sentiment analysis, contextual analysis of systems in organisations, the development of communicative and semiotic methods for modelling business processes and services, coalitions and virtual communities, and the development of multimedia techniques for representing work spaces and work practices in organisations. 

Full Name

  • Assoc/Prof Rodney J. Clarke

Mailing Address

  • School of Management, Operations and Management, UOW

    Northfields Ave

    Wollongong

    NSW

    2522

    Australia

Located In Facility

Top Publications

Research Overview

  • Rodney has been responsible for applying and developing Systemic Semiotics, a combination of Systemic Functional Linguistics and Social Semiotics, to the study of information technologies in organisations.

    His main research interests include the contextual analysis of systems in organisations, the development of communicative and semiotic methods for modelling business processes, and services, coalitions and virtual communities, and the development of multimedia techniques for representing work spaces and work practices in organisations.

    He has been a reviewer or member of the Review Panels for the European Journal of Information Systems (EJIS), Journal of Services Science, Management and Engineering (JSSM), Journal of Research and Practice in Information Technology (J. Res. Prac. Inf. Tech), the European Journal of Business Research Methods (EJBRM), and an Associate Editor for Signs, Systems, Signs and Actions: An International Journal on Communication, Information Technology and Work.

Selected Publications

Impact Story

  • The development of a decision support tool for defence is part of D.Start Ignite 2021, an innovation and entrepreneurship program delivered by <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/work-with-us/funding-programs/programs/Innovation-programs/DStart-Ignite" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CSIRO</a> in partnership with <a href="https://www.dst.defence.gov.au/partner-with-us/opportunities/dstart" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Defence Science and Technology Group (DST)</a> <a href="https://www.dst.defence.gov.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"></a>that empowers Australian researchers and small to medium enterprises to connect with Defence.

     Detail View
  • The development of a decision support tool for economics will be presented at <a href="https://www.eiasm.org/frontoffice/event_announcement.asp?event_id=1492%20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Innovation and Product Development Management (IPDMC) Conference 2021</a>

     Detail View
  • <p>PetaJakarta.org (Map Jakarta) was the result of a world-first Joint Pilot Study initiated by researchers at the SMART Infrastructure Facility, University of Wollongong (UOW), in collaboration with the Jakarta Emergency Management Agency (BPBD DKI) and social media giant Twitter. Jakarta is regularly devastated by flooding during the annual monsoon. The infrastructure of this dense metropolis tends to <a href="http://voices.nationalgeographic.org/2015/11/05/how-to-draw-a-city-the-basics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lag behind its rate of growth</a>, making it vulnerable to natural disasters such as severe, city-wide flooding.</p><p>Citizens had constantly criticised Jakarta’s Government Emergency Management Agency for their slow responses to natural disasters. As the tenth largest city in the world and with one of the highest numbers of Twitter users on the planet, there was an opportunity for this social media platform to play a significant role in flood management in Jakarta.</p><p>For the first time, PetaJakarta.org empowered Jakarta citizens who know flooding in their locale the best, to actively report to government, enabling greater information sharing and data coordination among citizens and government agencies; this had, although long been desired, never ever possible before. Citizens of Jakarta could identify locations of flooding in real-time, helping them safely navigate the city. The novel technical solution has fostered equitable and collaborative adaptability and resilience to increasing environmental disasters with climate change.</p>

     Detail View
  • The redesign of four project management subjects and the adoption of a tool to assist students in improving the quality of project plans (QPLAN.EDU) will be presented at Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia (HERDSA) Conference in 2021

     Detail View

Potential Supervision Topics

  • Projects and Interests: I have supervised, and am interested in supervising, research topics that involve the use or development of systems (technical or otherwise) in organisational contexts. especially from a meaning-making (semantic approach) with the potential of using semiotic, critical theory or functional linguistic approaches that emphasis how communication functions in social settings. As a multidisciplinary researcher I have supervised students in a wide range of disciplines including, information systems, operations, management and marketing.

    Administration and Experience: I have previously been a Head of Postgraduate Studies and so I am aware of the administrative requirements of supervision. I have been accredited as a supervisor from the UK tertiary education sector having successfully completed a year long research supervisor course. I have also the equivalent of 3.5 PhDs as I am the holder of a post-graduate award from Karlstad University, Sweden and so I understand both PhDs by monograph as well as by publication. I have been twice nominated for the Vice-Chancellor's Excellence in Research- Supervision (2013 and 2018).

    Completions: I have seen to completion 1 Post-doctoral candidate (Karlstad University, Sweden) and 10 Higher Degree Research (HDR) students 8 PhD and 2 MRes (7 from UOW, 3 elsewhere). I currently am supervising 8 students (all PhDs 5 as First Supervisor). I have been involved in the supervision of another 9 students who for various reasons did not complete their candidature or changed institutions. I have also been involved in overseas PhD Examinations and Viva Preparation, supervised 5 MSc Projects and a further 28 Masters of Commerce, MBA and MIS projects.

    I am active in the training and support of supervisors and students at a national and international level. Some examples include:

    2018 Mentor, Doctoral Consortium, 29th Australian Conference on Information Systems (ACIS 2018), University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), Sydney
    2018 Invited Academic, "Higher Degree Research Student Mentoring" EU RRASMUS Plus Program Karlstad University Sweden
    2018 Panel Member, "Complex Supervisions" Faculty of Business Academic Staff Research Supervisor Training
    2017 Invited Scholar, 2017 Doctoral Consortium (SIS_DC_2017) School of Information Systems, Queensland University of Technology (QUT) P-Block, Gardens Point, 24th November
    2016 Co-chair (with John Campbell ANU and Marta Indulska UQ) Doctoral Consortium Convenor, 27th Australasian Conference on Information Systems (ACIS 2016), UOW, 2/1216-4/12/16
    2015 Mentor, Doctoral Consortium, 26th Australian Conference on Information Systems (ACIS2015), Adelaide, University of South Australia
    2011 Chair/Convenor, Doctoral Day, Institutionen for informatik och media, Uppsala University, Sweden, 27/9/11
    2011 Invited Discussant, Swedish Research School on Management and IT (MIT), Uppsala University, Sweden

    I have also devised Doctoral-level education program in particular in 2006, Systems in Context: Applying Systemic Semiotics to Systems Use and Development in Organisations (Doctoral Research Subject) Delivered at Karlstad University Sweden.

Advisees

  • Graduate Advising Relationship

    Degree Research Title Advisee
    Doctor of Philosophy Consumer Engagement in Online Consumption Communities: An Empirical Investigation of Antecedents and Outcomes in Mental Health Communities Dent, Kendall
    Doctor of Philosophy An exploratory study of Australian baby boomers' health planning attitudes and behaviours toward retirement; an alzheimer's disease perspective He, Xiaoshan
    Doctor of Philosophy Improving Diversity in Corporate Australia: Embedding Indigenous Employment Strategies into Policy and Procedures. Murray, Nyssa
    Doctor of Philosophy Contesting Digital Innovation in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation: A Semantic Approach to Socio-technical Documentation McGregor, Kirsten
    Doctor of Philosophy (Integrated) The future of financial advice in Australia Robertson, Jo
    Doctor of Philosophy Managing the Impact of Corporate Knowledge Loss: Examining Knowledge Acquisition & Knowledge Usage as Research Interventions Patrick, Melinda

Education And Training

  • Docent, Karlstad, SE
  • Graduate Diploma of Business Information Systems,
  • B.A.,
  • Ph.D. in Information Systems 1992 - 2000

Teaching Overview

  • Dr. Clarke has developed and taught into numerous courses at diploma and undergraduate level including Systems Development Prototyping (2nd in Australia to do so), Multimedia in Organisations (1st subject of its type in Australia), and Systems Thinking and Simulation (1st subject of its type in Australia). At graduate level, he has developed many subjects including Office Automation and Intranets, Critical Issues in Information Systems (both at UOW) and various E-Commerce offerings, the Usable Interface Design and Multimedia Systems and Applications (in the UK). 

    Many countries around the world develop advanced research subjects in specific domains for higher degree research students for Master of Philosophy or Masters of Research and PhD students. Dr. Clarke has been responsible for developing and delivering PhD level courses overseas, see for example the "Systems in Context" course. He was also a co-organiser of Science and Technology and Economic Progress (STEP 2005) National Doctoral Programme, held at the University of Wollongong, 4-9 December 2005. 

    He has also taught into a variety of other subjects at various levels internationally, including Sweden, Denmark, Portugal (as part of the EU Socrates Erasmus programme), USA, Singapore and the United Kingdom. He has advised Scandinavian Universities on the EU Bologna Process in particular the design of IS Masters Programs. He was a member of the first team in the Faculty of Commerce to win a prestigious Committee for the Advancement of University Teaching (CAUT) Grant in 1995, a predecessor to the current Australian Learning and Teaching Council scheme. He is an accredited University of Wollongong Peer Reviewer of Teaching.

Keywords

  • Social media semantics and sentiment analysis, contextual analysis of systems in organisations, the development of communicative and semiotic methods for modelling business processes and services, coalitions and virtual communities, and the development of multimedia techniques for representing work spaces and work practices in organisations. 

Full Name

  • Assoc/Prof Rodney J. Clarke

Mailing Address

  • School of Management, Operations and Management, UOW

    Northfields Ave

    Wollongong

    NSW

    2522

    Australia

Located In Facility

Visualisations

  Publication History
 

Research Areas

Geographic Focus