News Release

Visiting scholar enjoying research at a “famous university.”

March 25, 2008

Penn State Harrisburg’s School of Business Administration visiting scholar from Tunisia, Hibetallah Oussai, is quite pleased to be studying and researching at a “famous university.”

“I heard a lot about Penn State in Tunisia,” she says with a smile. And since her arrival at Penn State Harrisburg – her first journey to America – she is quick to add, “I love the states. Tunisia is a small country; everything is big here, but the people at Penn State Harrisburg have made me feel like I’m home.”

A doctoral candidate in her homeland, Oussai is continuing her research in the U.S. and writing her dissertation  with a focus on the medical profession and individual resistance to utilizing management information technology (MIT).

“Doctors and nurses have resisted MIT in Tunisia,” she says of her initial research. “I want to learn why” she adds noting that her research will now extend to the central Pennsylvania area. “Some professionals feel the system limits power. For example, writing a prescription makes them dependent on the system.”

She is studying aspects of the resistance in order to understand why. “My research is based upon a framework focusing on the resistance itself. I am looking at whether the system is efficient and studying the interaction between the system and the individual and the condition which leads the end user to resist and to perceive threats.”

As part of her research, she is “plotting different behaviors as a result of the threat which may range from apathy to aggression and even sabotage of the system.“

She adds, “I want to understand reasons for resistance to facilitate the best use of the system. “ One factor she has uncovered is that it is necessary to design a program in collaboration with the eventual user to negate resistance. Implementation from the top down can be a factor in the perceived threats and resistance.

Oussai had tried earlier with no success to obtain a visa to come to the U.S. for study. Her sponsor in Harrisburg, a local businessman, eventually approached former Congressman George Gekas for assistance. Gekas contacted Penn State Harrisburg and since Oussai’s area of study is in information systems, the matter was taken up by the School of Business Administration.

“I applied again and with the assistance of (Director of the School of Business Administration) Stephen Schappe, I received my visa,” she says gratefully. “The school, Dr. Schappe, and everyone involved provided the support to help in my career.”

In addition to her research and writing, Oussai, who holds a master’s in organization and information systems from ISCAE Tunis (High Institute of Accounting and Business Administration), will be meeting with students, and sharing her research.