Library and Information Science Commons^™

The Effect Of Data Marshalling On Computation Offloading Decisions, Julio Alberto Reyes Muñoz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Computation offloading consists in allowing resource constrained computers, such as smartphones and other mobile devices, to use the network for the remote execution of resource intensive computing tasks in powerful computers. However, deciding whether to offload or not is not a trivial problem, and it depends in several variables related to the environment conditions, the computing devices involved in the process, and the nature of the task to be remotely executed. Furthermore, it comprises the optimal solution to some questions, like how to partition the application and where to execute the tasks.

The computation offloading decision problem has been widely …

A Semantically-Enabled Trust Model For Collaborative Environments, Joaquin Andres Reyna

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The World Wide Web has revolutionized the way we find, exchange, reuse and integrate information at a rate inconceivable only a generation ago; but for all its perks it has one big weakness: trusting that the information retrieved is accurate. Web technologies and applications allows anyone to share information. This work aims to assist humans (and eventually autonomous agents) in the task of trusting Web resources, a very important step when reusing information found on the Web. In this research, we propose a new algorithm to tackle the challenge of assigning trust to Web resources. Our algorithm is inspired on …

Three Essays On Global Ict Phenomenon: Productivity Paradox, Organizational Ict Use, And Privacy In Social Networks, Faruk Arslan

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This Dissertation aims to investigate the global diversity in information systems by studying three distinctive phenomena. The first essay investigates the existence of "IT Productivity Paradox" within firms operating in developing countries using an empirical approach. IT Productivity Paradox has been a widely investigated topic within the context of developed countries and primarily studied within the context of developing countries using a single country. Our research addresses a gap in the literature, which is the study of IT Productivity Paradox across several developing countries with diverse characteristics. The second essay studies the contextual factors (firm characteristics and perception of external …

Smart Grids: A Paradigm Shift On Energy Generation And Distribution With The Emergence Of A New Energy Management Business Model, Jesus Alvaro Cardenas

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

An energy and environmental crisis will emerge throughout the world if we continue with our current practices of generation and distribution of electricity. A possible solution to this problem is based on the Smart grid concept, which is heavily influenced by Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Although the electricity industry is mostly regulated, there are global models used as roadmaps for Smart Grids' implementation focusing on technologies and the basic generation-distribution-transmission model. This project aims to further enhance a business model for a future global deployment. It takes into consideration the many factors interacting in this energy provision process, based …

Essays On The Digital Divide, Belal Abdelfattah

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The digital divide is a phenomenon that is globally persistent, despite rapidly decreasing costs in technology. While much of the variance in the adoption and use of information communication technology (ICT) that defines the digital divide can be explained by socioeconomic and demographic variables, there is still significant unaccounted variance that needs to be explained if the world's population is expected to be brought more fully into the digital age. The present research addresses this need with three cross-country studies. Study 1 primarily investigates the time individuals spend with traditional media sources as a likely explanation for their frequency of …

School Library Acquisitions Policy: How It Impacts The Delivery Of Library Services To Middle School English Language Learners, Aurea Lourdes Galindo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Del Sol Independent School District (DSISD) serves a student population totaling 64, 214 that includes a Hispanic population of eighty-two percent (DSISD, 2011). Of this total student population, 25.2 percent consists of English Language Learners (ELLs)--predominantly Spanish-speaking students (DSISD, 2011). Current DSISD library collection figures reveal that each campus library has an inordinate low number of Spanish materials. The district librarians are guided by an acquisitions policy that seemingly offers scant guidelines for acquiring books that address the information and literary needs of diverse student populations.

To this end, it is vital to examine and bring better understanding of …

Three Essays Employing Cultural Value Theories To Explain Individual And National Differences In Ict Use/Adoption And Media Utilization Among Multiple Nations, Khendum Choden

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study investigates the impact of values on Information Communication Use/ adoption at an individual level and at the national level among advanced and emerging economies. We employ the use of Schwartz's individual values, Schwartz's cultural values and Hofstede's cultural values to empirically demonstrate its impact on multiple information communication technologies across advanced economies while controlling for demographics, GDP, income, and pronoun drop. We also study the moderating effects of culture on a variety of task characteristics and media use.

A Declarative Domain Independent Approach For Querying And Generating Visualizations, Nicholas Ricky Del Rio

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Constructing visualizations using modular visualization environments (MVEs) requires knowledge about visualization transformation theory as well as implementation specific details about how to programmatically chain together relevant sets of modules into pipe and filter-like architectures known as pipelines. Constructing visualization pipelines introduces a number of challenges including: understanding how to transform raw data into forms that can be ingested by MVEs, identifying target modules that map data into graphical data, and understanding how to further transform resulting graphical data into forms that can be presented. Users typically must immerse themselves in a deluge of documentation and usage examples before becoming proficient …

Factors Affecting The Adoption Of Telemedicine: A Three-Country Empirical Investigation, Parand Mansouri-Rad

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Telemedicine improves access to information and healthcare services. Not only more cost effective and more efficient method of providing health care than the traditional methods, telemedicine is the most convenient method of delivering healthcare. However, the adoption of telemedicine has been challenging. The purpose of this dissertation is to find the barriers to adoption of telemedicine. Using data from Brazil, Taiwan, and the United States, the present research investigates the influence of culture on telemedicine adoption and patient information privacy, security, and policy. It also examines the impact of information security, privacy, and policy on telemedicine adoption. Using Structural Equation …

Development Of A Web-Based Geographic Information System For Arctic Science, George Walker Johnson

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Environmental science is a large field of study that requires the acquisition of data for decision making in solving environmental issues. Leveraging desktop geographic information systems (GIS) and web-based GIS (WebGIS) systems for assisting in the problem solving processes can benefit both the research community and policy makers for decision making activities. Ensuring interoperability between desktop, web, and server GIS is essential for maximizing access, sharing and manipulation of data. Interoperability is maximized through the adoption of best practices, use of open standards, and utilization of Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI). While many of the interoperability challenges such as infrastructure, data …

The Sunk Cost Fallacy And Individual Differences In Health Decisions, Norma P. Fernandez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Sunk Cost fallacy is a biased committed when individuals base their decisions to stop or continue a course of action solely on past irrecoverable invested costs (i.e., monetary or time-related). Individuals' susceptibility to the Sunk Cost fallacy has been justified as the need to try to avoid appearing wasteful, to avoid appearing inconsistent, to learn a lesson from and to punish self for a poorly made decision. A study by Bornstein and Chapman (1995) evaluated these justifications along with a normative response and found statistical differences among all justifications. However, the study of the Sunk Cost fallacy and these …

Expert System Design Guide For Lower Classification Roads Over High Pi Clays, Yaqi Wanyan

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This research was focused on low-volume roads over expansive clayey soils in Texas. In spite of the redundant pavement designs recommended and widely used in Texas for roads in high PI clay areas, these pavements often fail prematurely. This failure occurs primarily because of the highly variable properties of the clayey subgrade throughout the year due to moisture fluctuations. The problematic nature of high PI clays, despite the fact that volumetric changes such as heaving are sometime considered in the design, is of concern since they contribute to roughness and longitudinal shrinkage cracking of the road, and as such the …