Business Commons^™

Usability And Accessibility Of Air Force Intranet Web Sites, Richard S. Bentley

Theses and Dissertations

The Air Force is moving to a network centric environment where information must be data visible, accessible, and understandable. This transformation has seen the adoption of the Internet web browser as a de facto standard for information access. The Technology Acceptance Model suggests that information systems must not only be useful but also be usable and a large body of usability engineering knowledge exists to support usable design. In addition, the U.S. government mandates specific minimum design features required to support disabled user access. This research effort seeks to establish an understanding of how well common practice usability design principles …

A Comparative Assessment Of Knowledge Management Programs Across The United States Armed Services, Patrick L. Booker

Theses and Dissertations

Knowledge is a corporate resource that is required to accomplish business processes, to make decisions, and to improve efficiency and effectiveness. To completely take advantage of the benefits of knowledge, organizations must harvest and leverage the collective knowledge of the entire workforce. This can be achieved through effective knowledge management. Knowledge management involves processes to create, to store, and transfer knowledge to accomplish business objectives and to achieve a competitive advantage. The United States armed services have also recognized the benefits of knowledge management in meeting the emerging challenges of modern warfare. This study investigated knowledge management programs in the …

Data Analysis And Its Impact On Predicting Schedule & Cost Risk, Steven M. Cross

Theses and Dissertations

Many databases rely on documents (research) of the past to input data to create a comprehensive database. The Selected Acquisition Report (SAR) is one such document. The SARs are pervasive documents that have undergone decades of scrutiny by Congress and watchdog organizations such as the Government Accountability Office. Since the SAR has undergone such massive evolutionary changes, creating an accurate acquisition database presents a daunting task for the analyst and researcher alike. This research concerns itself with one such database. From this prior research database, we look to fill in missing data. We first conduct a literature review to determine …

Corporate Entrepreneurship Assessment Instrument (Ceai): Systematic Validation Of A Measure, Tassika M. Davis

Theses and Dissertations

The implementation of corporate entrepreneurship is becoming an important activity for private- and public-sector organizations. Organizational factors have been linked to successful corporate entrepreneurship. The Corporate Entrepreneurship Assessment Instrument (CEAI) is an instrument that attempts to measure the effectiveness of the key internal organizational factors, or climate, that influence innovative activities and behaviors. This study attempted to assess the content validity and factor structure of the CEAI and thus add weight to the psychometric soundness of the instrument. In sum, the effectiveness of the instrument was tested using the framework for scale development presented by Hinkin (1998). Overall, the CEAI …

Text Mining With Exploitation Of User's Background Knowledge : Discovering Novel Association Rules From Text, Xin Chen

Dissertations

The goal of text mining is to find interesting and non-trivial patterns or knowledge from unstructured documents. Both objective and subjective measures have been proposed in the literature to evaluate the interestingness of discovered patterns. However, objective measures alone are insufficient because such measures do not consider knowledge and interests of the users. Subjective measures require explicit input of user expectations which is difficult or even impossible to obtain in text mining environments.

This study proposes a user-oriented text-mining framework and applies it to the problem of discovering novel association rules from documents. The developed system, uMining, consists of two …

Dynamic Measuring Tools For Online Discourse, Jeffrey S. Saltz

Dissertations

When evaluating participation within an Asynchronous Learning Network (ALN), current best practices include counting messages and reviewing participant surveys. To understand the impact of more advanced dynamic measurement tools for use within an ALN, a web-based tool, known as iPET (the integrated Participation Evaluation Tool), was created. iPET, which leverages Social Network Analysis and Information Visualization techniques, was then evaluated via an empirical study. This research demonstrates that using a tool such as iPET increases participation within an ALN without increasing facilitator workload. Due to the fact that active online discussion is a key factor in the success of an …

Using Content And Process Scaffolds For Collaborative Discourse In Asynchronous Learning Networks, Irene Wong-Bushby

Dissertations

Discourse, a form of collaborative learning, is one of the most widely used methods of teaching and learning in the online environment. Particularly, in large courses, discourse needs to be 'structured' to be effective. Historically, technology-mediated learning (TML) research has been inconclusive with often conflicting results. To address this issue, TML research needs greater breadth and depth in pedagogical grounding. The purpose of this research is to build and test an original, technology-mediated, discourse-centered model called the Asynchronous Learning Network Cognitive Discourse Model (ALNCDM) grounded in pedagogy. Cognitive discourse is defined as discourse on conceptual subject matter. The model is …

Using A Digital Library Of Images For Communication: Comparison Of A Card-Based System To Pda Software, Trudi Miller '08, Gondy Leroy, John Huang '05, Serena Chuang '05

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

Autism spectrum disorder has become one of the most prevalent developmental disorders and one of the main impairments is difficulty with communication. One method of augmentative and alternative communication is the use of the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) to create messages using a series of images printed on cards and organized in binders. We are developing a digital alternative based on an image library that is displayed on a personal digital assistant (PDA). We conducted an initial user acceptance study that compared the effectiveness and usability of both systems. The study showed that the PDA system was able to …

Health Information Text Characteristics, Gondy Leroy, Evren Eryilmaz '11, Benjamin T. Laroya

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

Millions of people search online for medical text, but these texts are often too complicated to understand. Readability evaluations are mostly based on surface metrics such as character or words counts and sentence syntax, but content is ignored. We compared four types of documents, easy and difficult WebMD documents, patient blogs, and patient educational material, for surface and content-based metrics. The documents differed significantly in reading grade levels and vocabulary used. WebMD pages with high readability also used terminology that was more consumer-friendly. Moreover, difficult documents are harder to understand due to their grammar and word choice and because they …

Leveraging Social Networks And Team Configuration To Enhance Knowledge Access In Distributed Teams, Priscilla Arling, Mani Subramani

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

Increasingly organizations are utilizing geographically distributed teams to accomplish their goals. To a great extent this new way of working has been made possible by electronic communication technology. Yet even while managers are leveraging electronic communication technology to gain access to new knowledge and to enable new team configurations, they are concerned about the knowledge acquisition of distributed team members who interact primarily via electronic communication. The objective of this study is to deepen our understanding of the relationship of electronic communication technology use and team configuration with knowledge access in distributed teams. We do so by examining the communication …

Dynamic Generation Of A Table Of Contents With Consumer-Friendly Labels, Trudi Miller '08, Gondy Leroy, Elizabeth Wood

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

Consumers increasingly look to the Internet for health information, but available resources are too difficult for the majority to understand. Interactive tables of contents (TOC) can help consumers access health information by providing an easy to understand structure. Using natural language processing and the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS), we have automatically generated TOCs for consumer health information. The TOC are categorized according to consumer-friendly labels for the UMLS semantic types and semantic groups. Categorizing phrases by semantic types is significantly more correct and relevant. Greater correctness and relevance was achieved with documents that are difficult to read than with …

Biometric Security: Are Inexpensive Biometric Devices Reliable Enough To Gain Wide-Spread Security Usage?, Brian Thanh Tran

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

The ever growing need for security in today' s world requires exploring the feasibility of various security methods to ensure the safety of the world's population. With the tremendous growth of technology, e-commerce, and business globalization, society implements new methods to try to battle security problems. Technology advances has resulted in a number of inexpensive biometric devices to the marketplace. Two questions surface regarding this devices-are they reliable enough for general usage and will people be willing to use them? This research conducted a repeated design experiment to determine the effectiveness of four inexpensive biometric devices-three fingerprint readers and an …

Assignment Of Swimmers To Dual Meet Events, Maciek Nowak, Marina Epelman, Stephen M. Pollack

Information Systems and Operations Management: Faculty Publications & Other Works

Every fall, thousands of high school swimming coaches across the country begin the arduous process of preparing their athletes for competition. With a grueling practice schedule and a dedicated group of athletes, a coach can hone the squad into a cohesive unit, poised for any competition. However, oftentimes all preparation is in vain, as coaches assign swimmers to events with a lineup that is far from optimal. This paper provides a model that may help a high school (or other level) swim team coach make these assignments. Following state and national guidelines for swim meets, we describe a binary integer …

Enterprise Resource Planning Survey Of Korean Manufacturing Firms, Lee Taehyung, Young Moon, Lee Heeseok

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering - All Scholarship

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are packaged software designed to integrate and optimise the business processes of an enterprise. The ERP systems have been embraced by industry as a de facto solution to integrate their business functions. The adoption of the ERP concept is a truly global phenomenon. This paper reports a recently completed survey study on Korean manufacturing firms. The study used the same survey questionnaires used in two previous surveys done on US and Swedish manufacturing firms. Our objective is to determine the extent of adoption of the ERP system in the Korean manufacturing firms, their motivations, implementation …

Missing In Action: The Information System Artifact In Information Systems Adoption And Use, Anand Jeyaraj, Kevin P. Duffy

Management Information Systems Faculty Publications

Despite considerable research on information systems adoption and use by individuals, little is known about how the information system (IS) artifact itself affects adoption and use. Prior research has generally treated the IS artifact as a “blackbox” such that it remained peripheral to the central questions asked regarding adoption and use. This paper presents a feature-centric “IS artifact rating” scheme and shows one way in which to unravel the blackbox of the IS artifact and examine its effect on adoption and use. Implications for research and practice are also presented.

Technology Adoption In Supply Chain Management: A Meta-Analysis Of Empirical Findings, George Mangalaraj, Anand Jeyaraj, Edmund Prater

Management Information Systems Faculty Publications

Electronic linkages between organizations are an important aspect of modern day supply chains. Organizations implement disparate information / communication systems to integrate their suppliers and customers in a supply chain. Though the underlying technologies and protocols of such information systems may differ, they do possess a common characteristic: they all span boundaries of the supply chain partners. Collectively labeling such systems as supply chain management information systems (SCM-IS), we examine a variety of information systems that support the activities in a supply chain. Specifically, we examine two distinct phenomena related to these information systems: the intention to adopt SCM-IS and …

Which Theory Applies: An Analysis Of Information Systems Research, Leila Halawi, Richard Mccarthy

Publications

Research in information systems has rapidly expanded during its relatively brief existence. IT offers organizations a fundamental decision-enhancing environment that extends new opportunities, therefore producing thriving, competitive firms, adding business value and offering valuable products and services to customers. Research within the IT domain has produced several new theories, some of which have been used to help explain and predict end-user use of technologies. We provide a comprehensive overview of the major IT theories and review their theoretical fundamentals.

Analyzing Faulty Knowledge Systems In Project-Based Environments: An Empirical Investigation In A R&D Organization, Rafael E. Landaeta, Cesar Ariel Pinto, Timothy G. Kotnour, William R. Peterson

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

This investigation contributes a framework of the relationships among the faulty elements of a knowledge system in a project-based organization. The framework was developed during an applied research project at a R&D organization. A knowledge system can be defined as a series of inputs, processes, and outputs that interact with each other with the purpose of enhance the performance and capabilities of an organization or work unit through knowledge. The framework was developed using literature, our experience as applied researchers, and data collected from members of a R&D organization. Data was collected through a survey, interviews, and group meetings. The …

Differing Cultural Perceptions Regarding The Appropriate Use Of Workplace Computer Technologies, Heidi Perreault, Nancy Keith

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

This study examined differences in perceptions of U.S. and international college students regarding appropriate use of computers. Ten common inappropriate computer-use behaviors were presented to students. Only two of the ten behaviors were identified by the students as being unacceptable. When compared by geographic region, the U.S. students rated four of the actions as being less acceptable than did the international students. Work experience had minimal influence on the students’ perceptions. The results indicate that regardless of nationality or previous work experience, students lack understanding of the appropriate use of workplace computer technologies. The results reinforce the need for corporations …

Sellers In Online Auction Markets: Introducing A Feedback-Based Classification, Radha Appan, Zhangxi Lin

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

Trading in the online consumer-to-consumer (C2C) auction market necessitates buyers and sellers to engage in transactions with anonymous counterparts. The sequence of paying first and then taking delivery introduces a great amount of risk for potential buyers. In order to assist buyers in dealing with this risk, online auction markets (OAMs) are employing reputation-scoring systems and traders can be classified in terms of their online reputation scores. A review of the literature suggests a conspicuous absence of the study on any standard classification of sellers in OAMs. Lack of such a classification hinders systematic research and theory development. Therefore, a …

Fisheries Occasional Publication No. 33 - Department Of Fisheries Community Survey 2005, Tara Baharthah

Fisheries Occasional Publications

A telephone survey of the Western Australian public was conducted to assess the level of success of programs implemented by the Department of Fisheries. The sample comprised of 700 interviews, 422 in the metropolitan area and 278 in regional areas throughout the State.

This community survey was used to determine the level of recall and awareness of the Department of Fisheries, the understanding and support of the community for the Department of Fisheries' management strategies and to examine key aspects of community participation in recreational fishing.

It is estimated that the overall participation rate for recreational fishing in Western Australia …

The Importance Of Data Quality For Sap Implementation In Medium-Sized Organizations, Hongjiang Xu

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

Data quality issues are critical for any type of
information systems. The purpose of this study is to
explore the importance of data quality for SAP
implementation. This study involved a case study of a
medium-sized organization that had implemented
SAP R3 as their ERP system. Knowledge gained from
this study has the potential in assisting medium-sized
organizations to enhance the quality of the data used
in their ERP systems.

Consumers’ Attitudes Of E-Commerce In China, Hongjiang Xu, Xiaowen Zou, Hengshan Wang

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

This research studied the problem of B2C and C2C
consumers’ attitudes towards trust of the business
transaction process in China by using the
“Consumer Attitudes towards Trust in the e-
Business Model.” Four factors in the model were
analyzed, privacy, security, financial institution and
trusted seal. From this analysis, the conclusion on
the consumers’ attitudes was drawn.

Product Customization On The Web: An Empirical Study Of Factors Impacting Choiceboard User Satisfaction, Pratyush Bharati, Abhijit Chaudhury

Management Science and Information Systems Faculty Publication Series

Choiceboards are Web-based systems that allow consumers to customize their orders. The study investigated factors that affect consumers’ intention to use choiceboards. The research is based on Masons’ theory and DeLone and McLean’s model of information system use. It was found that intention to use is affected by overall satisfaction. In turn, these two factors are positively impacted by factors such as system quality and information quality. In spite of support from theory, the evidence for the factor, information presentation was weak.

Understanding The Future Of Global Software Production: Investigating The Network In India, Pratyush Bharati

Management Science and Information Systems Faculty Publication Series

No abstract provided.

Online Payment Gateways Used To Facilitate E-Commerce Transactions And Improve Risk Management, Paul Benjamin Lowry, Taylor Michael Wells, Greg Moody, Sean Lamarc Humpherys, Degan Kettles

Faculty Publications

As online transactions continue to increase and become a significant part of the global economy, the ability to accept payments online becomes more important for businesses. This paper evaluates the literature and provides current information for IS researchers and instructors focusing on electronic commerce. In this paper, we explore the components of e-credit providers (conventional, person-to-person, and third-party) and explain how each system processes a single transaction. We then analyze several market leaders in each segment and summarize the strengths and weaknesses of each company. We provide guidelines for selecting an e-credit provider and highlight the options that apply best …

Integrated Results Reporting: Moving Toward Electronic Health Records, Mary Helen Fagan, Carol Kilmon, Tom Belt

Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

A key achievement marking the University of Texas Health Center at Tyler’s movement toward Electronic Health Records (EHR) is the establishment of an integrated results reporting capability. Clinicians will be able to view results from most ancillary departments anywhere and at any time. This case study outlines the steps they took, the outcomes they achieved, and some of the lessons they have learned in the process.

An Agent-Based Model Of Trade With Distance-Based Transaction Cost, Kumar Venkat, Wayne W. Wakeland

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper describes an application of agent-based modeling to investigate the effect of a distance-based transaction cost on trade. Long-distance trade is rapidly increasing, but may ultimately be constrained by our ability to move material goods between sellers and buyers. Unlike information exchange, trade in material goods is dependent on the price of oil and vulnerable to future scarcities of oil. In addition, there are growing concerns about greenhouse gas emissions from long-distance transportation. Our purpose in this study is to take the first step in understanding the impact of a distance constraint on free global trade using a simple …

Improving Disaster Response Efforts With Decision Support Systems, Steven M. Thompson, Nezih Altay, Walter G. Green Iii, Joanne Lapetina

Management Faculty Publications

As evidenced by Hurricane Katrina in August, 2005, disaster response efforts are hindered by a lack of coordination, poor information flows, and the inability of disaster response managers to validate and process relevant information and make decisions in a timely fashion. A number of factors contribute to current lackluster response efforts. Some are inherent to the complex, rapidly changing decision-making environments that characterize most disaster response settings. Others reflect systematic flaws in how decisions are made within the organizational hierarchies of the many agencies involved in a disaster response. Slow, ineffective strategies for gathering, processing, and analyzing data can also …

Journey To The Center Of The Core: Computers And The Internet In The Core Curriculum, Jorge Pérez, Meg C. Murray

Faculty Articles

Computers, digitalization and the Internet have transformed modern society. Commerce, education, communication and socialization will never be the same. Surprisingly, many universities do not require a computing course in the core curriculum. Critical information technology (IT) competencies are often taken for granted, to the detriment of students who lack computing and Internet skills. This paper describes an initiative undertaken by a computer science and information systems department to assess and remediate IT skills needed by all university students, regardless of major. The project is evolving along several dimensions: identification of discipline-independent IT competencies, assessment of IT skills among current and …