Databases and Information Systems Commons^™

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 …

A Client-Vendor Relationship Perspective Of Cultural Differences On Cross-Border Information Technology Outsourcing, John Kennedy Bosire

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Cross-border information technology (IT) outsourcing continues to rise due to the demand for business process outsourcing. Issues such as miscommunication and management problems have emerged because of cross-cultural disparities between clients and vendors across national borders. The theoretical framework of this study was based on the organizational culture model studies of Meek, Spradley, Smith, and Draft for examining and understanding complex organizational practices. The purpose of this mixed-methods explanatory sequential case study was to qualitatively identify and quantitatively determine the management approaches that are effective in managing cross-cultural differences and the constitution of the elements of global adjustment, motivation, mindset, …

Evaluation Of The Signature Molecular Descriptor With Blosum62 And An All-Atom Description For Use In Sequence Alignment Of Proteins, Lindsay M. Aichinger

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This Honors Project focused on a few aspects of this topic. The second is comparing the molecular signature kernels to three of the BLOSUM matrices (30, 62, and 90) to test the accuracy of the mathematical model. The kernel matrix was manipulated in order to improve the relationship by focusing on side groups and also by changing how the structure was represented in the matrix by increasing the initial height distance from the central atom (Height 1 and Height 2 included).

There were multiple design constraints for this project. The first was the comparison with the BLOSUM matrices (30, 62, …

Impact Of Eu Medical Device Directive On Medical Device Software, Guy Foe Owono

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Directive 2007/47/EC of the European Parliament amending Medical Device Directive (MDD) provides medical device manufacturers with a compliance framework. However, the effects of the amendments to the MDD on competition in the U.S. medical device software industry are unknown. This study examined the impact of this directive on the competitiveness of U.S. medical device software companies, the safety and efficacy of medical device software, employee training, and recruitment. The conceptual framework for this study included 3 dimensions of medical device regulations: safety, performance, and reliability. The overall research design was a concurrent mixed method study using both quantitative and qualitative …

Effects Of Investor Sentiment Using Social Media On Corporate Financial Distress, Tarek Hoteit

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The mainstream quantitative models in the finance literature have been ineffective in detecting possible bankruptcies during the 2007 to 2009 financial crisis. Coinciding with the same period, various researchers suggested that sentiments in social media can predict future events. The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between investor sentiment within the social media and the financial distress of firms Grounded on the social amplification of risk framework that shows the media as an amplified channel for risk events, the central hypothesis of the study was that investor sentiments in the social media could predict t he level …

Enhancing Workplace Productivity And Competitiveness In Trinidad And Tobago Through Ict Adoption, Kennedy Jerome Swaratsingh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The productivity of Trinidad and Tobago's public sector workplaces is related to their absorptive capacity for technological adoption. Guided by the technology acceptance model, which suggests that individuals' and institutions' use of technology increases in relation to perceived ease of use and apparent value, this case study explored how Trinidad and Tobago used information and communications technology from 2001 - 2010 to improve public sector workplace productivity. Study data were collected from 22 individual interviews with senior executives from the government of Trinidad and Tobago, members of the e-business roundtable, and local industry experts, and from reviewing the archives of …

Mining User Viewpoints In Online Discussions, Minghui Qiu

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Online discussion forums are a type of social media which contains rich usercontributed facts, opinions, and user interactions on diverse topics. The large volume of opinionated data generated in online discussions provides an ideal testbed for user opinion mining. In particular, mining user opinions on social and political issues from online discussions is useful not only to government organizations and companies but also to social and political scientists. In this dissertation, we propose to study the task of mining user viewpoints or stances from online discussions on social and political issues. Specifically, we will talk about our proposed approaches for …

Small Business Use Of Internet Marketing: Findings From Case Studies, Maya Demishkevich

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Internet marketing is critical for meeting changing consumer needs and staying competitive in the business environment. Small business owners need strategies on how to use Internet marketing to promote their products or services. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore how 5 small business owners in Maryland developed and implemented an online marketing strategy. Participants were recruited for their roles as the chief decision maker of their business; additional prerequisites for their participation were that they used Internet marketing, represented different industries, and had fewer than 20 employees. Data came from semi-structured interviews with the small business …

The Role Of Information Technology Organizational Design In Firms' Ability To Innovate, Hassan S. Halimi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Information technology (IT) organizations have become an integral part of many firms, with increasing strategic significance. Consequently, investments in IT represent a significant percentage of a firm's expenditure. Despite the investment, the business value of IT has been difficult to quantify, creating uncertainty about a firm's investments in IT innovation. The purpose of this nonexperimental study was to examine relationships between a firm's innovativeness and 3 IT organizational design factors: knowledge creation, dynamic capabilities, and communication structures. The research questions addressed the relationships between a firm's ability to innovate and specific design elements of the IT organization. The study was …

Exploring Critical Success Factors For Managing Complex Information Technology Projects In Federal Agencies, Kyle Dean Boyles

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem addressed in this study was the lack of understanding about failures of government leadership in accomplishing complex information technology (IT) projects and the ways such failures can negatively affect organizational performance. The purpose was to query subject matter experts and leaders with the intent to identify methods to reduce complex IT project failure rates in government organizations. This qualitative study drew on the technology acceptance model and the capability maturity model integration framework to evaluate organizations' abilities to manage complex IT projects. The research questions focused on exploring senior managers' experiences, the tacit knowledge of project management methodologies, …

Sustainability Of Enterprise Resource Planning (Erp) Benefits Postimplementation: An Individual User Perspective, Mohamed Abdalla Mohamed Badreldin Lotfy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although there is research about the use of enterprise resource planning (ERP) from a management perspective, the research is not clear as to whether the ERP benefits justify the costs, not only in dollars, but also in effort, from the end user's perspective. Using the theory of diffusion of innovation (DOI), the purpose of this quantitative research was to identify the set of postimplementation sustainability factors that maximized ERP user value, which are major issues for management, and measured their relative significance. The study's structural model incorporated the technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework, which is a conceptualization of the theory of diffusion …

Socioeconomic Challenges Faced By African American Men Entering The Information Technology Industry, Melvin Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African American men experience impediments when entering the field of Information Technology (IT), which may portend the disappearance of this ethnic group from the technology-driven work force of the future. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to investigate the socioeconomic factors faced by African American men from their own viewpoints. With this goal in mind, three research questions were studied focusing on the availably of IT resources; the quality of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) based education; and existing hiring practices within the IT industry. The conceptual framework for this study was the critical theory perspective, which provided …

Best Practices To Minimize Data Security Breaches For Increased Business Performance, Fedinand Jaiventume Kongnso

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, businesses have reported over 2,800 data compromises of an estimated 543 million records, with security breaches costing firms approximately $7.2 million annually. Scholars and industry practitioners have indicated a significant impact of security breaches on consumers and organizations. However, there are limited data on the best practices for minimizing the impact of security breaches on organizational performance. The purpose of this qualitative multicase study was to explore best practices technology leaders use to minimize data security breaches for increased business performance. Systems theory served as the conceptual framework for this study. Fourteen participants were interviewed, including …

An Exploration Of Wireless Networking And The Management Of Associated Security Risk, Helen Loretta Collins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The rapid expansion of wireless information technology (IT) coupled with a dramatic increase in security breaches forces organizations to develop comprehensive strategies for managing security risks. The problem addressed was the identification of security risk management practices and human errors of IT administrators, putting the organization at risk for external security intrusion. The purpose of this non-experimental quantitative study was to investigate and determine the security risk assessment practices used by IT administrators to protect the confidentiality and integrity of the organization's information. The research questions focused on whether the security risk management practices of IT administrators met or exceeded …

Assessing Clinical Software User Needs For Improved Clinical Decision Support Tools, Kimberly B. Denney

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Consolidating patient and clinical data to support better-informed clinical decisions remains a primary function of electronic health records (EHRs). In the United States, nearly 6 million patients receive care from an accountable care organization (ACO). Knowledge of clinical decision support (CDS) tool design for use by physicians participating in ACOs remains limited. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine whether a significant correlation exists between characteristics of alert content and alert timing (the independent variables) and physician perceptions of improved ACO quality measure adherence during electronic ordering (the dependent variable). Sociotechnical theory supported the theoretical framework for this …

Behavioral Operations Management In Federal Governance, Frederick Leonard Mobley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The environmental uncertainty of federal politics and acquisition outsourcing in competitive markets requires an adaptive decision-analysis structure. Practitioners oriented toward exclusively static methods face severe challenges in understanding qualitative aspects of organizational governance. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to examine and understand behavioral relationship attributes within intuitive, choice, judgment, or preference decision-making processes. The problem addressed in this study was the detrimental effects of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), compulsory citizenship behavior (CCB), and social exchange theory (SET) on the acquisition management relationship The OCB, CCB, SET dictates that sound business development, relationship acumen, emotional intelligence and perceptiveness …

Financial Performance Outcomes Following System Replacement In The Insurance Industry, Trevor James Owen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Enterprise system replacement projects within the property and casualty insurance industry are costly, high-risk undertakings that carry a significant risk of project failure. The decision to replace policy administration systems for companies with over $250 million in direct written premium is a multimillion dollar investment for corporate strategic decision makers. This study examined the financial impact of enterprise policy administration system replacement in the property and casualty insurance industry by comparing financial performance results for companies that performed policy administration system replacements with those that did not. Insurance industry financial results for the years 2009 through 2014 were used for …

Framing The Question, "Who Governs The Internet?", Robert J. Domanski

Publications and Research

There remains a widespread perception among both the public and elements of academia that the Internet is “ungovernable”. However, this idea, as well as the notion that the Internet has become some type of cyber-libertarian utopia, is wholly inaccurate. Governments may certainly encounter tremendous difficulty in attempting to regulate the Internet, but numerous types of authority have nevertheless become pervasive. So who, then, governs the Internet? This book will contend that the Internet is, in fact, being governed, that it is being governed by specific and identifiable networks of policy actors, and that an argument can be made as to …

Toward Mobile Robots Reasoning Like Humans, Jean Oh, Arne Suppe, Felix Duvallet, Abdeslam Boularias, Luis Navarro-Serment, Martial Hebert, Anthony Stentz, Jerry Vinokurov, Oscar Romero, Christian Lebiere, Robert Dean

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Robots are increasingly becoming key players in human-robot teams. To become effective teammates, robots must possess profound understanding of an environment, be able to reason about the desired commands and goals within a specific context, and be able to communicate with human teammates in a clear and natural way. To address these challenges, we have developed an intelligence architecture that combines cognitive components to carry out high-level cognitive tasks, semantic perception to label regions in the world, and a natural language component to reason about the command and its relationship to the objects in the world. This paper describes recent …

Semi-Universal Portfolios With Transaction Costs, Dingjiang Huang, Yan Zhu, Bin Li, Shuigeng Zhou, Steven C. H. Hoi

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Online portfolio selection (PS) has been extensively studied in artificial intelligence and machine learning communities in recent years. An important practical issue of online PS is transaction cost, which is unavoidable and nontrivial in real financial trading markets. Most existing strategies, such as universal portfolio (UP) based strategies, often rebalance their target portfolio vectors at every investment period, and thus the total transaction cost increases rapidly and the final cumulative wealth degrades severely. To overcome the limitation, in this paper we investigate new investment strategies that rebalances its portfolio only at some selected instants. Specifically, we design a novel on-line …

Reputationpro: The Efficient Approaches To Contextual Transaction Trust Computation In E-Commerce Environments, Haibin Zhang, Yan Wang, Xiuzhen Zhang, Ee Peng Lim

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In e-commerce environments, the trustworthiness of a seller is utterly important to potential buyers, especially when a seller is not known to them. Most existing trust evaluation models compute a single value to reflect the general trustworthiness of a seller without taking any transaction context information into account. With such a result as the indication of reputation, a buyer may be easily deceived by a malicious seller in a transaction where the notorious value imbalance problem is involved—in other words, a malicious seller accumulates a high-level reputation by selling cheap products and then deceives buyers by inducing them to purchase …

Multidimensional Context Awareness In Mobile Devices, Zhuo Wei, Robert H. Deng, Jialie Shen, Jixiang Zhu, Kun Ouyang, Yongdong Wu

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

With the increase of mobile computation ability and the development of wireless network transmission technology, mobile devices not only are the important tools of personal life (e.g., education and entertainment), but also emerge as indispensable "secretary" of business activities (e.g., email and phone call). However, since mobile devices could work under complex and dynamic local and network conditions, they are vulnerable to local and remote security attacks. In real applications, different kinds of data protection are required by various local contexts. To provide appropriate protection, we propose a multidimensional context (MContext) scheme to comprehensively model and characterize the scene and …

Travel Recommendation Via Author Topic Model Based Collaborative Filtering, Shuhui Jiang, Xueming Qian, Jialie Shen, Tao Mei

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

While automatic travel recommendation has attracted a lot of attentions, the existing approaches generally suffer from different kinds of weaknesses. For example, sparsity problem can significantly degrade the performance of traditional collaborative filtering (CF). If a user only visits very few locations, accurate similar user identification becomes very challenging due to lack of sufficient information. Motivated by this concern, we propose an Author Topic Collaborative Filtering (ATCF) method to facilitate comprehensive Points of Interest (POIs) recommendation for social media users. In our approach, the topics about user preference (e.g., cultural, cityscape, or landmark) are extracted from the textual description of …

Marketing Strategies Of Mobile Game Application Entrepreneurs, Talaya Waller

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Mobile game application entrepreneurs can offer many benefits to the U.S. economy; however, 80% of the entrepreneurs in this study stated that marketing their mobile applications was a major business challenge. Successful strategies that entrepreneurs have used to overcome their mobile game application marketing challenges may be beneficial to other entrepreneurs. Based on Schumpeter's theory of economic development and new value creation of technological innovation, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the strategies that entrepreneurs have used to market their mobile game application development businesses successfully. Twenty mobile game application entrepreneurs from northern California, who successfully sustained …

Consumer Perceptions Of Eco-Friendly Products, Sheik M. Isaacs

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The rate of failure to manage e-waste and the business sectors' failure to produce more eco-friendly products is high. These failure rates cause companies to lose profits on expanding an eco-friendly customer market. The central research question addressed by this correlational design examined the quality, price, and brand loyalty of eco-friendly products related to customers' willingness to recycle e-products. Consumer and buying behavior theories served as the theoretical framework in this investigation. SurveyMonkey was used to distribute the researcher-developed survey to the participants for the collection of the data. The collection data instrument was validated by performing a pilot test …

Diffusion Of Technology In Small To Medium Medical Providers In Saudi Arabia, Ziad Hisham Arnaout

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Saudi ministry of health reported that government health care spending doubled from 2008 to 2011. To address increased demand, the government encouraged small to medium enterprise (SME) growth. However, SME leaders could not leverage technology as a growth enabler because they lacked strategies to address operating inefficiencies associated with technology. Only 50% of hospitals fully implemented information technology. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore lived experiences of SME leaders on strategies needed to accelerate technology implementation. This exploration drew on a conceptual framework developed from Wainwright and Waring's framework addressing issues of technology adoption. Data were …

Impacts On Faculty Workload During A Learning Management System Transition, Karla Page Jones

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Management professionals at many colleges are transitioning to new learning management systems (LMS), such as Moodle, for reasons such as lower costs, greater outreach, and student preference. Transitioning to a new LMS may result in faculty problems with learning a new technology platform in addition to teaching. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact that an LMS transition had on faculty attitudes, experiences, and workload. The conceptual framework of the study was the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology and the diffusion of innovation theory. A phenomenological design was employed with a purposeful sample of …

Assessing Value Added In The Use Of Electronic Medical Records In Nigeria, Isaiah Gbenga Abimbola

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Electronic medical records (EMRs) or electronic health records have been in use for years in hospitals around the world as a time-saving system for patient record keeping. Despite its widespread use, some physicians disagree with the assertion that EMRs save time. The purpose of this study was to explore whether any time saved with the use of the EMR system was actually devoted by doctors to patient-care and thereby to improved patient-care efficiency. The conceptual support for this study was predicated employing the task-technology fit theory. Task-technology theorists argue that information technology is likely to have a positive impact in …

Learning To Use, Useful For Learning: A Usability Study Of Google Apps For Education, Maury Elizabeth Brown, Daniel L. Hocutt

School of Professional and Continuing Studies Faculty Publications

Using results from an original survey instrument, this study examined student perceptions of how useful Google Apps for Education (GAFE) was in students' learning of core concepts in a first-year college composition course, how difficult or easy it was for students to interact with GAFE, and how students ranked specific affordances of the technology in terms of its usability and usefulness. Students found GAFE relatively easy to use and appreciated its collaborative affordances. The researchers concluded that GAFE is a useful tool to meet learning objectives in the college composition classroom.

Information Operations Under International Law: A Delphi Study Into The Legal Standing Of Cyber Warfare, Kenneth Gualtier

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The ever-growing interconnectivity of industry and infrastructure through cyberspace has increased their vulnerability to cyber attack. The lack of any formal codification of cyber warfare has led to the development of contradictory state practices and disagreement as to the legal standing of cyber warfare, resulting in an increased risk of damage to property and loss of life. Using the just war theory as a foundation, the research questions asked at the point at which cyber attacks meet the definition of use of force or armed attack under international law and what impediments currently exist in the development of legal limitations …