DATA BASE For Advances Research Articles

Is this a Gender Issue?

This editorial's purpose is twofold. First, I urge the authors who submit Gender and IT manuscripts to The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems to be mindful of the lessons shared in this editorial. My hope is that these lessons from my unpublished manuscript would encourage junior scholars who study Gender and IT to persevere and not become discouraged by multiple rejections. Second, I call on fellow IS scholars to submit opinion pieces to this journal where they share lessons learned from their unpublished manuscripts.

On Impact, Again... My Farewell Editorial

To paraphrase the late Jerry Garcia, "it's been a minute," and that certainly dates me as to my generation, eh? I started my journey in 2007 with SIGMIS and its publication, The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems, and that is now over 15 years ago. I had grand aspirations for the journal at the time: at top, to get our review process online (we did that in the first year of my first term by joining Editorial Manager) and secondly, to get us included in the ISI Journal Citation Reports survey for production of a Journal Impact Factor (that took the rest of the first editorial term).

From the Editors

Friends, Deb Armstrong and I have reached the culmination of our editorial term, and K.D. Joshi of University of Nevada-Reno has been chosen as the new Editor-in-Chief. Professor Joshi is a long-time contributor, Senior Editor, and thought leader in our parent organization, ACM SIGMIS, and its venerable CPR conference. K.D. has a marvelous vision, superb connections with our ACM SIGMIS CPR constituency, and an operational record second to none. She will be a great leader for continuing the growth trajectory of The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems.

A Famine of Riches in Scholarly Publication

I have been editing for a while. Long enough to have witnessed the evolution from pre-digital journals to the post-digital pure play. I negotiated and obtained the first online review system for this fine journal, back in 2006 when I was building my first proposal to edit The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems. I felt at the time that I might be a tad late coming to the digital field, seeing that the association I belonged to had already launched two digital pure-play publications which appeared to be destined for notice.

Metaphilosophical Musings

It has been some time now since we have had our Philosopher's Corner feature in place at The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems, and we have seen some truly magnificent work appear in these pages in that time. I am gilding the lily in saying so, to be sure, but as an Editor-in-Chief, I have a certain pride of ownership in regard to it. I don't want to claim that The Philosopher's Corner was all my idea; we are a team here in the Editorial office, and we do things as a team and by consensus. Even so, I have a great deal of enthusiasm for the feature and take it upon myself to shamelessly promote it at every turn and in every quarter. Just as I am now.

The Philosopher's Corner

The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems has sponsored a series of articles on the thought of Paul Feyerabend (Treiblmaier, 2018, 2019; Gregor, 2018; Burton-Jones, 2018; Myers, 2018). Treiblmaier and the respondents discuss the actual meaning and implication of Feyerabend's ideas for information systems. In the series, the authors argue we already employ diverse methodologies. However, it is also apparent that a truncated view of philosophy as only concerned with epistemology and all methods as commensurable is employed. This paper argues we do not have a real diversity in the IS field and we should commit to the practice of a disciplined metatheoretic pluralism. Our methodology must not only be rigorously executed but also correctly interpreted in accord with our metatheoretic assumptions. We need to be open to all types of metatheory as well as methods and research topics. The paper provides four suggestions for how to implement disciplined metatheoretic pluralism: 1) Educate doctoral students into the various philosophical paradigms; 2) Require authors to state their metatheoretic assumptions and review for conformance to them; 3) Open publication venues to all authors, methodologies, metatheoretic commitments, and ideas; 4) Change the evaluation mechanism to reduce the pressure to conform to normal science.

We've Only Just Begun

It is a new year and a new editorial team. We are pleased to introduce the editors-in-chief for The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems for the next three years: Deb Armstrong and Tom Stafford. The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems has been in continuous publication since 1969, marking it as one of the longest-published research journals in the field of information systems. Having just celebrated our 50th year of publication, we are pleased to begin our editorial term with initiatives intended to continue to move The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems toward an even more impactful and notable presence in the field of information systems scholarship and practice. We have truly only just begun!

Twenty Anecdotes in Search of a Theme

This article offers a detailed history of the evolution of ACM SIGMIS from its origins before it was even called SIGMIS. Understanding the past and the origins of SIGMIS is useful to understand how the publication that we know as The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems developed. Furthermore, by examining the past and critical points in this history of the SIG and publication, it is possible to consider opportunities for the future.

On the March of Time and the Meaning of Days

As of this issue, The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems marks its 50th year of publication. We are minded to introspect, then, on what it means to have been here for 50 years. For some, it means that this journal came to be in the year that astronauts first landed on the moon; that sounds like a very modern occurrence, but having transpired in 1969, it was literally a half century ago. That is 18,250 days, or 2,607 weeks, or 599 months, or, of course, one half of a century. Century - the Latin root of which connotes groups of 100; half of 100 being fifty, and that being a darned large number in some respects, but in others very small. It depends on point of view, as the physicist Einstein (1921) would have put it. When you are moving at great speeds, time seems to pass more slowly (as compared to the perceptions of a less-fast moving observer). Time and its passage are a subjective perception of the perceiver, even outside of the physics of relativity (Evans, 2005). As Carol Saunders once speculated in a closing essay during her time at MIS Quarterly, it only seems like yesterday that we came to be a field of inquiry in Management Information Systems, and we could consider ourselves in the geological scheme of time to be very young indeed (Saunders, 2007). On the other hand, for those busily engaged in the fast-moving activities of publishing a journal like ours, time flies in different ways when we consider how long significant landmarks of the field of Management Information Systems have been in place (as has this journal, for a similar period of time). It was just yesterday, and it has been forever. We only just took Volume 48, Number 1 to press, it seems, and here we are at 50(1)! Time is in the Einsteinian details.

50 Years of The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems

This article offers a historical overview of the middle years of publishing The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems in the context of the evolution of the field of Management Information Systems. The journey of the editor-in-chief during these years is revealed, including the challenges and professional development achieved through journal editorship. The development of DATA BASE is contrasted with the complementary evolution of the MIS Quarterly. Possibilities for advancing DATA BASE into a socialmedia platform are explored.

Surviving and Thriving in the Evolving Digital Age

In this celebratory 50th anniversary issue of The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems, I take a look back at IS research and its corresponding relationship with information technology. I argue that we have done well as a field as evaluated by changes in methodological quality, theorizing, citations, and impact factors. However, we are at a phase of transition as we evolve from an IT to a digital world. I describe the fundamental assumptions of the digital world and argue that our future phenomena are going to be far more unpredictable and dynamic and will require us to exhibit more flexibility in our research approach. We have to change gears to survive and thrive in the digital age.

Blinding Me with Science; or, It's All Digital

Tom Stafford has had the unique opportunity to have two different terms as Editor-in-Chief of The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems. From 2007-2011, Tom Stafford and Patrick Chau were responsible for this publication. During this time, they moved the publication into the digital era through the adoption of an online review system and an index factor. In this editorial, Tom Stafford shares his insights as he ushered The DATA BASE into the digital age.

Unconventional Editorial Conventions

As the editors-in-chief of The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems during 2002-2006, Dorothy Leidner and Wynne Chin share their approach for managing the publication. This article explains how Leidner and Chin were creative as they shepherded and supported interesting research that needed a nontraditional outlet.

What Kind of Research Do We Want?

From January 1, 2012 - December 31, 2016, David Salisbury and Andrew Schwarz served as Editors-in-Chief of The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems. In this reflection, the former editors-in-chief share how their relationship with this publication as well as their own partnership emerged over time. Salisbury and Schwarz share some of their major accomplishments while serving in this role as they sought to develop and promote this publication during their tenure.

Author Highlights for the Past 35 Years

This essay reviews leading contributions to The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems over the past 35 years, both in terms of identifying leading scholars who published most frequently in the journal as well as papers that have been cited most frequently. Using standard scientometric methods, I identify the leading authors who published five or more papers since 1982. In terms of analyzing highly cited papers, I organize the analysis into four time periods of nine years each, a structure that reveals that The DATA BASE has been a longstanding venue for IS scholars to introduce their early work - whether conceptual or empirical. Notably, several esteemed IS scholars published early conceptual versions of their ideas in The DATA BASE - often many years before they followed up with related work in other journals. In terms of highly cited papers, the analysis in this essay also reveals that The DATA BASE shifted toward publishing empirical papers after 1990 and, despite the prevalence of positivist, quantitative research during the past 25 years, qualitative research has also become prominent in the journal. More recently, the journal has also featured several literature review papers on important topic areas, such as virtual teams, technostress, IT outsourcing, and IT security. This essay reviews leading contributions to The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems over the past 35 years, both in terms of identifying leading scholars who published most frequently in the journal as well as papers that have been cited most frequently. Using standard scientometric methods, I identify the leading authors who published five or more papers since 1982. In terms of analyzing highly cited papers, I organize the analysis into four time periods of nine years each, a structure that reveals that The DATA BASE has been a longstanding venue for IS scholars to introduce their early work - whether conceptual or empirical. Notably, several esteemed IS scholars published early conceptual versions of their ideas in The DATA BASE - often many years before they followed up with related work in other journals. In terms of highly cited papers, the analysis in this essay also reveals that The DATA BASE shifted toward publishing empirical papers after 1990 and, despite the prevalence of positivist, quantitative research during the past 25 years, qualitative research has also become prominent in the journal. More recently, the journal has also featured several literature review papers on important topic areas, such as virtual teams, technostress, IT outsourcing, and IT security.

Taking Feyerabend to the Next Level

Not at all did I expect the huge amount of positive and constructive feedback that I received on my short paper on Paul Feyerabend's philosophy which was published in issue 49(2) of The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems. More than two decades after his death, his provocative ideas are apparently still capable of triggering an inspiring academic debate. In this paper I will comment on the thoughtful rejoinders from Burton-Jones, Gregor, and Myers. I will also outline why, in spite of their wellfounded criticism, I still believe that Feyerabendian thinking is most appropriate for IS research-much more so than Popperian or Kuhnian. I will illustrate my reasoning by referring to several experiences with the academic double-blind peer review process. I will not only criticize academia's existing deficiencies, but also suggest a potential cure. My universal remedy is based on Feyerabend's philosophy of relativism, tolerance, and pluralism, which he not so cleverly disguised as anarchism. Recently, Chua et al. (2018) suggested changes in the rules of our academic review system. I do not aim at the system, but rather at the underlying mindset. If we allow him, Feyerabend can help us with that.

SIGMIS (née SIGBDP) and DATA BASE

Ephraim McLean served as editor-in-chief for The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems for eight years. He served in this role with two different co-editors-in-chief, Detmar Straub and Mark Keil. As one of the founding members of the Association for Information Systems and a mainstay for the information systems discipline, Eph offers a historical view of the publication as well as his time as editor-in-chief from 1994-2001.

New Theoretical Perspectives in Behavioral IS Security Research

As we come to press with this fifth issue of the year, we have an exciting development. It is a special case, this issue; we normally have issues 1 through 4 for each volume, but we chose this year to issue number "SI" in addition to issues 1,2,3, and 4, in order to accommodate something very special. The grand joy of editing a journal is the ability to do something unusual and innovative occasionally. With Stacie's concurrence, that is what we did this time around. As you may know, I am a member of the Behavioral Information Security society that styles itself through the highly prestigious "IFIP Working Group 8.11/11.13 Dewald Roode Behavioral Information Security Workshop." This special workshop is an event that takes place each year among the most visible and prolific information security scholars in the world. And, having gained admittance to their august company not so long ago, I sought an opportunity for The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems to support and promote behavioral information security research through its presence at the meetings (by virtue of my membership, as an Editor). A couple of meetings ago, when the call for papers went out for the annual research competition that provides the manuscripts for the meeting, I sought permission to issue a joint call for papers on behavior for a special issue of The DATA BASE dedicated to "Theoretical Advances in Behavioral Information Security Research." To my vast delight, the colleagues assented, indicating they thought it was a good idea. (Caveat: what follows will gore several oxen. My apologies in advance, but what needs to be said will inevitably cross lines of mild political sensibility, in the greater service of Theoretical Advancement.)

Experimental transient response of a minichannel heat exchanger with step flow variation

Heat exchangers are essential components of many systems and their use is extended to include various industrial, chemical, and automotive applications. Heat exchanger behavior affects the total performance of a thermal system. Enhancing this critical component leads to improving the system overall performance and thus its energy efficiency. Since a heat exchanger operates in conjunction with other process equipment, its evaluation under a transient condition is crucial. A transient response of heat exchangers is necessary to evaluate the exchanger performance when subjected to a change in its conditions. The scarcity of experimental data on a transient response of heat exchangers in general and minichannel exchangers in particular is the main motivation for this research. This work is an investigation of an experimental characterization of the transient response of a cross flow liquid-air heat exchanger subjected to step changes in liquid mass flow rate. Hot fluid mass flow rate step changes of 0.5, 0.8, 1.5, and 2.0 are considered and the liquid outlet temperature response time is presented. The results are compared with the limited experimental work from the literature. While the outlet temperatures of both fluids do not respond instantaneously to the step change in the primary fluid mass flow rate, the cold fluid exhibits a faster response time than that of the hot fluid. The step variation increases the Reynolds number which results in a longer hot fluid response time to reach the steady state. The outcome of this work is valuable in the design, selection, and analysis of heat exchangers. The experimental data provided in this work can be used to establish a database for future advances in research. It also provides an overview of the characteristic behavior of certain parameters such as fluid temperatures, response time, and residence time when the heat exchanger is subjected to a change in the hot fluid mass flow rate.

In Praise of Workforce and Inclusion

In this issue of The Data Base for Advances in Information Systems, we are reminded of one of the key reasons why we engage in MIS research: to study ways in which technology management serves the enterprise. This connotes the notion of Work and the value of Workforces. This special issue, from the ACM SIGMIS Computers and People Research (CPR) Conference, provides a rich and impactful illumination on the nature of the technological workforce, both in terms of its composition and its management. This is vital research within our field. In this issue, we have a sampling of workforce research that focuses on computers and people issues in two broad ways: ensuring broad participation in the technology workforce through inclusion and informing wise managerial guidance of technological workforces. We typically call the former area of inquiry "inclusion research," while referring to the latter as "workforce research." They are really part and parcel of the same important underlying notion: what can we do to better manage the technological function in the firm, such that work proceeds effectively, productively, profitably?