Department Information System Research Articles

Creativity of student information system projects: From the perspective of network embeddedness

Many companies have pursued innovation to obtain a competitive edge. Thus, educational reform focuses mainly on training creative students. This study adopted the concept of an affiliated network of projects to investigate how project embeddedness influences project team creativity. This work surveys 60 projects in a Management Information Systems Department of a University. Validity of the specific study hypotheses is tested by using moderate hierarchical regression analysis to determine how project embeddedness affects project team creativity and assess how the team innovation climate moderates the relationships between project embeddedness and project team creativity. Analytical results indicate a positive association between structural embeddedness and project team creativity, a negative relationship between positional embeddedness and project team creativity, and a positive influence of team innovation climate on the relationships between network embeddedness and project team creativity. An attempt is also made to understand the role of positional embeddedness by classifying the interactions based on the content of interactions. According to those results, positional embeddedness is positively related to project team creativity during problem–identification interaction; during solution–design interaction, positional embeddedness is negatively related to project team creativity. Results of this study explain the phenomena of divergent thinking and convergent thinking during creative development.

The role of change management in implementing the offshore outsourcing business model: a processual view

By means of the case study approach, the nature and process of organizational change related to the implementation of offshore IT outsourcing and the effectiveness of approaches used to manage this change were examined in three information systems departments of a multinational pharmaceutical company. The findings reveal that a combination of contextual factors influenced the adoption and use of offshore outsourcing. Organizational factors involved in the diagnosis and planning as well as implementation phases that contribute to or prevent the successful management of change are identified, and the most commonly reported effects of change resulting from offshore outsourcing are also analyzed.

Radiation exposure from pediatric head CT: a bi-institutional study

Medical radiation from CT should be kept as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA), particularly in young patients. To examine radiation dose from head CT in children in a trauma center (TC) and a regional children's hospital (RCH). A random sample of 240 children (0-3, 4-9, 10-14 years of age) from the TC were compared with a similar cohort from the RCH. All children had undergone at least one head CT scan without contrast enhancement; data from PACS and Department of Radiology Information System were used to estimate normalized effective dose (ED). Lifetime attributable risk of cancer incidence was estimated using the Biologic Effects of Ionizing Radiation (BEIR) VII report. The mean normalized ED was significantly higher in the youngest children at the TC (2.74 mSv in those aged 0-3 years vs. 2.23 mSv in those aged 10-14 years; P<0.001) and at the RCH (2.44 mSv in those aged 0-3 years vs. 1.71 mSv in those aged 10-14 years; P<0.001). Each decreasing year of age was independently associated with a 0.06 mSv higher mean normalized ED (P<0.001). After adjusting for the age difference between the institutions, the mean normalized ED was 0.44 mSv lower at the RCH than at the TC across all ages (95% CI 0.31-0.58, P<0.001). A higher lifetime attributable risk of cancer was associated with younger age. The radiation dose from head CT in children as defined by the normalized ED was highest in the youngest children and varied significantly between institutions in this bi-institutional study.

The institutional design of the SUS: is its hybrid public-private nature leading to better health system?

Private management has become an important alternative for the provision of public services in Brazil - a result of a widespread belief that associates the non-governmental sector with higher levels of efficiency. The aim of this paper was precisely to measure the impact of private management in SUS, through the estimation of a regression model for counting data. The database used consisted of a panel of data, organized on the basis of information from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics and the Information Systems Department of the Ministry of Health, Datasus, covering all Brazilian municipalities between 2000 and 2003. Results did not confirm that private management of public funding leads to a reduction in the number of deaths. In fact, results are unexpectedly significant and negative, which suggests that the improvement in the Brazilian public health sector, i.e. the reduction in child mortality rates, was not caused by its hybrid public-private institutional design.

When users are IT experts too: the effects of joint IT competence and partnership on satisfaction with enterprise-level systems implementation

Enterprise-level information systems (IS) are fundamental to businesses. Unfortunately, implementing these large-scale systems is a complex and risky endeavor. As a result, these initiatives must tap the expertise and active involvement of both the IS department and the enterprise's functional areas. Past studies focusing on IS implementation teams consistently identify the IS department as the source of technical expertise and leadership, while functional department team members are typically relegated to the role of business experts. However, unlike the past, many business professionals are knowledgeable about information technology (IT) and are increasingly capable of contributing to IS implementations from a technical perspective as well as a business perspective. This study examines how IT competence held by both the IS department and the user department stakeholders contributes to user satisfaction with the enterprise-level system implementation. Specifically, this research introduces a theoretically grounded construct, joint IT competence, which emerges when the IS department and user department stakeholders integrate their individually held IT competences. The study's results empirically demonstrate that joint IT competence is a key driver of user satisfaction in enterprise-level IS implementations. Although not as significant as joint IT competence, results show that partner-based leadership between the IS department and user stakeholders also influences user satisfaction with IS implementations.

Drumming Out a Message: Eisa and Okinawan Diaspora in Japan. 2005. Directed by Yoshitaka Terada. Produced by National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka. In Japanese with English subtitles. 75 minutes, colour, DVD. Not distributed commercially, but can be rented free from the National Museum of Ethnology (Information System Department), 10-1 Senri Expo Park, Suita, Osaka 565-8511, Japan. Tel. +081-6-6876-2151.

Drumming Out a Message: Eisa and Okinawan Diaspora in Japan. 2005. Directed by Yoshitaka Terada. Produced by National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka. In Japanese with English subtitles. 75 minutes, colour, DVD. Not distributed commercially, but can be rented free from the National Museum of Ethnology (Information System Department), 10-1 Senri Expo Park, Suita, Osaka 565-8511, Japan. Tel. +081-6-6876-2151.

An exploratory study of the relevance of trans-national global information systems to small and medium enterprises: evidence from Egypt

This paper provides an investigation into the information system (IS) strategy of SMEs in Egypt using questionnaires and case studies to explore if a trans-national global IS can be applied to SMEs in Egypt. Generally, most Egyptian SMEs lack the structure needed to successfully plan an ISS. However, it was evidenced that top management involvement is present at the decision-making stages and throughout implementation and IS planning is undertaken in some way by Egyptian SMEs. The case studies revealed that SMEs operating with a structured hierarchy proved to be far more advanced with regard to information system strategy planning (ISSP). The results of the OLS regression analysis indicated that the higher the involvement of top management in IS decision-making in Egyptian SMEs the more advanced the organisation regarding ISS; organisations that have an IS department and a specific IS budget are more successful in planning and implementing IS strategy; there is a lack of expertise to adequately implement ISS in new companies and in companies from the public sector and finally, the greater the IS budget the greater the outsourcing activities of a firm. A theory of trans-national global IS can therefore be applied to Egyptian SMEs with some modifications due to differing cultures.

Advanced indirect method for measuring blood pressure

Presently existing blood pressure meters require trained operator otherwise do not assure accurate measurement. An easy-to-use and accurate device would help the early detection of hypertonia as well as self-monitoring at home. This latter would mean an effective aid for the general practitioner to monitor the patient; providing a feedback for treatment and medication. The paper presents the results of the research work having been carried out for an indirect blood pressure measurement procedure in the Biomedical Engineering Laboratory of the Department of Measurement and Information Systems, Budapest University of Technology and Economics. The procedure improves the classical oscillometric algorithm and identifies improperly placed cuff. It was incorporated into eight home health monitoring devices that were used for three months by patients with cardiovascular diseases. More than 1000 recordings of patients and more than 500 of healthy control subjects have been analyzed. The presented algorithm has been va lidated by means of a non-invasive blood pressure meter tester. The bulk of the 100 tester records we have made simulates some kind of artifact or cardiovascular disease.

A study to find out the preferred free e-mail services used by university students

The aim of this study is to investigate the free e-mail usage of students in the technology departments of the university, and also to learn which free e-mail service the participants prefer. The volunteer participants in this study consisted of 150 undergraduate students attending the Near East University in Northern Cyprus. 50 students from Department of Computer Information Systems (CIS), 50 students from Department of Computer Education and Instructional Technologies (CEIT), and 50 students from Department of Computer Engineering (COM.ENG). Data were collected using questionnaire. SPSS 16.0 was used to analyzed and interpret the collected data. Anova, frequency and percentage methods were used during the analysis process. According to the results indicate that it can be seen that a large majority of the students use the e-mail services and the majority of them chose to use the Hotmail.

A IMPORTÂNCIA DOS SISTEMAS DE INFORMAÇÃO PARA O PLANEJAMENTO DE AÇÕES E POLÍTICAS DE SAÚDE NO PROGRAMA DE SAÚDE DA FAMÍLIA DO MUNICÍPIO DE PORTO ALEGRE

After the Federal Constitution of 1988 was issued, the Brazilian health system started using a new concept of decentralized health management. In 1990, an Act was voted that introduced the Unified Health System (SUS) and a year later an Information Systems Department was settled to support the Unified Health System ( DATA SUS). Based on the assumption that information systems (SI) help to improve the decision making process, and taking into account the context of the health industry in Brazil, the following research question was formulated: “How managers of the Basic Health Care network of Porto Alegre use the information generated by the many information systems of the Local Authority Health Secretary (SMS) to plan strategies for the Family Health Program (PSF)?” Thus, by means of a single exploratory case study carried out in Porto Alegre in 2008, the authors identified the main information systems used by the Family Health Program and, based on data gathered from those systems about 2006 and 2007, several analyses were performed to check for inconsistencies. Managers of the Family Health Program were questioned about the discrepancies that were found in the data used by the Local Authority Health Secretary. Results show that the information systems are not integrated, data is not reliable, there is little strategic alignment in the Local Authority Health Secretary and little commitment of those involved with the health area at the local level.

Modeling software evolution defects: a time series approach

AbstractThe Department of Information Systems, Statistics and Management Science, prediction of software defects and defect patterns is and will continue to be a critically important software evolution research topic. This study presents a time series analysis of multi‐organizational multi‐project defects reported during ongoing software evolution efforts. Using data from monthly defect reports for eight open source software projects over five years, this study builds and tests time series models for each sampled project. The resulting model accounts for the ripple effects of defect detection and correction by modeling the autocorrelation of code defect data. The autoregressive integrated moving average model (0,1,1) was found to hold for all sampled projects and thus provide a basis for both descriptive and predictive software defect analysis that is computationally efficient, comprehensible, and easy to apply. The model may be used to evaluate and compare the reliability of candidate software solutions, and to facilitate planning for software evolution budget and time allocation. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Revamping the LIS curriculum in the Department of Library Science and Information Systems at the TEI of Athens

In the context of the changes in the information environment, the LIS department of the TEI of Athens developed a curriculum intending to incorporate the changes taking place in the information field's knowledge base, based on a literature review, th

Nursing organization at the Bambino gesù children's hospital: an overview

Abstract The Bambino Gesù is the first Italian pediatric hospital, established in 1869 thanks to the act of love of the Salviati family; at the beginning the Hospital consisted of just a few beds, but thanks to thousand of collaborators and throughout the years, it has become a Research Institute belonging to the Holy See. It now reaches 602 beds, looking towards the future and in step with today's progress, whose work is based on the Christian vision of life and respecting individuals. The Bambino Gesù is organized into the following Departments and Units, which operate under the coordination of the President's Office: – Healthcare Department – Scientific Department – Department of Human Resources – Administrative Department – Information Systems and Organization Department ▪ Technical Division Children's Hospital has been divided into Departments organized into Operative Units. Our nursing service belongs to the Healthcare Department and our main responsibilities are technical coordination and programming, management and organizational consulting. Our main goal is to ensure appropriate patient care efficiency for children and their parents in compliance with recognized and accepted quality standards and, considering the departmental organization, the available resources and guidelines reported on the three-year plan.

Simulation of a Hospital Disaster Plan: A Virtual, Live Exercise

Currently, there is no widely available method to evaluate an emergency department disaster plan. Creation of a standardized patient database and the use of a virtual, live exercise may lead to a standardized and reproducible method that can be used to evaluate a disaster plan. A virtual, live exercise was designed with the primary objective of evaluating a hospital's emergency department disaster plan. Education and training of participants was a secondary goal. A database (disastermed.ca) of histories, physical examination findings, and laboratory results for 136 simulated patients was created using information derived from actual patient encounters. The patient database was used to perform a virtual, live exercise using a training version of the emergency department's information system software. Several solutions to increase patient flow were demonstrated during the exercise. Conducting the exercise helped identify several faults in the hospital disaster plan, including outlining the important rate-limiting step. In addition, a significant degree of under-triage was demonstrated. Estimates of multiple markers of patient flow were identified and compared to Canadian guidelines. Most participants reported that the exercise was a valuable learning experience. A virtual, live exercise using the disastermed.ca patient database was an inexpensive method to evaluate the emergency department disaster plan. This included discovery of new approaches to managing patients, delineating the rate-limiting steps, and evaluating triage accuracy. Use of the patient timestamps has potential as a standardized international benchmark of hospital disaster plan efficacy. Participant satisfaction was high.

Integrating Curriculum Across Courses in the Same Semester and Across Semesters Using a Service Learning Project

Management Information Systems (MIS) departments are tasked with preparing students to successfully work for organizations in information technology (IT)related jobs. Accordingly, MIS departments develop a curriculum that provides both technical depth and business acumen. Typically, the business core provides the business acumen and the department’s curriculum provides technical depth. The courses that contribute to this technical depth include domains of programming, networking, database, systems analysis and design plus additional domains as electives. Each course is taught as a stand-alone course, and, although it may have one or more of the other MIS courses as prerequisites, integration across courses is minimal. The problem with this approach is that the different areas in MIS are tightly related. For example, programming a system requires an understanding of business requirements and design on which to write the programs. Programs that access a database using structured query language (SQL) statements require an understanding of the underlying data model, which is built based on functional requirements. At best, integration includes ensuring that prerequisites cover material needed for a particular course and discussing the interrelationships among the topics covered, often via a capstone course that ostensibly integrates all of the material from the previous courses. We propose and take an innovative, holistic approach to integration. Three faculty members teaching the systems analysis and design (SAD), the database management (DB), and the capstone database and development (CAP) courses integrated their courses using a common service learning project. This project consists of conducting a SAD, including a detailed database design and preliminary implementation during two courses in one semester. The following semester, the system is implemented in the third capstone course. Using an integrated project affects how the SAD and CAP courses are taught. Because analysis and design

Collective Outsourcing to Market (Com): A Market-Based Framework for Information Supply Chain Outsourcing

Fang Fang College of Business Administration California State University at San Marcos fangfang@csusm.edu Zhiling Guo Department of Information Systems, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) zguo@umbc.edu Andrew B. Whinston McCombs School of Business The University of Texas at Austin abw@uts.cc.utexas.edu This paper discusses the importance of and a solution to separating the information flow from the physical product flow in a supply chain. Motivated by the inefficient demand forecast caused by information asymmetry and lack of an incentive among supply chain partners to share valuable information, we propose a radically new framework called collective outsourcing to market (COM) to address many information supply chain design challenges. To validate the COM framework, we consider a supply chain with one manufacturer and multiple downstream retailers. Retailers privately acquire demand forecast information that they do not have incentive to share horizontally with other retailers or vertically with the upstream manufacturer. We consider two alternative market mechanisms that can be used to outsource the information-intensive demand forecasting task for the whole supply chain. The specially organized market can be viewed as a cost effective way of acquiring quality information that, at the same time, aligns individual retailers’ incentives to credibly share their private information. We further discuss the real world implementation issues including market design and the costs and benefits of proposed solutions.

Organizational information systems

PurposeThe overall purpose of this paper is to analyze variables that influence how top financial executives view their return on information technology (IT) investment in their organizations. Specifically, relationships between a series of independent variables are measured against the dependent variable overall return on its technology investment. The goal is to determine what contributes to IT success in an organization so that all organizations can focus attention where needed and improve their IT operations.Design/methodology/approachAn analysis of secondary data obtained from the 2003 Financial Executives International (FEI) comprehensive survey‐based research on technology issues for financial executives was conducted. The study was carried out by the FEI and Computer Sciences Corporation. Regression analysis and other statistical methods were used.FindingsThe findings suggest that overall information return is rated medium to high by top financial executives. Variables that significantly and positively affect return include: progress on number one IT issue, seeing IT as a competitive advantage, and IT as a core competency. In addition, though just having an information systems (IS) strategic plan is a significant variable, if there is a plan and it is aligned with the overall corporate strategy, then this variable is positive and significant as well. Most view outsourcing as successful but outsourcing per se does not add to success.Research limitations/implicationsThe study can be used as a basis for further exploration on the influences on technology success as well as serve as a preliminary model to analyze firm IS. Limitations of the study include that the only group included in the survey were financial executives. Non‐response bias is also possible.Practical implicationsThe findings can be used to guide management teams in emphasizing control of the important variables in implementing IS and IT that influence overall corporate returns.Originality/valueThe paper analyzes a large current sample set that empirically reviews a cross‐section of major corporations' IS departments and their returns. In addition, it begins to explore the variables influencing overall IS returns.

Estimating Excess Mortality in Post-Invasion Iraq

In a military invasion and ongoing war, the likelihood of obtaining good demographic data plummets. Catherine Brownstein and John Brownstein discuss the accuracy of the data from the Iraq Family Health Survey. Dr. Mohamed Ali discusses violence-related mortality among Iraqi civilians and the methods used to assess health and mortality in a war zone. Dr. Ali is a statistician in the Department of Measurement and Health Information Systems at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland.

Addressing the IS Enrollment Crisis: A 12-step Program to Bring about Change through the Introductory IS Course

An enrollment crisis continues to plague the Information Systems (IS) discipline. Although recent studies have begun to offer several potentially profitable strategies to reverse plummeting student enrollments, little evidence has been put forth to document comprehensive intervention initiatives aimed at attracting students in higher education institutions. To this end, this study describes a 12-step program targeted at the introductory IS course at one such institution. Developed based on empirical evidence from the literature, discussions with our IS colleagues, and best practices at other institutions, the 12-step program covers all aspects of the course including faculty assignment, tenor and approaches used in class, and innovative ways to tell the IS story. As a result of implementing the program, enrollments in core upper-division IS courses at the institution doubled. This paper presents a powerful, integrated program that is replicable and can be used by other IS departments to address the enrollment crisis at their institutions.

The Information Systems-Accounting Nexus: Lessons from an Australian Institution

The bursting of the dot com bubble in March 2000 caused firms to be wary about investment in, and the use of, information technologies. Consequently, demand in technology-related jobs dropped significantly. This drop in demand has had a profound negative impact on the demand for information systems (IS) courses in the tertiary education sector. Some IS departments suffered badly, and some were forced to downsize their faculty through attrition, giving back faculty lines, freezing hiring, or releasing faculty. At the same time, there has been significant and sustained growth in demand for accounting programs. Professional accounting bodies have introduced technologies to accountants and auditors, and technologies have gained its significance in the accounting discipline. With such an observation, this paper explores whether accounting students see IS courses as a complement to their program and the chance to offer IS-related courses to accounting students. We administrated a survey to explore accounting students’ preferences for accounting-related disciplines. We then conducted a number of focus groups to gain an understanding of their expectations and interest in technology-related courses. We found that although accounting students preferred finance courses to IS courses, they were interested in IS and considered IS to be useful to their long-term career. We then proposed several IS courses customized for accounting students. This will open up more teaching opportunities for IS academics, and strengthens the IS programs by providing stability in an otherwise unstable environment. After the rationale for a list of proposed IS-related courses for accounting students, we discussed some issues that IS academics should pay attention to before launching these courses.