Single Information Technology Research Articles

Repeated IT Interruption: Habituation and Sensitization of User Responses

ABSTRACT Information technology (IT) interruptions are IT-based events that capture users’ attention and interfere with other activities. This study focuses on repeated IT interruption and task performance. We draw on dual-process theory and suggest that users may get used to repeated IT interruption, known as habituation, or may become hypersensitive, known as sensitization. We validate the research model based on data from a laboratory experiment with 100 subjects by using a multivariate latent growth model (LGM). With subjective and objective measurement techniques, we show how users respond to repeated IT interruption with physiological arousal, psychological exhaustion, and behavioral task performance. Our results indicate that user responses follow different patterns over time, revealing time-dependent effects of arousal and exhaustion on task performance. We contribute to literature by providing evidence that repeated IT interruption results in unique habituation and sensitization user response patterns compared to a single IT interruption.

New Approach for Information Security Evaluation and Management of IT Systems in Educational Institutions

Security evaluation and management has become increasingly important for Web-based information technology (IT) systems, especially for educational institutions. For the security evaluation and management of IT systems in educational institutions, determining the security level for a single IT system has been well developed. However, it is still difficult to evaluate the information security level of the entire educational institution considering multiple IT systems, because there might be too many different IT systems in one institution, educational institutions can be very different, and there is no standard model or method to provide a justifiable information security evaluation among different educational institutions considering their differences. In light of these difficulties, a security evaluation model of educational institutions’ IT systems (SEMEIS) is proposed in this work to facilitate the information security management for the educational institutions. Firstly, a simplified educational industry information system security level protection rating (EIISSLPR) with a new weight redistribution strategy for a single IT system is proposed by choosing important evaluation questions from EIISSLPR and redistributing the weights of these questions. Then for the entire educational institution, analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is used to redistribute the weights of multiple IT systems at different security levels. Considering the risk of possible network security vulnerabilities, a risk index is formulated by weighting different factors, normalized by a utility function, and calculated with the real data collected from the institutions under the evaluation. Finally, the information security performance of educational institutions is obtained as the final score from SEMEIS. The results show that SEMEIS can evaluate the security level of the education institutions practically and provide an efficient and effective management tool for the information security management.

A Study on Employee Engagement in Information Technology (IT) Industry

This study investigates various techniques employed to engage people in the organization. Since employee engagement has been discussed in the academic literature and corporate reports for more than decades; it is significant to examine the techniques and its consequences. Previous studies have been referred to formulate interview questions. Personal interview was carried out with human resource department people as well as the employees. Employees were allowed to express their opinion unconditionally. The analysis is organized into two sections around the areas of human resource management philosophies and employee engagement practices. The effectiveness of employee engagement program has also been described. The limitation of this study is that it analyses a single IT entity. Findings from various researches have been compared to justify the validity of the interview questions.

Hospital Adoption of Information Technologies and Improved Patient Safety: A Study of 98 Hospitals in Florida

Most of the studies linking the use of information technology (IT) to improved patient safety have been conducted in academic medical centers or have focused on a single institution or IT application. Our study explored the relationship between overall IT adoption and patient safety performance across hospitals in Florida. Primary data on hospital IT adoption were combined with secondary hospital discharge data. Regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between measures of IT adoption and the Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs) of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. We found that eight PSIs were related to at least one measure of IT adoption. Compared with administrative IT adoption, clinical IT adoption was related to more patient safety outcome measures. Hospitals with the most sophisticated and mature IT infrastructures performed significantly better on the largest number of PSIs. Adoption of IT is associated with desirable performance on many important measures of hospital patient safety. Hospital leaders and other decision makers who are examining IT systems should consider the impact of IT on patient safety.

UPBEAT IN ORLANDO

SAP'S RECENT SAPPHIRE USERS conference introduced an element of redundancy to Orlando, Fla., a city that already has a popular Back to the Future attraction. Business is booming again for the business software giant, which in the 1990s virtually conquered the market for enterprise resource planning (ERP) software in certain industries, including chemicals. At Sapphire, chemical company information technology (IT) managers were again talking about the importance of CEO ownership of big-ticket IT projects. And because many of them are embarking once more on major IT projects, just as they did 10 years ago, managers spoke of the need to realign business processes to operate on a single IT platform. The focus is on SAP's latest generation of ERP software, mySAP ERP 2005. Based on the firm's Netweaver Internet-based platform, it supports software from multiple vendors. SAP's act two garnered positive reviews from chemical industry IT managers and analysts at the show, some of ...

A Comparison of Baccalaureate Programs in Information Technology with Baccalaureate Programs in Computer Science and Information Systems

An international association advancing the multidisciplinary study of informing systems. Founded in 1998, the Informing Science Institute (ISI) is a global community of academics shaping the future of informing science.