Information Systems Scholarship: An Examination of the Past, Present, and Future of the Information Systems Academic Discipline

This dissertation investigates the topic of scholarship in the Information Systems (IS) discipline through a series of three papers. The papers, presented in Chapters 2, 3, and 4, each delve into a specific chronological period of IS scholarship which are delineated into the past, present, and future. Chapter 2 elucidates the IS discipline’s ‘past’ by categorizing the entire corpus of extant research in the Association of Information Systems Senior Scholars’ Basket of eight journals. Clusters derived from these mainstream journal publications represent a thematic identity of the IS discipline. After analyzing the corpus altogether, further analysis segments the corpus into shorter, 5-year periods to illuminate the historical evolution of the themes. Lastly, interpretations of the trends and a recommendation to curate an IS Body of Knowledge are discussed. Chapter 3 surveys business school deans and IS academics eliciting their ‘present’ social representations of the IS discipline. It then seeks the two groups’ feedback regarding their level of agreement with concerns attributed to the IS discipline as summarized in Ives and Adams (2012). Group responses are evaluated independently and are juxtaposed for between-group analysis. Then, additional concerns are gathered to ensure the full range of issues are represented. Network topic maps illustrate the findings, and interpretations are discussed. Group differences suggest that IS academics are more critical of the IS discipline than business school deans. In Chapter 4, an alternative research approach is offered for conducting ‘future’ scholarship efforts in the IS discipline. A framework that organizes discourse on the emergent crowdsourced research genre is constructed. Prior to building the framework, a crowdsourcing process model is developed to conceptualize how problems and outcomes interact with the crowdsourcing process. The internal process components include task, governance, people, and technology. Then, the crowdsourcing process model is applied to eight general research process phases beginning with the idea generation phase and concluding with the apply results phase. Implementation of the crowdsourced research framework expounds phase-specific implications as well as other ubiquitous implications of the research process. The findings are discussed, and future directions for the IS crowd are suggested

Interrogation of fibre Bragg gratings through a fibre optic rotary joint on a geotechnical centrifuge

The monitoring of an array of fibre Bragg gratings (FBGs) strain sensors was performed through a single channel, single mode fibre optic rotary joint (FORJ) mounted on a geotechnical centrifuge. The array of three FBGs was attached to an aluminum plate that was anchored at the ends and placed on the model platform of the centrifuge. Acceleration forces of up to 50g were applied and the reflection signal of the monitored FBGs recorded dynamically using a 2.5kHz FBG interrogator placed outside the centrifuge. The use of a FORJ allowed the monitoring of the FBGs without submitting the FBG interrogator to the high g-forces experienced in the centrifuge. © (2016) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only

Mobile app reading speed test

Aim: To validate the accuracy and repeatability of a mobile app reading speed test compared with the traditional paper version. Method: Twenty-one subjects wearing their full refractive correction glasses read 14 sentences of decreasing print size between 1.0 and -0.1 logMAR, each consisting of 14 words (Radner reading speed test) at 40 cm with a paper-based chart and twice on iPad charts. Time duration was recorded with a stop watch for the paper chart and on the App itself for the mobile chart allowing critical print size (CPS) and optimal reading speed (ORS) to be derived objectively. Results: The ORS was higher for the mobile app charts (194±29 wpm; 195±25 wpm) compared with the paper chart (166±20 wpm; F=57.000, p<0.001). The CPS was lower for the mobile app charts (0.17±0.20 logMAR; 0.18±0.17 logMAR) compared with the paper chart (0.25±0.17 logMAR; F=5.406, p=0.009). The mobile app test had a mean difference repeatability of 0.30±22.5 wpm, r=0.917 for ORS, and a CPS of 0.0±0.2 logMAR, r=0.769. Conclusions: Repeatability of the app reading speed test is as good (ORS) or better (CPS) than previous studies on the paper test. While the results are not interchangeable with paper-based charts, mobile app tablet-based tests of reading speed are reliable and rapid to perform, with the potential to capture functional visual ability in research studies and clinical practice

The Scottish NHS : meeting the financial challenge ahead

The Scottish NHS faces a crisis of affordability in the next couple of decades as the population ages and demands on services intensify. This presents two challenges: the first is how to redesign services to achieve greater efficiencies, and the second is how to engage the public so that there is a realistic public view about what is affordable, against which a mature discussion about the hard choices about funding and provision can take place. We refer to these as the innovation and openness challenges. In the paper we outline the current state of the system and discuss possible policy options. We conclude with some recommendations for next steps

Considerations on the role of the Hall current in a laboratory-model thruster

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/76645/1/AIAA-2001-3507-148.pd

An investigation of internal ion number density and electron temperature profiles in a laboratory-model Hall thruster

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/76158/1/AIAA-2000-3422-584.pd

Internal plasma potential profiles in a laboratory-model Hall thruster

The Plasmadynamics and Electric Propulsion Laboratory High-speed Axial Reciprocating Probe system is used in conjunction with a floating emissive probe to measure plasma potential in the discharge chamber of the P5 Hall thruster. Plasma potential measurements are made at a constant voltage, 300 V, at two different discharge current conditions: 5.4 and 10 A. The plasma potential contours for the 5.4 A case indicate that the acceleration region begins several millimeters upstream of the exit plane, extends several centimeters downstream, and is uniform across the width of the discharge chamber. The 10 A case is similar to the 5.4 A case with the exception that the acceleration region is shifted downstream on centerline. Axial electric field profiles, computed from the measured potential, show a double peak structure in the 5.4 A case, indicating a zone of ion deceleration. Perturbations to the discharge current are shown to correspond spatially with the location of the peak electric field indicating that thruster perturbations may result from a disturbance to the Hall current, as opposed to ablation of probe material. This conclusion is supported by the lack of any observable material ablation. © 2001 American Institute of Physics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/70794/2/PHPAEN-8-2-652-1.pd

Bluetongue virus infection creates light averse Culicoides vectors and serious errors in transmission risk estimates.

BackgroundPathogen manipulation of host behavior can greatly impact vector-borne disease transmission, but almost no attention has been paid to how it affects disease surveillance. Bluetongue virus (BTV), transmitted by Culicoides biting midges, is a serious disease of ruminant livestock that can cause high morbidity and mortality and significant economic losses. Worldwide, the majority of surveillance for Culicoides to assess BTV transmission risk is done using UV-light traps. Here we show that field infection rates of BTV are significantly lower in midge vectors collected using traps baited with UV light versus a host cue (CO2).MethodsWe collected Culicoides sonorensis midges in suction traps baited with CO2, UV-light, or CO2 + UV on three dairies in southern California to assess differences in the resulting estimated infection rates from these collections. Pools of midges were tested for BTV by qRT-PCR, and maximum likelihood estimates of infection rate were calculated by trap. Infection rate estimates were also calculated by trapping site within a dairy. Colonized C. sonorensis were orally infected with BTV, and infection of the structures of the compound eye was examined using structured illumination microscopy.ResultsUV traps failed entirely to detect virus both early and late in the transmission season, and underestimated virus prevalence by as much as 8.5-fold. CO2 + UV traps also had significantly lower infection rates than CO2-only traps, suggesting that light may repel infected vectors. We found very high virus levels in the eyes of infected midges, possibly causing altered vision or light perception. Collecting location also greatly impacts our perception of virus activity.ConclusionsBecause the majority of global vector surveillance for bluetongue uses only light-trapping, transmission risk estimates based on these collections are likely severely understated. Where national surveillance programs exist, alternatives to light-trapping should be considered. More broadly, disseminated infections of many arboviruses include infections in vectors' eyes and nervous tissues, and this may be causing unanticipated behavioral effects. Field demonstrations of pathogen-induced changes in vector behavior are quite rare, but should be studied in more systems to accurately predict vector-borne disease transmission