Valuable or Stagnating? An Essay on Axiomatic Theories in IS Research

An axiomatic theory is theory whose premise is so self-evident that it can be accepted as true without controversy or much empirical confirmation. In this paper, I entertain the contention that theorizing in information systems (IS) research is mostly axiomatic. If so, among the many ramifications are questions regarding the value relevance of such research. After all, if the field engages in creating theories that are in plain-view, self-evident, and can be deduced using common sense, what is the knowledge contribution of such endeavors? Is there value in producing such theories or is the effort invested in testing these kinds of theories a waste of precious resources? Has our preoccupation with axiomatic theories led to theoretical stagnation in the field? In this essay, I investigate the nature of axiomatic theories and make the case that much significant research in IS is not axiomatic

Adsorption Induced Solid Phase Transition of MIL-53(Al)

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) are nano-porous solids with potential applications in a wide range of fields including gas separation and catalysis. A number of metal organic frameworks show structural transformation and exceptional flexibility on changing the temperature, pressure and adsorption of certain guest molecules. On the contrary, most of the porous solids like zeolites and activated carbon used in applications are rigid. The structural flexibility makes MOF materials very interesting to study and show promise in applications such as sensors, actuators, membrane separation and adsorptive separation. In this study, we examine the chemical potential difference (Δμ) of MIL-53 (Al), a MOF which exhibits a “breathing” phenomena by transitioning between its narrow pore (np) and large pore (lp) conformation. It is important to measure Δμ between the two phases of the solid to be able to predict and/or model gas adsorption. Single component adsorption equilibria of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrogen (N2) and oxygen (O2) were measured over a pressure range of 0-20 bar at 273K, 293K and 306K, using a magnetic suspension microbalance. The adsorption measurements show that experimental sample of MIL-53(Al) behaves differently in case of CO2 when compared with other gases. The data obtained is used to investigate these differences in the adsorption characteristics of narrow pore and large pore phases. A modified form of Langmuir model is fitted to the experimental data and corresponding chemical potential differences between the two pore conformations is determined. The effect of temperature dependency is also investigated

Cerebrospinal fluid metabolites in tryptophan-kynurenine and nitric oxide pathways: biomarkers for acute neuroinflammation.

Aim To explore the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) metabolite features in acute neuroinflammatory diseases and identify potential biomarkers to diagnose and monitor neuroinflammation. Method A cohort of 14 patients (five females, nine males; mean [median] age 7y 9mo [9y], range 6mo–13y) with acute encephalitis (acute disseminated encephalomyelitis n=6, unknown suspected viral encephalitis n=3, enteroviral encephalitis n=2, seronegative autoimmune encephalitis n=2, herpes simplex encephalitis n=1) and age-matched non-inflammatory neurological disease controls (n=14) were investigated using an untargeted metabolomics approach. CSF metabolites were analyzed with liquid chromatography coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry, followed by subsequent multivariate and univariate statistical methods. Results A total of 35 metabolites could be discriminated statistically between the groups using supervised orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis and analysis of variance. The tryptophan-kynurenine pathway contributed nine key metabolites. There was a statistical increase of kynurenine, quinolinic acid, and anthranilic acid in patients with encephalitis, whereas tryptophan, 3-hydroxyanthrnailic acid, and kynurenic acid were decreased. The nitric oxide pathway contributed four metabolites, with elevated asymmetric dimethylarginine and argininosuccinic acid, and decreased arginine and citrulline in patients with encephalitis. An increase in the CSF kynurenine/tryptophan ratio (p<0.001), anthranilic acid/3-hydroxyanthranilic acid ratio (p<0.001), asymmetric dimethylarginine/arginine ratio (p<0.001), and neopterin (p<0.001) strongly predicted neuroinflammation. Interpretation The combination of alterations in the tryptophan-kynurenine pathway, nitric oxide pathway, and neopterin represent a useful potential panel for neuroinflammation and holds potential for clinical translation practice. What this paper adds The kynurenine/tryptophan and anthranilic acid/3-hydroxyanthranilic acid ratios hold great potential as biomarkers of neuroinflammation. Elevation of the asymmetric dimethylarginine/arginine ratio in acute brain inflammation shows dysregulation of the nitric oxide pathway

The Impact of Webpage Visual Characteristics on Consumer\u27s Initial Trust In E-Vendors

In making decisions regarding transacting with web-based vendors, consumers typically consider the uncertainty about vendor behavior or the perceived risk of having personal information misused by vendors. To mitigate these concerns vendors convey cues to improve consumer trust at a very early stage. Initial trust plays a central role in helping consumers overcome perceptions of risk and insecurity and makes them feel comfortable about interacting and transacting with an e-vendor. Therefore, initial trust is critical to both researchers and practitioners. The present paper describes a research-in-progress study that concentrates on webpage visual complexity and order as central factors in the design of web pages to enhance consumers’ initial trust in an online e-vendor

Factors Influencing the Extent of Co-Authorship in IS Research: An Empirical Investigation

The extent of co-authorship in IS research is on the rise. Why has collaboration between IS academics increased? While prior research on the incidence of co-authorship provides several reasons for why academics collaborate, little is known about whether these rationales are equally adept at explaining the growing extent of co-authorship. To answer this question, we delve into extant research on collaboration and delineate four rationales for why papers have more co-authors. These include information processing, access to social resources, convenience, and the opportunity cost of time. We formulate several variables and propose several hypotheses based on these rationales. We collected data by coding 641 papers from six major U.S. and European journals. The results generally support the proposed hypotheses. We discuss the implications of the results in terms of how they inform the field and policy makers

Activating Indofuturism: Applying a lens adapted from Postcolonial Futurisms

In this research, I envision what a speculative future for India might look like without its colonial past to activate a largely unexplored futurism discipline for India, called “Indofuturism”. Serving a multifold intent, the lens of Indofuturism imagines an alternative future for India without a history of colonisation, reclaims aspects of its pre-colonial culture that were lost through colonialism, and highlights pressing social conditions and critiques prejudices prevalent within contemporary Indian communities. Considering the overlaps in postcolonial experiences of Indian people and historically colonised people worldwide, the emerging methodological lens of Indofuturism seeks insights from existing Postcolonial Futurisms. I apply Speculative Design and its subsets Critical and Dark Design as methodologies, and Thought Experiments as a method, to create five Indofuturist artefacts that illustrate this proposed vision of Indofuturism. These artefacts are built as interactive installations using virtual reality, 3D art, creative coding, physical computing, volumetric video, and dance performance with the intent of creating multiple avenues of engagement for the audience. They are narratively linked in a storyworld using a World Building framework, which leads to the tenets of Indofuturism distilled through this research and disseminated as an Indofuturist Manifesto

A cross-sectional comparative study to determine the factors contributing to the academic performance of the high performers and low performers in 2nd year medical students

Background: MBBS course content is extensive and requires immense and strenuous effort on the part of the medical students to complete it. Some students excel in their academics while others strive to pass and some even drop out. If the factors contributing to the excellent academic performance could be identified, these factors then can be incorporated to upgrade the struggling medical students. Hence, early identification of low achievers and the factors responsible for their poor performance is crucial. We undertook this study to identify the various factors influencing the academic performance of these two groups of students.Methods: We identified the top thirty percentile and bottom 30 percentile students in the subject of pharmacology based on their third semester examination marks. All the 62 students opted to participate in the study, and their informed consent was taken. They were then given the questionnaire and allowed to answer in a stress free atmosphere.Results: Factors which were statistically significant in contributing to the good performance of high achievers were the use of reference books from the library, learning from other sources such as patients, avoiding repetition of mistakes made in the past, proper time management skills, and having immense intrinsic motivation to study.Conclusion: Through our study, we identified important factors contributing to high performance in academics, and we concluded that students should incorporate all the factors in a well-coordinated manner rather than focusing on any single factor. If executed, appropriately it will definitely upgrade their academic performance and prevent undesirable failures

Poster and model competition: a novel interest-generating teaching tool in the subject of pharmacology

Background: The objective of this study was to provide an extrinsic motivation for learning and allow it to translate into intrinsic motivation during the activity. To generate an interest and to have a better understanding of pharmacology by preparing models and posters.Methods: The present study was carried out among the second year MBBS students. The topic selected was “pharmacotherapy of diabetes mellitus.” A formal announcement was made 30 days in advance. Didactic lectures were taken as per schedule. Ninety-seven students were divided into 18 groups of 5-6 student’s each. Nine groups were allotted to prepare models and nine were allotted to prepare posters. On the assigned day student’s presented their posters and models with enthusiasm. The best three posters and three models were awarded. Feedback forms in the form of questionnaire were given to the students. The students had to grade the answers: 1: little help, 5: extremely helpful. 1-2: low score; 3: medium score; 4,5: high score.Results: Chi-square test was applied to all answers except eighth. The answers showed Chi-square value more than 9.21 and p<0.01, which is considered statistically significant. As for the eighth answer, 77.7% students scored it 4-5 (high score).The sample size for 1-2 (low score) was only 3: so Chi-square test was not applicable.Conclusions: The poster model competition did generate an interest in the topic. The students had a new avenue to express themselves and in the process gain more knowledge in an enjoyable manner. Learning is facilitated when students themselves play an important role in the learning process. Poster-model competition can be incorporated as a teaching-learning tool to encourage and motivate students who lack intrinsic motivation

Cerebrospinal fluid metabolomics: detection of neuroinflammation in human central nervous system disease.

The high morbidity and mortality of neuroinflammatory diseases drives significant interest in understanding the underlying mechanisms involved in the innate and adaptive immune response of the central nervous system (CNS). Diagnostic biomarkers are important to define treatable neuroinflammation. Metabolomics is a rapidly evolving research area offering novel insights into metabolic pathways, and elucidation of reliable metabolites as biomarkers for diseases. This review focuses on the emerging literature regarding the detection of neuroinflammation using cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) metabolomics in human cohort studies. Studies of classic neuroinflammatory disorders such as encephalitis, CNS infection and multiple sclerosis confirm the utility of CSF metabolomics. Additionally, studies in neurodegeneration and neuropsychiatry support the emerging potential of CSF metabolomics to detect neuroinflammation in common CNS diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and depression. We demonstrate metabolites in the tryptophan-kynurenine pathway, nitric oxide pathway, neopterin and major lipid species show moderately consistent ability to differentiate patients with neuroinflammation from controls. Integration of CSF metabolomics into clinical practice is warranted to improve recognition and treatment of neuroinflammation

Catalytic effects of magnetic and conductive nanoparticles on immobilized glucose oxidase in skin sensors

Wearable skin sensors is a promising technology for real-time health care monitoring. They are of particular interest for monitoring glucose in diabetic patients. The concentration of glucose in sweat can be more than two orders of magnitude lower than in blood. In consequence, the scientific and technological efforts are focused in developing new concepts to enhance the sensitivity, decrease the limit of detection (LOD) and reduce the response time (RT) of glucose skin sensors. This work explores the effect of adsorbed superparamagnetic magnetite nanoparticles (MNPs) and conductive nanoparticles (CNPs) on carbon nanotube substrates (CNTs) used to immobilize glucose oxidase enzyme in the working electrode of skin sensors. MNPs and CNPs are made of magnetite and gold, respectively. The performance of the sensors was tested in standard buffer solution, artificial sweat, fresh sweat and on the skin of a healthy volunteer during an exercise session. In the case of artificial sweat, the presence of MNPs accelerated the RT from 7 to 5 s at the expense of increasing the LOD from 0.017 to 0.022 mM with slight increase of the sensitivity from 4.90 to 5.09 μAm M-1 cm-2. The presence of CNPs greatly accelerated the RT from 7 to 2 s and lowered the LOD from 0.017 to 0.014 mM at the expense of a great diminution of the sensitivity from 4.90 to 4.09 μAm M-1 cm-2. These effects were explained mechanistically by analyzing the changes in the concentration of free oxygen and electrons promoted by MNPs and CNPs in the CNTs and its consequences on the the glucose oxidation process.Fil: Alarcon Segovia, Lilian Celeste. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Matemática Aplicada del Litoral. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Matemática Aplicada del Litoral; ArgentinaFil: Bandodkar, Amay J.. Northwestern University; Estados UnidosFil: Rogers, John A.. Northwestern University; Estados UnidosFil: Rintoul, Ignacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico para la Industria Química. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico para la Industria Química; Argentin