Comparing Coding, Testing, and Migration Costs for Two and Three Tier Client/Server Architectures

One can consider most end-user applications as consisting of three components: presentation, logic, and data. An architecture for a distributed, client/server system can be classified in terms of how these functions are split between software entities and where functions are located on a network. Although a virtually infinite number of possibilities exist for distributing and linking application components, research suggests most contemporary architectures can be defined in terms of a limited subset of alternatives. This paper focuses on issues related to the distributed logic scenario for two-tier and three-tier client/server architectures popular in implementing database transaction-oriented distributed systems. Organizations with portfolios of applications containing common and possibly reusable components would be interested in identifying the costs associated with coding, testing, and migrating (CTM) under different distributed architectures. Recent articles in practitioner literature have discussed the relative advantages and selection heuristics for these architectures,,,. However, these have not operationalized cost justification for choosing one alternative over the other. This paper begins to address this issue by offering formulations to assess CTM costs under specific scenarios. Research is underway to estimate the impact of this model on organizational decision making with regard to architecture choice

The Fair Factories Clearinghouse: Sourcing Ethics Improved Through Information Systems

Firms that outsource production to supply partners are at risk if those suppliers engage in unethical behavior. Such issues have been particularly acute in the apparel industry. If suppliers engage in unethical practices, firms may suffer brand and reputation damage, lost sales, cancelled contracts, legal penalties, lower employee morale, and more. An innovative program, originated at Reebok and expanded to become an interorganizational non-profit, the Fair Factories Clearinghouse, leverages technology to improve industry standards, lower costs, and reduce risks. The Fair Factories Clearinghouse offers an information systems-based solution that allows members to record, capture, and share audit information. This case study discuses the genesis of the FFC, the functionality and benefits of the system, and highlights an area where globally-focused technology can be used for deep and lasting social impact

Case Study: Content and Connections in the Information Systems Curriculum

Maintaining and growing interest in information systems (IS) courses and enrollment in the IS major continues to be a significant concern for university information systems departments. Research in this area understandably focuses on the content of the IS curriculum: the courses to be included, the topics to be taught in those courses, and specific teaching techniques and examples to be employed in the classroom. We argue that alongside these considerations of content, it is critical to examine the connections between these curricular elements and the interests and activities of key stakeholders in the university community including, for example, faculty and their research interests, alumni, employers, and students and their cocurricular interests. We briefly point to existing examples of this focus on connections in existing research and then describe how this focus on connections is put into practice in our university’s information systems curriculum

Network Externalities and Composite IT Goods: An Empirical Investigation of the WWW Software Market

This paper uses the WWW software market to empirically test the network externalities hypothesis in a market of composite goods. Among the results is that vendors that provide both components to a composite goods market (e.g. client and server) enjoy a higher price premium than do single product (e.g. server) providers

Linux vs. Windows in the Middle Kingdom: A Strategic Valuation Model for Platform Competition

This paper examines factors at work when an established standard competes with an open-source offering. Although the argument is often framed along price or technical features, these aspects may describe only a portion of the consumer’s adoption calculus. Modeling the consumer’s technology platform adoption decision is critical to developing market preservation for incumbents and market invasion strategies by rivals. This paper proposes a theory grounded, quantitative model for technology adoption in the presence of network effects, switching costs, and software piracy. We apply the model as a strategy development and market analysis tool to the context of the Linux market in China. A series of strategies for the new rival, as well as strategies for the incumbent, are presented. Findings from this study suggest approaches not only for the context at hand, but also for other scenarios where open-source, network effects, software piracy, and extreme income variances exist

The Determinants of Network Growth: The Case of Commercial Online Information Networks

With the advent of modern telecommunications capabilities, networks are rapidly becoming a competitive necessity in a wide variety of industries. The literature on networks suggests that networks have characteristics (e.g., network externalities) not shared by many other products or services, and thus traditional explanations of product growth or diffusion may not apply. Because there have been few empirical studies on networks, little is known about how networks grow and compete in the marketplace and the impact of network externalities. Using commercial online information networks as a context, this research examines the determinants of network growth. We find that make effect, usability, and compatibility with the dominant technological architecture are important variables influencing network growth. The results are also weakly supportive of the network externalities hypothesis, i.e., the online services industry exhibits some extent of network externalities

Exhaustive exercise training enhances aerobic capacity in American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)

The oxygen transport system in mammals is extensively remodelled in response to repeated bouts of activity, but many reptiles appear to be ‘metabolically inflexible’ in response to exercise training. A recent report showed that estuarine crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) increase their maximum metabolic rate in response to exhaustive treadmill training, and in the present study, we confirm this response in another crocodilian, American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis). We further specify the nature of the crocodilian training response by analysing effects of training on aerobic [citrate synthase (CS)] and anaerobic [lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)] enzyme activities in selected skeletal muscles, ventricular and skeletal muscle masses and haematocrit. Compared to sedentary control animals, alligators regularly trained for 15 months on a treadmill (run group) or in a flume (swim group) exhibited peak oxygen consumption rates higher by 27 and 16%, respectively. Run and swim exercise training significantly increased ventricular mass (~11%) and haematocrit (~11%), but not the mass of skeletal muscles. However, exercise training did not alter CS or LDH activities of skeletal muscles. Similar to mammals, alligators respond to exercise training by increasing convective oxygen transport mechanisms, specifically heart size (potentially greater stroke volume) and haematocrit (increased oxygen carrying-capacity of the blood). Unlike mammals, but similar to squamate reptiles, alligators do not also increase citrate synthase activity of the skeletal muscles in response to exercise