Information systems success research: the "Twenty Year Update?" panel report from PACIS, 2011

This article summarizes a panel held at the 15 Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems (PACIS) in Brisbane, Austrailia, in 2011. The panelists proposed a new research agenda for information systems success research. The DeLone and McLean IS Success Model has been one of the most influential models in Information Systems research. However, the nature of information systems continues to change. Information systems are increasingly implemented across layers of infrastructure and application architecture. The diffusion of information systems into many spheres of life means that information systems success needs to be considered in multiple contexts. Services play a much more prominent role in the economies of countries, making the "service" context of information systems increasingly important. Further, improved understandings of theory and measurement offer new opportunities for novel approaches and new research questions about information systems success

Information Systems Success Research: The “20-Year Update?” Panel Report from PACIS, 2011

This article summarizes a panel held at the 15th Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems (PACIS) in Brisbane, Austrailia, in 2011. The panelists proposed a new research agenda for information systems success research. The DeLone and McLean IS Success Model has been one of the most influential models in Information Systems research. However, the nature of information systems continues to change. Information systems are increasingly implemented across layers of infrastructure and application architecture. The diffusion of information systems into many spheres of life means that information systems success needs to be considered in multiple contexts. Services play a much more prominent role in the economies of countries, making the “service” context of information systems increasingly important. Further, improved understandings of theory and measurement offer new opportunities for novel approaches and new research questions about information systems success

The NIRSPEC Brown Dwarf Spectroscopic Survey II: High-Resolution J-Band Spectra of M, L and T Dwarfs

We present a sequence of high resolution (R~20,000 or 15 km/s) infrared spectra of stars and brown dwarfs spanning spectral types M2.5 to T6. Observations of 16 objects were obtained using eight echelle orders to cover part of the J-band from 1.165-1.323 micron with NIRSPEC on the Keck II telescope. By comparing opacity plots and line lists, over 200 weak features in the J-band are identified with either FeH or H2O transitions. Absorption by FeH attains maximum strength in the mid-L dwarfs, while H2O absorption becomes systematically stronger towards later spectral types. Narrow resolved features broaden markedly after the M to L transition. Our high resolution spectra also reveal that the disappearance of neutral Al lines at the boundary between M and L dwarfs is remarkably abrupt, presumably because of the formation of grains. Neutral Fe lines can be traced to mid-L dwarfs before Fe is removed by condensation. The neutral potassium (K I) doublets that dominate the J-band have pressure broadened wings that continue to broaden from ~50 km/s (FWHM) at mid-M to ~500 km/s at mid-T. In contrast however, the measured pseudo-equivalent widths of these same lines reach a maximum in the mid-L dwarfs. The young L2 dwarf, G196-3B, exhibits narrow potassium lines without extensive pressure-broadened wings, indicative of a lower gravity atmosphere. Kelu-1AB, another L2, has exceptionally broad infrared lines, including FeH and H2O features, confirming its status as a rapid rotator. In contrast to other late T objects, the peculiar T6 dwarf 2MASS 0937+29 displays a complete absence of potassium even at high resolution, which may be a metallicity effect or a result of a cooler, higher-gravity atmosphere.Comment: 53 pages, 21 figures, data will be available at http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~mclean/BDSSarchive

Statistical modelling of groundwater contamination monitoring data: a comparison of spatial and spatiotemporal methods

Field monitoring of groundwater contamination plumes is an important component of managing risks for downgradient receptors and remedial strategies that rely on monitored natural attenuation. Collection of groundwater quality data can however take a considerable effort and be associated with high cost. Here, we investigated the relative merits of analyzing groundwater quality data using spatial compared to spatiotemporal statistical modelling and assessed the accuracy of both methods and implications for data collection requirements. The aim of this was to determine whether the quantity of data collected can be reduced, while retaining the same level of estimation accuracy, by analyzing groundwater contamination data using a spatiotemporal model which “borrows strength” across time, rather than a spatial model for individual sampling events. To capture the variability encountered under field conditions, we used three hypothetical groundwater contamination plumes with increasing complexity, and site data for a large groundwater gasoline additive plume. The results show that spatiotemporal methods can increase efficiency markedly so that, in comparison with repeated spatial analysis, spatiotemporal methods can achieve the same level of performance but with smaller sample sizes

Perspectives on the design of the school geometry curriculum

The question of how to construct an appropriate geometry curriculum is a long-standing one. A recent estimate suggests that there are more than fifty geometries. This creates a fundamental problem in devising a geometry curriculum: there are just too many interesting things to include so some decision has to be made as to what to include and what to exclude. This report features three perspectives on the issue of the design of the school geometry curriculum

Chemoanatomical organization of the noradrenergic input from locus coeruleus to the olfactory bulb of the adult rat.

The locus coeruleus contains noradrenergic neurons which project widely throughout the CNS. A major target of locus coeruleus projections in the rat is the olfactory bulb (Shipley et al.: Brain Res. 329:294–299, '85) but the organization of the projections within the bulb has not been systematically examined. In this study, the laminar distribution and densities of locus coeruleus-noradrenergic fibers in the main and accessory olfactory bulbs were determined with anterograde tracing and immunocytochemical techniques. Following iontophoretic injections of 1% wheat germ agglutinin-horseradish peroxidase into the locus coeruleus, the densest anterograde label in the accessory olfactory bulb was observed in the external plexiform layer, granule cell layer, and especially in the internal part of the mitral cell layer. Virtually no label was observed in the glomerular layer. In the main olfactory bulb, labelled axons were observed in the granule cell layer, in the internal and external plexiform layers, occasionally in the mitral cell layer, and least often in the glomerular layer. Noradrenergic fibers in the olfactory bulb were identified by using immunocytochemistry with an antibody to dopamine-β-hydroxylase. Laminar patterns and densities of noradrenergic innervation were determined with quantitative image analysis. In the accessory olfactory bulb, the densest innervation was in the innermost portion of the mitral cell layer followed by the granule cell layer, the superficial part of the mitral cell layer, and the external plexiform layer. The density of fibers in the glomerular layer was least. The laminar pattern of noradrenergic fiber distribution in the main olfactory bulb was similar to that in accessory olfactory bulb. The present studies demonstrate that locus coeruleus-noradrenergic fibers terminate preferentially in the internal plexiform, granule cell, and external plexiform layers. This suggests that the major influence of the locus coeruleus input to both the main and accessory the olfactory bulbs is on the predominant neuronal element in those layers, the granule cells. Additional studies are needed to resolve how this input influences specific olfactory bulb circuits

1-1.4 Micron Spectral Atlas of Stars

We present a catalog of J-band (1.08 um to 1.35 um) stellar spectra at low resolution (R ~ 400). The targets consist of 105 stars ranging in spectral type from O9.5 to M7 and luminosity classes I through V. The relatively featureless spectra of hot stars, earlier than A4, can be used to remove the atmospheric features which dominate ground-based J-band spectroscopy. We measure equivalent widths for three absorption lines and nine blended features which we identify in the spectra. Using detailed comparison with higher resolution spectra, we demonstrate that low resolution data can be used for stellar classification, since several features depend on the effective temperature and gravity. For example The CN index (1.096 - 1.104 um) decreases with temperature, but the strength of a blended feature at 1.28 um (consisting of primarily P beta) increases. The slope of a star's spectrum can also be used to estimate its effective temperature. The luminosity class of a star correlates with the ratio of the Mg I (1.1831 um) line to a blend of several species at 1.16 um. Using these indicators, a star can be classified to within several subclasses. Fifteen stars with particularly high and low metal abundances are included in the catalog and some spectral dependence on metal abundance is also found.Comment: 35 pages, 10 figures (3a-e are in gif format. For complete high resolution figures, go to http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~malkan/newjspec/) ; Accepted for published in ApJS; For associated spectra files, see http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~malkan/newjspec