An examination of the long-term business value of investments in information technology

In this paper, we examine the effects of investments in Information Technology (IT) on the long term business values of organizations. The regression discontinuity design is used in this research to examine eight hundred and ten IT investment announcements collected from the period 1982–2007. Our results found that press releases can affect the market value of a firm by possibly providing investors with a better idea of a firm’s current and future operations and strategy. On the other hand, these press releases also appear to attract more transient investors. The attraction of transient investors likely suggests the market believes the IT investing firm is serious about its potential for growth and expansion

Does physical activity change predict functional recovery in low back pain? Protocol for a prospective cohort study

Background: Activity advice and prescription are commonly used in the management of low back pain (LBP). Although there is evidence for advising patients with LBP to remain active, facilitating both recovery and return to work, to date no research has assessed whether objective measurements of free living physical activity (PA) can predict outcome, recovery and course of LBP. Methods: An observational longitudinal study will investigate PA levels in a cohort of community-dwelling working age adults with acute and sub-acute LBP. Each participant's PA level, functional status, mood, fear avoidance behaviours, and levels of pain, psychological distress and occupational activity will be measured on three occasions during for 1 week periods at baseline, 3 months, and 1 year. Physical activity levels will be measured by self report, RT3 triaxial accelerometer, and activity recall questionnaires. The primary outcome measure of functional recovery will be the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ). Free living PA levels and changes in functional status will be quantified in order to look at predictive relationships between levels and changes in free living PA and functional recovery in a LBP population. Discussion: This research will investigate levels and changes in activity levels of an acute LBP cohort and the predictive relationship to LBP recovery. The results will assess whether occupational, psychological and behavioural factors affect the relationship between free living PA and LBP recovery. Results from this research will help to determine the strength of evidence supporting international guidelines that recommend restoration of normal activity in managing LBP. Trial registration. [Clinical Trial Registration Number, ACTRN12609000282280]. © 2009 Hendrick et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

An Activity Centered Design framework for Determining Design Decision Levels in Production Systems

This paper presents the ACD3-Production framework – a twodimensional model whose purpose is to visualize and clarify the scope, impact and organizational position of design decisions. The abbreviation stands for Activity-Centered Design Decision Determination and is based on a similar framework for product development that supports design decision-making in product design. The framework characterizes design problems along the two dimensions of Abstraction levels and Design perspectives; it is postulated that design decisions are made at the intersection of these, and that the production system’s overarching purposes will propagate coherently down to the physical detailed design level if the design work follows the top-down process indicated in the framework. ACD3-Production is visually represented in the form of a matrix that can facilitate discussions between design change agents, in order to determine where in the production system there are problems, where specific effects are desired, and where to implement a design change