Methodology and Theory Building in MIS Research

This paper reports on the stage of maturity of MIS research according to the McGrath (1979) model, as evidenced by the theory building occurring in two top MIS research journals. While MIS as a discipline continues to grow, its development depends on establishing a cumulative tradition of good research (Keen 1980). Of the published papers surveyed that are relevant to theory building, 81% of them relate to theory development, while 18% address theory testing. Of the papers involving data collection, more than half use field studies as the methodology. In order to advance MIS as a mature field, it is hoped that MIS researchers consider these findings when developing future research agendas

Safer Systems, Safer Care: Bringing the Tools and Strategies to Clinical Service Areas Through Applied Patient Safety Programs

AbstractAlong with creating and supporting a trained network of Patient Safety Managers across the U.S. Veterans Health Administration, the National Center for Patient Safety brings an increased, shared awareness of patient safety goals and strategies to disciplines of healthcare, beginning with the biomedical engineers at VHA facilities. This presentation outlines a ‘roadmap’ for the journey to high reliability healthcare and shares the training approach and results to date. This roadmap is modelled after that used at NASA and contains four development phases beginning with an awareness of human limitations and ending with proactive analysis to anticipate causes of safety episodes. The goal of the roadmap is to systematically ensure the care given to patients is done as safely as possible by incorporating best practices from mature industries

Economic Assessment of 4 Approaches to the Diagnosis and Initial Treatment of Sleep Apnea

BACKGROUND: A dilemma faced by health-care administrators is that need greatly outstrips capacity for diagnosing and treating sleep apnea, with such decisions carrying significant economic consequences. Our objective was to develop an economic model to estimate the relative costs of 4 approaches for diagnosis and initial treatment of sleep apnea. METHODS: The analysis consisted of developing a mathematical model depicting possible diagnostic and treatment approaches to the care of patients with sleep apnea; developing 4 clinical scenarios to describe distinct approaches to the management of sleep apnea patients (in-laboratory, unattended, direct-to-autotitrating PAP [auto-PAP], and mixed); and identifying costs associated with each scenario. We created a hypothetical cohort of 1,000 patients with 85% prevalence of sleep apnea to generate cost estimates. RESULTS: The driver of per-patient costs was the total number of sleep studies, which varied widely across scenarios: from 425 for the direct-to-auto-PAP approach to 1,441 in the unattended approach. The scenarios also differed in per-patient costs: Per-patient costs excluding facility startup costs were $456 for direct-to-auto-PAP,$913 for in-laboratory, $991 for mixed, and$1,090 for unattended. CONCLUSIONS: Approaches to diagnosing and treating sleep apnea that emphasized early application of auto-PAP had lower per-patient costs

Visualization of animated information

As computers are incorporated into the daily decision making environment, the question of how to make their support to managers more effective is of concern. In this research, the fit of animation speed of multidimensional, graphical displays to data depiction techniques and human abilities is investigated. The experimental design consists of three animation speeds (slow, medium, fast), three styles of data depiction (color, height, both color and height) and five areas of the screen, called segments (one, two, three, four, five). Sixty-three subjects were used in a nested factorial design to test the seven hypotheses. The experimental results support four out of the seven hypotheses which indicated the following: (1) The speed of animation significantly affects performance of comparison of graphical objects on a multidimensional display. (2) The number of segments in the question is significant, with similar performance resulting when the number of segments is one or two. Performance decreases when the number of segments is greater than two. (3) Some individual characteristics measured or surveyed were significantly correlated with overall response accuracy in graphical comparison tasks. Specifically, age was inversely correlated with overall accuracy. Previous knowledge of the location of states within the United States also significantly affected accuracy. Different characteristics affected performance at different animation treatment speeds. Video game expertise affected performance at the fast speed, while age strongly affected performance at the medium speed. Better depth perception and higher scores on the Snowy Pictures test affected overall performance at the slow speed. Based on these findings, recommendations are made for the design of multidimensional, moving, graphical computer displays

User Preference For Product Information In Remote Purchase

While the appeal of shopping online is enormous, successful methods of attracting and keeping customers remain elusive. Product offerings, service, and price are important considerations in online shopping, and a useful and satisfying Web site is also a consideration for on-line success. This research investigates product presentation in remote purchase environments and whether to accommodate user preferences for information processing in that presentation. After simulating an on-line shopping experience, users were asked about their satisfaction with it. Results indicate that regardless of the individual information processing style, the sentential style Web site was preferred over the diagrammatic style of product presentation. However, a combination site including both pictures and text was preferred over the others. These results address a conflict between goals of fast download time and thorough product presentation. Pictures may represent confirmation of the verbal description and provides a holistic view of the product, which slightly increases satisfaction

AHFE 2016 International Conference on Human Factors and Ergonomics in Healthcare

This book discusses the latest advances in human factors and ergonomics, focusing on methods for improving quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness in patient care. By emphasizing the physical, cognitive and organizational aspects of human factors and ergonomics applications, it reports on various perspectives, including those of clinicians, patients, health organizations and insurance providers. The book describes cutting-edge applications, highlighting the best practices of staff interactions with patients, as well as interactions with computers and medical devices. It also presents new findings related to improved organizational outcomes in healthcare settings, and approaches to modeling and analysis specifically targeting those work aspects unique to healthcare. Based on the AHFE 2016 International Conference on Human Factors and Ergonomics in Healthcare, held on July 27-31, 2016, in Walt Disney World®, Florida, USA, the book is intended as timely reference guide for both researchers involved in the design of healthcare systems and devices and healthcare professionals aiming at effective and safe health service delivery. Moreover, by providing a useful survey of cutting-edge methods for improving organizational outcomes in healthcare settings, the book also represents an inspiring reading for healthcare counselors and international health organizations