A Model for the Evaluation of IS/IT Investments

Evaluation is a vital--yet challenging--part of IS/IT management and governance. The benefits (or lack therefore) associated with IS/IT investments have been widely debated within academic and industrial communities alike. Investments in information technology may or may not result in desirable outcomes. Yet, organizations must rely on information systems to remain competitive. Effective evaluation serves as one pathway to ensuring success. However, despite a growing multitude of measures and methods, practitioners continue to struggle with this intractable problem. Responding to the limited success of existing methods, scholars have argued that academicians should first develop a better understanding of the process of IS/IT evaluation. In addition, scholars have also posited that IS/IT evaluation practice should be tailored to fit a given organization\u27s particular context. Of course, one cannot simply tell practitioners to be contextual when conducting evaluations and then hope for improved outcomes. Instead, having developed an improved understanding of the IS/IT evaluation process, researchers should articulate unambiguous guidelines to practitioners. The researcher addressed this need using a multi-phase research methodology. To start, the researcher conducted a literature review to identify and describe the relevant contextual elements operating in the IS/IT evaluation process: the purpose of conducting the evaluation (why); the subject of the evaluation (what); the specific aspects to be evaluated (which); the particular evaluation methods and techniques used (how); the timing of the evaluation (when); the individuals involved in, or affected by, the evaluation (who); and the environmental conditions under which the organization operates (where). Based upon these findings, the researcher followed a modeling-as-theorizing approach to develop a conceptual model of IS/IT evaluation. Next, the conceptual model was validated by applying it to multiple case studies selected from the extant literature. Once validated, the researcher utilized the model to develop a series of methodological guidelines to aid organizations in conducting evaluations. The researcher summarized these guidelines in the form of a checklist for professional practitioners. The researcher believes this holistic, conceptual model of IS/IT evaluation serves as an important step in advancing theory. In addition, the researcher\u27s guidelines for conducting IS/IT evaluation based on organizational goals and conditions represents a significant contribution to industrial practice. Thus, the implications of this study come full circle: an improved understanding of evaluation should result in improved evaluation practices

Swarming Behavior of Aedes polynesiensis (Diptera: Culicidae) and Characterization of Swarm Markers in American Samoa

We characterize the swarming behavior of male Aedes polynesiensis (Marks) in American Samoa. Instead of swarming around a blood host, males used the base of certain trees as a marker. Repeated sampling proved nondestructive and allowed us to investigate the impact of static (e.g., tree species) and dynamic (e.g., barometric pressure) characters on the likelihood of swarm presence and intensity. Tree circumference and oviposition activity (number of Ae. polynesiensis reared from oviposition cups) were significant positive predictors of the number of males in a swarm. Tree circumference and diameter were significantly positively associated, and canopy height was significantly negatively associated, with swarm occurrence. Comparisons between males swarming early and late during the swarming period allowed for insight into swarm composition in terms of male size and the amount of putative fluid (e.g., nectar) in the crop, indicators of energetic reserves. Males collected during the late period had significantly larger wings and less crop contents than did males of the early cohort. Because the ecology of male Ae. polynesiensis remains understudied, we consider how the current results could facilitate further studies related to applied autocidal strategies as well as the evolution of host-based mating behavio

Determinants of Male Aedes aegypti and Aedes polynesiensis (Diptera: Culicidae) Response to Sound: Efficacy and Considerations for Use of Sound Traps in the Field

Understanding the mating competitiveness of male mosquitoes in field settings is essential to programs relying on the mass release of modified male mosquitoes, yet studies on male ecology have been hampered by the lack of a convenient trapping method. An existing promising method makes use of the innate attraction of males to female flight tones. Here, we present laboratory, greenhouse, and field experiments on the efficacy of sound traps for the collection of Aedes aegypti (L.) and Aedes polynesiensis Marks, and laboratory experiments with Ae. aegypti on the effects of male age, size, and mating status on responsiveness to a range of frequencies. Age and mating status influenced the overall responsiveness to sound, whereas male size did not. There were no interactions between these factors and sound frequency. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention miniature light trap modified to produce a tone of 465 Hz collected 76.2% of Ae. aegypti males in laboratory cages, and 49.7% of males in a greenhouse enclosure. In two sets of experiments in laboratory cages, 50.8 and 46.5% of male Ae. polynesiensis were captured with a trap producing a tone of 440 Hz. In the field, CDC miniature light traps or BG-Sentinel traps fitted with a portable speaker producing tones of 440 or 465 Hz captured significantly more male Ae. polynesiensis when placed near a male swarm than did traps that did not produce sound. When the trap was placed at a distance of 16.5 m from the nearest swarm, there was no significant difference in the number of males caught between control and sound-producing traps. The numbers of Ae. aegypti males captured were low under all circumstances in the fiel

To Share or Not to Share? Branded Content Sharing in Twitter

Marketers have long recognized the power of word-of-mouth communication to influence consumer brand perceptions. Social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter make possible an efficient spread of communication to potentially large audiences with the added value of the credibility afforded to earned media. Consequently, marketers seek to encourage social media users to share brand-related messages. But how? To answer this question, we must first understand the decision to share or not to share in a social media context. This paper reports on an investigation as to the source and content of a brand’s tweets as antecedents of an individual’s decision to share that tweet among his/her followers. Our data show that both source and content interact to influence the share decision. Implications and future research are discussed

Information Literacy and Mathematics Education Students: A Case Study in Library Instruction

Prior to 2016 library instruction for mathematics courses was nonexistent at Shippensburg University. The hiring of the STEM librarian in August 2016 led to an initiative to engage the mathematics faculty and students in using resources and services offered by the Ezra Lehman Memorial Library. This outreach resulted in two sessions of the Fundamentals of Mathematics course coming into the library for instruction in the fall semester. These first sessions found that detailed instruction in how to search and identify articles related to key concepts from the desired journal type was particularly useful to the students; however, these sessions also demonstrated a greater need for citation-focused instruction. Adapting the instruction session spring 2017 to include a more in-depth discussion about the necessity of citations showed a greater understanding of the concept by students in the course. Ultimately, this successful instruction improved the course instructor’s perception of the student work and led to the scheduling of future library instruction sessions by other members of the mathematics department

Increasing follow-up questionnaire response rates in a randomized controlled trial of telehealth for depression: three embedded controlled studies

Background: Attrition is problematic in trials, and may be exacerbated in longer studies, telehealth trials and participants with depression – three features of The Healthlines Study. Advance notification, including a photograph and using action-oriented email subject lines might increase response rates, but require further investigation. We examined the effectiveness of these interventions in three embedded Healthlines studies. Methods: Based in different trial sites, participants with depression were alternately allocated to be pre-called or not ahead of the 8-month follow-up questionnaire (Study 1), randomized to receive a research team photograph or not with their 12-month questionnaire (Study 2), and randomized to receive an action-oriented (‘ACTION REQUIRED’) or standard (‘Questionnaire reminder’) 12-month email reminder (Study 3). Participants could complete online or postal questionnaires, and received up to five questionnaire reminders. The primary outcome was completion of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Secondary outcome measures were the number of reminders and time to questionnaire completion. Results: Of a total of 609 Healthlines depression participants, 190, 251 and 231 participants were included in Studies 1–3 (intervention: 95, 126 and 115), respectively. Outcome completion was ≥90 % across studies, with no differences between trial arms (Study 1: OR 0.38, 95 % CI 0.07–2.10; Study 2: OR 0.84, 95 % CI 0.26–2.66; Study 3: OR 0.53 95 % CI 0.19–1.49). Pre-called participants were less likely to require a reminder (48.4 % vs 62.1 %, OR 0.41, 95 % CI 0.21–0.78), required fewer reminders (adjusted difference in means −0.67, 95 % CI −1.13 to −0.20), and completed follow-up quicker (median 8 vs 15 days, HR 1.35, 95 % CI 1.00–1.82) than control subjects. There were no significant between-group differences in Studies 2 or 3. Conclusions: Eventual response rates in this trial were high, with no further improvement from these interventions. While the photograph and email interventions were ineffective, pre-calling participants reduced time to completion. This strategy might be helpful when the timing of study completion is important. Researchers perceived a substantial benefit from the reduction in reminders with pre-calling, despite no overall decrease in net effort after accounting for pre-notification