Growing up local: A value chain analysis of local produce in Iowa

This was the original project description: Investigators will detail a value chain analysis of locally grown produce in Iowa. Investigators will identify supply chain structures that support production and distribution using methodologies compatible with sustainable agriculture

Co-Creation and Collaboration in a Virtual World: A 3D Visualization Design Project in Second Life

One of the most successful and useful implementations of 3D virtual worlds is in the area of education and training. This paper discusses the use of virtual worlds in education and describes an innovative 3D visualization design project using one of the most popular virtual worlds, Second Life. This ongoing project is a partnership between IBM and three universities in the United States: the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Iowa State University, and Wright State University. More than 400 MBA students have participated in this project by completing a creative design project that involves co-creation and collaboration in Second Life. The MBA students from the three universities worked in pairs to create designs to represent concepts related to IBM Power Systems, a family of IBM servers. The paper discusses observations and reflections on the 3D visualization design project. The paper concludes with a discussion of future research directions in applying virtual worlds in education

The role of photography in framing and creating personal narrative: An analysis of the 2012 presidential candidates

The purpose of this investigation is to determine whether images located on Governor Mitt Romney\u27s website and President Barack Obama\u27s website could provided a strong enough narrative to sway voters. The goal of this investigation is not to suggest the causation, but to look for patterns that emerge in the collection of data over the month of October 2012, up to the election. Screenshots are collected on a daily basis, in the morning and at night to check for changes that may occur throughout the day. During the process of categorizing the images, patterns began to emerge suggesting that President Barack Obama\u27s campaign was more sophisticated in its use of images. The results of the election provided President Obama a second term in office and a victorious Democratic party win. The Republicans now realize new measures must be taken to win the presidential election in the 2016, and many of those will include a better marketing campaign that targets specific voter groups using personalized narratives

An Experimental Examination of Group Information Sharing, Group Size, and Meeting Structures for Groups Using a Group Support System

This paper reports on an experimental study of information sharing for groups using a group support system (GSS). Information sharing is important because a group member\u27s success or failure in sharing unique information that he or she alone possesses can have important impacts onthe group\u27s success. This research builds on work by Stasser and colleagues (Stasser & Titus, 1985, 1987, Stasser, Taylor, & Hanna, 1989, Stasser, 1992) which examined various factors that impact on group information sharing performance. To examine these issues, groups processed a hidden profile task; that is, a task with an asymmetrical distribution of information. In addition, group size (groups of size four and size seven) and the type of structure used during the meeting (structured or unstructured meeting agenda) were manipulated. The results for group size indicate that smaller sized groups were more likely to select a better solution, however, no significant differences were found related to group size for other performance measures or for the perceptual variables. The results for the meeting structure manipulation indicate that a structured agenda leads to better information sharing performance but that it also results in more negative perceptions about the meeting. The paper concludes with a discussion of the findings and the implications for future research and GSS us

A Study of the Factors That Influence Consumer Attitudes Toward Beef Products Using the Conjoint Market Analysis Tool

This study utilizes an analysis technique commonly used in marketing, the conjoint analysis method, to examine the relative utilities of a set of beef steak characteristics considered by a national sample of 1,432 US consumers, as well as additional localized samples representing undergraduate students at a business college and in an animal science department. The analyses indicate that among all respondents, region of origin is by far the most important characteristic; this is followed by animal breed, traceability, animal feed, and beef quality. Alternatively, the cost of cut, farm ownership, the use (or nonuse) of growth promoters, and whether the product is guaranteed tender were the least important factors. Results for animal science undergraduates are similar to the aggregate results, except that these students emphasized beef quality at the expense of traceability and the nonuse of growth promoters. Business students also emphasized region of origin but then emphasized traceability and cost. The ideal steak for the national sample is from a locally produced, choice Angus fed a mixture of grain and grass that is traceable to the farm of origin. If the product was not produced locally, respondents indicated that their preferred production states are, in order from most to least preferred, Iowa, Texas, Nebraska, and Kansas.

Power Interactions in Enterprise System Assimilation

The assimilation of enterprise systems has extensive influence on power interactions within organizations. Previousassimilation research has typically focused on organizational-level assimilation processes, and the impact of individualcharacteristics, including personal power, has been overlooked. Social network analysis provides a useful way to empiricallyexamine the changes to personal power during the acceptance, routinization, and infusion stages of the organizationalassimilation processes. Enterprise system assimilation involves the empowerment of a firm’s employees to utilize thetechnical capabilities of the system, and the employees’ extensive business knowledge, to make effective strategic decisions.Nevertheless, power is multidimensional and the relative prominences of the idiosyncratic bases of power in organizationalinteractions vary asymmetrically in response to system assimilation. A longitudinal examination of the stages of assimilationusing a valued network approach to study the power interactions of individuals within an organization can provide a valuablenew perspective inside the assimilation process

Spatial Data in the Data Warehouse: A Nomenclature for Design and Use

The fields of both computer-based mapping and geographic information systems (GIS) have developed rapidly in the past two decades. However, in many organizations locational data is not easily leveraged by users. The fact that this type of data is collected and stored indicates that it is considered important by the businesses that collect it, but their operational needs often do not entail producing a map or generating geographic queries. Generally, it is a basic operational function -- such as shipping products to the customer -- that necessitates the collection of locational data. Because many organizations have, in effect, out-sourced their basic operational functions to companies like FedEx, they have distanced themselves from many of the impacts of geography. Therefore, in many industry sectors GIS usage is still somewhat limited, if it is used at all

An Experimental Examination of Spatial DecisionSupport System Effectiveness: The Roles of Task Complexity and Technology

Alaboratory experiment was used to investigate the effects on decision maker performance of using geographic information system (GIS) technology as a spatial decision support system (SDSS). The research examined two independent variables: task complexity (i.e., low, medium, and high complexity, and SDSS use (i.e., no SDSS versus SDSS support). Professionals who are experienced decision makers completed a site location task that required decisions to be made based upon spatially-referenced information. The results confirm the hypotheses and show that SDSS use and task complexity both have an important impact on decision quality and solution time. The study builds upon and extends image theory as a basis for explaining efficiency differences resulting from differing graphical displays of spatial informatio