Teaching Data Quality Concepts Through Case Studies

It is estimated that as much as 75% of the effort spent on building a data warehouse can be attributed to back-end issues, such as readying the data and transporting it into the data warehouse. Data quality tools are becoming an increasingly important resource in preparing the data for the warehouse, thus enhancing the usability of the warehouse. This tutorial, based on current research in the field, will focus on a methodology for managing data quality issues. The tutorial will present a framework for identifying data quality issues and making sense of the data quality tools marketplace. A case study approach will be used. The methodology presented is applicable both as a tool to teach about data quality issues and as a tool to support practitioners as they seek mechanisms to facilitate the management of data, yet ensure appropriate data quality

Charting the future of Accounting Information Systems (AIS) courses

The accounting information systems (AIS) course is a key part of the undergraduate preparation for professional accountants. Additionally, many Masters of Accountancy programs offer advanced AIS coursework. Information systems educators bring strengths to how these courses are developed, executed, assessed, and adjusted for the future of the accounting profession. There is debate over what the content, structure, and conduct of this course should be among traditionally-prepared accounting educators and practitioners, and this debate is extended when the information systems perspective is included. Some advocate a “skills orientation” that focuses on the use of software (e.g., QuickBooks or Excel). Others call for project-based work, emulating engagement management in public accounting and small-business situations. Still others emphasize concepts and/or advanced technology experiences such as XBRL or SAP. The purpose of the panel will be to discuss the differences in course design, and to propose ideas for future course designs that will meet future needs of the accounting profession

Accounting Information Systems (AIS) Course Design: Current Practices and Future Trajectories

The accounting information systems (AIS) course is a core component of most accounting programs, but what it typically covers and how it’s typically taught is as varied as the number of instructors. As the AACSB Standard A7 indicates: “accounting degree programs include learning experiences that develop skills and knowledge related to the integration of information technology in accounting and business”. In this panel presentation, we looked at the approach of five experienced AIS instructors and compared and contrasted them. We highlight lessons learned and best practices

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival