MEASURING INPUT PRODUCTIVITY GAINS FROM INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

This paper proposes a new method to measure the input productivity gains from information technology in complex managerial environments. The method employs a production function which maps output and relating moderating variables in the managerial environment into input resource consumption, with a random inefficiency component which can be affected by IT deployment. Sample hypotheses and a sketch of the F-tests used to identify reductions in input inefficiency are presented, and then illustrated for a new information technology which has recently been deployed in fast food restaurants.Information Systems Working Papers Serie

MEASURING GAINS IN OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY FROM INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: A STUDY OF THE POSITRAN DEPLOYMENT AT HARDEE'S INC.

This paper presents a new approach to measuring the input productivity gains from information technology (IT) in complex managerial environments. The approach is illustrated in the context of a study of a pilot deployment at Hardee's Inc. of a new cash register point-of-safe and order-coordination technology called âPositran." The method employs data envelopment analysis (DEA) and nonparametric production frontier hypothesis testing to determine whether the performance of restaurants that have deployed Positran is better, on average, than for those that have not. The design of the study is of special interest because it approximates a controlled experiment. Our results show that Positran helped to reduce input materials costs, since restaurants that deployed the technology were less likely to be inefficient It is further possible to characterize the class of restaurants for which the relationship holds. Operational efficiency measures such as the ones we have developed provide managers with the opportunity to implement deployment strategies for new ITs in order to maximize value.Information Systems Working Papers Serie

MEASURING BUSINESS VALUE FOR INVESTMENTS IN POINT-OF-SALE TECHNOLOGY

Information Systems Working Papers Serie

Appropriating Value From CRS Ownership in the Airline Industry

It is difficult for the firm competing through information technology (IT) resources to gain a sustainable advantage because systems are easy to imitate and often substitute resources are available to competitors. The innovator may be unable to appropriate all of the benefits from IT investments. Airlines have installed computerized reservations systems (CRSs) in travel agencies in order to appropriate the returns from their investments in information technology. The airlines expected to obtain a number of benefits from this strategy including increased efficiency, possible bias in favor of the CRS owner on the part of the travel agent, and fees from other airlines for making reservations for them. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the appropriation of value by CRS owners from deploying systems in travel agencies. These benefits, beyond fees from travel agents, should be seen in the vendor airline's market share between cities and in the overall performance of the airline at an industry level. This paper models airline performance as a function of CRS ownership at two levels: for selected city-pairs and at the overall level of the firm. The city-pair analysis employs a multinomial logit (MNL) market share model that analyzes five years of data on 72 city-pair routes. The industry model uses longitudinal data for a panel of ten airlines for twelve years. The results of both analyses support hypotheses that CRS ownership is positively related to airline performance. It appears that strong airlines have appropriated the benefits of their CRSs, turning them into highly specialized assets for further travel-related innovation. This work offers useful theoretical extensions and methodological approaches for the study of similar kinds of network technology innovations that are currently being deployed in association with electronic commerce on the Internet.Information Systems Working Papers Serie

APPROPRIABILITY AND THE INDIRECT VALUE OF CRS OWNERSHIP IN THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY

It is difficult for the firm investing in information technology (IT) to appropriate a1 of the benefits from its investment for itself- it is very easy to imitate innovations in IT. Airlines have installed computerized reservations systems (CRSs) in travel agencies in order to appropriate the returns from their investments in information technology. The airlines expected to obtain a number of benefits from this strategy including increased efficiency, possible bias in favor of the CRS owner on the part of the travel agent, and fees from other airlines for making reservations for them. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of the indirect (non-fee) benefits to CRS owners from deploying systems in travel agencies. These indirect benefits should be seen in the vendor airline's market share between cities and in the overall performance of the airline at an industry level. This paper models airline performance as a function of CRS ownership at two levels: for selected city-pairs and at the overall level of the firm. The city-pair analysis employs a multinomial logit market share model using five years of data on 72 routes. The industry model uses longitudinal data for a panel of ten airlines for twelve years. The results of both analyses support hypotheses that CRS ownership is positively related to airline performance, It appears that strong airlines have appropriated the indirect benefits of their CRSs, turning them into highly specialized assets for further travel-related innovation.Information Systems Working Papers Serie

Multi-objective Database Queries in Combined Knapsack and Set Covering Problem Domains

Database queries are one of the most important functions of a relational database. Users are interested in viewing a variety of data representations, and this may vary based on database purpose and the nature of the stored data. The Air Force Institute of Technology has approximately 100 data logs which will be converted to the standardized Scorpion Data Model format. A relational database is designed to house this data and its associated sensor and non-sensor metadata. Deterministic polynomial-time queries were used to test the performance of this schema against two other schemas, with databases of 100 and 1000 logs of repeated data and randomized metadata. Of these approaches, the one that had the best performance was chosen as AFIT’s database solution, and now more complex and useful queries need to be developed to enable filter research. To this end, consider the combined Multi-Objective Knapsack/Set Covering Database Query. Algorithms which address The Set Covering Problem or Knapsack Problem could be used individually to achieve useful results, but together they could offer additional power to a potential user. This paper explores the NP-Hard problem domain of the Multi-Objective KP/SCP, proposes Genetic and Hill Climber algorithms, implements these algorithms using Java, populates their data structures using SQL queries from two test databases, and finally compares how these algorithms perform

Production of a pseudo-scalar Higgs boson at hadron colliders at next-to-next-to leading order

The production cross section for pseudo-scalar Higgs bosons at hadron colliders is computed at next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) in QCD. The pseudo-scalar Higgs is assumed to couple only to top quarks. The NNLO effects are evaluated using an effective lagrangian where the top quarks are integrated out. The NNLO corrections are similar in size to those found for scalar Higgs boson production.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figures, JHEP style, Minor changes, Journal reference adde

Producing energy while sequestering carbon? The relationship between biochar and agricultural productivity

A partial solution to problems associated with anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions could be the development and deployment of carbon-negative technologies, i.e., producing energy while reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. Biofuels have been considered a possibility but have faced limitations due to competition with food production and GHG emissions through indirect land-use change (ILUC). In this article, we show how emissions from ILUC can potentially be reduced by producing food and bioenergy from biochar amended soils. The possibility of yield improvements from biochar would reduce the land requirement for crop production and thus, lead to a reduction in emissions from ILUC. In our application, biochar and bio-oil are produced via fast pyrolysis of corn stover. Bio-oil is subsequently upgraded into a fuel suitable for use in internal combustion engines. Applying the U.S. regulatory method used to determine biofuel life cycle emissions, our results show that a biochar-induced yield improvement in the U.S. Midwest ranging from 1% to 8% above trend can lead to an ILUC credit between 1.65 and 14.79 t CO2-equivalent ha−1 year−1 when future emissions are assessed over the next 30 years. The model is generalizable to other feedstocks and locations and illustrates the relationship between biochar and crop production

Analysis of multiply spliced transcripts in lymphoid tissue reservoirs of rhesus macaques infected with RT-SHIV during HAART.

Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) can reduce levels of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) to undetectable levels in infected individuals, but the virus is not eradicated. The mechanisms of viral persistence during HAART are poorly defined, but some reservoirs have been identified, such as latently infected resting memory CD4⁺ T cells. During latency, in addition to blocks at the initiation and elongation steps of viral transcription, there is a block in the export of viral RNA (vRNA), leading to the accumulation of multiply-spliced transcripts in the nucleus. Two of the genes encoded by the multiply-spliced transcripts are Tat and Rev, which are essential early in the viral replication cycle and might indicate the state of infection in a given population of cells. Here, the levels of multiply-spliced transcripts were compared to the levels of gag-containing RNA in tissue samples from RT-SHIV-infected rhesus macaques treated with HAART. Splice site sequence variation was identified during development of a TaqMan PCR assay. Multiply-spliced transcripts were detected in gastrointestinal and lymphatic tissues, but not the thymus. Levels of multiply-spliced transcripts were lower than levels of gag RNA, and both correlated with plasma virus loads. The ratio of multiply-spliced to gag RNA was greatest in the gastrointestinal samples from macaques with plasma virus loads <50 vRNA copies per mL at necropsy. Levels of gag RNA and multiply-spliced mRNA in tissues from RT-SHIV-infected macaques correlate with plasma virus load

Using Real Options Analysis for Evaluating Uncertain Investments in Information Technology: Insights from the ICIS 2001 Debate

Business and information systems (IS) executives continue to grapple with issues of risk and uncertainty in evaluating investments in information technology (IT). Despite the use of net present value (NPV) and other investment appraisal techniques, executives are often forced to rely on instinct when finalizing IT investment decisions. Recognizing the shortcomings of NPV, real options analysis has been suggested as an alternative approach, one that considers the risks associated with an investment while recognizing the ability of corporations to defer an investment until a later period or to make a partial investment instead. Responding to a growing interest in real options analysis among the IS community, a debate involving four prominent researchers was convened at the 2001 International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS). In addition to offering a tutorial overview of real options, the goal of the debate was to assess the state of research in this area and to identify avenues for future research. This paper describes the outcomes of the debate, culminating in a series of research questions and topics that set the stage for future research in IT and real options analysis. A transcript of the debate and an overview of real options analysis are included as appendices