THE IMPACT OF COMPUTER GENERATED INFORMATION ON THE CHOICE ACTIVITY OF DECISION-MAKERS

Computerized information systems have a tremendous impact on management decision-making in all modern organizations. Electronic data processing (EDP) departments generate, coordinate, and disseminate much of the information that is used in modern management decision-making. How much influence is this computer generated information per se having on the choice activity of the human decision-maker? To date, very little is known about the answer to this question. Yet, if management is to improve the effectiveness of the decision-making process, the implications of computer generated information must be better understood. Organizationally, there is evidence that the computer has changed traditionalline- staff relationships. In reality, EDP departments may be becoming more line (decision-making authority) oriented as opposed to their traditional staff (advice) role. Such a development can be explained by the reactions of decision-makers to computer generated information. A hypothesis worthy of testing would be that if the decision-maker places a great deal of confidence in the computer, then the EDP department functions more in a line capacity. By the same token, if the decision-maker has little confidence in the computer, then the EDP department becomes more of a staff function. In other words, it may be that the way in which the EDP department influences the decision-making process depends, in part, on the reaction of the human decision-makers to the computer itself. Today\u27s managers can be placed on a continuum of knowledge and practical familiarity with computerized information systems. At one extreme are those managers who are extremely knowledgeable about all aspects of the computer\u27s capabilities, limitations, and functions, and have a great amount of practical experience. On the other extreme are those managers who have virtually no understanding or experience with the computer and its role in decision-making. For the purpose of this study, the subjects are considered to fall into one of two categories-those that tend to have some knowledge and familiarity with the computer\u27s capabilities and limitations (termed experienced ) and those who tend to have very little, if any, familiarity with the computer\u27s capabilities and limitations (termed nonexperienced ) . It was hypothesized that the computer experienced subjects would be more suspicious or less confident of computer derived information than would the nonexperienced. Computer experienced people have often been frustrated by the computer and know its limitations. On the other hand, nonexperienced people may hold the computer in awe and thus place too much \u27confidence in computer generated information. The study reported in this paper was designed to test this hypothesis

The Impact of the Computer on the Choice Activity of Decision Makers: A Replication with Actual Used of Computerized MIS

University of Nebraska-Lincoln A previous study on the impact of computer generated information on the choice activity of student subjects found that those with computer experience were less influenced by computer generated information than they were by information presented in a more traditional mimeograph format. Subjects who had little, if any, computer experience were more influenced in their choice activity by computer generated information than by the identical information presented in the more traditional mimeograph format (Luthans & Koester, 1976). The results of that study seemed to have definite implications for users of computerized information systems, suggesting that computer generated information per se may bias users. Those with a great deal of computer experience may be overly skeptical of computer generated information, and those with little or no computer experience may be in awe of the computer and place too much credibility and reliance on the information that it generates. The possibilities seem sufficiently significant and intriguing to be tested in a field study with actual management information systems (MIS) users

Coherent Diffraction Imaging of Single 95nm Nanowires

Photonic or electronic confinement effects in nanostructures become significant when one of their dimension is in the 5-300 nm range. Improving their development requires the ability to study their structure - shape, strain field, interdiffusion maps - using novel techniques. We have used coherent diffraction imaging to record the 3-dimensionnal scattered intensity of single silicon nanowires with a lateral size smaller than 100 nm. We show that this intensity can be used to recover the hexagonal shape of the nanowire with a 28nm resolution. The article also discusses limits of the method in terms of radiation damage.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Sustainable UMass ADQUAD External Review Final Presentation

Through the breadth and excellence of its operational and academic activities, the Sustainable UMass program has had considerable success in the past five years; achieving a position of prominence and leadership in the sustainability arena as reflected in national higher education awards. Remarkably, this has been spearheaded by a relatively small group of dedicated people working together as an informal, ad hoc coalition of personnel in Physical Plant, Campus Planning, Auxiliary Services, Transportation Services, the College of Natural Sciences, the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, the Isenberg School of Management, the Library, and University Relations, among others. However, as currently configured, this coalition alone will likely NOT be able to deliver the next level of necessary sustainability initiatives. For Sustainable UMass to maintain its front‐running status, a more supportive set of emergent organization practices and operational arrangements must be set in place along with a public commitment to sustainability to be made by the Chancellor and his leadership team. As noted in the Findings, Observations and Recommendations of this report, such transformation must be integrated with the university’s current planning process; specifically, the recommendations include: 1) structural reconfigurations; 2) new operational tactics; and 3) models of best practice (used at other campuses) which can assist in the development of the next steps in the Sustainable UMass program. Findings: The current successes of the Sustainable UMass program provide a platform from which to build; these include: Early leadership and commitments from pioneers within the organization in the areas of research, academic program development, and support departments. Investment in strengthening core campus facilities such as installation of the new Co‐Gen plant. Extensive student and cross‐departmental involvement. Forward thinking programs in food systems, permaculture and dining. A campus culture which values experiential learning, A nationally‐recognized Eco‐Rep program. An innovative sustainability program in library services

NDE of Additively Manufactured Components with Embedded Defects (Reference Standards) Using Conventional and Advanced Ultrasonic Methods

Additive manufacturing provides a unique opportunity to embed defects of known size and shape to produce reference samples for inspection and quality control purposes. This work shows defect detectability studies on cylindrical additively manufactured cobalt-chromium alloy specimens with defects of known sizes and distributions. The specimens were investigated with immersion, synthetic aperture focusing (SAFT), phased array, and nonlinear ultrasonic techniques. Detectability, signal to noise ratios, and comparison of results between the methods will be presented