15 research outputs found
The Role of Trust in the Intention to Use Feedback from Reputation Systems
Online reputation systems have evolved to increase our knowledge of sellers, products, services, and other individuals in the electronic setting of the Internet. Evidence from prior studies suggests that the feedback individuals provide through reputation systems in the form of numerical ratings, a given number of stars, and text commentary should alleviate an element of uncertainty when interacting in the online environment. However, the user of the feedback must believe that the feedback is trustworthy. To our knowledge, no studies exist which examine the role of trust with regard to the consumer’s intention to use feedback from reputation systems. As online interactions increase, mechanisms for reputation in this context continue to grow in importance. This study will endeavor to address a significant gap in current literature to examine how trust impacts the user’s intention to use feedback from online reputation systems
KEY FACTORS INCREASING THE TRUST AND INTENTION TO ADOPT STANDARD CLOUD-BASED APPLICATIONS
A generic standard cloud-based application such as Google Docs are generally among the first to be considered for adoption by end-users. Thus, it is worthy to examine what factors influence trust and the intention of continuing use for such a cloud-based application. Unlike traditional, on-premise applications, familiarity is not an issue for trusting generic, simple cloud-based applications. Moreover, perceived risk is low enough that it has negative, as opposed to the usual positive, impact on trust and the intention of continuing use. The results of this study also imply that the agile adoption of standard cloud-based applications needs to consider factors, including perceived privacy control, system quality, and user satisfaction because these factors can increase the trust of users. Theoretical and practical implications were drawn from the findings of this study
Information systems, competitive dynamics, and firm performance: an interpretive and centering resonance analysis
Researchers have endeavored to increase understanding of the relationships between investments in information systems (IS), competitive advantage, and firm performance. While the extant IS literature provides important insights on information systems and competitive strategy, the answer to how information systems contribute to competitive advantage and firm performance remains unclear. This dissertation examines, from a managerial interpretive perspective, how information systems contribute to firms‘ specific competitive actions and responses, and the resultant impacts upon firm performance. The findings from this research suggest that the answer may well lie within the role of information systems in firms‘ competitive dynamics or the specific competitive actions and/or responses in which firms engage. This dissertation comprises two studies. Study I examines managerial interpretations of the role played by information systems in firms‘ competitive dynamics and firm performance. Study II examines the role of social computing and communication technologies in intrafirm social networks and digitally-mediated aggregate cognitive maps at each stage of a competitive dynamics process. The results of Study I in this dissertation suggest a process model, grounded in data from in-depth interviews with executive- and operational-level organizational managers, industry experts and from relevant organizational and industry documents. The relationships inherent in a firm‘s information systems, competitive dynamics and firm performance can be traced through four interrelated grounded theoretical categories –IT-
enhanced Organizational Information Processing and Competitive Action, Information-driven Competitive Action Decision, Execution/Abandonment, and Firm Performance. Thus, the first study contributes to understanding how information systems enable a process of knowledge dissemination and sharing among managerial decision-makers, how information systems enable a collective and rational competitive action decision-making process, how information systems facilitate and create message channeling systems and create the platform toward competitive actions enactment, and thus, how firm performance is impacted by information systems. This study shows the way in which information systems impact firm performance through the competitive actions and reactions undertaken by a dominant firm. Dominant firms have shown the ability to attain and retain superior performance and exhibit sustained competitive advantage. Thus, the study of the role of information systems in the context of the competitive activity of a dominant firm should be of value to both academics and practitioners. The research methodology employed in Study I of this dissertation is grounded theory. Grounded theory was chosen, as it is an appropriate method for studying complex, little understood phenomena. However, this study goes beyond many existing grounded theory studies, as each category is supported by and related toward prevailing theory and existing literature. In doing so, this dissertation builds upon existing work by emphasizing both the strengths and weaknesses inherent in extant research, thus encouraging a cumulative tradition. Specifically, this research makes significant and important contributions to the areas of cognition, information processing, decision-
making, information systems and firm performance in the context of competitive dynamics. The second study in this dissertation examines the role of social computing and communications technologies in intrafirm social networks and digitally-mediated aggregate cognitive maps embedded within the process of conceiving, enacting and executing firms‘ competitive actions and responses and resulting impacts upon firm performance. The role of information systems in this context raises important new issues that have not been addressed by current information systems research. By examining the role of internal managerial social networks formed around social computing and communications technologies that are used in the conception, enactment and execution of firms‘ competitive dynamics, it is possible to unearth a more complex and integrated role of information systems in organizations. Study II builds upon the literature in the following areas of research: information systems and firm performance, competitive dynamics in the specific context of the awareness-motivation-capability perspective, social computing, social network theory, and organizational communication in the specific areas of collective and distributed cognition, information seeking and sharing, and organizational memory and learning. the general role of
information systems in competitive actions and firm performance. In Study II, Social Network Analysis and Centering Resonance Analysis have been used to build upon Grounded Theory by examining the collective and interactive nature of organizational communication and decision-making in the context of social computing. Specifically, social relationships and organizational communication processes are examined in this research in the context of social computing and communications technologies embedded within the conception, enactment, and execution of competitive actions and responses toward impacts on firm performance. The two studies are synthesized to provide a novel perspective about a very complex and multifaceted phenomenon: understanding the impact of information systems on firm performance through the lens of competitive dynamics. Specifically, the findings from this dissertation suggest that to account for the impact of information systems upon firm performance, researchers should consider the organizational context, the intentions and actions of key players, and the process of conceiving, enacting and executing competitive actions or responses carried out by the organization. Findings also suggest that practitioners will be better able to leverage IT investments if they understand the embedded role of information systems within the competitive actions or responses undertaken by the firm to maintain or improve relative performance
The Social Influence Model of Technology Adoption
Human innovation, in combination with the internet, networking, and communications technologies have produced a new platform for social and business networking, formation of community, and communication. This emerging phenomenon is generally known as social computing. While there is no widely accepted definition of social computing, we define it as: intra -group social and business actions practiced through group consensus, group cooperation, and group authority, where such actions are made possible through the mediation of information technologies, and where group interaction causes members to conform and influences others to join the group
Exploring the Factors that Influence Social Computing Intentions
This study explores the impact of self-identity and social influence on an individual’s intention to perform social computing actions. Additionally, we are interested in learning whether the widely-tested factors, ease of use and usefulness, continue to play a strong role in the context of social computing. A survey was constructed using peer-to-peer (P2P) music file sharing as a representation of social computing. Data has been collected and preliminary analysis has been completed. Additional analysis will be conducted using the structural equation modeling method with partial least squares to test whether social influence, self-identity, ease of use, and/or usefulness have a significant impact upon a user’s intentions to perform social computing actions. This study has academic and practical implications in furthering understanding of social computing
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Prospective, phenotype-driven selection of critically ill neonates for rapid exome sequencing is associated with high diagnostic yield.
To investigate the impact of rapid-turnaround exome sequencing in critically ill neonates using phenotype-based subject selection criteria. Intensive care unit babies aged <6 months with hypotonia, seizures, a complex metabolic phenotype, and/or multiple congenital malformations were prospectively enrolled for rapid (<7 day) trio-based exome sequencing. Genomic variants relevant to the presenting phenotype were returned to the medical team. A genetic diagnosis was attained in 29 of 50 (58%) sequenced cases. Twenty-seven (54%) patients received a molecular diagnosis involving known disease genes; two additional cases (4%) were solved with pathogenic variants found in novel disease genes. In 24 of the solved cases, diagnosis had impact on patient management and/or family members. Management changes included shift to palliative care, medication changes, involvement of additional specialties, and the consideration of new experimental therapies. Phenotype-based patient selection is effective at identifying critically ill neonates with a high likelihood of receiving a molecular diagnosis via rapid-turnaround exome sequencing, leading to faster and more accurate diagnoses, reducing unnecessary testing and procedures, and informing medical care
Atividades de controle do dengue na visão de seus agentes e da população atendida, São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brasil Dengue control as viewed by agents and the target population in São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
O objetivo foi identificar, no contexto da atuação dos agentes responsáveis pelo controle do dengue e na sua relação com moradores, situações vivenciadas no dia-a-dia de suas funções. Realizou-se estudo transversal com aplicação de questionários à população dos agentes de controle de vetores (ACV), à dos agentes comunitários de saúde (ACS) e a uma amostra de mulheres. As respostas dadas pelos agentes foram agrupadas nos âmbitos do trabalho, particular e coletivo. As mulheres foram abordadas sobre a relação mantida com os agentes. As dificuldades citadas nos âmbitos particular e trabalho pelos ACV diferiram das citadas pelos ACS. No coletivo foram coincidentes e mostraram que ambos não estão preparados para lidar com estas questões. Das mulheres entrevistadas, 87,0% afirmaram estar bem ou muito bem informadas sobre dengue, 84,0% afirmaram que os trabalhos dos agentes ajudam sempre e 54,0% apontaram como dificuldade o horário impróprio da visita realizada pelo agente. Identificou-se a necessidade de um novo profissional que reconheça e respeite as particularidades dos locais onde atua e desenvolva suas atividades de forma integrada às questões sócio-ambientais da comunidade.<br>The aim of this article was to identify daily situations experienced by dengue control agents in their relationship to local residents. A cross-sectional study applied questionnaires among vector control agents, community health workers, and a sample of local women. The answers by the dengue control agents and community health workers were grouped in the categories of work, private life, and community. The women were asked about the relationship with the vector control and community health workers. The difficulties cited in the private and work areas by the vector control agents were different from those reported by community health workers. At the community level they coincided and showed that neither group is adequately prepared to deal with these issues. Of the local women interviewed, 87.0% reported that they were well-informed or very well-informed about dengue, 84.0% stated that the work by the vector control agents and community health workers was always helpful, and 54.0% identified inappropriate visiting hours by vector control agents and community health workers as a difficulty. The study identified the need for a new job profile that would recognize and respect the specificities of the areas where their activities are conducted, integrating the community's socio-environmental issues
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Unique Capabilities of Genome Sequencing for Rare Disease Diagnosis
BackgroundCausal variants underlying rare disorders may remain elusive even after expansive gene panels or exome sequencing (ES). Clinicians and researchers may then turn to genome sequencing (GS), though the added value of this technique and its optimal use remain poorly defined. We therefore investigated the advantages of GS within a phenotypically diverse cohort.MethodsGS was performed for 744 individuals with rare disease who were genetically undiagnosed. Analysis included review of single nucleotide, indel, structural, and mitochondrial variants.ResultsWe successfully solved 218/744 (29.3%) cases using GS, with most solves involving established disease genes (157/218, 72.0%). Of all solved cases, 148 (67.9%) had previously had non-diagnostic ES. We systematically evaluated the 218 causal variants for features requiring GS to identify and 61/218 (28.0%) met these criteria, representing 8.2% of the entire cohort. These included small structural variants (13), copy neutral inversions and complex rearrangements (8), tandem repeat expansions (6), deep intronic variants (15), and coding variants that may be more easily found using GS related to uniformity of coverage (19).ConclusionWe describe the diagnostic yield of GS in a large and diverse cohort, illustrating several types of pathogenic variation eluding ES or other techniques. Our results reveal a higher diagnostic yield of GS, supporting the utility of a genome-first approach, with consideration of GS as a secondary or tertiary test when higher-resolution structural variant analysis is needed or there is a strong clinical suspicion for a condition and prior targeted genetic testing has been negative