Examining Information Systems Infusion over the Routinization

Information systems (IS) infusion becomes important from the management perspective because organizations can leverage IS investment only at the IS infusion stage. The model for the stages of IS implementation explains that IS infusion can be achieved through IS routinization. This study examined how to achieve IS infusion through routinization based on application of the psychological empowerment theory and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT), respectively. This study adds value to the IS literature by explaining how IS routinization leads to IS infusion and how their antecedents are different and related across the two stages. This study also provides guidance on how organizations can promote IS infusion beyond IS routinization, which then helps organizations leverage their IS investments

Medical Expenses of North Korean Defectors with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Objective The purpose of this study was to establish the prevalence of PTSD among North Korean defectors who visited the National Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea over a period of approximately 10 years by examining their medical records and to examine differences in the medical service usage patterns of patients with and without PTSD. Methods Data from North Korean defectors who used outpatient services at the National Medical Center during a period of 10 years and 3 months (January 1 2006 to February 28, 2016) were analyzed. The general characteristics of the defectors were analyzed by frequency analyses, and descriptive statistics were generated. Additionally, independent t-tests and chi square analyses were performed to examine differences between PTSD patients and those without PTSD. Linear regression analysis was performed to examine factors affecting the mental health of North Korean defectors suffering from PTSD. Results This study assessed the correlations between PTSD, the average number of outpatient visits, and the total revenue. The regression analysis showed a relationship between PTSD and the average number of outpatient visits. There was also a correlation between PTSD and total revenue. The average number of outpatient visits was 41.8 for PTSD patients, whereas it was 33.2 for those without PTSD. The. total revenue visit was 953.6 USD for PTSD sufferers and 231.1 USD for those without PTSD. Conclusion This study found that the majority of North Korean defectors visit psychiatry departments, and that PTSD patients use outpatient services more frequently and have higher total revenue than those without PTSD. Additionally, patients with PTSD used a greater variety of medical services. Considering the high medical care expenses of North Korean defectors residing in South Korea, future investigations should examine the medical service usage patterns of such patients, especially those diagnosed with PTSD, in greater detail

A User Commitment Approach to Information Systems Infusion

Many organizations have huge investments on information systems (IS) but are unable to achieve the maximum benefits expected. The IS infusion stage refers to the state of using IS to its full potential. IS infusion is a form of organizational citizenship behavior because full utilization of IS requires extra-role behaviors (i.e., IS use beyond the mandated usage) beyond intra-role behaviors (i.e., mandated IS usage). As commitment is a key driver of organizational citizenship behavior, IS infusion requires the user’s commitment to IS usage. This study investigates the development of user commitment from the socio-technical system design perspective and the effect of user commitment on IS infusion. We identified five constructs from the socio-technical system design (job fit, task competence, technology competence, self-determination with technology, and self-determination with task). A survey of 236 enterprise system users showed that user commitment has a positive effect on IS infusion. User commitment, in turn, is influenced by job fit, technology competence, and self-determination with task. This study contributes to IS infusion research by introducing the development of user commitment from the socio-technical system design perspective. Managers can promote user commitment in order to reach the infusion stage of fully utilizing information systems

What motivates people to post comments online?

Cyberbullying, i.e., posting malicious comments online, has been identified as a critical social issue in the online and social media context. As a way to prevent cyberbullying, it is important to promote online prosocial behavior. This study examines what motivates people to post benevolent comments as online prosocial behavior in the online context. For this purpose, we first adopt an exploratory study to identify decision factors in terms of social exchange decision making. We then undertake a main study by developing a theoretical research model based on the identified decision factors. The testing results explain what and how those explored factors affect the posting of benevolent comments online in the social media context. The study has its theoretical contribution in demonstrating the decision factors leading to the posting of benevolent comments by extending the social exchange theory. It also has its practical implications by providing guidance for promoting online prosocial behavior

Fabrication of a spherical inclusion phantom for validation of magnetic resonance-based magnetic susceptibility imaging

© 2019 Kim et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Fabrication of a spherical multi-compartment MRI phantom is demonstrated that can be used to validate magnetic resonance (MR)-based susceptibility imaging reconstruction. The phantom consists of a 10 cm diameter gelatin sphere that encloses multiple smaller gelatin spheres doped with different concentrations of paramagnetic contrast agents. Compared to previous multi-compartment phantoms with cylindrical geometry, the phantom provides the following benefits: (1) no compartmental barrier materials are used that can introduce signal voids and spurious phase; (2) compartmental geometry is reproducible; (3) spherical susceptibility boundaries possess a ground-truth analytical phase solution for easy experimental validation; (4) spherical geometry of the overall phantom eliminates background phase due to air-phantom boundary in any scan orientation. The susceptibility of individual compartments can be controlled independently by doping. During fabrication, formalin crosslinking and water-proof surface coating effectively blocked water diffusion between the compartments to preserve the phantom’s integrity. The spherical shapes were realized by molding the inner gel compartments in acrylic spherical shells, 3 cm in diameter, and constructing the whole phantom inside a larger acrylic shell. From gradient echo images obtained at 3T, we verified that the phantom produced phase images in agreement with the theoretical prediction. Factors that limit the agreement include: air bubbles trapped at the gel interfaces, imperfect magnet shimming, and the susceptibility of external materials such as the phantom support hardware. The phantom images were used to validate publicly available codes for quantitative susceptibility mapping. We believe that the proposed phantom can provide a useful testbed for validation of MR phase imaging and MR-based magnetic susceptibility reconstructio

Calcium Uptake and Release through Sarcoplasmic Reticulum in the Inferior Oblique Muscles of Patients with Inferior Oblique Overaction

We characterized and compared the characteristics of Ca2+ movements through the sarcoplasmic reticulum of inferior oblique muscles in the various conditions including primary inferior oblique overaction (IOOA), secondary IOOA, and controls, so as to further understand the pathogenesis of primary IOOA. Of 15 specimens obtained through inferior oblique myectomy, six were from primary IOOA, 6 from secondary IOOA, and the remaining 3 were controls from enucleated eyes. Ryanodine binding assays were performed, and Ca2+ uptake rates, calsequestrins and SERCA levels were determined. Ryanodine bindings and sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ uptake rates were significantly decreased in primary IOOA (p<0.05). Western blot analysis conducted to quantify calsequestrins and SERCA, found no significant difference between primary IOOA, secondary IOOA, and the controls. Increased intracellular Ca2+ concentration due to reduced sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ uptake may play a role in primary IOOA

Real-time visualization of Zn metal plating/stripping in aqueous batteries with high areal capacities

Zinc aqueous batteries have attracted great attention due to the earth abundance and the low redox potential of Zn metal. Utilizing Zn metal as an anode, however, causes low coulombic efficiency stemming from a dendritic Zn plating and formation of byproducts such as hydrogen gas, solid zinc hydroxide and salt-related compounds. One effective way of mitigating the issues is to modify the solvation structure of the electrolyte to increase the energy barrier of the water molecules for hydrolysis and electrolysis. Nevertheless, Zn aqueous batteries still indiscriminately utilize several types of electrolytes without elucidating the correlation between electrolyte composition and the electrochemistry of Zn metal. Here, we use operando optical microscopy to visualize the microstructural evolution of Zn metal, which strongly affects the electrochemical reversibility. In ZnSO4 electrolyte, large Zn platelets grow and form loose agglomerates vulnerable to unexpected delamination from the electrodes. In Zn(OTf)(2) electrolyte, Zn platelets nucleate more homogeneously and grow smaller, which forms denser agglomerates enabling more stable cycling. We further reveal that the formation of a stable solidelectrolyte interphase layer holds the key to the excellent performance of acetonitrile-hybrid water-in-salt electrolytes. Our results show the necessity of designing proper electrolytes to develop long-life Zn aqueous batteries.