Effectiveness of an Integrated Pre-capstone Project in Learning Information Systems Concepts

The inherently interdisciplinary nature of electronic commerce makes it an ideal basis for an integrative course in information systems. This paper describes the initial design and implementation of a project-based pre-capstone course for undergraduate MIS majors, and assesses the impact of the course on student perceptions of their MIS skills. As defined here, a pre-capstone course integrates the major technologies and operational issues underlying electronic commerce for a class of students of varying skills and classroom experiences, with the intention of providing the students with a more meaningful experience earlier in the MIS program. We discuss the specific issues and lessons learned from our initial implementation of this type of course, which provided the students with a creative learning experience that allowed them to discover deficiencies in their knowledge and address those deficiencies through communicating and learning within student teams. We also present survey results indicating how the more realistic context of the course impacted students\u27 perceptions of their knowledge and abilities compared to the perceptions of students who learn MIS concepts and skills in isolation. We found that through the use of student teams containing a variety of students with somewhat different backgrounds, the learning experience can become more meaningful. This allowed students to become more aware of gaps in their knowledge, and should make them better realize the significance of their future courses

Customized Versus Standardized Exams For Learning Outcomes Assessment In An Undergraduate Business Program

A standardized exam for program-level assessment can take the form of 1) a customized exam developed in-house by faculty and linked explicitly to program-level learning goals; or 2) a standardized exam developed externally by assessment experts and linked to a set of somewhat broader and more generalizable learning goals.  This article discusses the design, development and implementation of a customized exam and subsequent transition to a commercial exam (i.e., the ETS Major Field Test), within an undergraduate business program.  We discuss the lessons learned from our experience with the customized exam, our analysis of both the assessment process and the results gathered (primarily curriculum-related), and the rationale underlying the eventual migration to the commercial exam.  Of particular emphasis is the situation-dependent and potentially complementary roles of the customized and commercial exams.  In this regard we provide a comparison of the two approaches through a framework based on a set of administrative and assessment considerations.  They include: relevance to learning goals, exam design and development process, delivery of the exam, impact on learning, impact on courses and curriculum, and impact on student monitoring and management.  We note that although the customized exam no longer exists as a standalone assessment instrument, it continues to play a role in assessment by complementing other methods.  This outcome, as well as the process leading to it, are potentially applicable to other institutions pursuing an evolutionary approach to learning outcomes assessment

A Task-Centered, Multiple Method Approach To Teaching Fraud Risk Assessment

This manuscript provides an approach to teaching fraud risk assessment that is based on an analysis of the task and relevant research in education, cognitive psychology, and artificial intelligence. Fraud risk assessment (FRA) in financial reporting is an important and difficult task that must be performed in every financial statement audit. When auditors fail to detect fraudulent financial reporting (FFR), they are likely to become targets of shareholder and creditor litigation. Although FFR has a low occurrence rate considering the large number of financial statement audits conducted, it has a devastating impact on the investors, creditors and the profession

Data Mining: A Brief Introduction to the Field and Research Community

As organizations seek to understand and exploit vast – and increasing -- amounts of information brought by new technologies and practices, research in data mining and knowledge discovery is becoming increasing important. This paper presents a brief overview of the field of data mining, including research issues and information resources available through the research community

The Impact of Data Characteristics on the Selection of Data Mining Methods for Predictive Classification

This research-in-process is exploring a contingency approach to the construction and selection of data mining models for predictive classification. This approach considers the structure of the data set and the relationships between and among the various attributes characterizing the data set, with the goal of selecting a model that provides greater insight into the data – and therefore predicts most accurately -- given a particular data structure. Preliminary results obtained from analysis of hospital patient records indicate that concentration indices, commonly used to measure firm concentration within an industry, are useful in characterizing data set structures and therefore in guiding the model selection process. The eventual goal of this research is the construction of a decision support system that can aid decision makers in the model selection task

Climate Change-Driven Cumulative Mountain Pine Beetle-Caused Whitebark Pine Mortality in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

An aerial survey method called the Landscape Assessment System (LAS) was used to assess mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae)-caused mortality of whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (59,000 km2; GYE). This consisted of 11,942 km of flightlines, along which 4434 geo-tagged, oblique aerial photos were captured and processed. A mortality rating of none to severe (0–4.0 recent attack or 5.0–5.4 old attack) was assigned to each photo based on the amount of red (recent attack) and gray (old attack) trees visible. The method produced a photo inventory of 74 percent of the GYE whitebark pine distribution. For the remaining 26 percent of the distribution, mortality levels were estimated based on an interpolated mortality surface. Catchment-level results combining the photo-inventoried and interpolated mortality indicated that 44 percent of the GYE whitebark pine distribution showed severe old attack mortality (5.3–5.4 rating), 37 percent showed moderate old attack mortality (5.2–5.29 rating), 19 percent showed low old attack mortality (5.1–5.19 rating) and less than 1 percent showed trace levels of old attack mortality (5.0–5.09). No catchments were classified as recent attacks indicating that the outbreak of the early 2000’s has ended. However, mortality continues to occur as chronic sub-outbreak-level mortality. Ground verification using field plots indicates that higher LAS mortality values are moderately correlated with a higher percentage of mortality on the ground

Groundwater in the Inner Bluegrass Karst Region, Kentucky

The hydrogeology of about 12% of the 5600 km2 Inner Bluegrass Karst Region of central Kentucky was investigated by water tracing and other techniques. Using fluorescent dyes adsorbed on fabric and charcoal detectors, 96 traces (average length 2.7 km, maximum length 15 km) resulted in the identification of 38 groundwater basins (with areas up to 15 km2). Within the basins, subsurface flow is in a dendritic conduit system at depths up to 30 m below the surface, while in the interbasin areas which separate them flow is generally less than 5 m deep. Each groundwater basin discharges at a spring whose median discharge is approximately 20 l/s·km2 of basin area. The largest spring (Royal Spring) in the study area has a median discharge greater than 300 l/s (Meinzer second magnitude). The Ordovician Lexington Limestone which underlies the region is thin bedded with shale partings and argillaceous units. Within groundwater basins, sinkhole drains and other conduits have breached the interbedded shales and descend nearly vertically to a level determined by equilibrium flow in the larger conduits. The general location and flow directions in groundwater basins is probably determined by a potentiometric gradient prior to conduit development, and some basins are localized by a favorably oriented regional joint set or other structural element. Otherwise, lithologic and structural factors have little influence in the occurrence and flow of subsurface water in the region

Association of Myostatin on Performance and Carcass Traits in Crossbred Cattle

Calf-fed steers and yearling heifersgenotyped as homozygous active, heterozygous, or homozygous inactive for myostatin were used to evaluate performance and carcass traits from Piedmontese influenced cattle. Homozygous inactive steers had similar ADG, lower DMI and lower F:G when compared to steers influenced by active myostatin. Steers and heifers with inactive myostatin showed similar trends in carcass traits producing larger LM area, greater dressing percentages and leaner carcasses. Similar ADG, lower DMI, and improved F:G were observed for homozygous inactive compared to homozygous active steers. Cattle with inactive myostatin require more days on feed than homozygous active cattle to reach similar live BW and 12th rib fat endpoints

Association of Myostatin on Performance and Carcass Traits in Crossbred Cattle

Calf-fed steers and yearling heifersgenotyped as homozygous active, heterozygous, or homozygous inactive for myostatin were used to evaluate performance and carcass traits from Piedmontese influenced cattle. Homozygous inactive steers had similar ADG, lower DMI and lower F:G when compared to steers influenced by active myostatin. Steers and heifers with inactive myostatin showed similar trends in carcass traits producing larger LM area, greater dressing percentages and leaner carcasses. Similar ADG, lower DMI, and improved F:G were observed for homozygous inactive compared to homozygous active steers. Cattle with inactive myostatin require more days on feed than homozygous active cattle to reach similar live BW and 12th rib fat endpoints

Association of Inactive Myostatin in Piedmontese-Influenced Steers and Heifers on Performance and Carcass Traits at Different Endpoints

Performance and carcass traits were evaluated using Piedmontese-influenced calf-fed steers and yearling heifers genotyped for zero, one, or two copies (homozygous active, heterozygous, or homozygous inactive, respectively) of the inactive myostatin allele. Steers and heifers had similar responses across genotypes in performance and carcass traits evaluated at different endpoints. Inactive myostatin decreased DMI, final BW (live), and ADG (live). Increased dressing percentage resulted in increased carcass-adjusted ADG and improved feed conversion for cattle with inactive myostatin. Cattle with inactive myostatin are leaner with larger LM area when finished to equal carcass weight