Charbon or anthrax: with experiences during recent outbreak in north Louisiana

Cover title.Bibliography: p. 52.Mode of access: Internet

Dimensions of Information Systems Success

The value added by an organization\u27s IT assets is a critical concern to both research and practice. Not surprisingly, a large number of IS effectiveness measures can be found in the IS literature. What is not clear in the literature is what measures are appropriate in a particular context. In this paper we propose a two-dimensional matrix for classifying IS Effectiveness measures. The first dimension is the type of system studied. The second dimension is the stakeholder in whose interests the system is being evaluated. The matrix was tested by using it to classify IS effectiveness measures from 186 empirical papers in three major IS journals for the last nine years. The results indicate that the classifications are meaningful. Hence, the IS Effectiveness Matrix provides a useful guide for conceptualizing effectiveness measurement in IS research, and for choosing appropriate measures, both for research and practice

Mental representations of the supernatural: A cluster analysis of religiosity, spirituality and paranormal belief

The aim of the study was to establish a new typology of belief in the supernatural; categorising people, based on their levels of religiosity, spirituality and paranormal belief. Examining how the various beliefs are defined was a further objective. The reasons for people having different levels of these beliefs were discussed, highlighting ‘Metaphysical Chauvinism’ as a possible explanation. Previous research that used variousmethods to measure religiosity, spirituality and paranormal belief were discussed. Participants (n = 307) completed an online survey consisting of the revised Religious Life Inventory (rRLI), the Intrinsic Spirituality Scale (ISS) and the revised Paranormal Belief Scale (rPBS). Two cluster analyses were performed: one on the three main scales and a secondary analysis on the ISS, the subscales of the rRLI and the rPBS. The results revealed a four cluster solution for each analysis. For the main analysis the clusters were ‘believers’, ‘paranormal believers’, ‘sceptics’ and ‘religious believers’. Metaphysical Chauvinism was supported; however, it was acknowledged that there still appears to be a lack of consensus when defining supernatural beliefs. It is proposed that the cluster analysis approach is more effective than a simple scale when trying establish how a person believes

Mental models or probabilistic reasoning or both: Reviewing the evidence for and implications of dual-strategy models of deductive reasoning

The present paper presents an overview of contemporary reasoning research to examine the evidence for and implications of the Dual Strategy Model of Reasoning. The Dual Strategy Model of Reasoning proposes that there are two types of reasoning strategy applied in deductive reasoning – counterexample and statistical. The paper considers Mental Models Theory and The Probability Heuristics Model as candidate specifications for these respective strategies and hypotheses are proposed on this basis. The Dual Strategy Model is further considered in the context of Dual Process theory, the Dual Source Model and Meta-reasoning and implications of the synergy between these proposals are considered. We finally consider the Dual Strategy Model in the context of individual differences, and normative considerations before proposing novel hypotheses and further avenues of research which we argue require exploration in this context.N/

Effect of Ferulic Acid Esterase Enzyme Application on the \u3ci\u3ein Vitro\u3c/i\u3e Digestibility and \u3ci\u3ein Situ\u3c/i\u3e Rumen Degradability of Tropical Grasses

Tropical grasses are the primary staple diet of most of the domesticated ruminants in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. However, dry matter (DM) digestibility (DMD) and intake levels of these C4 grasses are considerably low, partly because of high lignin contents. Ferulic acid also impedes fibre digestion in such forages due to formation of cross linkages with digestible xylans. Certain esterase enzymes have been shown to cleave ferulic acid cross linkages in wheat bran but no studies have examined whether such enzymes can be used to increase the digestion of tropical grasses. Therefore, the objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of a ferulic acid esterase preparation applied at different rates on the digestibility of C4 grasses