Towards a Theoretical Framework of Information Systems Development Strategy: The Contingent Effects of Organizational Culture and Project Uncertainty

Although practitioners are facing increasing complexities and high rates of failure in IS development, research in the field has not yet developed adequate theory to address the issues involved. This study first analyzes the benefits and shortcomings of existing strategies of IS development, agile and traditional development, and then theorizes four underlying dimensions along which these strategies differ: change responsiveness, knowledge tacitness, people-driven, and customer collaboration. The strategy contingency perspective is utilized to theorize the effects of organizational culture and project uncertainty of IS development strategy. Using this perspective, a framework is developed that identifies two new strategies of IS development, in addition to the existing traditional and agile strategies. These two strategies of IS development are labeled the responsive process strategy and the creative optimization strategy. This may help explain practitioner surveys that report that most organizations adopt agile practices for some projects and not others, and tha

Empowerment of Slum Children in Developing Countries Through Information Technology: Human Capabilities Versus Environmental Determinism

Urban migration in developing countries is expected to increase the number of slum inhabitants from 940 million in 2003 to over two billion by 2030. As socio-economic status at birth is a strong predictor of future socio-economic status, slum children seem destined to a life of poverty. However, emerging examples of empowerment appear to demonstrate possibilities of information technology to benefit the lives of slum children. In this paper, we use social cognitive theory to study why children participate in IT learning in the absence of formal training courses, using the constructs of symbolizing, forethought, visceral, self-regulating and self-reflecting human capabilities. In doing this, we attempt to validate a theoretical basis for human capabilities of slum children to overcome the forces of environmental determinism working against them

The Resource Based View of IT Business Value: Complementary Investments or Embedded Knowledge?

In this paper we test a primary postulate of the resource-based theory of IT business value. From this perspective, IT is not rare but pervasive, and it is only the combination of investments with other resources that makes the investment inimitable. Therefore, the effect of IT on firm performance cannot be direct effects, but rather firm performance can only be affected when IT expenditures are combined with other investments. We test this theory using panel data of large firms spanning 7 years. Firm level data is gathered from Compustat and matched to IS Budget data from InformationWeek\u27s annual rankings. We find that no support for the RBV postulate that IT Expenditure cannot have direct competitive advantage but must be combined with expenditure on other assets to effect firm performance. Instead we find support for the opposing hypotheses: IT expenditure and capital expenditures have independent, direct effects on firm revenue as well as firm profit, even in the presence of the interaction variable. The results imply that IT investments may be a source of direct competitive advantage, unlike the postulate of the resource-based view theorists. This may be because an IT system has embedded knowledge and creates knowledge, making it rare and imperfectly imitable. Rather than investing in generic IT systems and trying to obtain uniqueness from investments in complementary resources, firms can try embedding firm-specific knowledge when designing or modifying their systems and using their systems to create knowledge. This is the first study to test the resource-based view\u27s postulate that value from IT comes only with the combination of IT investments and investments in other assets and not from direct effects. By disproving this postulate, we open the door to new hypotheses based on knowledge in and from IT systems

Agility versus Maturity: Is There Really a Trade-Off?

Most agile teams use some upfront design, and most formal methods are iterative

Effect of Public Librairies in the Attainment of Health Millennium Development Goals in Senegal

This study surveys the roles of Public libraries in the attainment of health Millennium Development Goals in Senegal. It also identifies the health-information needs of the community and information services rendered by the libraries. The role of public libraries in the attainment of health-MDGs has been a daunting task for public libraries as a result of government negligence. The methodology adopted for the study is the survey design in which questionnaires was used for obtaining data. The target population was public library staff/users in Senegal. The result showed that public libraries have played significant role towards the attainment of health-MDGs and library users make significant demand for all categories of health information especially in the area of maternal and childcare. However, majority of the public libraries have no Internet services. The findings makes it imperative for all other relevant agencies to key into the health-MDGs especially in assisting the Public Libraries. The study will bring to the awareness of users, the roles public libraries plays in supporting local and international policies and the provision of information services for library users.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11591/ijphs.v1i1.70

In Silico engineered SmSDR enzyme for the preparation of enantiopure R- phenylephrine

It is a well-established fact that in silico enzyme engineering approaches such as molecular modeling, docking, simulation, provide molecular level understanding of the function of biocatalyst and specifically the role of mutational sites. These standalone protocols deliver the understanding of either Michaelis complex formation or the transition state formation or entry/exit path of the substrate. However, an intelligent workflow of these protocols can be applied for not only engineering of enzymes but to design them in silico. Quantumzyme has developed QZyme WorkbenchTM, an integrated workflow using open source computational methods and proprietary scripts for scanning all the events involved in the biocatalytic process. The aim of this workbench is to conduct in silico protein design and is routinely leveraged to engineer enzyme for achieving desirable functions. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Using ICT and Service Learning in Rural Senegal

In 2010, Fairfield University received a three-year grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), through Higher Education for Development (HED), to support a university service-learning program to deliver educational material on health-related topics to middle school students in Bambey, Senegal, a rural area, 60 miles east of the capital, Dakar. Fairfield University must work with the selected partner, Université de Bambey, which has four rural campuses, about 20 miles apart, connected by both paved and dirt roads. Resources are scarce, as is a consistent electricity and water supply. However, the faculty is dedicated and competent, and the students are vibrant, intelligent, and hard working. The various courses of study are distributed across the campuses, unlike the variety on a single campus in the United States. Each Université de Bambey campus might have just two or three majors of study. The USAID/HED grant specifies that Service- Learning must be used to deliver the training, and the use of computer technology is essential. The project will begin with pretesting of the professors and students, followed by testing at the end of the project, to assess the success of the project

CRiSIS: CPC Regulations in States – Implications for Services - A Mystery Caller Study

Objectives: Crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) provide pregnancy-related services with the intent of dissuading people from seeking abortions. Half of states support CPCs through funding or mandatory referrals. We performed a national mystery caller study to compare CPC and AF early pregnancy service availability in supportive and non-supportive CPC environments. Methods: We conducted a mystery caller study of a national sample of CPCs and their nearest AFs, stratified by state NARAL CPC policy designation. The primary outcome was the difference in wait time to first available pregnancy confirmation appointment between CPCs and their closest AF. Secondary outcomes included call characteristics, ultrasound and pregnancy test availability and cost. The primary exposure was CPC policy designation. Using StataSE v15, we performed Fischer’s Exact tests and two-sided T-tests to compare outcomes of interest. Results: Trained research assistants successfully called 445 CPCs and their nearest 445 AFs between May and December 2019. There was no significant difference in mean wait time to early pregnancy appointment between CPCs and AFs in disparate CPC legislative climates (1.96 days in CPC supportive states vs 2.09 days in CPC non-supportive states, p=0.08). Mean wait time to pregnancy confirmation appointment was 0.9 days for CPCs and 3.3 for AFs (p<0.0001). Both CPCs and AFs commonly offered pregnancy confirmation visits, but CPCs were significantly more likely to do so (98.9 vs 94.8%, p=0.002). CPCs were also more likely to provide same-day appointments, and free pregnancy testing. AFs were more likely to offer ultrasound for pregnancy confirmation (94.3% AFs vs 66.5% CPCs, p<0.0001). Conclusions: State policy climate around CPCs was not associated with differences in CPC or AF access measures (wait time to first appointment, service availability, or cost). However, CPC early pregnancy services were overall more accessible by these measures than AF services in all legislative climates. The increased accessibility of CPCs (non-healthcare facilities posing as clinics to dissuade women from seeking abortions) poses a public health challenge, which may threaten and delay access to healthcare facilities providing evidence-based pregnancy options counseling and abortion services

Restoration of Neonatal Retinal Images

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is an eye disorder primarily affecting premature neonates. Specialists use a number of neonatal retinal images acquired by a wide field of view camera for diagnosis and the subsequent follow up. However, the premature infants’ retinal images are generally of lower visibility compared to adult retinal images, affecting the quality of diagnosis. We study some image dehazing methods from general outdoor scenes and propose an image restoration scheme for neonatal retinal images, based on the physical model of light propagation in a medium. The results from our restoration algorithm is useful for analysis by human experts as well as computer aided diagnosis and specifically we show that our method enhances vessel segmentation significantly compared to traditional methods like adaptive histogram equalization