DOES THE AUGMENTATION OF SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENTS AFFECT USER DECISIONS IN CLOUD ADOPTION SCENARIOS? – AN EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH

Despite the benefits of cloud computing, customers are reluctant to use cloud services as they have concerns about data security and privacy. Many of these concerns arise due to the lack of transparen-cy. Consequently, bridging the existing information asymmetry and, thus, fostering trust in the cloud provider is of high relevance. As service level agreements are an important trust building factor and due to their technical and complex nature, the augmentation of these is promising. Therefore, we in-vestigate the effects of augmenting service level agreements (by means of augmented browsing) on the ease of the information gathering process and simultaneously on perceived information overload, comprehension and transparency in a web-based experiment. The results of our online experiment do not confirm our assumed positive effects of augmentation. Nonetheless, we show that the ease of gath-ering information about a cloud service positively influences the perceived trustworthiness. Further-more, we demonstrate that the perceived trustworthiness of a cloud computing provider largely deter-mines the intention to use its services. Thus, besides improving security, cloud providers not only have to communicate trust-critical information but also have to identify suitable measures of information provisioning that considerably improve transparency while lowering information overload

Rebound Effects in Cloud Computing: Towards a Conceptual Framework

Rebound effects have been discussed in various disciplines. In the information and communication technology sector, this topic is still insufficiently studied. Basically, a rebound effect is a feedback mechanism, as a result of which savings from efficiency improvements are not or only partially realized. Due to the potential of cloud computing for efficiency improvements, not only in terms of energy efficiency, but also in terms of organizational resources in general, we describe rebound effects in this context by means of a systematic literature review and a case study. Our results provide a framework to categorize and identify potential rebound effects in cloud computing. The understanding of rebound effects and their influence on the various organizational resources (e.g., server hardware, human resources or IT know-how), is important for managers to sustainably decide for or against the adoption, integration and roll out of cloud computing services

A quantitative and qualitative comparison of fibrin glue, albumin, and blood as agents to pretreat porous vascular grafts

Recent reports suggest that fibrin glue can be used to seal porous vascular grafts prior to insertion, but this ability has not been quantitatively compared to existing methods. We compared blood loss from and handling characteristics of grafts pretreated with either fibrin glue (FG) (Tisseel), albumin autoclaving (AA), or blood preclotting (BP). Five 6-cm segments of 6-mm internal diameter grafts, both knitted and woven double velour Dacron were treated in each group (30 specimens). Human blood was forced through the BP group until clotted; AA segments were soaked in 25% human albumin and autoclaved for 10 min; FG segments were treated with a topical application of Tisseel (0.5 ml/graft) followed by treatment with topical thrombin + CACl (0.5 ml/graft). Graft ends were sealed and attached to a transducer/syringe pump mechanism which pumped heparinized human blood into the graft at 100 mm Hg intraluminal pressure. All blood that leaked through the grafts over 2 min was collected and the amount was averaged for the five grafts in each group. Graft handling was characterized as either pliable or stiff. Blood pretreatment caused 21 +/- 2 and 13 +/- 4 cc/2 min of leak in knitted and woven grafts, respectively. Albumin autoclaving resulted in 9 +/- 2 and 1 +/- 0.5 cc of leak (P P < 0.01 compared to blood). Both blood and fibrin glue produced soft pliable grafts, while albumin pretreatment resulted in stiff grafts. We conclude that fibrin glue or albumin is superior to blood for pretreatment of woven grafts in limiting blood loss, but that fibrin glue is superior to either albumin or blood in knitted grafts. Fibrin glue imparts superior handling characteristics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/26651/1/0000195.pd

Right Scaling for Right Pricing: A Case Study on Total Cost of Ownership Measurement for Cloud Migration

Cloud computing promises traditional enterprises and independent software vendors a myriad of advantages over on-premise installations including cost, operational and organizational efficiencies. The decision to migrate software configured for on-premise delivery to the cloud requires careful technical consideration and planning. In this chapter, we discuss the impact of right-scaling on the cost modelling for migration decision making and price setting of software for commercial resale. An integrated process is presented for measuring total cost of ownership, taking in to account IaaS/PaaS resource consumption based on forecast SaaS usage levels. The process is illustrated with a real world case study

Shedding Light on Shadow IT: Definition, Related Concepts, and Consequences

The use of Information Technology (IT) without the approval and support of the IT department, called shadow IT, has challenged organizations to rethink ways to manage IT resources to cope with the use of unauthorized technologies within organizations. We review the literature on shadow IT to shed light on this phenomenon, discussing the conceptual definition and types, the related concepts, and its consequences. This study, then, is an effort to better understand the phenomenon based on the extant literature. We provide contributions by enhancing the emerging body of knowledge on shadow IT, as well as by suggesting research gaps to be addressed in future research in order to advance on the topic

Mosquito Hunter: An Intern\u27s Perspective in a Public Health Department Mosquito Surveillance Program

As a Special Services Intern at Public Health - Dayton & Montgomery County (PHDMC), I gained first-hand experience as to the daily functioning of a Public Health Department and had the opportunity to work on a special project, the Mosquito Surveillance Program. PHDMC employs professionals in a variety of disciplines, all working towards the goal of protecting the health of the public. One way they accomplish this is through various inspections including restaurant, wellhead, and landfill. Another method to protect the public health is through the capture and testing of mosquitoes, with the goal of preventing the spread of mosquito-borne diseases like West Nile Virus, La Crosse Virus, and, more recently, Ziko. There were three types of traps used (Gravid, BG Sentinel, and Gravid Aedes) that were placed doily over a period of approximately four months, resulting in the testing (by the Ohio Department of Health ODH) of over 432, 120 mosquitoes for the 2017 season. Many factors play a role in this number including the effectiveness of a trap location, amount of precipitation, and temperature. When comparing available data from the 2016 season to the 2017 season, it was found that the 2017 season had increased average precipitation, higher numbers of mosquitoes tested, and higher incidences of mosquito-borne diseases

Factors Influencing the Adoption of Cloud Computing: A Mixed-Methods Approach

Cloud computing is a technology that has gained increasing attention because of its considerable benefits, which include reduced costs, reduced complexity and increased flexibility. To obtain these benefits, cloud computing utilizes existing technologies, such as grid computing, virtualization and web services, for online delivery of scalable information technology (IT) services, frequently on the basis of a pay-per-use pricing model. In 2008, the Gartner Group predicted that cloud computing would reach the mainstream within two to five years. However, in their latest hype cycle for emerging technologies, they stated that cloud computing had not yet reached the plateau of productivity but rather was still in the trough of disillusionment. The reason for this situation may be that cloud computing continues to face skepticism because of various concerns regarding, e.g., data privacy and security. In particular, (enterprise) customers transfer (sensitive) data to cloud computing providers, and the end-user rents the right to use cloud computing services via a web browser with minimal need to interact or even without the necessity of interacting directly with a sales assistant. These two aspects result in a strong unilateral dependency and require a high degree of trust in the provider. Additionally, publicity regarding the PRISM program has brought these aspects to the forefront of public interest. Consequently, specific requirements regarding, e.g., security, privacy, accountability, and auditability, must be met to fulfill the expectations of business partners and to build long-term business relationships. Thus, overcoming information asymmetry, enhancing transparency and eradicating behavioral uncertainty is of high importance to build trust between cloud computing providers and their (prospective) customers. Therefore, although most research to date has focused on technical aspects and aimed to improve the actual security of cloud computing services, there is also an urgent need to understand the factors that affect the adoption of cloud computing services from the points of view of both private users and companies. If cloud computing is to reach its full potential, a clear understanding of the factors that influence its adoption is mandatory to improve both present and future cloud computing services. Motivated by these considerations, the aim of this doctoral thesis is to explore, describe, analyze and explain the factors that influence the adoption of cloud computing using various qualitative and quantitative research methods, i.e., by employing a mixed-methods analysis. As a first step, a serious game is conducted to explore various factors that influence the adoption of cloud computing services. Based on these initial findings, the factors explored during the serious game and some additional factors are described and analyzed in detail. These factors include the cloud computing market, costs, trust, affectedness, shadow IT, and sustainability. Furthermore, the factor of information asymmetry, especially regarding bridging the information asymmetry with various information presentation methods, is explained. Following these findings, a research agenda, which contains a recommended research design and lists the theories that are relevant in the context of the adoption of cloud computing, is proposed. Subsequently, a synthesis of the research findings in terms of their implications for practice and research, including limitations, are discussed