The Testing of an Experiential Framework for Teaching System Development Projects Using a Collaborative Project Management Approach

Experiential learning approaches have been especially effective in information systems courses where ‘real-world’ scenarios are used to provide a degree of complexity that reflects actual system development projects. Students are shown how the principles of project management can provide a framework for reducing the difficulty and complexity of the development process to a more manageable procedure as they put into practice their knowledge and skills from previous courework in creating working application systems. This paper outlines an experiential approach for teaching the value of information systems project management in the systems development process through the collaborative efforts of the graduate class in Information Technology Project Management, and the undergraduate senior capstone projects course

Assessing an Information Systems Master\u27s Curriculum Program: Revisiting the ACM\u27s MSIS 2006 Model Curriculum

The field of Information systems continues to change dynamically with the painful impact for reacting to those changes felt by both undergraduate and masters’ level programs. The purpose of this paper is to report the results of a comparative selfstudy of one MSIS program as a measure to assess its competitiveness among a set of other comparable, competitive and aspirant masters’ programs. The focus of the study is determine the viability of one specific master’s curriculum used currently to prepare students for professional careers in information systems in order to meet the marketplace challenges created by the ever-evolving information systems business needs. The fundamental methodology used in this study is based on that which was employed in a previous study conducted to assess the ‘fit’ of 86 MSIS programs with the MSIS 2000 Model Curriculum (Vijayaraman, et.al.) Findings will be presented that reflect shared learning objectives, curriculum content, currency, and relevancy necessary to assess whether changes to the current curriculum are necessary to establish a more competitive position among the three categories of comparable, competitive and aspirant university MSIS programs. One benefit that resulted from this initiative is the recognition that there has been relatively little research directed at assessing the overall direction of current MSIS programs and the need to revisit the need for a new MSIS model curriculum. The last endorsed MSIS model curriculum was published in 2006 (Gorgone, et.al. 2006), almost 10 years ago. It is the hope of presenting the results of this study that a discussion can begin to address the challenge of maintaining a viable MSIS curriculum that meets the current and future demands of the business communit

A conceptual model : impact of usage of social media tools to enhance project management success

Research on the impact of social media in the workplace has focused on identifying ways in which the latest modes of shared communications has influenced productivity in project development, testing, and implementation. Traditionally, a written formal project management communication plan has been key in supporting the integration management that coordinates the project from beginning-to-end, to ensure a greater level of collaboration when managing project scope, schedule, budget and quality, and also to provide a greater sense of confidence in completing the project successfully. However, how beneficial are social media networks in improving the project team’s dynamics, which are important for successfully managing scope verification, budget adherence, and schedule compliance? How will these tools play a role in ensuring greater user involvement, senior management commitment, and user/system requirements? The purpose of this research is firstly to recognize what types of social media networks have been used and accepted as potential models for improving project management, and secondly; to promote a discussion to advance research paradigms for investigating the impact of implementing social media networks in project management.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Adopting the IS 2009 Model Curriculum: Apanel Session to Address the Challenges for Program Implementation

This panel session is designed to initiate an open forum and frank discussion of the IS 2009 Model Curriculum proposed by the Joint IS 2009 Curriculum Task Force and developed as a cooperative effort by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and the Association for Information Systems (AIS). Following an introduction to the new model curriculum, a summary and overview of the changes from IS 97/2002 to the IS 2009 recommended core and elective courses will be presented and a panel representing academia and business will address possible issues, challenges, and implications of implementing the suggested curriculum changes on the major stakeholders that include students, faculty, administration, infrastructure resources, and the business community. Concluding the session will be an open forum to allow audience participation in the discussion for the purpose of exchanging ideas on the implementation of the new model curriculum

Production and proteomic characterisation of purified protein derivative from Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Effective diagnosis of Johne's disease (JD), particularly at the stage of early subclinical infection, remains one of the greatest challenges for the control of JD worldwide. The IFN-γ test of cell mediated immunity is currently one of the most suitable diagnostics for subclinical infections, however a major limitation of this test is the lack of a standardised purified protein derivative (PPD) antigen (also referred to as Johnin PPD or PPDj). While attempting to replace PPDj with more specific individual antigens is an attractive proposition, bacterial culture derived PPDj remains the most effective antigen preparation for the diagnosis of subclinical JD. It may be possible to increase the reproducibility and specificity of PPDj preparations by further characterising and standardising the PPDj production.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Using a standardised protocol, five in-house preparations of PPDj were prepared from cultures of <it>Mycobacterium avium </it>subsp. <it>paratuberculosis </it>(MAP). Compared to PPDs obtained from other institutes/laboratories, these preparations appeared to perform similarly well in the IFN-γ test. Although the broad proteomic composition of all PPDj preparations was remarkably similar, the absolute abundance of individual proteins varied markedly between preparations. All PPDj preparations contained common immunogenic proteins which were also observed in PPD preparations from <it>Mycobacterium avium </it>subsp. <it>avium </it>(PPDa) and <it>Mycobacterium bovis </it>(PPDb). Temporal difference in protein secretion of <it>in vitro </it>cultured MAP was observed between 20 and 34 weeks suggesting that the age of MAP culture used for PPDj preparations may markedly influence PPDj composition.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study describes a protocol for the production of PPDj and its subsequent proteomic characterisation. The broad proteomic composition of different preparations of PPDj was, for the most part, highly similar. Compositional differences between PPDj preparations were found to be a direct reflection of genetic differences between the MAP strain types used to produce these preparations and the age of MAP cultures they were derived from. A number of conserved immunogenic proteins, such as members of the cutinase-like protein family, were found to be more abundant in PPDj compared to PPDa and should be considered as possible diagnostic antigens for the future.</p

Discussions and Reviews : Toward an ethology of human conflict: a review

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/67149/2/10.1177_002200276701100310.pd

Forward-Backward Asymmetry in Top Quark Production in ppbar Collisions at sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV

Reconstructable final state kinematics and charge assignment in the reaction ppbar->ttbar allows tests of discrete strong interaction symmetries at high energy. We define frame dependent forward-backward asymmetries for the outgoing top quark in both the ppbar and ttbar rest frames, correct for experimental distortions, and derive values at the parton-level. Using 1.9/fb of ppbar collisions at sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV recorded with the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron, we measure forward-backward top quark production asymmetries in the ppbar and ttbar rest frames of A_{FB,pp} = 0.17 +- 0.08 and A_{FB,tt} = 0.24 +- 0.14.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Phys.Rev.Lett, corrected references and change of tex

Remote Sensing of Environment: Current status of Landsat program, science, and applications

Formal planning and development of what became the first Landsat satellite commenced over 50 years ago in 1967. Now, having collected earth observation data for well over four decades since the 1972 launch of Landsat- 1, the Landsat program is increasingly complex and vibrant. Critical programmatic elements are ensuring the continuity of high quality measurements for scientific and operational investigations, including ground systems, acquisition planning, data archiving and management, and provision of analysis ready data products. Free and open access to archival and new imagery has resulted in a myriad of innovative applications and novel scientific insights. The planning of future compatible satellites in the Landsat series, which maintain continuity while incorporating technological advancements, has resulted in an increased operational use of Landsat data. Governments and international agencies, among others, can now build an expectation of Landsat data into a given operational data stream. International programs and conventions (e.g., deforestation monitoring, climate change mitigation) are empowered by access to systematically collected and calibrated data with expected future continuity further contributing to the existing multi-decadal record. The increased breadth and depth of Landsat science and applications have accelerated following the launch of Landsat-8, with significant improvements in data quality. Herein, we describe the programmatic developments and institutional context for the Landsat program and the unique ability of Landsat to meet the needs of national and international programs. We then present the key trends in Landsat science that underpin many of the recent scientific and application developments and followup with more detailed thematically organized summaries. The historical context offered by archival imagery combined with new imagery allows for the development of time series algorithms that can produce information on trends and dynamics. Landsat-8 has figured prominently in these recent developments, as has the improved understanding and calibration of historical data. Following the communication of the state of Landsat science, an outlook for future launches and envisioned programmatic developments are presented. Increased linkages between satellite programs are also made possible through an expectation of future mission continuity, such as developing a virtual constellation with Sentinel-2. Successful science and applications developments create a positive feedback loop—justifying and encouraging current and future programmatic support for Landsat

Evidence for the exclusive decay Bc+- to J/psi pi+- and measurement of the mass of the Bc meson

We report first evidence for a fully reconstructed decay mode of the B_c^{\pm} meson in the channel B_c^{\pm} \to J/psi \pi^{\pm}, with J/psi \to mu^+mu^-. The analysis is based on an integrated luminosity of 360 pb$^{-1} in p\bar{p} collisions at 1.96 TeV center of mass energy collected by the Collider Detector at Fermilab. We observe 14.6 \pm 4.6 signal events with a background of 7.1 \pm 0.9 events, and a fit to the J/psi pi^{\pm} mass spectrum yields a B_c^{\pm} mass of 6285.7 \pm 5.3(stat) \pm 1.2(syst) MeV/c^2. The probability of a peak of this magnitude occurring by random fluctuation in the search region is estimated as 0.012%.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures. Version 3, accepted by PR