The physical world as a virtual reality: a prima facie case

This paper explores the idea that the universe is a virtual reality created by information processing, and relates this strange idea to the findings of modern physics about the physical world. The virtual reality concept is familiar to us from online worlds, but the world as a virtual reality is usually a subject for science fiction rather than science. Yet logically the world could be an information simulation running on a three-dimensional space-time screen. Indeed, that the essence of the universe is information has advantages, e.g. if matter, charge, energy and movement are aspects of information, the many conservation laws could become a single law of conservation of information. If the universe were a virtual reality, its creation at the big bang would no longer be paradoxical, as every virtual system must be booted up. It is suggested that whether the world is an objective or a virtual reality is a matter for science to resolve, and computer science could help. If one could derive core properties like space, time, light, matter and movement from information processing, such a model could reconcile relativity and quantum theories, with the former being how information processing creates space-time, and the latter how it creates energy and matter

Combining Rigor and Relevance: The Open Electronic Archive Option

Currently IS practice abounds with application innovations, e.g. online auctions, blogs, wikis, chat, user spaces, multi-player games and reputation ratings, while over the same time few new IS academic theories have taken hold. To the practitioners who innovate, journals often seem out of date, over-rigorous and increasingly irrelevant. As IS practice innovates, IS theory seems to be if anything becoming more risk averse. If IS journals assume research rigor is research excellence, they will fall behind the cutting edge of IS progress. This would be unfortunate, as advances need to be driven by theory as well as practice. The key is recognition that good research involves two dimensions not one, namely rigor and relevance. These correspond to avoiding errors of commission (lack of rigor), and avoiding errors of omission (lack of relevance). These two dimensions suggest a selective but open IS electronic archive could increase both relevance (by electronically publishing all submissions) and rigor (by electronically supporting expert and Wiki style reviews). Since the IS community designs and creates online systems, we should be able to improve the highly successful Los Alamos physics preprint archive, and lead the way in electronic knowledge exchange systems

A Research Publishing Checklist for New Authors

Abstract While traditionally information systems (IS) students graduated then published, today they often publish before they graduate. While publishing seems yet another student burden, it can be a useful learning experience, raise motivation, provide helpful feedback, help grant and job applications, and give student and advisor a common focus. That research publishing is an extra demand suggests the need for a support tool. The research publishing checklist: 1. Chunks knowledge into elements for easier handling. 2. Grounds elements with practical examples and summary statements, and 3. Structures the elements in academic format for easy location. It can be used not only in student advising, but for new authors in any context, whether conference, journal or book chapter. The checklist is available at http://brianwhitworth.com/researchchecklist.pdf

Investigating Personal And Community Factors In E-Government: A Citizen’s Perspective

This paper investigates the importance of personal factors and community factors in e-government based on the e-consultation aspect of government-to-citizen (G2C) interaction. The personal factors studied were ease of use, usefulness, reliability and security, and the community factors studied were privacy, transparency, participation and accountability. While previous empirical studies have focused mainly on personal factors of e-government web sites, this study also investigates community factors. The data analysis suggested that both personal and community factors are important factors in e-government web sites usage. Working from a socio-technical system design perspective, this paper proposes an e-government framework that reflects a G2C interaction by introducing community factors as a new e-government web site dimension, in addition to the well known personal factors that influence web site usage in general

IT EVALUATION MODEL FOR SOCIO-TECHNICAL SYSTEMS

In this paper, a model and an evaluation method are proposed expanding technology assessment model (TAM) to enable a comprehensive evaluation and selection of socio technical systems relevant in today’s Internet environment. The proposed evaluation model called WOSP is practical and easy to integrate in decision support system tools for comparing IT software involving socio-technical factors

Which nondrug alternatives can help with insomnia?

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) interventions -- particularly stimulus control and sleep hygiene -- are well-validated, effective treatments for chronic insomnia that are equivalent or superior to pharmacological interventions (strength of recommendation: A, based on systematic reviews). The long-term efficacy of CBT interventions, and their successful implementation by primary care physician (as compared with behavioral science providers), is unclear

Genetically diagnosed Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome and familial cerebral cavernous malformations in the same individual: a case report.

When faced with an unusual clinical feature in a patient with a Mendelian disorder, the clinician may entertain the possibilities of either the feature representing a novel manifestation of that disorder or the co-existence of a different inherited condition. Here we describe an individual with a submandibular oncocytoma, pulmonary bullae and renal cysts as well as multiple cerebral cavernous malformations and haemangiomas. Genetic investigations revealed constitutional mutations in FLCN, associated with Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome (BHD) and CCM2, associated with familial cerebral cavernous malformation. Intracranial vascular pathologies (but not cerebral cavernous malformation) have recently been described in a number of individuals with BHD (Kapoor et al. in Fam Cancer 14:595-597, 10.1007/s10689-015-9807-y , 2015) but it is not yet clear whether they represent a genuine part of that conditions' phenotypic spectrum. We suggest that in such instances of potentially novel clinical features, more extensive genetic testing to consider co-existing conditions should be considered where available. The increased use of next generation sequencing applications in diagnostic settings is likely to lead more cases such as this being revealed.James Whitworth is supported by a Clinical Research Training Fellowship provided by the Cambridge Cancer Centre.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10689-016-9928-

All my rowdy friends: the effect of Super Bowl hosting on audit and financial reporting timeliness

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact hosting the Super Bowl has on audit completion and financial reporting timeliness for companies headquartered in Super Bowl hosting cities. Design/methodology/approach Using 16 years of financial reporting data, this study uses the Super Bowl and related activities, combined with required filings during “busy season,” as a natural experiment to examine how audit firms navigate short-term, exogenously imposed but anticipated, audit team capacity constraints. Findings Companies headquartered in a city hosting the Super Bowl, during busy season, have longer audit report lags (by approximately three days, in comparison to non-hosting busy season audits) and less timely securities and exchange commission (SEC) (10-K) filings. The authors find no evidence that Super Bowl hosting affects audit fees or earnings announcement timeliness. Practical implications When confronted with anticipated capacity shocks, audit firms take longer to complete the audit, absorbing the financial costs of the delay and maintaining audit quality, resulting in less timely financial reporting. Originality/value This study demonstrates the costs of Super Bowl-related inefficiencies and contributes to our understanding of how auditors navigate capacity shocks. This study provides evidence that auditors can effectively manage business risk and continue to facilitate providing timely and accurate information to financial statement users in the face of a capacity shock