From Technology Revolution to Digital Revolution: An Interview with F. Warren McFarlan from the Harvard Business School

In this paper, I recount an interview I had with F. Warren McFarlan, DBA, a senior scholar whose passion to keep working in information systems (IS) overrode his two attempts at retirement in 2004 and again in 2009. His 50 years of knowledge builds on experience from companies in the United States and Asia, both large corporations and start-ups, and for-profit and nonprofit companies. Additionally, he has helped develop the minds of generations of business leaders through his work at the Harvard Business School (HBS). Through the years, he has developed and taught IS case studies on companies that range from Chase Manhattan Bank to Alibaba. Given his enduring work in technology, these interviews provide interesting insight into coursework development at HBS, the frequent redefinition of the digital native, the language of business versus that of IT, a management stance on IT, the management of IT projects, work on for-profit and nonprofit boards, and a view on China and IS

Quality of Life: Older Adults and the Role of Social Media

A significant percentage of our overall population includes older adults. Moreover, the information systems (IS) discipline has advocated change in the area of health care, particularly with the Internet of things (IoT) and the use of social inclusion to improve one’s quality of life. To that end, this paper focuses on the older adult who is over 65 years old. Older adults navigate the personal use of technology differently than young to mid-range adults. Therefore, we propose that the IS discipline adopt new techniques that could make strides toward improving the lives of our older population. Past studies reveal findings on the significance of cognitive speed, social integration, and social network. These interventions reduce the risk of cognitive decline and increase quality of life. We believe these extant findings may adapt to an older adult’s use of social media and open opportunities for managing everyday life capabilities

Technology Use in Managing the Nutrition Health of Older Adults: A Scoping Review

Technology improvements for health care may enable nutritional health management for older adults. Research has yet to map the types of technology utilized to manage nutrition. This scoping review includes research in technology and nutrition to: (1) explain how technology is used to manage the nutrition needs of older adults; (2) describe the types of technology used to manage nutrition. The literature period was 21 years, but 86 percent of the papers retained were published within the past five years. The most common type of technology used is software, which is used to: (1) track, plan, and execute nutrition management and (2) assess technology use. The findings show that software for older adults lacks standardization. The internet of things is a promising area for research, and personal devices emphasize the tablet computer. The results suggest that managing older adult nutrition through technology is not yet a formable research area

Connections and Cognitive Speed of Older Adults: Using a Social Media Intervention to Improve Cognitive Speed

As adults age, their cognitive speed declines, which may lead to deficiencies in cognitive functions. Both clinical and commercial applications exist for older adults that may stay or reverse this decline. In this exploratory investigation, we examined whether an intervention using a free social networking platform could improve older adults’ cognitive speed. To do so, we conducted a pre-assessment, intervention, and post-assessment with older adults (82.5 years old on average) who lived in an assisted living facility. We found that older adults who used Instagram on an iPad produced statistically significant results in their interference responses based on the tests we administered. These findings show that Instagram increased older adults’ cognitive speed similar to improvements shown with clinical and commercial cognitive software. Therefore, a free social media technology may enhance older adults’ processing speed. Additionally, it may encourage older adults to maintain an active social network and even adapt to changing technology

Applied Learning of Emerging Technology: Using Business-Relevant Examples of Blockchain

Within the ever-changing technology and business landscape, it is imperative that students develop skills in identifying and leveraging emerging technologies to create business value in innovative and novel ways. Drawing on the Net-enabled Business Innovation Cycle framework, applied learning techniques, and current events, we developed an assignment to explore one such emerging technology – blockchain – to enhance students’ ability to apply what they have learned to solve business problems. Our findings showed that students overwhelmingly found the activity and experience beneficial in three important ways: (1) understanding an emerging technology, (2) applying the technology to contemporary business issues, and (3) leveraging what they learned to create plausible solutions to business challenges and opportunities

Multi-messenger observations of a binary neutron star merger

On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ~1.7 s with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of 40+8-8 Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 Mo. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at ~40 Mpc) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One- Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ~10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position ~9 and ~16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta

Multi-messenger Observations of a Binary Neutron Star Merger

On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ∼ 1.7 {{s}} with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of {40}-8+8 Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 {M}ȯ . An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at ∼ 40 {{Mpc}}) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One-Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ∼10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position ∼ 9 and ∼ 16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC 4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta.</p