IT-Business Alignment: What We Know That We Still Don\u27t Know

A review of IT trade publications and MIS research literature on IT-business alignment confirms the fact that, as a top concern for CEO’s and CIO’s, problems associated with a lack of an optimal level of alignment between business and IT functions within organizations remain as a continuing challenge for IT and organizational management. In attempts to explicate the IT-business alignment construct, researchers have formulated definitions of the construct, and they have proposed frameworks and models. Research studies on alignment have identified potential organizational impacts of alignment and have proposed prescriptive measures for achieving a higher degree of IT-business alignment in organizations. Given this body of research, an identification of key issues yet to be fully addressed by the existing research would guide additional research on IT-business alignment. Based on the results of a literature review, this paper provides a characterization of the research findings to date and proposes topics for additional research intended to extend the knowledge on IT-business alignment

Understanding the Organizational Impact of Radio Frequency Identification Technology: A Holistic View

The adoption and deployment of radio frequency identification technology (RFID) in retail supply chains results in an influx of data, supporting the development of better information and increased knowledge. This impacts not only an organization’s information technology infrastructure, but also the quality and timeliness of its business intelligence and decision-making. This paper provides an introduction to RFID technology and surveys a variety of its applications, then examines and discusses the impact of RFID technology on organizational IT infrastructure, business intelligence, and decision-making. Propositions are advanced to provide the basis for the development of specific hypotheses to be empirically tested in future studies, and a conceptual research framework for understanding the organizational impact of RFID technology is proposed. Available at: https://aisel.aisnet.org/pajais/vol2/iss2/3

Archaeological Survey of Lackland Air Force Base, Bexar County, Texas

The Center for Archaeological Research of The University of Texas at San Antonio conducted a pedestrian cultural resources survey on 3,860 acres of land at Lackland Air Force Base and Medina Base Annex in Bexar County, Texas. Base boundaries contain parts of three tributaries of the Medina River: Leon Creek, Medio Creek, and the upper reaches of Long Hollow. Limited surveys and shovel testing began in the spring of 1994 in areas slated for development. These were followed by a 100-percent-pedestrian survey with limited shovel testing of the remaining undisturbed and undeveloped areas during the fall of 1994 and spring of 1995. Selective paleontological and geomorphological evaluations also were made. The project recorded 71 archaeological sites. Sixty-four sites had only prehistoric components, four had both historic and prehistoric components, and three had only a historic component. Additionally, three previously recorded prehistoric sites were revisited. Prehistoric site types are open campsites and/or lithic quarries. Fortunately, some of the prehistoric sites yielded diagnostic projectile points and tools. These indicate human presence in the survey area from the Early Archaic through the Late Prehistoric periods. The historic sites were classified as farmsteads dating to the late-nineteenth and early to mid-twentieth centuries. Seventy-one of the 74 sites are deemed eligible for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places

An Archaeological Survey of a Pipeline Right-of-way along Loop 1604 from IH-37 to the San Antonio River, Southeast Bexar County, Texas

In February 1997, the Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) of The University of Texas at San Antonio was contracted by the San Antonio Water Systems (SAWS) to conduct an intensive archaeological survey and geomorphological study along a proposed 5 .5-km water main right-of-way, from the junction of ill -3 7 and Loop 1604 to the San Antonio River in southeast Bexar County. Upon completion of a 1 DO-percent pedestrian survey, 10 backhoe trenches, and 152 shovel tests, CAR concluded that no significant cultural remains would be impacted by excavations for the proposed water main, and recommends that no further archaeological work is required prior to construction.

AMCIS 2008 Panel Summary: Managing Student Projects - Learning from the Past

This paper is the summary of a panel presentation at the Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS) 2008. We examine methods to employ in managing student projects. With the underlying assumption that we all want students to learn from their projects and become successful in the workplace while minimizing our micromanaging as instructors, we will share what we have learned from our (and our students’) successes and failures. Another assumption is that if you have taught classes in which you have used student group projects, you are not 100 percent pleased with the results and would not do everything the exact same way again. In our discussion, we examine successful methods for managing the aspects of forming groups, managing teams, and the project assignment itself including guidelines, deliverables, evaluation, and presentation

Priming Picture Naming with a Semantic Task: An fMRI Investigation

Prior semantic processing can enhance subsequent picture naming performance, yet the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying this effect and its longevity are unknown. This functional magnetic resonance imaging study examined whether different neurological mechanisms underlie short-term (within minutes) and long-term (within days) facilitation effects from a semantic task in healthy older adults. Both short- and long-term facilitated items were named significantly faster than unfacilitated items, with short-term items significantly faster than long-term items. Region of interest results identified decreased activity for long-term facilitated items compared to unfacilitated and short-term facilitated items in the mid-portion of the middle temporal gyrus, indicating lexical-semantic priming. Additionally, in the whole brain results, increased activity for short-term facilitated items was identified in regions previously linked to episodic memory and object recognition, including the right lingual gyrus (extending to the precuneus region) and the left inferior occipital gyrus (extending to the left fusiform region). These findings suggest that distinct neurocognitive mechanisms underlie short- and long-term facilitation of picture naming by a semantic task, with long-term effects driven by lexical-semantic priming and short-term effects by episodic memory and visual object recognition mechanisms

The neural correlates of picture naming facilitated by auditory repetition

Background: Overt repetition of auditorily presented words can facilitate picture naming performance in both unimpaired speakers and individuals with word retrieval difficulties, but the underlying neurocognitive mechanisms and longevity of such effects remain unclear. This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine whether different neurological mechanisms underlie short-term (within minutes) and long-term (within days) facilitation effects from an auditory repetition task in healthy older adults

Imageability ratings across languages

Imageability is a psycholinguistic variable that indicates how well a word gives rise to a mental image or sensory experience. Imageability ratings are used extensively in psycholinguistic, neuropsychological, and aphasiological studies. However, little formal knowledge exists about whether and how these ratings are associated between and within languages. Fifteen imageability databases were cross-correlated using nonparametric statistics. Some of these corresponded to unpublished data collected within a European research network-the Collaboration of Aphasia Trialists (COST IS1208). All but four of the correlations were significant. The average strength of the correlations (rho = .68) and the variance explained (R (2) = 46%) were moderate. This implies that factors other than imageability may explain 54% of the results. Imageability ratings often correlate across languages. Different possibly interacting factors may explain the moderate strength and variance explained in the correlations: (1) linguistic and cultural factors; (2) intrinsic differences between the databases; (3) range effects; (4) small numbers of words in each database, equivalent words, and participants; and (5) mean age of the participants. The results suggest that imageability ratings may be used cross-linguistically. However, further understanding of the factors explaining the variance in the correlations will be needed before research and practical recommendations can be made

IMI - Myopia Genetics Report

The knowledge on the genetic background of refractive error and myopia has expanded dramatically in the past few years. This white paper aims to provide a concise summary of current genetic findings and defines the direction where development is needed. We performed an extensive literature search and conducted informal discussions with key stakeholders. Specific topics reviewed included common refractive error, any and high myopia, and myopia related to syndromes. To date, almost 200 genetic loci have been identified for refractive error and myopia, and risk variants mostly carry low risk but are highly prevalent in the general population. Several genes for secondary syndromic myopia overlap with those for common myopia. Polygenic risk scores show overrepresentation of high myopia in the higher deciles of risk. Annotated genes have a wide variety of functions, and all retinal layers appear to be sites of expression. The current genetic findings offer a world of new molecules involved in myopiagenesis. As the missing heritability is still large, further genetic advances are needed. This Committee recommends expanding large-scale, in-depth genetic studies using complementary big data analytics, consideration of gene-environment effects by thorough measurement of environmental exposures, and focus on subgroups with extreme phenotypes and high familial occurrence. Functional characterization of associated variants is simultaneously needed to bridge the knowledge gap between sequence variance and consequence for eye growth