XBRL: Beyond basic XML: Working paper series--08-11

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has recently announced a proposal that will require all public companies to report their financial data in Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL). XBRL is an extension of Extensible Markup Language (XML). Moving to a standard reporting format makes it easier for organizations to report the financial information. Analysis and comparison of financial information will be more efficient because the XBRL data can be downloaded and processed by analysis software. Information Systems (IS) majors need to be aware and able to work with XML and XBRL to assist the accounting and finance functions of their future employers

Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and IT education

Even though information technology (IT) educators have been teaching basic principles of information systems for over 20 years, business organizations have chosen to ignore or not implement them. By not integrating information systems and allowing uncontrolled manual intervention it was easier to commit the frauds and the financial scandals of the late 1990's and early 2000's. The frauds and financial scandals have resulted in a large increase in business regulation with many compliance requirements and possible fines and jail sentences for non-compliance. IT educators need to take some lessons from their accounting colleagues (Titard, 2004) and modify IT curriculum to take advantage of the compliance environment to focus on the basic principles of creating quality up-to-date information for organization decision making and to see them implemented

What should IS majors know about regulatory compliance? Working paper series--08-12

Because of the severe penalties associated with non-compliance of legislative acts and regulations it is important for information systems (IS) majors to recognize and understand the need for the implementation, evaluation, and reporting on internal controls. IS majors need to be aware of legislation and regulations that have an impact on information technology (IT). IS majors also need to understand business processes and how to select, implement, and report on controls embedded into software that is developed. The best way to understand the business processes and associated controls is to become familiar with control frameworks

Computer literacy alternatives: Working paper series--04-10

Diverse computer knowledge of incoming college freshman make it difficult to teach the introduction to computer course. Some students come in with several years of high school and personal computer use while others have rarely used a computer. The majority of students are somewhere between the two extremes of several years of use and no use. Most have had some use of word processing to prepare reports in high school and Internet use for fun and research. A single course with one set of requirements for all students satisfies very few students. Colleges and universities need to examine alternatives to provide the needed computer literacy skills and increase student satisfaction with the computer or technology literacy requirement

Web course development with grant support: Working paper series--00-02

The process of Web course development with grant support is documented to assist faculty in future efforts to develop courses for Web presentation. The benefits of grant support from the Office of Teaching and Learning Effectiveness (OTLE) and development requirements and guidelines are documented. Some examples of an existing course that was developed by this process are present

Download time and intent to use a web page: Working paper series--02-09

The World-Wide Web (WWW) has grown, and continues to grow, at an epic rate. Unlike applications software, which provides a structured navigation schema, the web encourages users to move frequently from page to page. In most cases, a web site has only one chance to make a favorable first impression. If a web page takes more than a few seconds to present this first impression, the user may decide to abandon or "bail out" from the current site and move to another site. The result of failure to deliver information to the user in a "reasonable" amount of time to a commercial web site is the loss of business--possibly forever. This research indicates that web page download time has both direct and antecedent effects on a user's behavioral intent to use a web page. In addition, this research indicates that traditional models used to assess behavioral intent and subsequent usage of applications software may not be useful in evaluating a user's intent to use a web page and that alternative predictive models should be evaluated

Does Instruction in Computer Programming Improve Problem Solving Ability?

Many schools and colleges of business teach computer programming in the introduction to computers course. The rationale for teaching computer programming is that it aids in the development of critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making skills. This contention is not supported by empirical data. An experimental study was conducted to ascertain if instruction in computer programming improved problem solving ability. The results of the study did not show support of improved problem solving ability from instruction in computer programming. Recommendations for changes in curriculum and teaching strategies are made as possible ways to make instruction in computer programming effective as a means of improving problem solving ability

Creating web services using ASP.NET: Working paper series--04-06

Web services have been advertised as the answer to enterprise application integration, reusability, and as a way to prolong the life of legacy applications. By developing applications as Web Services they become available (exposed) to other applications that use (consume) the service following open Web standards. These services can be exposed and consumed over an intranet, extranet, or the internet through standard Web technologies. These technologies include WSDL, an XML-based description format; SOAP, an application messaging protocol; and HTTP, a collection and transport protocol. Several simple Web Services were developed using ASP.NET technology. The Web Service applications were created using Visual Studio .NET. The services were published to a .NET server. A Web application was developed using Visual Studio .NET to consume the previously created Web Services. A definition of Web Services and descriptions of the technology that is used to create, expose, and consume the Web Services will be provided

A Survey of MIS Emphases in MBA Degree Programs

An exploratory survey of 111 colleges and universities that offer an MIS specialization in the MBA program was conducted. Survey data was compared to data obtained on nonrespondents to test for sample bias. No significant differences were found between respondent and nonrespondent schools. The data was then combined and reported. Most MBA-MIS specialization programs require little prior computer experience. Most of the entering students have professional experience and about one-quarter have IS related experience. A majority of programs emphasize IS analyst skills. Systems analysis and design and database management systems were the most prevalent of course offerings. Employer and student demand for these programs appear to be increasing

A design tool for novice programmers: Working paper series--00-01

Most program design methods are intended for experienced programmers. Beginner friendly program design methods date back to procedural languages, such as Pascal and Basic. These methods lack connections to objects and events since the languages contained neither objects nor events. This paper presents a summary table and a sketch to get novice programmers started in the process of designing a program. The table organizes information about the program requirements and aides in creating a design for a program that may contain events and objects. The sketch represents the calling relationships among the modules in the program. The table and the sketch can be use with an existing method, such as pseudocode. The tools enhance existing methods of design. A new method is not proposed. The most important philosophies in developing the tools were simplicity and guidance. The table guides the student's design efforts and is simple. The columns collect data about what the program does, when it does its tasks, and what data it uses. The rows relate tasks, events, and objects. The table prompts identification of objects and events and makes high-level functionality stand out. The high-level functional design captured by the table is made explicit in the relations sketch