Information Systems Development Success: Perspective of Software Development Team Members

The traditional models of IS success measure success from the viewpoint of the system, users, and the organization. The system viewpoint is measured by information quality, system quality, and service quality; the users’ viewpoint by user satisfaction, use, and individual net benefits; and the organization’s viewpoint by organizational net benefits. This study adds the development team’s viewpoint. I decompose system quality into its functional and nonfunctional components and combine them with new constructs to create Information System Development (ISD) success. Like IS Success, ISD Success is a comprehensive model composed of multiple interrelated dimensions: practitioner satisfaction, project manager satisfaction, and the antecedents to these constructs, which include functional system quality, non-functional system quality, and process quality. Unlike the traditional models of IS success, ISD Success can be used to evaluate systems during the development cycle as well as on projects that never reach completion or are never used

Depressive symptoms in schizophrenic patients

Distinction between true negative and depressive symptoms in schizophrenia is difficult. In the present study we seek to establish the psychological profile of depression-prone schizophrenic patients. We addressed the issue by comparing the expression of psychological indices, such as the feelings of being in control of events, anxiety, mood, and the style of coping with stress in depressive and non-depressive schizophrenics. We also analyzed the strength of the association of these indices with the presence of depressive symptoms. A total of 49 patients (18 women and 31 men, aged 23-59) were enrolled into the study, consisting of a self-reported psychometric survey. We found that the prevalence of clinically significant depression in schizophrenic patients was 61%. The factors which contributed to the intensification of depressive symptoms were the external locus of control, anxiety, gloomy mood, and the emotion-oriented coping with stress. We conclude that psychological testing may discern those schizophrenic patients who would be at risk of depression development and may help separate the blurred boundaries between depressive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia

Toward a Model of Information System Development Success: Perceptions of Information Systems Development Team Members

Many information systems development (ISD) projects are deemed a failure in the field. However, several practitioners and researchers argue these projects could actually be considered successful if we used a broader definition of software development project success. Answering the call for further research on what makes ISD projects successful, this paper describes the process used to build the model of ISD Success, which includes a thorough literature review to create an initial model followed by semi-structured interviews conducted to validate the model and to allow for the discovery of emergent constructs, sub-constructs, and hypotheses. The model is tested with data collected from practitioners using Partial Least Squares (PLS) analysis. The paper concludes with a discussion of the findings and conclusions

The Effects of Childhood Maltreatment and Genomic Variation in the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) Axis on Neuropsychological Functioning in Offspring of Depressed Parents

Childhood maltreatment has been associated with an increased risk for psychiatric disorders and suicide. The primary role of the hypothalamic-adrenal-pituitary (HPA) axis is to maintain homeostasis when challenged with stress. Genomic variation in genes of the HPA axis may play a role in the effects of maltreatment on neuropsychological functioning. The aims of the dissertation study were: (1) to examine the effect of childhood maltreatment on neuropsychological functioning; (2) to examine the effects polymorphisms in genes of the HPA axis (CRH, CRHBP, CRHR1, CRHR2, and NR3C1) with neuropsychological functioning; and (3) to explore gene environment interactions between genes of the HPA axis and exposure to childhood maltreatment on neuropsychological function. This was a secondary data analysis of neuropsychological testing, psychiatric assessments, and genomic data from the Familial Pathways to Early Onset Suicide Attempt Study. A total of 369 subjects were included in Aim 1 and 145 subjects in Aims 2 and 3. Multiple linear regression was used to analyze the effects of maltreatment, genotype, and their interactions on neuropsychological functioning. Physical abuse was associated with poorer performance in the memory domain (p=.006). While no longer significant after controlling for multiple comparisons, results trended trend toward significance (q=.088). Emotional abuse was associated with better scores on measures of verbal fluency (p=.03), but the results were no longer significant after false discovery rate (FDR) correction. Before FDR testing, significant protective effects were detected for two SNPs in the CRHBP gene and one single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the CRHR2 gene; and significant risk effects were detected for two SNPs in the CRHR1 gene and one SNP in the NR3C2 gene. However, after FDR corrections, only one result remained significant, a protective effect for CRHBP rs7704995 on the Impulse Control Domain. No significant gene environment interactions were detected. These findings are consistent with the literature showing that exposure to physical abuse is associated with deficits in memory. Further studies are needed with larger sample sizes and all the relevant genes of the HPA axis to determine whether genomic variation in genes of the HPA axis have a direct effect on neuropsychological functioning

Twinning hierarchy, shape memory, and superelasticity demonstrated by molecular dynamics

A martensitic phase transition exhibiting shape memory, transformation-induced plasticity, or superelasticity typically involves a transformation between a high temperature, high symmetry phase and a low temperature, low symmetry phase. There have been numerous attempts using molecular dynamics to simulate the shape memory behavior, where the memory is stored in a twinned martensite and deformation occurs by motion of twin boundaries. However, the 3D case has always proved elusive, because suitable interatomic potentials to produce a unique low temperature phase are difficult to obtain. Here we present a study in which the binary Morse potential is tuned specifically to maximize the difference between L1_{0} and B19 (Strukturbericht notation, spacegroups P4/mmm and Pmma) structures. The twinned structure of martensite has been induced by gradually cooling the sample below the transition temperature. A bar-shaped sample was plastically deformed in the martensite phase, and on reheating above the transition temperature the initial shape was recovered. The effect of the shear-induced phase transition on the nanostructure of resulting martensite has also been investigated. An unusual discovery is that of a hierarchy of twins: nanotwins accommodate the mismatch between austenite and martensite at the habit plane, while dynamically created macrotwins are responsible for the deformation behavior and shape memory

HIGH-LEVEL APPLICATION FRAMEWORK FOR LCLS*

each other easily. Also, many components such as Help, A framework for high level accelerator application Search, Cut, Copy and Paste are seamlessly integrated software is being developed for the Linac Coherent Light through the Eclipse framework. Source (LCLS). The framework is based on plug-in technology developed by an open source project, Eclipse. Many existing functionalities provided by Eclipse are available to high-level applications written within this framework. The framework also contains static data storage configuration and dynamic data connectivity. Because the framework is Eclipse-based, it is highly compatible with any other Eclipse plug-ins. The entire infrastructure of the software framework will be presented. Planned applications and plug-ins based on the framework are also presented

Chronic Invasive Aspergillosis caused by Aspergillus viridinutans

Aspergillus viridinutans, a mold phenotypically resembling A. fumigatus, was identified by gene sequence analyses from 2 patients. Disease was distinct from typical aspergillosis, being chronic and spreading in a contiguous manner across anatomical planes. We emphasize the recognition of fumigati-mimetic molds as agents of chronic or refractory aspergillosis

Barley plasma membrane intrinsic proteins (PIP aquaporins) as water and CO2 transporters

We identified barley aquaporins and demonstrated that one, HvPIP2;1, transports water and CO2. Regarding water homeostasis in plants, regulations of aquaporin expression were observed in many plants under several environmental stresses. Under salt stress, a number of plasma membrane-type aquaporins were down-regulated, which can prevent continuous dehydration resulting in cell death. The leaves of transgenic rice plants that expressed the largest amount of HvPIP2;1 showed a 40% increase in internal CO2 conductance compared with leaves of wild-type rice plants. The rate of CO2 assimilation also increased in the transgenic plants. The goal of our plant aquaporin research is to determine the key aquaporin species responsible for water and CO2 transport, and to improve plant water relations, stress tolerance, CO2 uptake or assimilation, and plant productivity via molecular breeding of aquaporins.</p