Expert Systems as an Alternative to Dealing with Regulatory Agencies: The Case of Small Printers

Small businesses, because they do not possess the resources of large businesses, may experience a disproportionateexposure to compliance and enforcement actions by government regulatory agencies. We believe, in many cases, thatinformation technology solutions such as expert systems can help level the playing field. This paper describes the potentialusefulness of expert systems in the small business environment having a potentially large number of users. It also describesan field-tested prototype expert system for small printers, as a proof of concept. That system has been commended by bothenvironmental agencies and potential users alike as a dramatic conceptual improvement in environmental compliance

Thin Film Combinatorial Synthesis of Advanced Scintillation Materials

The development and application of a combinatorial sputtering thin film technique to screen potential scintillation material systems was investigated. The technique was first benchmarked by exploring the binary lutetium oxide-silicon oxide material system, which successfully identified the luminescence phases of the system, Lu2SiO5 (LSO) and Lu2Si2O7 (LPS). The second application was to optimize the activator concentration in cerium doped LSO. The successfully optimized cerium concentration in the thin film LSO of 0.34 atomic percent was much greater than the standard cerium concentration in single crystal LSO. This lead to an intensive study based on temperature dependent steady-state and lifetime photoluminescence spectroscopy to understand the different concentration quenching mechanisms involved in the bulk single crystal versus the thin film LSO. The results were used to develop configuration coordinate models which were employed to explain the observed concentration dependent behavior. The nature of single crystal LSO:Ce concentration quenching was determined to be due to radiative energy transfer, and ultimately self-absorption. For the thin films it was found self-absorption was not a dominant factor due to the thin dimension of the film and also its nano-crystalline nature. Instead, the photoluminescence excitation and emission spectra as a function of concentration demonstrated the concentration quenching behavior was due to an increase in defect-mediated non-radiative transitions with increasing cerium. The final application of the thin film screening technique was the exploration of the ternary Lu2O3-SiO2-Al2O3 material system doped with cerium. It was found that the presence of aluminum and silicon hindered LSO and Al5Lu3O12 (LuAG) emission, respectively. However, the presence of aluminum was found to increase LPS emission intensity. The percent of aluminum in the LPS phase was estimated at 2.5 atomic percent

A Demonstration of the Cleaner Technology Substitute Auditor and Advisor, a Prototype Expert System for Small Printing Businesses

Small businesses, because they do not possess the resources of large businesses, may experience a disproportionate exposure to compliance and enforcement actions by government regulatory agencies. I believe, in many cases, that information technology solutions such as expert systems can help level the playing field. This demonstration illustrates the potentialusefulness of expert systems in the small business environment having a potentially large number of users. This system is a field-tested prototype expert system for small printers, as a proof of concept. That system has been commended by both environmental agencies and potential users alike as a dramatic conceptual improvement in environmental complianc

The Metamorphosis of the Mainframe Computer: The Superserver

Mainframe computers, which once dominated the computer hardware and software markets, have become increasingly unpopular with users. Major mainframe manufacturers have felt this decline in user demand. In 1994 mainframe computers amounted to only about 30 percent of IBM\u27s total computer sales, compared with 90 percent in 1984. UnisysCorporation announced in 1994 that it would entirely discontinue manufacturing its line of mainframe computers, electing to concentrate on more profitable areas of the computer market. Despite a trend where users abandon mainframe solutions, computer processing demand by business, industry, government, and private users is growing at a geometric rate. Unfortunately, the growing demand for computer services has been imperfectly sustained by smaller-scale but more user-friendly computers, especially networks of personal computers. However, evidence suggests that the decline of the mainframe computer will soon end. Based on this information, we believe that the mainframe will reemerge to prominence. However, it will do so in a transformed state--as a superserver. In its metamorphosis, the superserver will replace the general purpose processor as a multi-purpose processor which will perform a broad spectrum of functions, including functions of the legacy system, the database server, and the windows serve

The Impact of Sound on Information Recall: An Investigation of Gender Differences

The IS profession will soon be called upon to integrate multimedia into the mainstream of software design. Yet, usable guidelines to support this effort are only now beginning to emerge in the literature. This paper, supported by a laboratory study, provides initial insight into the impact of sound on information recall, especially as it relates to the gender of the user. The results of our study indicate that the advantages (or disadvantages) of sound-supported information delivery is significantly influenced by the gender of the user

Continued Usage and Location Disclosure of Location-Based Applications: A Necessity for Location Intelligence

Location-based applications (LBA) have been widely accepted and used for different purposes ranging from navigation to dating or gaming. Most LBAs ask users to provide access to location data for more efficient and personalized location-based services. Location intelligence as an emerging area of business intelligence relies heavily on disclosing location information by users. This research builds a continuance usage and location disclosure model from the expectation-confirmation perspective. The effect of benefit expectations on usefulness and satisfaction is hypothesized. In addition, the positive effect of usefulness on satisfaction and continuance intention is postulated. After collecting survey data from main LBA users, the results of the analysis support the proposed model. Findings contribute to the current literature in business intelligence by focusing on location disclosure behavior in the context of LBAs and the necessity of this type of information for location intelligence

A Quandary for Information Technology: Who Controls the Content of Distance Education?

Perhaps the most important of current educational product of Information Technology (IT) is Distance Education (DE), which has created many opportunities for universities, faculty, and students. While students receive the benefits of DE, universities and faculty are changing their traditional relationship to accommodate its academic, technical, and legal challenges. However, IT educators must deal with far more than the technical and the educational content issues in assisting their university colleagues with the issues of DE. One of the more difficult DE challenges is effectively dealing with legal ownership of course content. Unfortunately, scant thought is being given to who legally owns the content created for the unique and repeatable, electronic classroom. Both university administrators and faculty tend assume they have full control of DE and act accordingly. This paper suggests that both groups should fully understand and reach agreement on DE ownership issues before proceeding with a full-scale DE implementation. This paper explores the relative claims to ownership and control by university faculty and their employers. Particular emphasis is placed on copyright law

Novel compound heterozygous <i>ASXL3</i> mutation causing Bainbridge-ropers like syndrome and primary IGF1 deficiency.

BackgroundDe novo truncating and splicing mutations in the additional sex combs-like 3 (ASXL3) gene have been implicated in the development of Bainbridge-Ropers syndrome (BRPS) characterised by severe developmental delay, feeding problems, short stature and characteristic facial features.Case presentationWe describe, for the first time, a patient with severe short stature, learning difficulties, feeding difficulties and dysmorphic features with a novel compound heterozygous mutation in ASXL3.Additionally the patient also has primary insulin like growth factor-1 (IGF1) deficiency. The mutations occur in exon 11 and proximal part of exon 12 and are strongly conserved at the protein level across various species. In-silico analyses using PolyPhen-2 and SIFT predict the amino acid substitutions to be potentially deleterious to the protein function. Detailed bioinformatics analysis show that the molecular defects caused by the two compound heterozygous mutations synergistically impact on two points of the molecular interaction network of ASXL3.ConclusionWe hypothesise that ASXL3 potentially has a role in transcriptional activation of IGF1 involved in signalling pathways that regulate cell proliferation and growth, which could be contributing to short stature encountered in these patients

Expectation-Confirmation Model and IPA Continuance Behavior

With the emergence of Intelligent Personal Assistants (IPAs) such as Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Apple Siri, etc., IPA arises as one of the fastest-growing artificial intelligence applications in recent years. Since the success of information technology (IT) depends on the continuance of its usage (Bhattacherjee, 2001), studies on IPA continuance behavior should also attract academic attention. IPA continuance refers to long-term or sustainable use of intelligent personal assistants, which make use of Natural Language User Interfaces (NLUI) to provide users with information about the weather, maps, schedules, calls, events, etc. (Kennington & Shukla, 2017). Prior studies in the IPA usability domain mainly focus on improving user interactions, understanding how people use IPAs, and explaining their uses (de Barcelos Silva et al., 2020). Previous literature related to IT continuance behavior captures satisfaction, attitude or habitual responses, and emotional attachment (Mamun et al., 2020), ignoring the usability of specific IT applications like IPAs, especially the interaction quality between humans and IPAs. Exploring IPA Continuance based on the expectation-confirmation theory (ECT) is the goal of this study. Oliver (1980)’s expectation-confirmation theory (ECT) is broadly used in consumer behavior studies to examine consumer satisfaction and post-purchase behaviors. Derived from ECT, Bhattacherjee (2001)’s expectation-confirmation model (ECM) investigates user continuance intention for a system, which is widely accepted by IS scholars Whether the API can accurately recognize natural human language and respond quickly may determine the user\u27s satisfaction with the API product. Therefore, we introduced the concept of API Interaction Quality, based on the ECM, to extend the original model, exploring the key factors affecting the continued use of IPA. The proposed model was empirically tested within the context of most popular IPAs, such as Amazon Alexa, Google Home and Apple Siri. we will collect empirical data from college students who are users of IPA, a class of conversational, where ages limit from 18 to 30. This research will contribute to both theory and practice in the IT area. It will enrich the theory of ECT and extend expectation-confirmation model in IS research. Tech giants who have developed their own IPAs like Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon may benefit from our research findings in the perspective of how to improve interaction quality between their IPA products and potential users