An efficient prebreathing apparatus for humans during decompression

Portable prebreathing system was developed which recirculates and reconditions respiratorily exhaled oxygen. Apparatus reduces fire hazards, simplifies prebreathing procedures, and does not require extensive enclosure venting system usage

The Físchlár digital video system: a digital library of broadcast TV programmes

Físchlár is a system for recording, indexing, browsing and playback of broadcast TV programmes which has been operational on our University campus for almost 18 months. In this paper we give a brief overview of how the system operates, how TV programmes are organised for browse/playback and a short report on the system usage by over 900 users in our University

System Usage: A Shared Mental Model Perspective

The failure rate of Information Systems (IS) projects is high and has been high for many years. Failed IS projects leave organizations with systems that have very low usage and a negative rate of return on their investment. System use is a key measure of IS success. User participation and involvement (UPI) during application development and configuration are key factors that influence system use. However, empirical studies have shown mixed results for the influence of UPI on system use. This study explores the extent to which shared mental model (SMM) of a project team influences the impact of UPI on system use. Drawing on theoretical frameworks from UPI and SMM body of research, this study introduces SMM as a variable to better explain how and why UPI effects system use outcomes. The findings are based on multiple case studies conducted over many months and reviewed eight IS projects by different teams within an organization. The findings illustrate effects of UPI on system use outcomes is moderated by SMM, such that a) higher levels of SMM positively influences the effects of UPI on system use outcome and b) lower levels of SMM negatively influences the effects of UPI on system use outcomes. The wide ranging implications of these findings for IS research and practitioners are discussed

New Perspectives on the System Usage Construct

Information systems are designed to support human and organizational purposes. To achieve their ends, information systems must be used. Although this may seem to be self-evident, there are many aspects of systems usage that are not so, and yet, in spite of this, there has been little intense conceptual scrutiny of this construct in past research. The objective of this thesis, therefore, is to develop new in-depth perspectives for studying system usage. Drawing on critical realist assumptions and studies of research diversity, I explain how epistemological factors enable while ontological factors constrain the diversity of meanings of system usage, and I build on this reasoning to advance a systematic approach for conceptualizing and measuring system usage in an appropriate way for a given research context. To demonstrate the approach and judge its usefulness, I carry out three empirical studies to test whether measures of system usage that are selected according to the proposed approach provide more explanatory power and lead to more coherent results in specific research contexts than other measures of system usage. Exploring the relationship between system usage and user task performance among 804 users of spreadsheet software, the experiments reveal support for the usefulness of the approach and demonstrate how it can enable researchers to conceptualize and measure system usage in an appropriate manner for a given research context. Together, the conceptual approach and empirical studies contribute by: (1) providing a systematic way to conceptualize and measure system usage for a given study context, (2) revealing rich new directions for research on the nature of system usage, its antecedents, and its consequences, and (3) suggesting a new approach for construct development and investigation in IS research

Towards a deeper understanding of system usage in organizations: A multi-level perspective

The objective of this paper is to contribute towards a deeper understanding of system usage in organizations by examining its multilevel nature. Past research on system usage has suffered from a levels bias, with researchers studying system usage at single levels of analysis only, e.g., the individual, group, or organizational level. Although single-level research can be useful, we suggest that studying organizations one level at a time will ultimately lead to an unnatural, incomplete, and very disjointed view of how information systems are used in practice. To redress this situation, we draw on recent advances in multilevel theory to present system usage as a multilevel construct and provide an illustration for what it takes for IS researchers to study it as such. The multilevel perspective advanced in this article offers rich opportunities for theoretical and empirical insights and suggests a new foundation for in-depth research on the nature of system usage, its emergence and change, and its antecedents and consequences

The Influence of Organizational Trust and Organizational Mindfulness on ERP Systems Usage

This paper examines how organizational trust and organizational mindfulness shape enterprise resource planning (ERP) system usage. We focus on five dimensions of trust: competence, openness and honesty, concern for employees, reliability, and identification. Drawing on organizational trust and organizational mindfulness theories, we argue that perception of organizational trust among ERP users might explain ERP system usage. We also predict that organizational mindfulness among ERP users positively influences ERP system usage. Our study draws on a total of 231 questionnaires collected from ERP system users across the United States. The results suggest that organizational trust dimensions (namely, competence, concern for employees, and identification) affect ERP system usage. Consistent with the theory, the results also support the idea that organizational trust (i.e., competence, openness and honesty, concern for employees, and identification) create supportive infrastructure-enabling organizational mindfulness. Finally, the study shows key antecedents of organizational mindfulness and underscores the importance of organizational mindfulness as a way of encouraging ERP system usage

The Impact of Analyst-User Cognitive Style Differences on User Satisfaction

This study explored the relationship between user satisfaction and cognitive style as applied to users and systems analysts over the time of system usage. Based on a sample of 62 ‘usersystems’ this study found that the absolute differential in analyst-user cognitive style, or cognitive gap, generally impacts user satisfaction negatively throughout the period of system usage. However, this effect was found to be only particularly strong at two stages of system use; in the third and twenty-first months of system usage. It is thus suggested that analysts should be allocated to users with similar cognitive styles, as one means of optimizing user satisfaction during system usage. Also, that if this precaution is not taken, the system is most likely to stall during the third and twenty-first months of usage. This study thus has important implications for IS team choice during system usage, as well as for system development and maintenance. The results are discussed and conclusions are drawn

Predicting Knowledge System Usage in an Engineering Organization

Jennex (1997) was an exploratory study of the Organizational Memory System (OMS) within an engineering organization. The study found that there was a OMS, that the OMS was effective, that it was used, and that it improved organizational effectiveness. Jennex, et. al. (1998) used an adaptation of DeLone and McLean’s (1992) IS Success Model to explain why the OMS was successful. One factor leading to IS success is use of the system. The IS Success Model has two components to system usage, current use and user satisfaction User satisfaction is used to predict the continued use of a system. However, user satisfaction does not take into account the environmental factors that affect OMS usage. User satisfaction was modified to include perceived benefit to predict future use and user satisfaction as the components of the use factor. Perceived use was evaluated using an adaptation of Thompson Higgins, and Howell’s (1991) worker perceptions instrument. This instrument evaluated the user’s perceptions of several environmental factors affecting their use of the OMS: cultural support for using the OMS, complexity of the OMS, near term job fit, and long term job fit. The instrument predicted that the OMS would continue to be used. This paper discusses how perceived benefit can be used to evaluate the environment in which a knowledge management system (KMS) is being implemented to determine if that environment supports use of the KMS