Many people in educational institutions, governmental departments, and training organizations are searching for innovative methods to provide quality education for training students. Under the system of traditional education, educators have tried hard to find innovative and effective means to overcome some educational problems. Students are unable to attend classes due to some situational barriers such as time, transportation, and location. As for institutional barriers, some schools do not have adequate professional curriculums and proficient instructors to reach educational goals. In that case, it is necessary for these schools to hire facu1ty from the advanced educational institutions overseas such as American and English universities. Many educational workers are considering the use of technology-based distance learning system to meet those needs. By using the following five computer technologies delivery tools: 1) ISDN-based videoconferencing, 2) the compressed video/audio recording, 3) the Internet, 4) the World-Wide Web, and 5) the electronic mail, a multimedia distance education system will be established between countries throughout the world. All of the constructional phases of a combined distance learning system are highly interactive; each has an impact on the others. Likewise, information of target students' feedback obtained from an evaluation phase will have a direct influence on how future iterations of the distance learning media are designed and carried out. Based on an existing experimental combined computer-technology distance learning system between the College of Pharmacy of NSU, Florida and the National Defense Medical College, Taiwan, the goal of the research is developing a set of quantitative metric to evaluate the distance learning system. A fifty-five-item questionnaire had been filled out by all target students. The contribution of this evaluation is not only to elicit reactions from target students for systems satisfaction levels and educational delivery problems, but to give the researcher critical strengths or weaknesses on the useful and appropriate guidelines for future distance learning system refining.

This study examined the effect of a computerized Decision Support System (DSS) on sixth grade students' achievement and motivation. The study attempted to increase student motivation and achievement utilizing interactive graphical feedback and textual motivational messages, through the use of a computerized Decision Support System that was designed expressly for the study. The population for the study was students enrolled in one south Florida school. Comparisons were made between two groups: one textual feedback group and one graphical group. Students entered their test grades into the DSS, which provided them with their grade point averages. The textual feedback group used a simple entry/output form of the DSS and received textual information about their grade point average. The graphical feedback group used the same DSS which also contained additional motivational messages and an interactive graphical representation of their grades, updated with each entry. Both groups had the ability to formulate future possibilities of grades. It was hypothesized that the graphical and motivational feedback would increase the intrinsic motivation of the students, and thereby boost their achievement. A spelling achievement test was developed from spelling words provided by the teacher partaking in the study. Spelling tests were given to the students at the beginning of the study, and again at the end of the study to allow correlation of the data collected. Students' intrinsic motivation was measured with data obtained through the utilization of a special questionnaire designed for the study, which was given as both a pre-test and a post-test. This research indicates that a student's intrinsic motivation is positively affected by the receipt of feedback through the utilization of a computer decision support system. By integrating the student into the decision making process, a student will be motivated to achieve, which demonstrates a distinct relationship between intrinsic motivation and spelling achievement.

The online software dealer store project of the Electronic Software Dealer (ESD) had a problem of low sales volume, and the problem was attributed to several design problems. Literature indicated that web page design might affect the performance of a commercial web site; however, how the design factors influenced the success of the web site was unknown. To bridge this knowledge gap, a case study research method was used with a methodology that adopted the techniques of Helmstetter (1997), the web guidelines of Dellino (1996), Heller and Rivers (1996), and the Object-Action Model (OAl) of Shneiderman (1997) to analyze the research problem. In order to achieve the objectives, the researcher also analyzed the business models and design success-factors of Dow Jones & Company's Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition (WSJIE) site. In addition to the analysis, the researcher reviewed the literature related to commercial web site projects, interviewed the programmer involved in the ESD project, evaluated the design of ESD's online software store, and designed a prototype for the suggested solution. Results showed that the traditional system development life cycle (SDLC) still plays an important role in commercial web projects, and emphasis on planning, analysis, and the maintenance stages safeguards a more successful implementation of the project. Additionally, a design focusing on business models, marketing niches, and users ensures repeat visits and secures a more financial success to the commercial web site. This study focused on the design success-factors of commercial web sites, and did not cover issues of security and performance of the Web server.

The problem reported in this study is but a small part of much larger education problem. The larger problem revolves around a general apathy for continued learning and its counterpart towering competence. Intelligent computer-aided instruction (lCAI) is one alternative method that has been suggested for effectively teaching the masses. The purpose of this study was to develop and test the effects of a four-module instructional system model on the skills development and performance of entry-level, adult, WordPerfect students. This study used a post-test only control and treatment group design, Cronbach's reliability alpha, factor analysis, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and a t-test for independent samples in the experimental process. It was found after a six-week term that the class (n= 17) composed of heterogeneous, adult, entry-level, students receiving the ICAl treatment scored significantly higher on the experiment's evaluations than the traditional-taught class (n=17) which did not utilize the computerized model. The author concluded that the computerized ICAl model was effective in improving the responsiveness and learning experience of the participating students. It was also concluded that students of entry-level WordPerfect training perceive ICAI as a valuable instructional tool.

For many organizations today, data is their most important asset. How to safeguard the data in this dynamic environment is an important issue in any organization. The backup process is cumbersome in large organizations. Typically, the backup saves files from a network client to a remote storage location on a daily basis. This means that the same file, often in multiple versions, is saved and stored many times, resulting in excessive storage. A distributed disk-based backup system collects the data to be backed up from network clients and stores files remotely on multiple storage locations in the network. In recent years, Storage Area Network (SAN) has become a popular solution to effectively store or access huge amounts of enterprise information. A SAN is a dedicated storage network designed specifically to connect storage, backup devices, and servers. By consolidating storage in one location, customers benefit from efficiencies of management, utilization, and reliability. Since there is no end in sight to the exponential growth of enterprise data, storage reduction technology plays an important role in enterprise backup. The goal of this study is to investigate how to effectively reduce storage usage through a distributed disk-based backup system in a SAN. The working name for the distributed backup system used for this study is SAN-Backup system. In SAN-Backup system, the backup storage reduction can be made at file level, block level, and backup catalog level. The design and development of this distributed disk-based backup system utilized a phased approach. The prototype of SAN-Backup system was validated through enterprise backup environments. The validation process included backup storage usage and backup performance comparisons between a backup application with an embedded storage reduction technology and a backup application without an embedded storage reduction technology both running in a SAN. The test results showed that SAN-Backup system reduced storage usage by 55.9% when compared to Backup Express Enterprise backup system, and also improved the overall backup performance by 43.74%. The test results indicated that SAN-Backup system did significantly reduce the backup storage usage and also improved the backup performance.

Physicians have sworn to uphold patient trust and privacy since the time of Hypocrites. Given today's technological innovations and electronic access to medical information, an oath to uphold privacy is not enough. Unlike credit reports, educational records, and video rentals, there have been no U.S. federal privacy laws providing individuals the right to know how their medical records are used and disclosed. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIP AA) mandated standards for the transmission of electronic health information and protection of that information by practitioners, health plans, clearinghouses, and pharmaceutical drug card sponsors who electronically process medical transactions. An estimated 400,000 small practitioners were required to comply with HIPAA. Small health care providers in rural West Virginia faced additional challenges. West Virginia is the second most rural state in the nation; has the oldest median age; is the only state to experience a natural decrease in population; ranks first in the percentage of residents on Medicare; placed lowest in median household income; and in 1998, SO of West Virginia's 55 counties were designated as Medically Underserved Areas. The goals of this study were to promote HIP AA awareness, ascertain levels of HIP AA awareness, and identify barriers or issues that may have hindered those who perceive themselves as HIPAA privacy compliant. The descriptive research methodology was utilized to achieve these goals. Surveys were distributed to 408 licensed physicians in rural West Virginia. This study assessed if participants qualified as small, i.e., annual revenues of $5 million or less; if they were HIP AA covered entities; their HIP AA awareness level; and provided access to no-cost HIPAA training. The 78 HIPAA compliant respondents were asked to identify any barriers or issues they experienced while pursuing compliance. Vagueness of the regulations; confusion by physicians, patients, families, and the public; and the cost of compliance were identified as major concerns. This was consistent with findings in the literature. Results of this research were used to assist West Virginia officials address compliance barriers and identify remediation efforts the state could employ to assist in ongoing HIPAA, and other, legislated compliance efforts.

Total Quality Management addressed the importance of an organization listening to its customers and taking a structured, strategic approach to providing improved products and services. Problems were no stranger to most information systems departments. Software quality problems, work backlogs, negative user perceptions of IS; all pointed to a need for total quality management concepts and techniques to be applied in the processes and to the products of an IS department. TQM provided the tools and techniques necessary to bring continuous quality improvements in IS. In this study, the researcher conducted literature searches on Total Quality Management, its history and development, leading proponents, quality basics, and quality awards. TQM's use of baselines and benchmarking was presented. The appropriate use of each of TQM's seven problem-solving tools, quality function deployment, and the seven management and planning tools was explained. Future trends in TQM were also documented. A TQM literature search on customer identification, including employees and vendors was reviewed. Literature research on determining customer needs and prioritizing those needs was presented. Extensive research on the need for customer surveys, the development of accurate survey instruments, and validating and testing a survey was covered. TQM's emphasis on customer service and employee involvement was applied toward creating a model for implementing TQM in the IS department of an organization. A search of the literature for applications and case studies on additional IS management issues, the use of TQM in academia, and relevant TQM studies provided additional problem-solving information. Through incorporating TQM principles into IS management practices, a new strategic TQMIS (Total Quality Management Information Systems) conceptual framework was developed, based on further literature searches on model creation and validation. A customer survey was designed and piloted to provide example baseline and benchmarking information. The customer surveys provided totals for both customer perceptions of the service levels they received and the customer-defined relative importance of these items. An IS problem list was created from the survey data, demonstrating that process. In this study, the researcher accomplished her aims of creating the TQMIS conceptual framework and a pilot survey example for beginning a TQMIS effort.

The high cost of litigation is a significant issue for General Motors (GM) and other automotive companies. The widespread nature of automotive-related litigation requires automotive manufacturers to engage lawyers to defend against claims in a variety of geographic locations. The legal defense of these claims must be based on a common foundation of accurate and consistent knowledge. The inadvertent use of inaccurate, inconsistent, or out-of-date information can result in additional claims of intentional misconduct or negligence against the manufacturer. To facilitate the sharing of knowledge and expertise, GM encourages its network of lawyers with common legal interests to work together in informal ad hoc workgroups. However, without a supporting communication and collaboration infrastructure, these ad hoc workgroups rarely realize optimum results. Finding ways to minimize litigation-related costs and ensure the use of accurate and consistent information by its lawyers is a significant issue for GM and other automotive manufacturers. To achieve this goal, GM is exploring ways to strengthen the sharing of knowledge and expertise by using a combination of technology tools and knowledge management techniques in sponsoring communities of practice (CoPs). The goal of this dissertation was to conduct a case study investigation that documented and evaluated the implementation by GM legal staff of an online collaboration system (OCS) to support legal CoPs. This research was conducted to answer the question as to whether the implementation of an OCS would result in an improvement of knowledge sharing, communication, and collaboration activities among members of CoPs. The research included validation that the participants under investigation acted as sponsored CoPs. The research also included validation that the software tool utilized in this investigation met the requirements of an OCS. Consequently, the activities and value of the OCS environment were measured (a) quantitatively by the frequency of community activities and (b) qualitatively by the perceived value of the activities as measured by members of the CoPs. The results of this case study research add to the existing body of knowledge in several areas: clarifying the effectiveness of CoPs in knowledge sharing, identifying the benefits and limitations of sponsored CoPs, and evaluating the effectiveness of an OCS in providing support to CoPs. Recommendations for sponsored CoPs and the use of an OCS in the legal domain are also provided.

The purpose of this study was to perform metric comparisons of programs written in Ada 95 with programs written in C++. This study utilized special complexity calculator programs, which had been written to parse each program and then calculate the cyclomatic complexity. This study also focused on the computational complexity of the Ada 95 and C++ programs. This study examined the space efficiency and time efficiency of each program, performed big-o computations, and utilized utilities which calculated the number of machine cycles for each program. The Ada 95 and C++ programs, which had been written to perform identical tasks, were compared with their corresponding program counterparts. Additionally, language operations such as type checking and dynamic memory allocation were also evaluated by comparing the complexity of the compiler generated machine code (assembly language) for each operation. The complexity calculator programs utilized the "predicate node + one" algorithm to perform the calculations.

Using a dictionary is one strategy practiced by English as a Second Language (ESL) college students responsible for improving their English academic language skills. However, drawbacks to dictionary use sometimes cause ESL learners to use dictionaries as a last resort, limiting the benefits of dictionary use. This experimental research study used a pretest-posttest control group design to investigate whether the dictionary feature of e-book readers would mitigate some of the negative aspects of dictionary use and increase the effectiveness of dictionaries in improving ESL college students' vocabulary acquisition, reading comprehension, and reading rate. The participants were ESL college students with vocabulary levels between 2,000 and 10,000 word families. After the Nelson-Denny Reading Test (NDRT) was used to establish participants' reading comprehension levels and reading rates, one group was trained to use an e-book reader. A posttest using reading comprehension questions from a former Graduate Record Exam (GRE) General Test was given with one group reading a paper version with a paper dictionary and the other group reading an e-book version with an e-book dictionary. During this posttest, observers recorded the number of dictionary consultations by members of each group. Participants then took a vocabulary test to ascertain the amount of vocabulary they acquired during the reading comprehension test. Finally, random interviews were used to gather participants' subjective reaction to the dictionaries and e-book reader. Scores for reading comprehension, reading speed, and vocabulary acquisition were examined using a Univariate ANOVA (a = .05); and no significant difference was found between groups. However, the data for dictionary consultation, which was analyzed with binary logistic regression (a = .05), revealed that participants in the e-book group were significantly more likely to consult a dictionary than those in the paper dictionary group. In addition, dictionary users in the e-book group had spoken English for significantly fewer years than those in the paper dictionary group. The interviews, which were analyzed using the constant comparison method, revealed that the participants in the e-book group responded positively to using a dictionary in that medium. The results of this study support the use of e-book dictionaries for helping ESL college students with their assigned academic reading.