This study investigated the use of the Internet as a tool to provide adult students a time and place-independent learning environment. The project addressed the problem that higher education often does not adequately meet the needs of the adult student due to the constraints typically associated with traditional, classroom-based environments. The goal of this project was to develop and validate a set of procedures that could be used to plan, implement, and manage a college-level, credit-bearing course that could be offered to the adult student in a time- and place-independent manner via the Internet. Matrices for administrative, management, and learning issues attendant with an Internet based learning environment were developed. The matrices were tested with a pilot project that entailed planning, implementing, and managing a course in financial accounting. An experimental section of the course was offered in a time- and place-independent manner via the Internet. To provide a basis for comparison, a control section of the same course, taught by the same instructor, was offered in a classroom-based environment. Four tools were used to evaluate the pilot project. The college's standard course evaluation form, which measures student satisfaction, was given to both groups, as well as an expanded evaluation that examined the students' level of confidence regarding accomplishment of each of the learning outcomes. Both sections were given the same final exam and were graded using the same criteria. Ratings on both course evaluation forms, the grade on the final exam, and the grade for the course were compared using independent sample t-tests. No significant differences were noted in rating on the confidence evaluation or on either the final exam or the course grade. Satisfaction with the course, as recorded on the standard course evaluation form, was significantly higher for the classroom-based section than the Internet-based section. A summative committee was convened to evaluate both the objective results and subjective impressions of the pilot project. Based upon the input of the summative committee, a questionnaire regarding the administration and management of an Internet based, college-level course was developed. Requests for participation in the survey were e-mailed to 369 faculty and administrators with experience in Internet-based education; 53 completed surveys were returned. The results of this survey were used to add depth and refinement to the administrative and management matrices. Two conclusions were evident as a result of both the pilot project and the survey of experienced providers of Internet-based college coursework. The planning matrices did indeed aid the development of an academically sound college course that could be taught in a time- and place-independent fashion using the resources available in the Internet. Several challenges inherent in this delivery system emerged. Most notably, it appeared to be more difficult to positively engage the student in the learning process in the Internet based environment than in the traditional classroom. This difficulty was manifested in three ways. First, both the pilot project and responses to the survey indicated a rate of withdrawal from the course noticeably higher than typically found in classroom based courses. Second, the rating of the students participating in the pilot project on the student satisfaction section of the course evaluation was significantly lower than evaluations for the same instructor teaching the same course in a classroom setting. Third, both impressions from the pilot project and responses to the survey indicated a difficulty in establishing the intangible aspects of a college experience commonly referred to as a learning community. This study did develop a schema for planning, implementing, and managing an academically sound, time- and place-independent, Internet-based learning environment. Further research was indicated to identify the appropriate mechanisms for making the environment more convivial for the student.

As more Latino migrant families decide to settle in non-traditional, rural areas, school districts are showing a tremendous increase in the number of students whose parents lack tools to help their children succeed in school. One such tool is the use of computers. The goal of this study was to implement a computer training program for Latino migrant families to improve the reading literacy skills of their K-2 children in spite of being limited English speakers and having low levels of schooling. In this investigation, a descriptive, interpretative and theoretical case study was used as a research method. The researcher implemented the Integrated Migrant Parent and Child Computer Training (IMP ACCT), a weekly computer training program for Latino migrant families. Gettysburg College students acted as tutors and visited Latino migrant homes to deliver IMP ACCT to eight limited English proficient Latino migrant families from the Gettysburg Area School District. All Latino migrant parents reported progress in their computer skills that allowed them to help their children improve their reading skills. At the beginning of the study, two of the ten children read at grade level. At the end of the study, eight of the ten participating Latino migrant children read at grade level. Children were also pre- and post-tested with the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Literacy Skills (DIBELS) Test; as a group, children's scores demonstrated significant statistical gains (p= .000) in reading. Moreover, parents were pre- and post-tested on their English as second language (ESL) skills with the Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System (CASAS) test. All parents improved their English skills and moved to a higher CASAS level. In addition, parents' participation in school activities increased. The case study provided serendipitous values to the tutors who indicated that this program brought them many social, personal and academic benefits as well. They developed strong relationships with families and improved their Spanish skills and cultural awareness.

Decision support systems have long been contemplated as an alternative to, or at least an adjunct to, human decision making in the loan approval process. In this study, the author compared decision support systems to human decision-making with respect to consistency and accuracy in the loan approval assessment. Sample loan files were from a Federal Credit Union at which the author worked. The decision support system was written in Turbo Basic. The system was programmed to determine if a loan should be accepted or rejected. Loan officers were required to enter financial and property information from each application into the program. Both the human and decision support system either accepted or rejected each application. If the application was rejected, each gave the reason for rejection. The results were compared for consistency and accuracy. For this study, consistency relates to the uniformity and reliability of decisions. Accuracy relates to the correctness of decisions determined by the currency or default status of the loans. The ultimate objective of this study was to show the feasibility of using a decision support system as a tool in the loan approval process. The null hypothesis of the study was that there is no significant difference in the accuracy and consistency of loan decisions made by human experts and decision support systems. This study indicated that although there were differences in the decisions, the decisions were not significantly different. It did not matter which system was used to make the decision, it took less of the loan officer's time when using the decision support system as a tool.

An abundance of information exists on the World Wide Web on almost any subject or topic. How well Web users are able to manage the abundance of information to achieve their goals is expressed through the concept of usability. Researchers (Pitkow and Kehoe, 1997; Shneiderman, 1998; Nielsen, 1995b; Agnew, Wang, Faloutsos and Welch, 1997) report that information on the Web is often disorganized resulting in users experiencing usability difficulties in finding specific information. In addition, studies (Shneiderman, 1998; Mauldin, 1997; Freidman, 1997; Cheah and Koh, 1997; Nielsen, 1990; Smith, 1994; Pitkow and Kehoe, 1997) also reflect that users report related usability difficulties which include, but are not limited to: information abundance and overload; information organization; search engine manipulation and output interpretation; orientation and navigation; and overall design of Web information spaces. Many researchers (Pitkow and Kehoe, 1997; Shneiderman, 1998; Nielsen, 1995) agree that the Web is becoming an invaluable information resource, however, improvements are necessary to address the issues raised by users who report usability difficulties. Cben and Rada (1996) state that "a synthesis of the empirical findings on hypertext from a single, unifying perspective would help researchers, designers, and users of hypertext systems" (p. 150). The goal of this dissertation was to explore the dimensions of Web usability for users through a synthesis and analysis of current research and address three questions: What are the factors contributing to the problem of Web usability for users? How are researchers and developers currently addressing the problem? What guidelines are available for Web developers that will reduce or eliminate current usability difficulties? This synthesis of the factors contributing to the usability problems of Web users is intended to help researchers, designers and users of hypertext systems (Chen and Rada, 1996) and reveal suggestions for future research. It is also intended to improve practical application by providing suggestions to improve Web usability by more efficient and effective designs. "The infrastructure, protocols, tools, communities, conventions and activities of the Internet are evolving simultaneously and rapidly" (Kellogg and Richards, 1995, p. 33). These rapid advances are rendering the Web more accessible to greater numbers of diverse user populations who are less technically oriented. Therefore, the value of understanding Web usability issues can only become a critical requirement for Web developers as the user population continues to expand (Kellogg and Richards, 1995).

Expert music educators believe interval, scale and chord ear training increases efficiency of music learning and performance. Traditional undergraduate ear training methods include acquiring theory from text, singing numbered pitches as notes are played on an instrument, and performing ear drills. The author believes traditional methods are effective. However, certain problems need consideration. Learning textual pitch information separately from hearing pitches can hinder mental associations. Individual practice in singing numbered pitches can be difficult unless number location is known on an instrument. Also, ear drills are often attempted without knowing how to memorize pitch information. The author developed the Web-based Practical Ear Training tool (PET) to address these problems. PET provides an efficient method of associating text with pitch. The user sings numbered pitch structures while hearing-seeing the structures played by PET. Moreover, reproducing PET use aurally-visually in the imagination can act as a mnemonic device for retaining pitch structures. The author refers to this process as mnemonic imagery. The purpose of this interdisciplinary dissertation was to discover if PET paired with mnemonic imagery would enhance traditional ear training methods with undergraduate music freshmen. Interdisciplinary aspects included music education, computer-human interaction, computer science-technology and cognitive-behavioral learning theory. Twenty-three participants were randomly assigned to a control group using ear drills and an experimental group using PET paired with mnemonic imagery. A standardized music achievement test, with subtests measuring aural-visual identification of melodic and harmonic structures, was employed in a true experiment. The melodic section was used as a pretest-posttest. The harmonic section was used as a separate pretest-posttest. Based upon experience, research questions, study limitations, and a literature review - the author believed enhancement to traditional ear training would be shown by equal levels of posttest achievement between groups, or a higher level of posttest achievement by the experimental group. Two-tailed hypotheses were established for melodic and harmonic posttests. An analysis of results showed no significant difference between groups on either posttest. Therefore, with limited use, PET paired with mnemonic imagery was shown to be equivalent to ear drills. The implications of these findings and recommendations for future studies were discussed.

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems affect organizations and are implemented to enhance organizational effectiveness. However, ERP implementation is complex, costly and the research to date on the results of ERP investments on organizational performance have been inconclusive. The goal of this study was to discover the impact of ERP systems implementation on organizational performance by measuring the impact of an ERP on financial performance of public companies over a period of four years. Based on a comprehensive literature search, two independent variables and four dependent variables that represent organizational performance were defined. Return on asset, return on investment, return on sales, and cost of goods sold over sales measured organizational performance. ERP implementation status and ERP scope (independent variables) affected dependent variables. This causal comparative study was based on a quantitative research design and was divided into two parts. The first part of the study focused on discovering the relationship between ERP implementation and organizational performance. The second part of the study focused on finding relationships between the scope of ERP and organizational performance for firms that have implemented ERP. The results achieved from analysis of data showed that deployment of ERP systems did not affect financial performance of organizations significantly when measured over a four-year post-adoption period. When comparing pre- to post-adoption financial performance, both ERP-adopters and non-adopters had financial performance decline in the first and second post-adoption years because of the stock market devaluation of the 2000-2002 period. However, ERP-adopters lagged one year behind the non-adopters in recovery. Furthermore, varying ERP scope did not affect significantly financial performance of the firms that had implemented ERP. Pre-adoption differential performance was a better predictor of post-adoption performance than ERP scope over a four-year post-adoption period. This study adds to the body of knowledge in the area of information technology and ERPs and its results can contribute to improved decision-making and setting ERP expectations at the time of ERP purchase. Future researchers can use the financial performance measures used in this study to develop formal measures to assess the financial performance of future adopters of ERP systems.

Large text databases, such as medical records, on-line journals, or the Internet, potentially contain a great wealth of data and knowledge. However, text representation of factual information and knowledge is difficult to process. Analyzing these large text databases often rely upon time consuming human resources for data mining. Since a textual format is a very flexible way to describe and store various types of information, large amounts of information are often retained and distributed as text. 'The amount of accessible textual data has been increasing rapidly. Such data may potentially contain a great wealth of knowledge. However, analyzing huge amounts of textual data requires a tremendous amount of work in reading al l of the text and organizing the content. Thus, the increase in accessible textual data has caused an information flood in spite of hope of becoming knowledgeable about various topics" (Nasukawa and Nagano, 2001). Preliminary research focused on key concepts and techniques derived from clustering methodology, machine learning, and other communities within the arena of data mining. The research was based on a two-stage machine-intelligence system that clustered and filtered large datasets. The overall objective was to optimize response time through parallel processing while attempting to reduce potential errors due to knowledge manipulation. The results generated by the two-stage system were reviewed by domain experts and tested using traditional methods that included multi variable regression analysis and logic testing for accuracy. The two-stage prototype developed a model that was 85 to 90% accurate in determining childhood asthma and disproved existing stereotypes related to sleep breathing disorders. Detail results will be discussed in the proposed dissertation. While the initial research demonstrated positive results in processing large text datasets limitations were identified. These limitations included processing de lays resulting from equal distribution of processing in a heterogeneous client environment and utilizing the results derived from the second-stage as inputs for the first-stage. To address these limitations the proposed doctoral research will investigate the dynamic distribution of processing in heterogeneous environment and cyclical learning involving the second stage neural network clients modifying the first-stage expert systems.

This dissertation explored four denotative measurement discriminators to examine how these discriminators interrelate with the CASE/I-CASE technologies. The purpose of studying this interrelationship was to show how these discriminators can be key in the assessment of a CASEII-CASE environment in a software developing organization. The measurement discriminators presented in this study were: software metrics, usability evaluations, software maturity levels, and organizational change indicators. One of the largest users and developers of software is the Department of Defense (DOD). Compounding the DOD's principal mission is the maintenance, reliability, quality, and procurement of complex software that has forced DOD to search out innovative software development environments. DOD had ventured to investigate the promises of these technologies. To assist DOD and the software industry at large, this dissertation postulated that using the four measurement discriminators will assist a software developing organization to determine its readiness to use CASEII-CASE. Using the nineteen DOD I-CASE pilot sites as its sample population, the procedure involved collecting measurement data on software (metrics), software maturity, organizational change, and usability of the software development environment. Software measurement data included "raw data" on such items as effort (staff-hours), schedules, defects, and software size. The remaining measurement discriminators data collection vehicles were in the form of questionnaires. The results of this study were ascertained using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis. A strong correlation was determined within the questionnaires indicating that the questionnaires were reliable. The multiple regression analysis indicated that there was an interrelationship between CASE/I-CASE and organizational/software measurements. Implications of the study on the field and its contribution to knowledge included areas, such as, software engineering, decision support systems, measurement theory, and human-computer interface. Recommendations for future research were in the areas of computer supported cooperative work, software engineering teamwork and group problem-solving, object-oriented paradigm, and the multiple discipline fields of the measurement discriminators.

This research assessed computer use by teachers in the public and private high schools of the Clear Lake Area in Texas and the public high schools of Brevard County in Florida. Specifically, the domain of computer use, extent of computer use, and factors affecting computer use by teachers were examined in these schools. The NASA Johnson Space Center- 1ies at the center of an area generally Known as "Clear Lake" in Texas. The Clear Lake Area lacks definite geographical or political boundaries. The University of Houston-Clear Lake defines the Clear Lake Area by using twenty-two United States Census tracts, eleven postal Zip Codes, twelve municipalities, and five independent pub 1 ic school districts. The NASA Kennedy Space Center 1ies near the center of an area encompassed by Brevard County in Florida. Brevard County, unlike the Clear Lake Area in Texas, has definite geographical and political boundaries. Brevard County at 995 square miles is almost four times larger than the Clear Lake Area at 250 square miles. This research project used these definitions of the Clear Lake Area and the geopolitical boundaries of Brevard County to stratify the high schools of this study. Data from these high schools were examined for possible relationships between the teacher’s computer usage, the student computer ratio, and the yearly expenditure per student. Pearson Product moment (PPM) correlations were calculated for any possible relationships between the educational computer use by teachers, the student-computer ratio, and the expenditure per students in the study schools. A relationship (PPM = 0.22) existed between the computer use by teachers and the student-computer ratio. However, almost no relationship (PPM = -0.06) existed between the teachers' computer use and the yearly expenditure per student. Since a correlation exists between the student-computer ratio and the computer use level, it is possible to determine the optimum number of single-use computers a school district should purchase based on their student population. In this study, this optimum ratio (named the Nova Ratio) is statistically determined to lie between 9 and 10 students per single-use computer. A first-order polynomial was found to estimate the school-wide teacher computer use based upon the school’s student to computer ratio: C - 0.0131 * X + 1.14722. Where C = Mean computer use between 0 (no use) to 3 (every week) and X = (School student population / Number of school computers)

The purpose of this study was to determine the disaster recovery planning practices of small businesses in the state of Texas and to recommend improvements to those practices. For the purpose of this study, a Texas small business was defined as any organization in Texas with SO or fewer employees that is included in one of the 10 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) divisions. The study was designed to determine the (a) existence of disaster recovery plans, (b) systems included in the plans, (c) disaster prevention and recovery tools and techniques used, (d) incidence of testing of the plans, and (e) geographic and economic factors affecting the disaster recovery planning practices. The study was also designed to identify disaster recovery planning practices in need of improvement. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data for this study. The questionnaire was mailed to 500 randomly selected Texas businesses. One hundred seven (24.6%) of the questionnaires were returned by the recipients. Seventy-one (16.3% of the total) of those questionnaires were returned by organizations meeting the study's definition of a Texas small business. The responses to the questionnaires indicate that disaster recovery plans exist in 34% of the surveyed organizations, but 44.4% of those plans have never been tested. Statistical analysis using Fisher's Exact Test indicates there is an association between the amount of time employees spend working on computers and the existence of a disaster recovery plan in the organization. An association was also determined to exist between the amount of money an organization has invested in computer hardware and software and the existence of a disaster recovery plan in the organization. Recommendations for improving disaster recovery planning practices in Texas small businesses are presented. A checklist which can be used in evaluating existing disaster recovery plans and an outline for a simple recovery plan for small businesses are included.