The problem investigated in this study was the specific nature of management issues in the information system (IS) data conversion process: extended project time, high staff turnover, cost overrun, adherence to procedure and user disagreement. Data conversion involves the transfer of computer programs and data files from one computer system to another. Managing data conversion projects has posed problems and difficulties. A thorough comprehension of these issues has systematically eluded information technology (IT) professionals, and this may be related to unsuccessful outcomes of data conversion. Presently, most successful data conversion outcomes are ad hoc solutions rather than a more permanent strategy that will improve success rate of the conversion outcomes. Little of these data have been analyzed concerning the human elements of the organization. Reports from the IS literature have indicated that data conversion tends to have more managerial than technical problems. Secondly, IT experts have warned that automated tools and experience alone may not guarantee immunity from data conversion headaches. In addition, studies have shown that the cyclical nature of the IT industry suggests that data conversion traumas (problems and difficulties) still lurk ahead. The researcher's goal in this dissertation was to investigate management issues during the information systems change process in order to determine the relationships between attribution factors and styles. A second goal was to analyze relationships (if any), among the study variables. The researcher used attribution theory to investigate various relationships among management issues. The researcher used a validated instrument called the Occupational Attribution Style Questionnaire (OASQ), developed by Adrian Furnham, Valda Sadka and Chris Brewin. The validity and reliability of this instrument were established previously with Chronbach's alpha of 0.92. Mail-in questionnaires were distributed to 300 stratified IT managers and professionals from companies, government agencies, colleges and universities. The survey results were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics to determine the relationships between attribution factors and styles. Analysis of the descriptive data indicated that the factors were perceived to be very important with mean scores ranging from a minimum of2.14 to a maximum of 4.56. A factor analysis resulted in the identification of 5 items that loaded significantly on three factors: (1) internality, (2) externality, (3) chance. Correlation analysis was conducted to test the hypotheses and to identify associations between these stated factors. Conclusive evidence from these analyses showed the following: (a) there was a positive correlation between attribution factors and management attribution, (b) there was a positive correlation between attribution style and project success, (c) there was a positive correlation between salary and position, (d) there was a negative correlation between gender and education, (e) there was a positive correlation between salary and education. The conclusions of the researcher in this study contributed to the base of knowledge by providing empirically tested information for assisting management in industry, academicians and government in implementing data conversion programs. In addition, results of this research provided a variety of interesting decision-making skills and professional practices among IT professionals. These results can be used to implement techniques and strategies for increasing the success rate of data conversion projects.

Women are severely underrepresented in high school and college computer science programs and in the computer industry. One prominent reason for girls not enrolling in high school and college computer classes is the overwhelming presence of boys in the classes. The male dominance causes many girls to become less confident in their ability to be successful in computer science. Recently, renewed interest in single-sex education has encouraged research in the value of all-female learning environments. All-girls schools tend to encourage girls to pursue areas of study that are typically male dominated. In particular, studies have shown that, in a coeducational school setting, boys often dominate computer labs which discourages girls from learning about computers. The purpose of this study was twofold. The first purpose was to determine if there is a difference in the computer curriculum offered in all-girls high schools and in coeducational high schools. The second purpose was to determine if girls attending all girls’ high schools have a different attitude towards computing and are more interested in majoring in computer science than girls in coeducational settings. The study consisted of two parts. The first part examined the computer curriculum of several all-girls and coeducational non-public high schools. Information was collected about each school's demographics, computer course offerings, and any school-sponsored computer-related activities. The second part of the study examined the computer attitudes and computer background of about 300 junior level girls enrolled in top-level math classes. About half of the girls were students in all-girls non-public high schools and the other half of the girls attended coeducational non-public high schools. The girls completed a questionnaire about their educational background in computers, their interest in majoring in computer science, and their attitude toward computers. The results of the study indicated that there was no significant difference in the number of different computer courses offered at the two types of schools. However, the all-girls schools tended to offer more basic application courses than the coeducational schools while the coeducational schools offered more computer science courses. Few girls from either type of school considered majoring in computer science, even though the girls in the all-girls schools had a significantly better attitude towards computers. Neither school environment impacted the girls' interest in majoring in computer science, but a positive attitude towards computers is a first step in enabling young women to pursue this field.

This dissertation presents the results obtained from a four-part investigation of the Web sites of the 100 largest nonprofit organizations (NPOs) in the United States (U.S.). The first part of the investigation examined the online donation process. A key part of this was a timed test of making a $10 donation through each Web site. This test found that on average a donor must traverse 5.1 pages to complete a donation when starting on the organization's home page. The average time to complete the donation was 4.3 minutes. The second part of the investigation examined how NPOs utilize Web sites. All of the Web sites disseminated information. Soliciting donations was the second most common use of NPO Web sites. Ninety-eight sites requested financial donations and 29 solicited in-kind gifts. The sites also sold various forms of merchandise and offered a number of free products such as e-mail newsletters, electronic greeting cards, and screensavers. The third part of the investigation examined NPO Web sites for issues that affected Web site navigation, performance, popularity, and usability. Only one of the NPO's home pages passed a validation from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) for proper coding. Only eight home pages conformed to the lowest level ofW3C guidelines for assuring access to the Web by individuals with disabilities. The final part of the investigation addressed the collection of information from Web site visitors. NPO Web sites collected name, address, credit card number and other personal information from Web site visitors. Out of the 100 sites, 92 used cookies, 79 posted privacy policies, and 75 included information practice statements on pages asking for information.

The problem to be investigated in this study focuses on the development of a method to improve the quality of the data contained in the academic student records component of a data warehouse (DW) in a higher education setting. A DW should contain high-quality data and be considered a successful implementation by the stakeholders of the system. Such a system will allow administrators at higher education institutions to be able to make sound decisions for their college or university. A questionnaire was made available to information technology specialists and managerial end-users who worked in higher education institutions. These potential respondents were contacted by-mail and provided a link to a web-site that allowed them participants to access the questionnaire. The data collected from the questionnaire responses was analyzed by using a chi square analysis and an analysis of variance. DW quality was used as the dependent variable in this study. Whether or not a design methodology was used in the development of the DW or other on-line analytical processing (OLAP) data architecture, the extent of metadata use during the development of the DW or other OLAP data architecture, whether or not data marts were developed before the development of the DW or other OLAP architecture, and the amount of collaboration used in the development of the DW or other OLAP architecture were used as independent variables in this study. The researcher identified positive relationships that existed between quality variables and design constructs. These constructs were then used to build a model for building a DW that could be used for higher education applications. This model focused on the academic student records applications. After analysis of the responses from the questionnaire, it was determined that the use of Meta data and end-user involvement had a positive relationship to obtaining high-quality data in a DW. Based on these results a model using a star-schema and a modification of the Zachman Framework was developed. A suggestion as to the organizational structure that can lead to a successful DW implementation was also suggested. This structure allows for increased control of the project during its development and implementation by the use of metadata. The ultimate goal of the researcher in this study was to build a model for a DW in higher education that can improve decision-making performance of administrators at higher education institutions.

No description available.

No description available.

Federal Aviation Regulations require Aviation Maintenance Technicians (AMTs) to refer to approved maintenance manuals when performing maintenance on airworthy aircraft. Because these manuals are paper-based, larger the size of the aircraft, more cumbersome are the manuals. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recognized the difficulties associated with the use of large manuals and conducted studies on the use of electronic media as an alternative to the traditional paper format. However, these techniques do not employ any artificial intelligence technologies and the user interface is limited to either a keyboard or a stylus pen. The primary emphasis of this research was to design a generic framework that would allow future development of voice-activated, intelligent, and hypermedia-based aircraft maintenance manuals. A prototype (VIHAMS-Voice- activated, Intelligent, and Hypermedia-based Aircraft Maintenance System) was developed, as a secondary emphasis, using the design and development techniques that evolved from this research. An evolutionary software design approach was used to design the proposed framework and the structured rapid prototyping technique was used to produce the VIHAMS prototype. Voice Assist by Creative Labs was used to provide the voice interface so that the users (AMTs) could keep their hands free to work on the aircraft while maintaining complete control over the computer through discrete voice commands. Knowledge Pro for Windows 1M, an expert system shell, provided "intelligence" to the prototype. As a result of this intelligence, the system provided expert guidance to the user. The core information contained in conventional manuals was available in a hypermedia format. The prototype's operating hardware included a notebook computer with a fully functional audio system. An external microphone and the built-in speaker served as the input and output devices (along with the color monitor), respectively. Federal Aviation Administration estimates the United States air carriers to operate 3,991 large jet aircraft in the year 1996 (FAA Aviation Forecasts, 1987-1998). With an estimate of seventy manuals per such aircraft, the development of intelligent manuals is expected to impact 279,370 manuals in this country. Soon, over 55 thousand maintenance technicians will be able to carry the seven pound system to an aircraft, use voice commands to access the aircraft's files on the system, seek assistance from the expert system to diagnose the fault, and obtain instructions on how to rectify the fault. The evolutionary design approach and the rapid proto typing techniques were very well suited for the spiral testing strategy. Therefore, this strategy was used to test the structural and functional validity of this research. Professors Darrell Anderson and Brian Stout (Aviation faculty at San Jose State University) and Mr. Gregory Shea (a United Airlines mechanic and SJSU student) are representatives of the real-world users of the final product. Therefore, they conducted the alpha test of this prototype. Mr. Daniel Neal and Mr. Stephen Harms have been actively involved in light aircraft maintenance for more than ten years. They evaluated the prototype's usability. All the above evaluators used standard testing tools and evaluated the prototype under field conditions. The evaluators concluded that the VIHAMS prototype used a valid fault diagnosis strategy, the system architecture could be used to develop similar systems using off-the shelf tools, and the voice input system could be refined to improve its usability.

The purpose of this study was to design a strategic planning model for the preparation of an information systems plan for Selkirk College. Detailed consideration was given to the challenges facing small two-year community colleges in planning for the rapidly changing environment of information systems. The literature review included an overview of the evolution of planning approaches and examined several planning models. Several case studies of planning experiences in other colleges were undertaken. The dynamic environment of information systems was discussed, including a review of chaos theory and its implications for strategic planning. A planning model for information systems was developed. The model included the following steps: Step 1. Determine the strategic planning process - the plan-to-plan. Step 2. Conduct societal needs analysis. Step 3. Gain support of stakeholders. Step 4. Clarify the College's mandate. Step 5. Review and revise the mission statement. Step 6. Conduct an environmental scan. Step 7. Conduct an internal audit. Step 8. Conduct a SWOT analysis. Step 9. Identify needs. Step 10. Determine goals, objectives, and critical success. Factors. Step 11. Formulate strategies and action plans. Step 12. Develop evaluation criteria. Step 13. Develop implementation and review schedule. The planning model that was designed for the study was implemented and an information systems plan prepared. An evaluation of the planning model and the plan that was produced was completed. The study concluded with the development of recommendations for improving the planning model and its applicability in other settings.

The purpose of this study is to develop a project implementation model to allow research students to collaborate, at a distance, on research projects. An alternative to the classical approach for designing project control systems is proposed by installing a personal computer for the primary benefit of having server functionality so that researchers can control and exercise collaborative activities. This interim plan permits one participant to have server capability and more being added as research members are establishing their own server-at-home capability. A description of research questions raised by this study is offered in Chapter 1. Chapter 2 examines the management of research and development projects. The emphases in the examination were on the implementation and control of such projects within a university environment. Traditional approaches emphasized quality of output rather than process quality. These it is argued, are inappropriate for the simultaneous control of management and technical processes operating in the Nova Southeastern University Multimedia Electronic Classroom (MECR) project. Chapters 3 and 4 further delineate the model by implementing a concentric, cooperation and control or ' C3 ' Project Control System. A critique of project implementation strategies of historical significance to the MECR project are presented in Chapter 3, and used to illustrate the complexity of project management tasks in university research and development environments. Chapter 4 presents systems factors for consideration in design and implementation of the C3 Project Control System. System components are described with the expected end-user benefits such as increases in the availability of computer power to individuals. Project team members with Internet connections and WWW browsers, regardless of the barrier of time and distance, can share information, build up a knowledge base or information base, and maintain close contact. An interim prototype phase extends the principle, use and application of distributed project management. The new model framework has to reengineer distance University. been developed as part of an effort education at Nova Southeastern Finally, Chapter 5 discusses the contributions of this study, the implications of the C3 strategy, offers recommendations to the field of computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW), the issues that require further investigation and future extensions of this research.

Modern business continues to invest significant resources on information technology, hardware, software, and manpower. The benefits gained from the expenditure of these monies have been the subject of scholarly debate for nearly two decades. Conflicting results have been obtained in a variety of studies and no firm conclusion has been drawn on the benefits or lack thereof, to the economy as a whole, from this spending. The objective of this study was to investigate information technology productivity in a more comprehensive fashion. This included setting a longer time perspective, reviewing more current information, both United States and European data, and measuring productivity using both market and financial based measures. The study reviewed a longer time frame than most, utilizing data from 1989 -- 1999. This research separately analyzed the same data set using two different groups of productivity measures -- financial and market based. Prior analyses have focused on only one or the other of these measures. This study was the first to examine current information including year 1999 data from the InformationWeek 500. The study separately analyzed United States and European firms, determining whether there was a difference between information technologies spending in the United States versus Europe. The analysis compared two time periods to see if anything changed from the early 1990s to the late 1990s. Industry level analysis was separately performed to determine the impact of industry on information technology productivity. Finally, the report reviewed productivity separately for different sized firms. This determined the impact of information technology in different sized firms. Firm level performance was analyzed providing more accurate information for overall economic information technology productivity (similar to Brynjolfsson and other researchers). Results of the study indicated that information technology did not have a consistent positive impact on firm level productivity throughout the time frame. Neither market nor financial based productivity measures provided consistent significant returns with regard to IT productivity. Positive and significant productivity results were absent for U.S. firms but present for European firms. The early time frame of 1989-1993 showed similar but non-significant returns compared to the later time period of 1994-1999. There were no consistent returns in productivity based on the size of the firm. Finally, industry sector was not a significant determinant of productivity from IT spending. The major contribution of the study is that it provides a broad comprehensive analysis of the impact of information technology on firm and economic productivity. The study highlights specific instances of higher and lower productivity by geography, industry, and time frame. Lastly, the report provides recommendations to firms on whether continued high levels of investment in information technology are warranted.