<p> Alternative healthcare programs have been steadily flooding the health care market, with the most notable being mobile health. Mobile health, more popularly known as mHealth, is expected to generate upward of $59 billion dollars. This is astonishing, considering the mHealth market is still in its infancy as an alternative healthcare model. Still, there are over 100,000 mHealth smartphone applications and platforms on the market. The concept of offering affordable medical services that are accessible to anyone, at any time and in any place appeals to the mission and purpose of healthcare organizations. However, a large number of the studies and publications on mHealth are associated with the technologies behind mHealth and provide very little information on the practices and challenges associated with implementing mHealth, especially within a medical facility. For this reason, it was important to learn from executive health IT professionals who have successfully implemented mHealth services within the US healthcare system. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to identify the practices used and challenges faced by CIOs in implementing mHealth technologies. The study also obtained recommendations CIOs believe are associated with successful mHealth services.</p><p> This was a qualitative study that used a phenomenology lens focused on the viewpoint of CIOs and the growing phenomenon of mHealth as a part of the U.S. healthcare system. This approach allowed the research to obtain data on the lived experiences of seven CIOs through semi-structured interviews who were identified as top experts by <i>Becker Hospital Review</i> publications. The analysis of their experiences revealed 13 best practices for mobile health implementation. The findings in this study aimed to identify how mHealth services could expand access to medical services by outlining key considerations and resources required for successful implementation.</p>

<p> A significant amount of evidence existed in support of the positive effect on the quality of healthcare that resulted from transitioning to electronic health information systems, equally compelling evidence suggests that the development process for electronic health information systems falls short of achieving its potential. The objective of this research was to assess the existing HIT standards and health information management (HIM) principles to determine if they are robust enough to inform the development of national and international interoperability standards. The research question asked; How do HIT standards and HIM principles and practices influence the quality of EHR performance? This study&rsquo;s goal was to maintain focus on the collaborative challenges revealed by the lack of understanding and shared vision that commonly exists between HIM professionals, HIT developers, and HIT vendors that obstruct synergy and enfolding of health information standards-based capabilities and HIM practice (business) standards. The complex electronic health record (EHR) universe proved well suited for testing by a combination of complexity science and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) information management theories. Through analysis of research literature and qualitative interviews, the research identified nine factors defined into drivers and barriers that influenced the actions of healthcare organizations; leadership, patient focus, planning, communication, alignment with lifecycle models people, processes, dynamics, training and user input, change management standard adoption, and recognition of the power of technology. Analysis of the data obtained from exploratory qualitative interviews of health information technology professionals selected from a professional healthcare management organization supported conclusions that leadership, collaboration, planning, and training limiters, have a direct impact on EHR system success or failure.</p><p>

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / The objective of this research is to provide recommendations and guidelines for building and maintaining a comprehensive Continuing Education Units (CEU) and qualification tracking system specifically for the Continuing Education Units (CEU) and Qualification program. The guidance includes topics ranging from designing, managing, and implementing a tracking program, through post-implementation of the program. This research includes the training needs of all personnel within the IP community, from users to supervisors to executive-level mangers extending to include designated sponsors/mentors and external subject matter experts. The key research focus of this thesis is to examine the risk and cost benefits in automating the training record for the Information Professional community and further discuss interface design issues and considerations to maximize the flexibility and functionality provided by automation. / Lieutenant, United States Navy Reserve

For organizations with training pipelines, this study offers insight to help identify and minimize undesirable effects which may result from often unavoidable demand variations within a resource and time constrained environment. The highly complex Naval aviation training process is used as a case study. However, any organization with a training pipeline may find this study to be useful. Within a training pipeline, like any resource constrained production line, variability may cause undesirable results to occur. Variability includes any change in the number of students to train, time-to-train, instructor availability, material availability, and other supporting factors. Undesirable effects may include: delayed time-to-train, wasted valuable resources, reduced morale, reduced quality of training, or an increase in undesirable behaviors as a result of perceived production pressures. "Wasted valuable resources" includes human capital, money, material, and time. Although other sources of variability will be discussed, this study will primarily examine the cause and effect relationships resulting from variations in the number of students to train. Potential solutions are explored.

A methodology for the implementation of Zippo, a patternless intrusion detection system is presented in this thesis. This methodology approaches the implementation in a holistic manner to include the administrative and operational tasks necessary for ensuring proper preparation for Zippo's use. Prior to implementing and using Zippo, a basic understanding of TCP/IP and intrusion detection systems is needed and these topics are presented in broad detail. The origin of Zippo starts with the creation of Therminator, which is discussed in detail. The architecture and configuration of Zippo are based on those of Therminator and understanding the ideas of buckets and balls, thermal canyons and towers, decision trees, slidelength and windowlength and initial and boundary conditions are paramount to understanding the Zippo application. To successfully implement Zippo, other network factors must be attended to including the topology, organizational policies and the security plan. Once these factors are addressed, Zippo can be optimally configured to successfully be installed on a network. Finally, previous research done on Zippo yielded decision trees and thermal canyons pertaining to protocol specific threats that are presented to familiarize the reader with Zippo's visual representation of malicious or anomalous behavior.

This thesis presents a technology review of the emerging IEEE 802.11n standard. A wireless local area network (WLAN) based on state-of-the-art equipment supporting the 802.11n protocol is evaluated in the Coalition Operating Area Surveillance and Targeting System (COASTS). This thesis also provides a brief introduction to COASTS, its support for testing various networking schemes, and their effectiveness in supplying information necessary to reach a decision maker's desired end-state. Also provided is a summary of the current state of the 802.11n proposed standard, the hardware and software used to evaluate the equipment, and the testing methodology. In general, the methodology was to conduct field tests with private vendors and coalition partners to evaluate the capabilities of 802.11n networks that promise large throughput benefits for WLANs. The specific goal of this research focused on testing equipment and network configurations in an IP network. The ultimate goal of this research is to evaluate an evolutionary improvement for our forces to transfer large amounts of data and to maintain the mobility and flexibility to deploy rapidly to areas with little or no infrastructure. With this capability our forces may can gain control of the environment, dramatically improve tactical situational awareness, and attain information superiority.

The purpose of this research is to determine the impacts of utilizing radio frequency identification (RFID) technology in order to implement intransit visibility (ITV) into the Marine Corps' Supply Process. I interviewed experts and users of the LTMITV/W2W at the Supply Management Unit (SMU), 1st Combat Logistics Regiment, 1st Marine Logistics Group on the operational implementation of the system as well as benefits and opportunities for improvement. With the information I recovered and data I collected, I was able to create a small simulation of the supply process. I used the simulation to create various scenarios that have been encountered in the past including possible negative impacts of the lack of ITV at certain portions of the supply process. I made recommendations on how to improve the current supply process as well as recommendations for future research.

U.S. Navy aviation squadrons conduct a variety of flight operations in peace and wartime environments. At the heart of these operations is the flight scheduling that occurs to command and control the squadron's assets to ensure the actors and processes carry out the squadron's operations seamlessly and meet the squadron's mission requirements. This research and case study demonstrates how the Knowledge Value Added Methodology (KVA) and Business Process Reengineering (BPR) can be applied to these processes to analyze the performance and effectiveness of a Navy squadron's operations and maintenance departments. By analyzing the outputs of the sub processes involved at the squadron level in common units of change, a price per unit of output can be generated to allocate both cost and revenue at the sub process level. With this level of financial detail, a return on investment (ROI) analysis can be conducted for each process and the changes that occur to the processes when reengineering. A determination can then be made as to what level of reengineering if any should occur to the system to maximize ROI and what types of reengineering such as reducing costs, increasing value or implementing IT resources into the processes.

This thesis documents the findings of developing a generic testing template and supporting concept of operations for speaker verification technology as part of the Iraqi Enrollment via Voice Authentication Project (IEVAP). The IEVAP is an Office of the Secretary of Defense sponsored research project commissioned to study the feasibility of speaker verification technology in support of the Global War on Terrorism security requirements. The intent of this project is to contribute toward the future employment of speech technologies in a variety of coalition military operations by developing a pilot proof-of-concept system that integrates speaker verification and automated speech recognition technology into a mobile platform to enhance warfighting capabilities. In this phase of the IEVAP, NPS developed a generic testing template and supporting concept of operations for speaker authentication technology. The intent of this project was to contribute toward the future employment of speech technologies in a variety of coalition military operations by developing a testing template along with a concept of operations to conduct such testing.

The purpose of this thesis is to explore how innovative information technologies can facilitate rapid acquisition by using new online information technologies. In the past decade, many legislative and executive branch initiatives have paved the way for government disengagement and commercial engagement within the acquisition community. With new technology and the exponential amount of information now being infused electronically around the world, it is imperative that we take advantage of the tools which the government and private commercial industry have to offer. The vision, within the acquisition community, is for online ordering systems to facilitate streamlined commercial item acquisitions that reap the benefits of improved efficiency, reduced overall costs, and timeliness. This thesis focuses on new technology, the issues surrounding current processes, and the future of rapid online acquisition. / US Army (USA) author.