An automatic deception detection system (ADDS) is to detect deceptive human behavior with machine extractable evidences (i.e., cues). One of the most prominent challenges for building a ADDS is the availability of reliable cues. This study represents one of the first attempts to address the system's reliability by identifying the set of reliable cues in order to improve the system performance (detection accuracy).This study addresses two critical challenges of existing machine cues, irreproducibility and inconsistency. First, in order to mitigate the irreproducibility, the study introduces a set of machine measurable cues to estimate the commonality of related machine cues. These more reproducible cues are referred to as the macro cues which can be applied for automatic pattern recognition. Second, in order to address the consistency, the study separates cues based on the controllability, and defines the strategic cues as those can easily be manipulated by deceivers during interaction. The strategic cues fluctuate during deception and thus are less consistently reliable as predictors for the ADDS. On the contrary, the nonstrategic cues are more consistent. This study also considers other moderator effects that influencing the ADDS performance: time and the condition of interviewer's immediacy (ERIMD).The macro cues are automatically estimated from the micro cues based on the predefined relational models. The empirical data support the relationship models between macro and micro cues. Results show that macro cues mitigate the irreproducibility problem by reducing the variability in the single cues. However, the results also show that using macro cues as predictors in the discriminant analysis does not perform better than micro cues, and thus imply the needs to adjust weights of important components when constructing the macro cues. In terms of the consistent cues, results show that the nonstrategic cues are relatively more consistent than strategic ones in ADDS performance. Furthermore, the study suggests that particular detection methods must be tailored according to the feature of strategic and nonstrategic cues. The findings have many potential implications. One is to use the macro cues to recognize the dynamic patterns in deceptive behaviors. Specifically, truthtellers increase the certainty, immediacy, and tend to decrease the cognitive load; but deceivers behave the opposite. The other is to rely on the characteristics of strategic cues to manipulate the communication environment to improve the ADDS performance. This concept is also referred to as the Proactive Deception Detection (PDD). In the current study, the interviewer's immediacy is a controllable environment factor for PDD. The high ERIMD increase the system performance because it has higher overhead added to the deceptive behavior to trigger more abnormal cues. In sum, methods and results of this study have multiple impacts in information assurance and human-computer interaction.

Previous studies have explored self-verification theory to explain the relationship between self-verification and relationship conflict in collocated teams. This study expanded the application of self-verification theory in distributed team environments. More specifically, this study investigated the effects of similarity of personal identities on self-verification and the effects of self-verification on relationship conflict in both collocated and distributed teams. In addition to the self-verification theory, other identity related theories and communication theories were used to develop the hypotheses and to analyze the results. The hypotheses subsequently were tested using Partial Least Squares models. Participants of this study were members of one of the collocated or distributed engineering design teams. The findings show evidence of the moderation of team type on the relationship between self-verification and relationship conflict. The findings suggest that similarity of personal identities positively affects self-verification in collocated teams but not in distributed teams. Self-verification, in turn, reduces relationship conflict in collocated teams and increases relationship conflict in distributed teams. The implications of the findings on the theories, especially self-verification theory, are discussed.

This dissertation studies how information technologies, such as automatic question answering (QA), can add interactivity into a multimedia-based e-learning system and turn it into a "virtual mentor" to provide students with interactive, one-on-one instruction. It also explores the key factors of making such a "virtual mentor" as effective as a real mentor.Based on a review of multiple learning theories and technologies, an exploratory model for studying the effectiveness of interactive e-learning, named "Learning with Virtual Mentors (LVM)", is proposed and a prototype system is developed to implement the LVM model. A series of studies, including controlled experiments and surveys have been conducted to explore the relationships among the core constructs of the LVM model: learning phases, system interactivity, learner characteristics, learning activity and learning outcomes.Findings indicate that learning phases and some learner characteristics such as learning style affect students' behaviors, performance, and perceptions in e-learningpartly as we expected. Furthermore, the virtual interaction impacts student behaviors, encouraging students to interact more and increasing student satisfaction with the learning process. However, the correlation between virtual interaction and actual learning performance is limited. Consequently, the LVM model needs to be further explored and developed.

More and more organizations are starting to use workflow management systems (WfMS) to monitor, control and manage business processes. However, currently available commercial workflow systems are rather rigid and cannot meet the requirements of a dynamic and fast-changing business. Exception handling capabilities of the systems are very limited. Some research work has been done to address the issue by extending database technologies in workflow domain. In this thesis, we begin with a brief review of some main workflow concepts and do a survey of current research work on exception handling. We propose a leveled workflow model based on Micro-Organization Activity Processor (MOAP) and Object-Oriented Workflow Model (OOWM), which is an extension of Object-Oriented Enterprise Modeling (OOEM). The MOAP construct is extended with a goal concept and the OOEM service concept. We then propose a mechanism for exception handling which utilizes artificial intelligence technologies such as means-end analysis. We further demonstrate the functionalities and exception handling processes with a web-based simulator by applying some workflow exception cases.

There are different kinds of requirements on an information system. Of particular concern to this study are non-functional requirements (NFRs). These are aspects of a system. independent of any technical capabilities that it may have, which form a series of constraints on how a system will actually perform, and of which an organisation must take account in order to achieve success. This thesis studies non-functional requirements with particular reference to those that support an organisation in the process of structural change. Particular attention is paid to those non-functional requirements that will be constraints that hinder the performance and efficiency of any organisation if they are not fully understood and incorporated into the new information system. The way in which such non-functional requirements should be handled is illustrated by an extensive case study of the main provider of telecommunications services in Saudi Arabia. The researcher first took an interest in the Saudi telecommunications industry as a result of the recent moves to transform the country's telecommunications service from the traditional structure to a new system by the introduction of privatisation. The new modified system is called the Saudi Telecom Company (STC), though it is at present still under the effective control of the Saudi Ministry of Post, Telephone and Telegraph (MoPTT), the previous telecommunications service provider. The Saudi telecommunications service has been a monopoly managed through traditional public management systems, typically influenced by a dominant bureaucracy. The researcher's concern has been to study and describe the current management, structure, and operations (in particular the information systems) of the MoPTT in order to identifY key issues and potential areas for development which will help the MoPTT, as the STC, to offer a quality telecommunications service in the new competitive market. The researcher sets the telecommunications industry in Saudi Arabia in its national context by providing the political, cultural and economic background to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This is of particular importance in view of the significance discovered by his study of non-technical environmental factors in the performance of the telecommunications service in the country. Using a combination of the qualitative and quantitative research approaches, the researcher examined the literature relevant to his topic and undertook a fieldtrip to Saudi Arabia, when he conferred extensively with MoPTI management and staff, observed MoPTI structures and operations, and consulted other experts in telecommunications. Reflection on the literature along with extensive fieldtrip consultation and observation reveal that a full account of the operations and potential of the Saudi telecommunications system cannot be provided by a consideration of its technical functions and processes alone. Due recognition must be given to the peculiarly Saudi setting of the service, and in particular attention must be paid to non-functional aspects, such requirements and constraints related to the environment in which the system has to operate. Culturally related non-functional requirements are of particular interest, and the case of Internet access in Saudi Arabia is examined, since it provides an especially good example of a non-functional requirement which is undergoing change, while still acting as a constraint on telecommunications usage. The case is related to a new conception of Saudisation, whereby Saudi personnel are no longer simply taking over and imitating western skills, but where they are providing Saudi solutions to Saudi questions. Using information gathered largely during his fieldtrip, the researcher provides a comprehensive description and discussion of the current MoPTT business areas, organisational structures, and information systems. Not only the commercial and technical features of these operations are examined, but also the extent to which they succeed in fulfilling or operating within the non-functional requirements and constraints, especially those of particularly Saudi origin, imposed upon them. Where appropriate, potential new approaches and directions for the MoPTI in relation to handling issues are indicated. Employing techniques developed by Dr. Michael Porter of Harvard University, an analysis has been provided of the of the MoPTI's enterprise strategy, since it is this which ultimately drives all the operations of the MoPTI, and upon which the MoPTI's telecommunications service will depend for commercial success in the new postprivatisation market. Based upon this analysis, the researcher has put forward explicit operational, managerial, and business proposals which should allow the MoPTT to seize the opportunities offered by privatisation, and to achieve success in both the domestic and the international telecommunications market. The researcher has felt able to identifY a number of specific factors within the MoPTr which might receive particular attention for revision and improvement, as they impact on all MoPTT operations and are of critical importance for its commercial success. These areas are strategic planning, marketing, training, customer relations, an integrated information system, and workforce management. As a result of his investigation into the operations of the MoPTT the researcher has been able to identify a new approach to the future of telecommunications in Saudi Arabia. He has designed an information architecture within which the MoPTT information systems might operate, and which takes full account of the role of non-functional aspects in the degree of success of such a complex operation. He offers a comprehensive description of the basis, operational details, and advantages of the implementation of this architecture for the MoPTT's information system operations. The particular benefits of Saudisation are stressed. It became clear during the research that the concept of Saudisation simply as the taking over and imitation of tasks previously carried out by non-Saudis (because they had the training and experience) was now inadequate. Saudisation has now to be understood as a cultural as well as a technical or business transformation, a dynamic concept relating both to enduring Saudi cultural values and to changing social attitudes and practices. Indeed this concept of Saudisation would repay further investigation as a suitable topic for future academic research, and the researcher makes this recommendation. He does so principally because the traditional understanding of the concept now seems inadequate and therefore a factor likely to inlnbit the truly indigenous development industry and services within Saudi Arabia.

Companies began to adopt the enterprise resources planning (ERP) systems to integrate organization functions during the 1990s. ERP systems are expected to improve operational processes, reduce costs, and provide a competitive advantage. They are a strategic Information Technology (IT) investment. The evaluation of IT investment and performance is of crucial importance to companies. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of ERP performance and of the issue inherent ERP system evaluation. / The paper is structured around four key themes: The reasons that companies adopt ERP systems; the level of success of implemented ERP systems; approaches to the management of ERP systems; and a review of prominent approaches to the evaluation of information systems. It is concluded that the extensive array of benefits potentially available from the implementation of ERP systems are not all readily forthcoming without a high degree of sophistication in the management of the changes associated with implementation. In terms of evaluation frameworks, it is concluded that any framework should take a longitudinal perspective and consider a broad range of issues. / Thesis (DBA(DoctorateofBusinessAdministration))--University of South Australia, 2005.

Thesis (PhDBusinessandManagement)--University of South Australia, 2003.

Thesis (M.S.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Industrial and Sysyems Engineering Department, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögsk.

Report (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1994. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaf 82). Also available via the Internet.