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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Industrial and Systems Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009. / Committee Chair: Stasko, John; Committee Member: Abowd, Gregory; Committee Member: Cross, Stephen; Committee Member: Czerwinski, Mary; Committee Member: Vidakovic, Brani

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2006. / Eastman, Chuck, Committee Member ; Paredis, Chris, Committee Co-Chair ; Allen, Janet, Committee Member ; Rosen, David, Committee Member ; Tsui, Kwok, Committee Member ; McDowell, David, Committee Member ; Mistree, Farrokh, Committee Chair. Includes bibliographical references.

Many online platforms employ networks of human workers to perform computational tasks that can be difficult for a machine to perform (e.g. recognising an object from an image). This approach can be referred to as social computation. However, systems that utilise social computation often suffer from a lack of transparency, which results in difficulties in the decision-making process (e.g. assessing reliability of outputs). This thesis investigates how the lack of transparency can be addressed by recording provenance, which includes descriptions of social computation workflows and their executions. In addition, it investigates the role of Semantic Web technologies in modelling and querying such provenance in order to support decision-making. Following analysis of several use-case scenarios, requirements for describing the provenance of a social computation are identified to provide the basis of the Social Computation Provenance model, SC-PROV. This model extends the W3C recommendation for modelling provenance on the Web (PROV) and the P-PLAN model for describing provenance of abstract workflows. To satisfy the identified provenance requirements, SC-PROV extends PROV and P-PLAN with a vocabulary for capturing social computation features such as social actors (e.g. workers and requesters), incentives (e.g. promises of monetary rewards received upon completion of a task), and conditions (e.g. constraints defining when an incentive should be awarded). The SC-PROV model is realised in an OWL ontology and used in a semantic annotation framework to capture the provenance of a simulated case study, which includes 46,665 diverse workflows. During the evaluation process, the SC-PROV vocabulary is used to construct provenance queries that support an example workflow selection metric based on trust assessments of various aspects of social computation workflows. The performance of the workflow selected by this metric is then evaluated against the performance of two control groups - one containing randomly selected workflows and the other containing workflows selected by a metric informed by provenance which lacks SCPROV descriptions. The examples described in this thesis establish the benefits of examining provenance as part of decision-making in the social computation domain, and illustrate the inability of current provenance models to fully support these processes. The evaluation of SC-PROV demonstrates its capabilities to produce provenance descriptions that extend to the social computation domain. The empirical evidence provided by the evaluation supports the conclusion that using SC-PROV enhances support for trust-based decision-making.

There is limited engagement with research based evidence among senior managers within the NHS, and a failure to consistently integrate research findings into the decision making process. While much is known about the decision making and information behaviour of clinical staff and policy makers, there is little knowledge of this for senior non-clinical managers within the NHS. There is also a lack of clarity on how best to facilitate and integrate research evidence into the decision making process and a lack of research regarding the context of non-clinical healthcare managers working in the NHS. This study addresses these shortcomings through in-depth analysis in a case study approach. Data was collected through semi-structured interview, questionnaire and observed scenario work. This data was analysed to increase knowledge and understanding of the current information behaviour and decision making practices of non-medical senior management staff working within the NHS in England. Several key barriers to research utilisation were identified in the analysis of the data. These barriers included insufficient information literacy skills in the cohort, shortcomings with the published research papers, a culture which was focused on achieving politically set targets, and a lack of defined processes to decision making. To address these barriers an embedded librarian and a SharePoint based knowledge management system were implemented and evaluated. Evaluation of these interventions concluded that an embedded librarian was effective in increasing and supporting evidence informed decision making. This provides a practical example of an effective service development which should be considered for implementation across the NHS and wider healthcare community. The study also recommends that, to increase use of their output, researchers need to include more explicit information on the implementation and financial elements of their findings rather than a narrow focus on the intervention outcome. In addition, findings showed the target driven culture of the NHS create an environment that stifles evidence informed decision making. To address this barrier the study recommends that the NHS adopts methods of quality assurance and metrics which place an emphasis on measures of process. This study contributes to theory by exploring the information behaviour of a specific group which have been overlooked in previous research, and contributes new understanding of mechanisms for knowledge translation and interactions between the research based evidence and decision making processes in the context of NHS non-clinical management.

Making decisions at the right time and in the right way is vital in dealing with extreme events. However, uncertainties and severe time constraints usually make the tasks hard and stressful. Since catastrophes are not frequent events in our lives, prior practice is essential to increasing preparedness. In accordance with its rapid development and extensive dissemination, information communication technology (ICT) has been recognised as an indispensable instrument, not only to assist onsite activities of professional emergency responders, but also to support collaborative actions of a wide-range of stakeholders for effective preparedness. This research intends to explore the feasibility of workshop-style decision-making exercises on the basis of scenarios of extreme events, and to examine the role of ICT in mediating the interactive processes during a workshop. A comparative approach between the UK and Japan was employed to find similarities and differences in the way of identifying major issues, proceeding to a discussion, and reaching a decision on which course of action to take. Interviews with Japanese and British experts, including researchers and practitioners, were conducted to develop realistic scenarios and to hear their opinions about the use of ICT in the crisis preparedness context. Experimental face-to-face (FTF) workshops and online workshops were respectively organised for Japanese and British research participants to examine the applicability of the scenario method under these two different methods of communication. Complementary online workshops were also conducted for Japanese and British practitioners to obtain practical feedback on the idea of scenario-based online workshops. The main finding of this study was that scenario-based exercises are beneficial regardless of the nationality or the methods of communication in decision problems in which individuals have no prior experience. The most noteworthy finding was that scenario-based online workshops are unlikely to be argumentative and results-oriented under certain conditions, such as complexity of issues and tasks, amount of time spent by participants, degree of facilitation and type of technology used. This finding indicates that online exercises require different strategies from FTF exercises. In theoretical aspects, this study provides a foundation for theory formation regarding scenario methods. In addition, this work contributes to further development of online communications based on the comparison with FTF communications. In practical terms, the examination of the scenario method and use of ICT offers methodological alternatives in order to implement more robust preparedness.

The purpose of this study was to develop a theory to explain how nurses experience and respond to uncertainty arising from patient care-related situations and the influence of uncertainty on their information behaviour. Strauss and Corbin’s (1998) grounded theory approach guided the study. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with 14 staff nurses working in an adult medical-surgical intensive care unit (MSICU) at one of two participating hospitals. The grounded theory recognizing and responding to uncertainty was developed from constant comparison analysis of transcribed interview data. The theory explicates recognizing, managing, and learning from uncertainty in patient care-related situations. Recognizing uncertainty involved a complex recursive process of assessing, reflecting, questioning and/or predicting, occurring concomitantly with facing uncertain aspects of patient care situations. Together, antecedent conditions and the process of recognizing uncertainty shaped the experience of uncertainty. Two main responses to uncertainty were physiological/affective responses and strategies used to manage uncertainty. Resolved uncertainty, unresolved uncertainty, and learning from uncertainty experiences were three consequences of managing uncertainty. The ten main categories of antecedent, actions and interactions, and consequences that comprised the theory were interrelated and connected through temporal and causal statements of relationship. Nurse, patient, and contextual factors were linked through patterns of conditions and intervening relational statements. Together, these conceptual relationships formed an explanatory theory of how MSICU nurses experienced and responded to uncertainty in their practice. This theory provides understanding of how nurses think through, act and interact in patient situations for which they are uncertain, and provides insight into the nature of the processes involved in recognizing and responding to uncertainty. Study implications for practice, nursing education, and further theory development and research are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to develop a theory to explain how nurses experience and respond to uncertainty arising from patient care-related situations and the influence of uncertainty on their information behaviour. Strauss and Corbin’s (1998) grounded theory approach guided the study. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with 14 staff nurses working in an adult medical-surgical intensive care unit (MSICU) at one of two participating hospitals. The grounded theory recognizing and responding to uncertainty was developed from constant comparison analysis of transcribed interview data. The theory explicates recognizing, managing, and learning from uncertainty in patient care-related situations. Recognizing uncertainty involved a complex recursive process of assessing, reflecting, questioning and/or predicting, occurring concomitantly with facing uncertain aspects of patient care situations. Together, antecedent conditions and the process of recognizing uncertainty shaped the experience of uncertainty. Two main responses to uncertainty were physiological/affective responses and strategies used to manage uncertainty. Resolved uncertainty, unresolved uncertainty, and learning from uncertainty experiences were three consequences of managing uncertainty. The ten main categories of antecedent, actions and interactions, and consequences that comprised the theory were interrelated and connected through temporal and causal statements of relationship. Nurse, patient, and contextual factors were linked through patterns of conditions and intervening relational statements. Together, these conceptual relationships formed an explanatory theory of how MSICU nurses experienced and responded to uncertainty in their practice. This theory provides understanding of how nurses think through, act and interact in patient situations for which they are uncertain, and provides insight into the nature of the processes involved in recognizing and responding to uncertainty. Study implications for practice, nursing education, and further theory development and research are discussed.

Strategic decision makers typically use a wide range of communication and information media in complex, uncertain and often ambiguous or politically charged organizational contexts. However, little help is available in ensuring that their information behaviour is efficient and effective. This study evaluates the use of information systems (IS) as communication media in strategic decision-making processes (SDMPs), focusing on strategic information processing, and how context affects its performance. The analysed strategic decisions (n = 113) were taken in the time period between 2000 and 2008 in large Western organisations. The aim of this investigation was to look at the link between the use of IS during the decision-making process and the performance of the SDMP, taking into account internal and external contextual factors. Using existing information processing theory and research on the SDMP as a theoretical basis, hypotheses were developed and environmental contingencies and political information behaviour were selected as moderating effects on the relationship of IS use and the performance of strategic decisions. A survey and complementary semi-structured interviews were conducted, which studied particular strategic decisions through quantitative and qualitative methods. Results provide support for a number of the study's hypotheses; however, several interesting findings regarding contextual factors, such as information anarchy and environmental munificence/hostility, do not support the hypotheses. Implications for theory and practice concerning information behaviour and its context are discussed.