An empirical examination of a process-oriented IT business success model

The value of information technology (IT) to modern organizations is almost undeniable. However, the determination of that value has been elusive in research and practice. We used a process-oriented research model developed using two streams of IT research to examine the value of IT in business organizations. One stream is characterized by examining how IT and non-IT variables affect other so-called IT success variables. The second stream is commonly referred to as IT business value, defined as the contribution of IT to firm performance. The resulting research model is referred to in our paper as the IT business success model. Data was collected from 225 top IS executives in fairly large organizations to empirically examine several hypotheses derived from theory concerning the causal nature of the IT business success model. A set of measures for the IT business success model was developed through an intense investigation of the IT literature. The measures were tested for validity and reliability using confirmatory factor analysis. The hypotheses that resulted from past research and conceptually illustrated in the research model were assessed using structural equation analysis. The implications of these findings and the limitations of the study are discussed in an effort to contribute to building a process-oriented theory base for IT business success at the organizational level of analysis.     

Fuzzy Geographic Information Systems for Phytoremediation Plant Selection

Geographic information systems (GIS) technology was combined with fuzzy logic to construct a phytoremediation plant selection tool. Phytoremediation involves the use of vegetation for treatment of contaminated soils, sediments, and water. In this paper, the focus is on one particular phytoremediation mechanism plant-assisted bioremediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) soil contamination. Many plants show potential for PAH remediation, but factors such as growth requirements, climate, and soil conditions need to be considered. Given the spatial nature of the data involved, GIS was chosen as the basis for the plant selection tool. Eight candidate plants were selected because of their PAH phytoremediation potential, and their growth requirements were represented using fuzzy membership functions to account for parameters’ uncertainty. Vermont and South Carolina were selected as case studies, and calculations were performed to determine the suitability ratings for each of the candidate plants in these areas based on the plants’ growth requirements with respect to climate and soil attributes.     

Air/Water Oxygen Transfer in a Biological Aerated Filter

The oxygen-transfer characteristics of an upflow biological aerated filter filled with angular clay media were determined over a wide range of gas and liquid flow rates. Liquid-side, oxygen-transfer coefficients (KLa) were measured using a nitrogen gas stripping method under abiotic conditions and were found to increase as both gas and liquid superficial velocity increases, with values ranging from 12 to 110?h?1 based on empty bed volume. The effect of gas and liquid velocity, wastewater to clean water ratio, and temperature dependence was correlated to within ±20% of the experimental KLa value. Stagnant gas holdup is roughly double in wastewater compared to clean water, but the dynamic gas holdup is the same. The oxygen-transfer coefficient is directly proportional to the dynamic gas holdup. Stagnant gas holdup does not influence the rate of oxygen transfer. The results suggest that dynamic gas holdup largely determines the specific interfacial area (a), whereas the interstitial liquid velocity largely controls the oxygen-transfer coefficient (KL).     

EFFECT OF UNCOUPLING OXIDATIVE PHOSPHORYLATION ON THE ECONOMICS OF THE ACTIVATED SLUDGE PROCESS

Conventionally, activated sludge units are aerated continuously for the biological oxidation of organic carbon and ammonium. The respiration of the microflora which develops is tightly coupled to adenosine triphosphate (ATP) formation. (ATP is the energy currency of the cell, growth is proportional to the ATP formed). A management strategy is reported here which uses alternating periods of aeration and non-aeration (AAA process), then respiration is uncoupled from ATP formation and hence from cell growth. Less sludge is formed but the removal of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) is no less efficient.

In addition, ammonium is oxidized to nitrate during aeration and is then denitrified in the non-aerated period. Savings of 25% to 40% in aeration charges have been demonstrated. This entails no change in the physical design of the plant, no reductant is needed for denitrification, foam is reduced and the sludge settles well. The final effluent demands less chlorine and has a low nitrogen content. The control of the periods of air on/air off can be automated in response to the rate of uptake of dissolved oxygen (DO).     

The implications of pager use for the therapeutic relationship in independent practice.

Therapist accessibility by pagers raises many questions regarding between-session and within-session calls. What are the main purposes of pagers in clinical settings, and what are the rationales for their use? The authors explored the parameters established by clinicians regarding pagers and how these expectations were communicated to patients. The degree of interference the clinician allows in the therapy session when paged is pivotal because of the potentially distancing, distracting, and enervating effect this may have on the relationship. The implications for the therapist's private life and his or her significance in the patient's life are considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's normative beliefs about aggression and aggressive behavior.

Normative beliefs have been defined as self-regulating beliefs about the appropriateness of social behaviors. In 2 studies the authors revised their scale for assessing normative beliefs about aggression, found that it is reliable and valid for use with elementary school children, and investigated the longitudinal relation between normative beliefs about aggression and aggressive behavior in a large sample of elementary school children living in poor urban neighborhoods. Using data obtained in 2 waves of observations 1 year apart, the authors found that children tended to approve more of aggression as they grew older and that this increase appeared to be correlated with increases in aggressive behavior. More important, although individual differences in aggressive behavior predicted subsequent differences in normative beliefs in younger children, individual differences in aggressive behavior were predicted by preceding differences in normative beliefs in older children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychologists in Schools of Public Health: Current Status, Future Prospects, and Implications for Other Health Settings.

The deans and departmental chairs of the 22 schools of public health were asked in 1981 to list all psychologists holding full-time faculty appointments and the names of courses with a substantial behavioral/psychological content. Responses were received from 98% of the departments. The psychologists were then sent a survey concerning their backgrounds, job responsibilities, and satisfaction/dissatisfaction with their positions. There was an 80% response rate. Psychologists accounted for 5.7% of the approximately 1,300 full-time faculty in schools of public health. Psychologists represented a larger percentage of the faculty in departments of behavioral science than in departments of epidemiology, biostatistics, environmental health, and so forth. Public health psychologists were active researchers and publishers, with average totals of 2.5 articles and 26.9 citations for a three-year period. The primary advantages of employment in a school of public health had to do with an appreciation of the public health perspective, an interdisciplinary orientation, and research opportunities. The primary dissatisfactions cited were financial insecurity, isolation from psychology, and lack of appreciation among public health colleagues of the contribution of psychology to public health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Recruitment of minority group students and women.

Examined recruitment efforts of 65 fully approved American Psychological Association doctoral programs in clinical psychology. Results suggest that the programs were ambivalent about the recruitment of minority groups and of women in particular. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)