Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Analysis of information factors'

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Information Technology (IT) architecture is not restricted to technology, but may also address the views of business activities
their processes
data sets and information flows
applications and software
and technology. The objective of this study is to understand the role of IT Architecture and related factors that support competitive business advantage. This study investigates the null hypothesis: IT architecture enhances the competitive advantage of business. This study sets out to explore IT architecture and strategic factorsthat support business advantage. The study findings indicated that business advantage is supported by a sound architecture, by IT and business alignmentand by the enablers of organisations..."

Sentiment can be defined as a tendency to experience certain emotions in relation to a particular object or person. Sentiment may be expressed in writing, in which case determining that sentiment algorithmically is known as sentiment analysis. Sentiment analysis is often applied to Internet texts such as product reviews, websites, blogs, or tweets, where automatically determining published feeling towards a product, or service is very useful to marketers or opinion analysts. The main goal of sentiment analysis is to identify the polarity of natural language text. This thesis sets out to examine quantitatively the factors that have an effect on sentiment analysis. The factors that are commonly used in sentiment analysis are text features, sentiment lexica or resources, and the machine learning algorithms employed. The main aim of this thesis is to investigate systematically the interaction between sentiment analysis factors and machine learning algorithms in order to improve sentiment analysis performance as compared to the opinions of human assessors. A software system known as TJP was designed and developed to support this investigation. The research reported here has three main parts. Firstly, the role of data pre-processing was investigated with TJP using a combination of features together with publically available datasets. This considers the relationship and relative importance of superficial text features such as emoticons, n-grams, negations, hashtags, repeated letters, special characters, slang, and stopwords. The resulting statistical analysis suggests that a combination of all of these features achieves better accuracy with the dataset, and had a considerable effect on system performance. Secondly, the effect of human marked up training data was considered, since this is required by supervised machine learning algorithms. The results gained from TJP suggest that training data greatly augments sentiment analysis performance. However, the combination of training data and sentiment lexica seems to provide optimal performance. Nevertheless, one particular sentiment lexicon, AFINN, contributed better than others in the absence of training data, and therefore would be appropriate for unsupervised approaches to sentiment analysis. Finally, the performance of two sophisticated ensemble machine learning algorithms was investigated. Both the Arbiter Tree and Combiner Tree were chosen since neither of them has previously been used with sentiment analysis. The objective here was to demonstrate their applicability and effectiveness compared to that of the leading single machine learning algorithms, Naïve Bayes, and Support Vector Machines. The results showed that whilst either can be applied to sentiment analysis, the Arbiter Tree ensemble algorithm achieved better accuracy performance than either the Combiner Tree or any single machine learning algorithm.

Business intelligence (BI) maturity for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is significantly behind larger companies that utilize BI solutions. Successful data oriented business environments require knowledge and insight to understand organizational capabilities. This quantitative correlational study assessed the relationship between variables and BI solutions by examining the independent covariates (size and environment) on the dependent variable of BI maturity. In addition, the research examined the extent that BI maturity is leveraged as an organizational asset. Research questions selected for this study considered the relationship between enterprise size, environment, and SMEs’ BI maturity. Contingency theory was used to examine the relationship between variables, characteristics, and performance. A Qualtrics panel was used to distribute the BI maturity model survey to for-profit employers, with 1000 or fewer employees, located within the state of California. Respondents completed 102 surveys, which served as the data source. Descriptive analysis and chi-square were conducted on a sample size of 102. The results of the study revealed no significant relationship between the dependent and independent variables. While the domains of strategy and quality are findings in this research, this study found a significant relationship does not exist between either the organizational size, environment and SMEs’ BI maturity. Consideration of the implications that are found in this study apply to both covariances (size and environment). These findings strengthen the need for further SME BI research.

Women have historically been underrepresented in the field of information technology. The literature related to the underrepresentation of women in information technology has focused on developing strategies for attracting more females into the industry. Despite these efforts, the number of women in information technology has been declining. The factors that contribute to the career persistence of women in information technology were investigated. An exploratory multiple case study methodology was used with nine women who have been employed in the information technology field for a minimum of five years. The subjects underwent a series of two interviews that focused on the reasons why they thought they had been able to have sustained careers in information technology. A qualitative analysis of the interviews was conducted to determine the factors that the subjects identified as contributors to their career persistence. The interviews were also analyzed to discover whether women that have had sustained careers in information technology conceptualize their experiences from particular feminist perspectives. The findings provided insights into the following factors that contribute to career persistence among women in information technology. These factors included how a woman 2 transitioned into her first information technology position, personal traits, effective career strategies, and effective coping strategies. While there will be individual differences, each subject presented that a combination of the stated factors directly contributed to her sustained career in information technology. Women in information technology were found to conceptualize their experiences through a variety of feminist perspectives. The existential feminist perspective was used extensively as a rationale for how societal expectations shape peoples view of women in information technology. The Marxist/socialist feminist and radical feminist perspectives were utilized when describing the barriers against women in information technology. The liberal feminist and postmodern feminist perspectives served as a foundation for recommendations to increase the likelihood for women entering and staying in the field of information technology.
Department of Educational Leadership

The study relies on UTAUT model to conduct a confirmatory factor analysis to understand the factors influencing the Moroccan and Finnish people in adopting online shopping. Then, it uses Hofstede theory to understand the relationship strength between the different variables. In this study, a total of 153 people were surveyed. They were drawn from two universities, Al Akhawayn University in Morocco and Oulu University in Finland. The questions of the survey were not designed to understand the use of any products or services. But, they were interned only to reveal the general behavior of online shopping among the citizen of both countries. This master study presents the finding of the study and validates the UTAUT model in both countries. Moreover, this study provides some practical solutions that could be used in marketing to influence people to use online shops. Moreover, it also demonstrates the reliability and validity of UTAUT scales and suggests further analysis to improve this model.

Background: Studies have shown that the traditional banking sector is under threat from digital banks and financial technology (fintech) organisations that can operate with a lower cost base and respond to the market faster. In response to this threat, leading banks have implemented Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to reduce costs and simplify operations. The adoption of RPA has, however, proven to be challenging as in many cases the impact of automation technology implementations is perceived to affect the livelihoods of staff who work in banks. Within the South African banking context, there is a particular sensitivity to factors that impede employment and labour unions are deeply involved in protecting workers. Objective: While there is research on RPA implementations, it is limited in the banking context. Further, there is currently little to no RPA adoption research specifically in the South African banking context. This study seeks to investigate the factors that drive RPA adoption in South African banks. Method: This study has used the Technology-Organisation-Environment (TOE) framework, extended with Institution Theory, as a lens to structure an approach in organising RPA adoption factors in an extensive literature review on the phenomenon. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the interview data that was collected. Themes were aggregated and organised by the TOE perspectives to create structure throughout the study. Results: The findings were that the adoption of RPA in South African banks is driven by the expected benefits of RPA which are achieved when well-suited processes are targeted, an effective operating model for the program including business and IT personnel, with the right skills. A well-designed change program is critical for RPA adoption in banks. South African banks are also working closely with the trade unions and are, on the whole, following best practices when automating parts of their workforce's roles by ensuring that they are given the opportunity to work on more engaging tasks.

Information technology (IT) plays an important role in contemporary organisations and this role continues to expand in scope and complexity and affects business operations dramatically. Advances in the IT industry have caused major changes in every industry sector. The banking industry is no exception and it has undergone a dramatic change over the past few decades. With the coming of the information age, IS investments are becoming increasingly important to banks` survival, growth and prosperity. IS managers are under increasing pressure to justify the value and contribution of IS expenditure to the productivity, quality and competitiveness of the organisation. This study aims to propose a model which investigates the success of information systems in the banking industry in order to help bank managers to evaluate the success of their IS, to be able to develop these systems and to improve the performance of bank managers and employees. Given that the ultimate dependent variable for this research is individual impacts, DeLone and McLean (2003) updated IS success model is leveraged and extended in this research. The study proposes a research model which is guided by the decision to select a suitable number of key potential demographic and situational variables, in addition to the adoption of DeLone and McLean (2003) updated model. This model proposes that a variety of factors were found to affect IS success in general, however, from the socio-technical viewpoint, IS success should capture both technological and human elements. Therefore, an effective Banking Information System (BIS) typically requires an appropriate combination of both. As such, Thus, the technological dimensions (i.e. system, service and information quality) and the human dimensions (e.g. user satisfaction, perceived system benefits, user involvement, user training, age, education and system use) can be a good starting point when considering suitable constructs for measuring BIS success. The research methodology of this study involved interviews with BIS practitioners and professionals to shape and refine the research model. Further, questionnaire survey was employed to collect data from bank managers in Egyptian banks. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) using Partial Least Square (PLS) was used to test the research model. Three research models were proposed according to age groups and initial results from PLS analysis reported different results in each research model. Findings indicated that system, information and service quality, level of training, age, length of system use, user involvement and top management support were the main predictors (success constructs) of user satisfaction and individual impacts in the three proposed research models. However, the relationships between these constructs varied according to each age group of managers. The study offers important academic and practical contributions. Firstly, as a contribution to research, the study serves to extend the DeLone and McLean (2003) IS success model by introducing some key human and situational dimensions and confirming certain links in that model with the context of banking industry. The contribution to practice is especially relevant for bank CIOs, software designers and developers looking for ways to improve BIS developments by providing them with directions regarding the BIS success dimensions that should be considered to encourage bank managers to adopt and be more satisfied with BIS which in turn influence their job performance.

More and more organizations are making use of teamwork. Effective teams are also important from an Information Technology (IT) perspective, since teamwork forms an integral part of all software development activities. It is therefore extremely important that IT students are able to work together as an effective team. These statements lead to the following questions – How can IT student project teams be effective and what obstacles need to be overcome in order to ensure effectiveness? This dissertation reports on an exploratory study of second and third year IT project teams and exposes factors that lead to ineffectiveness. Firstly, the problems experienced by the groups seem to have the largest detrimental effect on effective team functioning. Secondly, the project mark is also affected by the priority issue that is associated with the particular task. Thirdly, the issues of time management, communication, conflict management, compromise, social loafing and group cohesion also play an important role in team effectiveness. This dissertation sets out to prove that the key to "effectiveness" lies in empowering the student to deal with all possible dilemmas that may be faced when working in teams in the tertiary team situation. The benefits of these actions will hopefully lead to the realization of “effectiveness” in the tertiary team situation and ultimately, in the student’s work environment.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been considered a tool that can be used to achieve development goals in developing countries. In the same time, the majority of people living in developing countries, and especially those in rural areas lack access to ICT. Even if there have been many attempts to introduce ICT, they have in general not been long-lasting.

A framework for studying factors that influence use of ICT is desirable. We see it necessary to bring a sustainability aspect into the picture of ICT. In this work the requirement of ‘sustainable ICT use’ stresses that ICT is long-lasting and that ICT meets the needs of the user. Thus, the aim of this work is to develop a tool for conceptualisation that can support the understanding of the conditions for sustainable, and therefore successful, ICT projects in developing countries.

Our theoretical starting point is taken in the Information System (IS) theories. The theoretical base is then broadened to include theories on international development, theories on sustainable development, and theories on diffusion of innovations and transfer of technology. The theoretical foundation, together with four empirical studies, is used to answer the two research questions in this thesis. The first question is: Which are the critical factors influencing sustainable ICT use in developing countries? By using ‘critical factors’ we emphasise a focus on factors which are crucial (even if possibly not sufficient) for bringing about sustainable ICT use. This question is followed by a second question: How would a framework be structured to properly include these factors in order to support analyses of sustainable ICT use?

The framework has evolved through the identification of factors from four empirical studies. Forty-one factors were identified and sorted into fifteen subcategories of five major capital assets. The main contribution of our study is that of a generic framework, which can be used as a guideline for planning, implementation, and evaluation of ICT projects in a rural developing country context achieving sustainable ICT. As argued in this thesis technology is not the key resource; it is the combination and system of different resources distributed along a time and space dimension that is the key. With our framework we have demonstrated that the ICT artefact is not the sustainability tool, it is the combination of different resources that makes it sustainable and competitive.

Cloud computing provides an answer to the increasing costs of managing information technology (IT), and has become a model that aligns IT services with an organization's business strategies. However, concerns and uncertainties associated with cloud computing are deterring IT decision makers from making sound decisions regarding the adoption of the technology. The purpose of this online survey study was to examine the relationship between relative advantage, compatibility, organizational size, top management support, organizational readiness, mimetic pressure, normative pressures, coercive pressure, and the IT decision makers' intent to adopt cloud computing. The theoretical framework incorporated the diffusion of innovations theory, a technology-organization-environment framework, and institutional theory. The survey participants were 136 IT decision makers from different U.S. industries. The Pearson's coefficient analysis indicated a significant correlation between the dependent variable (intent to adopt) and all independent variables except organizational size. The regression model was a statistically significant predictor of the dependent variable and accounted for approximately 74% of the variance in the dependent variable, primarily predicted by top management support, normative pressure, relative advantage, and organization readiness. The implications for positive social change include the potential of implementing innovations that would augment technology efficiency, decrease workplace personnel issues, and create a more desirable and flexible workplace. Flexibility at work enables employees to be able to participate in other nonwork roles such as family, child, and elder care, or education.

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Most researchers indicate that electronic-commerce (e-commerce) offers viable solutions for businesses trying to meet the challenges of a changing environment. However, the few available studies concerned with Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries show evidence of delays, and failure to adopt e-commerce solutions in those countries. In the past, little research has been done to identify the reasons for this. This study seeks to explore the factors that influence a decision to adopt Business-to-Consumer (B2C) e-commerce by SMEs in developing countries, using Zimbabwe as a case study.

Der Mensch erfasst die Umwelt mithilfe seiner Sinnessysteme. Licht macht die physikalische Welt sichtbar und liefert dem visuellen System dadurch wichtige Informationen über unsere Umgebung. Im Straßenverkehr wird die visuelle Wahrnehmung durch die Fahrzeugbeleuchtung unterstützt. Dabei erfüllen Heckleuchten zwei zentrale Funktionen: Zum einen wird die Sichtbarkeit des Fahrzeugs bei Dunkelheit und schlechter Sicht für andere Verkehrsteilnehmer erhöht. Das Schlusslicht übermittelt Informationen über die Anwesenheit eines Fahrzeugs, über den Fahrzeugtyp und über die Fahrzeugbreite. Diese Informationen sind notwendig, um während der Fahrt einen angemessenen Abstand zu einem vorausfahrenden Fahrzeug einschätzen und einhalten zu können. Die zweite zentrale Funktion von Heckleuchten ist die Kommunikation und Interaktion mit dem rückwärtigen Verkehr. Mithilfe von Lichtsignalen der Bremsleuchte und des Fahrtrichtungsanzeigers wird die Aufmerksamkeit auf das vorausfahrende Fahrzeug gelenkt und es werden gezielt Informationen an andere Verkehrsteilnehmer übertragen. So werden Verzögerungen in Längsrichtung, Fahrtrichtungsänderungen und der Hinweis auf eine mögliche Gefahrenquelle durch die Heckleuchte kommuniziert. Für alle Lichtfunktionen gilt, dass die ausgesendeten Signale in jeder Situation gut wahrnehmbar und intuitiv verständlich sein müssen. In dieser Arbeit wurde der mögliche Einfluss verschiedener Heckleuchtenattribute auf den Straßenverkehr untersucht. Eine Unfallanalyse ergab, dass der Großteil der Auffahrunfälle durch ein angemessenes Geschwindigkeits- und Abstandsverhalten sowie eine adäquate Aufmerksamkeitsverteilung vermieden werden könnte. Adaptive Schlusslichtfunktionen weisen das Potenzial auf, bei schlechter Sicht die Erkennbarkeit des Fahrzeugs zu erhöhen, ohne dabei den Hinterherfahrenden zu blenden. In der Literatur finden sich Hinweise darauf, dass die Anbauhöhe und Position von Heckleuchten sowie die Helligkeit des Schlusslichts die Entfernungsschätzung zwischen zwei Fahrzeugen beeinflussen können. Im Rahmen von verkehrspsychologischen Untersuchungen wurde der Einfluss einer adaptiven Helligkeitssteuerung im Schlusslicht auf die Wahrnehmung untersucht. Es zeigte sich, dass eine kontinuierliche Helligkeitsanpassung des Schlusslichts an den Abstand zum Hinterherfahrenden die Entfernungsschätzung nicht beeinflusste. Um die Bedeutung der Gestaltungsform einer Heckleuchte für die Güte der Entfernungsschätzung beurteilen zu können, wurden zwei psychophysikalische Experimente durchgeführt. Diese Experimente zeigten, dass der Abstand zwischen zwei Elementen durch das Hinzufügen einer Verbindungslinie minimal verändert wahrgenommen wurde. Auf Heckleuchten übertragen könnte man daher von einer leichten Überschätzung der Breite des Fahrzeughecks bei verbundenen Schlussleuchten ausgehen. Dies könnte das Abstandsverhalten eines Hinterherfahrenden tendenziell positiv beeinflussen, indem der Fahrer durch diese Wahrnehmungstäuschung den Abstand zum Fahrzeug minimal unterschätzen würde. Da Licht und Bewegung durch ihre Salienz ein großes Potenzial zur Aufmerksamkeitslenkung aufweisen, beschäftigte sich eine weitere Versuchsreihe mit der Wirkung dynamischer Lichtfunktionen. Die Reaktionszeiten auf die Deaktivierung eines Bremslichts konnten durch eine Dynamik im Bremslicht nicht weiter verbessert werden. Die Untersuchung von Dynamiken im Schlusslicht zeigte jedoch, dass in Abhängigkeit bestimmter Umgebungsbedingungen, der Bewegungsart und -geschwindigkeit unterschiedliche Reaktionen hervorgerufen werden können. Durch die Entwicklung salienter und intuitiv verständlicher Lichtfunktionen könnten somit die Kommunikationsmöglichkeiten im Straßenverkehr erweitert und differenziert werden. Die gezielte Steuerung der Aufmerksamkeit durch Heckleuchtenfunktionen in kritischen Situationen kann zur Erhöhung der Verkehrssicherheit führen. Ziel der automobilen Lichtentwicklung ist eine innovative, allgemein akzeptierte und sicherheitsfördernde Heckleuchtengestaltung. Die Arbeit zeigte im Rahmen einer Unfallanalyse und verschiedenen wahrnehmungspsychologischen Experimenten die sicherheitsrelevanten Anforderungen an Heckleuchten auf. Dabei weisen verschiedene Heckleuchtenattribute und -funktionen das Potenzial auf, positiven Einfluss auf die Verkehrssicherheit nehmen zu können
Humans perceive the world through their senses. Light makes the world visible and provides the visual system with important information about our environment. On the road, visual perception is supported by automotive lighting. Tail lights have two main functions: firstly, they improve the visibility of the vehicle for other road users at night time and in bad weather conditions. The tail light gives information about the presence of a car and the type and width of the vehicle. This information is necessary to assess and keep the appropriate distance to a vehicle in front. The second important function of tail lights is the communication and interaction with the following traffic. The lighting signals of the brake light and the turn signal draw attention to the car in front and specific information can be transmitted to other road users. In this manner, the tail light communicates decelerations in the longitudinal direction, changes in the driving direction and the indication of a possible source of danger. It is essential for every lighting signal that it is detectable in all situations and that it is highly intuitive at any time. This doctoral thesis studied the potential influence of distinct attributes of tail lights on the road traffic. Accident analysis showed that the majority of rear end crashes could be prevented by an appropriate speed and distance behavior as well as an adequate allocation of attention. Adaptive rear lighting shows potential to improve the perceptibility of the vehicle in poor visibility conditions without excessive glare for the following driver. Evidence from literature shows that the distance estimation between two vehicles could be influenced by the mounting height and the position of tail lights as well as by the brightness of the rear position lamp. Psychological experiments showed the influence of adaptive brightness control in the rear position lamp on the human perception. There was no effect on the distance perception by continuous adjustment of the brightness of the rear position lamp to the distance of the following vehicle. To evaluate the importance of the design of a tail light, two psychophysical experiments were conducted. These experiments showed a minimal influence on the perceived distance between two elements by adding a connection line. Transferred to tail lights, this effect implies a small overestimation of the width of the vehicle rear with connected rear position lamps. This could have a small positive effect on the distance behavior of the following driver due to the sensory illusion of slightly underestimating the distance. Because of the high potential for attention control by light and movement, another series of experiments was conducted, to assess the effect of dynamic light functions. Reaction times were not further improved through the use of dynamic functions in the brake light deactivation. However, the use of dynamics in the rear position lamp produced different responses as a function of distinct environment variables, the type of movement and the speed of animation. The development of salient and intuitive understandable light functions points out various communication possibilities for use within road traffic. Capturing the attention of other road users in critical situations through tail light functions could lead to an improvement in road safety. The aim of automotive lighting development is an innovative, universally accepted and safety enhancing tail light design. The dissertation demonstrated the safety requirements for tail lights through accident analysis and different perception experiments. Different attributes and functions of the tail light show the potential to have a positive influence on road safety

Information systems are of high importance in organisations because of the revolutionary industrial transformation undergone by digital and electronic platforms. A wide range of factors and issues forming the current business environments have created an unprecedented level of uncertainty and exposure to risks in all areas of strategic and operational activities in organisations including IT management and information security. Subsequently, securing these systems, which keep assets safe, serves organisational objectives. The Information Security System (ISS) is a process that organisations can adopt to achieve information security goals. It has gained the attention of academics, businesses, governments, security and IT professionals in recent years. Like any other system, the ISS is highly dependent on human factors as people are the primary concern of such systems and their roles should be taken into consideration. However, identifying reasoning and analysing human factors is a complex task. This is due to the fact that human factors are hugely subjective in nature and depend greatly on the specific organisational context. Every ISS development has unique demands both in terms of human factor specifications and organisational expectations. Developing an ISS often involves a notable proportion of risk due to the nature of technology and business demands; therefore, responding to these demands and technological challenges is critical. Furthermore, every business decision has inherent risk, and it is crucial to understand and make decisions based on the cost and potential value of that risk. Most research is solely concentrated upon the role of human factors in information security without addressing interrelated issues such as risk, cost and return of investment in security. The central focus and novelty of this research is to develop a risk-driven investment model within the security system framework. This model will support the analysis and reasoning of human factors in the information system development process. It contemplates risk, cost and the return of investment on security controls. The model will consider concepts from Requirements Engineering (RE), Security Tropos and organisational context. This model draws from the following theories and techniques: Socio-technical theory, Requirements Engineering (RE), SWOT analysis, Delphi Expert Panel technique and Force Field Analysis (FFA). The findings underline that the roles of human factors in ISSs are not being fully recognised or embedded in organisations and there is a lack of formalisation of main human factors in information security risk management processes. The study results should confirm that a diverse level of understanding of human factors impacts security systems. Security policies and guidelines do not reflect this reality. Moreover, information security has been perceived as being solely the domain of IT departments and not a collective responsibility, with the importance of the support of senior management ignored. A further key finding is the validation of all components of the Security Risk-Driven Model (RIDIM). Model components were found to be iterative and interdependent. The RIDIM model provides a significant opportunity to identify, assess and address these elements. Some elements of ISSs offered in this research can be used to evaluate the role of human factors in enterprise information security; therefore, the research presents some aspects of computer science and information system features to introduce a solution for a business-oriented problem. The question of how to address the psychological dimensions of human factors related to information security would, however, be a rich topic of research on its own. The risk-driven investment model provides tangible methods and values of relevant variables that define the human factors, risk and return on investment that contribute to organisations’ information security systems. Such values and measures need to be interpreted in the context of organisational culture and the risk management model. Further research into the implementation of these measurements and evaluations for improving organisational risk management is required.

Background: Skin cancer is one of the most preventable forms of cancer yet for certain types of skin cancers, it can be fatal if it goes untreated. While ultraviolet radiation is the main cause of skin cancer, there are several other risk factors, including sunburn history, smoking, environmental pollutants, family history, personal history, and skin color. Practicing sun protection behaviors and receiving regular skin cancer screenings can prevent the cancer from ever developing. This study examines the demographic and socioeconomic status risk factors for skin cancer. Methods: The Health Information National Trends Survey data was used from 2005. Using this secondary dataset, chi-square analysis was performed to determine the prevalence of skin cancer within the demographic categories of age and race/ethnicity as well as socioeconomic status indicators educational attainment, annual household income, employment status, and marital status. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to determine the correlations of the variables with skin cancer. A p-value of 0.05 and a 95% confidence interval were maintained throughout the analyses to determine any statistical significance. Results: Of the 3,804 respondents who answered the question related to cancer diagnosis, 226 indicated they had a positive skin cancer diagnosis, which was 5.94% of the total sample. Skin cancer and increased age were consistently associated (χ2 (2) = 171.5, p<.001). The skin cancer peak prevalence was for all those respondents aged 65 and older. Higher educational attainment and higher annual household income were associated with greater likelihood of skin cancer. Conclusions: This study revealed that skin cancer is significantly associated with increased age, higher educational attainment, and higher annual household income. Implementing consistent screening practices and targeted behavioral interventions are important areas for health focus in the future.

Suicide has drawn much attention from both the scientific community and the public. Examining the impact of socio-environmental factors on suicide is essential in developing suicide prevention strategies and interventions, because it will provide health authorities with important information for their decision-making. However, previous studies did not examine the impact of socio-environmental factors on suicide using a spatial analysis approach. The purpose of this study was to identify the patterns of suicide and to examine how socio-environmental factors impact on suicide over time and space at the Local Governmental Area (LGA) level in Queensland. The suicide data between 1999 and 2003 were collected from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Socio-environmental variables at the LGA level included climate (rainfall, maximum and minimum temperature), Socioeconomic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) and demographic variables (proportion of Indigenous population, unemployment rate, proportion of population with low income and low education level). Climate data were obtained from Australian Bureau of Meteorology. SEIFA and demographic variables were acquired from ABS. A series of statistical and geographical information system (GIS) approaches were applied in the analysis. This study included two stages. The first stage used average annual data to view the spatial pattern of suicide and to examine the association between socio-environmental factors and suicide over space. The second stage examined the spatiotemporal pattern of suicide and assessed the socio-environmental determinants of suicide, using more detailed seasonal data. In this research, 2,445 suicide cases were included, with 1,957 males (80.0%) and 488 females (20.0%). In the first stage, we examined the spatial pattern and the determinants of suicide using 5-year aggregated data. Spearman correlations were used to assess associations between variables. Then a Poisson regression model was applied in the multivariable analysis, as the occurrence of suicide is a small probability event and this model fitted the data quite well. Suicide mortality varied across LGAs and was associated with a range of socio-environmental factors. The multivariable analysis showed that maximum temperature was significantly and positively associated with male suicide (relative risk [RR] = 1.03, 95% CI: 1.00 to 1.07). Higher proportion of Indigenous population was accompanied with more suicide in male population (male: RR = 1.02, 95% CI: 1.01 to 1.03). There was a positive association between unemployment rate and suicide in both genders (male: RR = 1.04, 95% CI: 1.02 to 1.06; female: RR = 1.07, 95% CI: 1.00 to 1.16). No significant association was observed for rainfall, minimum temperature, SEIFA, proportion of population with low individual income and low educational attainment. In the second stage of this study, we undertook a preliminary spatiotemporal analysis of suicide using seasonal data. Firstly, we assessed the interrelations between variables. Secondly, a generalised estimating equations (GEE) model was used to examine the socio-environmental impact on suicide over time and space, as this model is well suited to analyze repeated longitudinal data (e.g., seasonal suicide mortality in a certain LGA) and it fitted the data better than other models (e.g., Poisson model). The suicide pattern varied with season and LGA. The north of Queensland had the highest suicide mortality rate in all the seasons, while there was no suicide case occurred in the southwest. Northwest had consistently higher suicide mortality in spring, autumn and winter. In other areas, suicide mortality varied between seasons. This analysis showed that maximum temperature was positively associated with suicide among male population (RR = 1.24, 95% CI: 1.04 to 1.47) and total population (RR = 1.15, 95% CI: 1.00 to 1.32). Higher proportion of Indigenous population was accompanied with more suicide among total population (RR = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.13 to 1.19) and by gender (male: RR = 1.07, 95% CI: 1.01 to 1.13; female: RR = 1.23, 95% CI: 1.03 to 1.48). Unemployment rate was positively associated with total (RR = 1.40, 95% CI: 1.24 to 1.59) and female (RR=1.09, 95% CI: 1.01 to 1.18) suicide. There was also a positive association between proportion of population with low individual income and suicide in total (RR = 1.28, 95% CI: 1.10 to 1.48) and male (RR = 1.45, 95% CI: 1.23 to 1.72) population. Rainfall was only positively associated with suicide in total population (RR = 1.11, 95% CI: 1.04 to 1.19). There was no significant association for rainfall, minimum temperature, SEIFA, proportion of population with low educational attainment. The second stage is the extension of the first stage. Different spatial scales of dataset were used between the two stages (i.e., mean yearly data in the first stage, and seasonal data in the second stage), but the results are generally consistent with each other. Compared with other studies, this research explored the variety of the impact of a wide range of socio-environmental factors on suicide in different geographical units. Maximum temperature, proportion of Indigenous population, unemployment rate and proportion of population with low individual income were among the major determinants of suicide in Queensland. However, the influence from other factors (e.g. socio-culture background, alcohol and drug use) influencing suicide cannot be ignored. An in-depth understanding of these factors is vital in planning and implementing suicide prevention strategies. Five recommendations for future research are derived from this study: (1) It is vital to acquire detailed personal information on each suicide case and relevant information among the population in assessing the key socio-environmental determinants of suicide; (2) Bayesian model could be applied to compare mortality rates and their socio-environmental determinants across LGAs in future research; (3) In the LGAs with warm weather, high proportion of Indigenous population and/or unemployment rate, concerted efforts need to be made to control and prevent suicide and other mental health problems; (4) The current surveillance, forecasting and early warning system needs to be strengthened, to trace the climate and socioeconomic change over time and space and its impact on population health; (5) It is necessary to evaluate and improve the facilities of mental health care, psychological consultation, suicide prevention and control programs; especially in the areas with low socio-economic status, high unemployment rate, extreme weather events and natural disasters.

In this thesis, the author hypothesizes that the use of computationally intensive mathematical operations in password authentication protocols can lead to security vulnerabilities in those protocols. In order to test this hypothesis: 1. A generalized algorithm for cryptanalysis was formulated to perform a clogging attack (a formof denial of service) on protocols that use computationally intensive modular exponentiation to guarantee security. 2. This technique was then applied to cryptanalyze four recent password authentication protocols, to determine their susceptibility to the clogging attack. The protocols analyzed in this thesis differ in their usage of factors (smart cards, memory drives, etc.) or their method of communication (encryption, nonces, timestamps, etc.). Their similarity lies in their use of computationally intensivemodular exponentiation as amediumof authentication. It is concluded that the strengths of all the protocols studied in this thesis can be combined tomake each of the protocols secure from the clogging attack. The conclusion is supported by designing countermeasures for each protocol against the clogging attack.

Doctor of Philosophy
Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology
K.R. Harkin
T.G. Nagaraja
Associations of land cover/land use, socio-economic and housing, and hydrological and soil-hydrological variables were evaluated retrospectively as potential risk factors for canine leptospirosis in Kansas and Nebraska using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The sample included 94 dogs positive for leptospirosis based on a positive polymerase chain reaction test for leptospires in urine, isolation of leptospires on urine culture, a single reciprocal serum titer of 12,800 or greater, or a four-fold rise in reciprocal serum titers over a 2 to 4 week period; and 185 dogs negative for leptospirosis based on a negative polymerase chain reaction test and reciprocal serum titers less than 400. Publicly available geographic datasets representing land cover/land use, socio-economic and housing characteristics, and hydrologic and soil hydrologic themes were analyzed along with geocoded addresses of case/control locations in GIS. Among different land cover/land use variables evaluated, urban areas (high and medium intensity urban areas and urban areas in general) and evergreen forests and forest/woodlands in general were significant risk factors. Among socio-economic and demographic determinants evaluated, houses lacking complete plumbing facilities, poverty status by age (18-64), and living within 2500 meters of a university/college or parks/forests were significant risk factors. Proximity to water features, hydrologic density and frequently flooded areas were identified as significant risk factors for canine leptospirosis among hydrologic and soil-hydrologic variables. Pet owners whose dogs live in such areas or under these circumstances should consider vaccination to prevent canine leptospirosis.

For many years researchers have been troubled with the evaluation of Information Systems (IS) concluding to a lack of understanding as to the time, methods and tools for measuring the impact of IS on organisational performance. Motivated by this lacuna in the literature, this thesis explored the relationship between Information Systems’ Effectiveness and Organisational Performance. The theoretical framework is based on the Delone and McLean’s (D&M) IS success model which is widely adopted in the IS research. Based on a comprehensive literature review on the older and more recent studies the research framework incorporated several new items used by researchers for the measurement of the D&M dimensions. Following a web survey on 168 Greek firms this study sheds some light into the IS field by focusing on how IS effectiveness measures affect Organisational Performance. Data for this study was collected by means of a web-link questionnaire and a sample of 700 companies of different sizes operating in various industries. Many descriptive statistics of academic and managerial importance were produced. Following a correlation analysis and Exploratory Factor Analysis, 15 factors were used for Multiple Regression analysis conducted to test a number of hypotheses around the relationship between the dependent construct (organisational performance) and the independent construct (IS effectiveness). This thesis contributes to existing research in the following ways. First, this study extends our knowledge on IS effectiveness as we adapted and modified DeLone and McLean's model of IS success to incorporate new variables from recent research. The results indicate a significant statistical link between IS effectiveness and performance measures. Second, it provides a holistic framework for measuring Organisational Performance with financial and non-financial variables. Finally, the study presents findings from Greek companies that have adopted IS providing practioners with advice for the practices that can lead to possible and realistic benefits.

The overall security posture of information systems (IS) depends on the behaviors of the IS users. Several studies have shown that users are the greatest vulnerability to IS security. The proliferation of smartphones is introducing an entirely new set of risks, threats, and vulnerabilities. Smartphone devices amplify this data exposure problem by enabling instantaneous transmission and storage of personally identifiable information (PII) by smartphone users, which is becoming a major security risk. Moreover, companies are also capitalizing on the availability and powerful computing capabilities of these smartphone devices and developing a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) program, which makes companies susceptible to divulgence of organizational proprietary information and sensitive customer information. In addition to users being the greatest risk to IS security, several studies have shown that many people do not implement even the most basic security countermeasures on their smartphones. The lack of security countermeasures implementation, risky user behavior, and the amount of sensitive information stored and transmitted on smartphones is becoming an ever-increasing problem. A literature review revealed a significant gap in literature pertaining to smartphone security. This study identified six socio-cognitive factors from the domain of traditional computer security which have shown to have an impact on user security behaviors and practices. The six factors this study identified and analyzed are mobile information security self-efficacy, institutional trust, party trust, and awareness of smartphone risks, threats, and vulnerabilities and their influence on smartphone security practices and behaviors. The analysis done in this research was confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) – structural equation modeling (SEM). The goal of this study was to cross-validate previously validated factors within the context of traditional computer security and assess their applicability in the context of smartphone security. Additionally, this study assessed the influential significance of these factors on the security behaviors and practices of smartphone users. This study used a Web-based survey and was distributed to approximately 539 users through Facebook® and LinkedIn® social media outlets which resulted in 275 responses for a 51% response rate. After pre-analysis data screening was completed, there were a total of 19 responses that had to be eliminated due to unengaged responses and outliers leaving 256 responses left to analyze. The results of the analysis found that vulnerability awareness, threat awareness, and risk awareness are interrelated to one another which all in turn had significance in predicting self-efficacy, security practices, and behaviors. This intricate relationship revealed in this study indicates that a user has to have an increased awareness in all three categories of awareness before they can fully understand how to protect themselves. Having an increased awareness in one category does not impact the overall security posture of the user and that risk, threat, and vulnerability awareness all work together. Another interesting find was that as risk awareness increased the less the smartphone users protected themselves. This finding warrants additional research to investigate why the user is more averse to risk, and willing to accept the risk, despite their increased awareness. Finally, institutional trust and party trust was found not to have any significance on any of the factors. These findings should give smartphone users and organizations insight into specific areas to focus on in minimizing inappropriate security behaviors and practices of smartphone users. More specifically, users and organizations need to focus on educating users on all three factors of threats, risks, and vulnerabilities in order for there to have any impact on increasing self-efficacy and reducing inappropriate security behaviors and practices.

Business Intelligence and Analytics have changed the business needs, but the market requires a more data-driven decision-making environment. Self-Service Business Intelligence initiatives are currently providing more competitive advantages. The role of the users and freedom of access is one of the essential advantages that SSBI holds. Despite this fact, there is still needed analysis on how business can gain more value from SSBI, based on the technological, operational and organizational aspects. The work in this thesis serves to analysis on the SSBI requirements that bring value to business. The paper is organized starting from building knowledge on the existing literature and exploring the domain. Data will be collected by interviewing experts within the BI, SSBI and IT fields. The main findings of the study show that on the technological aspect, data is more governed and its quality is improved by implementing SSBI. Visualization is one of the features of SSBI that boosts quality and governance. On the digital capability aspect, the end-users need training and there is found a rate of impact of SSBI on the main departments in an organization. It is discussed how SSBI implementation affects the companies that do not have BI solution. The final conclusions show that in order for SSBI to be successful, a solid BI environment is necessary. This research will provide future suggestions related to the topic and the results will serve both, the companies that have implemented SSBI and the ones that want to see it as a perspective in the future.

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Com o escopo de fornecer subsídios para compreender como o processo de colaboração científica ocorre e se desenvolve em uma instituição de pesquisas, particularmente o IPEN, o trabalho utilizou duas abordagens metodológicas. A primeira utilizou a técnica de análise de redes sociais (ARS) para mapear as redes de colaboração científica em P&D do IPEN. Os dados utilizados na ARS foram extraídos da base de dados digitais de publicações técnico-científicas do IPEN, com o auxílio de um programa computacional, e basearam-se em coautoria compreendendo o período de 2001 a 2010. Esses dados foram agrupados em intervalos consecutivos de dois anos gerando cinco redes bienais. Essa primeira abordagem revelou várias características estruturais relacionadas às redes de colaboração, destacando-se os autores mais proeminentes, distribuição dos componentes, densidade, boundary spanners e aspectos relacionados à distância e agrupamento para definir um estado de redes mundo pequeno (small world). A segunda utilizou o método dos mínimos quadrados parciais, uma variante da técnica de modelagem por equações estruturais, para avaliar e testar um modelo conceitual, apoiado em fatores pessoais, sociais, culturais e circunstanciais, para identificar aqueles que melhor explicam a propensão de um autor do IPEN em estabelecer vínculos de colaboração em ambientes de P&D. A partir do modelo consolidado, avaliou-se o quanto ele explica a posição estrutural que um autor ocupa na rede com base em indicadores de ARS. Nesta segunda parte, os dados foram coletados por meio de uma pesquisa de levantamento com a utilização de um questionário. Os resultados mostraram que o modelo explica aproximadamente 41% da propensão de um autor do IPEN em colaborar com outros autores e em relação à posição estrutural de um autor na rede o poder de explicação variou entre 3% e 3,6%. Outros resultados mostraram que a colaboração entre autores do IPEN tem uma correlação positiva com intensidade moderada com a produtividade, da mesma forma que, os autores mais centrais na rede tendem a ampliar a sua visibilidade. Por fim, vários outros indicadores estatísticos bibliométricos referentes à rede de colaboração em P&D do IPEN foram determinados e revelados, como, a média de autores por publicação, média de publicações por autores do IPEN, total de publicações, total de autores e não autores do IPEN, entre outros. Com isso, esse trabalho fornece uma contribuição teórica e empírica aos estudos relacionados à colaboração científica e ao processo de transferência e preservação de conhecimento, assim como, vários subsídios que contribuem para o contexto de tomada de decisão em ambientes de P&D.
Tese (Doutorado em Tecnologia Nuclear)
IPEN/T
Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP

The purpose of the study was to provide information on factors influencing the choice of an academic major and demographic characteristics of students enrolled in baccalaureate degree programs administered by home economics units in the California State University system. Specific objectives of the study were: (1) to analyze the relative importance of reasons which influence students' choice of an area of study or major and the sources of information used in the decision process and (2) to compare the students' responses on the basis of area of study, gender, age, ethnicity, enrollment status, and marital status. The majority of the students were single, White, females between the ages of 18 and 24. Approximately 80 percent of the respondents represented three of seven areas of study: food and nutrition, interior design, and textiles/clothing/merchandising. Two-thirds of the students had changed their majors one or more times. The most frequently cited last major was business. Respondents rated the reasons for choosing an area of study "moderate" to "extremely high" in importance; ratings assigned to the information sources were "extremely low importance" to "moderate importance." Statistically significant differences in the mean importance scores were found for students grouped by ethnicity and area of study. However, there was no relationship between the means and the background variables age, marital status, and enrollment status. Students are influenced by a variety of factors when choosing an academic program. More emphasis is placed on personal reasons including interest in the program and personal skills and career-related factors, including preparation for a career and job opportunities, than factors identified as service and experiential. The college catalog is the most important source of information. In general, people are of greater importance as information sources than media items. Recommendations for recruitment strategies include: develop on- and off-campus programs designed to stimulate interest in the home economics areas of study, implement a career development plan, coordinate the academic unit's recruitment plan with the university plan, and intensify public relations activities directed towards the university, public, and professional communities. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.)

A mixed methodological approach with two different analytic procedures and multiple data sources was used to examine narcotics hot spots. The first phase compares two methods of hot spots identification; the prediction model and the actual crimes. The second phase involves an intensive study to better understand the phenomenon of drug hot spots areas consistently shown to be repeat hot spots.

This study has two parts: Part I discusses the limitations of difference scores and exploratory factor analysis for representing speed of information-processing stages in the context of a reanalysis of a study by Vernon (1983). Vernon interpreted the differences between objectively measured reaction times on various simple cognitive tasks as components of speed of information processing. Correlations were calculated among these differences and subjected to exploratory factor analysis. The factors obtained from this analysis were interpreted by Vernon in terms of short-term and long-term memory processing constructs. The use of difference scores, however, implies an additive model allowance for random error, which correlations between these differences. that does not make leads to spurious The application of exploratory factor analysis to among these differences compounds uncover latent variables the problem because it admits many alternative interpretations which cannot be tested against one another for goodness-of-fit to the data. Confirmatory factor analysis addresses these problems. This thesis demonstrates that the correlations between the difference scores can be accounted for in terms of factors obtained from factor analysis of the original reaction time data. These factors lead to an alternative interpretation of the results which is contrasted with Vernon's interpretation. Part II of this study illustrates the use of confirmatory factor analysis with this kind of data. An attempt to test the assumptions of Vernon's difference score model with confirmatory factor analysis did not succeed because the implied model was too constrained for the statistical program we were using; consequently, the program could not find a starting solution. In order to demonstrate how confirmatory factor analysis can be used to test models of speed of cognitive processing, Part II partially replicates a study by Lansman, Donaldson, Hunt, & Yantis (1982). This research analyzed a simple cognitive reaction time task that was examined in detail by Vernon. Donaldson (1983) used the Lansman et al. data to compare difference scores and part correlational techniques with a general approach based on analysis of covariance structures to demonstrate how the components of cognitive processes can be explicated using confirmatory factor analysis.

In recent years frameworks for JavaScript has become a large part of web development. There has been a lot of discussion between developers which framework to use when developing a project since there is a large pool of frameworks to choose from. This paper aims to find out what factors affects the choice of framework according to web developers in the business. The earlier studies found on the topic of JavaScript frameworks focuses on the technical aspects while this study will focus on researching the pragmatic internal and external factors that affects the choice of framework. This will contribute with a different view to the field in contrast to the existing technical studies. To find answers to the research question qualitative interviews with web developers at different companies were conducted. 5 companies agreed to participate, and a total of 8 web developers were interviewed. The interviews were recorded and later transcribed. The results were analyzed through a thematic analysis. By analyzing the results several different factors were found, and by finding connections in between them they were then categorized into different themes. The themes found was demand, usability, community and reputation. Through the discussion of the findings it was found that the factors influencing the choice of framework can vary depending on if it is a personal project or a larger project at a company. For personal projects user gratification was major factor, while in companies the ability to collaborate was one of the main factors. To answer the purpose of the study the choice of framework depends on who is using it, what kind of requirements a project has, the resources of a company, and the locations demands. Therefore, different frameworks can be suitable for different situations.

In spite of the wealth of research in IS security, there is very little understanding of what actually makes an IS security program successful within an organization. Success has been treated generally as a separate entity from IS security altogether; a great deal of research has been conducted on the "means to the end", while limited research has been focused on truly understanding what the end actually is. The problem compelling this research is that previous studies within the IS security domain do not adequately consider what factors contribute towards IS security success within the organizational context, and how the factors interact. This study built upon Shannon and Weaver (1949) and Mason (1978) to develop a model for predicting IS security success within an organization. A considerable body of information systems security literature was organized based on their findings. Core dimensions of information system security success were identified and operationalized within a model for predicting success with IS security initiatives. The model was empirically validated in a three-phase approach using survey methodology. First, the survey was tested for validity and reliability using an expert panel and pilot study. Next, the survey was administered to a sample, with the results analyzed using Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling techniques. Initial analysis of the measurement model generated through Confirmatory Factor Analysis showed mixed fit. Factor loadings and average variance extracted calculations resulted in the selection of low performing items for removal; after revision, the revised measurement model showed improved fit for all measures. Structural Equation Modeling analysis was conducted on three structural models with varying levels of mediation. Based on the analysis of fit and comparison indices, the model depicting partial mediation was determined to be the best variation of the IS security success model. This study is the first known instance of an empirically tested IS security success model and should provide many avenues for future study, as well as providing practitioners a fundamental roadmap for success within their organizational IS security programs.

Individuals are required to manage multiple tasks which require strategic allocation of time and effort to ensure goals are reached efficiently. By providing the worker with autonomy over their work, performance and worker well-being have improved. This increased control allows individuals to organize work according to the needs of the body, which prevents fatigue leading to improved productivity. When given the option, humans tend to switch between tasks frequently. This behaviour can be used to determine the change in self-regulation strategies. An understanding of human task-switching behaviour is important for the design of job rotation systems. However, there is a lack of evidence explaining the factors motivating the need to switch between tasks. This study aims to use physiological, subjective and behavioural measures to explain the factors influencing selfregulation through the act of task-switching. Three primary hypotheses were developed to explain the factors underlying taskswitching behaviour. It was hypothesized that the degree of boredom experienced, the effort required to perform the task and the resource usage induced by the task are factors responsible in deciding task switching behaviour. Participants (17 males and 17 females) switched freely between five different information-processing tasks for the 45 minutes. Participants were allowed to switch back and forth between tasks and did not have to conduct all five tasks. The following measures were recorded during the experiment: subjective measures of boredom, mental effort, task frustration and perceived performance of the tasks; energy consumption and physiological measures of effort (HR, HRV and body temperature) and behavioural measures, including duration and frequency of task. Perceived boredom was found to differ among the tasks and before and after the experiment. The average boredom rating at each task transition for all tasks exceeded a score of 2.5 out of a possible 4. There were no significant changes in physiological measures between the beginning and end of the task trials. However, changes in physiological measures showed a decrease in effort investment following task transition. Heart rate variability was lower for externally-paced tasks than for self-paced tasks, despite the differences in cognitive demands. The most frequent task-switch combination occurred between tasks of high and low cognitive demand. The least frequent task-switching combination occurred between tasks of similar characteristics, which produced no differences in physiological responses. Task-switching behaviour was influenced by the degree of boredom, and therefore more time was spent on less monotonous tasks. The level of physiological effort required for the task affected task-switching behaviour. Task switches were made before any changes in effort took place in an attempt to maintain task efficiency. It appears plausible that a task switch was made to reduce effort investment and activation levels. The type of information processing resources used by different tasks affected the task-switching combinations. Individuals tended to switch between tasks of differing resources so that those in limited supply were able to replenish. Therefore the findings from this study can potentially be used to improve the design of job rotation systems. Such improvements may enhance productivity and worker well-being by inhibiting the onset of down regulation and fatigue processes. This study showed that autonomy is necessary for individuals to regulate behaviour to suit human needs.
Microsoft� Office Word 2007
Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in

The purpose of the thesis was to investigate the influence communication architecture decisions have on the performance of a simulation system with distributed components. In particular, the objective was to assess the relative importance of factors affecting reliability and variability of an external data interface to the performance of the simulation, as compared to factor within the simulation itself.

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior
Introduction â The study of the risk factors of death among young children under one year of age makes it possible the elucidation of the net of determinant events, identification of exposed groups as well as the necessities of the health of population subgroups permitting the programming of interventions aimed at the reduction of infant deaths. The interest in relating records in different data bases has been increasing progressively according to the increasing possibility of large computerized data bases in the health area. The present study shows the results of the linkage of information of the Information System on Live Births (SINASC) and Mortality Information System (SIM) in the determination of infant deaths in the town of MaracanaÃ, CearÃ. Objective â To analyze risk factors for the death of young children under one year of age, in the town of MaracanaÃ, in the state of CearÃ, between the years 2000 and 2002, through the linkage of the information from SINASC and SIM. Methodology â Study of the retrospective cohort of live births. The population constituted of 11,127 live births with certificate of born alive (DN) filled out, between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2002, children of mothers residing in Maracanaà and 119 infant deaths connected with this cohort of live births, with death certificates (DO) or instrument of investigation of infant death filled out occurred, between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2003. The risk factors for the infant death were estimated through the logistic regression. Results and Discussion âThe model of the multi-variable analyses for the infant death showed that the underweight born-alive when coming to life presented risks of death 3 times bigger before reaching the first year of age when compared with the ones with weights the same as or bigger than 2,500g (OR = 3.16; IC95% 1.58-6.35), the premature born-alive had the death risk 2.7 higher than those of the term (OR = 2.70; IC95% 1.25-5.86), born-alive from mothers with pre-natal appointment the same as or lower than 6 (OR = 2.05; IC95% 1.15-3.64) and born-alive whose Apgar score in the first (OR = 4.40; IC95% 2.48-7.81) and fifth (OR = 5.5; IC95% 2.75-11.20) minutes of life were lower than seven. The low birth weight, values of Apgar score lower than seven in the first and fifth minute of life, the pre-maturity and the number of pre-natal appointments lower than six presented in the cohort in study strong association with death before reaching the first year of life, reinforcing the studies described in the literature that they are variables strongly predictors of infant mortality. This study made it possible the use of data bases of birth and death, through of use of linkage procedure, suggesting its use by the city level of attention to health as well as the continuous vigilance and offer of adequate and technologically advanced assistance in each one of the levels of complexity of the local health system to the subgroup of newly-born with higher risk of death in the first year of age besides the guarantee of proper and conducted pre-natal assistance of good quality and the organization of the assistance in hierarchy and regional systems.
IntroduÃÃo â O estudo dos fatores de risco dos Ãbitos entre crianÃas menores de um ano possibilita a elucidaÃÃo da rede de eventos determinantes, identificaÃÃo de grupos expostos, bem como das necessidades de saÃde de subgrupos populacionais, permitindo a programaÃÃo de intervenÃÃes voltadas à reduÃÃo dos Ãbitos infantis. O interesse em relacionar registros em diferentes bases de dados vem aumentando progressivamente, de acordo com a crescente disponibilidade de grandes bases de dados informatizados na Ãrea da saÃde. O presente estudo mostra os resultados da linkage das informaÃÃes dos Sistemas de InformaÃÃo sobre Nascidos Vivos (SINASC) e sobre Mortalidade (SIM) na determinaÃÃo das mortes infantis do municÃpio de MaracanaÃ, CearÃ. Objetivo â Analisar fatores de risco para a morte de crianÃas menores de um ano de idade, do municÃpio de MaracanaÃ, Estado do CearÃ, entre os anos de 2000 e 2002, atravÃs do uso vinculado das informaÃÃes do SINASC e SIM. Metodologia â Estudo do tipo coorte retrospectiva de nascimentos. A populaÃÃo constituiu-se de 11.127 nascimentos vivos com declaraÃÃo de nascido vivo (DN) preenchida, ocorridos de 01/Jan/2000 a 31/Dez/2002, filhos de mÃes residentes em Maracanaà e de 119 Ãbitos infantis relacionados a essa coorte de nascidos vivos, com declaraÃÃo de Ãbito (DO) ou instrumento de investigaÃÃo de Ãbito infantil preenchidos, ocorridos de 01/Jan/2000 a 31/Dez/2003. Os fatores de risco para a mortalidade infantil foram estimados atravÃs da regressÃo logÃstica. Resultados e DiscussÃo âO modelo da anÃlise multivariada para a mortalidade infantil mostrou que os nascidos vivos com baixo peso ao nascer apresentaram risco 3 vezes maior de morte antes de completar o primeiro ano de vida quando comparados aos de peso igual ou superior a 2.500g (OR = 3,16; IC95% 1,58-6,35), os nascidos vivos prematuros tiveram risco de morte 2,7 maior do que os de termo (OR = 2,70; IC95% 1,25-5,86), nascidos vivos de mÃes com o nÃmero de consultas prÃ-natal igual ou menores a 6 (OR = 2,05; IC95% 1,15-3,64) e nascidos vivos cujo escore de Apgar no primeiro (OR = 4,40; IC95% 2,48-7,81) e quinto (OR = 5,5; IC95% 2,75-11,20) minutos de vida foram inferiores a sete. O baixo peso ao nascer, valores do escore de Apgar inferiores a sete no primeiro e quinto minutos de vida, a prematuridade e o nÃmero de consultas prÃ-natal inferiores a seis, apresentaram na coorte em estudo forte associaÃÃo com a morte antes de completar o primeiro ano de vida, reforÃando os estudos descritos na literatura de que sÃo variÃveis fortemente preditoras da mortalidade infantil. Esse estudo possibilitou o uso das bases de dados de nascimentos, Ãbitos atravÃs do emprego de procedimento de ligaÃÃo (linkage), sugerindo o seu emprego por parte do nÃvel municipal de atenÃÃo à saÃde, bem como a vigilÃncia contÃnua e oferta de assistÃncia adequada e tecnologicamente avanÃada em cada um dos nÃveis de complexidade do sistema local de saÃde ao subgrupo de recÃm-nascidos com maior risco de morte no primeiro ano de vida, alÃm da garantia de assistÃncia prÃ-natal de qualidade adequadamente conduzido e a organizaÃÃo da assistÃncia em sistemas hierarquizados e regionalizados.

With the economic growth, the number of motor vehicles has increased rapidly for the last decades, especially in developing countries like China and India. Availability of more vehicles makes it more convenient for people to travel and merchandise transport. The increase of the number of vehicles also brings stresses to public traffic and pollution to the environment. When the number of vehicles on the road is over the available space, it results in traffic congestion. The problem is being studied and there are several solutions to it, like building more roads, rebuilding the existing streets and enlarging the cities. Based on the traffic reason and the environment reason, the government and the institute of environmental protection appeal to the public to take public transport means instead of private cars. But the measure affects the utilization ofmotor vehicles. Global Positioning System (GPS) provides autonomous geo-spatial positioningand navigation service. Once the user enters the destination, the navigation service will show the shortest path from the location of the user to the destination. Following the guide makes the vehicles running purposively, and it is also favorable for traffic control and management. Theoretically, if the diver keeps the same driving mode, the shortest path will cost the shortest time, but in reality, the traffic environment is complex and the driving speed is variable thus the shortest path is probably not the fastest path. In this study, the hinder factors of the speed and traffic are fixed constructions on the road, like: turnings, hospitals, schools, residential areas, traffic lights and the user-controlled factor (sites of traffic jams, accidents, and temporary construction on the road). We take the hinderfactors of traffic and driving speed into consideration while providing the route plan, finding the shortest-time path, and showing the result as an online map via the web Geographic Information System (GIS) application. We show that reducing the travelling time of motor vehicles, makes the traffic flow more rapid and efficient. Alsoreducing the emission time of motor vehicles, diminishes the greenhouse effect. Beside these, the achievement of our study also shows that the public can take advantage of open source tools and data to build their GIS application to do spatial and data analysis.

Groundwater in arid and semi-arid areas like the Karoo region of South Africa is an important source of domestic, agricultural and industrial source of fresh water. As a scarce resource, it requires extensive quality control and protection through innovative methods and efficient strategies. The town of Beaufort West and its vicinity use groundwater as a major source of municipal and private water supply. Forty nine groundwater samples were collected from spatially referenced boreholes located in and around the town of Beaufort West and were analyzed for EC, pH, TDS,TH, SAR, TA, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+, HCO3-, Cl-, NO3- and SO42- according to 
SANS 241 standards and tested for ionic balance. The groundwater of the study area was characterized using WHO and South African drinking water quality standards as well as TDS and Salinity hazard classifications. These comparisons and classifications characterized the groundwater of the study area as hard to very hard, with low to medium salinity hazard. These results are in accordance with the dominance of the ions Ca2+, Na+, HCO3 - and Cl- in the groundwater samples. Linear relationships between the hydrochemical variables were analysed through correlation and multiple regression analysis to relate the groundwater quality to the underlying hydrogeochemical processes. These linear relationships explained the contribution of the measured variables towards the salinity, hardness and anthropogenic contamination of the groundwater. The groundwater of the study area was also assessed using conventional trilinear diagrams and scatter plots to interpret the water quality and determine the major ion chemistry. The conventional methods highlighted the sources of the hydrochemical variables through analysis and interpretation of rock-water interaction and evaporations processes. To supplement these conventional methods and reveal hidden hydrogeochemical phenomenon, multivariate statistical analyses were employed. Factor analysis reduced the hydrochemical variables into three factors (Hardness, Alkalinity and Landuse) that characterize the groundwater quality in relation to the source of its hydrochemistry. Furthermore, combination of Cluster (CA) and Discriminant analyses (DA) were used to classify the groundwater in to different hydrochemical facies and determine the dominant hydrochemical variables that characterize these facies. The classification results were also compared with the trilinear diagrammatic interpretations to highlight the advantages of these multivariate statistical methods. The CA and DA classifications resulted in to six different hydrochemical facies that are characterized by NO3 -, Na+ and pH. These three hydrochemical variables explain 93.9% of the differences between the water types and highlight the influence of natural hydrogeochemical and anthropogenic processes on the groundwater quality. All the univariate, bivariate, multivariate statistical and conventional hydrogeochemical analyses results were analyzed spatially using ArcGIS 10.0. The spatial analysis employed the Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW) interpolation method to predict spatial distribution of unmeasured areas and reclassification of the interpolation results for classification purposes. The results of the different analyses methods employed in the thesis illustrate that the groundwater in the study area is generally hard but permissible in the absence of better alternative water source and useful for irrigation.

Information Communication Systems (ICT) has brought about a change in the way people handle transactions. The payment systems have undergone an incredible evolution over the passing years from physical transfer of cash to exchanging money in a digital form. Mobile Payment (mPayment) which is a branch of mobile commerce is one of the areas that is becoming more and more popular these days. In Sweden, there is a growing success of mPayment system such as SEQR, Swish amongst others. However, a huge chunk of the population is yet to adopt the system. Hence, there is a need to identify factors that influence peoples’ decisions to adopt or not to adopt the mPayment system like Swish. This study aimed at identifying the factors that influence the adoption of mPayment system amongst the consumers in Sweden. The research question was: what factors influence the adoption of Swish mobile payment app among the consumers in Sweden? A qualitative research was conducted. A semi structured interview was used as the data collection method. This data collection method was used because this research work seeks to identify the feelings, opinions and experiences of people and this method fits best into the research work. The thematic analysis approach was used for the data analysis. The study showed that impact of the system on day-to-day activities, speculation of risk and trust of the system, integration to lifestyle, speculation of user friendliness and flexibility, age and peer influence are the factors that influence the adoption of swish mobile payment app amongst the consumers in Sweden. Furthermore, the research was viewed through the lens of the UTAUT by comparing the findings of the study and how it relates to the determinants and moderating factors of the model. In conclusion, this study has contributed to the field of ICT specifically the mobile technology field. The conceptual model that was built will be useful for developers and researchers to be able to know the areas to put in more efforts and areas to keep maintaining. Furthermore, this research was conducted within a country that has experience with m-payment apps. Hence, this study can serve as an example for other countries moving towards higher smartphone and application usage.

This master thesis deals with the implementation of enterprise information system of ERP category in the company METAL STEEL INDUSTRY, spol. s.r.o. In the first part of the thesis is described the basic theoretical knowledge and information for a specific issue. The aim of this work is the detection and identification of critical factors and potential risks associated with the selection, implementation and subsequent operation of the enterprise information system. The output of this work is a time and economic evaluation of the project, creating proposals to reduce risks and create recommendations for the company.

This study presents a theoretical GIS model to investigate the relative impacts of geomorphic and environmental factors that govern the occurrence of landslides on the slopes of Mount Cameroon and its surrounding areas. The study area is located along the Cameroon Volcanic Line (CVL), a major structural feature that originates from the south Atlantic and continues into the continental landmass. The quite frequent seismic activity, geologic character, humid tropical climate and high human pressure on hill slopes are the major factors behind the occurrence of landslides in Mount Cameroon. This paper, therefore, underscores the necessity of in-depth follow-up studies concerned with landslides prevention and management based on the relevance of sufficient reliable field methods in landform geomorphology and interpretation. As much is yet to be done to acquire data for structural and surface geology, hydrology, geomorphic processes and physiography of Mount Cameroon, it is difficult at this point in time to considerably apply suitable methods using GIS that would enable identifying and delineating the landslide-prone areas. In addition, the application of environmental surface monitoring instruments will not be meaningful without a clear presentation of which areas are a cause for concern (given that the employment of any slope stability monitoring and rehabilitation efforts will be only possible after appropriate problem-area identification has been done). Consequently, based on the writer’s previous work in the Mount Cameroon area and available related literature, a methodology using GIS is proposed, which provides the capability to demonstrate how the impact of individual or collective geomorphologic site-specific factors on landslides occurrence could be justified. Considering that digital data may not be readily available, a procedure for the creation of data and analysis of themes is proposed and illustrated. The factors analysis approach in landslides analysis may be cheaper and easier to employ in Mount Cameroon and similar problem regions in developing countries (given that there may be problems of limited financial resources and available expertise in GIS technology and applications). The study underscores and recommends the necessity for a later practical implementation with the availability of adequate resources.

Since Dengue fever (DF) and its related forms, Dengue Hemorrhagic fever (DHF) and Dengue Shock Syndrome (DSS) have become important health concerns worldwide, it is also imperative to develop methods which will help in the analysis of the incidences. Dengue fever cases are growing in number as it also invades widely, affecting larger number of countries and crossing climatic boundaries. Considering that the disease as of now has neither an effective vaccine nor a cure, monitoring in order to prevent or control is the resorted alternative. GIS and its related technologies offer a wealth of interesting capabilities towards achieving this goal.

The intention of this study was to develop methods to describe dengue fever outbreaks taking Rio de Janeiro, Brazil as a case study. Careful study of Census data with appropriate attributes was made to find out their potential influence on dengue fever incidence in the various regions or census districts. Dengue incidence data from year 2000 to year 2008 reported by the municipal secretariat of Rio was used to extract the necessary census districts. Base map files in MapInfo format were converted to shape files.  Using ArcGIS it was possible to merge the dengue fever incidence data with the available base map file of the City of Rio according to corresponding census districts. Choropleth maps were then created using different attributes from which patterns and trends could be used to describe the characteristic of the outbreak with respect to the socio-economic conditions. Incidence data were also plotted in Excel to see temporal variations. Cluster analysis were performed with the Moran I technique on critical periods and years of dengue outbreak. Using the square root of dengue incidence from January to April 2002 and 2008, inverse distance was selected as the conceptualised spatial relationship, Euclidean distance as the distance method. More detailed analyses were then done on the selected critical years of dengue outbreak, (years 2002 and 2008), to investigate the influence of socio-economic variables on dengue incidence per census district.

 

Dengue incidence rate appeared to be higher during the rainy and warmer months between December and May. Outbreaks of dengue occurred in years 2002 and 2008 over the study period of year 2000 to 2008. Some factors included in the census data were influential in the dengue prevalence according to districts. Satisfactory results can be achieved by using this strategy as a quick method for assessing potential dengue attack, spread and possible enabling conditions. The method has the advantage where there is limited access to field work, less financial means for acquisition of data and other vital resources.

A number of difficulties were encountered during the study however and leaves areas where further work can be done for improvements. More variables would be required in order to make a complete and comprehensive description of influential conditions and factors.  There is still a gap in the analytical tools required for multi-dimensional investigations as the ones encountered in this study.  It is vital to integrate ‘GPS’ and ‘Remote Sensing’ in order to obtain a variety of up-to-date data with higher resolution.

 

The UK’s housing stock is among the oldest and least efficient in Europe. 85% of the UK’s existing homes will still be standing and in use in 2050. Improving the energy efficiency of UK housing stock is an essential requirement in order for the UK to meet its 2008 Climate Change Act obligations. Energy efficiency in buildings is the focus of European (EU) policies with the intention of creating a low-carbon economy by 2020. Reducing energy consumption in existing buildings is essential to achieving this. Government policies are the primary mechanism for lowering energy consumption through changing consumer behaviour, promoting low carbon technology and energy efficient renovations of old building stock.The objective of this thesis is to investigate the effectiveness of UK policies at addressing factors affecting consumer decisions to carry out energy efficient renovations. This is with the intention of determining if UK policies are effectively contributing to the government’s long term climate change commitments.Using a theory developed by Parker (2000) as a conceptual framing of policy compliance, this study conducts interviews with consumers in order to analyse their awareness, understanding and perception of UK energy efficiency policies. Therefore, it can be determined how effective policies are at affecting consumer decisions to carry out energy efficient renovations.The thesis informs that consumers are motivated and willing to comply with policies but there are several key barriers preventing them from complying with these policies and therefore adopting energy efficient renovations. Policies are deemed to be somewhat ineffective at affecting consumer decisions to carry out energy efficient renovations.

Дипломна робота: 153., 15 табл., 60 рис., 2 дод. та 49 джерел. У роботі проведено дослідження формування криптовалютного ринку та основоположні чинники які впливають на формування. Досліджено різні методи визначення важливості чинників та моделі машинного навчання для такого роду задач. Виділено найважливіші впливи спираючись на роботу моделей машинного навчання. Метою даною роботи побудувати систему для аналізу та прогнозу криптовалютного ринку. Об’єктом дослідження стали часові ряди криптовалюти та об’ємів запитів в пошукову систему Google. Та значення інформаційних запитів для формування курсу біткоїн. Предметом дослідження стали математичні методи машинного навчання, методи визначення важливості регресорів для моделей.
Thesis: 153., 15 tables., 60 fig., 2 add. and 49 sources. The study of the formation of the cryptocurrency market and the fundamental factors influencing the formation. Various methods for determining the importance of factors and models of machine learning for such tasks have been studied. The most important influences based on the work of machine learning models are highlighted. The purpose of this work is to build a system for analysis and forecast of the cryptocurrency market. The object of the study was the time series of cryptocurrency and the volume of queries to the Google search engine. And the importance of information requests for the formation of the bitcoin exchange rate. The subject of the study were mathematical methods of machine learning, methods for determining the importance of regressors for these models.

This thesis deals with the implementation of enterprise information system ERP in a construction company KORA-VODOSTAVING Ltd. In the first part, I briefly describe the theoretical framework and the background of the issue. The aim of the thesis is to reveal the critical factors and risks associated with the selection, implementation and operation of ERP system. The result of the thesis is not only the development of proposals to reduce the risks, but also time and economic evaluation of the project and my recommendations for the analyzed company.

Thesis deals with design and integration of enterprise information system in a manufacturing company. Main part of this work is to design a detailed plan of implementation including identification of critical factors and ensure the prerequisites for system operation. The outcome of this work is to create the asset for both sides of contractual relationship.

The thesis deals with the issue of the implementation of the corporate information system of the ERP category, specifically the introduction of the module of APO for SAP in the chosen manufacturing company. The work presents the theoretical fundamentals describing the basics of ERP along with available methodologies, the implementation of these systems. Also analyzes the frequent causes of delayed implementation projects and provides the basis for the search for the causes of the problems. In the next section it is made an overall analysis of the current state of the ERP system in the company. At the conclusion of this work are defined recommendations, which can be prevented critical factors and implementation could be completed according to the established timetable.

The field of social network analysis has expanded from the field of social science to the fields of human factors and ergonomics. There is a theory that suggest that one can use the social network methods and create an information network which describes the network from an information sharing perspective and and there are also theories which describes how social network analysis can be used study cognitive maps (mental models). This thesis touches both of these subjects in an attempt to investigate how social network analysis can be used together with real-time information as a data source to investigate the cognitive maps of individuals and comparing these maps with an organisations expected structure based on protocols. The study conducted showed that it was indeed possible to change the social network analysis method into an information based network which explains the origin of a mental model and to study information be- haviour, in a network, but there are still variables which needs to be studied further (e.g. failed information sharing and temporal aspects of information sharing).

Responsável pela recuperação de dados a partir de várias fontes, por analisar e dar apoio à decisão através de procedimentos computacionais e análises estatísticas, Analytics vem conquistando grande interesse da comunidade científica e também no atual mercado de negócios. Através da enorme oferta de ferramentas tecnológicas e do grande entusiasmo relacionado com a evolução das tecnologias da informação, a implementação de Analytics, na ausência de planejamento estruturado pode ocasionar baixo desempenho do projeto e agregar pouco valor ao negócio, apo ponto de trazer prejuízos para a organização. Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo investigar os fatores críticos deste tipo de implementação na literatura científica e analisar como estes se manifestam nas organizações. A pesquisa constrói um quadro teórico conceitual a partir da revisão de literatura do tema para a análise da evolução deste nas discussões acadêmicas, através da aplicação de análises bibliométricas. Fatores são selecionados com base na literatura, referentes ao sucesso da implementação de Analytics relacionados aos sistemas de apoio à decisão, sendo divididos em construtos de Gestão de Negócios e Tecnologia da Informação. A pesquisa qualitativa, através do uso do método de estudo de caso, analisou quatro organizações de diferentes segmentos e projetos de implementação de soluções de Analytics. O trabalho conclui que há aderência aos fatores depreendidos da literatura e que haja reações distintas do alinhamento da Tecnologia da Informação com a estratégia do negócio de acordo com o tipo de solução implementada na organização.
Responsible for retrieving data from several fonts, for analyzing and providing support decision through computational procedures and statistical and for descriptive and predictive analysis, Analytics has been achieving great interest from scientific community and in the today\'s business market. Through the huge offer of technological tools and the great enthusiasm related to the information technology evolution, the implementing of Analytics in the absence of structured planning may cause low performance of the project and add low value to the business, and even bring loss to the organization. This research aims to investigate the critical actors of this kind of implementing and evaluate how they manifest on organizations. The methodology adopted focus on conceptual theoretical model built from the literature review followed by the analysis of the evolution of the topic in academic discussions through a bibliometric analysis application. Several factors are selected based on scientific production, all related to the success of implementing Analytics based on knowledge from other decision support system literature, divided in two constructs, Business Management and Information Technology. The qualitative research, with the use of case study method, analyzed four organizations from distinct market and products, as well as distinct Analytics implementation projects. The research concludes that there are strong relationship between the factors extracted from literature and shows that there are dissimilar reactions regarding the alignment between Information Technology and the business\' strategy, being related to the type of Analytics solution implemented in the organization.

The aim of this research is to investigate the extent to which Open Source Software (OSS) adoption behaviour can empirically be shown to be governed by a set of self-reported (driving and inhibiting) salient beliefs of key informants in a sample of organisations. Traditional IS adoption/usage theory, methodology and practice are drawn on. These are then augmented with theoretical constructs derived from IT governance and organisational diagnostics to propose an artefact that aids the understanding of organisational OSS adoption behaviour, stimulates debate and aids operational management interventions. For this research, a combination of quantitative methods (via Fisher's Exact Test) and complimentary qualitative method (via Content Analysis) were used using self-selection sampling techniques. In addition, a combination of data and methods were used to establish a set of mixed-methods results (or meta-inferences). From a dataset of 32 completed questionnaires in the pilot study, and 45 in the main study, a relatively parsimonious set of statistically significant driving and inhibiting factors were successfully established (ranging from 95% to 99.5% confidence levels) for a variety for organisational OSS adoption behaviours (i.e. by year, by software category and by stage of adoption). In addition, in terms of mixed-methods, combined quantitative and qualitative data yielded a number of factors limited to a relatively small number of organisational OSS adoption behaviour. The findings of this research are that a relatively small set of driving and inhibiting salient beliefs (e.g. Security, Perpetuity, Unsustainable Business Model, Second Best Perception, Colleagues in IT Dept., Ease of Implementation and Organisation is an Active User) have proven very accurate in predicting certain organisational OSS adoption behaviour (e.g. self-reported Intention to Adopt OSS in 2014) via Binomial Logistic Regression Analysis.

Despite more than a decade-long process to transition aircraft maintenance practices from paper-to electronic-based systems, some organizations remain unable to complete this transition. Researchers have indicated that while organizations have invested resources in technology improvements, there remains a limited understanding of the factors that contribute to effectively managing technology-enabled change. The purpose of this case study was to identify and explore socio-technical (ST) factors that inhibit an effective transition from a paper-based system to an electronic-based system for aircraft maintenance. A conceptual model applying theories of change management, technology acceptance, systems thinking, and ST theory informed the research. Thirteen participants provided data via semistructured interviews, field observations, follow-up interviews, other documentation, and a questionnaire. Data were analyzed with open and axial coding techniques to identify themes, which were then crosschecked and triangulated with observation and follow-up interview data. Findings revealed communication issues, a fundamental misconception in training, and a false assumption that all personnel easily acquire computer literacy. Benefits gained from this study should assist maintenance, repair, and overall (MRO) organizations within the Department of Defense to improve current and future technology implementation as the research underscores real-life issues from a comparable organization. The implications for positive social change provide a greater understanding of technology-enabled change and contribute to the development of best practices for technology initiatives that address common ST issues in the MRO workplace.

This thesis aims to provide an approach to real estate residential modeling and forecasting covering property types’ correlation, time series attributes within a region or a city, and socio-economic attributes of preferred real estate locations. The thesis covers residential estate markets and concentrates on property types, while previous studies that have considered country wide house price indices. There is a gap identified in the literature in the need to study correlations between property types within a region or a city and whether they will provide diversification benefits for real estate investors such as risk reduction per unit of returns. The thesis concentrates on property type seasonality in addition to modeling time series attributes within a region or city instead of real estate index seasonality. This thesis the first to combine modern information systems techniques such as geographic information systems (GIS) with socio-economic factors to help understanding causal relationships that can be used to forecast real estate prices. The results show that it is more achievable to forecast real estate prices within a city than for the real estate market of the entire country. The GIS and socio-economic modeling results show that higher property prices are awarded to real estate with more green spaces, residents with higher disposable incomes, lower council tax bands, fewer tax benefits claimants, and better health services. Previous studies have examined real estate price indices at the macro level (the general, all real estate house price indices). There has not been a study that examines real estate price forecasts by property types within a city. The contribution of this thesis is its focus on time series analysis as well as causal modeling within a city with the objective of providing a better understanding of the dynamics of real estate price changes.