Getting to Where You Want to Go: Designing Information Systems and Using Your Data Through the Application of Analytics and Informatics

ABSTRACT

This article, based on the closing session from the 2017 NC Serials Conference, describes a systems perspective where data serve as both real-time and summative information and knowledge about how an organization is performing, what services and resources its users are using and interacting with, and areas for which the organization is doing well or needs improvement. The author posits that data are most useful when the context is informed by clear goals that provide a direction to where the organization is and wants to be. Applied examples are discussed for several environments, including an academic department, school of education, regional libraries, and public libraries.     

INCENTIVES,UNCERTAINTY, AND RISK IN THE NEWSBOY PROBLEM

This study explores the motivational consequences of an incentive device based on standard setting. It is shown that standard setting induces a wealth-seeking manager to undertake decisions that, in the manager's judgment, will improve the position of the owner relative to implementing the standard. Conditions under which it is rational for the owner to allow the manager to choose and implement decisions are discussed. Finally, consideration is given to an alternative incentive mechanism in which the manager's decisions are manipulated through variation of the incentive mechanism.     

Exploring types of interference between work and non-work: using a diary study approach

Studies of work and family issues have used predominately between-subject cross-sectional designs. While some researchers have called for more longitudinal studies, others have suggested that a more strategic way forward for the field is the use of daily diary studies (Frone, Russell, & Cooper, 1992). This study explores different types of interference between work and non-work domains, using a diary study methodology. This study consisted of a two-week diary study among 12 Irish employees. Analysis involved a two-step procedure involving both content analysis and interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Results indicated that while individuals reported strain-based and time-based interference, evidence was also found of interference concerning persistent and intrusive thoughts. Despite some limitations to the study, this paper demonstrates that diary studies represent an opportunity for researchers to explore work and non-work experiences in a sensitive and ecologically valid way.     

A note on Rescher's ‘Semantic Foundations for the Logic of Preference’

In ‘Semantic Foundations for the Logic of Preference’ (Rescher, ed.,The Logic of Decision and Action, University Press, Pittsburgh, 1967), Nicholas Rescher claims that, on the semantics developed in that paper, a certain principle - call it ‘Q’ turns out to be ‘unacceptable’. I argue, however, that, given certain assumptions that Rescher invokes in that same paper,Q can in fact be shown to be a ‘preference-tautology’, and henceQ should be classified as ‘acceptable’ on Rescher's theory.     

Sociology’s Sacred Victims and the Politics of Knowledge: Moral Foundations Theory and Disciplinary Controversies

The field of sociology has long been subject to critique for alleged ideological bias and left-wing groupthink linked to its social justice mission. Critics contend that the construction of “sacred victims” by progressive intellectuals hinders their ability to objectively appraise the circumstances of such vulnerable groups. To address this criticism, we survey 479 sociologists in national universities and colleges in the U.S. regarding three sensitive controversies: urban poverty in the black community; gendered differences in occupational choices; and immigration. We find significant patterns in the data. Commitment to the field’s “moral mission,” preferred research paradigm, gender, and especially political orientation are all significant predictors of sociologists’ views. The results, we suggest, can be understood by conceptualizing the field of sociology as an “emotive community.” In doing so, we draw upon current social psychological research on moral foundations theory developed by Jonathan Haidt and colleagues.     

Spell incidence, spell duration and the measurement of unemployment

The proportion of the population out of work is an unsatisfactory measure of unemployment because it is indifferent to the way in which a given amount of unemployment time is distributed across the population. This paper offers a new way of measuring unemployment which takes account of both the frequency and duration of unemployment spells. The proposed unemployment index may be interpreted as the ‘welfare equivalent’ period of unemployment, and decomposes into the product of three components: a spell incidence factor, a duration factor, and the average unemployment rate.     

Good to Pet and Eat: The Keeping and Consuming of Dogs and Cats in South Korea

Over the past few decades, there has been mounting criticism, mainly from Western societies, of the practice of consuming dogs and cats in South Korea. In the current study, I researched historical, cultural, and demographic details on, and South Korean people's attitudes to, this practice. Data were collected in two ways. Firstly, relevant information on the history and current status of dog and cat use, including consumption, was sourced from the academic literature, newspaper reports, websites, and animal welfare organizations. Secondly, in 2004, the polling agency Market & Opinion Research International (MORI) was contracted to survey 1,000 adults (15 years and above) in South Korea on their attitudes to keeping cats and dogs as pets and to the consumption of these species. The consumption of dogs has a long history in South Korea while the consumption of cats is more recent. Pet ownership is a more recent phenomenon and is growing steadily. Banning the eating of dogs was not supported in the survey. Unlike cat consumption, dog consumption is strongly linked to national identity in South Korea, and it seems that calls from the West to ban the practice are viewed by South Koreans as an attack on their culture.     

Improving Risk-Based Decision Making for Terrorism Applications

How can we best allocate limited defensive resources to reduce terrorism risks? Dillon et al.'s Antiterrorism Risk-Based Decision Aid (ARDA) system provides a useful point of departure for addressing this crucial question by exhibiting a real-world system that calculates risk reduction scores for different portfolios of risk-reducing countermeasures and using them to rank-order different possible risk mitigation alternatives for Navy facilities. This comment points out some potential limitations of any scoring system that does not take into account risk externalities, interdependencies among threats, uncertainties that are correlated across targets, and attacker responses to alternative allocations of defensive resources. In at least some simple situations, allocations based on risk reduction scores and comparisons can inadvertently increase risks by providing intelligent attackers with valuable information, or they can fail to reduce risks as effectively as nonscoring, optimization-based approaches. These limitations of present scoring methods present exciting technical challenges and opportunities for risk analysts to develop improved methods for protecting facilities and infrastructure against terrorist threats.