For application information, please consult the Admissions section of this website. Email specific questions to: cis-chair@hawaii.edu.

Desiato, C. (2009). The Conditions of Permeability: How Shared Cyberworlds Turn into Laboratories of Possible Worlds, Cyberworlds 2009. Bradford, UK.

Phuaphanthong, T., Bui, T., & Keretho, S. (2009). Establishing Interagency Collaboration in Large-Scale Systems Development: Lessons Learned from an E-government Project for Trade and Transport Facilitation. Proceedings of the Fifteenth Americas Conference on Information Systems, San Francisco, California, August 6th-9th 2009.

Claudio R Nigg, Robert W. Motl, Kristen T. Wong, Lisa U. Yoda, Dana K. McCurdy, Raheem Paxton, Caroline C. Horwath, Rod K. Dishman, Impact of mixed survey modes on physical activity and fruit/vegetable consumption: A longitudinal study, Survey Research Methods, Vol 3, No 2 (2009)

Tomaszewski, Zach, and Kim Binsted. "Demeter: An Implementation of the Marlinspike Interactive Drama System." Intelligent Narrative Technologies II: Papers from the AAAI Spring Symposium. Technical Report SS-09-06. Menlo Park, CA: AAAI Press, 2009. pp. 133-136.

ABSTRACT:
Understanding the user and customizing the interface to augment cognition and usability are goals of human computer interaction research and design. Yet, little is known about the influence of individual visual-verbal information presentation preferences on visual navigation and screen element usage. If consistent differences in visual navigation can be detected and measured, these differences could be used to augment cognition or customize views appropriately as eye tracking and other monitoring devices improve. This dissertation research investigates: (1) the relationship between the measured visual-verbal preferences and the participant’s eye movements during different types of problem-solving tasks; (2) performance on text, text plus diagram, diagrammatic reasoning problems and selection of problem representation; and (3) whether different levels of cognitive load are observed in eye movement patterns while solving reasoning problems of differing difficulty.

A visual-verbal preference questionnaire adapted from several established instruments was administered to 140 university students in a variety of fields. The responses to this questionnaire were analyzed to understand overall tendencies toward visual and verbal preferences by field of study, gender and other factors. Twelve participants (six verbal and six visual, balanced by gender) were recruited from those scoring in the extreme 20% of the pool, either more visual than verbal or more verbal than visual, to complete an eye tracking experiment. Each participant completed 3 practice problems and 15 reasoning problem tasks (6 text-plus-diagram, 6 text-only, and six diagram-only).

The results showed a strong trend for the verbal group to perform better on problems with diagrams than without, while the visual group only performed slightly better with a diagram. The visual group performed better than the verbal group on the text-only and diagram-only problems. The visual group spent more time on blank areas of the screen than the verbal, possibly indicating internal visualization. Different strategies were found between the two groups and among individuals. These differences are analyzed in terms of one’s awareness of their visual processing and the importance of specific task requirements. The results are important to the use and customization of representations in interface design, education, marketing and diagrammatic communication for problem solving.

Paper copies are also available if you have an opportunity for posting or distributing in person. Contact Cindy at the CIS office for copies.

The data management field has become increasingly inter-disciplinary over the past several years. Dr Lim hopes that this talk will help you to draw connections between your work and the data management field, and encourage you to contribute to this broad and exciting field.

Dr Lim's research lies in the data management area and includes database query optimization, statistics and selectivity estimation, XML databases, stream processing, data warehousing, ontologies and semantic queries. See http://www2.hawaii.edu/~lipyeow/ for more about Dr. Lim.

This research will investigate the results of an applied research experience conducted with a group of undergraduate students of various majors in higher education. The research aims to surpass pedagogical deficiencies in large course formats, making use of the lecture podcasting technique, through which two supporting interventions can occur: course content review can be promoted through structured podcasts and active learning episodes can enter the classroom. In this research, the constructivist
learning theory is used to inform technology- rich teaching
practices and support a more active teaching ecology. The results will be analyzed for improvements in review activity, student perceptions of learning and student learning outcomes.

Dissertation Committee: Daniel Suthers (Chairperson),
Kim Binsted, Rich Gazan, Curtis Ho, and Scott Robertson

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to explore views of different stakeholders concerning the current implementation of information literacy instruction (ILI) programs, and to identify the components of the best practices of teaching information literacy skills to undergraduate students in academic libraries in Vietnam.

This study will provide crucial information for the library administrators and librarians in academic libraries in Vietnam concerning a better understanding of the views, and challenges when implementing the ILI programs. This study will also support IL development programs, and to propose a framework for best practices to help academic libraries in Vietnam develop, assess and improve ILI programs. Lastly, it will be also useful for decision makers in colleges and universities in issuing appropriate policies related to the adoption and implementation of IL in academic environment in Vietnam.

This case study will employ both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection and analyses, including surveys, focus groups, interviews, and document analysis. The participants include library administrators, instruction librarians, faculty and students of four regional universities in Vietnam. A qualitative case study approach with embedded quantitative descriptive data will be used to provide an intensive account of the current implementation of the IL programs perceived by library administrators, instruction librarians, faculty and students, identify major challenges to implementing it, and propose the best practices to ILI programs at four public universities in Vietnam including Cantho University (CTU), Danang University (DNU), Hue University and Thai Nguyen University (TNU).

Dissertation Committee

Chair: Dr. Diane Nahl (Department of Information and Computer Sciences, Library and Information Science Program)
Outside Member: Dr. Ellen Hoffman (Department of Educational Technology)
Dr. Tung X. Bui (Department of Information and Technology Management)
Dr. Violet Harada (Department of Information and Computer Sciences, Library and Information Science Program)
Dr. Dan J. Wedemeyer (School of Communication)

The orientation is a project of current CIS students. For more information, contact Sal Aurigemma.

The newsletter is being mailed to alumni this week. Current students and friends of the CIS program are invited to read the electronic version. If you would like a print copy, contact the CIS program offices.

Biomedical Informatics, an emerging new interdisciplinary field, is comprised of Bioinformatics (which finds itself at the intersection of Biology and Computer Science and includes Genomics, Proteomics and related fields), and Medical Informatics (which finds itself at the intersection of Medicine, Public Health and Computer Science). The domain of biomedical informatics intersects frequently with concepts from the information sciences, computer sciences, information technology management, biology, clinical sciences, healthcare delivery, health finance, health economics, communications sciences, public health and epidemiology, nursing, and so on. That is, biomedical informatics is a broad, multi-disciplinary field that encompasses key areas of the Communications and Information Sciences Ph.D. program.

Development and use of Biomedical Informatics techniques and technologies has the potential to improve access, equity, efficiency and quality of healthcare delivery and to support action on global challenges, but effective deployment and use remains elusive. This faltering success to-date is often attributed to the lack of knowledgeable, well-trained and focused professionals in the field. The growing demand for and complexity of health services and the important role that communication and information systems play in healthcare delivery increases the demand for professionals, managers, instructional faculty, and researchers who are knowledgeable about the intersection of healthcare delivery, health information and information technology applications for healthcare.

CIS program members may learn more about the focus area in its disCourse workspace.

Biomedical Informatics replaces Computer Software Systems, an area that has been underutilized since the creation of the Computer Science PhD program in the Department of Information and Computer Sciences.

The task of this dissertation has been to construct a theoretical model for the development of laws relating to telecommunication privacy vis-ŕ-vis law enforcement surveillance over the past hundred years. Both statutory and case laws relating to telecommunication privacy were examined, as well as the historical context of such legislation and rulings.

The model presented draws upon the work of legal theorists such as Thomas Cooley, Roscoe Pound, H.L.A. Hart, R.M. Dworkin, William Banks, M.E. Bowman, and Marc Rotenberg; surveillance theorists such as Michel Foucault, Anthony Giddens, and David Lyons; and privacy theorists such as Alan Westin, Irwin Altman, and Sandra Petronio. It focuses on three competing fears: fear of external threat, fear of social chaos, and fear of the tyrant. Shifts in emphasis among these three fears throw the nation into periods of boundary turbulence. This boundary turbulence requires re-negotiation of privacy boundaries. This re-negotiation has happened repeatedly during U.S. history.

The model presented was then tested in a case study that examined the inception, debate, and passage of the USA PATRIOT Act.

Dissertation Committee:

Rebecca Knuth, Chairperson
Martha Crosby
Andrew Arno
Larry Osborne
James Tiles

While opinions were divided, employees tended to be more trusting of coworkers and top management if they had used a variety of social media recently at work. They were also higher on other organizational climate measures of cooperation and information sharing. The results are correlational; they represent associations so one cannot claim the relationships to be causal. However there was a modest, statistically significant correlation of the favorable organizational climate with the years since the company encouraged use of social media.

Employees who had some social media use were more likely to recognize the potential benefits from social media to build social capital in conjunction with work. They recognized the informational and affect values of social media to strengthen ties in the work group and to build new ties outside the immediate group and the company.

The research gathered data from a sample of 235 employees from a national pool on their social media practices and the social media policies of their employers. It investigated how social media added to a model of organizational climate that promotes knowledge sharing and cooperation, and trust in peers and management. The research integrated theories of social capital, trust, organizational climate, and knowledge sharing to test claims that social media add value to firms in social dimensions above and beyond knowledge sharing. Statistically significant associations of social media use were found with trustworthiness of employees and management, cooperation, and knowledge sharing. A hypothesis that social media use would fit a specific model incorporating organizational climate and knowledge sharing and combination was not supported. Modest associations were shown by multiple regression. The dominant effect of trust both of coworkers and management in organizational climate was reaffirmed.

The sample of respondents came from a wide range of industries and not specifically from social media-active firms so the findings may be robust. The research replicated a commitment-based HR theory linked to increased productivity. It extended the theory by adding trust in top management and social media use.

Some evidence was found that the length of time in years that an organization has had social media correlates with better organizational climate ratings. Moreover, stronger correlations were found for trust in coworkers and trust in management with more recent social media actions.

Employees also tended to use social media for work related matters more at home than on the job. Furthermore in the study sample in relation to work there was a strong plurality for Facebook compared to other social media sites.

Committee:
Thomas A. Kelleher (Chairperson), Jeffrey C. Ady, Raymond R. Panko, Dan J. Wedemeyer, Shuqiang Zhang, and Ellen S. Hoffman

This dissertation, therefore, investigated (1) the effect of message framing (advantages of preventing DM2 vs. consequences of ignoring DM2 prevention) on people’s attitude toward the message and their instantaneous intentions toward DM2 prevention; (2) people who have not yet developed diabetes, thus examining the effect of message framing on DM2 prevention, rather than on DM2 complication (e.g., blindness) prevention; (3) the effect of messages that highlighted why, rather than how (e.g., regular exercise, healthy diet), to prevent DM2 emphasizing sex-related consequences; and (4) potential gender differences in terms of subjects’ attitudes and intentions when the messages targeted their own versus the opposite gender.

Results revealed that, contrary to what was predicted, the message that highlighted consequences of ignoring DM2 prevention, such as having sexual dysfunction or risky pregnancies, was more effective than the message that highlighted advantages of preventing DM2 in eliciting subjects’ positive attitudes toward the message and their greater intentions to prevent DM2. Similar findings hold true, but were also unexpected, in an opposite-gender message condition. Moreover, female versus male subjects had significantly more positive attitudes and greater intentions, irrespective of the message framing particularly in the same-gender message condition. Ex post analyses revealed that fear mediated the relationship between message type and subjects’ attitudes and intentions.

The findings provide several implications for healthcare marketers regarding promoting DM2 prevention. Specifically, a positively-framed message is not always an effective way to communicate disease prevention. Instead, healthcare marketers may consider using the messages that focus on sex-related negative consequences and that arouse fear in DM2 prevention. Furthermore, identifying the message audience remains important in DM2 prevention; in particular, promoting the message that targets their own gender is effective.

Committee: Dineh M. Davis (chair), Dennis J. Streveler (co-advisor), Sven-Erik Bursell, Thomas A. Kelleher, Marie K. Iding (outside member)

Abstract: Failure to address extreme environments constraints at the human-computer interaction level may lead to the commission of critical and potentially fatal errors. This dissertation addresses gaps in our current theoretical understanding of the combined impact of an extreme environment stressor and perceptual style on task performance in human-computer interaction. A controlled experimental study investigates the effects of altered Gz accelerations and field dependency independency on human performance in the completion of perceptual-motor tasks on a personal digital assistant (PDA). Results of the experiment, conducted in an aerobatic aircraft at multiple Gz acceleration levels, show that in altered Gz environments perceptual style significantly impacts perceptual-motor task performance in target acquisition. Based on the results, the argument is made that acknowledging individual cognitive differences in design, will help end-users in extreme environments execute perceptual-motor tasks efficiently, without unnecessarily increasing cognitive load and the probability of critical errors. Design guidelines are proposed towards this end.

Daniel Suthers (Chairperson)
Colin Macdonald
Kevin Montgomery
Scott Robertson
Janet Onopa (Outside Member)

10 Mindful Activities & 7 Design In-Sites for Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning: The Points of Viewing Theory and a Tool called Orion-beta(tm)

Dr. Ricki Goldman
Associate Professor of Educational Communication and Technology
Co-Director, CREATE Lab
New York University
http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/profiles/faculty/ricki_goldman
http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/faculty_bios/view/Ricki_Goldman

The points of viewing theory (POVT) of learning is a theory about how the interpretive actions of participants overlap and intersect. To embrace how these points of viewing converge (and diverge) leads to a deeper understanding of not only the event and a video event, but also the actual physical and the recorded context of the topic under investigation. POVT has at its heart the intersecting perspectives of all participants with a stake in the community.

POVT also overcomes the static, isolating, individualized approach to point of view, in favor of the dynamic tension that operates among points of viewing--points that generate intersecting sight-lines, enabling people to catch sight of each other, as interpreters, even as they project their own point of view.

The perspectivity methodological framework (Goldman and Maxwell, 2002) for research in CSCL maintains that advanced video technologies offer a larger range of possible interpretations on what occurred in a given setting, knowing that every stakeholder has a different viewing of the event -- a viewing that affects changes in perception as the video is shared, annotated, and put into new configurations within social networks.

The question is this: How can the POV-ing theory be used as a framework for designing learning tools and methods to address the crisis facing education in the 21st Century? How can it merge individual learning within communities of practice?

In this talk, Dr. Ricki Goldman will propose 10 mindful learning activities and seven design in-sites learned from her twenty years designing video research technologies for computer-supported collaborative research.

Dr. Ricki Goldman -- media and learning theorist, digital video ethnographer, and software inventor -- is Associate Professor and Co-Director of the CREATE Lab at NYU. Her research interests focus on student learning in technology-rich learning environments, "quisitive" research methods, and the design of an online tool for video data analysis. Recently Goldman is exploring how video technologies lie at the interstices of social networking and social justice issues.

Abstract: This is an exploratory work on the relationship between online initial trust and culture. Little work has been done on how culture influences one’s online trust perceptions. In IS research, culture is mostly studied either at the national or at the organizational level. This study captures culture at the individual level on a website. Four culture dimensions (masculinity/femininity, individualism/collectivism, power distance and uncertainty avoidance) proposed by Hofstede (1980) are investigated. The McKnight et al. trust model (2002) is used as the basis of this study. Subjective norm (SN) is also integrated in the trust and culture model. Structural equation modeling was used in the model analysis.

First, the initial online trust model of McKnight et al. was successfully replicated in a tourism context. Then, the McKnight et al. trust model was augmented by subjective norm. I propose from the ‘Theory of Reasoned Action’ (Fishbein and Ajzen 1975) that SN is a critical variable in trust formation and trust intention. My data showed that SN directly impacted all four trust constructs (disposition to trust, institutional trust, trusting beliefs, and intention to trust). Furthermore, SN is found to be a positive covariate of all culture variables; thus, all culture variables indirectly affect trust formation and intention through SN. Two culture dimensions (power distance and uncertainty avoidance) also directly affected three trust constructs, but not intention to trust. The dimensions of masculinity/femininity and individualism/collectivism had no direct effects on trust formation.

My results showed that SN, in particular peer perception, has the most significant effects on initial online trust formation. Furthermore, a person high in uncertainty avoidance (UA) has the strongest association with SN. Thus, not only does s/he take cues from others more, but also has a more trusting disposition and forms trusting beliefs more easily than a person low in UA.

The unequivocal properties of the UA construct were also discussed. Two types of UA are proposed; "UA need for structure" and "UA need for avoiding uncertainty". The UA construct that the most literature refers to is analyzed as "UA need for structure". Further investigation of UA construct is suggested.

Dissertation Committee: William Remus (Chairperson), David Ashworth, Dharm P. Bhawuk, Kentaro Hayashi, Dan Wedemeyer

Abstract: The development of an institutional repository (IR) is one of the more complex projects that librarians may undertake. While many librarians have managed large information system projects, IR projects involve a larger stakeholder group and require support from technical services, public services and administration to succeed. A significant increase in the development of repositories is expected with technology and process improvements for digital collection development. This study investigated the development of repositories at doctoral institutions, identifying factors that influence development and best practices using a comparative case study analysis approach to gather and analyze data. A detailed account and analysis of academic institutional repositories was formed providing knowledge of individual IR development as well as a cross case comparison of developmental factors including adoption, motivating factors and perceived benefits. The use of a narrative, project management practices beyond technical development, and the inclusion of the campus community are identified as key factors in development. Best practices and recommendations for future developers, such as early involvement of stakeholder groups and the need to educate both librarians and faculty about open access collections are also discussed. This study contributes to a more informed understanding of the development of IRs and identifies a model framework for future IR developers.

Commitee: Rebecca Knuth (chairperson), Peter Jasco, Diane Nahl, Dan Wedemeyer, Marie Iding

Google - Friend or enemy?
In this presentation I show how all-powerful Google has become, how it starts to influence all aspects of society, far beyond just privacy issues. Google, on the one hand, is an excellent and imaginative company, yet does not know itself how to act in certain tempting situations. Google, on the other hand, is becoming a threat to economy and culture on a scale much larger than is usually recognized. Some aspects of Web 2.0 influencing the development are
also discussed.

How to Minimize the Effects of a Potential Breakdown of Networks
In this talk I explain that globalization is not only supported by computers and computer networks, but that globalization starts to extend more and more from material products to immaterial objects as witnessed best by WWW and distributed e-Learning. Because of this the interdependency of people and institutions is increasing steadily, bringing with it both advantages but also real or potential disadvantages. A number of concrete examples will be offered to support this thesis.

One of the potential problems is the massive dependence on computers and computer networks: if those were to fail on a massive scale (e.g. through cyber sabotage) the consequences for humanity are traumatic and dramatic. Unfortunately, such a breakdown at some point in the future seems more and more likely. There have been some substantial breakdowns of both computers, networks and electricity systems, but nothing on the scale that I am afraid is likely to happen. Just as one indicator, the number of computer viruses or similarly dangerous programs is constantly rising.

To avoid a large scale failure or to at least minimize its consequences I believe we have to follow a three-pronged plan that I will explain in my presentation. First, we have to try to minimize injustice and inequality in this world as one reason for hatred and terror. Second, instead of unchecked globalization our motto should be "Globalization where necessary and useful, regionalization as much as possible": only by heeding this motto can we reduce the effect of a complete breakdown of our computer infrastructure. Third, we have to work towards safer computers and safer networks, yet have to avoid the temptation to combine this with too much supervision. A number of possible solutions that can make all applications of networked computer dramatically safer are explained.

Vita

Dr. Herman Maurer is professor at the Graz University of Technology since 1978, Dean of Studies 2000-2004 and First Dean of the new School for Computer Science of Graz University of Technology 2004-2007. In addition, director of the Research Institute for Applied Information Processing of the Austrian Computer Society 1983-1998; Chairperson of the Institute for Information Systems and Computer Media since 1988, director of the Institute for Hypermedia Systems of JOANNEUM RESEARCH 1987-2006, co-founder and chairman of the board of Hyperwave AG Munich 1997-2005, vice-chairman of same company since then; founder and scientific advisor of the first research center on Knowledge Management in Austria. Maurer is author of twenty books, more than 600 contributions in various publications, Editor-in-Chief of 'Journal of Universal Computer Science', Co-Editor of 'Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching' and member of over a dozen Editorial Boards. He is chairperson of steering committees and member of program committees of numerous international conferences. Founder of the Conference series ED-MEDIA and WebNet/ eLearn and of the conference I-KNOW. His main research and project areas are: Networked multimedia/hypermedia systems; electronic publishing and applications to university life, exhibitions and museums, Web based learning environments; languages and their applications, data structures and their efficient use, telematic services, computer networks, computer supported new media, dynamic symbolic language, social implications of computers, techniques to fight against plagiarism, and computers in Science Fiction.

PROJECTS TO BE PRESENTED:
- the exact topics and schedule of the presentations to be finalized soon
You are cordially invited to attend and give your feedback to these new medical informatics students. This session will be broadcast on SKYPE if you wish to participate remotely -- just let us know your Skype address in advance. Finally, podcasts of the presentations will also be made available. This is an attempt to increase capacity and knowledge in medical informatics at the university and in our community.
Aloha,
Dennis Streveler

Over the past year, the CIS chair has had discussions with both students and faculty concerning possible improvements to the CIS program.

A common request was to decrease the burden of area exams and increase students' focus on research early in the program. Accordingly, the "new plan" requires one less primary area exam, replacing this with a research publication. Students will be assigned research mentors early in the program to facilitate their research progress. This is an incremental improvement rather than radical revision, but we expect it to increase students' involvement in research while they also build the broad interdisciplinary base that distinguishes this Ph.D. program from those based in a single department.

Other changes to the CIS Policies and Procedures document include improved planning for the dissertation defense, and various clarifications of policies under which the program has been operating but were not made explicit in the document.

The "new plan" is mandatory for entering Ph.D. students this fall, and optional for prior students who wish to "upgrade." As we try this over the next several years, the chair invites comments and discussion concerning further revision of the program.

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the quality attributes of information products from the end-users’ perspective and to measure the impact of these attributes on intention to use. An information product is defined as a highly interdependent package of information that can be digitalized and/or transmitted and distributed in digital form (e.g., a web portal, a software). The quality of an information product consists of three basic component can be derived from the information content (e.g., accuracy and applicability), the physical medium (e.g., timeliness and speed), and the service (e.g., reliability and responsiveness of the product provider). This research draws its theoretical frame from notions of quality, use motivation and intention-to-use. We propose a conceptual framework to investigate the impact of perceived quality and motivations on intention-to-use of an information product. Using a popular and general web portal (Excite.com) as an information product, we conducted an experimental study to explore the importance of 21 quality attributes and 7 motivations. We next measured the impact of perceived web portal quality and motivations on the intention-to-use of the web portal, particularly focusing on personal, information and search services. The experiment was conducted using 142 subjects. Among the 21 quality attributes which theoretically consist of web portal quality, based on what kind of services participants use, highly related quality attributes varied. When it comes to the use of the web portal for personal, information, and search services, applicability always appeared as significantly correlated. One of the most significant findings in this study is the identification of four groups of quality factors perceived by users of web portals. The factors are Content relevancy, Communication interactiveness, Information currency, and Instant gratification. This finding shreds new lights to the understanding of web portals and suggests that there are some quality attributes that are particularly relevant to web portals intention-to-use. Furthermore, social escapism motivation, information motivation, interactive control motivation, and socialization were all highly correlated to each of the following: personal, information, search, and overall intention-to-use. In this research, the use of a web portal could be considered as a social computing activity. When we considered quality factors and motivations at the same time to explain intention-to-use of web portal, social escapism motivation was identified as the main determinant of intention-to-use of the web portal. The findings of this study should help IT professionals to design, develop and deploy more effective general web portals.

Dissertation Committee: Tung Bui (Chairperson), Andrew Arno, Rebecca Knuth, Dennis Streveler, and Robert Aune

Abstract: This study investigates how culture affects initial online trust formation at the individual level. In IS research culture was often analyzed either at the national level or at the organizational level, if culture was investigated at all. Little work has been done on culture and online trust. I will attempt to link cultural constructs to the online initial trust model that was presented by McKnight in 2002. First, I will replicate McKnight’s trust model with new subjects and with new tasks, then I will attempt to integrate cultural factors into the trust model. Culture survey scales will be adopted from the 2006 Srite and Karahanna’s study.

Dr. William Remus Chair
Dr. David Ashworth Member
Dr. Kentaro Hayashi Member
Dr. Dan Wedemeyer Member
Dr. Dharm P. Bhawuk Outside Member

Abstract: Literature shows that games can provide an engaging, dynamic, and authentic learning context. Many of the studies on games in the classroom show that games can support teaching standards and outcomes; however, a need exists for research that identifies actual uses of games through the analysis of the social and cognitive affordances employed by student gamers to achieve learning. Such an understanding can inform the design of effective educational games and aid in the appropriation of commercial games for educational use. A study informed by Ethnomethodology using methods of grounded theory provided a detailed description of the use of video games for learning in educational contexts. Results show that learning occurs across multiple levels: the mastery of the computer interface, followed by the mastery of the game interface and upon which groups can achieve advanced strategy aimed at goal achievement. Learning occurs across multiple granularities: occurring either in short episodes; sequences of episodes; or as trends. Learning can be triggered by multiple cues, such as failure, game visualizations or specific representations, as well as by peers or teachers in the social environment. Students used affordances provided by the game interface and learning environment, specifically: the visual representations provided in games afford particular kinds of action; the persistent display of historical context, and present and future potentials motivated learning; specific cues grabbed student attention, focusing their efforts on new or underutilized game tasks; consistent and well organized visualizations encouraged learning; and information presented in a plurality of channels was more effective for learning.

The use of social peers in collaborative learning had several effects on the learning process: peers used strategies of disclosure and negotiation to reach shared meaning objects' purpose and to select game strategies. Peer groups served both cooperative and competitive roles: serving as an information source and to gauge performance. Implications are offered to students, educators, and game designers to better play, implement and design games for learning. A brief comparison of the findings and existing theory will be discussed, comparing results with existing theories of collaborative learning and Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT).

Committee: Daniel D. Suthers (Chair), Violet Harada, Joung-Im Kim, Devan Rosen, Dan Wedemeyer, R. Kelly Aune.

In addition to presenting the research abstracted below, Dr. will also discuss some of the challenges in conducting this kind of research.

Consumer Migration across Generations of Technology Service Platforms: Roles of Generation, Technology Hierarchy, and Complementarities

Viswanath Venkatesh, University of Arkansas

(Work published with Kar Yan Tam, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Xu Xin, Hong Kong Polytechnic University; and Se-Joon Hong, Korea University)

Abstract: This paper develops and tests a model of consumer migration to the newest generation of an information and communication technology service platform. Our model is developed by drawing from information systems and consumer behavior research on adoption and use of technologies by consumers. We adapt constructs from the macro-level research on platform leadership, network effects, and innovation ecosystem to propose constructs focused on the complementarities among the hardware platform, software platform, applications, and services. The various determinants so identified are theorized to influence migration intention, with extent of expected change moderating various relationships. We empirically validated our model with data collected from 4,412 consumers before and after the introduction of the 3G service platform in Hong Kong. We found strong support for our model. We also found that migration intention predicted two key behaviors: migration to 3G and use of 3G services.

Biography: Viswanath Venkatesh is a Professor and the first holder of the George and Boyce Billingsley Chair in Information Systems at the Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas, where he has been since June 2004. Prior to that, he was the first Tyser Fellow and an Associate Professor at the Smith School of Business, University of Maryland. He completed his Ph.D. in Information and Decision Sciences at the University of Minnesota in 1997. His research focuses on understanding the diffusion of technologies in organizations and society by focusing on complex technology implementations (e.g., ERP), business process change, social networks, end-user training, user acceptance, gender and age differences, usability, and online consumer behavior. The total sponsorship of his research has been about $10M, including funding from government agencies, such as the NSF and DOT. His research has been published in leading information systems, organizational behavior, and psychology journals. His articles have been cited over 4,000 times per Google Scholars and over 1,400 times per Web of Science. He has taught undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, PhD, and executive seminars since 1996 at the University of Arkansas, University of Maryland, University of Minnesota, Indian School of Business, Helsinki School of Economics, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and several organizations. His current leadership role at the Walton College includes serving as the director of the information systems PhD program. His leadership roles at the Smith School included being the Director of the MBA Consulting Program and leading undergraduate curricular development and redesign. He is currently a Senior Editor at Information Systems Research and is also serving on the editorial boards of Management Science, Decision Sciences Journal and Journal of the AIS, and the editorial review board of Productions and Operations Management. He has served as an Associate Editor on the board of MIS Quarterly and Information Systems Research. MIS Quarterly named him “Reviewer of the Year” in 1999. He has been named to Marquis’ Who’s Who in America in 2007 and 2008.


URL: http://vvenkatesh.com
URL for web site on research: http://vvenkatesh.com/it

Host: Elizabeth Davidson

In a computer-based interactive drama, the player assumes the role of a character in a virtual story world. Through their actions in that world, the player can then affect the outcome of a story generated at runtime. The result is much like a computer roleplaying game, except that play results in a flexible, well-formed story that has not been completely pre-authored.

The work to be presented examines the current poetics model of interactive narrative and proposes some modifications that relieve many of the tensions in the model, as well as making it more widely applicable. It then describes a new interactive drama architecture--Marlinspike--that strives to reincorporate diverse user actions into "threads" of story events connected by narrative necessity. Marlinspike then weaves these threads together into a single unfolding story.

It is intended that this technique will produce interactive narratives with both high user agency and well-formed story structures. The success of Marlinspike in achieving these ends has yet to be evaluated.

Committee: Kim Binsted (chair), John Zuern, Diane Nahl, Andrew Arno, Ben Bergen (outside member).

More information: http://www2.hawaii.edu/~ztomasze/argax/

After days of wind and rain we had a wonderful sunny Saturday afternoon for our Magic Island CIS picnic.
Faculty and students with their families showed up for food and fun in the sun. We had volleyball games, surfing, swimming, and there were lots of talk story.

We hope this can become an end of the semester tradition :)

The research employed a qualitative method and used three theoretical approaches. The Social Actor Model was the microscope for the situated individual marine stakeholder, Actor-Network Theory was used to analyze the role played by ICTs in the formation and networking of different groups and also to analyze the role of artifacts in advancing actors' agendas, and Social Movement theory served to analyze large-scale changes and mobilizations.

The research was partially funded by a Doctoral Dissertation Improvement grant from the National Science Foundation.

ABSTRACT
The management of marine resources is undergoing a paradigm shift, away from top-down governance by a central power interacting with an stable, limited and relatively homogeneous and isolated set of ocean users, to a field populated by dynamic, abundant, networked and heterogeneous stakeholder groups. These marine stakeholders are playing an increasingly active role in the management and regulation of the ocean resources. This shift has been partly assisted by the increased availability of information about marine resources and by the new communication and information technologies. Together, these developments allow users to become active players, giving rise to a new trend in co-management of marine resources. This research presents evidence that the term of “ocean user” is conceptually limiting and no longer viable to describe ocean stakeholders’ ability to participate in co-management arrangements. This study employed a qualitative approach across three research sites in Hawaii (Waianae, Hanauma Bay, and West Hawaii) to understand the dynamics of selected marine stakeholders’ gathering and use of information, formation of groups and alliances, framing of issues, and affecting regulatory changes. The West Hawaii case study, via the West Hawaii Fisheries Council, yielded the richest data for the research. The Council exemplifies a successful integration of the local community in the management of local marine resources. Data was gathered by using semi-structured interviews, attending meetings and analyzing documents and other artifacts. The analysis was informed by the Social Actor Model of Lamb and Kling (2003), the Actor-Network Model developed by Latour (2005) and Callon (1986) and, to a lesser extent, the Social Movement literature (McAdam, McCarthy & Zald, 1996). Based on the evidence gathered, this study advances the concept of the emerging Hawaii Marine Stakeholder, and offers a description of how the management of the marine resources has accommodated stakeholders. SAM was used to understand the actor, ANT to explain the network, and SM to analyze large-scale changes and mobilizations. The results offer practical implications for the development and implementation of co-management arrangements. Theoretical implications include the analytical integration of diverse approaches to understanding social action situated in the context of environmental management.

Committee: Daniel Suthers (Chair), Diane Nahl, Elizabeth Davidson, Lorenz Magaard, Denise Antolini (external member, Law)

The study bridges the chasm between the subjective (or deterministic) and the social technology (e.g., structurational) steams of research.

The study adopts the social actor model, and tests hypotheses about ICT use in four actor dimensions with data from a large study of Japan specialists in North America that included extensive information about the organizational contexts in which they work. The research identifies eight general types of ICT use, and contributes to the information systems literature by offering methodological and theoretical implications for future studies.

Abstract:
In organizations, users of technology are often constrained by the organizational structural properties such as norms and resources. Much of the deterministic stream of information system research focuses merely on factors pertaining to the individual level and largely ignores the organizational context in which technology use is given shape. On the other hand, the social steam of information systems research emphasizes social influence on technology use, but it lacks sustentative evidence. In light of these two problems, the literature provides little guidance in determining the extent to which the criterion effects vary among different types of information and communication technology (ICT) use.

The goal of this research is to investigate several areas where the existing literature leaves questions unanswered. This goal is divided into four objectives: (1) to provide a measure of various types of ICT use, (2) to revisit the roles of individual and organizational factors on ICT use, (3) to validate and extend the social actor model posited by Lamb and Kling (2003), and (4) to bridge the chasm between the deterministic and social streams of information systems research. This study adopts the social actor model as the research framework. Variables are conceptualized into four actor dimensions (e.g., identity, interaction, affiliation, and environment) that are postulated to impact actors’ ICT use.

The study tests hypotheses about ICT use in these four actor dimensions with data from a large study of Japan specialists in North America that included extensive information about the organizational contexts in which they work. The research identifies eight general types of ICT use. The social actor model is supported; the results indicate that individual characteristics play a more crucial role in use of technology than organizational structural properties do in professional organizations such as this population. In addition, through elaboration analyses the study uncovers potential moderators and mediators that influence the findings. The research contributes to the information systems literature by offering methodological and theoretical implications for future studies. The research also has implications that may help managers formulate information systems decisions and justify their value propositions.

Committee: Colin MacDonald (chairperson), Patricia Steinhoff (outside member and co-advisor), Mark Rosenbaum, Shuqiang Zhang, Daniel Suthers

Abstract:
This dissertation begins a research program aimed at a systematic investigation of phenomena in the nexus of culture, cognition and computers. This dissertation investigates two specific research questions related to the effects of culture on appropriation of affordances and on technological intersubjectivity. Affordances are conceptualized as action-taking possibilities and meaning-making opportunities in an environment relative to an actor. Drawing from ecological psychology and by making meaning ecologically cognitive, formal definitions of technology, social and socio-technical affordances are offered. Socio-technical affordances are relational properties in actor-environment systems that provide social action possibilities given the cultural-cognitive capabilities of the actors and the technical capabilities of the environment. A tripartite distinction of intersubjectivity as psychological, phenomenological and technological is made. Technological intersubjectivity (TI) is an emergent phenomenon in socio-technical systems and refers to a technology supported interactional social relationship between two or more participants.

The basic premise of this research is that social affordances of technologies vary along cultural dimensions. To empirically evaluate this premise, an experimental study was conducted into how culture influences the appropriation of socio-technical affordances and technological intersubjectivity in computer supported collaboration. The experimental study design consisted of three independent groups of dyads from similar or different cultures (Anglo-American, Chinese) doing collaborative problem-solving in a knowledge-mapping learning environment. Participants interacted through an asynchronous computer interface providing multiple tools for interaction (diagrammatic workspace, embedded notes, threaded discussion) as they worked on an intellectually challenging problem of identifying the cause of a disease outbreak.

The analytical focus of the experimental study was to determine the influence of culture on the appropriation of affordances by individual participants in an online learning environment. The theoretical objective of the study was to inform the notion of technological intersubjectivity.

Based on theories of culture and empirical findings in cultural psychology documenting cross- cultural variations in behavior, communication and cognition, seven a priori research hypotheses were advanced. Empirical data were collected using demographic, culture and usability instruments; participants' self-perception and collaborative peer-perception instruments; screen recordings and software logs of experimental sessions. Statistical results showed that members of different cultures appropriated the resources of the interface differently in their interaction, and formed differential impressions of each other. For example, on average, Anglo-American participants of the experimental study created more evidential relation links, made more individual contributions and were more likely to explicitly discuss information sharing and knowledge organization strategies than their Chinese counterparts.

The empirical demonstration of a systemic cultural variation in the phenomena of technological intersubjectivity and appropriation of affordances in socio-technical environments is the primary contribution of my dissertation. Other contributions include an empirically informed theory of technological intersubjectivity, a methodological approach for the systematic study of the appropriation of affordances and a formal definition of socio-technical affordances

Committee: Daniel D. Suthers (chairperson); Richard W. Brislin; Martha E. Crosby; Marie K. Iding; and Dharm P. Bhawuk, External Member

The proposed work will (1) gather data on blogging practices and policies inside firms; and (2) investigate by structural equation modeling how blogging adds to models of organizational climates that promote (a) knowledge sharing and exchange, and (b) trust in peers and management. The research integrates theories of social capital, trust, organizational climate, and knowledge sharing & exchange to test claims that blogging adds value to firms.

Committee Chair: Dr. Tom Kelleher
Members: Dr. Ray Panko, Dr. Dan Wedemeyer, Dr. Jeff Ady, Dr. Shuqiang Zhang, Dr. Ellen Hoffman (outside)

Abstract:
New information technologies provide social support for intellectual collaboration augmenting knowledge-based business activity that has been accelerated by globalization-enabling, inexpensive communication resources. In particular, blogs and wikis are easy-to-use tools for structuring both knowledge and relationships. They interact with the organizational climates of the firms involved and the personalities of their employees. They are promoted as ways to nurture social behavior conducive of increased productivity and job satisfaction.

Blogs have spread in cyberspace as a generally positive innovation. Individuals and groups share their thoughts, musings, pictures, new ideas, and more. Advocates of blogging claim that businesses can ill-afford to do without them. Is that claim with merit, and if so, why?

The proposed research will have two main objectives: First to collect descriptive data on the extent of corporate blogging in a random sample of publicly-traded firms. The second is to test explanatory claims for beneficial social purposes, particularly trust-building blogs in organizations. Compared to publicly-accessible blogs, relatively little has been published about internal corporate blogs, either sponsored, or condoned. As a phenomenon being rapidly tested and adopted, there is an opportunity to gather basic facts about blogging, and test theories of communication, trust, and organizational climate.

The blog phenomenon within firms can be analyzed from the perspective of building social and intellectual capital consistent with the theory of Nahapiet and Ghoshal (1998) and Coleman (1988). That is because the blog encourages network ties, cognitive support, information exchange, and most importantly, relational support. Theories of social capital, trust, organizational climate, and knowledge sharing and exchange can all be applied to test claims of blogging adding value to firms.

Organizational culture, particularly a knowledge-centered culture, and organizational climate are often valuable resources for firms (e.g. Janz & Prasarnphanich, 2003). The literature review presents several good empirical studies showing favorable organizational climate to both increased knowledge sharing and productivity. A common element in most of the organizational climate studies is trust. A trusting culture is positively related to favorable behaviors. A central hypothesis of this proposed study is that blogging increases trust between members within firms.

This dissertation proposes to (1) gather data on blogging practices and policies inside firms from a random sample of the Wilshire 5000 companies; and (2) investigate by structural equation modeling of survey data from MBA students and one or more firmsĂ­ employees if and how blogging adds to models of organizational climates that promote (a) knowledge sharing and exchange, and (b) trust in peers and management. The Collins & Smith (2006) [not this Smith unfortunately] model was selected from several good choices to insert blogging behavior variables.

This study informs the discussion on the ICT construct and its role in development; critiques and extends the conceptual framework used in the study; and makes recommendations for both donor and partner countries for ways to make ICT aid initiatives more effective.

Abstract:
"Many of the assumptions underpinning current thinking on ICTs in development are based on intuition rather than analysis... The danger is that, without better understanding of the real impact of ICTs on both national economies and community development, the pursuit of over-ambitious, unrealistic goals may mean that resources are misapplied and worthwhile objectives missed." -- OECD-DAC, 2004

In the second half of the 20th Century, rapid developments in Information and Communications technologies (ICTs) have seen the evolution of an "information revolution" which supports and drives an increasingly global economy. In this context, the world recognizes a new form of poverty -- "information poverty" -- as developing countries struggle to obtain the infrastructure, skills and other requisites to be participants in that revolution. Increasingly, aid programs to developing countries are focusing on the role that ICTs can play in economic and social development. However the ongoing debate about this role highlights a need for a greater understanding of how donor and recipient countries conceptualize ICTs and their impact on development so that aid initiatives can be more effectively targeted.

This study fills that need by exploring and comparing how a donor country (New Zealand) and four of its aid partner countries (Cook Islands, Fiji, Niue and Samoa) separately conceptualize the role of ICTs for economic and social development. The researcher used data gathered from interviews, observation and archival research in a qualitative study. She then analyzed the data according to a conceptual framework developed by IS scholars Sein & Harindranath (2004) to identify, map & compare each country’s conceptualization and to determine alignment.

This study contributes to the literature on ICTs for Development by informing the discussion on the ICT construct and its role in development; it also critiques and extends the conceptual framework used in the study; finally, it makes recommendations for both donor and partner countries for ways to make ICT aid initiatives more effective.

Committee: Dr Dan Wedemeyer (Chair), Dr Ruth Huard, Dr Dennis Streveler, Dr Meheroo Jussawalla, Dr Ellen Hoffman (outside member)

Committee: Dr. Daniel Suthers (Chair), Dr. Joung-Im Kim, Dr. Devan Rosen, Dr. Violet Harada, Dr. dan wedemeyer, and Dr. Kelly Aune (Outside Member).

Literature shows that games can provide an engaging, dynamic, and authentic learning context. Much of the studies on games in the classroom show that games can support learning standards and outcomes. However, a need for research exists that identifies actual uses of games through the analysis of the social and cognitive affordances employed by student gamers. Such an understanding can inform the design of effective educational games and aid in the appropriation of commercial games for educational use. A study informed by activity theory, distributed cognition, and ethnomethodology using methods of grounded theory is called for, providing a detailed description of the use of video games in an educational context and projecting potential implications for design for learning.

Committee Members: Dr. Kim Binsted (Chair), Dr. Montgomery, Dr. Daniel Suthers, Dr. McDonald, and Dr. Onopa (Outside Member).

Computer interaction design and evaluation principles conceived and grounded in Earth's gravitoinertial operational environment do not necessarily hold beyond Earth’s ubiquitous +1Gz background force level (Dillard, Khosla, Ewald, & Kaleem, 2005). In the age of space flights and high performance aircraft, an emerging HCI challenge is to create innovative interactive systems extending current design principles from a +1Gz environment to altered ±Gz environments. By requiring users to operate at the limits of human cognitive ability, extreme environments’ physical stressors such as ±Gz accelerations create severe usability constraints on the use of computerized tools and on the accurate and timely access to computerized information (Adolf & Holden, 1996; Connelly, Siek, Lafond-Favieres, & Bennett, 2005). Failure to address these constraints at the human-computer interaction level systematically leads to the commission of critical and potentially fatal errors.

We know that the physiological effects of ±Gz accelerations adversely impact human performance (Fong & Fan, 1997; Gillingham, 1988; Leverett & Burton, 1979) and that human performance in ±Gz environments correlates negatively with stress (Galvagno, Massa, & Price, 2004; Rickards & Newman, 2005; B. S. Shender, Forster, Hrebien, Ryoo, & Cammarota, 2003). We know that performance correlates negatively with field dependency on a wide range of sensory-motor tasks (Bloomberg, 1965; G. Long, M., 1972; Smith & Klein, 1953) and that field dependency correlates negatively with performance under stress (Hill & Eigenbaum, 1966; Sarris, Heineken, & Peters, 1976). Finally, we know that field dependency is an important determinant in human-computer interaction (Bohan, Boehm-Davis, & Marshall, 1995; Dillon & Sweeney, 1998).

However, little is known regarding interaction effects between extreme environments’ physical stressors and human cognitive abilities (NASA, 1995), and even less is known regarding interaction effects between field dependency-independency as a cognitive style (Allport, 1937; Witkin & Goodenough, 1981) and ±Gz accelerations as an extreme environment physical stressor (Morrison et al., 1994; Scerbo, 1995). This research proposal argues that to uphold optimal performance under conditions of alternating ±Gz accelerations, user interface design should be informed by a theoretical framework that explains how and why ±Gz accelerations as a physical stressor and field dependency-independency as a cognitive style impact human performance.

This experimental study addresses gaps in our current theoretical understanding of the impact of ±Gz accelerations and field dependency-independency on task performance in human-computer interaction, and investigates the cumulative effects of ±Gz accelerations and field dependency-independency on human sensory-motor performance in the completion of perceptual-motor tasks on a personal digital assistant (PDA). The proposed experimental study will approach the problem from an information processing theoretical perspective and examine how its solution could be generalized to related computerized platforms run in environments characterized by the presence of similar stressors. A controlled experiment, conducted in an aerobatic aircraft under multiple ±Gz conditions, compares and evaluates the performance of field-dependent versus field-independent participants in the completion of two sensory-motor tasks implemented around fundamental low level interaction goals. This study begins a research agenda aimed at the development of perceptually and contextually defined design principles informing the user-interface design of personal digital assistants (PDA) and enabling users in altered ±Gz environments to execute perceptual tasks efficiently without unnecessarily increasing cognitive load and the probability of critical errors.

Abstract:
Digitalization shapes the landscape of TV news industry tremendously. Due to the newness of TV news digitalization, previous studies are fairly limited. To study decision making, implementation strategies, and adoption process of digital TV news systems, this research uses qualitative inquiry (interviewing and overt observation) to examine four Taiwan’s TV stations (FTV, EBC, TVBS, DA-AI) that have successfully adopted digital TV news systems. This research generates a conceptual model that incorportated Rogers’ (2003) innovation process model, Orlikowski’s (1995) technology-use mediation activities, and Leonard-Barton’s (1988) implementation strategies, to guide and sensitize data collection and data analysis. This multiple case study aims to find out 1) what factors affecting decision making of IT adoption, 2) how decision making process relates to IT implementation strategies, 3) the processes and variations in adopting digital TV news systems in the four TV stations; and 4) how such digital technology affects news production process, and news representation, news work, and collaboration. After systematic qualitative data analysis, this research has several important findings. First, relative advantage, compatibility, cost, and sustainability are most concerned perceived characteristics of innovation that affect managerial decisions to adopt digital TV news systems. Individual level factors and organizational level factors affect the adoption decision more than environmental level factors. Second, adopting a total solution technology leads to a relatively simple, linear process, while adopting a self-developed, integrated system represents complex, paralleled developmental paths. Third, distinct implementation characteristics of digital TV news technology (low transferability, high organizational complexity, high divisibility) set parameters for managers to make implementation strategies for deploying TV news systems. Training/evaluations are essential in assimilating this production IT successfully. Fourth, digital TV news systems have greater impact on news production process, news work, and collaboration than on news representations. Finally, a refined model is developed to investigate the adoption and implementation of core production technology in digital broadcasting. This teleological model shows various decision events, reciprocal interaction, and vagueness in the adoption process.

Her committee members are:
Dr. Davidson, Elizabeth J. (Chairperson), Dr. Kim, Joung-Im, Dr. Nahl, Diane, Dr. Wedemeyer, Dan, and Dr. Hoffman, Ellen (Outside member)

A key challenge for applied educational research has been the inability to identify and track how learning occurs during instruction. Research has expanded our ability to measure what learning has occurred and to what degree, but few studies have documented how learning takes place in the classroom. This research describes an ethnomethodological case study to explore what factors might influence the learning of quadratic expressions during two tenth-grade mathematics classes. Classes were designed to work in small group discussions using individual graphing calculators for problem solving. The research goal is exploration of the cognitive, affective, and technological influences on learning, looking for what patterns or learning sequences might emerge from analysis. Each class was conducted with a different pedagogical approach: one using the graphing calculator alone, and the second using the graphing calculator with a networked system designed for community learning. Data was collected from daily observations, surveys, conversation analysis, and several assessments of achievement. Student data will be analyzed to identify any correlation between pedagogical method and student achievement. Surveys will be analyzed for student perceptions of math difficulty and technology use. Group conversations will be analyzed for student interactions during problem solving and insights into patterns and episodes of learning. Early results show surprising episodes of learning during conversations between pairs, triads, and quads that appear to have helped individuals understand the mathematics, suggesting further investigation into how collaborative learning might influence individual achievement. Group conversations also suggest that students were less affected by pedagogical or technological influences, preferring to challenge and guide each other through discussion to a mutual understanding. If collaborative interaction produces a greater or equally significant influence on learning than technological, pedagogical, or environmental factors, the implication for instructional design indicates a need to include collaborative work and a method for monitoring group discussion.

Committee members: Dr. Rebecca Knuth (Committee Chair), Dr. Diane Nahl, Dr. dan wedemeyer, Dr. Peter Jacso (Dr. Andrew Wertheimer, will serve as proxy for her proposal defense for Dr. Jacso.), and Dr. Lisa Assante (Outside member).

The development of an institutional repository (IR) is one of the more complex projects that librarians may undertake. While many librarians have experience managing large information system projects, IR projects involve a larger stakeholder group and require support from technical services, public services and administration to succeed. While the growth of IRs has been slower in the United States than in Europe, a survey by Lynch and Lippincott (2005) found that more than 40% of the 97 doctoral universities surveyed had developed an institutional repository. While only 178 colleges and universities participated in the survey, many of the respondents were developing or interested in developing an institutional repository. With more than 4,000 degree granting institutions in United States, an increase in the development of repositories is expected with technology and process improvements (Pocket Guide, 2005). This study investigates the factors influencing the development of institutional repositories at academic institutions. A comparative case study analysis approach will be employed to gather and analyze data, and provide a detailed account and analysis of academic institutional repositories. By identifying how institutional repositories are developing and the challenges that they face, developmental models can be identified for libraries, providing a generalized view of IR development to improve the process for future adopters. This study aims to contribute to a more informed understanding of the development of IRs and how individual institutions model repository development.