International Association for
Computer Information Systems

2009 Conference Highlights

49th Annual IACIS International Conference
September 30—October 3, 2009
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

IACIS 2009 Conference Program (.pdf file--requires newest version of Adobe Reader )

IACIS 2009 Keynote Speakers:

E. Scott Larsen, Senior Software Engineer, Google
Karen L. Paullet, Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office

IACIS 2009 Conference Review

Comments from Past Participants

2009 Conference Keynote Speakers

Scott Larson E. Scott Larsen, Senior Software Engineer, Google

E. Scott Larsen has been playing with computers since he discovered that his dad's printer had more memory than his Commodore128. He got a BS and MS from Brigham Young University, and PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While in grad school, he helped pioneer usage of commodity graphics hardware for non-graphics applications, while studying computer vision and graphics, while dabbling in parallel processing. Before landing at Google he did internships at Orangatango and NVIDIA. He is currently a Senior Software Engineer working in the Ads Quality group.

Presentation Abstract: Extreme Data Mining: The Google AdWords and AdSense Data Mining Infrastructure

In order to show only the ads that are helpful to our users, the data mining we do here at Google works on extremely high data volumes and needs to provide data throughput that is global, continuous, and very high. The scale of this data mining, and our highly responsive usage patterns, imply significant challenges to all levels of the software stack: from low-level infrastructure to high-level application design. In this talk I will discuss challenges of data mining with data volumes so high that even simple computation problems rapidly become non-trivial. I will also discuss some algorithmic, statistical, and data mining challenges that accompany these domains.

Karen Paullet

Karen L. Paullet, Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office

Ms. Paullet has worked in the criminal justice system for over 12 years. In 2003, she was the first to implement courtroom technology in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Her duties include working with prosecutors, law enforcement, and crime lab technicians to digitize and prepare evidence for trial. She has worked on over 2000 criminal trials. As part of her job duties she has spoken to over 100 schools and organizations throughout Pennsylvania on the CSI Effect, Cyberbullying, Cyberstalking, and the Dangers of Social Network Sites. Since May 2007, Karen has been an adjunct instructor at Robert Morris University in the Department of Computer and Information Systems. She is also an adjunct instructor at American Public University System (APUS) in the Department of Information Technology. Karen holds a DSc. in Information Systems and Communications, a M.S. in Communications and Information Systems and a B.S. in Information Systems from Robert Morris University.

Presentation Abstract: Computer Forensics: A New Profession

The increased number of crimes committed with the aid of sophisticated technology indicates that computer forensic professionals will need to understand the tools, technology, and methods employed by criminals. Computer forensics is the process of using scientific knowledge for collecting, analyzing, and presenting evidence to courts. Computer forensics is a relatively new discipline in which there has been little standardization across the courts and industry. Since the number of computer related crimes is growing exponentially university computer science programs should address the need for computer forensics professionals.

49th Annual IACIS International Conference Review

The 49th Annual IACIS International Conference was held at the Renaissance Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, PA, USA. This was the first time the IACIS conference was held in Pittsburgh, but it may not be the last. Conference participants thoroughly enjoyed the hospitable city of bridges. The conference registration included over 157 IACIS members representing 10 different countries.

We had two excellent keynote speakers and 141 presentations distributed among the following mini-tracks and topics:

	Mini Tracks			Topics
Curriculum Design/Development Database/Data Modeling E-business/E-government International Business			Learning/Online-Blended-E-Learning Software Development IS Instruction Medical Integration

Other papers represented the following areas of research:

Change Management
Decision Making
Email/Instant Messaging
Groups/Teams
Information Management
Mobile Technologies

Networks
Project Management
Social Networks
Supply Chain Management
University, Work and Culture Issues

Complete, double-blind reviewed, accepted papers for the Conference were published in Issues in Information Systems ( IIS ), which is an official IACIS publication. IIS is a serial publication of the Association that is registered with the US Library of Congress and listed in the Eighth Edition of Cabell's Directory of Publishing Opportunities in Management. All submissions were subject to a double-blind refereed process for inclusion in the Conference program and publication in IIS, Volume IX, Issues 1 and 2

Conference Awards

Each year the Association sponsors awards that are made at the annual Conference. Awards are made for the Computer Educator of the Year, the Ben Bauman Award for Excellence, the Best Conference Research Paper, the Best Conference Pedagogy Paper, the Best Conference Technology Paper and the Top Monkey Award.

The Computer Educator of the Year is the highest award presented by the Association and recognizes an individual who shows exceptional research and teaching skills, has made significant contributions to the information systems profession and education, and enjoys a national or international reputation for outstanding work throughout the information systems community.

The Ben Bauman Award for Excellence recognizes either a senior faculty member with significant service to the profession, university, and community, or a junior faculty member showing outstanding scholarship, service and great promise. This year's Ben Bauman Award recognized a junior faculty member.

The Best Research Paper Award is made for the best paper reporting original research; the Best Pedagogy Paper Award is for the best paper regarding pedagogical issues; the Best Technology Award is for the best integration and application of information technology. The IACIS reviewers nominated papers for each of the three award categories. The Conference Program Chair made the final selection using recommendations from the double-blind refereeing process and the IACIS Executive Board.

The Top Monkey Award recognizes the institution with the most Conference participants.

Recipients of these prestigious (and fun) awards from the Association for 2009 are as follows:

Computer Educator of the Year

Dr. Alex Koohang: Dean, School of Information Technology, Peyton Anderson Eminent Scholar & Professor of Information Technology, Macon State College, Georgia, USA

During his more than twenty years in the academic community Alex Koohang has served as Lecturer, Program Coordinator, Program Director, Division Head and Academic Dean. Dr. Koohang has also served as a Visiting Professor at the Polish University Wyzsza Szkola Biznesu-National-Louis University. During his academic career he has assembled a remarkable record of accomplishment.

In addition to an active teaching schedule Professor Koohang is the co-author of six books, and author or co-author of more than 60 international publications and academic proceedings, has made more than 50 national and international presentations, serves as editor-in-chief of the Interdisciplinary Journal of E- Learning & Learning Objects and past editor-in-chief of the Interdisciplinary Journal of Information, Knowledge & Management , as an editorial reviewer for the Journal of Computer Information Systems, International Journal of Innovation & Learning, and many others.

In recognition of his outstanding achievements and dedication to computer, technology, and management education, he has been recognized as a FELLOW of the Informing Science Institute.

Professor Koohang has truly made a significant impact on the world of Computer Information Systems through his teaching, his scholarship, his commitment to editing professional and technical journals reaching throughout the globe, and his academic leadership as a University Administrator. We congratulate Professor Alex Koohang on being selected as the 2009 IACIS Computer Educator of the Year.

Ben Bauman Award for Excellence

Monica Holmes Dr. Monica C. Holmes: Professor of Management Information Systems, Associate Dean in the College of Business Administration, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, Michigan, USA

Ben Bauman had an outstanding career as a computer specialist in the Air Force before retiring and joining the faculty of James Madison University. He devoted his second career to supporting and mentoring faculty and contributing to the growth of IACIS. He died unexpectedly after retiring from JMU and this award was established to honor his memory.

We recognize Dr. Monica Holmes, Central Michigan University, as the recipient of the 2009 Ben Bauman Award for Excellence. Professor Holmes has fifteen years of teaching, service, and administration experience at Central Michigan University, currently serving as the Associate Dean of the College of Business Administration. During her career Professor Holmes has participated in specialized technical training provided by Six Sigma and SAP, and has been active in providing leadership to AITP. In 2007, she co-chaired the AITP National Collegiate Conference in Detroit, with more than 650 participants. In 2008 and 2009, she co-chaired the annual conference of the Michigan American Council on Education for Women Leaders in Higher Education. She has also served as Consultant-Evaluator for the Higher Learning Commission, Director of the MS in IS program, Chairperson of the MBA Advisory Board, Chairperson of the BIS Department, and is currently serving as the College of Business Administration Associate Dean. Professor Holmes has authored or co-authored more than 30 published manuscripts, participated in numerous grant proposals and fundraising activities, served on many university committees, and contributed to the development and delivery of numerous online courses.

Dr. Holmes is clearly on track for an outstanding career as a university faculty member and administrator, and we congratulate her on being selected to receive the 2009 Ben Bauman Award for Excellence.

Best Research Paper

CHINESE AMERICAN ONLINE BANKING: MULTICULTURAL ACCEPTANCE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Lloyd G. Gibson, Seton Hill University, gibson@setonhill.edu
Regina Ann Gibson, Gibson Research and Consulting, gibsonfamily01@comcast.net

Technology acceptance research can be used to develop global strategies for e-commerce/service industries with market segments having multiple cultural identities. For banks to attract the fast-growing Chinese American population, knowing the factors influencing Internet banking adoption is important. The survey (N=254 Chinese Americans) used demographic and attitudinal factors from the Technology Acceptance Model and the Diffusion of Innovations Theory. Recommendations for online banking implementation are based on analysis supporting the significance of gender, language, and attitudinal factors.

Download a PDF copy of this paper.

Honorable Mention for Research

POLYGLOT: A MULTILINGUAL GROUP SUPPORT SYSTEM

Milam Aiken, University of Mississippi, aiken@bus.olemiss.edu
Mahesh Vanjani, Texas Southern University, vanjanim@tsu.edu

This paper describes a new, locally developed Internet-based electronic group support system that automatically translates among 34 languages through a linkage with Google Translate. The overall accuracy rate was only 86%, but near perfect accuracy might not be needed for informal, information gathering group meetings in which ideas are often redundant and can be rephrased. Further, the translation speed advantage might offset this weakness.

Download a PDF copy of this paper.

Best Pedagogy Paper

SERVICE LEARNING INTEGRATION USING INFORMATION SYSTEM COURSES

Gary J. DeLorenzo, California University of Pennsylvania, delorenzo@cup.edu
Frederick G. Kohun, Robert Morris University, kohun@rmu.edu
Alexis S. Macklin, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, asmacklin@hswp.org

This paper details the experience of integrating service learning projects into technology oriented courses for the Computer Information Systems (CIS) program at California University of Pennsylvania (CUP) and the Communications and Information System Department at Robert Morris University (RMU). The paper entails the steps undertaken by faculty members at CUP to inquire, select and implement service projects in their technology courses and an example of one successful project for a non-profit organization. It also notes the findings and overall conclusions for the service learning initiatives that have occurred at RMU.

Download a PDF copy of this paper.

Best Technical Paper

WEB IMAGE INFORMATION MINING SYSTEM USING UUP FOR E-BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE

Seong-Yong Hong, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), gosyhong@kaist.ac.kr

Recently the web sites such as e-business sites and shopping mall sites deal with a lot of image information. To find a specific image from these image sources, we usually use web search engines or image database engines which rely on keyword only retrievals or color based retrievals with limited search capabilities. This paper presents an intelligent web e-catalog image retrieval system using metadata and user log. We propose the system architecture, the texture and color based image classification and indexing techniques, and representation schemes of user usage patterns. The query can be given by providing keywords, by selecting one or more sample texture patterns, by assigning color values within positional color blocks, or by combining some or all of these factors. The system keeps track of user’s preferences by generating user query logs and automatically adds more search information to subsequent user queries. To demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed system, some experimental results showing recall and precision are also explained.

Download a PDF copy of this paper.

Top Monkey Award

First place: Robert Morris University

Second Place: Central Michigan University

Preparations are now underway for the 50th Annual IACIS International Conference to be held at the beautiful Golden Nugget in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA on October 6 – 9, 2010. Download the Call for Papers now and make plans to attend the conference! I hope to see each of you in sunny Las Vegas!

Lori Willoughby
IACIS Vice President
2009-2010 Conference Chair

What Have Past Participants Said about this Conference?

This was my first conference but will not be my last.
I got a lot from the presentations to take back to my university.
Excellent conference! Thanks to all the people behind the scenes that made it possible.
This continues to be the best IT conference – it is exceptionally well organized.
Good Conference.
I am a first timer. I am very pleased with the entire operation of this conference. Keep up the great work.
I have been coming to IACIS and am always happy about it. This year is even better.
Great value!
Great job as always.
I heard from many attendees that they really like “this group” of professionals because of their friendless, willingness to suggest changes, raise questions, etc. as opposed to other conferences they attended where participants take pride in shooting holes in your research.
Excellent, Excellent, Excellent, Thank you!
Well organized conference.

Come join us and see for yourself the value of participating in an IACIS international conference!

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2009 Conference Highlights