ISQA 8060 - RESEARCH IN MIS

1. Please answer all parts of this question. Clearly state and explain all assumptions. Appended below is a proposed research project that you are planning to conduct. To further expand this proposal, you need to answer the following questions.
   1. State or define the problem under investigation… 10%.
   2. Specify all concepts and explain why you consider them to be a dependent variable, independent variable(s), intervening variable(s), and moderating variable(s)… 20%.
   3. Based on the answers above, now develop a complete theoretical framework and draw a schematic diagram. Provide a brief rationale for any relationships you may establish in your model… 10%.
   4. Develop four testable hypotheses and state each, both in the null and in the alternate forms... 20%.
   5. How would you establish the "scientific" quality of this research? … 10%.
   6. Would this be basic or applied research? Briefly state how, or under what circumstances, this very same research could become the opposite of whatever your answer is… 10%.
   7. Which research design would you use? Be sure to clearly explain your reasoning… 20%.
   Initial Trust and the Adoption of B2C e-Commerce

   Banks are continue to offer and extend Internet banking service since this service is expected to increase customer satisfaction, boost retention and improve profits. Thus, increasing the adoption rate of Internet banking becomes very important. A possible reason for the delayed acceptance of the Internet as a retail distribution channel may be the lack of trust consumers have in the electronic channel and in the Web merchants. The notion of initial trust in the Internet as a banking medium refers to the willingness of a consumer to be vulnerable to the actions of the Internet based on the expectation that the Internet will perform what the consumer expects it to do - and not something else - despite the possibility of environmental disruption, human user and operator errors, and attacks by hostile parties. It is suggested from past research that initial trust in the electronic channel as a banking medium and trust in the bank are critical determinants of the adoption of Internet banking. Based on the marketing literature and social network theory it is believed that three attributes of trust - individual's propensity-to-trust (i.e., individual's confidence towards new technology and new merchants), structural assurances (i.e., one's belief that institutional assurances such as legally enforceable contracts, promises/guarantees, insurances, independent audit, and regulations can engender trustworthy behavior), and relational content of word of mouth referrals ("who told-whom-about-the-service" - belief that Internet banking is useful, not risky, easy to use, reliable, and worth the effort) are significant predictors of initial trust in the electronic channel.

   NB: This description is adapted from the research conducted by Kim and Prabhakar (2004).
   Kim, KK and Prabhakar, B. (2004, Spring). "Initial Trust and the Adoption of B2C e-Commerce: The Case of Internet Banking." Database for Advances in Information Systems, Vol. 35: 2, pp. 50-65.

2. Please answer all parts of this question. Clearly state and explain all assumptions. Appended is an extended abstract of a research project submitted by the Good Research Company, Incorporated to the President of PKI Corporation. It offers a good idea of how the research was done. Based on this you need to write a critique: (a) Discuss how 'good' or 'bad' the research is. (Hint: Include a discussion of the various components of a scientific inquiry such as problem definition, measures, sampling design, data collection methods, results of data analysis, inferences and conclusions, etc.) (b) Ideally, how would you as a researcher, do things differently so as to get rid of the 'bad' points, if any. (c) how would you design a study like this.
   EXTENDED ABSTRACT: THE MORALE OF IS EMPLOYEES
   THE PKI CORPORATION STUDY

   The PKI Corp. is a multi-million dollar company with 25 offices all over the U.S. It has over 5000 white collar workers and about 20,000 blue collar workers throughout the country. These workers are very mobile and work at different sites at different times during the year. They are given various information technologies to support their work such as cellphone PDAs to coordinate projects, communicate with each other, keep track of their email and appointments. Having invested heavily in wireless infrastructures and mobile technologies, the President of the Company, Ms. Lynne Jones, is perplexed at the high turnover in her company. At her insistence, this research team undertook the study of morale and the factors affecting morale in the PKI Corp.

   An extensive literature survey indicated that six factors are primarily important in influencing staff morale. They are: (1) pay, (2) company policies, (3) working environment, (4) good supervision, (5) appropriate grievance procedures, and (6) fair treatment. A questionnaire was designed to tap these six variables and morale, in addition to some demographic variables. In order to motivate the respondents to answer the questionnaire, it was printed with good alignment of the 20 questions that were asked. The questionnaires were administered to all the employees with each local manager undertaking the responsibility of handing out and collecting the questionnaire back from the employees in his/her office. The employees were provided with tamper-proof envelopes which they used. The response rate was quite high--about 89%. An analysis of the data indicated that the morale of the employees was quite high in each of the offices of this company - the mean ranging from 6.0 to 6.6. on a 7 point scale. The mean on the other variables, i.e., attitudes toward pay, company policies, working environment, supervision, grievance procedure and the treatment employees receive, was also fairly high with little variance. Unfortunately, a multiple regression analysis did not explain much of the variance in morale. Hence Ms. Jones team concluded that there is no morale problem in this company. Indeed, all indications are that it is very high. If at all there is a turnover problem in this company, as indicated by the President, the reasons for this must lie elsewhere.

1. What is information hiding? What is its value (be sure to address the whole software life cycle)? How can it be implemented in a procedural language like C? How is it implemented in an O-O language?

2. What are scenarios and how are they used in analysis and in design? In your answer, address issues such as goals, participants, level of detail, and how they contribute to creating the documentation of the system (Interaction Diagrams, and CRC cards). Be sure to compare and contrast the difference between scenarios for analysis and those for design.

• Your consulting company is one of several that have been invited to bid on a major contract from the Emergency Management Agency (EMA) to develop a Web-based information and communication system for supporting EMA activities after a natural disaster. Clearly, the recent events surrounding the hurricanes in the southeast United States have revealed large gaps and problems in the coordination of post-disaster efforts. If you are awarded the contract, your company would be responsible for the complete system, all the way from requirements analysis through design to implementation and post-implementation follow-up.

  In their bid solicitation, EMA provided the following over-arching objectives for the system to be developed:

  • The system will function as the center for coordination and communication during the days and weeks following the disaster
  • Different agencies will provide input for the system, e.g., the Red Cross might provide input on the number of volunteers available at different locations, or the types of supplies available for disaster victims
  • The system must be available for real-time updates of movement of supplies and volunteers, so that anyone who needs to can get an up-to-the-minute picture of the situation
  • The system must provide different views of complex data
  • The system must include a real-time communication component that supports electronic meetings and quick decision-making of directors of disparate agencies
  • Different levels of access privileges will be specified for users, to be determined via consultation with the different users from all the relevant agencies
  • The system must be Web-based, with access via secure password

  One of the things that you are concerned about is that there are potentially many agencies involved in both using and providing data to the system. Those agencies will have to be identified by the developer, since EMA has not specified exactly who should be involved. There will surely be political issues and power struggles involved. You have been told that the developers will have complete access to anyone that needs to provide input, but it is not clear at the moment who will take responsibility for making the tough choices on the final requirements for the system.

  The exam question:

  Write an evaluation for your boss to determine whether you should bid on this proposal. Identify the ambiguities and omissions in this proposal and the means that may be applied to overcome these deficiencies. You need to use understandable language while communicating technical concerns and solutions.

  Use summary tables or figures where appropriate, in order to make your paper more readable. Be as specific as possible in your recommendation and discussion. That is, use and apply the details of the scenario and be clear in justifying your choices in relation to the scenario, rather than just providing generic discussion. If you need to make assumptions in writing your answer, be sure that specify your assumptions clearly.

  Structure your proposal according to the following outline and provide a thorough discussion of each point.

  1. Introduction - This section should provide an overview of your recommendation.
  2. Analysis of the Situation - This section should provide a careful analysis of the situation in terms of the elements that must be considered when bidding on this proposal. This section is also where you make explicit any assumptions you made about the situation.
  3. Systems Development Methodology - This section should describe the system development method, or combination of methods, that your company might employ for this particular project to offset the identified deficiencies.
  4. Justification for Chosen Methodology - This section should justify why you have chosen the specific method or combination of methods. Include a discussion of the potential risks of your choice(s) and how you might mitigate those risks. Name at least four risks for this scenario.
  5. Critical Project Management Requirements - This section should discuss the key project management issues for this project and what must be done to ensure the success of this project, if undertaken. Discuss at least four project management issues for this scenario.
  6. Conclusion - This section should integrate the discussion and summarize your recommendation.
  7. References - Cite all references that you used in developing your recommendation.

1. The following diagram represents a small internet consisting of three linked networks. Assume that host computer N communicates with host computer Z over this internet. Explain the steps by which host N communicates with host Z using internet protocol (Ipv4). (Assume that the IP datagrams that are sent include no options.)

   In answering this question, discuss the role of the Internet (IP) layer and the layers below it. Include in your answer a discussion of address resolution, next hop forwarding, and maximum transmission units (MTUs). Be specific.

   R = router
   MTU = maximum transmission unit
   X, A, N, M, B, Z = computer hosts
   For this question assume that the original datagram consists of 2000 octets. These 2000 octets include an IP header (with no options) and data contained in the data area. Also, assume that ARP is used as a protocol address resolution technique (i.e., individual networks use static addressing schemes).

   Explain how the hosts find next hops, and how they use ARP. Also, describe how IP headers are used. Explain how datagrams are sent over network hardware. Finally, assume that fragment loss occurs. How do network protocols handle this?

2. Digital telephony uses a sampling scheme known as Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) to convert analog voice signals into digital signals. Explain why PCM is used. How does PCM work? (Discuss the sampling and conversion process.) At what rate is a voice signal sampled? Explain why.

   Facilities used for digitized voice use synchronous technology (synchronous networks). What is synchronous technology, and why is it used?

   Digital circuits are often leased from common carriers (telephone companies) to be used for data transmission. In these cases, special hardware is needed to interface a computer to a digital circuit provided by a telephone company. This hardware is known as a data service unit/channel service unit (DSU/CSU). What functions does it perform?

   Digital circuits provide transmission at a variety of bit rates. Lower capacity circuits, such as T1, provide transmission at 1.544 Mbps. Higher capacity circuits, such as T3, provide up to 44.736 Mbps. In some cases, organizations will use what is referred to as an inverse multiplexor (inverse mux). What is an inverse mux, and why is it used?

   Finally, Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) is used for high-speed networks. What is SONET?

ISQA 8380 - MANAGING THE DISTRIBUTED COMPUTING ENVIRONMENT

1. Increasingly two middleware approaches seem to be dominating the integration methods used by vendors of Enterprise Resource Planning and Customer Relationship Management systems. These are message oriented middleware like IBM's MQ Series and web services. Compare and contrast these two approaches to systems integration. Explain how each of these integration approaches work. Explain how you would integrate an ERP system in company A that uses IBM's MQ Series with an ERP system in company B that uses web services for integration. Use a diagram to describe your approach. Be sure to include technology needed to ensure that security and privacy are maintained between the two companies with your integration approach.

2. A large western state in the United States wants to increase the amount of self service available for the citizens of that state to increase convenience and reduce costs for state and citizens. The web self service application will be developed using a VB.NET server must talk to these back end applications:
   • A motor vehicle registration system that currently uses an IBM mainframe and DB2 database and CICS with 3270 terminal access.
   • A state tax system what is a package that uses BEA's Tuxedo running on a SUN UNIX system and an Oracle Database. It can be accessed using VT-100 terminals and via MQ Series messaging.
   • A state park reservation system which is written in VB.NET and can be accessed via web services. It uses MS SQL Server as the database.

   Explain how you will design and deploy a single web access to all three of these functions with only one sign on for citizens who register for access to the web site. Show your integration drawing and ensure that you are providing secure access to this information. Show all components you will need to complete this integration project and why you chose to use the technology you have selected.

1. Treasure Hunters, Inc. is a firm that provides chartered diving tours to paying customers to shipwrecks and other undersea attractions. Each tour involves a single destination, such as 'Great Barrier Reef', 'South Florida', or 'Fiji'. Each destination has a name, a cost per person, a description, and the name of the main city/town from which tours are conducted. Within each destination there are one or more sites. Each site is classified according to its main attraction (shipwreck, reef, marine life, etc.), has its own name, a particular depth to which one needs to dive to enjoy the site, and a skill level (beginner, intermediate, advanced). A site classified as a shipwreck will be associated with one or more shipwrecks. Each shipwreck involves a single ship, which has a name, a type (commercial, passenger, etc.), a year of manufacture, a year in which the ship sank, a condition (intact, scattered), and a main interest (historical, treasure, etc.).

   Sites classified as reef or marine life are associated with sea animals. These are the types of animals that have been spotted at the site. Each type of animal has a common name (e.g. Redband Parrotfish), a scientific name (e.g. Sparisoma Aurofrenatum), an average length, and a picture. Each reef or marine life site can be associated with one or more animals, and each animal can be associated with one or more sites.

   Since they are chartered tours, each tour is associated with one customer, who is the point of contact, is responsible for paying for the trip, and is responsible for communicating details to all passengers. A customer may sign up for multiple tours, however. For each tour that a customer signs up for, Treasure Hunters records the dates of the tour, the date on which the tour contract was signed, the number of passengers to accommodate on the tour, the address & phone number of the customer, and the total dollar price of the tour. The total price of the tour is a function of the number of passengers and the equipment passengers rent for the excursion. Accommodations and meals are included in the per-passenger price.

   For each tour, the customer specifies the number of each type of equipment to be rented. Each type of equipment has a name (e.g. Jet Fin), a category (Fins), and a rental cost. Each type of equipment may be rented on several different tours. Each type of equipment is identified by an item number.

   1. Create a conceptual or logical data model for this scenario. Please feel free to make (and write down) any assumptions that do not contradict the text above.
   2. Design a set of appropriately normalized relations (tables) that is consistent with your data model.
   3. Based on your tables, formulate SQL queries that will do the following:
      1. Create the SITE table, providing any necessary constraints.
      2. List the customer name, date, and destination for all tours that have gone to a shipwreck site.
      3. For each site, list the number of passengers who have gone to that site, as recorded in the tour contract.
      4. For each shipwreck site, list the name and shipwreck year of the oldest shipwreck at that site.
      5. Create an index on the sea animal common name field.

2. Many observers consider the cost of working with information to be the largest single hidden cost of corporate operations. What does this mean? Explain how OLAP can be a part of the solution to this problem. In your answer, be sure to define OLAP and any related concepts. After reading what you've written, your reader should have a clear understanding of what OLAP is and how it adds value to an organization, how data should be organized to yield the greatest results in an OLAP system, and how an organization can move from an environment containing only transactional (OLTP) systems to one that includes OLAP approaches.

1. Recent events in your area have highlighted the need to review the disaster recovery plan for your company. Your firm validates and processes medical claims for several insurance carriers. The doctor/patient submits the bill to your firm where it is review by a para-professional to determine if the charges meet the guidelines implemented by the insurance carrier.

   You are preparing a briefing for the management group concerning your disaster recovery plan. List the issues would you include in your briefing and the reason for including each issue.

2. One of the CXO's from your company recently visited his alma mater where he received an update on the technology that the university had recently implemented. One technology that captured the CXO's attention was the implementation of voice over IP. The university administrators touted how there communications bills had been reduces with VOIP implementation.

   As the CIO of the Fortune 500 Company, the CXO has tasked you to investigate the feasibility and utility of implementing VOIP in the company which has production, marketing, and other staff elements located in 48 states. You have decided to approach this task by preparing a list of questions and answers that would address this VOIP issue.

   Your assignment is to prepare this list of questions and a response to each question.

1. Compare and contrast the roles of the CMM Model and the project manager in the software engineering process.

2. Define the term Work Break Down Structure. During what lifecycle phase of the project management lifecycle is it created and what is its purpose.