Barbara Jo White

Modeling desired behaviors: do leaders need new technology?

Purpose – Leaders model behaviors they want followers to emulate, and they use various technologies to enhance their message, but which tools are most effective? Using two studies, this paper sets out to compare the effectiveness of newer and older computer technologies used by leaders for describing and demonstrating desired behaviors.Design/methodology/approach – The first study, an interdisciplinary experimental design, involved 110 students across two college campuses and data were analyzed using a 2 (modeling and no modeling)×2 (older and newer technology) between‐subjects ANOVA. The second study further explored modeling with both technologies on one campus, and data were analyzed with independent samples t‐tests.Findings – Newer technology was more effective than older technology in increasing desired behaviors but only when coupled with modeling of those behaviors by the leader. However, after the novelty of the new technology had worn off, no significant difference in production of desired behavi...

SOLO: A Linear Ordering Approach to Path Analysis of Web Site Traffic

Abstract Web usage mining analyzes web site traffic patterns in order to provide feedback on how they are being used. In this paper we present a new tool for web usage mining that is based on a linear ordering of the page transition matrix created from web server access logs. The ordering provides a measure allowing web pages to be categorized as origins, hubs or destinations according to their position in the ordering. It also provides a measure of the orderliness of web site traffic. This approach is applied to a university’s web site traffic over time and results are discussed. Comparing web site traffic immediately after a major change to the web site design and then two years later, the traffic is more ordered. Results from the linear ordering approach are also compared to a Markov steady-state analysis of the page transition matrix. The mathematical formulation of the problem and the pseudocode used for its solution is presented and its application for bandwidth or size-limited devices is presented.