James R. Wolf

Feedback Mechanisms, Judgment Bias, and Trust Formation in Online Auctions

Online markets, like eBay, Amazon, and others rely on electronic reputation or feedback systems to curtail adverse selection and moral hazard risks and promote trust among participants in the marketplace. These systems are based on the idea that providing information about a traders past behavior (performance on previous market transactions) allows market participants to form judgments regarding the trustworthiness of potential interlocutors in the marketplace. It is often assumed, however, that traders correctly process the data presented by these systems when updating their initial beliefs. In this article, we demonstrate that this assumption does not hold. Using a controlled laboratory experiment simulating an online auction site with 127 participants acting as buyers, we find that participants interpret seller feedback information in a biased (non-Bayesian) fashion, overemphasizing the compositional strength (i.e., the proportion of positive ratings) of the reputational information and underemphasizing the weight (predictive validity) of the evidence as represented by the total number of transactions rated. Significantly, we also find that the degree to which buyers misweigh seller feedback information is moderated by the presentation format of the feedback system as well as attitudinal and psychological attributes of the buyer. Specifically, we find that buyers process feedback data presented in an Amazon-like format—a format that more prominently emphasizes the strength dimension of feedback information—in a more biased (less-Bayesian) manner than identical ratings data presented using an eBay-like format. We further find that participants with greater institution-based trust (i.e., structural assurance) and prior online shopping experience interpreted feedback data in a more biased (less-Bayesian) manner. The implications of these findings for both research and practice are discussed.

Do IT students prefer doctors who use IT

Abstract Several studies suggest that clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) reduce physician diagnostic errors, decrease medical costs, and improve the quality of patient care. However, despite the many potential benefits, physicians have been slow to adopt CDSSs and fail to use them when they are available. Some researchers have speculated that physicians are reluctant to adopt these diagnostic aids, in part, due to the widespread psychological bias that patients and peers feel against physicians who use them. This bias has been well documented among the general public. Many have assumed that this human-is-better attitude is limited to older and less computer savvy populations. We test this assumption with two vignette-based experiments. Our data suggest that, when it comes to physicians, even young participants with positive attitudes towards computers (i.e., IT students) have a human-is-better bias.

Teaching Asp.Net in an Information Systems Curriculum

The challenge of providing computer science graduates with the optimal balance between the old and new technology is a never ending process. This paper introduces Microsofts ASP.Net technology which can be used as a bridge to integrate mainframe and client/server technologies. The paper also describes practical ways to use this bridge technology in the classroom and discusses our experiences using ASP.NET in a recent course.

Cyber security on the farm: an assessment of cyber security practices in the United States agriculture industry

The goal of this study was to survey farmers and agribusiness owners about their perceptions of cyber security, and how age, gender, and education might affect those perceptions. Using the Health Belief Model as a framework, the survey measured the constructs of perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits, barriers, self-efficacy and cues to action. In addition to the framework, levels of previous cyber-crime victimization and technology implementation were measured. The results of this survey demonstrated that perceived susceptibility to cyber-attacks and the perceived benefits of protective technology are related to an individual’s choice to implement cyber security technology. Over half of the respondents had been victims of a computer security incident, demonstrating that even individuals working in agriculture can be impacted by computer crime incidents. This project deepens the understanding of how individuals react to known threats, and what motivates them to adopt protection technologies.

A Hands-Free Music Score Turner Using Google Glass

ABSTRACT This article presents an innovative use of wearable technology for music performers, allowing them to interact with a mobile application that runs as a hands-free music score turner between Google Glass and a portable device such as a smartphone or a tablet. Using wink detection feature and head motion sensing of Google Glass, the application enables users to send a trigger without using their hands to turn pages of documents displayed on a nearby mobile device. The impetus for this work was music instrument players who need to turn music score sheets during their performance. Beyond serving music performers, this project has potential benefits to users in any setting where restricted hand use makes it difficult to read documents or perform other computer-related tasks.

Economic rationale of high cost and slow delivery in software development

Software development process management has been widely recognized as a critical domain for project success, both within and outside of the IT profession. Unfortunately, this process has been anything but smooth in practice. Many software projects are delivered with extremely high costs and painful delivery delays. Although IT professionals are now equipped with better development tools and management knowledge. Still, many challenges associated with software development have yet to be overcome. There are still an unacceptably high number of software project failures. In this paper, we investigate the case where software project development is contracted to outside professionals. We find that, by leveraging delivery pace or cost performance measure, software client can improve its payoff while upholding software developers payoff unchanged. In other words, high cost and slow delivery represent management control mechanism in the software development process.

The Effects of Organizational Experiences on Career Satisfaction of IT Postsecondary Teachers in Thailand

The quality of information technology education depends heavily on the teaching commitment of Thai IT educators. With many universities competing for academic excellence, the quality of teaching and career satisfaction among Thai educators is often overlooked. To understand how different organizational experiences influence career satisfaction and teaching commitment, data collected from Thai IT educators reveals that organizational acceptance, training programs, and academic support influence career satisfaction. Thai universities can focus on strategies that will enhance these organizational experiences, which can lead to higher quality IT educators in Thailand.