ABSTRACT Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a technology that is gaining great popularity i... more ABSTRACT Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a technology that is gaining great popularity in many industries including retail, shipping, and pharmaceuticals. The technology promises to provide detailed, real-time, automated tracking of inventory or merchandise with minimal human interaction. Such a technology has the potential to be useful in forensic laboratory environments where control of evidence is essential.
A study of the factors that influence consumer attitudes toward beef products using the conjoint ... more A study of the factors that influence consumer attitudes toward beef products using the conjoint market analysis tool
This study examines the interaction of surface level demographic differences and deep level attit... more This study examines the interaction of surface level demographic differences and deep level attitudinal differences on team members' formation of process attitudes toward their team and the aggregate impact of these factors on team performance. We hypothesize that the greater the dissimilarity between the employee and the composition of her work unit on the surface level demographic variables of age and ethnicity, and on the deep level personality characteristics of need for affiliation and autonomy, the more unfavorable her attitudes and cognitions will be toward the group. We also hypothesize that participation in the setting of group goals will decrease the importance of surface level dissimilarity. Results support the effects of surface level dissimilarities in age and ethnicity, but not deep level dissimilarities in personality. They also show participation minimizes the effect of age dissimilarity, but not ethnic dissimilarity.
This study utilizes an analysis technique commonly used in marketing, the conjoint analysis metho... more This study utilizes an analysis technique commonly used in marketing, the conjoint analysis method, to examine the relative utilities of a set of beef steak characteristics considered by a national sample of 1,432 US consumers, as well as additional localized samples representing undergraduate students at a business college and in an animal science department. The analyses indicate that among all respondents, region of origin is by far the most important characteristic; this is followed by animal breed, traceability, animal feed, and beef quality. Alternatively, the cost of cut, farm ownership, the use (or nonuse) of growth promoters, and whether the product is guaran
Managers are challenged to develop strategically flexible organizations in response to increasing... more Managers are challenged to develop strategically flexible organizations in response to increasingly competitive marketplaces. Fortunately, a new generation of information and telecommunications technology provides the foundation for resilient new organizational forms that would have not been feasible only a decade ago. One of the most exciting of these new forms, the virtual team, will enable organizations to become more flexible by providing the impressive productivity of team-based designs in environments where teamwork would have once been impossible. Virtual teams, which are linked primarily through advanced computer and telecommunications technologies, provide a potent response to the challenges associated with today's downsized and lean organizations, and to the resulting geographical dispersion of essential employees. Virtual teams also address new workforce demographics, where the best employees may be located anywhere the world, and where workers demand increasing technological sophistication and personal flexibility. With virtual teams, organizations can build teams with optimum membership while retaining the advantages of flat organizational structure. Additionally, firms benefit from virtual teams through access to previously unavailable expertise, enhanced cross-functional interaction, and the use of systems that improve the quality of the virtual team's work.
Communications of the ACM. Volume 42, Number 1 (1999), Pages 15-17. Legally speaking: The Communi... more Communications of the ACM. Volume 42, Number 1 (1999), Pages 15-17. Legally speaking: The Communications Decency Act is not as dead as you think. Michael E. Whitman, Anthony M. Townsend, Robert J. Aalberts. ...
In a recent article in the Harvard Business Review, editor-at-large Nicholas G. Carr notes that i... more In a recent article in the Harvard Business Review, editor-at-large Nicholas G. Carr notes that information technology is merely infrastructure and confers no strategic advantage because of it's universality (Carr, 2003).
Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce, Oct 2012
Recent security lapses have demonstrated the importance of augmenting authentication protocols in... more Recent security lapses have demonstrated the importance of augmenting authentication protocols in sensitive areas of the economy, such as financial services and banking. In addition, new legislative requirements for secondary authentication mechanisms have highlighted the use of biometric technology as a reliable, but not required, means of authentication. The focus of this study examines the factors that influence the adoption of biometric authentication in organizations. The research model measures the relative contribution that variables in three categories (External Pressure, Readiness, and Perceived Benefits) have in the intent to adopt biometric authentication in financial services institutions. Managers of these institutions were surveyed, and the resulting model indicates that, as expected, the intent to adopt is driven by competitive factors, an organization's financial resources, and the perceived benefits associated with the technology. An important unanticipated finding from this research is that managerial support was not shown to be significantly related to adoption intent, which may be attributed to the context of biometric systems adoption. This research advances our understanding of the adoption literature by demonstrating how structural factors can influence the decisions made by organizational actors and by applying theories of adoption to a new technology—biometrics.
Description/Abstract Modern, forensics laboratories need Laboratory Information Management System... more Description/Abstract Modern, forensics laboratories need Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) implementations that allow the lab to track evidentiary items through their examination lifecycle and also serve all pertinent laboratory personnel. The research presented here presents LIMS core requirements as viewed by respondents serving in different forensic laboratory capacities as well as different forensic laboratory environments. A product-development methodology was employed to evaluate the ...
This study utilizes an analysis technique commonly used in marketing, the conjoint method, to exa... more This study utilizes an analysis technique commonly used in marketing, the conjoint method, to examine the relative utilities of a set of beef steak characteristics considered by a national sample of 1,432 U.S. consumers, as well as additional localized samples representing undergraduate students at a business college and in an animal science department. The analyses indicate that among all respondents, region of origin is by far the most important characteristic; this is followed by animal breed, traceability, the animal feed used, and beef quality. Alternatively, the cost of cut, farm ownership, the non-use of growth promoters, and whether the product is guaranteed tender were the least important factors. Results for animal science undergraduates are similar to the aggregate results except that these students emphasized beef quality at the expense of traceability and the non-use of growth promoters. Business students also emphasized region of origin but then emphasized traceability and cost. The ideal steak for the aggregate group is from a locally produced choice Angus, fed a mixture of grain and grass that is traceable to the farm or origin. If the product was not produced locally respondents indicated that their preferred production states are, in order from most to least preferred, Iowa, Texas, Nebraska, and Kansas.
Abstract Virtual worlds like Second Life are becoming important tools for, among other activities... more Abstract Virtual worlds like Second Life are becoming important tools for, among other activities, socialization, social networking, entertainment, collaboration, and business development. These environments offer information systems researchers a unique opportunity to study how these environments are built and managed by operators, how they are used and misused by users, and the impact that they have on users, communities, organizations, and societies at large.
Forensics laboratories are charged with the examination of evidentiary material and reporting fin... more Forensics laboratories are charged with the examination of evidentiary material and reporting findings to a requesting agency. Given this, there exists a significant investment in time, personnel, instrumentation, accreditation, and domain knowledge within forensic laboratories. However, as demand for the analytic services provided through these laboratories has increased, the evolution of evidence management infrastructure has also had to undergo a corresponding geometric advancement.
A sample of US consumers were surveyed in a choice based experiment in the Fall of 2005 and Sprin... more A sample of US consumers were surveyed in a choice based experiment in the Fall of 2005 and Spring 2006 to elicit consumers' preferences for quality attributes in beef products. Based on the resulting data, a random coefficients logit model is estimated, and consumers' willingness to pay for these quality attributes in beef products is obtained.
International Journal of Doctoral Studies, Mar 2012
This article provides an explanation of the process for selecting a research topic. The article u... more This article provides an explanation of the process for selecting a research topic. The article uses Kuhn’s classic work on scientific revolutions to delineate the steps in developing theoretical re-
search within an area. The paper provides methods for preparing to develop a research topic, steps for approaching a research problem, as well as methods for problem theoretical development. We end the article with pitfalls that can occur when selecting a research topic as well as bright spots with regard to doctoral students beginning research in an area. Our hope is that this research will help beginning doctoral students start the process of developing a research topic by providing assistance with the overall process.
Abstract This study utilizes an analysis technique commonly used in marketing, the conjoint analy... more Abstract This study utilizes an analysis technique commonly used in marketing, the conjoint analysis method, to examine the relative utilities of a set of beef steak characteristics considered by a national sample of 1,432 US consumers, as well as additional localized samples representing undergraduate students at a business college and in an animal science department.
Abstract This manuscript reports on a project to examine the feasibility of extensive radio frequ... more Abstract This manuscript reports on a project to examine the feasibility of extensive radio frequency identification (RFID) tagging to determine product provenance in the meat production industry. The investigators examined existing technologies and meat production processes as well as emerging technologies in RFID tagging to assess the potential of RFID technologies for provenance assurance.
Abstract This article provides an explanation of the process for selecting a research topic. The ... more Abstract This article provides an explanation of the process for selecting a research topic. The article uses Kuhn's classic work on scientific revolutions to delineate the steps in developing theoretical research within an area. The paper provides methods for preparing to develop a research topic, steps for approaching a research problem, as well as methods for problem theoretical development.
This manuscript reports on a project to examine the feasibility of extensive radio frequency iden... more This manuscript reports on a project to examine the feasibility of extensive radio frequency identification (RFID) tagging to determine product provenance in the meat production industry. The investigators examined existing technologies and meat production processes as well as emerging technologies in RFID tagging to assess the potential of RFID technologies for provenance assurance. While RFID technologies hold tremendous promise for traceability, the current state of the technology and production process creates challenges for effectively creating full traceability. However, RFID holds tremendous potential for improving processing throughput, which will help make RFIDbased traceability more attractive for adoption by meat processors.
ABSTRACT Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a technology that is gaining great popularity i... more ABSTRACT Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a technology that is gaining great popularity in many industries including retail, shipping, and pharmaceuticals. The technology promises to provide detailed, real-time, automated tracking of inventory or merchandise with minimal human interaction. Such a technology has the potential to be useful in forensic laboratory environments where control of evidence is essential.
A study of the factors that influence consumer attitudes toward beef products using the conjoint ... more A study of the factors that influence consumer attitudes toward beef products using the conjoint market analysis tool
This study examines the interaction of surface level demographic differences and deep level attit... more This study examines the interaction of surface level demographic differences and deep level attitudinal differences on team members' formation of process attitudes toward their team and the aggregate impact of these factors on team performance. We hypothesize that the greater the dissimilarity between the employee and the composition of her work unit on the surface level demographic variables of age and ethnicity, and on the deep level personality characteristics of need for affiliation and autonomy, the more unfavorable her attitudes and cognitions will be toward the group. We also hypothesize that participation in the setting of group goals will decrease the importance of surface level dissimilarity. Results support the effects of surface level dissimilarities in age and ethnicity, but not deep level dissimilarities in personality. They also show participation minimizes the effect of age dissimilarity, but not ethnic dissimilarity.
This study utilizes an analysis technique commonly used in marketing, the conjoint analysis metho... more This study utilizes an analysis technique commonly used in marketing, the conjoint analysis method, to examine the relative utilities of a set of beef steak characteristics considered by a national sample of 1,432 US consumers, as well as additional localized samples representing undergraduate students at a business college and in an animal science department. The analyses indicate that among all respondents, region of origin is by far the most important characteristic; this is followed by animal breed, traceability, animal feed, and beef quality. Alternatively, the cost of cut, farm ownership, the use (or nonuse) of growth promoters, and whether the product is guaran
Managers are challenged to develop strategically flexible organizations in response to increasing... more Managers are challenged to develop strategically flexible organizations in response to increasingly competitive marketplaces. Fortunately, a new generation of information and telecommunications technology provides the foundation for resilient new organizational forms that would have not been feasible only a decade ago. One of the most exciting of these new forms, the virtual team, will enable organizations to become more flexible by providing the impressive productivity of team-based designs in environments where teamwork would have once been impossible. Virtual teams, which are linked primarily through advanced computer and telecommunications technologies, provide a potent response to the challenges associated with today's downsized and lean organizations, and to the resulting geographical dispersion of essential employees. Virtual teams also address new workforce demographics, where the best employees may be located anywhere the world, and where workers demand increasing technological sophistication and personal flexibility. With virtual teams, organizations can build teams with optimum membership while retaining the advantages of flat organizational structure. Additionally, firms benefit from virtual teams through access to previously unavailable expertise, enhanced cross-functional interaction, and the use of systems that improve the quality of the virtual team's work.
Communications of the ACM. Volume 42, Number 1 (1999), Pages 15-17. Legally speaking: The Communi... more Communications of the ACM. Volume 42, Number 1 (1999), Pages 15-17. Legally speaking: The Communications Decency Act is not as dead as you think. Michael E. Whitman, Anthony M. Townsend, Robert J. Aalberts. ...
In a recent article in the Harvard Business Review, editor-at-large Nicholas G. Carr notes that i... more In a recent article in the Harvard Business Review, editor-at-large Nicholas G. Carr notes that information technology is merely infrastructure and confers no strategic advantage because of it's universality (Carr, 2003).
Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce, Oct 2012
Recent security lapses have demonstrated the importance of augmenting authentication protocols in... more Recent security lapses have demonstrated the importance of augmenting authentication protocols in sensitive areas of the economy, such as financial services and banking. In addition, new legislative requirements for secondary authentication mechanisms have highlighted the use of biometric technology as a reliable, but not required, means of authentication. The focus of this study examines the factors that influence the adoption of biometric authentication in organizations. The research model measures the relative contribution that variables in three categories (External Pressure, Readiness, and Perceived Benefits) have in the intent to adopt biometric authentication in financial services institutions. Managers of these institutions were surveyed, and the resulting model indicates that, as expected, the intent to adopt is driven by competitive factors, an organization's financial resources, and the perceived benefits associated with the technology. An important unanticipated finding from this research is that managerial support was not shown to be significantly related to adoption intent, which may be attributed to the context of biometric systems adoption. This research advances our understanding of the adoption literature by demonstrating how structural factors can influence the decisions made by organizational actors and by applying theories of adoption to a new technology—biometrics.
Description/Abstract Modern, forensics laboratories need Laboratory Information Management System... more Description/Abstract Modern, forensics laboratories need Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) implementations that allow the lab to track evidentiary items through their examination lifecycle and also serve all pertinent laboratory personnel. The research presented here presents LIMS core requirements as viewed by respondents serving in different forensic laboratory capacities as well as different forensic laboratory environments. A product-development methodology was employed to evaluate the ...
This study utilizes an analysis technique commonly used in marketing, the conjoint method, to exa... more This study utilizes an analysis technique commonly used in marketing, the conjoint method, to examine the relative utilities of a set of beef steak characteristics considered by a national sample of 1,432 U.S. consumers, as well as additional localized samples representing undergraduate students at a business college and in an animal science department. The analyses indicate that among all respondents, region of origin is by far the most important characteristic; this is followed by animal breed, traceability, the animal feed used, and beef quality. Alternatively, the cost of cut, farm ownership, the non-use of growth promoters, and whether the product is guaranteed tender were the least important factors. Results for animal science undergraduates are similar to the aggregate results except that these students emphasized beef quality at the expense of traceability and the non-use of growth promoters. Business students also emphasized region of origin but then emphasized traceability and cost. The ideal steak for the aggregate group is from a locally produced choice Angus, fed a mixture of grain and grass that is traceable to the farm or origin. If the product was not produced locally respondents indicated that their preferred production states are, in order from most to least preferred, Iowa, Texas, Nebraska, and Kansas.
Abstract Virtual worlds like Second Life are becoming important tools for, among other activities... more Abstract Virtual worlds like Second Life are becoming important tools for, among other activities, socialization, social networking, entertainment, collaboration, and business development. These environments offer information systems researchers a unique opportunity to study how these environments are built and managed by operators, how they are used and misused by users, and the impact that they have on users, communities, organizations, and societies at large.
Forensics laboratories are charged with the examination of evidentiary material and reporting fin... more Forensics laboratories are charged with the examination of evidentiary material and reporting findings to a requesting agency. Given this, there exists a significant investment in time, personnel, instrumentation, accreditation, and domain knowledge within forensic laboratories. However, as demand for the analytic services provided through these laboratories has increased, the evolution of evidence management infrastructure has also had to undergo a corresponding geometric advancement.
A sample of US consumers were surveyed in a choice based experiment in the Fall of 2005 and Sprin... more A sample of US consumers were surveyed in a choice based experiment in the Fall of 2005 and Spring 2006 to elicit consumers' preferences for quality attributes in beef products. Based on the resulting data, a random coefficients logit model is estimated, and consumers' willingness to pay for these quality attributes in beef products is obtained.
International Journal of Doctoral Studies, Mar 2012
This article provides an explanation of the process for selecting a research topic. The article u... more This article provides an explanation of the process for selecting a research topic. The article uses Kuhn’s classic work on scientific revolutions to delineate the steps in developing theoretical re-
search within an area. The paper provides methods for preparing to develop a research topic, steps for approaching a research problem, as well as methods for problem theoretical development. We end the article with pitfalls that can occur when selecting a research topic as well as bright spots with regard to doctoral students beginning research in an area. Our hope is that this research will help beginning doctoral students start the process of developing a research topic by providing assistance with the overall process.
Abstract This study utilizes an analysis technique commonly used in marketing, the conjoint analy... more Abstract This study utilizes an analysis technique commonly used in marketing, the conjoint analysis method, to examine the relative utilities of a set of beef steak characteristics considered by a national sample of 1,432 US consumers, as well as additional localized samples representing undergraduate students at a business college and in an animal science department.
Abstract This manuscript reports on a project to examine the feasibility of extensive radio frequ... more Abstract This manuscript reports on a project to examine the feasibility of extensive radio frequency identification (RFID) tagging to determine product provenance in the meat production industry. The investigators examined existing technologies and meat production processes as well as emerging technologies in RFID tagging to assess the potential of RFID technologies for provenance assurance.
Abstract This article provides an explanation of the process for selecting a research topic. The ... more Abstract This article provides an explanation of the process for selecting a research topic. The article uses Kuhn's classic work on scientific revolutions to delineate the steps in developing theoretical research within an area. The paper provides methods for preparing to develop a research topic, steps for approaching a research problem, as well as methods for problem theoretical development.
This manuscript reports on a project to examine the feasibility of extensive radio frequency iden... more This manuscript reports on a project to examine the feasibility of extensive radio frequency identification (RFID) tagging to determine product provenance in the meat production industry. The investigators examined existing technologies and meat production processes as well as emerging technologies in RFID tagging to assess the potential of RFID technologies for provenance assurance. While RFID technologies hold tremendous promise for traceability, the current state of the technology and production process creates challenges for effectively creating full traceability. However, RFID holds tremendous potential for improving processing throughput, which will help make RFIDbased traceability more attractive for adoption by meat processors.
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Papers by AM Townsend
search within an area. The paper provides methods for preparing to develop a research topic, steps for approaching a research problem, as well as methods for problem theoretical development. We end the article with pitfalls that can occur when selecting a research topic as well as bright spots with regard to doctoral students beginning research in an area. Our hope is that this research will help beginning doctoral students start the process of developing a research topic by providing assistance with the overall process.
search within an area. The paper provides methods for preparing to develop a research topic, steps for approaching a research problem, as well as methods for problem theoretical development. We end the article with pitfalls that can occur when selecting a research topic as well as bright spots with regard to doctoral students beginning research in an area. Our hope is that this research will help beginning doctoral students start the process of developing a research topic by providing assistance with the overall process.