Ex ante evaluations of alternate data structures for end user queries: Theory and experimental test

The data structure of an information system can significantly impact the ability of end users to efficiently and effectively retrieve the information they need. This research develops a methodology for evaluating, ex ante, the relative desirability of alternative data structures for end user queries. This research theorizes that the data structure that yields the lowest weighted average complexity for a representative sample of information requests is the most desirable data structure for end user queries. The theory was tested in an experiment that compared queries from two different relational database schemas. As theorized, end users querying the data structure associated with the less complex queries performed better Complexity was measured using three different Halstead metrics. Each of the three metrics provided excellent predictions of end user performance. This research supplies strong evidence that organizations can use complexity metrics to evaluate, ex ante, the desirability of alternate data structures. Organizations can use these evaluations to enhance the efficient and effective retrieval of information by creating data structures that minimize end user query complexity.

An evolutionary framework for studies of hibernation and short-term torpor

Data from diverse studies endorse ideas that short term torpor and hibernation are expressions of ancient characters. In evolutionary terms, their basic mechanisms are probably plesiomorphic (= ancestral/primitive) and physiologically similar. This contrasts with the alternate view that they are apomorphic (= derived, specialized), arising independently in many taxa from homeothermic ancestry by numerous apparent convergences. This paper explores some of the implications of accepting the plesiomorphic interpretation. Hibernation is, of course, a complex phenomenon that has undergone variations and refinements in different mammalian lineages. The argument is not that hibernation in total is a plesiomorphic character, but that it is built upon fundamental processes that are. Taking this view provides a framework for research that emphasizes the value of comparative studies, particularly of reptiles and birds. Studies of reptiles, for example, might unravel the mystery about periodic arousals. A plesiomorphic framework also explains the most extreme examples of hibernation as derived specializations from ancestry in which heterothermy is more about energy management than escape from cold. It cautions against using low body temperature (Tb) alone to diagnose torpor, emphasizes the need to distinguish between constitutional eurythermy (plesiomorphic) and constitutional stenothermy (apomorphic), and leads to a parsimonious theory about the evolution of endothermy. The paper proposes that brown adipose tissue (BAT) is apomorphic within eutheria and highlights the conundrum posed by the occurrence of both nonshivering thermogenesis (NST) and rapid arousal from hibernation in noneutherian mammals that lack BAT and uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1). It endorses the likely existence of a different, ancient and widespread mechanism for regulatory NST in mammals.

Do organizational climate and competitive strategy moderate the relationship between human resource management and productivity?

This study examined whether the effectiveness of human resource management (HRM)practices is contingent on organizational climate and competitive strategy The concepts of internol and external fit suggest that the positive relationship between HRM and subsequent productivity will be stronger for firms with a positive organizational climate and for firms using differentiation strategies. Resource allocation theories of motivation, on the other hand, predict that the relationship between HRM and productivity will be stronger for firms with a poor climate because employees working in these firms should have the greatest amount of spare capacity. The results supported the resource allocation argument.