University of Houston

About: University of Houston is a education organization based out in Houston, Texas, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 23074 authors who have published 53903 publications receiving 1641968 citations.

Determinants of retention among Chicano college students: A structural model

Abstract: This study tested a modified version of Tinto's student attrition model on a Chicano student population in two-year colleges. Structural equation modeling and LISREL VI were used to examine the parameter estimates of the structural and measurement models of the hypothesized causal model. Measures of goodness of fit were examined to provide indices for the overall fit of the causal model in the study. The measurement and structural models were found to represent a plausible causal model of student retention among Chicano students. Although the measures used in assessing the fit of the model reflected the overall strength of the hypothesized model, the present study was not entirely supportive of Tinto's model. The findings were only minimally supportive of the hypothesized relationship between measures of academic integration and retention. The results indicated that the hypothesized relationship between measures of social integration could not be substantiated. Moreover, measures of initial commitments were found to have a significantly large direct effect on the dependent variable, retention.

Elastography: Imaging the elastic properties of soft tissues with ultrasound

Abstract: Elastography is a method that can ultimately generate several new kinds of images, called elastograms. As such, all the properties of elastograms are different from the familiar properties of sonograms. While sonograms convey information related to the local acoustic backscatter energy from tissue components, elastograms relate to its local strains, Young's moduli or Poisson's ratios. In general, these elasticity parameters are not directly correlated with sonographic parameters, i.e. elastography conveys new information about internal tissue structure and behavior under load that is not otherwise obtainable. In this paper we summarize our work in the field of elastography over the past decade. We present some relevant background material from the field of biomechanics. We then discuss the basic principles and limitations that are involved in the production of elastograms of biological tissues. Results from biological tissues in vitro and in vivo are shown to demonstrate this point. We conclude with some observations regarding the potential of elastography for medical diagnosis.

State of the Information Privacy Literature: Where are We Now and Where Should We Go?

Abstract: While information privacy has been studied in multiple disciplines over the years, the advent of the information age has both elevated the importance of privacy in theory and practice, and increased the relevance of information privacy literature for Information Systems, which has taken a leading role in the theoretical and practical study of information privacy. There is an impressive body of literature on information privacy in IS, and the two Theory and Review articles in this issue of MIS Quarterly review this literature. By integrating these two articles, this paper evaluates the current state of the IS literature on information privacy (where are we now?) and identifies promising research directions for advancing IS research on information privacy (where should we go?). Additional thoughts on further expanding the information privacy research in IS by drawing on related disciplines to enable a multidisciplinary study of information privacy are discussed.

Evaluating the Impact of Dss, Cognitive Effort, and Incentives on Strategy Selection

Abstract: Decision support system (DSS) researcher- have long debated whether or not the provision of a DSS would lead to greater decision-making effectiveness, efficiency, or both. The work described in thi- paper examine- how DSS designer- can guide user- toward- employing more normative decision strategies. Working from notion- of restrictiveness and decisional guid- ance (Silver 1990) supplemented by the cost-benefit framework of cognition, we explain how DSS capabilitie- influence decision behavior and performance through the manipulation of effort. The result- of thi- work should assist DSS developer- to devise directed or nondirected approache- to effect desired behaviors.

Does Asymmetric Information Drive Capital Structure Decisions

Abstract: Using an information asymmetry index based on measures of adverse selection developed by the market microstructure literature, we test if information asymmetry is the sole determinant of capital structure decisions as suggested by the pecking order theory. Our tests rely exclusively on measures of the market's assessment of adverse selection risk rather than on ex-ante firm characteristics. We find that information asymmetry does affect capital structure decisions of U.S. firms over the period 1973-2002, especially when firms' financing needs are low and when firms are financially constrained. We also find a significant degree of intertemporal variability in firms' degree of information asymmetry, as well as in its impact on firms' debt issuance decisions. Our findings based on the information asymmetry index are robust to sorting firms based on size and firm insiders' trading activity, two popular alternative proxies for the severity of adverse selection. Overall, this evidence explains why the pecking order theory is only partially successful in explaining all of firms' capital structure decisions. It also suggests that the theory finds support when its basic assumptions hold in the data, as it should reasonably be expected of any theory.