Gospel Music

One of my favorites from Jim Reeves:

https://youtu.be/3pXzge4uhVs

When I was a little girl, a neighbor (called Mr. Earl) played a lot of music by Jim Reeves. I had forgotten about the music. One day, while walking across a bridge/overpass in Gainesville, I suddenly started singing the Jim Reeves song Across The Bridge. I then looked up his music.

Picture of an earlier post in Facebook:

Work And Food

My last two posts included photos of my food/meals. I did not plan it - it just turned out that way. Those last two posts remind me posts in my food journal. I took lots of photos of my food that showed what I was working on. I actually did a lot of PhD work while eating. 

Here are some interesting posts from the journal:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BCOwaTyiyP2/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D

I was making s’mores at a bonfire. Then, I went home to finish my Statistics assignment…

https://www.instagram.com/p/BCPfaqDCyGT/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D

 
https://www.instagram.com/p/_pMKwqCyGG/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= 

I was in Starbucks enjoying a Frappuccino and biscotti while working on a paper for the literature review course.  

 
https://www.instagram.com/p/-wlhwziyN0/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= 

Food at Sonny’s BBQ while working on a paper for the literature review course. The food at Sonny’s is really good. 

Past Paper On Database End Users

Remembering the paper I prepared on database skills needed by end users. One of my PC friends, Heather, responded to questions I prepared. Thank you Heather!

(Link to a past blog post on the paper: http://fmooredbadminmngtsiga.blogspot.com/2016/09/i-worked-on-my-week-2-assignmentpaper.html)

A Lot Going On

There is a whole lot going on at this time. It involves a whole lot of bus rides, a sick foot, and so on. I will provide details later.

Music, Still Working On Papers

Today, I am remembering the Kenny G songs I listened to for hours in the dorm using that red cassette player. Here is one of my favorites:
https://youtu.be/OOO4ROO_sPM

I am still working on editing my papers for publishing. 

Not Indian

Some believe I am Indian (maybe because of my name). Someone once told me there are a lot of girls named Fahmeena in Bangladesh. I am not Indian. My parents are also not Indian.

Guyana has lots of Indian citizens (they make up one of the six races in the country -- this presentation I prepared for a church event/exercise has some additional information: Link to presentation;  the photos included in the following blog show the presentation at the event: http://fmooresignatureassignment3.blogspot.com/2016/08/working-despite-issues.html). In Guyana, I had Indian schoolmates. I had Indian teachers. I had Indian friends. So I get along with Indians just like I get along with Asians and other people.

My pastorial father at President's College was an Indian teacher we called Rambo because he looked like Sylvester (Sly) Stallone. He was the Math teacher, Mr. Narine.

One of the toughest lecturers in the economics program at UGy was an Indian lecturer we called Dr. Ganga (there were other tough lecturers like Mr. Monplaisir). Dr. Ganga told the class that he would get anyone who scored an A a job at Bank of Guyana. I managed to get an A in his class. However, I didn't stick around to get that job at Bank of Guyana.

The Indian students at the Hall of Residence at Ugy were nice. I really liked living at the Hall of Residence. (See a picture of the building at: https://fmooresignatureassignment3.blogspot.com/2016/08/rewrite.html.) I also recall that there was an Indian student from Canada who stayed at that Hall of Residence. She was nice too - smiled a lot.

Just reminiscing.

Note: The blog that includes the photos and picture mentioned above is my blog for the Research Methods course at Northcentral University (ncu.edu), http://fmooresignatureassignment3.blogspot.com/)

Another Paper For Publishing

I submitted another article for publishing.

I am planning to submit the paper I prepared on improving e-commerce websites for the Research Design course. I like that paper. In the paper, I included user/usability testing of website designs in a lab, much like the testing I assisted with at USPTO.

The professor was tough. I also did not have the textbook (due to financial constraints). I recall that one of the assignments required completion of exercises in the textbook. I actually visited the library at the University of Florida (UF) to get hold of the book. I got an older version of the textbook that sufficed. Then, I was able to start work on the assignment. (Here is the blog post on the assignment: http://moorefo1ncuresearchdesign.blogspot.com/2016/11/waiting-for-book-for-assignment.html 

The library I visited was in the medical building/section on campus. I took the bus there. I rode that bus a lot.

The blog for the course is available at: http://moorefo1ncuresearchdesign.blogspot.com/

I now specialize in usability studies and tests. I am seeking a Usability/UX Researcher position. View my design/usability experience at: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/fahmeenamoore_2015calendarimagesfahmeenaodettamoore-activity-6949154430164365312-KcKX

(posted using mobile phone)

French, Paris

One of my personal projects was to redo a project from my high school French class to prepare a summary of important places in France - called Voici Paris. I wanted to investigate the quantity of information available online for such a paper, including the pictures available for use. It was very difficult to obtain information on Paris when I needed to prepare my paper. I created a Flickr account (https://www.flickr.com/photos/moorefo1parisproject/ ) and a Twitter account (https://twitter.com/moorefparisproj ) for the information. 

I studied French for several years in high school. I still remember the songs. Actually, I remember some of the French because of the songs. One day, just out of the blue, (i.e. on a random day), I realized that the song ‘Chevalier de la table ronde’ is about the Knights of the Round Table from the King Arthur story.

Years later, I studied French at UGy. In that university-level class, I learned French in a different way. The class focused more on reading and writing. I still remember the Faux Friends list. Here is a Faux Friends list I found online:

https://www.vidalingua.com/blog/french-false-friends

My Research Summary

I just finished a short blurb (summary) of my background to submit with my papers/manuscripts for publishing.
Here it is:

Fahmeena Odetta Moore is close to completing a PhD at Northcentral University. Her research interests include technology vs. employment decisions, usability for decision-making, achieving successful outcomes, and new and innovative uses of social media. She has taken an interdisciplinary approach in her papers. She is now working on publishing some of her papers in academic journals. Ms. Moore has a BA/Analyst background. She has worked in the IT Analyst role supporting organizations such as the Federal Aviation Administration and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

I think I did a good job summarizing the information contained in my LinkedIn research profile (I updated the profile recently). I did not want to include the exact same research areas/topics.

(Link to the LinkedIn research profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fahmeenaodetta/. Also available at: https://www.facebook.com/FahmeenaOdettaMooreResearch)

Ties

Today, I am remembering the leather band/bracelet I made in an arts & craft session at President's College (PC). During the session, I learned to cut the leather (the material to make the bracelet), "knit" the leather, and make the loop and bunched knot needed to attach it to the wrist. The finished product looked a lot like this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I included this photo in a Pinterest board/category I called 'Tied Up'.
(The link is: https://www.pinterest.com/fahmeenaodetta/tied-up/)

There are a lot of interesting things in that board. For example, there is a tie. I learned to knot a tie (or tie a neck tie) while I was a student at PC. There is the macrame plant hangers. I grew up with a lot of those around the house.

Journal submissions

I understand that it is normal for academic journals to reject papers submitted for publishing. I may need to submit a paper to 7 or 8 journals before it is accepted. 

I guess the journal selection is important. I am currently researching the journals out there - there are a lot of them.

Paper On Use Of IS Success Model

I recently submitted another article for publishing. That paper was a signature assignment submitted to ncu.edu for grading many years ago. It was on the use of technology to monitor employees to improve compliance and performance in the area of hand hygiene.
(Link to the Signature Assignment paper: https://w.taskstream.com/ts/moore783/SignatureAssignmentProposalMonitoring.html/acf5e6eq00akfcfkf7e8edfefl)

I made few edits to it. I added some information on the direct observation method - the recommended standard practice for monitoring hand hygiene compliance by the World Health Organization (WHO). I also made some changes to incorporate success. I mentioned success but did not include/use the IS success model. 

Incidentally,

I found an interesting article that used the IS success model to determine the effectiveness of new technology - augmented reality - in mobile shopping. The author used a survey to collect information on perceptions.

The last article I reviewed on augmented reality determined/calculated the usability of the product (product evaluated for use by children). This article looked more at perceived diagnosticity and consumer satisfaction. It is related to usability.

The article:

The Effects of Perceived Quality of Augmented Reality in Mobile Commerce—An Application of the Information Systems Success Model
by Jungmin Yoo
https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9709/7/2/14/htm#

First Word For The Week

The word for today is: evince.
Evince means to display clearly, to reveal (from: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/evince)

 I like the explanations provided with the definition of the word, especially the first section showing the synonyms. There are many synonyms (such as show, manifest, and evidence) that all mean 'to reveal outwardly or make apparent.' However, there are slight variations in the meanings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is an interesting article on the history revealed (but not evinced - since there are no outward marks or signs) from an archaeological study/research:

Hidden history of Rome revealed under world's first cathedral
[Research beneath the Archbasilica of St John Lateran reveals appearance of world's first cathedral and the remarkable transformations that preceded its construction.]
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/820418

Flashback Friday On Golden Apples

 #Flashback Friday

Remembering the delicious fruit drinks and icicles my great aunt was known for. I especially liked the golden apple drink - drink/juice made from golden apples. It was really good.  

There is no golden apple-flavored "soft drink" available in stores (much like there is a tangerine soft drink - Icee Tangerine - available for purchase in Guyana).

I have a Pinterest board on the Golden Apple:
https://www.pinterest.com/fahmeenaodetta/golden-apple/

Next Paper

I am about to select the next paper to work on for publishing. I am not sure which paper I should select. There is the literature review that focused on online reviews. I was told the paper is too long. I still want to publish my decision-making framework though. There is also the paper I prepared for the same course that compared three related journal articles (An Annotated Bibliography).

I prepared a paper that looked at the designs of five studies to learn from examples (I believe it was the Research Design course). That would be a good one too. The topic for that one was social media.

Then there are the statistics papers. I worked hard on the assignments which I thought were very good. I could write a paper on methodology.

I will look into the statistics papers I prepared when I was vacationing in Maryland (from Florida) years ago. Those papers were very good despite the issues I experienced. I recall going to Starbucks to use their internet because my mother did not have internet service (I even tried to use my sister's internet but she was going away on vacation). My mother helped me out a lot. She dropped me off at the Starbucks everyday and picked me up when she was on her way home from work. I also had issues acquiring the statistical software for the course.

Death In Family, Stranded In New York, And Another Example Of Ambidexterity

A great aunt of mine died recently. She was the mom of Sonia who also died recently. I have fond memories of that great aunt, Aunt Magnel. She gave me lots of food. I ate a lot of her cassava balls (we called puff), her dhal puri, her pholourie, and her icicles - all stuff she made to sell to school children. She was an excellent cook. RIP Aunt Magnel.

Aunt Magnel makes me think of those childhood days when I ate a lot (my tummy was full) and I was happy. I have since seen other days - days or times of want. This makes me think of New York.

When I was stranded in New York, I had no money. I could not buy food. I was hungry a lot. I even joined the bread line at a church organization (for the homeless) to get free food. It is the sort of thing you don't want to talk about, but I think I should. Being stranded in New York was very difficult.

Even though it was difficult, I managed to get to places that could assist. I found creative ways to get food and complete assignments. I was lucky a few times. For example, I happened to see the Queen's Library while riding a bus (it was at the end of the line). That library turned out to be an excellent resource.

I recall a bathroom incident in NY. I had an accident when the janitor would not allow me to use the bathroom because she was cleaning it. It turns out that I had a medical issue. I had surgery later that solved the problem.

Thankfully, the nightmare ended when my father managed to get in contact with me in NY. I got a new phone. I was on a flight to Guyana a few days later.

I am not complaining about the NY experience. It made me a lot stronger. It made me realize I can deal with difficult, very stressful situations that could easily drive a person crazy.

Moving on to other topics.....

I realize that I worked at another company that adopted the structural differentiation approach I wrote about in my paper yesterday - ICF/Lockheed Martin. I was a member of a team formed to work on a new, innovative solution that would replace the legacy application. The other team worked on maintaining the legacy application. It was a case of ambidexterity.

I was lucky be somehow involved in (a part of) ambidexterity to achieve exploration/innovation. It just worked out that way.

Organizational Structure Paper

I made a lot of progress on the organizational structure paper. I decided to include two examples of how companies are structured to compare to the theory. The findings are interesting. I think the paper will be accepted for publishing.

Still Working On Paper For Publishing

After reviewing one of my old blogs, I now understand why I selected the three articles included in the paper mentioned yesterday.  In the paper prepared the previous week (during the course), I noticed that the selected company - Google - was known for:

 "an innovation-oriented and change-prone top management and board;
an innovation-oriented and change-prone culture;
competent and committed individuals with a passion to innovate;
leaders that empower, coach and remove obstacles for innovation;
a semi-structured and ambidextrous organisation;
innovation-oriented performance and incentive systems;
continuous learning; and open innovation."
(From Steiber and Alange (2013))

I selected papers that included innovation and ambidextrous-ness.
Maybe I should include the Google example in the paper I am editing.

I read the descriptions expressing all the difficulties I was experiencing.
In the post on 09/10/2018 (https://fmoorephdbus7110.blogspot.com/2018/09/paper-finally-submittedreceived.html), I wrote:
"I like the course. I am learning a lot But everything feels rushed & I feel pressured all the time. This is because of the resource constraints I am dealing with right now (issues with my laptop - need to use library resources, need to read an entire book for the assignment, and so on). I hope it gets better. I am working on solutions."

I was reading the books and articles on the go.
The post on 09/12/2018 (https://fmoorephdbus7110.blogspot.com/2018/09/week-4-assignmentjournal-articles.html), shows that I checked out the book on Organization Behavior from the library. I read that book hurriedly and was not able to sit comfortably to read it. The included Facebook post shows me holding the book (with my face).

In the post on 09/14/2018 (https://fmoorephdbus7110.blogspot.com/2018/09/reading-articles.html),
the notes I scribbled on the printout of one of the journal articles is shown.

I guess I can handle a lot.

More Work For Publishing

I am currently working on modifying a paper I prepared for one of my PhD courses many years ago. The assignment was designed to teach the student how to prepare a paper for publishing and how to select the journal to submit the paper to. I prepared the paper in New York and it was done hurriedly. I will make some changes plus add more details (to make the paper longer). I will submit it to a journal when it is complete.

A section of the original paper: 

 

 

 

 

A section of the modified paper:

Thoughts On Job Search

I am open to all opportunities. I am interested in contracting opportunities. I am also interested in technical expert (specialist) or managerial positions.
I am applying for different positions. Usability Researcher. Lead User Experience Researcher. Sr. Manager Consumer Research. And so on. I hope to start a new position soon.

Two positions would work too. One full-time and one part-time position. I do not think I can handle two full-time positions. If I receive offers for two full-time jobs (simultaneously), I will choose just one. It will probably be a difficult decision.

I recall receiving a call about a job in another state when I had just started the job at the Department of Labor (via employment with ASRC). I quickly decided to pass on the second job. That was not a very difficult decision. The timing wasn't right. Timing is important. Sometimes I wonder what the other path - the path I turned down - would have led to. I know that decisions have consequences.

I am hoping for the best -- trusting in Almighty God. 

PC Certificates

I found my ALevels certificate and other important documents hidden away in a drawer. I thought I would share....

In addition to GCE courses/subjects, I wrote and passed CXC examinations in 1991 (for different subjects).

Article for MIAW, Survey Services

I started writing my article for Mental Illness Awareness Week, but got distracted. This is what I have so far:

There is a lot of talk/discussion about the impact of workplace stress on employee mental health, but that is not my story.

I am not sure when, why and how I developed my mental illness. I recall having issues when I was a full-time student. At first, I didn't know what was wrong. I felt ill.


I went to review contracting opportunities and discovered a request for survey services.
The contractor needs to prepare and administer an employee engagement survey at a major organization.
The organization seems to be expecting proposals from research companies rather than from individuals. Proposals are due in a week. I am reviewing the performance work statement to see what is expected/required. Very interesting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Teamwork And Collaboration

My posts on an error message project I worked on in the past made me think of teamwork or working in groups. Teamwork is about collaboration.

Years ago, I collected some information on collaboration in Pinterest. The 'Groups' board has pins such as 'Encouraging A Team Working Environment,' 'Video Conferencing For Success,' and 'Tackle Conflict In Any Setting.' Here is the link to the board: https://www.pinterest.com/fahmeenaodetta/groups/.

It is amazing that the use of collaboration technologies has increased exponentially in recent years. There are a lot more video interviews (or virtual job interviews) and other virtual meetings. I experienced this personally. I had a few virtual job interviews within the last two years. I even had several family meetings over video. On the error message project, I got into trouble for wanting to collaborate electronically (by adding all comments and making all updates to a shared document).

Usability Heuristics

Incidentally, I just mentioned my error message project (my assignment at ASRC Federal) in a comment in LinkedIn. I saw and responded to a post that requested comments on Nielsen's 10 usability heuristics. The questions:
"Which of these heuristics resonate the most/least with you and your product? When do you follow them? Where do you break them?"
(Link to post)

I commented:
I like your post. It is very informative. Two of the 10 are on error messages. I gravitated towards those two probably because I worked on an error message project in the past.

 

Nielsen's Usability Heuristics was (and probably still is) popular. I found a paper that used his usability heuristics in a typical manner - to assess the usability of several university websites. The paper is:

Usability Heuristics as an assessment parameter: For performing Usability Testing
By: Afifa Lodhi
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/5608809
(Published in: 2010 2nd International Conference on Software Technology and Engineering)

I also found an interesting article that reported on several usability heuristics in use. Nielsen's is just one. I will look into the usability heuristics in use today.

Usability heuristics: A systematic review
By: Cristhy Jimenez, Pablo Lozada, Pablo Rosas
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/7750805
(Published in: 2016 IEEE 11th Colombian Computing Conference (CCC))

Additional Thoughts On My Research Experience

Today I am still thinking of my research experience.

I prepared final research papers to complete my bachelor's and MSF degrees. This experience is not shown in the LinkedIn profile.

There is much research involved in the job of a Business Analyst (IT BA). I recall a project I worked on at one company that involved correcting issues associated with error messages. There was a lot of research involved. I even looked at error messages across the application to understand how errors were handled in different areas and to get a "feel" for how messages were worded. I wanted my solution to "fit in."

My BA experience is included in my main (another) LinkedIn profile. Maybe I should add a sentence or two (in the LinkedIn research profile) on my research duties as a BA. Or maybe it is already known.

 

Research Profile Updated

After my post yesterday, I decided to update my LinkedIn research profile. Screenshots of the updated profile are included below. I now have to work on the article for Mental Illness Awareness Week.

I am slower this week because of a slow internet connection at home. Websites are taking much longer to load. It takes a long time to make updates.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Background In Statistical Analysis, Surveys

Using a questionnaire to collect information from people (conducting surveys) is an important part of research. I have lots of experience conducting surveys. My first survey was for an A-Level project at President's College. The course/subject was Pure Mathematics with Statistics (it was for the Statistics part). I designed the questionnaire and went out into the field to collect information from participants. That was about 30 years ago.

From Statistics, I learned how to prepare statistical summaries or reports that summarize information by providing statistics. Those are the reports that include statements such as: Expenditures increased by 20% to reach $1M. Such reports are used a lot in finance and economics. An example is the report 'Trends in health care spending' by AMA, available at: https://www.ama-assn.org/about/research/trends-health-care-spending.

During my PhD studies, I prepared a paper on the design of surveys/questionnaires for research. In that paper, I reviewed an actual survey. I learned current techniques as well as survey design issues.

Article For Publishing, Customer Satisfaction And Design

I submitted an article for publishing yesterday. I hope the journal accepts it.

I found an interesting article that was all about considering the customer's satisfaction when designing a product (specifically the product's appearance, such as color and shape of the product) to increase the likelihood that the customer will purchase the product. The researchers used a Kansei Engineering approach, which focuses on human emotions or emotional needs in determining customer satisfaction. This meant that the researchers focused on affective design, an emotional design or design that satisfies the customers' emotions.

Kansei Engineering (KE) is defined as "translating technology of a consumer’s feeling (Kansei in Japanese) of the product to the design elements, which aims to produce a new product based on the consumer’s feeling and demand." KE is considered "the optimal method of identifying emotional requirements and accounts for the interactions between customers and products."

Kansei Engineering has been applied in various industries, including the automobile, electrical appliance, construction, and clothing industries. It was first used in the Japanese autombile industry by manufacturers such as Mitsubishi, Mazda, Toyota, and Honda. Some other adopters include Ford, Fiat, and Porsche.

The researchers used the design of a watch to illustrate their KE-filled approach.

I was happy to learn of KE.

The article:

How can manufacturers make decisions on product appearance design? A research on optimal design based on customers’ emotional satisfaction
By: Runliang Dou, Wei Li, Guofang Nan, Xiaoqiu Wang, Yanjie Zhou
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2096232021000123

 

 

 

 

 

 

Utils And Usability

Just today, I thought of the utils (utility) concept in economics. I believe it is the satisfaction derived from consuming a good or service. People enjoy (derive satisfaction) from consuming goods such as a burger or shoes. Consumers often consider the relative satisfaction/utility of goods when making purchasing decisions.

I thought of utils because of my recent review of research/studies on usability. In information technology (IT), researchers measure satisfaction/preference, ease of use, and so on for websites and products. For example, in one article, the researchers tested how consumers would respond to a new idea for banking websites. Would the consumer prefer the new idea, find if more useful? This is all related to the utils concept in economics. The IT approach to measuring user satisfaction may be useful for measuring utils.

Red Bag

#FlashbackFriday

I ran across a red duffel bag that reminded me of the red bag full of books I took with me to President’s College from home. That red bag was not very big but was very heavy.

Link to bag at www.profishop.us