William E. Spangler is Professor of Information Systems Management and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the Palumbo Donahue School of Business at Duquesne University. He has taught a wide array of technical and managerial courses in information systems, focusing in the past few years on information systems auditing, control and security. He also has been heavily involved in the international programs over the past 10 years, having led student groups on study abroad trips to destinations that have included Europe, South America, China, India, Japan, and South Africa.
Since coming to Duquesne, Dr. Spangler has received several teaching awards, including the Palumbo-Donahue Outstanding Educator Award, the Rethwisch Outstanding Teaching Award, two Duquesne University Creative Teaching Awards, and an Apple Polishing Award. He also has published several academic journal articles related to instructional design and strategies within the information systems curriculum.
Dr. Spangler's research interests have focused on computational modeling for decision support in complex systems, as well as machine learning and data mining. His work has been published in numerous academic journals, including Management Science, Communications of the ACM, Journal of Management Information Systems, Decision Support Systems, Information and Management, Production and Operations Management, Interfaces, and IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering.
Prior to joining the faculty at Duquesne, Dr. Spangler spent several years in private industry working for Fortune 500 companies such as Unisys Corporation and Westinghouse Electric Corporation, as well as small companies such as the R&D firm Seer Systems. He also taught for three years in the business school at West Virginia University immediately prior to his move to Duquesne. He is a member of the Association for Information Systems (AIS), the International Association for Computer Information Systems (IACIS), the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), and the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA).
In his spare time, Dr. Spangler loves to travel and particularly enjoys the outdoors, including hiking and bike-riding. He also enjoys photography and all types of electronic gadgets.
Hartzel, K., Spangler, W., Gal-Or, M., May, J., "Blurring the Boundaries Between Physical and Digital Systems Through Object-Oriented Design and Implementation", 8th Academy of Business and Information Technology Annual Meeting
Abreu, C., May, J., Spangler, W., & Vargas, L. (2008). Decision Support for Conflict Identification and Reconciliation in Collaborative Manufacturing Scheduling. International Journal of Information Technology and Decision Making, 7, 147 - 174.
Gal-Or, M., May, J., & Spangler, W. (2009). When to Choose an Ensemble Classifier Model for Data Mining. International Journal of Business Intelligence and Data Mining.
Hartzel, K., Spangler, W., Gal-Or, M., & May, J. (2009). Decision Making in Distributed Objects Using Radio Frequency Identification. Journal of International Management Studies, 4.
Spangler, W., Hartzel, K., Gal-Or, M., & May, J. (2009). Modeling Complexity In Physically-Distributed Object-Oriented Systems. Journal Of Computer Information Systems.
Strum, D., Vargas, L., May, J., Spangler, W., & Stanciu, A. (2009). Concepts of Operating Room Efficiency. In J. Stonemetz & K. Ruskin (Eds.), Anesthesia Informatics: Springer.
Wasieleski, D., Spangler, W., & Gal-Or, M. (2009). Facilitating Consumer Acceptance of RFID and Related Ubiquitous Technologies. International Journal of Applied Logistics.
Hartzel, K., Spangler, W., Phelps, A., & Martinez, A. (2009). An Empirical Study of Emerging Trends in On-line Social Network Usage. Proceedings of the IACIS, September, 2009.
Gal-Or, M., Spangler, W., & Wasieleski, D. (2010). Facilitating Consumer Acceptance of RFID and Related Ubiquitous Technologies. International Journal of Applied Logistics, 1(1), 16-27.
May, J., Spangler, W., Strum, D., & Vargas, L. (2010). The Surgical Scheduling Problem: A Survey Of Current Research And Opportunities For Future Exploration. Production And Operations Management.
My core research background and training is in artificial intelligence; specifically the construction of computer models that are intended to simulate, and therefore explain, certain aspects of human reasoning. My doctoral work focused on simulating the procedure-driven behavior of nuclear power plant operators, but later extended into data mining and the construction of classification/predictive computer models. Those models have been applied in such diverse areas as health care, specifically surgical suite scheduling and operations, as well as in targeted advertising (i.e., profiling individual demographic and psychographic characteristics from their television viewing patterns).
Subsequently, in keeping with the mission of the business school and the university, I have extended my research into the areas of sustainability and social responsibility, particularly the role and impact of information technology in those areas. This has included a follow-up study of the privacy implications associated with identifying individual characteristics from their television viewing, and a study of the how organizations can respond to the concerns of individuals regarding the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags in purchased items. More recently, I am working with my colleagues here at Duquesne to explore the impact of on-line social networks in fostering what might be termed 'charitable behavior' in individuals. In so doing, this study also seeks to compare the influence of OSNs across different nations, including the US, China and India. In separate studies, we also are exploring attitudes and behaviors surrounding the use and impact of information technology in driving corporate sustainability.
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