Research

My research interests have varied a lot over time. I have spent a lot of time looking at the use and impact of information technology in non-profit sectors, particularly in the social services field. Some of that work has included the development and use of database and expert systems for specific research projects.

Journal Articles (Refereed)

  • Ferns, B., Emelianova, O. & Sethi, S.P. “In His Own Words: The Effectiveness of CEO as Spokesperson on CSR-Sustainability Issues – Analysis of Data from the Sethi CSR Monitor”. Corporate Reputation Review. 11(2), Summer 2008. 116-129.
  • Leonard, N.R., Gwadz, M.V., Cleland, C.M., Vekaria, P.C., & Ferns, B. “Maternal substance use and HIV status: Adolescent risk and resilience”. Journal of Adolescence, 31, 2008, 389-405.
  • Coursen, D. & Ferns, B. “Modeling participant flows in human service programs”. Journal of Technology in Human Services, 22(4), 2004, 55-71
  • Leonard, N.R., Lester, P., Rotheram-Borus, M.J., Mattes, K., Gwadz, M., and Ferns, B. “Successful Recruitment and Retention of Participants in Longitudinal Behavioral Research”.  AIDS Education and Prevention: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 15(3), 2003, 269-281
  • Ferns, W. J., Dologite, D. G., Mockler, R. J. & Pfeffer, R. “An Expert System for Juvenile Delinquency Disposition Advisement”, accepted by Applied Artificial Intelligence, to be published in 1996, 44 pages.
  • “Lifenet: A Knowledge-based DSS Tool for the Risk Assessment of Adolescent Suicide”, Expert Systems with Applications, 9(2), 1995, pp. 165-176.
  • Ferns, W.J. & Mowshowitz, A. “Knowledge-Intensive Systems in the Social Service Agency: Anticipated Impacts on the Organization”, accepted by AI & Society, to be published in 1996, 40 pages.
  • Rotheram-Borus, M.J., Walker, J.U., and Ferns, W.J. “Suicidal Behavior Among Middle-Class, Midwestern Adolescents Who Seek Crisis Services”, Journal of Clinical Psychology, 52(2), 137-143.
  • DiMartino, D.J., Ferns, W.J., & Swacker, S. “CDROM Search Techniques of Novice Users: Is the English-as-a-Second-Language Student at a Disadvantage?”, Journal of the Association of College and Research Libraries, 56(1), January 1995, pp. 49-59.
  • Dologite, D.G., Ryan, S.G. & Ferns, W.J. “The Undergraduate Introductory Computer Course: A Comparison of Advanced Students With Other Students”, The Journal of Computer Information Systems, 31(2), Winter 1990-1991, pp. 50-55.

Proceedings (Refereed)

  • Ferns, B. & Sethi, S.P. (2012). “Emerging Trends in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)Reporting By Large Corporations: A Comparative Analysis Of Corporate CSR Reports by Western European and North American Corporations”. Fifth ISBEE World Congress, Warsaw, Poland,   11-14 July 2012, 24 pages.
  • Sethi, S.P. , Ferns, B. , Emelianova, O. , Lirtzman, S. (2007) . “Making Sense of CSR – Sustainability Reports: the Sethi CSR Monitor”. Proceedings of the Triple Bottom Line Investing 2007 Conference. Paris, France, 15-16 November 2007, 7 pages.
  • Coursen, D. and Ferns, B. “Modeling Participant Flows as a Basis for Decision Support in Human Service Programs” in N.C. Romano (Ed.) Proceedings of the Tenth Americas Conference on Information Systems, New York, NY, 6-8 August, 2004, pp. 2067-2075.
  • Ferns, W.J., Birdsell, D. S. & Van Ryzin, G. “Adoption of Computer-Mediated Communications in the Private, Non-Profit Sector.” In J.M. Carey (Ed.) Proceedings of the Second Americas Conference on Information Systems, Phoenix, AZ, 16-18 August, 1996, pp. 277-279.
  • Ferns, W. J., Van Ryzin, G. & Birdsell, D. S. “Adoption of IT in the Private, Non-Profit Sector: An Empirical Study-in-Progress,” Proceedings of the 1996 Annual Meeting of the Decision Sciences Institute, Orlando, FL, 24-26 November, 1996, 3 pages.
  • Ferns, W. J. & Palley, M. A. “Information technology, diffusion, and the human services industry.” In M.K. Ahuja, D.F. Galletta & H.J. Watson (Eds.) Proceedings of the First Americas Conference on Information Systems, Pittsburgh, PA, 25‑27 August 1995, pp. 249‑251
  • Ferns, W.J. & Riedel, M.C. “Paraprofessional Use of Clinical Knowledge-Based Systems for Social Service Delivery”. Proceedings of the 25th Annual Meeting of the Decision Sciences Institute, Honolulu, HA, 20-22 November 1994, 4 pages.
  • Dologite, D. G., Ferns, W. J., Helft, B.L., Mockler, R. J. & Pfeffer, R. “Juvenile Delinquent Legal Advisement: Development of an Expert System Prototype”. In D. F. Rogers & A. S. Raturi (Eds.), Proceedings of 24th Annual Meeting of the Decision Sciences Institute, Washington, DC, 21-23 November 1993, 2, 632‑634.
  • Ferns, W. J. “Expert Systems in the Social Service Agency: Anticipated Impacts on the Organization” in W. Hamel (Ed.), Proceedings of 11th Annual Conference of the Association of Management, Atlanta, GA, 4-9 August 1993, 11(1), pp. 46-51, Newport News, VA: Maximilian Press
  • DiMartino, D.J., Ferns, W.J., Swacker, S., “A Study of CD-ROM Search Techniques by English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) Students”, in M. Williams (Ed.), Proceedings of 1993 National Online Meeting, New York 4-6 May 1993, pp. 107-117, Medford, NJ: Learned, Inc.
  • Ferns, B. & Helft, B. Loerinc, “Using Scenarios to Teach Ethics: Do They Cloud the Information Systems Perspective?”, in B. Kleen (Ed.), Proceedings of 1992 Annual Conference of the International Association for Computer Information Systems held in New Orleans, LA, 3-5 October 1992, pp. 62-71.
  • Ferns, B. & Dologite, D.G., “Developing a Knowledge-Based System for Evaluating Loans to Nonprofit Organizations”, in W. Hamel (Ed.), Proceedings of the 10th Annual Conference of the Association of Management held in Las Vegas, NV, 5-7, August 4, 1992, pp. 19-23.
  • “Lifenet: An Expert System for the Intervention of Adolescent Suicide”, in B. Kleen (Ed.), Proceedings of the 1991 Annual Conference of the International Association for Computer Information Systems held in San Francisco, 3 October 1991, pp. 54-61.
  • Ferns, B. & Helft, B. Loerinc, “The Use of Query Language Boolean Operators by Professionals”, in P. Zunde & J. C. Agrawal (Eds.) The Proceedings of the Fourth Symposium on Empirical Foundations of Information and Software Sciences held in Atlanta, GA, 22-24 October 1986. New York: Plenum, 1987, pp. 211-222.
Chapters in Books:
Refereed
  • Ferns, W.J. & Riedel, M.C. (1995) “The Expert System as a Metaphor for Professional Knowledge Development” in E.J. Mullen and P. Hess (Eds.) Practitioner-Researcher Partnerships: Building Knowledge from, in, and for Practice. Washington, DC: NASW Press, pp. 227-252.
   Non-Refereed
  • Student Study Guide and Workbook to Accompany USING COMPUTERS by D.G.Dologite, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Englewood Cliffs, 1987.
   Government Reports or Monographs: