Michael W. Totaro, Ph.D.

Associate Professor
Associate Director for Academic Affairs and Undergraduate Education
Graduate Coordinator, Informatics Master’s Program
School of Computing and Informatics
Ray P. Authement College of Sciences
University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Ph.D., Computer Science, May 2007 - University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Master of Science, Telecommunications, December 1999 - University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Master of Business Administration (MBA), December 1988 - University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Bachelor of Science, Computer Science, December 1982 - University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Office: James R. Oliver Hall, Room 203
Phone: (337) 482-5697

e-mail: miket@louisiana.edu

“Information is the resolution of uncertainty.”
-- Claude Shannon

Homepage revised: 5 July 2017

My Curriculum Vita is available here.

My doctoral dissertation is available here.

My Teaching Philosophy is available here.

Click here to visit the School of Computing and Informatics webpage.

Click here to visit the Ray P. Authement College of Sciences webpage.


Refereed Journal Publications:

“Computing and Network Systems Administration, Operations Research, and System Dynamics Modeling: A Proposed Research Framework” by Michael W. Totaro Journal of Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics (JSCI), Volume 14, Number 6, 2016, pp. 83 88. SSN: 1690-4524 (Online) http://www.iiisci.org/journal/sci/issue.asp?is=ISS1606 (Two-Tier: Traditional Double-Blind Review/Non-Blind Review; Acceptance rate: Best 20%-25% from Proceedings of IMCIC-2016)

“Business Students’ Performance in Undergraduate Business Statistics: Is There Really A Connection to Mathematical Skills?” by John R. Tanner, Thomas C. Noser, Michael W. Totaro, and Thanh-Ngoc Pham. Journal of Business and Economic Perspectives (JBEP), Volume XLIII, Number 2, Fall/Winter 2016 (Listed in Cabell’s; Blind review; Acceptance rate: 25%)

“The Advanced Database Course and the IS 2010 Model Curriculum: An Experiential Approach to Learning,” by Michael W. Totaro and Brandi N. Guidry. International Journal of Information and Operations Management Education (IJIOME), Volume 5, Number 2, 2013 (Listed in Cabell’s; Blind review; Acceptance rate: 11-20%)

“MIS Students and the Systems Analysis and Design Course Project: A Proposed Experiential Approach,” by Brandi Guidry and Michael W. Totaro. International Journal of Innovation and Learning, Volume 13, Number 2, 2013 (Listed in Cabell’s; Blind review; Acceptance rate: 11-20%)

“The Systems Analysis and Design Course: An Educators’ Assessment of the Importance and Coverage of Topics” by Brandi Guidry, David Stevens, and Michael Totaro. Journal of Information Systems Education, Volume 22, Number 4, Winter, 2012 (Listed in Cabell’s; Blind review; Acceptance rate: 20%)

“Business Simulation Games: Effective Teaching Tools or Window Dressing?” by John R. Tanner, Geoffrey Stewart, Michael W. Totaro, and Melissa Hargrave. American Journal of Business Education, Volume 5, Number 2, March/April 2012 (Listed in Cabell’s; Blind review; Acceptance rate: 11-20%)

“MIS Students and the Systems Analysis and Design Course Project: A Proposed Experiential Approach,” by Brandi Guidry and Michael Totaro. Accepted September 21, 2011 for publication in a forthcoming issue of: International Journal of Innovation and Learning (Listed in Cabell’s; Blind review; Acceptance rate: 11-20%). Status: Revise (minor) and Resubmit.

“High School Students’ Academic Performance and Internet Usage,” by Wesley Austin and Michael W. Totaro, Journal of Economics and Economic Education Research, Volume 12, Number 1, 2011, pp. 41-54 (Listed in Cabell’s; Blind review; Acceptance rate: 21-30%)

“Convention Center Management: A Systems Analysis & Design Course Project” (Teaching Case), by Brandi N. Guidry and Michael W. Totaro, Journal of Information Systems Education, Volume 22, Number 1, Spring, 2011, pp. 15-17 (Listed in Cabell’s; Blind review; Acceptance rate: 20%)

“Assessing IT Critical Skills and Revising the MIS Curriculum,” by David Stevens, Michael Totaro, and Zhiwei Zhu, Journal of Computer Information Systems, Volume 51, Number 3, Spring 2011, pp. 85-95 (Listed in Cabells; Blind review; Acceptance Rate: 10-15%)

“Gender Differences in the Effects of Internet Usage on High School Absenteeism,” by Wesley Austin and Michael Totaro, Journal of Socio-Economics, Volume 40, 2011, pp. 192-198 (Listed in Cabell’s; Blind review; Acceptance rate: 25%)

“The SOA Platform for Small and Medium Businesses: A Conceptual Framework,” by Michael W. Totaro, Sonya H.Y. Hsu, and Zhiwei Zhu, International Journal of Business and Systems Research, Volume 5, Number 1 (January, 2011) (Listed in Cabells; Blind review; Acceptance Rate: 11 – 20%)

"Math Skills and Undergraduates' Performance in Business Statistics: A Relationship Analysis," by John Tanner, Michael W. Totaro, Thanh-Ngoc Pham, and Thomas Noser, International Journal of Education Research, Volume 4, Number 3, Fall 2009. (Listed in Cabells; Blind review; Acceptance Rate: 15%)

"Business School Administrators’ and Faculty Perceptions of Online Learning: A Comparative Study," by John R. Tanner, Thomas C. Noser, and Michael W. Totaro, Issues in Innovation, Volume 3, Issue 1, 2009, pp. 102-124. (Listed in Cabells; Blind review; Acceptance Rate: 21 – 30%)

"Business Faculty and Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions of Online Learning: A Comparative Study," by John R. Tanner, Thomas C. Noser, and Michael W. Totaro, Journal of Information Systems Education, Volume 20, Number 1, 2009 (Spring Issue). (Listed in Cabells; Blind review; Acceptance Rate: 21 – 30%)

"Business School Administrators’ Perceptions of Online Learning," by John R. Tanner, Thomas C. Noser, Michael W. Totaro, and Markashia Bruno, International Journal of Education Research, Volume 4, Number 1, 2009 (Winter). (Listed in Cabells; Blind review; Acceptance Rate: 15%)

"How Business Students Spend Their Time—Do They Really Know?" by John R. Tanner, Geoffrey Stewart, Glenn Maples, and Michael W. Totaro, Research in Higher Education Journal, Volume 3, May 2009. (Listed in Cabells; Blind review; Acceptance Rate: less than 25%)

"MIS Faculty Perceptions of IT Certifications," by John Tanner, Michael W. Totaro, and Patricia A. Lanier, Business Research Yearbook: Global Business Perspectives, Volume XVI 2009, Number 1. (Listed in Cabells; Blind review; Acceptance Rate: 40%)

"Student Perceptions of the Online ‘Classroom’: An Update," by John R. Tanner, Thomas C. Noser, Michael W. Totaro, and Rachelle Birch, International Business & Economics Research Journal, Volume 5, Number 10 (October 2006). (Listed in Cabells; Blind Review; Acceptance Rate: 11 – 20%)

"Faculty Perceptions of Distance Education Courses: A Survey," by Michael W. Totaro, John R. Tanner, Thomas Noser, Jeanne Fuselier Fitzgerald, and Rachelle Birch, Journal of College Teaching & Learning, Volume 2, Number 7 (July 2005). (Listed in Cabells; Blind Review; Acceptance Rate: 11 – 20%)

"Factors Associated With Faculty Perceptions of MIS and IT Journal Quality," by Daniel G. Hotard, John Tanner, Stanley J. Smits, and Michael W. Totaro, Journal of Business and Economic Perspectives, Volume XXX, Number 2, Fall/Winter 2004. (Listed in Cabells; Blind Review; Acceptance Rate: 21 – 30%)

"Differing Faculty Perceptions of Research and Teaching Emphasis," by Dan Hotard, John Tanner, and Michael W. Totaro, Educational Research Quarterly, Volume 27, No. 4, June 2004.

"The Online ‘Classroom’: Differences in Perception Between Business Students and Non-Business Students," by John Tanner, Thomas Noser, Jeanne Fuselier, and Michael W. Totaro, Journal of College Teaching & Learning, Volume 1, Number 3 (March 2004). (Listed in Cabells; Blind Review; Acceptance Rate: 11 – 20%)

"The Online ‘Classroom’: What Do Students Think?" by John R. Tanner, Thomas Noser, Jeanne Fuselier, and Michael W. Totaro, Journal of Informatics Education Research, Volume 6, Number 1 (Spring 2004). (Listed in Cabells; Blind review; Acceptance rate: 25%)

"Effects of Information Technology on the Business World," by Ihssan Alkadi, Ghassan Alkadi, and Michael W. Totaro, Human Systems Management, Volume 22, Number 3 (2003). (Listed in Cabells; Editorial review; Acceptance rate: 21-30%))

"CPA’s and Electronic Survey Media," by Marc A. Giullian, Marcus D. Odom, and Michael W. Totaro, The Review of Business Information Systems, Volume 7, Number 1 (Winter 2003). (Listed in Cabells; Blind Review; Acceptance Rate: 11 – 20%)

"Developing Essential Skills For Success In The Business World: A Look At Forecasting," by Marc A. Giullian, Marcus D. Odom, and Michael W. Totaro., The Journal of Applied Business Research, Volume 16, Number 3, Summer 2000. (Listed in Cabells; Blind Review; Acceptance Rate: 6 – 10%)

"Accounting Students' Preparation and Skills: A Faculty Perspective," by John R. Tanner, Michael W. Totaro, and Thomas E. Wilson, Jr., Journal of Accounting and Finance Theory, Volume 7, Number 2, Fall 1999.

"Research Productivity and Teaching Effectiveness: MIS Faculty," by John Tanner , Michael Totaro, and Dan Hotard, The Journal of Computer Information Systems, Volume XXXIX, Number 4, Summer 1999. (Listed in Cabells; Blind review; Acceptance rate: 10-15%)

"Faculty Perspectives of Accounting Students: How Have They Changed Over the Past Decade?," by John R. Tanner, Michael W. Totaro, and Thomas E. Wilson, Jr., The Journal of Accounting and Finance Research, Volume 7, Number 1, Summer 1999.

"New Technology in Survey Research: Does It Improve Response Rates?" by Marcus D. Odom, Marc Guillian, and Mike Totaro, The Review of Accounting Information Systems, Volume 3, Number 1, Winter 1998/1999.

"Accounting Educators' Perceptions of Accounting Students' Preparation and Skills: A 10-Year Update," by John R. Tanner, Michael W. Totaro, and Thomas E. Wilson, Jr., The Journal of Education for Business, Volume 74, Number 1, September/October 1998. (Blind review)

"Information Systems Laboratory: Analysis, Design, and Implementation," by Michael Totaro, Judy Seymour, and Judy Edwards, Louisiana Business Education Journal, Volume 1, Spring 1991.

Refereed Conference Proceedings:

“Computing and Network Systems Administration, Operations Research, and System Dynamics Modeling: A Proposed Research Framework,” by Michael W. Totaro, Accepted for presentation and publication in Proceedings of the 7th International Multi-Conference on Complexity, Informatics and Cybernetics: IMCIC 2016, Orlando, Florida, March 8-11, 2016. (Note: This paper was among the best 20%-25% of the papers presented. On January 28, 2017, I received notification that it was selected for inclusion in a (then) forthcoming issue of the Journal of Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics, JSCI.)

"Basic Mathematical Skills and Undergraduates’ Performance in a Business Statistics Course: A Relationship Analysis," with John R. Tanner, Thomas C. Noser, and Thanh-Ngoc Pham (McNair Scholar), Accepted for presentation and publication in Proceedings of the 2009 Meeting of the Academy of Business Disciplines, Ft. Myers Beach, Florida, November 5-7, 2009.

"Survey Research Response Rates: Internet Technology vs. Snail Mail," with John R. Tanner, Patricia Lanier, and Gavin Gradnigo (McNair Scholar), Accepted for presentation and publication in Proceedings of the 2009 Meeting of the Academy of Business Disciplines, Ft. Myers Beach, Florida, November 5-7, 2009.

"Simulation Games and Methods: Business Faculty Perceptions," with John R. Tanner, Geoffrey Stewart, and Melissa Hargrave (McNair Scholar), Accepted for presentation and publication in Proceedings of the 2009 Meeting of the Academy of Business Disciplines, Ft. Myers Beach, Florida, November 5-7, 2009.

"An Analysis of the Relationship between Math Skills and Undergraduates’ Performance in Business Statistics," with John R. Tanner. Thomas C. Noser, and Thanh-Ngoc Pham (McNair Scholar), Accepted for presentation and publication in Proceedings of the International Academy of Business and Public Administration Disciplines (IABPAD) Conference 2009, April 23-26, Dallas, Texas.

"Changing Undergraduate Business Students’ Perceptions About Learning Mathematics Through a Redesigned Finite Mathematics Course," with Kathleen Lopez and Lee Price, Accepted for presentation and publication in Proceedings of the International Academy of Business and Public Administration Disciplines (IABPAD) Conference 2009, April 23-26, Dallas, Texas.

"Thailand as a Tourist Destination: What Do International Travellers Think?" with Jerome Agrusa, Wendy Agrusa, and John Tanner, Accepted for presentation and publication in Proceedings of the International Academy of Business and Public Administration Disciplines (IABPAD) Conference 2009, April 23-26, Dallas, Texas.

"MIS Faculty Perceptions of IT Certifications," with John Tanner and Patricia Lanier, Accepted December 2008 for presentation and publication in Proceedings of the International Academy of Business Disciplines 2009 Conference, St. Louis, Missouri, April 2 – 4, 2009.

"How Business Students Spend Their Time—Do They Really Know?" with John Tanner, Geoffrey Stewart, Glenn Maples, and Michael Gaines (McNair Scholar). Accepted for presentation and publication in Proceedings of the Allied Academies International Conference, Reno, Nevada, October 15 – 17, 2008.

"Business School Administrators’ and Faculty Perceptions of Online Learning: A Comparative Study," with John Tanner, Thomas C. Noser, and Markashia Bruno (McNair Scholar). Accepted for presentation and publication in Proceedings of the Allied Academies International Conference, Reno, Nevada, October 15 – 17, 2008.

"Perceptions of Online Learning by Business School Administrators," with John Tanner, Thomas C. Noser, and Markashia Bruno. Presented and published in Proceedings at The International Academy of Business and Public Administration Disciplines (IABPAD) Spring Conference, Dallas, Texas, April 24 - 27, 2008.

"Student Perceptions of the Online 'Classroom': An Update," with John Tanner, Thomas Noser, and Rachelle Birch, Proceedings of the 2006 College Teaching & Learning Conference, Orlando, Florida, January 2-6, 2006.

"Using Statistical Design of Experiments for Analyzing Mobile Ad Hoc Networks," with Dmitri D. Perkins, Proceedings of the 8th ACM/IEEE International Symposium on Modeling, Analysis and Simulation of Wireless and Mobile Systems (MSWiM), October 2005, pp. 159 - 168.

"Faculty Perceptions of Distance Education Courses: A Survey," with John Tanner, Thomas Noser, Jeanne Fitzgerald, and Rachelle Birch. The 2004 College Teaching & Learning Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada, October 4-8, 2004.

"Information Technology In The Business World: Through The Years And Beyond!" with Ihssan Alkadi and Ghassan Alkadi. The 2004 European Applied Business Research Conference, Edinburgh, Scotland, June 14-18, 2004.

"The Online ‘Classroom’: Differences in Perception between Business Students And Non-Business Students," with John Tanner, Thomas Noser, and Jeanne Fuselier. The 2003 International Business & Economics Research Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada, October 6–10, 2003. Received Best Paper Award.

"Effects of Information Technology on the Business World," with Ihssan Alkadi and Ghassan Alkadi, The 2003 International Conference on Internet Computing (IC ’03), Las Vegas, Nevada (USA), June 23-26, 2003.

"Effects of Information Technology on the Business World," with Ihssan Alkadi and Ghassan Alkadi, The 7th World Multiconference on Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics (SCI 2003), Orlando, Florida (USA), July 27-30, 2003.

"Business Process Reengineering and Key Emerging Telecommunications Technologies: A Slight Paradigm ‘Realignment’," with Brandi Guidry-Hollier, 2001 International Business & Economic Research Conference, Reno, Nevada, October 2001.

"A Survey of E-business Programs at AACSB-Affiliated Business Schools," with Harlan Etheridge, Kathy H. Y. Hsu, Thomas E. Wilson, Jr., the second of an e-business survey series sponsored by AACSB – The International Association for Management Education, AACSB eCommerce Meeting, June 2001.

"E-business Instruction and Scholarship at AACSB-Affiliated Business Schools: Deans’ Perspectives," with Harlan Etheridge, Kathy H. Y. Hsu, Thomas E. Wilson, Jr., the first of an e-business survey series sponsored by AACSB – The International Association for Management Education, AACSB Annual Meeting, March 2001.

"A Comparison of Productivity and Performance of Management and MIS Faculty," with Daniel Hotard and John Tanner, 2000 National Conference of Production and Operations Management Society, San Antonio, Texas, April 2000.

"Survey Response Rates of Accounting Faculty: Regular Mail, E-Mail and Web Form," with Marc Guillian and Marcus Odom, 1999 Southwest American Accounting Association Regional Meeting, March 10-13, 1999.

"Faculty Perspectives of Accounting Students: How Have They Changed Over the Past Decade?" with Thomas E. Wilson and John Tanner, Annual Meeting of The American Academy of Accounting and Finance, December 3-5, 1998.

"Accounting Students' Preparation and Skills: A Faculty Perspective," with Thomas E. Wilson and John Tanner, Annual Meeting of the Midsouth Association of Accounting and Finance, October 1998.

"Survey Response Rates by Accounting Professionals: Snail Mail vs. Web-form," with Marc Guillian and Marcus Odom, 1998 American Society of Business and Behavioral Sciences meeting, February 20-26, 1998.

"Forecasting: Increasing Importance in the Undergraduate Accounting Curriculum?" with Marc Guillian, 1998 American Society of Business and Behavioral Sciences meeting, February 20-26, 1998.

"William Stanley Jevons: Select Contributions to Knowledge," Working Paper, Academy of Economics and Finance 24th Annual Meeting, February 1997.

"An Expert System for the Construction of a Hedged Portfolio," with Spuma Rao and Leo M. Alleman, Proceedings of the 1994 Academy of Business Administration Global Business Trends Conference, 1994.

"Information Systems Laboratory: Analysis, Design, and Implementation," with Judy Seymour and Judy Edwards, Louisiana Business Education Journal, Volume 1, Spring 1991.

Research Grants and Contracts

“Multi-Industry Semantic Discovery Tool Sets for Data Integration, Data Warehousing, and E-Science,” Yuan An (Drexel), Michael Totaro (ULL), Chaomei Chen (Drexel), Tony Hu (Drexel), Weimao Ke (Drexel), Jason Li (Drexel), Xia Lin (Drexel), Michelle Rogers (Drexel), Vijay Raghavan (ULL), Il-Yeol Song (Drexel), and Wu Xu (ULL); Funded project (July 2012 – Jun 2013), Center for Visual and Decision Informatics (CVDI): An NSF Industry/University Collaborative Research Center, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Drexel University; $132, 200 (funded).

“Events-Planning Modeling and Simulation: Application of System Dynamics,” Summer Research Award (2009).

“Developing Multidisciplinary Lean Manufacturing Course through Virtual Reality and Inquiry-Based Learning," BORSF, $154,239 Co-PI, with Suren Dwiveldi (PI), BORSF Multidisciplinary (2009-10), $139,957 (funded).

"Strengthening the Analytical Thinking and Mathematical Decision-Making Skills of Business Students in a Finite Mathematics Course,” Co-PI, with Kathleen Lopez (PI) and Lee Price (Co-PI), LEQSF (2008-09)-ENH-TR-55, $80,359 (funded).

Non-Refereed Publications

"Business On-Line," USL Business Assets, Fall 1997, Volume 1.

"Local Area Networks: Topologies and Implications," The Bulletin Board, Louisiana Association of Business Educators, Volume 14, Number 1, October 1990.

"Are Networked PCs For You?", USL Business Commentary, Volume 2, Number 3, September 1990.

Professional Presentations and Seminars

"Moving Technology Forward in Nonprofit Organizations," Teacher/Presenter, sponsored by the Stuller Family Foundation, January - May 2008; August - November 2008. (Group meets once monthly for two-hour sessions.)

"General Web Page Design," Azalea Chapter, IAAP, July 12, 2000.

"Emerging Technologies for Office Professionals," Azalea Chapter, IAAP, 25th Annual Seminar, February 3, 1999.

"Internet Marketing and Web Site Development," with Lawrence Scheuermann, USL College of Business Administration: People's Business Seminar, February 10, 1999.

"The Corporate Web," with Abigail Ransonet, USL Business And Alumni Lifetime Learning Seminar Series, March 20, 1998.

"The Internet—What It's All About," with Melanie Meche, Acadiana Small Business Development Center, June 10, 1997.