Information Systems Domain Research Articles

MAPIS, a multi-agent system for information personalization

In the domain of multi-user and agent-oriented information systems, personalized information systems aim to give specific and customized responses to individual user requests. In addition to the ability to analyze user needs and to retrieve, understand and act on distributed data that is offered by any agent-oriented system, multi-agent systems also offer interesting possibilities for interaction, particularly with regard to information sharing and task coordination. Our approach exploits these interactive possibilities in order to make the system capable of personalizing information. In addition, reusable models at both the social and individual levels were chosen for this approach in order to facilitate subsequent information system design. With these two ideas in mind, several models of agent interaction (social) and the internal activity cycles (individual) have been proposed with the aim of creating a multi-agent system for information personalization.

Orthogonal drawings of graphs with vertex and edge labels

This paper studies the problem of computing orthogonal drawings of graphs with labels on vertices and edges. Our research is mainly motivated by Software Engineering and Information Systems domains, where tools like UML diagrams and ER-diagrams are considered fundamental for the design of sophisticated systems and/or complex data bases collecting enormous amount of information. A label is modeled as a rectangle of prescribed width and height and it can be associated with either a vertex or an edge. Our drawing algorithms guarantee no overlaps between labels, vertices, and edges and take advantage of the information about the set of labels to compute the geometry of the drawing. Several additional optimization goals are taken into account. Namely, the labeled drawing can be required to have either minimum total edge length, or minimum width, or minimum height, or minimum area among those preserving a given orthogonal representation. All these goals lead to NP-hard problems. We present MILP models to compute optimal drawings with respect to the first three goals and an exact algorithm that is based on these models to compute a labeled drawing of minimum area. We also present several heuristics for computing compact labeled orthogonal drawings and experimentally validate their performances, comparing their solutions against the optimum.

STAMP: A Model for Generating Adaptable Multimedia Presentations

The STAMP model addresses the dynamic generation of multimedia presentations in the domain of Multimedia Web-based Information Systems. STAMP allows the presentation of multimedia data obtained from XML compatible data sources by means of query. Assuming that the size and the nature of the elements of information provided by a data source is not known a priori, STAMP proposes templates which describe the spatial, temporal, navigational structuration of multimedia presentations whose content varies. The instantiation of a template is done with respect to the set of spatial and temporal constraints associated with the delivery context. A set of adaptations preserving the initial intention of the presentation is proposed.

Sparking synergies between research and practice: The contribution of social informatics

AbstractThe purpose of this panel is to address the relationships among research and practice in the domain of information systems in organizations. Using the perspective of social informatics, we highlight issues with current work, areas of particular interest, and problems vexing both professional and scholarly interests

Clarifying Business Models: Origins, Present, and Future of the Concept

This paper aims to clarify the concept of business models, its usages, and its roles in the Information Systems domain. A review of the literature shows a broad diversity of understandings, usages, and places in the firm. The paper identifies the terminology or ontology used to describe a business model, and compares this terminology with previous work. Then the general usages, roles and potential of the concept are outlined. Finally, the connection between the business model concept and Information Systems is described in the form of eight propositions to be analyzed in future work.

The Concept of Information Overload: A Review of Literature from Organization Science, Accounting, Marketing, MIS, and Related Disciplines

Based on literature from the domains of organization science, marketing, accounting, and management information systems, this review article examines the theoretical basis of the information overload discourse and presents an overview of the main definitions, situations, causes, effects, and countermeasures. It analyzes the contributions from the last 30 years to consolidate the existing research in a conceptual framework and to identify future research directions.

A methodology and tool support for managing business rules in organisations

Business rules are evidently important for organisations as they describe how they are doing business. Their value has also been recognised within the information system (IS) domain, mostly because of their ability to make applications flexible and amenable to change. In this paper, we propose a methodology that helps business people and developers to keep business rules at the business level inline with the rules that are implemented at the system level. In contrast to several existing approaches that primarily focus on business rules in the scope of an application, our methodology addresses the entire IS of an organisation. The paper also describes requirements for a tool support that would be appropriate to support the methodology.

Perceived Control in Information Systems

The importance of perceptions of control in explaining human behavior and motivation has been identified, investigated and found to be significant in several disciplines. This study reports on an exploratory investigation assessing perceived control within the information systems domain. A survey instrument was developed based on the research literature to assess perceived control as a multi-dimensional construct. The survey was administered to 241 subjects. The results were analyzed to produce a set of five factors that represent a user’s perceptions of control when working with an interactive information system: 1) timeframe, 2) feedback signal, 3) feedback duration, 4) strategy, and 5) metaphor knowledge.

Reconstruction of 3D building models from aerial images and maps

Automatic 3D building reconstruction has becoming increasingly important for a number of applications. The reconstruction of buildings using only aerial images as data source has been proven to be a very difficult problem. The complexity of the reconstruction can be greatly reduced by combining the aerial images with other data sources. In this paper, we describe a 3D building reconstruction method that integrates the aerial image analysis with information from large-scale 2D Geographic Information System (GIS) databases and domain knowledge. By combining the images with GIS data, the specific strengths of both the images (high resolution, accuracy, and large-information content) and the GIS data (relatively simple interpretation) are exploited.

Where systems meet services: towards evidence‐based information practice

Evidence‐based information practice is an important paradigm that is now emerging in mainstream information work from within healthcare information. This paper aims to provide an introduction to the concept before considering the imperative for practitioners to use insights from research within their professional practice and day‐to‐day decision making. The importance of a focused question and a systematic approach to critical appraisal are rehearsed and similarities with the domain of information systems are briefly considered. The paper concludes with state‐of‐the‐art observations from a recent conference in Canada and recommendations for further development of the paradigm. The objective is to achieve the eventual extinction of the concept through complete integration as simply another tool for reflective practice.

The IS Core-II: The Maturing IS Discipline: Institutionalizing our Domain of Inquiry

Even though computerized information systems are a relatively recent phenomenon that continues to evolve, these technology-based systems are now studied by a maturing academic discipline. This article examines the issue of Information Systems (IS) core concepts; explores the content and boundaries of the Information Systems research domain; and discusses whether consensus about an identity and domain for Information Systems is important and worth discussing. Despite concerns in the profession about an IS identity crisis, Information Systems is a legitimate area of scientific research and inquiry. Groups like the Association for Information Systems are institutionalizing the IS domain of inquiry. Furthermore, Information Systems researchers are becoming much more assertive about the importance of the IS research domain.

Diversity and Scientific Progress in the Information Systems Discipline

The Information Systems (IS) discipline is over a third of a century old. It is a multidisciplinary field of study that covers areas related to the management, deployment, and use of information technology. In response to this extended reach and the growing needs and requirements of its stakeholders, the IS community successfully solidified its foundations through institutionalization and professionalization. However, in light of a complex patronage structure, undisciplined diversity, and unbounded eclecticism in scholarly activities, the progress of IS as a scientific discipline has been attenuated. Drawing lessons from the field of psychology, this paper calls for solidifying the disciplinary matrix of IS. It argues that scientific progress of IS can be advanced further through the development of cumulative and exemplary theories aimed at significant problems. Such a cumulative approach to research tradition and knowledge unification would help demarcate the boundaries of the IS domain not in terms of its subject matters, but by the theories it develops to solve the problems within its domain.

Packaged software: implications of the differences from custom approaches to software development

This paper contributes to the literature on software development in two ways. First, by discussing the packaged software domain relative to the more commonly studied custom information systems (IS) domain. Second, this paper presents our speculations on the implications of these differences between packaged and custom IS development. Regarding the first issue, while the two domains share many commonalities, the differences are also important to understand. To make this clear we discuss the differences at four levels: industry forces, approaches to software development, work culture and development team efforts. At each level, data from three case studies are used to illustrate the differences between the two domains. To develop our speculations, we contend that the differences between packaged software and the traditional, custom, approach to information systems development will be profound for five stakeholder groups: software development organizations, software development teams, software developers, software consumers and for researchers interested in software development.

The Human Side of Information Systems Development

Information systems (IS) are growing in importance within the tourism industry, where one key application is database marketing. Evidence from the IS domain suggests systems failure may be due, at least in part, to concentration on technical rather than human issues in the development process. Through an empirical study of visitor attractions in the United Kingdom, the need for a more human-centered approach to IS development is supported, and an example of such an approach is outlined. Both in-depth focus group analysis and a broader questionnaire survey are used and lend weight to the human-centered arguments.From the analysis of a failed tourism database marketing information system, and from evidence of similar successful systems, the value of technology-enabled database marketing within the sector is demonstrated, but its success is seen to rest on participative, human-centered approaches to development.

A description logic with concrete domains and a role-forming predicate operator

This article presents the description logic ALCRP(D) with concrete domains and a roleforming predicate operator as its prominent aspects. We demonstrate the feasibility of ALCRP(D) for reasoning about spatial objects and their qualitative spatial relationships and provide an appropriate concrete domain for spatial objects. The general signicance of ALCRP(D) is demonstrated by adding temporal reasoning to spatial and terminological reasoning using a combined concrete domain. The theory is motivated as a basis for knowledge representation and query processing in the domain of geographic information systems. In contrast to existing work in this domain, which mainly focuses either on conceptual reasoning or on reasoning about qualitative spatial relations, we integrate reasoning about spatial information with terminological reasoning.

Supporting emergence in geographic information systems

The combination of the paradigms of shape algebras and predicate logic representations is a paradigm capable of modeling maps that can support emergent features. First-order predicate logic provides a natural intuitive way of representing spatial relations in the development of complete computer systems for geometric reasoning. Shape-algebraic formalisms have advantages over more traditional representations of geometric objects. Here I will illustrate the definition of high-level spatial relations from a small set of simple structures, with examples from the domain of geographic information systems.

Sistemas de Informação no Brasil: uma análise dos artigos científicos dos anos 90

Este artigo apresenta uma avaliação do estado da arte da área de conhecimento de Sistemas de Informação, no Brasil, a partir da análise de 163 artigos publicados entre janeiro de 1990 e setembro de 1997, em revistas científicas de Administração. Para tanto, analisaram-se os temas abordados nos artigos, as estratégias e as metodologias de pesquisa utilizadas nas pesquisas empíricas, e avaliou-se a qualidade destas pesquisas. Constatou-se que ainda existe forte proporção de ensaios teóricos publicados (41% no período 1990-7 e 34% no período 1996-7), que há um predomínio de temas sobre desenvolvimento e uso de Sistemas de Informação no Brasil, que as pesquisas qualitativas (os estudos de caso) e as pesquisas survey são as metodologias utilizadas em 72% das pesquisas empíricas; a qualidade científica dos artigos ainda é baixa, em razão da não explicitação de como as teorias de base são operacionalizadas, da descrição incompleta dos procedimentos metodológicos e da não validação dos instrumentos de pesquisa.

Erfahrungen mit dem Einsatz anwendungsspezifischer Piktogramme zur partizipativen Anforderungsanalyse

The experience gained in a project in the domain of hospital information systems is discussed in the present paper. Particularly, we emphasize the use of techniques for participatory requirements analysis and the achieved user's traceability from the elicited requirements towards the realized system. A central concern is the general use of application-specific pictograms in requirements modeling and in the implementation of the graphical user interfaces, whereby early prototyping for evaluating the elicited requirements plays an important role.

Testing an Ethical Decision-Making Theory: The Case of Softlifting

:There is a lack of both theoretical and empirical research on the process of ethical decision making in the domain of information systems (IS). As a step in this direction, we describe and test a general ethical decision-making theory developed in the marketing discipline. We conducted a study on the ethical decision-making process of 243 entry-level IS professionals with regard to softlifting—that is, illegal copying of software for personal use. The results show support for the applicability of the tested ethical decision-making theory to the domain of IS, specifically in the context of softlifting. Entry-level IS professionals were found to use both deontological and teleological evaluations to arrive at an ethical judgment of a moral issue. Subsequently, moral intention to pursue softlifting behavior is primarily determined by the ethical judgment. These findings have implications for both research and practice.

A further exploration into information systems development: the evolution of Multiview2

Multiview was defined in 1985 and has been since refined to become an influential approach to information systems development. It has soft and hard aspects and, as a contingency approach, is not prescriptive but adapted to the particular situation in the organization and the application. Observations and reflections on Multiview in action over the last ten years together with more recent literature based on, for example, holism, emergence, multi‐causality, ethical analysis and technology foresight, form the basis for a new definition of Multiview. Changes in the domain of information systems are also taken into account. Away from centralized technology, long lead times and hierarchical organizations, towards networks, new organizational forms, business processes, informational products and services, and the removal of time and space constraints on human activity. This paper underlines the need for IS researchers to learn about methodologies as they are used in practice (rather than as described in text books) and for methodologies to evolve in response to changes in the domain in which they are applied.