Proper Information Management Research Articles

An Organizational View of Pervasive Computing

In their research, the authors find that organizations increasingly collect sensitive electronic information. Currently, they do not have a unified way of defining or implementing privacy or security access control policies for such information. This makes it difficult for the organizations to put in place proper management and control of sensitive information or to verify that required or intended regulations for the use of information are met by the organization. Examinations of privacy policy implementations within organizations have not changed the picture much in the past 20 years. Although there has been considerable attention to the development and posting of privacy policies, these policies are generally vague and lack connections to technology that might implement them. Closing the gap between the high-level policies to which organizations strive to adhere and the low-level actions carried out within their IT systems is an important topic for research and development.

Managing information flow: an important factor in the implementation process of project management

Planning and implementation of a project is considered to be a rather complicated process with a number of components that extend to economic consequences (positive or negative), as much for the contractor company as for the owner of the project itself. One of the key issues in the beginning of the project, and also during its implementation process, is to secure the existence of a reliable information system. The reliability of that information system and the co-existence of an efficient decision-making system are considered to be the most important factors of maintaining quality in project management. This paper presents the basic parameters of such an effective and proper information management system involved in the project management process.

Generic Model and Architecture for Cooperating Objects in Sensor Network Environments

The complexity and heterogeneity of cooperating object applications in ubiquitous environments or of applications in the sensor network domain require the use of generic models and architectures. These architectures should provide support for the following three key issues: flexible installation, management and reconfiguration of components in the system; optimization strategies whose implementation usually involves the proper management of cross-layer information; and proper adaptation techniques that allow for the self-configuration of nodes and components in the system with minimal human intervention. In this paper, we present one possible instance of such a generic model and architecture and show its applicability using Sustainable Bridges, a sensor network application that requires the analysis of complex sensor data to achieve its goal of effectively monitoring bridges for the detection of structural defects.

Auditoría de la información, punto de partida de la gestión del conocimiento

Information auditing is becoming an essential step towards proper and efficient information management. As a consequence, it is a basic requisite for knowledge management, an increasingly important strategic resource for organisations.

Information flows for high-performance manufacturing

The successful implementation of many management best practices (just-in-time, total quality management, concurrent engineering, etc.) heavily depends on proper organisational communication and information management. In this paper, we address the issue of how these best practices, labelled as high-performance manufacturing (HPM) practices, can affect a firm's communication structure. The paper firstly develops a reference framework for the analysis of information flows in operations. This reference framework integrates research in operations management and in organizational communication. The paper then applies the proposed framework to investigate how information flows tend to be characterised in HPM. In doing so, the proposed framework relates cost, time and quality performances to three operational processes (physical transformation, product development and material flow management) and to three classes of information flows: vertical, horizontal and external information flows.

Information management during systems development: a model for improvement in productivity

Proper information management is crucial to ensure productivity during the development of Information Systems (IS). One factor that has greatly impacted productivity is IS environmental volatility; this can be defined as the rapid rate of change in environments where IS are employed. This problem is compounded by the fact that environmental change is accelerating, as global enterprises become increasingly complex and dynamic in nature. Increasing IS environmental volatility leads to increasing user uncertainty concerning IS needs; this can have a very detrimental effect on the productive development of IS. Current IS development models, such as the Waterfall, Prototyping, and Evolutionary models, are not designed to accommodate these factors. Hence, a new model is necessary to ensure productive IS development. In this article, the author will discuss an inadequacy of current models, and propose a model to effect greater productivity in the development of IS.

Representation of standard mechanical components in a STEP-based product data management system

A product data management system, PDMS, stores and manages complete information about all its products and related activities. With proper management of such information, product development can be made easier and more efficient. Together with widespread computer network applications, PDMS enables an enterprise to exercise its business activities in a more efficient way. However, the standard representation of product data and their communication are two major obstacles to be overcome. In this paper, we present a set of procedures to represent a standard mechanical component and propose a method for the data management and its communication within the PDMS. The Standard for the Exchange of Product Model Data, STEP, is used for the data representation. The object database management system, ODBMS, is used for the data management because of the object-oriented nature developed by STEP. The open database connectivity, ODBC, server is also introduced for connecting different databases on the network. With the proposed procedure and architecture, we demonstrate the way to implement STEP and the way to merge the object-oriented modelled data in the PDMS. As STEP matures and computer networks get faster and more popular, the networked PDMS will be a must for future enterprises.

The inclusive Intranet: linking into legacy systems

No less than any other means of communicating and presenting information, an Intranet must be geared to organizational objectives through proper information management procedures. For smaller organizations, an Intranet need not comprise all of the standard components, and can utilize complementary technologies to incorporate legacy documentation systems at minimal cost and effort. The importance of gaining management commitment should not be underestimated, and an evolutionary approach can be the key to success.

Resource-Sharing and Self-Reliance in Southern Africa

The main objective of the Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC) is to achieve regional self-reliance through cooperation, but this cannot be achieved without proper information management. The SADCC countries are too dependent on ready-made solutions provided by foreign advisers. There is a considerable amount of information available in the SADCC region, but the absence of national documentation services, and of a national union catalogue, undermines the establishment of intra-regional resource-sharing facilities. Networking will facilitate both accessibility and availability of the region's resources to a wider community. Examines the advantages to the SADCC countries of the networking idea and progress in regional information networks such as SADIS (Southern African Documentation and Information System).