Infosys v2n036 (November 13, 1995) URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/infosys/infs-v2n036 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * INFOSYS: The Electronic Newsletter for Information Systems * * Volume 2, Number 36 ISSN: 1173-3764 November 13, 1995 * * * * Editor: Dennis W. Viehland, Massey University, New Zealand * * Listowners: Greg Welsh, American University, Washington DC * * Peter M. Weiss, Penn State * * Sponsor: boyd & fraser publishing, Danvers, Massachusetts * * * * Current Subscribers = 4,879 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * TABLE OF CONTENTS * * * * * * * * * * * * * NEWS - From Flash Information * * ANNOUNCEMENT - DSS Research Resources (Web site) * * CONFERENCE - Intelligent Software Agents * * CALL FOR PAPERS - Method Engineering '96 * * CALL FOR PAPERS - 1996 Asia Pacific DSI Conference * * CALL FOR PAPERS - Knowledge Mgmt and Intelligent Systems in Educ * * CALL FOR PAPERS - Knowledge Discovery in Databases (DSS Journal) * * POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT - Assistant Professor, Information Systems * * POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT - Clearcase Server Administrator * * POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT - Faculty Positions, Information Systems * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * NEWS - From Flash Information * * Dennis Viehland, Massey University * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BUSINESS ON THE NET. According to a MCI-Gallup survey, only 21% of the small-business owners who were aware of the Internet were using it. 35% said it was too expensive, 35% said that the technology was too complex and 46% admitted that they were "cyberphobic". "Mapping out the infobahn," Datamation, 1 Oct. 1995, 24. DATA LOSS. Most data losses are due to errors or mistakes, such as making back-ups on tapes that aren't long enough or restoring from the wrong drive, according to a data recovery firm. The remedy is to ensure that you have valid procedures and to verify those procedures. Other data losses come from employee dishonesty (15%), employee revenge (10%) and natural disasters (20%). "Cockpit errors, pure and simple," Datamation, 1 Oct. 1995, 26. Client/server electronic commerce allows customers to make purchasing decisions in real time / Schilz, William -- In: EDI WORLD, 5(10) Oct. 1995 p. 20-23 Get ready for distributed objects. [Eventually, the server code in your client/server system will give way to collections of distributed objects. Since they'll all need to talk to each other, pay attention to emerging distributed object standards.] / Sudama, Ram -- In: DATAMATION, 41(18) Oct. 1, 1995 p. 67-71 Want to earn big money? Go west or become CIO. [New York is still the place for a CIO wanting a high salary, but for mid-level managers San Francisco is the place to be.] / Mael, Susan -- In: DATAMATION, 41(18) Oct. 1, 1995 p. 45-48 Along came the spiders. [Immense power lies in the information repositories of the Internet. How to tap it? Who will control the data? Some strange beasts are crawling out onto the Web.] / Ross, Philip E. ; Hutheesing, Nikhil -- In: FORBES, 156(10) Oct. 23, 1995 p. 210-216 Group Discussion Software: Group discussion software helps capture corporate memory; it transforms online conversations into databases that can be searched, sorted, and archived. Collabra Share 2.0, the winner of the Editors' Choice award, offers tight links to e-mail and a great interface. It does lack, however, replication capability. Other products deserving mention are OpenMind -- an innovative product; Notes -- a powerful and customizable product; TeamTalk -- a product suitable for small workgroups; and Conference+ -- a package offering full integration with Microsoft Mail and Microsoft's Global Address List. "Let's talk," PC Magazine 14 (20) Nov. 21, 1995, 205-234. Web-based business process reengineering / Newcomb, Philip -- In: IEEE SOFTWARE, 12(6) Nov. 1995 p. 116-118 Shaping a world of networks : next-generation network architectures and technology platforms / Beaumont, Colin ; Fox, Allan ; MacLeod, Andy -- In: TELESIS, (100) 1995 p. 164-179 Publish or perish : the new virtual reality for electronic content / Hobbs, Doug -- In: INFORMATION HIGHWAYS, 3(1) Oct. 1995 p. 11-12 The social life of documents. [The advent of new technology suggests that the document is nearing the end of its influencial reign. Old document forms and institutions seem about to disolve before our eyes. Maybe technology will allow us to distill pure information, leaving the document, as such, behind in the ashes.] / Seely, John ; Duguid, Paul -- In: RELEASE 1.0, (10) Oct. 1995 p. 1-17 Editor's Note: Flash Information is a bibliographic electronic newsletter for the computing community. Subscription is free. Contact flash@citi.doc.ca for more information. These abstracts are extracted from the 16-20 Oct and 30 Oct- 3 Nov 1995 issues. \EOA * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ANNOUNCEMENT - DSS Research Resources (Web site) * * Dan Power, University of Northern Iowa * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * I maintain a World Wide Web site called Decision Support Systems Research Resources. The site contains the following categories: --General DSS Related WWW Links --University DSS Links --DSS Faculty Directory --DSS Companies --DSS Software Catalog --Definitions and References --DSS Miscellaneous Links --WWW Academic Research Links --Professional Associations --On-Line Journals/Newsletters The address of the site is http://power.cba.uni.edu/DJP/DSShome.html I hope INFOSYS readers will let me know if they develop relevant sites that should be included in DSS Research Resources. DSS researchers with homepages should let me know so that I can include a link in the DSS Faculty Directory. Dan Power Professor of Information Systems and Head Department of Management College of Business Administration University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0125 Voice: (319) 273-6202 Fax: (319) 273-2922 E-mail: daniel.power@uni.edu \EOA * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * CONFERENCE - Intelligent Software Agents * * Bill Goodin, Univ of Calif-LA * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Intelligent Software Agents January 17-19, 1996 University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, California On January 17-19, 1996, UCLA Extension will present the short course, "Intelligent Software Agents", on the UCLA campus. The instructors are Cindy Mason, PhD, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Henry Lieberman, PhD, MIT Media Laboratory, and Ted Selker, PhD, IBM Almaden Research Center. Agent technology is one of the fastest growing areas of computer and information science. Intelligent software agents are essential to manage the growing complexity and volume of information in our environment. Recently, agents have been created that can act on our behalf to sort electronic mail, navigate and retrieve information on the Internet, negotiate for resources, and schedule meetings. In the future, agents may navigate and drive automobiles, or perform shopping functions according to budget constraints and personal preferences. This course explores the design, implementation, and use of two types of computational agents: interface agents and collaborative agents. Interface agents support the learning and use of computer tools, such as operating systems. An interface agent can observe the actions taken by the user in the interface, learn new capabilities dynamically, suggest courses of action to the user, provide context-sensitive help, adapt the interface automatically to the user's personalized requirements, or automate tasks that would otherwise require tedious sequences of manual operations. Collaborative agents interact and cooperate with other agents to perform tasks on behalf of a user. The design of collaborative agents involves problem solving, communication, and coordination strategies for agents to maintain autonomy, yet benefit from the network as a whole. This course describes the utility of current and experimental software agents as assistants and advisors, as well as the technologies involved in their design. In addition, the course examines the social implications of software agents. Agents are discussed in the contexts of electronic mail, browsing the World Wide Web, digital libraries, graphical editors, and tutoring systems. Current agent software and preview future agent technology are also demonstrated. The course fee is $1295, which includes course materials. For additional information and a complete course description, please contact Marcus Hennessy at: Voice: (310) 825-1047 Fax: (310) 206-2815 E-mail: mhenness@unex.ucla.edu \EOA * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * CALL FOR PAPERS - Method Engineering '96 * * Sjaak Brinkkemper, University of Twente * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Method Engineering '96 IFIP WG 8.1/8.2 Working Conference on Principles of Method Construction and Tool Support 26-28 August 1996 Atlanta, Georgia USA Method Engineering '96 focuses on the design, construction and evaluation of methods, techniques, and support tools for information systems development. Over the years, numerous development methods, based on a variety of paradigms, have been proposed. Of these a substantial number are currently applied in industry, with mixed success. Both generic and method-specific specification techniques have been designed for use within various development approaches. These methods are constantly adapted and extended to meet the changing needs of the practice and to reflect new technological and organizational insights. The advent of Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tools has acted to increase the turbulence in the field by making the underlying methods and techniques more apparent to their users, while, at the same time, reducing their ability to adapt to changing needs. Recent methods based on new paradigms, such as object-orientation, or new application types, as workflow management and client-server architectures, reveal the trend towards modular methods with generic, interchangeable components. The conference will focus on method and support tool construction from the point of view of methods for planning, analysis, design and evaluation, and from the point of view of the interaction of information systems and the organization. It is felt that the key solution to optimal method construction lies in the understanding of both methodological/technical issues as well as organizational/ behavioral issues. Topics --Method representation formalisms, Meta-modelling --Support tools, Environments, Tool architectures --Situational methods, Contingency approaches --System development practices of method engineering --Method and tool assessment --Software process management --Research methods --Cross-disciplinary approaches to method engineering Submissions: Six copies of an original, unpublished paper, limited to 6000 words, should be submitted before 1 February 1996 to the Program Chair: Dr. Sjaak Brinkkemper Department of Computer Science University of Twente P.O. Box 217 7500 AE Enschede The Netherlands E-mail: brinkkemper@cs.utwente.nl Important dates: Papers due: 1 February 1996 Notification of authors: 10 April 1996 Camera ready version due: 1 June 1996 Conference: 26-28 August 1996 Organization interested in taking part in an exhibition, in an industrial session, or in a possible sponsorship of the working conference are invited to contact the Organizing Chair: Richard J. Welke, PhD Dept. of Computer Information Systems College of Business Administration Georgia State University PO Box 4015, Atlanta Georgia, USA 30302-4015 Voice: (404) 651-3885 Fax: (404) 651-3842 E-mail: rwelke@gsu.edu \EOA * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * CALL FOR PAPERS - 1996 Asia Pacific DSI Conference * * Ho Geun Lee, Hong Kong U of Sci and Tech * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 1996 Asia Pacific Decision Sciences Institute (DSI) Conference 21-22 June 1996 Hong Kong The Decision Sciences Institute (DSI) will hold its First Asia Pacific conference in Hong Kong, in June 1996. Competitive papers and panel proposals are invited on topics, including but not limited to, international aspects of accounting, finance, human resource management, organizational behavior, international business, management information systems, decision support systems, manufacturing practices and technology, research and development, marketing, operations management, public sector applications, quantitative methods & statistics, and strategic management. Instructions for Submission Submit five copies of your full paper, abstract, or panel proposal by February 1, 1996. Each submission must include (1) a separate title page, listing author(s), affiliation(s), address, telephone and fax number, and (2) the text portion with the title, abstract and selected topic (without author's names). All submissions are to be sent to: Kar Yan Tam Department of Information and Systems Management Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong Fax: (852) 2358 2421 E-Mail: apdsi@usthk.ust.hk Important Dates Paper Submission 1 February, 1996 Notification of Acceptance: 1 April, 1996 Camera-ready Copy: 1 May, 1996 The conference will be held at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, located in the scenic Clear Water Bay peninsula in East Kowloon of Hong Kong. Registration rate: USD200 before May 1, 1996; USD250 after May 1, 1996. For further details, please contact: Ho Geun Lee (Chair of Organizing Committee) Department of Information and Systems Management Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong Voice: (852) 2358 7649 Fax: (852) 2358 2421 E-Mail: apdsi@usthk.ust.hk http://www.bi.ust.hk/~ismt/dsiconf96/dsiconf.html \EOA * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * CALL FOR PAPERS - Knowledge Mgmt and Intelligent Systems in Educ * * James J. Pomykalski, James Madison Univ * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Knowledge Management and Intelligent Systems in Education and Training Special issue of Expert Systems with Applications: An International Journal Guest Editors: Joe Marchal and James Pomykalski Department of Integrated Science and Technology James Madison University Submissions are invited for a special issue of the journal Expert Systems With Applications. This issue will feature the application of knowledge management and intelligent systems technologies in education and training. This includes applications in traditional education, at all levels, education and training in business, industry, and government, and non traditional education. Of particular interest are innovative projects and programs where knowledge management and intelligent systems technologies are the core enabling or integrating technologies in science and technology curricula. The focus of papers may be on any of the following: --Examples of deployed applications --Lessons learned in developing, maintaining, and deploying knowledge management and intelligent systems in education --Knowledge management and cognitive theory Indicative topics of interest include intelligent systems: --As class or laboratory teaching or training assistants. --Used to illustrate or enhance project-based teaching. --As components of distributed and/or distant educational systems. --As components of multimedia- or hypermedia-based systems. --As core enabling or integrating educational/training technology. --Assessment criteria Submit manuscripts in triplicate by January 31, 1996 to the Guest Editors at the address shown below. Additional information about this CFP, including the Journal's Information for Contributors, is available from: James J. Pomykalski Assistant Professor Integrated Science and Technology Program James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA 22807 USA Voice: (540) 568-2729 Fax: (540) 568-2761 E-mail: pomykajj@jmu.edu \EOA * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * CALL FOR PAPERS - Knowledge Discovery in Databases (DSS Journal) * * Alex Tuzhilin, New York Univ * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Special Issue on Knowledge Discovery and Its Applications to Business Decision Making Decisions Support Systems Journal Over the past two decades, corporations have collected massive volumes of data about their day-to-day operations, their customers, competitors, employees, and other useful data. In addition to the explosive increase in volume, the structure and complexity of the data in many applications, such as market research, financial, and telecommunication applications, has grown at an incredible rate as well. Instead of working with one or two data sets, these new applications require dozens of different data sets, some of them having over a hundred variables with complex relationships among them. This data, if managed and 'harvested' properly, can be an extremely valuable asset to organizations. Unfortunately, the explosive growth of data has often resulted in frustrating situations when organizations were unable to understand well what information the data contained and thus could not leverage the data. To address this problem, the field of Knowledge Discovery in Databases (also referred to as Data Mining) was formed and attracted considerable attention of statisticians, machine learning and database researchers, and practitioners in industry. To address the growing interest in the knowledge discovery field, the DSS Journal is planning a special issue on Knowledge Discovery in Databases, scheduled to appear in June 1997 with the focus on business applications and on the relationship between knowledge discovery and business decision making. High quality original research papers are solicited on all aspects of Knowledge Discovery in Databases, as long as they can demonstrate applicability of their results to solving practical business problems. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to --Business Applications of Knowledge Discovery: Successes and Failures; Lessons Learned from These Applications --Relationship Between Knowledge Discovery and DSS --Methodologies and Frameworks of Knowledge Discovery --Knowledge Discovery Tools and Techniques and Their Applications Of particular interest are the papers that will not only contribute to the academic arena, but will also benefit the business community in the foreseeable future and that would encourage a dialog between researchers and practitioners. Prospective authors are encouraged to submit both practical and theoretical papers. Submission and Review Criteria Four (4) copies of a manuscript and a single title page should be submitted by May 31, 1996 to the Guest Editor: Alex Tuzhilin Information Systems Department Stern School of Business New York University 44 West 4th Street, Rm. 9-78 New York, N.Y. 10012 Voice: 212-998-0832 Fax: 212-995-4228 E-mail: atuzhili@stern.nyu.edu The length of the paper should not exceed 25 double-spaced, single- sided, 12-point-type pages (including figures and references). The title page should contain the title of the paper, the name(s) and institutional affiliation(s) of the author(s), an abstract of no more than 200 words, a list of keywords, and the name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address of the contact author. The papers will be refereed in accordance with the usual procedure of the DSS Journal (see Instructions to Authors at the end of any issue of the journal for further details about the submission format) and will be judged based on their relevance to the KDD field, originality, information content, validity, and readability. Important Dates: Submission deadline May 31, 1996 Acceptance notification September 13, 1996 Final manuscript due November 15, 1996 Publication date of issue June 1997 \EOA * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT - Assistant Professor, Information Systems * * Michael Wybo, McGill University * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Tenure-track Position in Information Systems Faculty of Management McGill University The Faculty of Management of McGill University invites applications for a tenure-track position in Information Systems at the Assistant Professor level beginning in the Fall quarter of 1996. All areas of information systems research and teaching expertise will be considered. Minimum qualifications include: PhD in Information Systems (or a PhD in a related field, with publications in IS journals) and teaching experience in IS at the baccalaureate and/or masters level. Preferred candidates must show excellence in the classroom on accepted measures of instructional performance, a demonstrated commitment to excellence in research, a demonstrated ability to work with colleagues who employ diverse research paradigms, and a demonstrated commitment to university and community service. The IS area at McGill is undergrowing a period of growth. We have been designated as one of four areas to offer an undergraduate major. A large number of our undergraduate students pursue a concentration in IS and support from the business community for student hires and faculty research is excellent. Submit your letter of application, vita, evidence of teaching excellence and the names of three references to: Professor Michael Wybo Information Systems Area Coordinator Faculty of Management McGill University Montreal, Quebec H3A 1G5 CANADA \EOA * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT - Clearcase Server Administrator * * Rajeev Shroff, Oracle Corporation * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Oracle is the World's second largest Software company, and the leader in database software. Oracle's Software Development Center at Bangalore, India is a multi-technology competence center working with a number of Development groups and business units within Oracle Corporation. We are looking for a Clearcase Server Administrator. The job involves setting up and managing Clearcase to perform version control, process control and related software activities. You should have experience in managing Clearcase or other Config Management software. Grab this opportunity to work for Oracle India in Bangalore, we offer informal work culture, minimal hierarchy, flexible working hours with excellent compensation. Rajeev Shroff Manager, Network Operations Oracle Software India Pvt. Ltd. India Development Center (IDC) Embassy Point, 150 Infantry Road Bangalore 560 001 India E-mail: Rshroff@in.oracle.com \EOA * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT - Faculty Positions, Information Systems * * Iris Vessey, Indiana University * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Indiana University Department of Accounting and Information Systems invites applications for tenure-track faculty positions in information systems. Qualifications include a doctoral degree in Information Systems or closely-related field and commitment to excellence in both research and teaching. Applications should be received by February 15, 1996. Please forward vita, letters of recommendation, and evidence of recent research activity to: Professor Mikel G. Tiller Chair, Department of Accounting and Information Systems School of Business Indiana University Bloomington, IN 47405 USA \EOA * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ABOUT INFOSYS * * INFOSYS is an electronic newsletter for faculty, students, and * * practitioners in the field of Information Systems. INFOSYS * * publishes news items, requests for assistance, calls for papers * * announcements of professional meetings and conferences, position * * announcements, journal table of contents, and other items of * * interest to the Information Systems community. * * * * INFOSYS is published biweekly, more frequently if volume requires * * it. INFOSYS operates as an electronic mailing list on listserv * * software at American University in Washington, DC. The editor is * * Dennis W. Viehland . * * * * INFOSYS is sponsored by boyd & fraser, publishers of educational * * materials for computer and information education. Contact Bill * * Lisowski or visit http://www.bf.com/bf.html * * or gopher.bf.com for more information about boyd & fraser. * * * * To subscribe to INFOSYS send the following one-line e-mail * * message to listserv@american.edu: subscribe infosys yourfirstname * * yourlastname (e.g., subscribe infosys John Smith). You will * * receive a welcome letter that will tell you more about INFOSYS * * and listserv. To cancel your subscription send the following * * message to listserv@american.edu: unsubscribe infosys * * * * Guidelines for submitting articles to INFOSYS are published in * * the Welcome message each new subscriber receives (or e-mail "get * * infosys welcome" to listserv@american.edu). Send articles to * * infosys@american.edu or d.viehland@massey.ac.nz. * * * * The INFOSYS Calendar of Upcoming Events is updated fortnightly * * and can be obtained in the following ways: * * --E-mail: send the following one-line message to * * listserv@american.edu: get infosys calendar * * --FTP: anonymous FTP to ftp.american.edu; file is pub/infosys/ * * infosys.calendar * * --Gopher: gopher to listserv.american.edu; choose INFOSYS * * --WWW: forthcoming * * * * INFOSYS Back Issues are archived by Robert McArthur at: * * AUSTRALIA: http://www.fit.qut.edu.au/~mcarthur/infosys/ * * by Eric Morgan (N Carolina State Univ) at: * * USA: ftp://ftp.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/infosys/ * * USA: wais://wais.lib.ncsu.edu/infosys * * USA: http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/infosys-index.html * * by Brian Fitzgerald (University College Cork) at: * * EUROPE: http://www.ucc.ie/htbin/infosys * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *