Infosys v3n013 (May 14, 1996) URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/infosys/infs-v3n013 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * INFOSYS: The Electronic Newsletter for Information Systems * * Volume 3, Number 13 ISSN: 1173-3764 May 14, 1996 * * * * 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 = 5,021 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * TABLE OF CONTENTS * * * * * * * * * * * * * EDITOR'S NOTE - Going Away? * * NEWS - From Innovation * * ANNOUNCEMENT: ISWorld Net Faculty Directory * * CONTENTS - Journal of Global Information Management, v4 n1 * * CONFERENCE - Cooperative Information Systems (CoopIS'96) * * CALL FOR PAPERS - Pacific Asia Conference on Info Systems * * CALL FOR PAPERS - Evaluation of Information Technology * * CALL FOR PAPERS - Telecooperation in Organisations * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * EDITOR'S NOTE - Going Away? * * Dennis Viehland, Massey University * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * In the Northern Hemisphere the academic year is drawing to a close. Many North American and European INFOSYS subscribers will be away from their e-mail for an extended period of time during the Summer and some subscribers will be moving on to new opportunities. If this applies to you, this is a reminder that you should either temporarily suspend or cancel your subscription. Instructions to do so are as follows: To temporarily turn off INFOSYS delivery, send the following three- word command to listserv@american.edu: set infosys nomail This command is useful if you wish to remain an INFOSYS subscriber but temporarily suspend delivery of INFOSYS issues during the Summer. To restore INFOSYS delivery send this command to listserv@american.edu: set infosys mail To leave INFOSYS permanently send this command to listserv@american.edu: unsubscribe infosys Be sure to send this command from the same e-mail account you used when you subscribed to INFOSYS. If this is unsuccessful contact INFOSYS listowner Peter Weiss at infosys-request@american.edu. To resubscribe from your new mail address send this command to listserv@american.edu: subscribe infosys yourfirstname yourlastname \EOA * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * NEWS - From Innovation * * Dennis Viehland, Massey University * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * REQUIREMENTS ENGINEERS ARE NOT TEMPORARY WORKERS: How do you train people to determine the requirements of a complex system that needs to be designed? By making them go through the complete life cycles of system projects. "A requirements engineer must embrace end-to-end responsibility for a product's requirements. This support begins with the initial customer discussions, continues through development, and is sustained into maintenance." So the best way to let requirements engineers gain the needed skills is to have them experience the system life cycle from beginning to end. A project is over when the system is (eventually) replaced... and not a moment sooner. (IEEE Software Mar 96 p12) WHAT RESOURCE INCREASES AS YOU USE IT? As organizations experiment with new organizational forms and management technologies (often referred to as NFMT), designed to reduce barriers of communication between cross-functional units through horizontal organizational processes intended to empower decision-making at lower levels in the organization, "those firms which can not make the transition from bureaucracy relative to new forms will find themselves at a competitive advantage relative to the firms that can adapt." It's as simple as this: in the information age, competitive advantage can be achieved only by expanding and leveraging the organization's information, knowledge, and learning capability -- which can be accomplished only by sharing information, not containing it. (M.L. Tucker & G.D. Meyer, "Organizational Communication: Development Of Internal Strategic Competitive Advantage," Journal of Business Communication 1996 33(1) p51) BIG SCREEN PC: Gateway 2000's Destination multimedia TV/PC system combines a Pentium 120 MHz processor, 16 MB DRAM, a 6x CD-ROM drive, and a large-screen (31 inches) monitor. The Destination features a remote keyboard and a remote control mouse which can be used 10-15 feet away from the screen. (Broadcasting & Cable 18 Mar 96 p55) NEW EXECUTIVE TITLES ON THE HORIZON: Companies will begin moving beyond the chief information officer job title in the next few years, with new hires filling such roles as VP of best practices, VP of progress reengineering, and VP of strategic planning. The titles already exist at many information technology consulting firms and systems integrators, and reflect the belief that reengineering is a continuous process rather than a one-time event. "The chief information officer cannot be the only executive to take responsibility in leveraging IT to deliver business solutions that help make a company more competitive," says a Forrester Research analyst. "The IT people and CIO need to be the keeper of the technology flame, but there need to be executives and managers at the business-unit level that have a good understanding of how technology can be used to address business problems." (Information Week 25 Mar 96 p120) DON'T CALL IT A DATABASE -- IT'S A CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM: As more companies set up Web sites and tie them into databases to find out who's clicking on what, mining that information for clues on how to market more successfully will become an integral part of most businesses. "Except you won't really call it a database anymore," says the managing director for Hambrecht & Quist. "It will be a content management system. The advent of the Internet and Web technology is spawning a proliferation of content, like audio, video, graphics and text." And data won't be just 2-dimensional any more. NASA has hired Hughes Information Technology Systems to set up a massive environmental monitoring system that uses "spatial" tracking and analysis, allowing researchers to compare two different points in space, based on latitude, longitude and altitude. (Forbes ASAP 8 Apr 96 p49) ELECTRONIC POST-IT NOTES: 3M, original maker of the now ubiquitous Post-It Note, is extending its quickie reminder concept to the corporate PC. A $25 Post-it Software Notes program attaches a colorful electronic note anywhere in a document in any application. A 30-day trial version is on 3M's Web site: < http://www.mmm.com/psnotes >. (Information Week 25 Mar 96 p94) KNOWLEDGE AND COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE: Knowledge is power in any age -- but especially in the Information Age, where it is the power to transform yourself to adapt to rapidly changing environmental pressures. "Knowledge (what people know about product and process strategies, work flows, and others' performances within these flows) creates the basis for efficiencies and/or competitive advantages utilizing new organization forms and management technologies." And what makes it possible to run an organization using such new organizational forms as special ad-hoc work teams operating outside the existing organizational structure? One thing: the ability to communicate, because information transactions account for such an enormous percentage of the modern organization's total activity. And so a modern organization's success will be a function of its ability to process information .. and if the organization fails, its failure will be traceable to the same root. (M. L. Tucker, G.D. Meyer, J.W. Westerman, "Organizational Communication: Development Of Internal Strategic Competitive Advantage," Journal Of Business Communication 33(1) Jan 96 p51) THE (RIGHT) PRICE OF SECURITY: Ed Sheehan of AT Kearney in Annapolis, Maryland, says there are just a few simple steps to developing a comprehensive policy for protecting the information in your organization: First, decide what information truly needs protection, rather than wasting a great deal of money protecting everything, as though every bit of data were a state secret. Second, decide the real value of each piece of information, not spending more money on protecting information than the information is worth. Finally, develop a high-level management policy, that can be clearly understood, and then make sure it's communicated throughout the whole organization. (Sales & Marketing Management Apr 96 p39) THE ONE BOOK: MIT Media Lab instructor Joseph Jacobson is developing a computer that's shaped like a book, complete with pages, but whose content can be changed countless times. The electronic book will comprise 200 very thin and flexible display panels, stacked one on top of the other, like pages. The content is controlled by a display driver hidden in the book's spine. Software would then dictate which text is displayed on the panels. Text size could even be changed by the reader for optimal viewing. (Technology Review May/June 96 p12) Editor's Note: Innovation offers a weekly summary of trends, strategies, and innovations in business and technology. This is an abbreviated list of news items of interest to the IS community from the March 25, April 8, 15, 29, 1996 issues. Subscriptions are available at $15 a year. For a trial copy of Innovation, type the word "subscribe" in the body (not subject) of a message to innovation-request@newsscan.com. \EOA * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ANNOUNCEMENT: ISWorld Net Faculty Directory * * David Naumann, University of Minnesota * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Editor's Note: ISWorld Net is the world's best on-line resource for the global IS community (yes, even better than INFOSYS). Regularly a new Web page is announced or an exciting new initiative is launched. For various reasons, including space limitations, INFOSYS does not publish all of these announcements. However some announcements such as this one are too significant to ignore. Hats off to Dave Naumann at Minnesota, all of the directory compilers listed in Dave's message and to Blake Ives, the moving and motiviating force in ISWorld Net. ISWorld Net can be found at: USA: http://www.isworld.org/isworld.html Australia: http://www.dis.unimelb.edu.au/isworld.html Ireland: http://http://smagal.ucd.ie/isworld.html We are very pleased to announce that we now have available on the World Wide Web a complete revision of the ISWorld Net Faculty Directory. The directory now features: --complete, current contents of the US-Canada directory maintained at Minnesota by Jan DeGross --complete, newly updated contents of the Asia Pacific directory compiled by Guy Gable at Queensland University of Technology --complete, newly updated European directory courtesy of Niels Bjorn-Andersen at Copenhagen --new southern Africa directory compiled by Derek Smith at Cape Town --all the directories combined in one single searchable database --built-in update capability so that you can submit changes to your own record --a new entry feature for IS faculty and researchers who are not listed in a directory --a new section for doctoral students only --more features and contents being developed Please do use the update facility to keep your page current. Add your e-mail address and URL to the database. Use the database to find others with your interests from around the globe. The ISWorld Net Faculty Directory can be found through ISWorld Net (see URLs above) or directly at: http://webfoot.csom.umn.edu/isworld/facdir/home.html \EOA * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * CONTENTS - Journal of Global Information Management, v4 n1 * * Prashant Palvia, Univ of Memphis * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Journal of Global Information Management, vol 4, no 1 Coverage: In general, we seek original contributions concerning any aspect of global information resources management dealing with development, usage, failure, success, policies, strategies, and applications of this valuable organization resource. The Journal invites contributions from both scholars and practitioners involved in research, management and the utilization of information resources. The Table of Contents of the Winter 1996, JGIM, Vol.4 No.1 is: "The Development of Future Global Business Leaders" by Karen Loch (editorial preface) "Globalizing Software Development" by C.J.Meadows "Study of the Lagged Response Effect in the Indian IT Industry" by Aryya Gangopadhyay "Informatics in Uruguay: Evolution and Implications" by Hernandez, Gibson, and McGuire Interview with Yoshihoro Horiuchi (the General Manager of Information Innovating Department, NKK Corporation) "Strategic Alliances - an entrepreneurial approach to globalization" by Michael Yoshino and Srinivasa Rangan (book review) For more information contact: Prashant Palvia , Editor in Chief Journal of Global Information Management Dept. of MIS/DS The University of Memphis Memphis, TN 38152 USA Voice: (901)-678-3569 Fax: (901)-678-4151 E-Mail: palviap@cc.memphis.edu \EOA * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * CONFERENCE - Cooperative Information Systems (CoopIS'96) * * Don Potter, University of Georgia * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * First IFCIS International Conference on Cooperative Information Systems (CoopIS'96) June 19-21, 1996 Brussels, Belgium The First IFCIS International Conference on Cooperative Information Systems (CoopIS) is the premier event sponsored by the International Foundation on Cooperative Information Systems (IFCIS). The Foundation and the conference series bring together the scientific community previously served by the international workshops on Interoperability in Multidatabase Systems (IMS) and the conference series on Cooperative Information Systems (CoopIS & ICICIS). The conference will be held at: Auditorium Aula QC Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) Campus Etterbeek Pleinlaan 2 Gate "VUB-13" B-1050 Brussel Invited talks/keynote address: --Marek Rusinkiewicz: "From Interoperability to Cooperation" --Ray Whitehouse: "Live, Learn, Play, and Do Business With Information" --Christopher Stone: "The Future of Software is Distributed Components" Tutorial Registration (June 18-19, 1996): Tutorial check-in will be held at the conference one hour prior to the tutorial. The tutorial fee is US$200 (BEF 6000) for first tutorial and US$150 (BEF 4500) for additional tutorials for participants from the same company or institute. The tutorials are: --Michael L. Brodie: "From Legacy To Cooperative Information Systems: Visions and Challenges For Large-Scale Deployment" --Ramez Elmasri and Sumi Helal: "Standards for Database Interoperability and Portability: CORBA, ODMG, and SQL3" --Jiawei Han: "Data Mining Techniques: An Overview From A Database Perspective" --John Mylopoulos, Giorgio De Michelis, Florian Matthes: "An Agenda for Research on Cooperative Information Systems" Registration will be handled during the mornings of June 19-20 at at the conference check-in desk. A registration form from Mrs. Kathleen DeSmyter at kdsmyter@vub.ac.be. Conference Fees Registration for the entire conference US$450 (BEF 13500). The Conference dinner on Thursday evening is not included. Registration for Industry day only (includes lunch) is US$350 (BEF 10500). More information about the conference is available from the Conference Web site at http://www.cs.uga.edu/LSDIS/activities Local information is available through http://dinf.vub.ac.be/vub/vub3D.html http://dinf/dinf/dinfhome.html \EOA * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * CALL FOR PAPERS - Pacific Asia Conference on Info Systems * * Guy Gable, Queensland Univ of Technology * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems (PACIS'97) "The Confluence of Information Systems Theory and Practice" Brisbane, Queensland, Australia 2-5 April 1997 The Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems (PACIS'97), sponsored by the Association for Information Systems (AIS), aims to be the premier Information Systems event in the Asia Pacific region. Its purpose is to provide a high-quality international forum for researchers, practitioners and policy makers to exchange ideas on the adoption of leading information-related technologies and practices. PACIS'97 will be held at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). PACIS'97 will include a one-day doctoral consortium on 2nd April 1997 followed by the 2-1/2 day conference proper. The International Program Committee reflects many notable researchers including representatives from each country in the Asia Pacific. The theme of PACIS'97, "The Confluence of Information Systems Theory and Practice" seeks a balance between the relevance and rigour of Information Systems research. The program committee, co-chaired by Professors Guy Gable and Ron Weber, is now inviting full papers, research-in-progress papers, and proposals for panels or other activities pertaining to the conference theme as well as other aspects of information system development, management, strategy and impact. Suggested topics include, but are not limited to: IS education in Pacific Asia countries --Enterprise-wide application packages --Quality and criticality of information systems --Qualitative research in information management --IT in small and medium enterprises --Marketing on the internet --Government information industry strategy --Government information infrastructure, policy and regulation --Information security management --Electronic commerce --Implementation and management strategies for telework --Business process engineering --Information brokering --Information literacy --Groupware and workflow --Multi-social and cross-cultural studies in information systems --Societal impacts of information systems --Future directions for information management Important Dates Submission: 15 October 1996 Notification of Acceptance: 15 December 1996 Camera-Ready Copy: 1 February 1997 Doctoral Consortiuum: 2 April 1997 Conference: 3-5 April 1997 To find submission guidelines and obtain up-to-date information on PACIS'97, please visit http://www.fit.qut.edu.au/PACIS97/ Questions relating to the conference program should be referred to the program co-chair, Dr. Guy Gable . Queries relating to the doctoral consortium should be related to Ryutaro Manabe . For information on other than Program, panel, tutorial or paper submissions, contact the Conference Chair, Dr. Alan Underwood . \EOA * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * CALL FOR PAPERS - Evaluation of Information Technology * * Ann Brown, City University Business School * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 3rd European Conference on The Evaluation of Information Technology 29 November 1996 University of Bath, UK The conference will bring together academics and practitioners from Europe and elsewhere who are involved in the study, management, development and implementation of IT. The advisory group for the conference invites submissions of papers on both the theory and practice of all aspects of evaluation: --methodologies for both appraisal and post implementation evaluation --the decision making process for new investment --the management of benefits --research methods for evaluation --the management of IS development and IT departments --the impact of IS on work and organisations. The group is seeking quantitative, qualitative and experience based papers. Papers and also invited for two workshops, one on research proposals and the second on work in progress. Submission details: --Paper details: No more than 5000 words, author names on title page only. --File type: Word for Windows or text file with diagrams in a separate Windows compatible graphic file. --E-mail: To speed up the review process we request that submissions be e-mailed as attachments to Ms Ann Brown, Programme Chair, at sn307@city.ac.uk. Details on how to transmit long documents are available from this e-mail address. Hard copy: One paper copy and a disk must also be sent to: Ms Ann Brown Programme Chair IS Division City University Business School Frobisher Crescent Barbican Centre London EC2Y 8HB No e-mail? Three copies of the paper and a disk may be sent to the above address. Important dates: Paper submission deadline: 31 July 1996 Notification of acceptance: 30 September 1996 Final copy due: 31 October 1996 \EOA * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * CALL FOR PAPERS - Telecooperation in Organisations * * Schahram Dustdar, University of Art * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Telecooperation in Organisations Franz Lehner and Schahram Dustdar (Editors) Questions regarding distribution and cooperation always have had a significant economic importance for organisations. Telecooperation describes computer supported cooperation of spatial distributed individuals and organisations. This research area needs technical as well as social concepts. Currently the term ,telecooperation" is about to be established increasingly in organisational practice; especially in the context of CSCW-Systems (Computer Supported Cooperative Work) solutions are being propagated and developed. This new emerging research area "telecooperation" is perceived by some authors as a discipline of CSCW research. The main focus of "telecooperation" is to design the cooperation of organisations more productive, more flexible, more humane and more ecologic etc. Telecooperation - prophesied to have an enormous economic rate of growth within the next decade - thus constitutes one of the most important solutions to the manifold challenges of the modern economy and public administration. With the intended book the following aims shall be reached: --description and assessment of the latest state of the art --documentation and discussion of experiences --practice related discussion --highlighting of visions and perspectives with respect to computer supported coordination Contributions to the following areas are encouraged (but not limited to): --virtual and network organisations --Internet and Intranet --theoretical foundations and research results regarding cooperation --telecooperation systems (design, implementation, examples and experiences) --multimedia human-computer interaction --workflow management and workflow processing systems --economics of telecooperation systems --ergonomic demands for telecooperation systems --diffusion and implementation of telecooperation systems --communications platforms and telecommunications services --integration with existing information systems --applications of telecooperation systems (industry, trade, financial institutions etc.) --future developments Contributions may be in the form of original papers and should not be published elsewhere. All submissions will be refereed. The length of the contributions should not exeed 15 A4-pages (including figures and bibiography). Please send one copy of the paper submission to each editor: Prof. Dr. Franz Lehner Department of Information Systems University of Regensburg Universitaetsstr. 31, D-93040 Regensburg, Germany E-mail: franz.lehner@wiwi.uni-regensburg.de and Dr. Schahram Dustdar Centre for Informatics Services University of Art Hauptplatz 8, A-4010 Linz, Austria E-mail: dustdar@khsa.khs-linz.ac.at Important Dates: Chapter submission deadline: 1 August 1996 Acceptance notification: 31 August 1996 Camera ready version due: 15 November 1996 \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.thomson.com/bf.html 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). 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