A Systematic Approach to Long-Term Planning for OA Implementation

Abstract

Because end-user computing (EUC) is playing a more significant role in the overall performance of organizations, EUC and its associated technologies should be viewed as a set of distinct value activities — that is, activities that contribute to an organizations competitive advantage. Management should emphasize those EUC attributes that have a positive influence on the organization —direction, support, and control. This article discusses these attributes, the major issues associated with each, and the timing of each attribute in conjunction with organizational strategy.     

End-user computing: The MIS managers' perspective

Despite the enthusiasm and its rapid growth, End-User Computing (EUC) is not well-managed. This article investigates EUC and its current practices. EUC experience at 31 organizations representing 12 industries was surveyed. Areas of study include: MIS/DP managers' perceptions and attitudes toward EUC, perceived benefits and difficulties of EUC applications and issues related to management and support of EUC activities. Implications of the survey findings for effective EUC applications are also discussed.     

The dual role of information centers: An assessment of end user computing management strategies

This article evaluates the impact of different management strategies on the success of End User Computing (EUC). The study is based on the empirical survey of sixteen organizations with 151 end users. The analysis showed that accelerating management strategies resulted in significantly better success than the controlling strategies. However, there seemed to be no clear connection between the existence of a formal information center (IC) and the success of EUC. Instead, an IC seemed to play a dual role. If the organizations with an IC were managed by accelerating growth policies, success measures were significantly higher than if managed by controlling growth policies. In the organizations with controlling growth policies and an IC, success measures were even lower than in the organizations without an IC. On the basis of our findings we recommend that the IS managers should critically re-evaluate and adjust their EUC strategies: an IC alone does not guarantee any success.     

PARTNERS IN EXCELLENCE Metrics and Productivity Programs

For many companies, productivity improvements are the watchwords of the 1990s. IS organizations are having to demonstrate increased productivity on an annual basis. For the end-user computing (EUC) department, this requirement often comes in addition to the request to quantify the services it provides, presenting the EUC manager with the proverbial nightmare of juggling two number-one priorities. Which should receive the highest attention? The savvy manager recognizes that the correct answer is both.     

ACHIEVING WORLD-CLASS END-USER COMPUTING

Given the amount of money companies spend on end-user computing (EUC) and the impact local area networks have had on organizations, it is essential for companies to develop better practices for managing the EUC environment. Clear domains of responsibility for IS and users may be the key to forming a true partnership and forging a world-class EUC environment.     

Building an E-Business Strategy

E-business is heralding what is being called “the new economy.” To help managers negotiate this new business landscape, this article proposes a strategic breakout methodology for transforming organizations into E-businesses. This four-stage methodology makes use of SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis, and each of the four stages has its own activities, tasks, and outputs. By giving executives a tool that is familiar (SWOT) and yet targeted to this fast-changing environment, companies can quickly react to changes in their own environments.     

Quality control & inspection: Knowledge-based quality control system

The majority of Statistical Quality Control (SQC) microcomputer systems/packages are based on the idea of storing data and producing results such as QC charts from which a user may be able to make inferences regarding Quality. The selection of the type of control charts (e.g. charts for variables vs. charts for attributes) and interpretation of the results are usually left to the user. This is mainly due to the fact that SQC packages are generic systems while interpretations may be product specific.

Presented in this paper is a system which tries through dialogue with the user to direct him to the proper chart(s) in the package. An analysis component for each chart determines statistical phenomena (both good and bad) and provides general explanations. Another component in the system accesses an accompanying knowledge database (DB) — keyed by phenomena — which provide possible explanation as well as advise. The user may add to the knowledge base at any time assisted by the statistical DB Management Subsystem.

The elements of the system are the IIE Microsoftware Statistical Quality Control package and a number of “add-on” routines supporting DB creation and the inference engine.     

A measure of cross-training benefit versus job skill specialization

Given ever-higher labor costs, organizations should periodically assess the match of personnel skills and quantities with required duties. Consolidating similar functional specialties can improve efficiency by increasing staffing for high-demand jobs, or by identifying areas where staff may be reduced. However, such consolidation activities are often done anecdotally, and can potentially overlook successful skill pairings. We propose a model that enables an objective, repeatable skills consolidation assessment process. Our model—a cost/benefit ratio—identifies skill pairings which are likely to merge successfully, by comparing the costs of training to the benefits of increased staffing level efficiencies for these jobs.     

End-user software training: an experimental comparison of methods to enhance motivation

Abstract. Effective training is a key factor in determining the success of end-user computing (EUC) in organizations. Software training research often focuses on one outcome of training – understanding. The experimental study reported here examines understanding, motivation, and use as outcomes of software training. Two methods of training, applications-based and construct-based, that focused on different levels of personal relevance were compared. The experiment utilized subjects in a 'real' training setting. The effects of previous experience with software were strong. There is some evidence to suggest that applications-based training is best for novices.     

Virtual learning spaces in distance education: tools for the EVA project

The EVA (espacios virtuales de aprendizaje, or virtual learning spaces) project applies artificial intelligence tools to teleteaching methods, in a way that eliminates or mitigates the need for synchronous and in situ education. (A) A taxonomy of the space of knowledge (also called ‘Learning Space'; currently our prototype teaches M.Sc. courses in Computer Science) is formed and discretized. (B) EVA finds each student's initial knowledge state (through a computer examination) and final (desired) knowledge state, and from these, a particular learning trajectory is designed for that student. (C) Personalized books (called polybooks, because they are formed by modules (chapters) written in a variety of media) are armed by concatenating — along the learning trajectory — modules from a large pool, and sent to the student through the net in a store-and-forward fashion. (D) EVA searches the net for teaching material which has not been indexed in the discretized learning space, using a tool (Clasitex) inside an agent that finds the main themes or topics that an article (written in natural language) covers. (E) EVA also schedules for each student synchronous activities (lectures in TV, teleconferences, on-line question and answering sessions, chats). (F) EVA suggests for each student suitable ‘classmates' (students having similar learning trajectories) in her town, as well as possible advisers (students or alumni having knowledge that the student is acquiring). The present status, problems, models and tools of EVA are presented.     

A Model for Motivating and Measuring Quality Performance in Information Systems Staff

This article presents a model developed to motivate and measure quality performance in information systems staff. This approach, referred to as team-based assessment (TBA), is founded on organizational effectiveness and quality principles. the team-based assessment approach emphasizes two main goals — to maintain a customer orientation and to promote an atmosphere for employee development and growth — while ensuring individual and team accountability. To assess the achievement of these goals, a formal system of measurements has been developed. the approach encompasses five critical areas: product quality, staff development, customer outreach, administrative efficiency, and fiscal responsibility. This model is currently in use at several large government contract-based organizations.     

An efficient algorithm for constructing a cryptosystem which is harder to break than two other cryptosystems

Suppose that two organizations with their own separate cryptosystems are put into a context in which they must communicate. An example might be two businesses—accustomed to using different commercial cryptosystems—which have recently merged. Each might mistrust the security of the other's cryptosystem. But neither could quarrel with a process which took their two cryptosystems and yielded a third cryptosystem which was demonstrably at least as strong as either of the original two. This paper constructs a practical working model of such a “least upper bound” of two cryptosystems.     

The Specialist's Role in Computer Training Programs

Without realizing it, many organizations offer their employees the same old computer training programs that no longer provide the knowledge today's computer users need to make the most efficient use of their systems. This column suggests one simple change to current training programs—namely sending the teachers (specialists) out of the computer classroom and to the students (users)—which can increase the users' confidence in the system and make them more productive.     

LANs — Today and Tomorrow

In many organizations, information travels to a branch office across the country faster than it travels down the hall to the next department. If properly planned, LANs can speed communications in a building, campus, or industrial park. However, proper planning requires an understanding of the technology — both as it is and as it will emerge.     

A Tree-Based Data Perturbation Approach for Privacy-Preserving Data Mining

Due to growing concerns about the privacy of personal information, organizations that use their customers' records in data mining activities are forced to take actions to protect the privacy of the individuals. A frequently used disclosure protection method is data perturbation. When used for data mining, it is desirable that perturbation preserves statistical relationships between attributes, while providing adequate protection for individual confidential data. To achieve this goal, we propose a kd-tree based perturbation method, which recursively partitions a data set into smaller subsets such that data records within each subset are more homogeneous after each partition. The confidential data in each final subset are then perturbed using the subset average. An experimental study is conducted to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

An e-patient’s End-user community (EUCY): The value added of social network applications

Decreasing revenues and increasing expenses has led many healthcare organizations to adopt newer technological applications in order to address the informational needs of their patients. One such adoption technique is to develop a more robust e-patient environment. Health care organizations may increase their effectiveness in meeting the needs of a growing e-patient population through the implementation of high-quality social networking applications such as Twitter. These applications may help to support and maintain a valuable and informed community. A literature review identifies three characteristics that have an impact on information exchange inherent to social networks: number of members, contact frequency, and type of knowledge. Data from a case study of a juvenile diabetic using Twitter helps to demonstrate these aforementioned characteristics. A framework is developed that may be used by health care organizations to better align social network objectives with expectations of an End user community (EUCY). Managerial implications of this study are discussed that can help information technology professionals as well as health administrators when implementing social networks.     

Evaluation of EIS from a managerial perspective1

Abstract. While executive information systems (EIS) constitute a rising trend in the use of information technology in organizations, much is still unknown in terms of the attributes an EIS should possess in order to increase the probability of successful implementation. A survey was conducted on 28 Canadian organizations, with 52 users giving their perceptions on the various attributes of EIS. Results indicate that the more important aspects relate to the quality of information and the benefits provided by EIS. Less important are the user-interface and technical capabilities. User satisfaction with the attributes of their present system was also measured. In this regard, managers were more content with the quality of information and the user-interface than with the benefits and the technical capabilities of their EIS. Overall, top-managers were less satisfied with the present system than lower-level managers.     

Knowledge-based analysis of carotid angiograms

The project described is concerned with the development of a practical system for interpreting carotid angiograms. The general requirements of such a system are identified and some of the design considerations are discussed. The analysis strategies and types of knowledge used by an expert in recognizing and naming vessels and categorizing abnormalities on a single-plane angiogram are described- Two distinct types of knowledge are identified: ‘facts’ knowledge which is drawn from various areas of science, and ‘strategy’ knowledge which determines how the facts should be used. It is suggested that confidence parameters should be associated with each type of knowledge and these should be used in the control of the analysis of an angiogram. The ‘facts’ and ‘strategy’ knowledge bases have a hierarchical structure which, if exploited, would enable the system to be easily adapted for use in other application areas.     

A Constrained Probabilistic Petri Net Framework for Human Activity Detection in Video

Recognition of human activities in restricted settings such as airports, parking lots and banks is of significant interest in security and automated surveillance systems. In such settings, data is usually in the form of surveillance videos with wide variation in quality and granularity. Interpretation and identification of human activities requires an activity model that a) is rich enough to handle complex multi-agent interactions, b) is robust to uncertainty in low-level processing and c) can handle ambiguities in the unfolding of activities. We present a computational framework for human activity representation based on Petri nets. We propose an extension—Probabilistic Petri Nets (PPN)—and show how this model is well suited to address each of the above requirements in a wide variety of settings. We then focus on answering two types of questions: (i) what are the minimal sub-videos in which a given activity is identified with a probability above a certain threshold and (ii) for a given video, which activity from a given set occurred with the highest probability? We provide the PPN-MPS algorithm for the first problem, as well as two different algorithms (naive PPN-MPA and PPN-MPA) to solve the second. Our experimental results on a dataset consisting of bank surveillance videos and an unconstrained TSA tarmac surveillance dataset show that our algorithms are both fast and provide high quality results.