Designing and evaluating driver support systems with the user in mind

In this editorial to the special issue we first introduce the field of driver support system (DSS) design and evaluation, frame it into the larger context of human–computer interaction research, and highlight some of its specificities. We then proceed to briefly present the selection of articles that compose this issue. Finally, we put the contributions to the special issue into perspective along a number of dimensions to show how they represent the diversity of current DSS research.     

Multimedia technology for pervasive computing environment

With the emerging multimedia techniques which can be used for various pervasive and ubiquitous applications such as healthcare, environmental monitoring, security and surveillance, there are a number of important challenges that arise when multimedia transmits in this kind of pervasive computing environments. This special issue is called for high-quality, up-to-date related multimedia technology for pervasive computing environment. In this special issue, we have accepted only nine high-quality papers. We expect that this special issue will be a trigger for further related research and technology improvements in multimedia technology for pervasive computing environment.     

Who do you think you are? A review of the complex interplay between information systems,identification and identity

This paper introduces the special issue on information systems, identity and identification. In addition to introducing the papers in the special issue, it provides a state-of-the-art review of research into identity and identification to contextualise the contributions of the special issue papers. The paper reviews research themes in personal and organisational identity as well as research challenges in identification before considering the interplay between these two strands.     

Computationally intelligent agents in economics and finance

This paper is an editorial guide for the second special issue on Computational Intelligence in economics and finance, which is a continuation of the special issue of Information Sciences, Vol. 170, No. 1. This second issue appears as a part of the outcome from the 3rd International Workshop on Computational Intelligence in Economics and Finance, which was held in Cary, North Carolina, September 26-30, 2003. This paper offers some main highlights of this event, with a particular emphasis on some of the observed progress made in this research field, and a brief introduction to the papers included in this special issue.     

Multimedia P2P networking: Protocols, solutions and future directions

Due to the latest developments in electronics industry, multimedia communications is one of the key enabling technologies in the current and future networks. This special issue is to discuss advances in the state of the art and practice of multimedia P2P networking, as well as to identify the related emerging research topics. The careful evaluation process of this special issue has allowed us to select 8 high quality research papers. We strongly believe that the selected papers will make a significant contribution to researchers, practitioners, and students working in this field.     

Guest Editors' Introduction: Collaborative Visualization

This article introduces a special issue on collaborative visualization. The articles in this issue present ongoing research, covering topics ranging from prototype systems to the fundamental technical challenges of creating successful collaborative systems.     

Cyber–physical systems technologies and application — Part II

The second part of the special issue presents more practical issues on cyber–physical systems technologies and application. We have selected five research papers whose topics are strongly related to this special issue. As continued from the part 1, we have selected 5 additional papers.     

Special issue on formal methods for globally asynchronous and locally synchronous (GALS) systems

This special issue is based on innovative ideas presented and discussed during the first International Workshop on Formal Methods for Globally Asynchronous and Locally Synchronous Systems (FMGALS) held in conjunction with the Formal Methods in Europe (FME) conference in Pisa, Italy, in the fall of 2003. This one-day workshop was initiated to bring together researchers in the area of formal methods, system design languages, asynchronous hardware design, and GALS design. The event was held in co-operation with ACM SIGDA and ACM SIGARCH. Since this first incarnation, another FMGALS workshop was held in Verona, Italy in 2005. A special issue for that event is already planned. One great outcome of the first workshop is that an FMGALS community has been established through a moderated mailing list. Information and research result exchanges are taking place among the various research communities who are engaged in research aimed at providing theoretical foundations of GALS design, industrial GALS design practices, and de-synchronization theory proposed by the Synchronous Programming community. Selected papers from the 2003 workshop were invited for this special issue together with an open call for papers soliciting novel contributions on the topics of this conference. Rigorous reviews of 12 submissions led to the selection of five papers. In this editorial statement, we outline the premise and the context of this special issue, and briefly introduce the papers selected.     

Emerging ICT concepts for smart,safe and sustainable industrial systems

This editorial introduces the special issue on Emerging Information and Communication Technology (ICT) concepts for smart, safe and sustainable industrial systems in the Elsevier journal Computers in Industry. The 13 papers in this special issue were selected because of their high quality and also because they propose emerging ICT solutions that address at least one of the three dimensions we suggest as basic requirements to design usable future Industrial Systems that must be safe, smart and sustainable. Previous global discussions about the state of the art with regard to the topic of this special issue are provided, as well as exploratory guidelines for future research in this area.     

Speech and Language processing as assistive technologies

We are delighted to bring you this special issue on speech and language processing for assistive technology. It addresses an important research area that is gaining increased recognition from researchers in speech and language processing as a rich and fulfilling area on which to focus their work, and by researchers in assistive technology as the means to dramatically improve communication technologies for individuals with disabilities. This special issue brings a wide swath of approaches and applications highlighting the variety this area offers.     

Healthcare groups at work: further lessons from research into large-scale coordination

The first special issue in Large-Scale Coordination earlier this year showed the breadth of application research from air traffic control to the military and multi-agency emergency response. This special issue shows depth of research at large scale in healthcare. These studies of large-scale coordination examine work between and across groups, beyond earlier conceptions of social human factors. Revealing the complexity of work domains and the subtle, yet effective, ways that workers negotiate its challenges opens the way to develop information and communications technology support tools that are grounded in a scientific understanding.     

Groups at work: lessons from research into large-scale coordination

Study of large-scale coordination seeks us to understand work between and across groups beyond earlier conceptions of social human factors. Revealing the complexity of work domains and the subtle yet effective ways that workers negotiate its challenges opens the way to develop support tools that are grounded in a scientific understanding. This first special issue in Large-Scale Coordination shows the breadth of application research from air traffic control to the military and multi-agency emergency response. A second special issue later this year will show depth of research at large scale in healthcare.     

John McCarthy's legacy

This special issue is dedicated to John McCarthy, founding father of Artificial Intelligence. It contains a collection of recent contributions to the field of knowledge representation and reasoning, a field that McCarthy founded and that has been a main focus of his research during the last half century. In this introductory article, we survey some of McCarthy's major contributions to the field of knowledge representation and reasoning, and situate the papers in this special issue in the context of McCarthy's previous work.     

Instructional support for enhancing students’ information problem solving ability

This special issue discusses European research on instructional support to foster students’ ability to solve information-based problems. In this introduction, the concept of information problem solving (IPS) and research in this field of interest will be placed in the broader perspective, which is called information behavior. The focus of this special issue is an educational one and the papers all go into a specific kind of instructional support. The main research questions, findings and conclusions of the six contributions will be outlined. It is concluded that the most important directions for future research deal with how instructional support for different aspect of the process, like for instance how to regulated the process, best can be designed in order to make the instruction adaptive and fit to the learners needs.     

The pedagogical use of information and communication technology in education: a Dutch perspective

This special issue discusses Dutch research on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education. In this introduction, four broad research lines are distinguished: Policy-oriented research, research on learning technologies, research on computer-based instructional design tools, and research on the pedagogical use of ICT. The focus of this special issue is on the last type of research. The main research questions, findings and conclusions of the six contributions are discussed. It is concluded that the most important directions for future research deal with the added value of ICT for information problem solving in resource-based learning, for collaboration using external representations and tools that provoke critical discussion and reflection, and for simulation in learning environments for competence based learning and discovery learning.     

Editorial of Message of the Spring

Starting from this issue, we will publish one or more feature articles in the first issue of IJSI each year. This paper or these papers will serve the purpose similar to feature articles of some contemporary journals. They will probably not focus on reporting research results of the author(s), but will focus on commenting last year''s progress of some selected research domain or subject and looking into the future development of this domain or subject in the coming year. These papers will form a special column which will get the common title "message of the spring". We announce our plan of publishing "message of the spring" also with the purpose of inviting live contributions to this special column. The first message of the spring published in this issue is the paper "Understanding Cognition through Synthesis and Analysis" of Christian Freksa. I hope all of our readers will like it and benefit a lot from it.     

Guest Editors' Introduction: Building a Sensor-Rich World

Sensor networks have historically been relegated to special applications and research projects. Technological advances are making it possible to move from this domain to one in which sensors are pervasive in our world and new applications abound. This article provides an introduction to this special issue on Building a Sensor-Rich World.     

Introduction to the special issue on normative multiagent systems

This special issue contains four selected and revised papers from the second international workshop on normative multiagent systems, for short NorMAS07 (Boella et al. (eds) Normative multiagent systems. Dagstuhl seminar proceedings 07122, 2007), held at Schloss Dagstuhl, Germany, in March 2007. At the workshop a shift was identified in the research community from a legal to an interactionist view on normative multiagent systems. In this editorial we discuss the shift, examples, and 10 new challenges in this more dynamic setting, which we use to introduce the papers of this special issue.     

Intelligent distributed production control

This editorial introduces the special issue of the Springer journal, Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing, on intelligent distributed production control. This special issue contains selected papers presented at the 13th IFAC Symposium on Information Control Problems in Manufacturing??INCOM??2009 (Bakhtadze and Dolgui 2009). The papers in this special issue were selected because of their high quality and their specific way of addressing the variety of issues dealing with intelligent distributed production control. Previous global discussions about the state of the art in intelligent distributed production control are provided, as well as exploratory guidelines for future research in this area.