Toward work-centered digital information services

Work-centered digital information services are a set of library-like services meant to address work group needs. Workplace users especially need to access legacy documents and external collections. They also frequently want to retrieve information (rather than documents per se), and they require that digital information systems be integrated into established work practices. Realizing work-centered digital information systems requires a broad technical agenda. Three types of analysis-document image, natural language, and computer vision, are necessary to facilitate information extraction. Users also need new user interface paradigms and authoring tools to better access multimedia information, as well as improved protocols for client-program interaction with repositories (collections). Moreover, entirely new types of documents must be developed to exploit these capabilities. The system developed by the authors follows a client-server architecture, in which the servers are repositories implemented as databases supporting user-defined functions and user-defined access methods. The repositories also serve as indexing servers. The authors are creating a prototype set of information services called the California Environmental Digital Information System, which includes a diverse collection of environmental data     

Sustainability of digital libraries: a conceptual model and a research framework

This paper aims to develop a conceptual model and a research framework for study of the economic, social and environmental sustainability of digital libraries. The major factors that are related to the economic, social and environmental sustainability of digital libraries have been identified. Relevant research in digital information systems and services in general, and digital libraries in particular, have been discussed to illustrate different issues and challenges associated with each of the three forms of sustainability. Based on the discussions of relevant research that have implications on sustainability of information systems and services, the paper proposes a conceptual model and a theoretical research framework for study of the sustainability of digital libraries. It shows that the sustainable business models to support digital libraries should also support equitable access supported by specific design and usability guidelines that facilitate easier, better and cheaper access; support the personal, institutional and social culture of users; and at the same time conform with the policy and regulatory frameworks of the respective regions, countries and institutions. It is also shown that measures taken to improve the economic and social sustainability should also support the environmental sustainability guidelines, i.e. reduce the overall environmental impact of digital libraries. It is argued that the various factors affecting the different sustainability issues of digital libraries need to be studied together to build digital libraries that are economically, socially and environmentally sustainable.     

Evaluating the risks of computer fraud and error

Computer systems now dominate the processing of financial information. In many cases these systems are very sophisticated and provide people with direct access to an organisation's financial information. This paper proposes a new approach to evaluating the risks of fraud and error in such computer systems. This approach is efficient to use, precise in its conclusions and has already been widely tested in practice.     

Computer communication as an aid to independence for older adults

Abstract

Computer and communication technologies offer the potential of improving die quality of life for older people by providing them with links to information and services outside of the home. This study examined die feasibility of older people using an electronic text message system to perform routine communication tasks. In addition information was gathered to identify design parameters which facilitate the interactions of older people with such computer based systems. A specialized and simplified ‘communication computer’ was placed in the homes of 36 older women, aged 50–95 years. The system was provided with: a simple text-editor, basic electronic mail functions and access to news/ weather, movie reviews, and health information. Both performance data and user preference data were collected. Results indicated that the participants liked using the system, were able to use it with minimal difficulty, and that it provided a valuable means for social interaction and mental stimulation. The findings suggest that computer-based systems can be a valuable support tool for older adults if they are easy to use, and provide applications that are useful for them.     

Statistical Methods for Comparing Computer Services

The advent of remote terminal access to computer systems, especially as provided by computer networks, has created a marketplace in which computer services rather than computer systems are being sold. And along with that marketplace has come the need for a way to compare and evaluate computer services. This paper presents a methodology for designing and analyzing computer service comparison experiments with the objective of selecting the best system.     

Computer communication as an aid to independence for older adults

Computer and communication technologies offer the potential of improving die quality of life for older people by providing them with links to information and services outside of the home. This study examined die feasibility of older people using an electronic text message system to perform routine communication tasks. In addition information was gathered to identify design parameters which facilitate the interactions of older people with such computer based systems. A specialized and simplified 'communication computer' was placed in the homes of 36 older women, aged 50-95 years. The system was provided with: a simple text-editor, basic electronic mail functions and access to news/ weather, movie reviews, and health information. Both performance data and user preference data were collected. Results indicated that the participants liked using the system, were able to use it with minimal difficulty, and that it provided a valuable means for social interaction and mental stimulation. The findings suggest that computer-based systems can be a valuable support tool for older adults if they are easy to use, and provide applications that are useful for them.     

The Critical Role of the OA Manager

Office automation (OA) technology has evolved from word processing to integrated office automation systems that add sophisticated services (e.g., system-wide file indexes, electronic mail, access to corporate data bases) to the traditional base of word processing and spreadsheet applications. However, the potential benefits of OA technology will only be realized if it is managed effectively. Hence, the need for an OA manager is established.     

Seeing What Isn't There

Office automation (OA) technology has evolved from word processing to integrated office automation systems that add sophisticated services (e.g., system-wide file indexes, electronic mail, access to corporate data bases) to the traditional base of word processing and spreadsheet applications. However, the potential benefits of OA technology will only be realized if it is managed effectively. Hence, the need for an OA manager is established.     

PACS and patient data management systems.

It is important for a PACS to have access to the patient data, as well as to the images themselves, for the purpose of sophisticated image archiving, retrieving, viewing and interpretation. There are many kinds of patient data concerning image examinations (i.e., patient name, ID, age, examination date and time, examined regions, methods, findings on images, diagnoses or diagnostic impressions, etc.). Some of them are acquired from image examination apparatus, some are supplied by diagnostic radiologists, while some need be retrieved from the radiology and hospital information systems. To facilitate this data exchange, a PACS-RIS-HIS coupling is required. The author has constructed at Tokyo University Hospital a small PACS called TRACS, which adopts one of the possible PACS-RIS-HIS coupling configurations.     

Extending TINA with Secure On-Line Accounting Services

Concepts and principles of TINA (Telecommunications Information Networking Architecture) are introduced with the objective of correcting problems of the current centralized service control and service data model in an IN (Intelligent Network). It is becoming increasingly clear that the future sophisticated telecommunication services, e.g., multimedia, and multi-party conferencing, breaking away from the traditional telephony call model will need the solutions for rapid and efficient introduction, deployment, operations, and management.In this paper, we discuss accounting features and requirements, as well as security services in the TINA management context. We will introduce and present an implementation of a model for a security management, based on secure objects, cryptography and certificate distribution. In order to provide secure services, secure objects that have security functionality, such as authentication and access control, have been defined. Secure objects in our model are CORBA objects. The security domain is also called SBS (Security Base Server), provides security services and has an SMIB (Security Management Information Base) that contains security policies, cryptographic algorithms, and other relevant information. A prototype has been implemented and some experimental results are presented.     

A European perspective towards online one-stop government: the eGOV project

e-Government reflects current visions for public administrations towards modernization and reorganization. Therefore, online one-stop Government targets the improvement of customer-to-government interactions. It provides electronic public services of distinct public authorities to citizens and businesses in a customer-oriented manner from a single point of access. The customer-oriented approach towards online one-stop Government further offers online public services 24 h a day from anywhere in an easy-to-use and simple way according to the customers’ needs. Structuring public services around citizens’ life-episodes and businesses’ specific situations represents such an approach. To speed up innovative developments in the field, the European Commission has provided substantial funding. eGOV is such an EC-funded project that aims at developing an integrated platform for realizing online one-stop Government. Key innovations of eGOV are: a global access point to enter different governmental services and information at distinct levels of public administration and with different devices; and the development of online one-stop Government process models. To develop an integrated one-stop Government platform, different requirements have to be fulfilled. Here, an holistic development approach provides an important guideline to address different aspects impacting advanced one-stop Government systems. With such an holistic approach, despite the technical developments, integrated process models for online public service delivery are put forward. Furthermore, the legal aspects framing one-stop Government developments and the social impacts of such developments for different user groups are investigated.     

LotusNet: Tunable privacy for distributed online social network services

The evolution of the role of online social networks in the Web has led to a collision between private, public and commercial spheres that have been inevitably connected together in social networking services since their beginning. The growing awareness on the opaque data management operated by many providers reveals that a privacy-aware service that protects user information from privacy leaks would be very attractive for a consistent portion of users. In order to meet this need we propose LotusNet, a framework for the development of social network services relying on a peer-to-peer paradigm which supports strong user authentication. We tackle the trade-off problem between security, privacy and services in distributed social networks by providing the users the possibility to tune their privacy settings through a very flexible and fine-grained access control system. Moreover, our architecture is provided with a powerful suite of high-level services that greatly facilitates custom application development and mash up.     

Using distributed objects to build the Stanford digital libraryInfobus

For digital libraries to thrive, the providers of information processing services must be able to evolve their systems autonomously. However, as the complexity of their offerings increases, software tools more sophisticated than existing Web facilities are needed. Distributed object technology may be the answer. The availability of high-volume, increasingly sophisticated information is making the need for metadata facilities more urgent. Traditional, library-based approaches break down when used in an advanced digital library. More modular mechanisms are needed, and the CORBA system is one approach. Digital libraries are affected at a deep technical level by the widely differing user traditions of Web users and library patrons. The challenge and opportunity of digital libraries will be the synthesis of these traditions. The authors set out to create a technical infrastructure to support the construction of digital libraries. In their view, a digital library comprises widely distributed resources that can be maintained autonomously by different organizations and will not require adherence to uniform interfaces     

基于序列模式的用户浏览行为提取与分析

当今互联网所提供的功能和服务越来越多,Web内容也越来越丰富,移动应用越来越流行。然而,复杂的Web服务应用对用户提出了更高的要求,给用户浏览带来了很多问题,很多时候用户会感到无所适从。文中提出基于用户浏览序列模式的用户行为提取与分析方法。该方法可以分为浏览模式分析和用户聚类两部分。在浏览模式分析时,首先根据用户行为数据得到浏览序列,然后运用序列模式挖掘PrefixSpan算法获取用户习惯的浏览模式,最后把分析获取的用户浏览模式应用到Web浏览中,为不同的用户需求提供个性化的服务。在用户聚类时,运用层次聚类方法按照浏览模式的相似性对用户进行聚类,以分析用户的不同属性（如年龄、职业、学历等）对用户浏览模式的影响。实验结果表明,文中采用的PrefixSpan算法和层次聚类方法在用户浏览模式分析和研究方面具有很好的可行性和有效性。     

Sheltered in cyberspace? Computer use among the unsheltered ‘street’ homeless

Although physical health, mental health, and substance use problems are disproportionately high among the homeless, those with greater access to their social support systems report better outcomes than others. Communication with loved ones can be challenging for this population because of lack of access to telephone landlines. Computer technology may be an alternative medium for this population to access their social support systems, which, in turn, could lead toward better health outcomes. This exploratory study examined the computer use of 100 unsheltered homeless men and women in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Participants were interviewed using the Homeless Supplement to the Diagnostic Interview Schedule, a technology use module created for this investigation, and the substance use and psychiatric sections of the Addiction Severity Index. Almost half (47%) of the sample reported computer use in the past 30 days (averaging 17.67 h and 30 days). Participants used computers to maintain their sense of social connectedness, for business purposes (job and housing searches), and for leisure. Computer technology could be used to disseminate information, prevent, screen, and treat many conditions, and collect data with this difficult-to-reach population. This technology has the potential to increase access to much needed services at a relatively low cost.     

End-user composition of interactive applications through actionable UI components

Developing interactive systems to access and manipulate data is a very tough task. In particular, the development of user interfaces (UIs) is one of the most time-consuming activities in the software lifecycle. This is even more demanding when data have to be retrieved by accessing flexibly different online resources. Indeed, software development is moving more and more toward composite applications that aggregate on the fly specific Web services and APIs. In this article, we present a mashup model that describes the integration, at the presentation layer, of UI components. The goal is to allow non-technical end users to visualize and manipulate (i.e., to perform actions on) the data displayed by the components, which thus become actionable UI components. This article shows how the model has guided the development of a mashup platform through which non-technical end users can create component-based interactive workspaces via the aggregation and manipulation of data fetched from distributed online resources. Due to the abundance of online data sources, facilitating the creation of such interactive workspaces is a very relevant need that emerges in different contexts. A utilization study has been performed in order to assess the benefits of the proposed model and of the Actionable UI Components; participants were required to perform real tasks using the mashup platform. The study results are reported and discussed.     

ShadowObjects: A Programming Model for Service Replication in Distributed Object Systems

With the growing emphasis on distributed applications, sophisticated programming models for handling replication become important. Control replication as an issue has so far been considered in the larger context of distributed systems such as ISIS and Arjuna. We present a programming model called ShadowObjects for programming replicated services to cater to the needs of control replication in distributed object oriented systems. The ShadowObjects model provides primitives for building highly available and redundant services. Replication in ShadowObjects is encapsulated and a replica access control mechanism is provided. Messages accessing the services exported by a server object can be captured on-the-fly, and can be appropriately scheduled on the replicas. The ShadowObjects model can be used to develop applications for distributed systems.     

Specification and enforcement of flexible security policy for active cooperation

Interoperation and services sharing among different systems are becoming new paradigms for enterprise collaboration. To keep ahead in strong competition environments, an enterprise should provide flexible and comprehensive services to partners and support active collaborations with partners and customers. Achieving such goals requires enterprises to specify and enforce flexible security policies for their information systems. Although the area of access control has been widely investigated, current approaches still do not support flexible security policies able to account for different weighs that typically characterize the various attributes of the requesting parties and transactions and reflect the access control criteria that are relevant for the enterprise. In this paper we propose a novel approach that addresses such flexibility requirements while at the same time reducing the complexity of security management. To support flexible policy specification, we define the notion of restraint rules for authorization management processes and introduce the concept of impact weight for the conditions in these restraint rules. We also introduce a new data structure for the encoding of the condition tree as well as the corresponding algorithm for efficiently evaluating conditions. Furthermore, we present a system architecture that implements above approach and supports interoperation among heterogeneous platforms.     

Early Cognitive Vision: Using Gestalt-Laws for Task-Dependent,Active Image-Processing

The goal of this review is to discuss different strategies employed by the visual system to limit data-flow and to focus data processing. These strategies can be hard-wired, like the eccentricity-dependent visual resolution or they can be dynamically changing like mechanisms of visual attention. We will ask to what degree such strategies are also useful in a computer vision context. Specifically we will discuss, how to adapt them to technical systems where the substrate for the computations is vastly different from that in the brain. It will become clear that most algorithmic principles, which are employed by natural visual systems, need to be reformulated to better fit to modern computer architectures. In addition, we will try to show that it is possible to employ multiple strategies in parallel to arrive at a flexible and robust computer vision system based on recurrent feedback loops and using information derived from the statistics of natural images.