LUIS—A logic for task-oriented user interface specification

The complexity of user interface design is still steadily increasing because of an increasing variety of innovative interaction styles (e.g., pen-based interaction) and because of an increasing orientation towards tasks as they are actually accomplished in work environments. In order to handle the resulting variety of knowledge that has to be taken into account for design, specification techniques have to rely on representation schemes for end user tasks and their organization, problem domain data, and interaction styles. Declarative knowledge representation techniques provide the capabilities to handle heterogeneous categories of knowledge as well as their integration. This article describes not only a conceptual but also a formal framework for task-oriented, declarative user interface specification. the conceptual framework is based on a semantic network. It is formalized comprehensively through LUIS (Logical User Interface Specification). LUIS is a novel many-sorted temporal specification logic. Using LUIS all static and dynamic relations between (1) end user tasks and problem domain data, (2) end user tasks and interaction styles (media and modalities), and (3) problem domain data and interaction styles, according to different levels of refinement can be captured. In particular, LUIS supports to stepwise refinement of knowledge to elementary data structures and basic functions. Moreover, in LUIS organizational constraints concerning the accomplishment of end user tasks can be represented by postulating axioms applying the modalities “First,” “Sometime in the future,” “Next,” and “More recently than.” Since each knowledge category corresponds to a particular sort of the specification logic, the designer can be provided with modular knowledge sources. They can be extended or modified for further developments in a flexible way. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Whom to talk to? A stakeholder perspective on business process development

Although many organizations operate in a process-driven way, few members are skilled in specifying and developing business processes??a skill that has become crucial for organization development, in particular to establish agile enterprises. This paper shows, on the basis of natural language constructs (subject, predicate, object) and communication patterns between actors (subjects), how individual members of an organization could contribute to coherent and intelligible process specifications. A language and tool supporting Subject-oriented Business Process Management (S-BPM) are introduced, allowing organizations to cope with strategic and operational challenges dynamically. As many organizations already work with BPM concepts and technologies, existing approaches to process modelling are also revisited with respect to representing natural language constructs and standard sentence syntax. Since most of them refer either to subjects, predicates, objects or to a respective combination, a roadmap can be developed for enriching existing modelling approaches. In doing so, organizations can benefit from stakeholder inputs for effective business process engineering re-using existing specifications.     

Environmental applications of chemically pure natural ferrihydrite

Fresh precipitates, deposited from seepage waters of complex-ore mine-tailing impoundment at Zlaté Hory, Czech Republic, were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, low temperature and in-field M?ssbauer spectroscopy, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area measurements. The prevailing phases (approximately 96 wt %) found in precipitates are poorly crystalline, 2-6 nm sized two-line ferrihydrite, forming globular aggregates of about 150 nm in diameter, rimmed by acicular irregular nanocrystals of goethite. These nanocrystalline ferrihydrite-goethite precipitates are of a relatively high chemical purity (approximately 3% SiO2, Zn approximately 1300 ppm, trace and rare earth elements < 100 ppm) and thus applicable in various nanotechnologies. With a surface area of 270 m2 g(-1), precipitate possesses a high catalytic activity in the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide, which is comparable with that found for commercially accessible FeO(OH) catalyst. Another superior aspect of such natural nanoparticles presents a cheap and suitable precursor for a thermally induced solid-state synthesis of the stable core-shell alpha-Fe-FeO nanoparticles that are well applicable in reductive technologies of groundwater treatment. Just the possibility of using the undesirable waste contaminating the environment in further environmental technologies is the key practical benefit discussed in this paper.     

Facilitating shared understanding of work situations using a tangible tabletop interface

As work is an inherently cooperative phenomenon, it requires a common understanding of the nature of collaboration for all involved parties. In this way, explicit articulation work becomes an integral and essential part of collaboration. Implicit aspects of collaboration have impact on the quality of work results, mainly through social norms and observations of working together. Eliciting those aspects interactively helps in avoiding (mutual) misrepresentations and lack of understanding. Tangible articulation support systems allow aligning mental models of how work should be carried out. Stakeholders can develop a common understanding of collaboration in a semantically open and non-intrusive way. They are not burdened by explication features and diagrammatic notations. We have utilised experiences with model-centred learning theory to support explicit articulation work. According to our field studies, the resulting models can be fed back to current work practices and help in preventing problematic work situations.     

Buchbesprechungen

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Ocular Graft-versus-Host Disease in a Chemotherapy-Based Minor-Mismatch Mouse Model Features Corneal (Lymph-) Angiogenesis

Ocular graft-versus-host disease (oGVHD) is a fast progressing, autoimmunological disease following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, leading to severe inflammation of the eye and destruction of the lacrimal functional unit with consecutive sight-threatening consequences. The therapeutic “window of opportunity” is narrow, and current treatment options are limited and often insufficient. To achieve new insights into the pathogenesis and to develop new therapeutic approaches, clinically relevant models of oGVHD are desirable. In this study, the ocular phenotype was described in a murine, chemotherapy-based, minor-mismatch GVHD model mimicking early-onset chronic oGVHD, with corneal epitheliopathy, inflammation of the lacrimal glands, and blepharitis. Additionally, corneal lymphangiogenesis was observed as part of oGVHD pathogenesis for the first time, thus opening up the investigation of lymphangiogenesis as a potential therapeutic and diagnostic tool.     

Polymorphism of rapeseed oil with a low content of erucic acid and possibilities to stabilise the β′-crystal form in fats

The polymorphism of hydrogenated rapeseed oil with a low content of erucic acid was investigated by X-ray diffraction. The triglyceride composition in the hydrogenated oil was determined by a combination of gas chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography. A characteristic feature of this oil is its rapid transition to the β-form. Possibilities of influencing the β′→ β transition are discussed. The addition of diglycerides appears to provide a means for delaying the β′rarr; β transition. Thus, 1,2-diglycerides show a strong stabilising effect on the β′ triglyceride crystals form, which is considered to be of technical interest.     

Modeling collaboration for large-scale software system integration by formal communication models

In the development of large software systems, several synchronization points have to be passed successfully in order to achieve high-end user acceptance of the final system. In particular, the integration of conceptual design entities has turned out to be the most crucial step in software development. At this point, an explicit representation of the organizational knowledge, namely how the integration can be performed, is required. The overall organization of the integration of design entities is a set of knowledge, action (including communication), and time. The knowledge part comprises the integration procedure itself as well as the design entities. Actions are performed by the members of the project team (project leaders, developers). Each integration step has to be performed synchronized, so that each member of the development team knows concurrently the status of the integration procedure. All other individual design activities are usually performed asynchronously. According to the need for an explicit representation of the organizational knowledge for large software system design, this paper attempts tounderstand the nature of large software system integration and formallydescribes the coordination of a dispersed set of software developers. The organizational knowledge is represented by processes that occur in an asynchronous development environment. The design knowledge is assigned to logical formulas that are processed as exchanged messages among developers. Hence, the activities for integration are based on the transmission of messages. Time-critical events, such as the integration of a particular design entity into the final conceptual design of the software system, have to become common knowledge concurrently for all developers. This organizational constraint has been formalized in the communication model. Not only can the proposed framework be adapted to organizational changes in a flexible way, it can also be applied to any specific development strategy for the integration of conceptual design entities. Thus, such kind of formal communication models may provide a sound basis for cooperative CASE (computer-aided software engineering) tools.This work has been sponsored by the Max Kade Foundation, New York.