Collaboration and Virtualization in Large Information Systems Projects

A project is evolving through different phases from idea and conception until the experiments, implementation and maintenance. The globalization, the Internet, the Web and the mobile computing changed many human activities, and in this respect, the realization of the Information System (IS) projects. The projects are growing, the teams are geographically distributed, and the users are heterogeneous. In this respect, the realization of the large Information Technology (IT) projects needs to use collaborative technologies. The distribution of the team, the users' heterogeneity and the project complexity determines the virtualization. This paper is an overview of these aspects for large IT projects. It shortly present a general framework developed by the authors for collaborative systems in general and adapted to collaborative project management. The general considerations are illustrated on the case of a large IT project in which the authors were involved.large IT projects, collaborative systems, virtualization, framework for collaborative virtual systems

Regional Data Archiving and Management for Northeast Illinois

This project studies the feasibility and implementation options for establishing a regional data archiving system to help monitor and manage traffic operations and planning for the northeastern Illinois region. It aims to provide a clear guidance to the regional transportation agencies, from both technical and business perspectives, about building such a comprehensive transportation information system. Several implementation alternatives are identified and analyzed. This research is carried out in three phases. In the first phase, existing documents related to ITS deployments in the broader Chicago area are summarized, and a thorough review is conducted of similar systems across the country. Various stakeholders are interviewed to collect information on all data elements that they store, including the format, system, and granularity. Their perception of a data archive system, such as potential benefits and costs, is also surveyed. In the second phase, a conceptual design of the database is developed. This conceptual design includes system architecture, functional modules, user interfaces, and examples of usage. In the last phase, the possible business models for the archive system to sustain itself are reviewed. We estimate initial capital and recurring operational/maintenance costs for the system based on realistic information on the hardware, software, labor, and resource requirements. We also identify possible revenue opportunities. A few implementation options for the archive system are summarized in this report; namely: 1. System hosted by a partnering agency 2. System contracted to a university 3. System contracted to a national laboratory 4. System outsourced to a service provider The costs, advantages and disadvantages for each of these recommended options are also provided.ICT-R27-22published or submitted for publicationis peer reviewe

Bridging the Data Divide: Understanding State Agency and University Research Partnerships within SLDS

This report examines this question through an analysis of state agency-university researcher partnerships that exist in State Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS). Building state agency-university researcher partnerships is an important value of SLDS. To examine state agency-university researcher partnerships within SLDS, our analysis is guided by the following set of questions based on 71 interviews conducted with individuals most directly involved with SLDS efforts in Virginia, Maryland, Texas and Washington. The findings from this analysis suggest that each state’s SLDS organization and governance structure includes university partners in differing ways. In general, stronger partnership efforts are driven by legislative action or executive-level leadership. Regardless of structure, the operation of these partnerships is shaped by the agency’s previous experience and cultural norms surrounding the value and inclusion of university researchers

Bridging the Data Divide: Understanding State Agency and University Research Partnerships within SLDS

This report examines this question through an analysis of state agency-university researcher partnerships that exist in State Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS). Building state agency-university researcher partnerships is an important value of SLDS. To examine state agency-university researcher partnerships within SLDS, our analysis is guided by the following set of questions based on 71 interviews conducted with individuals most directly involved with SLDS efforts in Virginia, Maryland, Texas and Washington. The findings from this analysis suggest that each state’s SLDS organization and governance structure includes university partners in differing ways. In general, stronger partnership efforts are driven by legislative action or executive-level leadership. Regardless of structure, the operation of these partnerships is shaped by the agency’s previous experience and cultural norms surrounding the value and inclusion of university researchers

Public universities employees perception of electronic information sharing between universities and the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research

Electronic information sharing benefits organizations and institutions in various aspects including increasing the level of information accuracy and timeliness, improving the accountability and decision making, and minimizing the cost of information management. There is a high degree of information sharing between Iraqi public universities and Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MOHESR), however, limited electronic information sharing exists between them, which brings difficulties and delay in making decisions. This limitation also creates challenges and barriers in supporting the decentralization principle taken by the public universities in universities’ governance. Thus, there is a need to conduct a study to identify the possible steps and strategies to increase electronic information sharing between the ministry and universities. The main objective of this study is to propose a model of electronic information sharing between Iraqi public universities and MOHESR. Social Exchange Theory, Critical Mass Theory and Transactive Memory System Theory have been used to solve the problem and achieve the objectives. Purposive sampling has been used and multiple linear regression analyses were applied for data analysis. A total of 660 questionnaires have been distributed in five universities in Iraq and the returned response was 274 (42%). From the 16 factors proposed, ten factors are found to be significance which are IT capability, information quality, compatibility, complexity, data warehouse, top management, policy/legal framework, interagency trust, upper level leadership and social network. Based on the results obtained, the study presents a model of electronic information sharing between public universities in Iraq and MOHESR. A comprehensive understanding of this model will contribute to the improvement of the planning and implementation of three dimensions; technological, organizational and environmental of the public universities in their way forward to improvise electronic information sharing in the future. According to the findings, it can be concluded that three dimensions and ten factors can essentially increase the electronic information sharing among public universities and MOHESR

The National Transport Data Framework

Report by Professor Peter Landshoff (Cambridge University) and Professor John Polak (Imperial College London) on a project for the Department for Transport. emails: [email protected] [email protected] NTDF is designed to be a resource for data owners to deposit descriptions into a central catalogue, so that people can search for data and find data and understand their characteristics. The value of this is to individuals, to commercial organizations, and to public bodies. For example, services that provide better information to travellers will help to make their journey less stressful and persuade them to make more use of public transport. Transport operators need very diverse information to help them plan developments to their services: demographic, geographical, economic etc. And policy makers need a similar range of information to help them decide how to divide their budget and afterwards to evaluate how valuable it has been.This work was supported by the Department for Transport (DfT)

UVM Big Data? Aggregating Campus Databases and Creating a Data Warehouse to Improve Student Retention Rates at the University of Vermont

One of the biggest concerns of universities across the United States is the student retention rate. Because it is much more cost effective to keep an existing student enrolled than to enroll a new student, improving a university’s retention rate translates to a saving in costs for that institution. UVM’s first-year retention rate is currently 85.8%, which places them above many other public universities, but below most of UVM’s aspirant schools. UVM conducted a study in 2011 in an effort to determine causes of students leaving after their first year, but retention rates since the study have only marginally increased. Some universities have been using data mining techniques to determine factors correlated with student retention, such as living off campus or an income level below the poverty line. This thesis recommends that UVM create a data warehouse aggregating all student-related data from across campus in an attempt to improve student retention. There is currently no central repository of student-related data from sources such as Residential Life, Blackboard, Student Health Services, and Undergraduate Admissions. Data mining techniques could be used with this data warehouse to discover patterns between different fields of data and a student’s likelihood to withdraw from UVM. For example, what if there is a correlation between a student’s dorm view room and their likelihood to leave UVM? How does a student’s frequency of Blackboard use impact their chance of staying enrolled? This thesis explores the technical and logistical considerations involved in a large data warehousing project. While building a data warehouse may seem operationally daunting, the insights it could generate would be very beneficial for decision support for many years

SAP-Related Education - Status-Quo and Experience

Integrating Enterprise Systems solutions in the curriculum of not only universities but all types of institutes of higher learning has been a major challenge for nearly ten years. Enterprise Systems education is surprisingly well documented in a number of papers on Information Systems education. However, most publications in this area report on the individual experiences of an institution or an academic. This paper focuses on the most popular Enterprise System - SAP - and summarizes the outcomes of a global survey on the status quo of SAP-related education. Based on feedback of 305 lecturers and more than 700 students, it reports on the main factors of Enterprise Systems education including, critical success factors, alternative hosting models, and students’ perceptions. The results show among others an overall increasing interest in advanced SAP solutions and international collaboration, and a high satisfaction with the concept of using Application Hosting Centers

The Workforce Investment Act of 1998: Performance Management and People With Disabilities

The primer outlines the various components of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA). It also suggests ways that people with disabilities can fully access WIA systems and services.The report was prepared for the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Employment Policy for Persons with Disabilities and funded by the United States Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research

Research on the Application of Data Mining Technology in Educational Management System

Data mining technology has changed the way people understand data and analyze data to a large extent. The technology belongs to a new kind of information processing technology, which can provide information support to the decision makers and make for promotion of integrated development of educational reform. At present, the educational management system in colleges and universities mainly centers on the handling of daily routines, and the mass data merely realized the storage instead of exerting its function, besides, the significance hidden in the mass data often has not been discovered. Therefore, starting from the definition of data mining, the paper analyzed the necessity of application of data mining technology in the educational management system, and then studied the application of data mining technology in the educational management system. Keywords: Data Mining; Colleges and Universities; Educational Management System; Application DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-8-14 Publication date:March 31st 202