An overview of decision table literature.

The present report contains an overview of the literature on decision tables since its origin. The goal is to analyze the dissemination of decision tables in different areas of knowledge, countries and languages, especially showing these that present the most interest on decision table use. In the first part a description of the scope of the overview is given. Next, the classification results by topic are explained. An abstract and some keywords are included for each reference, normally provided by the authors. In some cases own comments are added. The purpose of these comments is to show where, how and why decision tables are used. Other examined topics are the theoretical or practical feature of each document, as well as its origin country and language. Finally, the main body of the paper consists of the ordered list of publications with abstract, classification and comments.

The Sphere of Influence of Information Systems Journals: A Longitudinal Study

The paper examines the issue of the information systems (IS) discipline’s influence as represented by its key journals. We examine the well-studied topics of cumulative tradition and reference disciplines from two unique perspectives: cohesion and stability. We demarcate journals into “IS journals” and “non-IS journals that are receptive to IS work” and examine the sphere of influence of these journals based on citations over time. Specifically, we compute a log-multiplicative model to identify subareas in the IS discipline and assess journal influence using the index of structural influence based on citations from a basket of 42 IS and IS-related journals over four periods: 1999-2000, 2004-2005, 2009-2010, and 2013-2014. Results indicate that the IS discipline has established a stable and cohesive knowledge underpinning, which converges with emerging (newer) journals and diverges with non-IS journals during the late period. These results suggest that the discipline has developed boundary conditions and a strong cumulative tradition. Furthermore, based on our analysis, pure IS journals gradually gained dominance in their own network and even started to exert influence in the broader network of journals. These findings provide a unique complement to other recent studies that signify the IS discipline’s influence

Using Social Network Analysis to Analyze Relationships Among IS Journals

Social network analysis (SNA) offers a richer and more objective way of examining individual journal influence and relationships among journals than studies based on individual perceptions, since it avoids personal biases. This article demonstrates how SNA can be used to study the nature of the IS discipline, by presenting results from an exploratory SNA of 125 previously ranked journals from IS and allied disciplines. While many of the most prominent journals in the network are still associated with IS’s foundational disciplines, we identify several IS journals that play important roles in disseminating information throughout different subcomponents of the network. We also identify related groups of journals based not only on patterns of information flow, but also on similarity in citation patterns. This enables us to identify the core set of journals that is important for “pure IS” research, as well as other subsets of journals that are important for specialty areas of interest. Overall, results indicate that the IS discipline is still somewhat fragmented and is still a net receiver, as opposed to a net provider, of information from allied disciplines. Like other forms of analysis, SNA is not entirely free from biases. However, these biases can be systematically researched in order to develop an improved, consistent tool with which to examine the IS field via citations among member journals. Thus, while many challenges remain in applying SNA techniques to the study of IS journals, the opportunity to track trends in the discipline over time, with a larger basket of journals, suggests a number of valuable future applications of SNA for understanding the IS publication system

Global Journal Prestige and Supporting Disciplines: A Scientometric Study of Information Systems Journals

Many argue that the Information Systems (IS) field is at a critical juncture in its evolving identity. In debating whether the IS field is in crisis, we agree with Hirschheim and Klein (2003) that ¡°reflective analysis¡± will contribute to the field¡¯s continued prosperity. Indeed, reflective analysis is needed to evaluate the journals of the field as well as IS journal rankings, which evaluate the effectiveness and productivity of researchers and the effectiveness and productivity of journals in communicating research results. After all, where and how we publish are fundamental aspects of the identity of the IS field¡ªreflecting our value systems, paradigms, cultural practices, reward systems, political hierarchy, and aspirations. This article reviews the results of the largest global, scientometric survey to date of IS journal rankings that targeted 8741 faculty from 414 IS departments world-wide, and resulted in 2559 responses, or a 32% response rate. Rather than using predetermined journal lists, the study required respondents to freely recall their top-four research journals. This research improves on the usual scientometric journal ranking studies by providing a foundation for further reflection and self-analysis. For instance, it first examines the global structure of the IS field and investigates perceptions among global IS academics concerning current research outlets. Specific results then illustrate the values and cultural norms in the global IS community that affect the evaluation of research and publication outlets. Finally, in addition to rankings of scholarly journals by the entire world-wide sample of IS academics, rankings are provided for top IS practitioner journals, most frequently read IS journals, top journals for the major IS supporting disciplines, and top journals by world region

Assessing Leading Institutions, Faculty, and Articles in Premier Information Systems Research Journals

This study provides a current assessment of the impact of various Information Systems (IS) articles, and the productivity of IS researchers and institutions. Using a data set of Information Systems articles that spans 15 years, we conducted a scientometric study of the field. The articles are drawn from three premier IS journals. We use citation analysis to demonstrate the impact of articles on institutions and individuals in the IS field. In addition, we identify IS topics with the highest impact. The results indicate that leading productive institutions have changed over time, and problematically, institutions outside of North America are poorly represented. We compare our results with earlier productivity findings created using alternative metrics

EOS: A project to investigate the design and construction of real-time distributed embedded operating systems

The EOS project is investigating the design and construction of a family of real-time distributed embedded operating systems for reliable, distributed aerospace applications. Using the real-time programming techniques developed in co-operation with NASA in earlier research, the project staff is building a kernel for a multiple processor networked system. The first six months of the grant included a study of scheduling in an object-oriented system, the design philosophy of the kernel, and the architectural overview of the operating system. In this report, the operating system and kernel concepts are described. An environment for the experiments has been built and several of the key concepts of the system have been prototyped. The kernel and operating system is intended to support future experimental studies in multiprocessing, load-balancing, routing, software fault-tolerance, distributed data base design, and real-time processing

Seniors and Information Technology: A MIS-Fit?

The “digital divide” between the haves and have-nots in society continues to draw attention in traditional media outlets as well as academic research. Those yearning to join the computer revolution comprise several groups defined by wealth, ethnicity, country (even regions of countries), and age. While there has been research into the digital divide in all of these areas, the focus of this paper is Information Technology (IT) use by the elderly, or our senior citizens. Our interest in this group stems from the dynamic interaction of two forces: 1) senior populations are growing in percentage and sheer number both in the United States and internationally; and 2) as a group, the elderly have more disposable income to spend on IT than their younger counterparts. In order to coordinate our research agenda, the current investigation presents a framework that delineates scholarly inquiry into this topic by the elements of the framework. We look at what has been done, and what we feel needs to be done, in order to incorporate an important demographic group into the mainstream of computing society: our seniors