Modelling electronic service systems using UML

This paper presents a profile for modelling systems of electronic services using UML. Electronic services encapsulate business services, an organisational unit focused on delivering benefit to a consumer, to enhance communication, coordination and information management. Our profile is based on a formal, workflow-oriented description of electronic services that is abstracted from particular implementation technologies. Resulting models provide the basis for a formal analysis to verify behavioural properties of services. The models can also relate services to management components, including workflow managers and Electronic Service Management Systems (ESMSs), a novel concept drawn from experience of HP Service Composer and DySCo (Dynamic Service Composer), providing the starting point for integration and implementation tasks. Their UML basis and platform-independent nature is consistent with a Model-Driven Architecture (MDA) development strategy, appropriate to the challenge of developing electronic service systems using heterogeneous technology, and incorporating legacy systems

Focus Issue on Legacy Information Systems and Business Process Change:The Role of Stakeholders in Managing Change

To manage organisational change in the context of legacy information systems, which may need replacement or revision, the strategy process should respond to corporate opportunity rather than past internal difficulties. Steering groups are often used to guide the strategy process. An important problem is the identification of appropriate stakeholders that need to be represented on the steering group. A related problem is to establish the boundary of the new information system. Computer Information Systems development often focuses on direct users and affected internal departments as the exclusive stakeholders. However these groups may present too narrow a perspective. To improve the effectiveness of the development process, a wider constituency should be considered that includes organisational partners in the wider business environment. This paper presents a method, the stakeholder web, that identifies appropriate stakeholders and their viewpoints. It illustrates the concepts with a large-scale university information systems project. The stakeholder web is used to analyse the relationships between the activities and membership of a university information systems steering group over a five-year period. The results demonstrate the dynamic nature of the project and the associated changes in membership of the steering group

Defining CSFs for information systems strategic planning in holding companies: a case study of an Iranian managerial holding company (system group)

Holding companies (HCs) differ in their nature and behavior from other types of companies. Their role is to support, control and budget their subsidiaries. In general, HCs do not compete directly with one another, as it is difficult to find two HCs with the same product and service portfolios. Competition occurs instead at the subsidiary level against companies, which may or may not be part of other HCs, in overlapping markets with similar products and services. This concept of competition, which differs from that of typical commercial companies, is central to the development of HC strategies for supporting and controlling their subsidiaries. Information Systems Strategic Planning (ISSP) attempts to align information systems strategy with business strategy by directing the investment in information systems so as to satisfy strategic goals. Traditionally, ISSP methodologies have addressed the definition of information systems for Strategic Business Units (SBU). This research demonstrates, using a case study of an Iranian Managerial Holding Company, how ISSP can be applied instead to Strategic Business Processes (SBP). It illustrates how to define Critical Success Factors (CSFs) and Information System Needs (ISN) on Strategic Processes instead of Strategic Units. Moreover, this study combines the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) with a statistical questionnaire survey to define strategic processes

Manager or Technician? The Nature of the Information Systems Manager\u27s Job

The role of the information systems manager has evolved in twenty years from that of a technician managing a relatively unimportant service function into that of a vice presidential-level, general manager whose department can substantially impact the entire organization. In this paper we trace, by example, the historical evolution of the job and, through an observational study of six information systems managers, examine the position today. The analysis includes the daily activities of the managers, the nature of the oral contacts that constitute 76% of their day, and other notable observations. We found that the information systems manager is clearly more of a manager in the classical sense than a technician. The information systems manager relies heavily on interpersonal skills and the abi lity to motivate and guide subordinates. The manager is surrounded by technical specialists who provide expertise as required. The manager is not preoccupied with the day-to-day operations of the data processing organization, but spends a great deal of time planning the overall strategy for the information systems function. A great deal of the manager\u27s planning concerns human resources. A very small portion of the information systems manager\u27s contacts are with users gi any level. There was some informal evidence that the managers\u27 subordinates had responsibi lity for contact with operational users, particularly during development of new information systems. However, one can only conclude that the contact of information systems managers with functional management at their own level is noticeably absent. Such a conclusion is surprising in view of the plethora of Iiterature advocating top management involvement (on the user side) in development of new information systems

Development of Health Care e-Services in the European Union

Development and implementation of e-services has become a common practice of state and public administrations in the developed countries around the world since the usage of information and communication technologies has enabled a faster processing of user applications and more efficient functioning of the service. This paper analyses the level of development of e-services in health care systems of eight European countries, both in terms of safety and reliability from the perspective of end users, i.e. citizens. Furthermore, the concept of trust in eservices based on the availability of information on the Internet on applied technological solutions, storage and data protection and their availability is considered. Implementation of services like e-health records and e-prescriptions requires a well-developed strategy and a very transparent way of their functioning because of the sensitive nature of health data. For this study official websites of the services were searched through, as were other sources on the Internet. The research results indicate a lack of certain key information, especially those related to data storage, their protection and long-term preservation

Nature and landscape sustainability in Portuguese rural areas: Which role for farming external benefits valorisation?

Traditional farming systems are declining rapidly in Portugal. These labour intensive and low productivity systems are incompatible with depopulation and ageing of rural areas. This lack of socio-economic sustainability endangers nature and landscape conservation. Agri-environmental measures, applied in European Union since 1994, can be seen as potential answer to that problem in the Portuguese case. But to be effective, these measures need to be part of an integrated strategy directed to mitigate depopulation. The NGOs and the official organisations related to nature and landscape conservation are aware of that and acknowledge it in the National Strategy for Nature and Biodiversity Conservation. This decline in the farming external benefits supply happens simultaneously with the increasing of its demand. General public, of all ages and socio-economic strata, wants rural nature and landscape conservation for use and nonuse purposes. Contingent Valuation studies conducted in the North of Portugal (Santos, 1997; Madureira, 2001) show a positive willingness to pay of visitors and general public to assure traditional agrarian landscape conservation. To preserve the rural cultural heritage is the main reason presented by the public to stand for landscape maintenance. Official data on land use and demographic trends, data on touristic demand for rural areas and empirical evidence on public preferences for rural nature and landscape attributes are used to witness these different directions in supply and demand for farming external benefits. A closer look to this divergence is taken for the case of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro. This Region contains various typical landscapes where farmer’s action shaped nature in a singular way. This feature attracts many tourists and visitants, which number is expected to grow, specially for Douro vineyards classified as Humanity Patrimony. But all of these landscapes are, to a more or less extent, risking being abandon or restructured to allow mechanisation. Afforestation it is also becoming an alternative pattern in soil occupation at the Region. Thus, this Region exemplifies very well the social and political choices that come up in the context presented in this communication: (1) Which landscapes to preserve? How much of it? And (2) How to do it? Use Beneficiary Pays Principle or Provider Gets based mechanisms? The first questions are mainly social issues, making evident the importance of getting information on public preferences for related political decisions. The second group asks for political choices, where the main challenge is to define and implement solutions capable of tuning in societal choices with local population and economic agents aspirations and resources. Without these solutions traditional landscape will disappear. Some face that as inevitability. But should it be so? The general public seems to disagree with that. And increasing touristic demand indicates opportunities for local development through farming external benefits valorisation. Bringing evidence and discussion on these questions is the main purpose of this communication.

MIS 830 Problems in Management Information Systems

Course syllabus for MIS 830A Problems in Management Information Systems Course description: Studies the role and application of computers in modern organizations. Discusses appropriate strategies for the effective utilization of computerized environment to improve productivity and efficiency of organizations, especially planning and control functions. Major thrust of the course is focused on the following concepts/assumptions: Information systems can provide competitive advantage to organizations and this recognition is important in corporate strategy formulation/implementation. Development and widespread corporate use of databases, Al/expert systems and client server technology have changed the nature and role of information systems. Recent technological advances (microcomputers, distributed systems, end user computing, local area networks, micro mainframe linkages, fourth generation software, multimedia computing, object-oriented programming, mobile computing, data warehousing, etc.) have made qualitative changes in the way information is acquired, processed, and used by organizations. Topics covered include the following: Conceptual Frameworks of MIS and DSS; Information Systems for Strategic Planning vs Operations Control; Prototyping Methodology; Use of Models in a Computerized Environment; Centralization vs Decentralization; Distributed Information Systems; Assessment of Information Requirements; Expert Systems and AI Applications; Executive Support Systems; Multimedia Computing; Mobile Computing; Client Server Technology; Imaging Systems, Data Warehousing, Feasibility, Design and Implementation of DSS; etc. The course attempts to provide an overview of modern technological and managerial developments in MIS and their impacts on corporate management and organizational structure. Case discussion will be used as the primary instructional format. The instructor will present selected MIS topics in a lecture format in each class session. Each student is required to prepare one or more assigned papers. A seminar approach will be used to examine the contents/significance of the assigned papers

Harnessing data flow and modelling potentials for sustainable development

Tackling some of the global challenges relating to health, poverty, business and the environment is known to be heavily dependent on the flow and utilisation of data. However, while enhancements in data generation, storage, modelling, dissemination and the related integration of global economies and societies are fast transforming the way we live and interact, the resulting dynamic, globalised and information society remains digitally divided. On the African continent, in particular, the division has resulted into a gap between knowledge generation and its transformation into tangible products and services which Kirsop and Chan (2005) attribute to a broken information flow. This paper proposes some fundamental approaches for a sustainable transformation of data into knowledge for the purpose of improving the peoples' quality of life. Its main strategy is based on a generic data sharing model providing access to data utilising and generating entities in a multi disciplinary environment. It highlights the great potentials in using unsupervised and supervised modelling in tackling the typically predictive-in-nature challenges we face. Using both simulated and real data, the paper demonstrates how some of the key parameters may be generated and embedded in models to enhance their predictive power and reliability. Its main outcomes include a proposed implementation framework setting the scene for the creation of decision support systems capable of addressing the key issues in society. It is expected that a sustainable data flow will forge synergies between the private sector, academic and research institutions within and between countries. It is also expected that the paper's findings will help in the design and development of knowledge extraction from data in the wake of cloud computing and, hence, contribute towards the improvement in the peoples' overall quality of life. To void running high implementation costs, selected open source tools are recommended for developing and sustaining the system. Key words: Cloud Computing, Data Mining, Digital Divide, Globalisation, Grid Computing, Information Society, KTP, Predictive Modelling and STI

EDU-EX: a tool for auto-regulated IntelligentTutoring systems development based on models

In recent years there has been an upsurge in forms of instruction that envisage a permanent and ongoing involvement in education of novel concepts such as planned and personalised instruction and autonomous learning. A large number of problems that arise ineducation today may be solved by introducing new technologies into the educational environment, as they allow the form and content of tutoring systems to be tailored to each individual.The application of Artificial Intelligence techniques is helping open up new prospects in the field of teaching and learning. Using Artificial Intelligence techniques in education has the advantage of making it possible to represent expert reasoning and knowledge skills, and to take advantage of this experience in education.This study has involved the development of a tool to generate auto-regulated intelligent tutoring systems based on models. This form of representation makes it possible to break down, organise and represent information so as to enable the easy creation of functionalintelligent computerised tutoring systems. Information about the subject in question, about inference mechanisms, and of a pedagogical nature (independent of any one strategy) is allseparated. The tool also enables knowledge acquired by a student to be constantly monitored with a view to auto-regulating the course contents