16,378 research outputs found
Evaluation of a manufacturing task support system using the Task Technology Fit Model
This paper presents an exploratory study of a Task Support System (TSS) supporting manufacturing task operations. The study investigated the degree to which a TSS, in use in a company, actually supports the task of the shop floor personnel. The approach has been to adopt the Task-Technology Fit (TTF) instrument to measure
the degree of fitness between the TSS and the associated task. The analysis gives an indication of the state of the TSS and the potential improvements that can be made. The study also shows that the instrument can be used as a foundation for the development of a hypermedia TSS and a benchmarking tool for a TSS
An analysis of the requirements traceability problem
In this paper1, we investigate and discuss the underlying nature
of the requirements traceability problem. Our work is based on
empirical studies, involving over 100 practitioners, and an
evaluation of current support. We introduce the distinction
between pre-requirements specification (pre-RS) traceability
and post-requirements specification (post-RS) traceability, to
demonstrate why an all-encompassing solution to the problem is
unlikely, and to provide a framework through which to
understand its multifaceted nature. We report how the majority
of the problems attributed to poor requirements traceability are
due to inadequate pre-RS traceability and show the fundamental
need for improvements here. In the remainder of the paper, we
present an analysis of the main barriers confronting such
improvements in practice, identify relevant areas in which
advances have been (or can be) made, and make
recommendations for research
Factors shaping the evolution of electronic documentation systems
The main goal is to prepare the space station technical and managerial structure for likely changes in the creation, capture, transfer, and utilization of knowledge. By anticipating advances, the design of Space Station Project (SSP) information systems can be tailored to facilitate a progression of increasingly sophisticated strategies as the space station evolves. Future generations of advanced information systems will use increases in power to deliver environmentally meaningful, contextually targeted, interconnected data (knowledge). The concept of a Knowledge Base Management System is emerging when the problem is focused on how information systems can perform such a conversion of raw data. Such a system would include traditional management functions for large space databases. Added artificial intelligence features might encompass co-existing knowledge representation schemes; effective control structures for deductive, plausible, and inductive reasoning; means for knowledge acquisition, refinement, and validation; explanation facilities; and dynamic human intervention. The major areas covered include: alternative knowledge representation approaches; advanced user interface capabilities; computer-supported cooperative work; the evolution of information system hardware; standardization, compatibility, and connectivity; and organizational impacts of information intensive environments
Determination and evaluation of web accessibility
The Web is the most pervasive collaborative
technology in widespread use today; however,
access to the web and its many applications cannot
be taken for granted. Web accessibility encompasses
a variety of concerns ranging from societal,
political, and economic to individual, physical, and
intellectual through to the purely technical. Thus,
there are many perspectives from which web
accessibility can be understood and evaluated. In
order to discuss these concerns and to gain a better
understanding of web accessibility, an accessibility
framework is proposed using as its base a layered
evaluation framework from Computer Supported
Co-operative Work research and the ISO standard,
ISO/IEC 9126 on software quality. The former is
employed in recognition of the collaborative nature
of the web and its importance in facilitating
communication. The latter is employed to refine and
extend the technical issues and to highlight the need
for considering accessibility from the viewpoint of
the web developer and maintainer as well as the web
user. A technically inaccessible web is unlikely to be
evolved over time. A final goal of the accessibility
framework is to provide web developers and
maintainers with a practical basis for considering
web accessibility through the development of a set of
accessibility factors associated with each identified
layer
Development of an intelligent hypertext manual for the space shuttle hazardous gas detection system
A computer-based Integrated Knowledge System (IKS), the Intelligent Hypertext Manual (IHM), is being developed for the Space Shuttle Hazardous Gas Detection System (HGDS) at the Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC). The IHM stores all HGDS related knowledge and presents them in an interactive and intuitive manner. The IHM's purpose is to provide HGDS personnel with the capabilities of: enhancing the interpretation of real time data; recognizing and identifying possible faults in the Space Shuttle sub-system related to hazardous gas detections; locating applicable documentation related to procedures, constraints, and previous fault histories; and assisting in the training of personnel
An Application of Multimedia Services on Transportation: The Use of the World Wide Web (WWW)
INTRODUCTION
In recent years, there is an ever-increasing demand and interest in the use of multimedia
technology and applications in industry, government and academia. Multimedia is often
seen by researchers as the next step forward in interfacing science, technology and
community. Yet, the terminology of multimedia bears several meanings. It may refer to
Compact Disc (CD), moving pictures or video-conferencing. The multimedia technology
referred in this paper is the World Wide Web (WWW) hypertext publishing information
system which was developed by and started at the European Laboratory for Particle
Physics (CERN) in Geneva, Switzerland. Since the introduction of WWW, its use has
increased dramatically within a couple of years in a widely diverse community including
government departments, university and research establishments, and commercial
organisations. It has significant influence to our communities and our daily lives. Yet, in
most cases, applications of WWW services are largely restricted to electronic library
referencelcatalogue search facilities, electronic mail systems, electronic conference and
discussion systems, electronic news and publishing agents, and remote access to computing
resources on the Internet.
The primary objective of this paper is to exploit the potential of this multimedia technology
as a simple, easy-to-use and effective means of telematics application in transportation
research. It is hoped that initiatives are highlighted via this study and hence encourage
participations and collaborations from different sectors of industries.
In this paper, a brief history of WWW is given in section (2). An overview of the technical
aspects in providing a WWW service is presented in section (3) in terms of computer
hardware requirements, software installation, network connections, application
maintenance and administration, and system security. Compared to most commercially
available multimedia software in the market, WWW services are cheap to run, userfriendly
and readily available to the public on the Internet. In order to exploit the potential
of WWW on transportation research, a study was carried out and results of the findings are
reported in section (4). To further substantiate the level of usefulness, two particular
WWW applications were chosen amongst other web services and they are reported in
section (5) for illustrative purposes. The selected applications are the 'Transportation
Resources on the Internet' developed in mid-1994 in the Institute for Transport Studies
(ITS) at the University of Leeds in England, and the 'Southern California Real-Time
Traffic Report' developed by Maxwell Laboratories, Inc. in collaboration with the
California State Department of Transportation in the US. Finally, a set of issues are raised
in section (6), highlighting the directions of future development of WWW as an easy-touse,
cheap and effective multimedia telematics application on transportation
Reviews
The Hutchinson Electronic Encyclopedia, First Electronic Version, Oxford, Random Century and Attica Cybernetics, 1991. ISBN: 1–873472–00–5. Price £99
Towards the architecture of an instructional multimedia database
The applicability of multimedia databases in education may be extended if they can serve multiple target groups, leading to affordable costs per unit for the user. In this contribution, an approach is described to build generic multimedia databases to serve that purpose. This approach is elaborated within the ODB Project ('Instructional Design of an Optical DataBase'); the term optical refers to the use of optical storage media to hold the audiovisual components. The project aims at developing a database in which a hypermedia encyclopedia is combined with instructional multimedia applications for different target groups at different educational levels. The architecture of the Optical Database will allow for switching between application types while working (for instance from tutorial instruction via the encyclopedia to a simulation and back). For instruction, the content of the database is thereby organized around so-called standard instruction routes: one route per target group. In the project, the teacher is regarded as the manager of instruction.\ud
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From that perspective, the database is primarily organized as a teaching facility. Central to the research is the condition that the architecture of the Optical Database has to enable teachers to select and tailor instruction routes to their needs in a way that is perceived as logical and easy to use
Reverse engineering to achieve maintainable WWW sites
The growth of the World Wide Web and the accelerated development of web sites and associated web technologies has resulted in a variety of maintenance problems. The maintenance problems associated with web sites and the WWW are examined. It is argued that currently web sites and the WWW lack both data abstractions and structures that could facilitate maintenance. A system to analyse existing web sites and extract duplicated content and style is described here. In designing the system, existing Reverse Engineering techniques have been applied, and a case for further application of these techniques is made in order to prepare sites for their inevitable evolution in futur
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