Issues in the Development of Location Privacy Theory

Issues in the development of location privacy theory are identified and organized based on both technological considerations and more general privacy theories. Three broad categories containing six issues are described: location (including sensing methods and location properties), privacy (including definition and subject identification), and information flows (from location information acquisition through storage, use, and sharing). An influence diagram model is presented which relates these issues in context and may serve as a basis for further theory development, empirical research, and public policy discussion

Toward a Parsimonious Architecture for Intelligent Organizational Information Systems

An architecture for intelligent organizational information systems is proposed which consists of three functions: processing, communicating, and memory--any or all of which may be performed by either humans or computers. Processing occurs on a set of communicating processors with access to memory, and is defined as having three sub-functions: sensing, interpreting, and acting. The communicating and memory functions are seen to have certain basic characteristics whether described in terms from human organization or computer organization literature. The architecture may prove a useful guide for future research which begins to consider intelligent organizational information systems with increasingly synergistic roles played by humans and computers

Decision Support Systems Process Tracing Using Hypermedia

Two main alternative approaches to analyzing decision processes--implicit input/output inference models and explicit tracing of observable decision process manifestations-are reviewed with emphasis on explicit tracing methods. An emerging technology, hypermedia, is then examined as to how it may facilitate the process tracing method of decision making analysis. Examples are presented of mappings between hypermedia computer/user interface functions (such as mouse movements and mouse clicks) and underlying decision process functions. Issues of data quality, breadth of application, and implementation cost are discussed. Hypermedia process tracing is compared with other process tracing methods, including monitoring of eye movements, verbal protocols, and non hypermedia computerized logging. Advantages and disadvantages of the hypermedia approach are identified. Further directions for the application of hypermedia process tracing include areas related to information retrieval, use of models, study of user interfaces, and the potential for using the techniques to identify and compare cognitive processes of decision makers

An Exploratory Study of Hypermedia Support for Problem Decomposition

Empirical hypermedia research has concentrated on usability rather than utility, and the research on utility has focused on information access as opposed to problem solving and decision making in organizations. This study, based on problem reduction theory, uses a hypermedia prototype system to support decision processes for solving a financial analysis problem. An exploratory laboratory experiment was conducted to study the feasibility of the prototype for hypermedia support of decision making. The process tracing techniques used suggest that a cognitive map of a decision maker\u27s thought process may be constructed. Results offer a great deal of promise in the use of hypermedia for organizational decision support. The implications of this study for further research are discussed

Measuring the Effectiveness of Hypertext In Decision Support

Hypertext is an emerging technology that has not been researched adequately, particularly in organizations that utilize decision support technologies. This paper suggests that developing a set of dependent variables to measure effectiveness of hypertext in decision support is an important first step in a program of research. A review of empirical hypertext research is presented followed by a discussion of research assessing effectiveness of decision support and related systems. The role of hypertext in organizations is conceptually linked to the three main phases of the decision making process: problem structuring, analysis, and problem resolution. A set of six classes of appropriate dependent variables for assessing effectiveness of hypertext is suggested within the context of the decision making phases: information content and function variables are associated with problem structuring; presentation and usage variables are associated with analysis; outcome and perception variables are associated with problem resolution