Method Support of Information Requirements Analysis for Analytical Information Systems: State of the Art, Practice Requirements, and Research Agenda

Due to specific characteristics of analytical information systems, their development varies significantly from transaction-oriented systems. Specific method support is particularly needed for requirements engineering and its information-related component, information requirements analysis. The paper at hand first evaluates the state of the art and identifies necessary method support extensions. On this basis, method support requirements for information requirements engineering are identified. The survey is structured along the five core activities of traditional requirements engineering. It reveals a need for further research especially on information requirements elicitation, validation, and management. It further contributes to a discussion of aspects that should be considered by any method support. Due to comparatively long life cycles of analytical information systems, the introduction of a process perspective is discussed in order to ensure the continuous elicitation, documentation, and management of information requirement

Method Support of Information Requirements Analysis for Analytical Information Systems State of the Art, Practice Requirements, and Research Agenda

Due to specific characteristics of analyticalinformation systems, their developmentvaries significantly from transaction-oriented systems. Specific methodsupport is particularly needed forrequirements engineering and itsinformation-related component, informationrequirements analysis. The paperat hand first evaluates the state ofthe art and identifies necessary methodsupport extensions.On this basis,methodsupport requirements for informationrequirements engineering are identified.The survey is structured alongthe five core activities of traditional requirementsengineering. It reveals aneed for further research especially oninformation requirements elicitation,validation, and management. It furthercontributes to a discussion of aspectsthat should be considered by anymethod support. Due to comparativelylong life cycles of analytical informationsystems, the introduction of a processperspective is discussed in order to ensurethe continuous elicitation, documentation,and management of informationrequirements

In-House Marketing of Analytical Information Systems: Development of a Procedure Model

Albeit a given extensive availability of analytical information systems (AIS), acceptance and usage of these systems can be estimated as rather low. In order to increase the awareness level of AIS within corporations, to expand the user base, and to establish AIS as a central, enterprise-wide foundation for decision support, the responsible departments need to address the marketing of their services. This includes e.g. the definition and communication of their service portfolio and the identification and analysis of user groups. In this paper, we develop a procedure model for the in-house marketing of AIS. Theoretically well-grounded in service marketing and relationship marketing and practically substantiated through expert workshop and an empirical investigation, the procedure model offers a structured foundation for in-house marketing initiatives in the context of AIS. The procedure model consists of the four phases (analysis, planing, execution, and control) and twelve particular activities, which allow corrective returns in between the single activities

Development Of A Data Concept For An Algorithm To Enable Relay Traffic For Trucks

In road haulage, transports are interrupted by truck drivers to comply with driving and rest times. On long-distance routes, these interruptions lead to a considerable increase in transport time. Transport interruption can be avoided by so-called relay traffic: a vehicle (e. g. semi-trailer) is handed over to a rested driver at the end of the driving time. This type of transport requires a certain company size. In Germany, however, transport companies have 11 employees on average. Intra-company relay traffic is therefore not economically viable for most transport companies. To organize an intermodal transport across forwarding companies, long-distance routes need to be split into partial routes to divide them between freight forwarders and carriers. This paper presents a data concept for an algorithm to find the best possible route sections along a previously defined start and endpoint. The developed data concept includes order-specific data, forwarder-specific data, real-time traffic data, geographical data as well as data from freight forwarding software and telematics to be the basis for the route sectioning algorithm. In this paper, different data sources, external services and logistic systems are analyzed and evaluated. It is shown which data is needed and what the best ways are to select and derive this data from the different data sources

Strong Lewis and Brønsted Acidic Sites in the Borosulfate Mg3[H2O→B(SO4)3]2

Borosulfates provide fascinating structures and properties that go beyond a pure analogy to silicates. Mg-3[H2O -> B(SO4)(3)](2) is the first borosulfate featuring a boron atom solely coordinated by three tetrahedra. Thus, the free Lewis acidic site forms a Lewis acid-base adduct with a water molecule. This is unprecedented for borosulfate chemistry and even for borates. Quantum chemical calculations on water exchange reactions with BF3 and B(C6F5)(3) revealed a higher Lewis acidity for the borosulfate anion. Moreover, proton exchange reactions showed a higher Bronsted acidity than comparable silicates or phosphates. Additionally, Mg-3[H2O -> B(SO4)(3)](2) was characterised by X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations

Acitretin reverses early functional network degradation in a mouse model of familial Alzheimer’s disease

Aberrant activity of local functional networks underlies memory and cognition deficits in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Hyperactivity was observed in microcircuits of mice AD-models showing plaques, and also recently in early stage AD mutants prior to amyloid deposition. However, early functional effects of AD on cortical microcircuits remain unresolved. Using two-photon calcium imaging, we found altered temporal distributions (burstiness) in the spontaneous activity of layer II/III visual cortex neurons, in a mouse model of familial Alzheimer’s disease (5xFAD), before plaque formation. Graph theory (GT) measures revealed a distinct network topology of 5xFAD microcircuits, as compared to healthy controls, suggesting degradation of parameters related to network robustness. After treatment with acitretin, we observed a re-balancing of those network measures in 5xFAD mice; particularly in the mean degree distribution, related to network development and resilience, and post-treatment values resembled those of age-matched controls. Further, behavioral deficits, and the increase of excitatory synapse numbers in layer II/III were reversed after treatment. GT is widely applied for whole-brain network analysis in human neuroimaging, we here demonstrate the translational value of GT as a multi-level tool, to probe networks at different levels in order to assess treatments, explore mechanisms, and contribute to early diagnosis

The Role of Genomics in the Identification, Prediction, and Prevention of Biological Threats

In all likelihood, it is only a matter of time before our public health system will face a major biological threat, whether intentionally dispersed or originating from a known or newly emerging infectious disease. It is necessary not only to increase our reactive “biodefense,” but also to be proactive and increase our preparedness. To achieve this goal, it is essential that the scientific and public health communities fully embrace the genomic revolution, and that novel bioinformatic and computing tools necessary to make great strides in our understanding of these novel and emerging threats be developed. Genomics has graduated from a specialized field of science to a research tool that soon will be routine in research laboratories and clinical settings. Because the technology is becoming more affordable, genomics can and should be used proactively to build our preparedness and responsiveness to biological threats. All pieces, including major continued funding, advances in next-generation sequencing technologies, bioinformatics infrastructures, and open access to data and metadata, are being set in place for genomics to play a central role in our public health system

ReSurveyGermany: Vegetation-plot time-series over the past hundred years in Germany

Vegetation-plot resurvey data are a main source of information on terrestrial biodiversity change, with records reaching back more than one century. Although more and more data from re-sampled plots have been published, there is not yet a comprehensive open-access dataset available for analysis. Here, we compiled and harmonised vegetation-plot resurvey data from Germany covering almost 100 years. We show the distribution of the plot data in space, time and across habitat types of the European Nature Information System (EUNIS). In addition, we include metadata on geographic location, plot size and vegetation structure. The data allow temporal biodiversity change to be assessed at the community scale, reaching back further into the past than most comparable data yet available. They also enable tracking changes in the incidence and distribution of individual species across Germany. In summary, the data come at a level of detail that holds promise for broadening our understanding of the mechanisms and drivers behind plant diversity change over the last century