Articles approved

Artificial Inteligence

Multilayer Perceptron Technique in Classifying stocks: A case study of Egyptian stock Exchange - Medhat Mohammed Ahmed Abdelaal, Mathematics and Statistics Department, Faculty of Commerce, Ein Shams University

Classification rates on out-of-sample predictions can often be improved through the use of model selection when fittinga model on the training data. In this paper, the multilayer perceptron neural network using the back-propagationalgorithm is studies for the classification of financial variables of the Egyptian Stock Exchange. The best networkarchitecture is made up of eleven layers: five input layers, five hidden layers and the output layer. The sensitivity analysishas been investigated. Sensitivity analysis can give important insights into the usefulness of individual variables. It oftenidentifies variables that can be safely ignored in subsequent analysis, and key variables that must always be retained.Also, the receiver operating characteristic curve is used to compare between classifiers, and can be used to select anoptimum decision threshold to select the best network which can catch most of the variability of the data.
Data Mining and Independent Component Analysis for Invoice Amount Prediction - Ryszard Szupiluk, Piotr Wojewnik, Tomasz Zabkowski, Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa Sp. z o.o.

A common problem encountered in data mining analysis is finding a suitable model to explore existing dependencies. There are many models with different advantages. We need good criteria to choose the best model to predict an invoice amount for our customers’ monthly payments. It happens that different good criteria indicate different models as an optimal solution. To avoid this disadvantage we propose our Data Mining approach with Independent Component Analysis for improvement of the results in data mining prediction task. Such a transformation seems to capture the essential structure of data solutions in many applications.
Scheduling molding operations in a foundry using mulricriteria evolutionary algorithm - Jerzy Duda, Andrzej Osyczka, AGH University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Management, Department of Applied Computer Science, Stanislaw Krenich, Cracow University of Technology, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering

The paper describes the application of evolutionary algorithms for multicriteria optimization of molding schedule in a foundry which produces iron castings and uses hand molding machines. A mathematical model is defined and reflects all the constraints resulting from the limited capacities of furnaces and machine lines, limited resources, customers requirement and manufacturing process. The model includes two objective functions that are used to generate a Pareto solution set by an evolutionary algorithm. A test problem based on real production data is used for evaluation of the proposed algorithm.
The Multidimensional Intelligent Analytical Platform in Hybrid Controlling Decision Support System Development - Sebastian Kostrubala, Grzegorz Stolecki, Doradztwo Gospodarcze i Zastosowania Informatyki CONSORG Sp. z o.o., Zbigniew Twardowski, University of Economics, Departament of Computer Sciences, Katowice

In this paper authors present a new version of analytical line conception – complex platform for designing and building analytical solutions which use fuzzy expert system. Applications based on multidimensional analytical models with fuzzy knowledge bases tend to provide better decision making support in areas covered by controlling processes.

Business Practices

A FRAMEWORK FOR ACQUISITION OF ERP SYSTEMS IN SMEs FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES - Zubair A. Shaikh, Zafar Nasir, National University of Computer & Emerging Sciences, Asif Ijaz Sheikh, Millennium Software Pvt. Limited

Recently, external factors like requirement of automation for industrial units in order to achieve certain quality standards and certifications for competing in the ever-competitive market after the WTO implementation, have been stimulating companies of any size, to radically rethink their Information Systems. Acquisition of software products such as total ERP solutions have always been a very critical activity for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), which eventually revolutionize the way these small enterprises work, particularly for developing nations keeping in view the country's economic strength. ERP acquisition and software implementation for SMEs have been a neglected area where not much research has been done.
A Model of Extended Track and Tracing Systems Based on Agent Technology and Mobile Services - Jacek Wielinski, Waldemar Wieczerzycki, The Poznan University of Economics, Department of Information Technology

Track and tracing systems become more and more popular, in particular in case of courier companies, offering very useful functions for their customers. However, they still do not provide sufficient real-time information concerning actual geographic localization of a shipment when it is actually moving. In the paper functionally enriched model of T&T systems is proposed which is based on new emerging technologies, like agent technology, mobile services and telemetric technology.
Content Standardization Efforts for B2B E-Commerce Interoperability in the Textile/Clothing Sector - Costin Badica, Mike Roberts, Dumitru Burdescu, Stefan Udristoiu, Mihai Mocanu, Marius Brezovan, University of Craiova, Software Engineering Department, Gabriel Vladut, IPA SA CIFATT, Lois Carter, Huddersfield Textile Training

The objective of the EUREKA SUM project (E! 2754) is to develop new e-commerce software and business practices to enable manufacturers to sell make-to-order products to the end customer without the need of a retailer. A research activity has been started two months ago to investigate the efforts that are active or have been done in the field of e-commerce content standardization with a focus on the application in the textile/clothing sector. This research has revealed the existence of a number of initiatives and projects at the European and international levels to standardize the exchange of data in the textile/clothing sector and we believe that they are of interest to a larger audience than the project consortium. The paper briefly summarizes these results and draws some conclusions regarding their implications on the further development of the SUM software.
e-Business in the View of Globalisation and EU Extension - Jerzy Wachol , Management Faculty, AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow

The new age of knowledge and information technologies, globalization, and co-operation between Poland and the EU brings new challenges for Polish businesses which will have to upgrade all their technical standards to meet requirements of the global economy more and more dominated by intangible assets. This is also applicable to e-business, which has a significant and growing impact on the whole national economy of Poland. Similar prognosis is true for entire Europe, where Internet economy will increase its share in the national income despite of the drop in sales that took place at the end of the prior century. However, the distance in this field between the EU countries and Central-Eastern Europe is still significant. This paper deals with opportunities and hazards faced by e-business in Poland and worldwide. The paper also contains statistic data referring to the volume of internet economy in Poland and Europe.
Querying and transforming XML documents in e-commerce applications - Tadeusz Pankowski, Institute of Control and Information Engineering, Poznan University of Technology

We discuss some issues relevant to developing a new generation of e-commerce applications using Web services technologies supporting documents interchanges among business partners. Documents involved in business processes need to be converted from one form to another as they are exchanged among independently created applications. We address the problem of high-level specification of document transformations in such environment. We propose a method for transformation specification as well as algorithms for translating the specification into XSLT transformation rules. A system architecture with document transformation services is also discussed.
THE COMPARISON AND ANALYSIS OF E-BANKING SERVICES FOR CORPORATE CLIENTS - Witold Chmielarz

The main idea of this paper is to analyse the use of e-banking services by small and medium enterprises in Poland in 2003. First, the market of e-banking services for small enterprises in Poland is described. Next, the e-banking offers of seven selected banks are compared. Finally, conclusions are drawn from this comparison.

Customer Friendly Business

A Structured Methodology and a Proposed Toolset for Reorganizing the Customer Service Process - N.A . Panayiotou, S.P. Gayalis, S.T. Ponis, National Technical University of Athens

This paper presents an enterprise modelling methodology used in business process reengineering of organizations. The proposed methodology analyses four different views: process, organisation, information and systems. These views are interrelated between each other and provide a spherical analysis of the system under research. The Process Chart is the main tool used, providing a hierarchical decomposition of a process to sub-processes and activities (process view). The organizational actors of the activities (divisions or departments) are included in the process chart, providing the organizational view. The information exchanged between the actors is represented as input or output of the analysed activities (information view). Both the manual and the automatic activities (those supported by existing Information Systems) are identified, as well as the software modules used for their operation and the corresponding authorization roles in the system (systems view). The application of the proposed methodology is demonstrated in a case study concerning the re-engineering of the customer service process of a Greek large company.
Customer Satisfaction Structure Analysis of System Integration – from the Perspective of Environmental Change - Kayo Iizuka, Kazuhiko Tsuda, Graduate School of Business Science, University of Tsukuba, Mitsuo Wada, Graduate School of Business Administration, Keio University

This paper presents customer satisfaction analysis result from 2 field surveys those are conducted at time distance of a decade. Analysis is focusing on structural change of satisfaction influenced by environmental change. Satisfaction structure is regarding various and important features of system integration business; technical factors, project management factors, difference of satisfaction structure between organizational sections (IT section, business planning section, and end user section), satisfaction about business impact.

e-Government

Evolution of administrative innovations - Davood Askarany, Malcolm Smith, Division of Business and Enterprise, University of South Australia

This paper investigates the evolution of administrative innovations by examining the impact of a variety of contextual factors on the diffusion of six management accounting innovations (as a proxy for administrative innovations). The paper also explores the level of importance of 13 contextual factors on decisions(s) to implement (or not) administrative changes. Examining the level of association between contextual factors and the diffusion of six administrative innovations, the findings indicate that several contextual factors contribute significantly to the incidence of administrative change.
Role of ICT in creating e-Government for the disadvantaged communities - Hakikur Rahman, Project Coordinator, SDNP Bangladesh (UNDP)

Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) are playing an increasingly vital role in the daily lives of people by revolutionizing their working procedures and rules of business. In the realm of government, ICT applications are promising to enhance the delivery of public goods and services to common people not only by improving the process and management of government, but also by redefining the age-old traditional concepts. The world is witnessing dynamic changes in all spheres of life, business and governments. The ICT which is the catalytic agent of this millennium offers magnitude of opportunities for a better world of tomorrow. Many countries have adhered to the wonders of the Internet technologies and have embraced diversified approaches for the advancement of their economies and betterment of their peoples' lives. The realizations of ICTs on societies are over ambitious, far-reaching and uneven. In one aspect, ICT is influencing the transition from industrial-based economies to knowledge-based societies, in the aspect, ICT still has little or no impact of ICT around the world today underscores the uneven progress of economic development. It also portrays constricted and critical role of government within the information society. To achieve the real success of e-governance within the information society, there need to clarify the major issues surrounding e-Government, as well as adopt best practices in e-governance in the developing world. Glimpse of hopes are there that global leaders committed to e-Government are demonstrating far reaching achievements by combining technology with new ways of management with which government can be made much more effective, efficient, transparent and responsive for the betterment of the society. Ideally the ICT tools offer an unprecedented opportunity for community to access information over any geographical distances and across any sovereign state borders. Opportunities for networking and knowledge sharing are also unlimited, regardless of its perseverance. Furthermore, ICTs position in governance systems and practices have becoming widely participatory and inclusive, with endless economic opportunities. At the milestone of the World Summit of Information Society (WSIS), time has come to look backward, take a good view, breath a while, and re-think on strategies, policies and planning on the developing countries acting locally, regionally and globally along this hopeful road to success and prosperity.

e-Learning

European Market Developments in Technology Enhanced Learning - Guido Grohmann, German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI GmbH

This paper gives an overview about the current status of the European eLearning market as a whole and its participants. It discusses further market developments and provides and outlook on the major topics in terms of business aspects and organizational issues which have to be addressed in order to support the continuing integration of technology enhanced learning scenarios into corporate training. One approach to do so is displayed by introducing to PROLEARN, a network of excellence within the 6th framework programme of the European Commission.
Individualization of E-Learning Processes by Workflow-Based Learning-Object Management - Markus Grüne, Kirsten Keferstein, Kirsten Lenz, Andreas Oberweis, Marco von Mevius, Institute of Information Systems, University of Frankfurt/M., Gottfried Vossen, Institute of Information Systems, University of Münster

Current learning management systems often lack sufficient support for processes in e-learning, including teaching, learning, and administration processes. In this paper a new approach is presented for increasing the functionality of e-learning platforms by adding workflow-support. The use of a new variant of high-level Petri nets allows for an integrated description of complex learning objects and related processes. Advantages of workflow-based learning-object management can be seen especially for the individualization of processes and the measurement of results, e.g., economic benefits.
On-line Intelligent Training System for Internet Marketing by SME's - Aleksander Billewicz, Jerzy Goluchowski, Krzysztof Kania, Ewa Ziemba , University of Economics, Katowice, Roisin Mullins , University of Wales Lampeter

The article focuses on the construction of the Internet e-marketing training system for SMEs. At the beginning key factors for making a decision to undertake work on the system are described. Advantages of the Internet marketing over the conventional marketing are also enumerated. Further on, the article presents the current state of knowledge of decision makers in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the field of possibilities the Internet offers for marketing activities, and their needs and expectations regarding the new marketing medium. Next, the focus is directed towards e-learning as a tool supporting decision makers in acquiring knowledge and skills in the field of e-marketing. Moreover, the idea of intelligent Internet-based training system facilitating implementation and maintenance of e-marketing in SMEs is outlined in the article. Particular attention is paid to the module of knowledge testing and assessing. Its programme assumptions and the way it functions are described. Finally, the article depicts a concept of utilisation of the model as a component of the system that allows for personalisation in the system of remote training.
Skillmanagement in Virtual Organizations - building qualifications for the future - Alf Benger, Liza Hoedt, Mathias Uslar, Department of Business Information Systems, Universität Oldenburg

The employees' skills, whether they are social or professional are one of the most valuable resources within a company and furthermore of strategic importance for competition. But real knowledge about the employees' qualifications is very little. The resulting differences lead to miscasts and insufficient transfer of implicit knowledge. To efficiently use the qualifications and to support the strategic personnel development a broad range of Skill Management Systems have been created to allocate the resources more efficiently and to develop human resources more selective. At the same time the concept of Virtual Organizations that react quickly to changing market conditions is recognized as the organizational structure of the future. A new breed of Skill Management Systems is required to support these emerging organizational structures. This paper develops a decentralized approach for Skill Management systems. Every employee has the opportunity to put the skill description in different categories with different access rights from public to on request information and therefore remains the ownership of the provided personnel data. The proposed technical architecture is based on a Peer-to-Peer Network. At the end of the paper a short discussion about the advantages of decentralized Skill Management Systems is provided.

General BIS

A Practical Approach to EA Planning and Development: the EA Management Grid - Ari Hirvonen, TietoEnator Oyj, Mirja Pulkkinen, Information Technology Research Institute

The encompassing use of information and communication technology (ICT) assets in today’s organisations requires from an ICT services provider new approaches to cope with projects of varying types. In Enterprise Architecture (EA) consulting and development assignments, there are case by case differences in the target area and level of abstraction, project size, time of execution and client factors like organisational maturity and readiness for change. Enterprise Architecture has gained interest as a managerial tool to deal with all ICT assets and their interplay within an entire corporation. Methodological approaches starting with software architecture, IT governance, as well as strategic planning viewpoints, are suggested for comprehensive ICT asset management. Yet, our prior studies have shown that an ICT provider’s viewpoint to enterprise architecture consulting, planning and development assignments seems to be lacking in the proposed methods. Considering both theoretical and practical issues, we suggest a methodological approach, that supports restricted consulting and development efforts varying in size and scope that are conducted in organisations with varying organisational maturity. We suggest a practice-related approach with interfaces to the related areas: management ICT consulting and ICT governance and software development. Taking into account the method requirements elaborated in a previous study, we suggest an EA management and development Grid for managing EA descriptions, requirements, constraints, as well as project tasks and deliverables, task preliminaries and dependencies in EA consulting and development.
Communication in the Project Team (Hierarchical and Network Approach) - Jerzy Kisielnicki, Warsaw University

(not included)
ERP, Quality Programs, and Influence over Suppliers: A Case Study from the Aerospace Manufacturing Industry in Canada - Kevin Laframboise, John Molson School of Business-Concordia University, Department of Decision Sciences and M.I.S. GM 209

This exploratory study provides insights on how enterprise resource planning (ERP) may contribute to quality improvement in the supply chain. Quality and supplier control is especially important in an industry in which firms outsource a major proportion of the value of their product. We hypothesize that the degree of fit of ERP with the quality programs influences the performance of the value chain of the firm.
Strategic Frameworks for integrating knowledge management into e-Business Planning - Igor Hawryszkiewycz, University of Technology, Sydney

The paper provides a framework for identifying alternate strategies for web based business processes. It emphasizes alignment of technology to business and uses a design process to do so. The framework characterizes ebusiness processes into categories and provides a process for evaluating the benefits of the technologies to business processes.
The Co-Design Framework to Content Specification - Bernhard Thalheim, Kiel University, Computer Science and Applied Mathematics Institute

Content and content management have become buzzwords. The notions are neither well-defined nor used in a standard way. Content objects are complex structured. Different users may require different content object sets. Content object sets may vary depending on the actual task portfolio, depending on the context of the user, and on the technical environment. Therefore, content management must combine generation, extraction and storage of complex object, must support complex workflows and must be adaptable to the actual use and users environment and requirements. Specification of content management systems, thus, combines specification of structuring, functionality and interactivity. Additionally, content management includes consistent usage of data from various resources. We propose in this paper an approach that integrates specification of structuring, functionality, distribution and delivery of content object suites. Delivery must be based on the way of usage. It is thus based on the specification of interactivity.
Temporal Multidimensional Modeling with OLAP for Business Applications - Ahmed Hezzah, A Min Tjoa, Vienna University of technology, Institute of Software Technology

In the multidimensional model supported by OLAP data is represented in logical dimensions to provide a consistent view of business data over time. These dimensions, although representing static information, sometimes need to be updated or new entries need to be added. However, updates to the time dimension are different than updates to other slowly changing dimensions and therefore must be handled differently. This paper addresses the issues related to updating the time dimension showing how the common techniques for handling dimension updates can or cannot be used. It also gives examples for common structural and instance updates and presents an algorithm to perform them supported by the SQL code for its implementation. Finally, it resolves general issues related to dimension updates and addresses their effect on the time dimension. These issues seem to have wide application, and yet, more in-depth investigations need to be conducted in this field for real-world time-based analysis in enterprise-wide data warehouses

IRAF

Application of Levenstein Metric to Web Usage Mining - Andrei Scherbina, Institute for System Programming, Russian Academy of Sciences

Recently Internet gained certain social and economical influence. Since the analysis of user behavior allows for better personalization of Internet content, many researches in this field were held out. In this paper a method for clustering web log journals based on Levenstein metric is proposed. New methods aimed to increase clustering accuracy while using edit distance are presented (modifications of distance, normalization of data and coefficient varying).
Cross-Domain Interoperability Using Rule Markup Language - Suzette K. Stoutenburg, The MITRE Corporation

This presentation describes the results of an effort to apply Rule Markup Language technology to policy management across disparate inference domains. The approach is to develop policy rules in RuleML, and then translate those rules to multiple inference languages, such as Jess, using XSLT. The goal of the effort is to determine the power of RuleML in promoting interoperability across widely varying domains. We will discuss our approach for representing scenarios and the procedures we used for comparing the inferencing results. We will also share our conclusions on the applicability of RuleML as a rule abstraction language in the U.S. military domain.
Fuzzy Comparison of Strings in FAQ Answering - Adam Niewiadomski, P. Kryger, P.S. Szczepaniak, Institute of Computer Sciences, Technical University of Lodz

Current requirements for commercial Websites, software, user manuals, etc. point, among other properties, at the maximized user-friendliness. It is obviously impossible to assume that a potential user has detailed and/or technical knowledge to recognize all the aspects and keypoints of a product. Moreover, even a well-oriented user/customer would prefer products that are easy-to-use and equipped with the interface allowing attraction as little attention as possible to handle them. The listing called ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ (FAQ) with answers is only the partial solution. The number of FAQ’s in present Websites, manuals and technical services implies the usage of intelligent and interactive software support, based on natural (or close to natural) and easily understood language. The following paper describes a method of handling FAQ’s with fuzzy string similarity.

Ontologies for BIS

Design Patterns for Semantic Web Ontologies: Motivation and Discussion - Vojtech Svátek, Department of Information and Knowledge Engineering, University of Economics, Prague

The relatively high level of standardisation of semantic web ontology languages is in contrast to mostly ad hoc designed content of ontologies themselves. An overview of existing methods supporting ontology content creation is presented. Methods based on design patterns are then discussed in more detail as they seem most promising particularly for business environment. Examples of elementary problems typical for semantic web ontologies are shown, and their pattern–based solution is outlined.
Towards Identifying Characterisitc Parameters of Web Services Compositions - Muhammad F. Kaleem, Technical University Hamburg-Harburg

With web services technologies becoming increasingly mature, there is substantial academic research and industrial focus on web services compositions, or composite services. Composite services represent aggregations of individual web services, or other composite services, and can effectively model complex business processes. In this paper we highlight important parameters that can be deemed characteristic of composite services, and discuss how these parameters relate to each other. We also describe a selection of aspects related to composite services, and explain their effect on the highlighted parameters.
Ontology-driven Natural Language access to Legacy and Web services in the Insurance Domain - Mikhail Simonov, Nomos Sistema S.p.A.

Ontology plays an important role in industrial systems by offering a natural language-based human access to Legacy resources in a transparent way. Since Ontologies are developed in order to provide a machine-processable semantics of information that is exchanged between different agents, both humans and software, the same mechanism can be used for Legacy Service discovery and for an automated reasoning about the semantic content of the answer obtained from such a system. We have created an Information system offering a web-based access in natural language to the distributed Legacy system in the Insurance Domain. The abovementioned solution offers a new, alternative communication channel, able to be transformed in a new model of business interaction between an end user and the service provider, an insurance company in our case. The full Knowledge Management Framework developed within the Eureka funded research project IKF has been adapted to be used in the Insurance Domain through the dedicated Domain Ontology named IES. The core system named MetaDiscoverer performs an ontology based filtering of user queries in order to discover the intended Legacy service. The whole technical solution is able to perform an information retrieval, a knowledge extraction, an automated reasoning, a service location and dynamic invocation. The solution is RDF and XML-compliant according to recommendations given by the W3C Consortium.

Software Engineering

Adapting Ishikawa’s cause-effect Diagrams to Understand Requirement Threats - Elena Ivankina, Camille Salinesi, CRI, Université Paris 1 – Panthéon Sorbonne, Département Systèmes d’Information et de Décision – ESSEC

Requirement identification is a vital stage in information system design. Identification of potential issues, their comprehension and management enable to specify new requirements. This paper presents an approach that proposes an integration of cause-effect analysis in requirement engineering domain, especially for threat analysis. It permits to evaluate the reasons of treats occurrence and their consequences on the system. Then a treatment strategies overview and related works are proposed.
Open Source Software: A Research Agenda - Sofiane Sahraoui, School of Business Management, American University of Sharja

Open source software (OSS) is an emerging discipline of business research. However most of the research is concentrated in few areas such as project management within virtual communities, the ethical and legal ramifications of the OSS phenomenon, models of user involvement in OSS projects, and the economics of OSS. Other critical areas have been so far only tangentially investigated. The viability of OSS business models, the impact of OSS on the software industry structure and the new competitive game, the OSS-based national IT strategies and the role of governments and other lobbying groups in promoting or combating OSS are examples of issues that have been only anecdotally accounted for by non-research oriented literature. This short paper tries to identify critical issues that OSS research ought to tackle by briefly defining them and indicating potential avenues of research.
An Evaluation of Testing in Object-Oriented Software Engineering Methods - Jarmo J. Ahonen, School of Information and Communication Technology, Seinäjoki Polytechnic, Tuukka Junttila, Heikki Lintinen, Information Technology Research Institute, Markku Sakkinen, Department of Computer Science

In many software-intensive fields of business the quality of software is critical. In order to get high quality the software must be thoroughly tested and the software engineering process must support testing and quality thinking. Three widely used and well-known object-oriented methods are evaluated from the testing point of view. The evaluation is done by using the NIMSAD framework. The evaluation shows that the methods do not adequately prescribe the testing part of the process. Thus the methods are not yet sufficient for designing a complete, high-quality software process.
Business Processes and Objects in an Information System Development Methodology - Vaclav Repa, University of Economics, Prague, Faculty of Informatics and Statistics, Department of Information Technologies

The paper describes the role of processes and objects in the information system development task. It explains the background base of the analysis stage of the ISD as well as basic principles behind it. Based on the Principle of Modeling two basic dimensions of the Real World Model are stated and basic consequences for IS development explained. Problem of the analysis model consistency is discussed in more detail and the formal specification of consistency rules is referenced.