| The Effects of State-Based and Event-Based Data Representations on User Performance in Query Formulation Tasks |
| Allen, Gove N.; Salvatore T. March: MIS Quarterly, Forthcoming |
Abstract:
Ad-hoc query formulation is an important task in effectively utilizing organizational data resources. To facilitate this task managers and casual end-users are commonly presented with database views expressly constructed for their use. Differences in the way in which things, states, and events are represented in such views can affect a user's ability to understand the database, potentially leading to different levels of performance, i.e., accuracy, confidence, and prediction of the accuracy of their queries. An experiment was conducted over the Internet involving 342 subjects from six universities in the North America and Europe to investigate these effects. When presented with an event-based view subjects expressing low or very low comfort levels in reading E-R diagrams expressed confidence that better predicted query accuracy although there were no significant differences in actual query accuracy or level of confidence expressed.
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| Academic Data Collection in Electronic Environments: Defining Acceptable Use of Internet Resources |
| Allen, Gove N.; Dan L. Burk; Gordon B. Davis: MIS Quarterly, Forthcoming |
Abstract: Academic researchers access commercial websites to collect research data. This research practice is likely to increase. Is this appropriate? Is this legal? Such commercial websites are maintained to achieve business objectives; research access uses site resources for other purposes. Website administrators may therefore deem academic data collection inappropriate. Is there a process to make research access more open and acceptable to website owners and administrators? These are significant issues. This article clarifies the problems and suggests possible approaches to handle the issues with sensitivity and openness.
Research access to commercial websites may be manual (using a standard web browser) or automated (using automated data collection agents). These approaches have different effects on websites. Researchers using manual access tend to make a limited number of page requests because manual access is costly to perform. Researchers using automated access methods can request large numbers of pages at a low cost. Therefore, website administrators tend to view manual access and automated access very differently.
Because of the number of accesses and non-business purpose, automated research requests for data are sometimes blocked by site administration using a variety of means (both technological and legal). This paper details the pertinent legal issues including trespass, copyright violation, and breech of contract. It also explains the nature of express and implied consent by site administration for research access.
Based on the issues presented, guidelines for researchers are proposed to reduce objections to research activities, to facilitate communication with website administration, and to achieve express or implied consent. These include notification to website administration of intended automated research activity, description of the research project posted as a web page, and clear identification of automated requests for web pages. In order to encourage good research practices with respect to automated data collection, suggestions are made with respect to disclosing methods used in research papers and for self regulation by academic associations.
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| Modeling Temporal Dynamics for Business Systems |
| Allen, Gove N.; Salvatore T. March: Journal of Database Management, 2003; 14 (3) pp. 21-36 |
Abstract: Research in temporal database management has viewed temporal dynamics from a structural
perspective, posing extensions to the Entity-Relationship (E-R) model to represent the state
history of time-dependent attributes and relationships. We argue that temporal dynamics are
semantic rather than structural and that the existing constructs in the E-R model are sufficient
to represent them. Practitioners have long used E-R models without temporal extensions to
design systems with rich support for temporality by modeling both things and events as entities
-- a practice that is consistent with the original presentation of the E-R model. This approach
supports methodologies that leverage narrative and human cognitive processing capabilities
in the development and verification of data models. Furthermore it maintains modeling
parsimony and facilitates the representation of causality -- why a particular state exists.
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| Research Frontiers in Object Technology |
| March, Salvatore; Charles Wood; Gove Allen, Information Systems Frontiers 1999 1(1) pp. 51-74 |
Abstract:
Object technology has been widely acclaimed as offering a revolution in computing that will resolve a myriad of problems inherent in developing and managing organizational information processing capabilities. Although its foundations arose in computer programming languages, object technology has implications for a wide range of business computing activities including: Programming, Analysis and Design, Information Management, and Information Sharing. We examine six fundamental research frontiers in each activity: Common Business Classes, Organizational Barriers Applications and Tools, Management of Classes, Instances and Reuse, Standards, Testing, and Metrics, and Technology Investment. The cross product of the business computing activities with these fundamental research frontiers yields a taxonomy within which to position the research needed to realize the promises offered by object technology.
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| Developing And Teaching IS’97.2: Personal Productivity With Information Technology |
| Davis, Gordon B.; J. David Naumann, Gove Allen,Communications of the Association for Information Systems 1999; 1(17) |
Abstract:
It is common for university students either to have introductory skills in the basic desktop software packages or to obtain these skills by self-study modules or short courses. What students lack is an understanding of how to use desktop packages effectively to improve their productivity. This is the missing link in the curriculum. This tutorial describes one solution: the IS'97.2 course on Personal Productivity with Information Technology. An appendix presents a sample lesson used with this course.
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