Configurable multi-perspective business process models

A configurable process model provides a consolidated view of a family of business processes. It promotes the reuse of proven practices by providing analysts with a generic modelling artifact from which to derive individual process models. Unfortunately, the scope of existing notations for configurable process modelling is restricted, thus hindering their applicability. Specifically, these notations focus on capturing tasks and control-flow dependencies, neglecting equally important ingredients of business processes such as data and resources. This research fills this gap by proposing a configurable process modelling notation incorporating features for capturing resources, data and physical objects involved in the performance of tasks. The proposal has been implemented in a toolset that assists analysts during the configuration phase and guarantees the correctness of the resulting process models. The approach has been validated by means of a case study from the film industry.

Getting skilled for education, training and employment : Indigenous Cultural Knowledges and mainstream knowledges of mathematics

This abstract is a preliminary discussion of the importance of blending of Indigenous cultural knowledges with mainstream knowledges of mathematics for supporting Indigenous young people. This import is emphasised in the documents Preparing the Ground for Partnership (Priest, 2005), The Indigenous Education Strategic Directions 2008–2011 (Department of Education, Training and the Arts, 2007) and the National Goals for Indigenous Education (Department of Education, Employment and Work Relations, 2008). These documents highlight the contextualising of literacy and numeracy to students’ community and culture (see Priest, 2005). Here, Community describes “a culture that is oriented primarily towards the needs of the group. Martin Nakata (2007) describes contextualising to culture as about that which already exists, that is, Torres Strait Islander community, cultural context and home languages (Nakata, 2007, p. 2). Continuing, Ezeife (2002) cites Hollins (1996) in stating that Indigenous people belong to “high-context culture groups” (p. 185). That is, “high-context cultures are characterized by a holistic (top-down) approach to information processing in which meaning is “extracted” from the environment and the situation. Low-context cultures use a linear, sequential building block (bottom-up) approach to information processing in which meaning is constructed” (p.185). In this regard, students who use holistic thought processing are more likely to be disadvantaged in mainstream mathematics classrooms. This is because Westernised mathematics is presented as broken into parts with limited connections made between concepts and with the students’ culture. It potentially conflicts with how they learn. If this is to change the curriculum needs to be made more culture-sensitive and community orientated so that students know and understand what they are learning and for what purposes.

Selecting, optimizing and fusing ‘salient’ Gabor features for facial expression recognition

This paper describes a novel framework for facial expression recognition from still images by selecting, optimizing and fusing ‘salient’ Gabor feature layers to recognize six universal facial expressions using the K nearest neighbor classifier. The recognition comparisons with all layer approach using JAFFE and Cohn-Kanade (CK) databases confirm that using ‘salient’ Gabor feature layers with optimized sizes can achieve better recognition performance and dramatically reduce computational time. Moreover, comparisons with the state of the art performances demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach.

Time series analysis of a Web search engine transaction log

In this paper, we use time series analysis to evaluate predictive scenarios using search engine transactional logs. Our goal is to develop models for the analysis of searchers’ behaviors over time and investigate if time series analysis is a valid method for predicting relationships between searcher actions. Time series analysis is a method often used to understand the underlying characteristics of temporal data in order to make forecasts. In this study, we used a Web search engine transactional log and time series analysis to investigate users’ actions. We conducted our analysis in two phases. In the initial phase, we employed a basic analysis and found that 10% of searchers clicked on sponsored links. However, from 22:00 to 24:00, searchers almost exclusively clicked on the organic links, with almost no clicks on sponsored links. In the second and more extensive phase, we used a one-step prediction time series analysis method along with a transfer function method. The period rarely affects navigational and transactional queries, while rates for transactional queries vary during different periods. Our results show that the average length of a searcher session is approximately 2.9 interactions and that this average is consistent across time periods. Most importantly, our findings shows that searchers who submit the shortest queries (i.e., in number of terms) click on highest ranked results. We discuss implications, including predictive value, and future research.

An examination of the relationship between workload and fatigue within and across consecutive days of work: Is the relationshiop static or dynamic?

Cognitive-energetical theories of information processing were used to generate predictions regarding the relationship between workload and fatigue within and across consecutive days of work. Repeated measures were taken on board a naval vessel during a non-routine and a routine patrol. Data were analyzed using growth curve modeling. Fatigue demonstrated a non-monotonic relationship within days in both patrols – fatigue was high at midnight, started decreasing until noontime and then increased again. Fatigue increased across days towards the end of the non-routine patrol, but remained stable across days in the routine patrol. The relationship between workload and fatigue changed over consecutive days in the non-routine patrol. At the beginning of the patrol, low workload was associated with fatigue. At the end of the patrol, high workload was associated with fatigue. This relationship could not be tested in the routine patrol, however it demonstrated a non-monotonic relationship between workload and fatigue – low and high workloads were associated with the highest fatigue. These results suggest that the optimal level of workload can change over time and thus have implications for the management of fatigue.

Quantum memory

New models of human cognition inspired by quantum theory could underpin information technologies that are better aligned with howwe recall information.

Validating the IS-Impact model : two exploratory case studies in China and Malaysia

For over a decade, IT expenditure in China and Malaysia has shown a significant increase, as organisations in these countries are increasingly dependent on information systems (IS) for achieving strategic advantages and business benefits. However, there have been numerous reports of dissatisfaction with IS, and in some cases the effectiveness of the information systems have yet to be reviewed. Two exploratory case studies reported in this paper are the first phase of an overall research in validating the IS-Impact model introduced by Gable, Sedera and Chan in two countries: China and Malaysia. This validation research aims to produce a standard measuring model across different contexts. The purpose of this paper is to present preliminary findings from two exploratory case studies, attempt to test the feasibility of the research design and to investigate applicability of the IS-Impact model in Chinese and Malaysian organisations. Twenty-nine respondents from a Chinese private company and seventeen respondents from a state government in Malaysia were involved in these studies. Findings indicated that most of existing IS-Impact measures are applicable in the study contexts, however, there are some new measures informed by the respondents. Feedback from the case studies also suggested necessary modifications to the Mandarin instrument.

Resolving painful emotional experience during psychodrama

Unresolved painful emotional experiences such as bereavement, trauma and disturbances in core relationships, are common presenting problems for clients of psychodrama or psychotherapy more generally. Emotional pain is experienced as a shattering of the sense of self and disconnection from others and, when unresolved, produces avoidant responses which inhibit the healing process. There is agreement across therapeutic modalities that exposure to emotional experience can increase the efficacy of therapeutic interventions. Moreno proposes that the activation of spontaneity is the primary curative factor in psychodrama and that healing occurs when the protagonist (client) engages with his or her wider social system and develops greater flexibility in response to that system. An extensive case-report literature describes the application of the psychodrama method in healing unresolved painful emotional experiences, but there is limited empirical research to verify the efficacy of the method or to identify the processes that are linked to therapeutic change. The purpose of this current research was to construct a model of protagonist change processes that could extend psychodrama theory, inform practitioners’ therapeutic decisions and contribute to understanding the common factors in therapeutic change. Four studies investigated protagonist processes linked to in-session resolution of painful emotional experiences. Significant therapeutic events were analysed using recordings and transcripts of psychodrama enactments, protagonist and director recall interviews and a range of process and outcome measures. A preliminary study (3 cases) identified four themes that were associated with helpful therapeutic events: enactment, the working alliance with the director and with group members, emotional release or relief and social atom repair. The second study (7 cases) used Comprehensive Process Analysis (CPA) to construct a model of protagonists’ processes linked to in-session resolution. This model was then validated across four more cases in Study 3. Five meta-processes were identified: (i) a readiness to engage in the psychodrama process; (ii) re-experiencing and insight; (iii) activating resourcefulness; (iv) social atom repair with emotional release and (v) integration. Social atom repair with emotional release involved deeply experiencing a wished-for interpersonal experience accompanied by a free flowing release of previously restricted emotion and was most clearly linked to protagonists’ reports of reaching resolution and to post session improvements in interpersonal relationships and sense of self. Acceptance of self in the moment increased protagonists’ capacity to generate new responses within each meta-process and, in resolved cases, there was evidence of spontaneity developing over time. The fourth study tested Greenberg’s allowing and accepting painful emotional experience model as an alternative explanation of protagonist change. The findings of this study suggested that while the process of allowing emotional pain was present in resolved cases, Greenberg’s model was not sufficient to explain the processes that lead to in-session resolution. The protagonist’s readiness to engage and activation of resourcefulness appear to facilitate the transition from problem identification to emotional release. Furthermore, experiencing a reparative relationship was found to be central to the healing process. This research verifies that there can be in-session resolution of painful emotional experience during psychodrama and protagonists’ reports suggest that in-session resolution can heal the damage to the sense of self and the interpersonal disconnection that are associated with unresolved emotional pain. A model of protagonist change processes has been constructed that challenges the view of psychodrama as a primarily cathartic therapy, by locating the therapeutic experience of emotional release within the development of new role relationships. The five meta-processes which are described within the model suggest broad change principles which can assist practitioners to make sense of events as they unfold and guide their clinical decision making in the moment. Each meta-process was linked to specific post-session changes, so that the model can inform the development of therapeutic plans for individual clients and can aid communication for practitioners when a psychodrama intervention is used for a specific therapeutic purpose within a comprehensive program of therapy.

Rivalry within and between strategic networks : an investigation of the United States Automotive Industry

As a consequence of the increased incidence of collaborative arrangements between firms, the competitive environment characterising many industries has undergone profound change. It is suggested that rivalry is not necessarily enacted by individual firms according to the traditional mechanisms of direct confrontation in factor and product markets, but rather as collaborative orchestration between a number of participants or network members. Strategic networks are recognised as sets of firms within an industry that exhibit denser strategic linkages among themselves than other firms within the same industry. Based on this, strategic networks are determined according to evidence of strategic alliances between firms comprising the industry. As a result, a single strategic network represents a group of firms closely linked according to collaborative ties. Arguably, the collective outcome of these strategic relationships engineered between firms suggest that the collaborative benefits attributed to interorganisational relationships require closer examination in respect to their propensity to influence rivalry in intraindustry environments. Derived in large from the social sciences, network theory allows for the micro and macro examination of the opportunities and constraints inherent in the structure of relationships in strategic networks, establishing a relational approach upon which the conduct and performance of firms can be more fully understood. Research to date has yet to empirically investigate the relationship between strategic networks and rivalry. The limited research that has been completed utilising a network rationale to investigate competitive patterns in contemporary industry environments has been characterised by a failure to directly measure rivalry. Further, this prior research has typically embedded investigation in industry settings dominated by technological or regulatory imperatives, such as the microprocessor and airline industries. These industries, due to the presence of such imperatives, are arguably more inclined to support the realisation of network rivalry, through subscription to prescribed technological standards (eg., microprocessor industry) or by being bound by regulatory constraints dictating operation within particular market segments (airline industry). In order to counter these weaknesses, the proposition guiding research - Are patterns of rivalry predicted by strategic network membership? – is embedded in the United States Light Vehicles Industry, an industry not dominated by technological or regulatory imperatives. Further, rivalry is directly measured and utilised in research, thus distinguishing this investigation from prior research efforts. The timeframe of investigation is 1993 – 1999, with all research data derived from secondary sources. Strategic networks were defined within the United States Light Vehicles Industry based on evidence of horizontal strategic relationships between firms comprising the industry. The measure of rivalry used to directly ascertain the competitive patterns of industry participants was derived from the traditional Herfindahl Index, modified to account for patterns of rivalry observed at the market segment level. Statistical analyses of the strategic network and rivalry constructs found little evidence to support the contention of network rivalry; indeed, greater levels of rivalry were observed between firms comprising the same strategic network than between firms participating in opposing network structures. Based on these results, patterns of rivalry evidenced in the United States Light Vehicle Industry over the period 1993 – 1999 were not found to be predicted by strategic network membership. The findings generated by this research are in contrast to current theorising in the strategic network – rivalry realm. In this respect, these findings are surprising. The relevance of industry type, in conjunction with prevailing network methodology, provides the basis upon which these findings are contemplated. Overall, this study raises some important questions in relation to the relevancy of the network rivalry rationale, establishing a fruitful avenue for further research.

Developing a model of technology appropriation: A Marxian perspective

This paper explores the philosophical origins of appropriation of Information Systems (IS) using Marxian and other socio-cultural theory. It provides an in-depth examination of appropriation and its application in extant IS theory. We develop a three-tier model using Marx’s foundational concepts and from this generate four propositions that we test in an empirical example of IS in anesthesia. Using Marxian theory, this paper seeks common ground among existing theories of technology appropriation in IS research. This work contributes to IS research by (1) opening philosophical discussions on appropriation and the human ↔ technology nexus, (2) drawing on these varying perspectives to propose a general conceptualization of technology appropriation and (3) providing a starting point towards a general causal model of technology appropriation.

Determining the informational, navigational and transactional intent of web queries

In this paper, we define and present a comprehensive classification of user intent for Web searching. The classification consists of three hierarchical levels of informational, navigational, and transactional intent. After deriving attributes of each, we then developed a software application that automatically classified queries using a Web search engine log of over a million and a half queries submitted by several hundred thousand users. Our findings show that more than 80% of Web queries are informational in nature, with about 10% each being navigational and transactional. In order to validate the accuracy of our algorithm, we manually coded 400 queries and compared the results from this manual classification to the results determined by the automated method. This comparison showed that the automatic classification has an accuracy of 74%. Of the remaining 25% of the queries, the user intent is vague or multi-faceted, pointing to the need for probabilistic classification. We discuss how search engines can use knowledge of user intent to provide more targeted and relevant results in Web searching.