bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Real-time performance of intelligent autonomous agents (abstract)
Authors: Collinot Anne , Hayes-Roth Barbara
Published: June 2007

The topic of this paper is a representation model for solid objects used for physical simulation purposes and for planning in a robot assembly system. The system combines analogical representation and multi-agent modelling, using a bottom-up representation for objects based on analogical agents. We call these agents analogical because they are mapped into, interact with and reason directly on the workspace representation, which is a discrete grid. The agents contain local geometrical and physical constraints and they cooperate to satisfy them while moving in the direction of an external force and interacting with other objects in the workspace. An emergent functionality of the simulation of a block moving in a complex environment is the solution to various stability problems.
Object-oriented approach to interconnecting trusted database management systems
Authors: Thuraisingham Bhavani , Rubinovitz Harvey
Published: June 2007

This position paper describes an object-oriented approach to connecting trusted database management systems. In particular, an object model of the heterogeneous environment, the operation of the system, and a possible approach to simulating the environment using object-oriented technology are discussed.
The costs of personal computing in a complex organization: a comparative study
Authors: Nayle Sonia , Scacchi Walt
Published: June 2007

The widespread adoption of personal computers (PCs) may be attributable to their apparent low purchase and operational costs. However, significant procedural costs arise in fitting a PC application into a work setting. Our investigation of the adoption and use of PCs in several departments of a complex organization reveals a large number of unanticipated costs. These indirect, deferred, and governance costs are chiefly borne by users not responsible for acquiring PCs. These costs represent additional demands for users' time, skill, expertise, and attention as well as money. We find that the distribution of deferred costs determines the viability of PC systems. We also find that the integration of PCs can alter the way people do their jobs. These changes in turn give rise to additional social and political costs within the organization. Subsequently, we find that the true costs of personal computing are typically underestimated and unaccounted.
Adaptive interface design: a symmetric model and a knowledge-based implementation
Authors: Tyler Sherman W. , Treu Siegfried
Published: June 2007

Adaptation in the user-system interface can be designed to benefit either the system or the user. This paper presents a general model to portray that symmetry and to describe the essential components of the user-oriented version of an adaptive interface system. A function-based interpretation of the process is also characterized. Finally, the types of knowledge bases upon which the adaptation is dependent are described with reference to a prototype system being implemented. Especially those users who have limited understanding of computer technology, such as the numerous workers in offices, are expected to be future beneficiaries of adaptive interface research.
Defining reference models and software architectural styles for cooperative systems
Authors: Abowd Gregory D.
Published: June 2007

The emergence of software architecture as a field of study is a relatively recent phenomenon[2]. As a discipline, its goals are to better understand the high-level organization of software in terms of computational elements and the interactions between them. This proposal to attend a workshop on software architectures for cooperative systems comes from a researcher in software architecture who is only remotely aware of the specific issues in the design of cooperative systems. In this proposal I will explain what contribution can be made from someone outside of CSCW. I also expect that the critical examination of a complex domain such as cooperative systems will greatly inform my own understanding of software architecture.Within any software domain, such as CSCW, it is important to make explicit the high level design invariants of the software architecture. Such reflection leads to the definition of models or reference architectures intended to positively influence the future development of similar systems. As explained above, this process of defining a reference architecture requires expertise in the general area of software architecture as well as domain expertise. One need not look far outside the scope of CSCW to find an example of a reference architecture with profound influence on design. From the mid 1980's, many user interface management systems have based their highest level abstractions on the Seeheim model [4], with the separation implied by the API, dialogue controller and presentation. One can ask to what extent the authors of the Seeheim model anticipated the influence of their work and gave due consideration to all of the problems involved in UI design.My own interest in software architecture falls into two categories -- semi-formal, structured evaluation of architectural artifacts for non-functional qualities and formal definition of architectural patterns or styles. I will briefly decribe each.
A taxonomy of architectures for synchronous groupware applications
Authors: Patterson John F.
Published: June 2007

I offer a taxonomy for characterizing various architectures for synchronous groupware applications. Unlike teleconferencing per se, these are applications that have been implemented in such a way that users may simultaneously interact with the applications. The analysis rests on the following two premises:• The primary challenge tot synchronous groupware applications is to ensure state consistency,and• Applications may be divided into four levels of state.Figure 1 below depicts the four levels of state that I envision within any application.
4
The display state is the information that drives the user's display; the view state is the information that relates the user's display to the underlying information in the application; the model is the underlying information; and, the file is a persistent representation of the underlying information.Figure 1
5
below depicts the situation for a single user application. With multiple users there will be multiple displays, one per user. In synchronous groupware, one must ensure that these displays have access to some form of consistent state. There are two ways to achieve this consistency: by maintaining only one copy of the state or by maintaining multiple copies and using a consistency maintaining protocol. The next three sections discuss various architectures derived by applying these two approaches to consistency. The last section discusses a variety of residual issues that the evolving taxonomy does not easily address.
Workshop Summary: The cobbler's children
Authors: Wyner George M.
Published: June 2007

The purpose of this workshop was to consider the practical ways CSCW tools are already being used or might be used by the CSCW research community itself. Participants explored the full lifecycle of research, from idea generation and issue definition to collaborative writing and the peer review process. Several collaborative applications already in use in the CSCW research community were presented, discussed, and debated, with special consideration given to how and whether the CSCW Program Committee's experimental use of Lotus Notes should be extended in the future.
CMW information labels
Authors: Sidwell David , Ehrsam Tim
Published: June 2007

Today, most major operating system vendors and OEMs are providing multilevel secure (MLS) operating systems. Many of these vendors, including Digital Equipment Corporation, Sun Microsystems, Hewlett Packard, and others, also incorporate Compartmented Mode Workstation (CMW) functionality [1]. CMW incorporates labeled security protection (e.g., U.S. Class B1 [2]) labeled X-windows, trusted networking, and many other important features that are critical to environments where automatic, high assurance data separation is required. In addition to the mandatory access control (MAC) sensitivity labels described in [2], CMWs also provide a second label component called the information label.
Modelling the business process to derive organisational requirements for information technology
Authors: Blyth Andrew
Published: June 2007

Organisations today perceive information technology systems as vital to their success. The effective application of information from an organisational perspective can mean the difference between success or failure. The ORDIT (organisational requirements definition for information technology) approach was developed as a socio-technical systems based methodology, its purpose is to facilitate problem solvers and problem owners in developing the correct understanding of what is required, why it is required and when it is required, of the system. Within this paper we will present a case study in which the ORDIT methodology is applied to an information technology system for an accident and emergency department of an inner city hospital for the purpose of eliciting, representing and validating organisational requirements for information technology. The hospital recognizes that the introduction of an information system is vital and that its specification is fraught with danger. It was against this backdrop that the case study was performed.
The architecture of worknets
Authors: Ahlsén Matts , Rosengren Peter
Published: June 2007

A current trend is to exploit information technology in support for virtual organisations. The research and practice focus on the development and evaluation of information and communication technologies intended to manage the business processes in such organisations, i.e., organisations characterised by geographical distribution and ability to change. In this article we discuss the "worknet" as one type of information system that can support the activities in such a virtual organisation. A worknet connects a number of participants for a limited amount of time in order to achieve some common objective, e.g., to establish a consortium or to form a coalition for some business objective.
UC Berkeley's NSF/ARPA/NASA digital libraries project
Authors: Van House Nancy
Published: June 2007

The UC Berkeley Electronic Environmental Library Project is a multi-disciplinary project funded under the NSF/NASA/ARPA Digital Libraries Initiative. The goal is to develop a massive, distributed, electronic, work-centered library of environmental information containing text, images, maps, sound, full-motion videos, numeric datasets, and hypertextual multimedia composite documents to support actual environmental planning decisions.By work-centered, we mean a digital library designed to support the work of the users, in this case, environmental planning. The users are from diverse organizations, 'united by their goal of environmental planning. This project is unusual among digital library research projects in this focus on information in support of public policymaking. The potential users and uses of the system are extremely varied and the applications are complex and of substantial practical significance.Our primary goals are to provide a coherent, content-based view of a diverse distributed collection which will scale to very large collections and large numbers of clients and servers, and to improve data acquisition technology. The project is addressing these problems by research focusing on:• New paradigms of user-system interaction;• Fully automated indexing and intelligent retrieval;• Data base technology to support electronic library applications;• A more effect protocol for client/server information retrieval;• Resources discovery and distributed search algorithms;• A communications-theoretic approach to document analysis;• Compression and communication for remote browsing;• New methods of user needs assessment and evaluation.The testbed consists of the diverse information types and media that are used in environmental planning. The data range from unprocessed sensor data through many levels of analysis and synthesis to policy recommendations and decision. The media include text, images, maps, and geo-referenced datasets, in paper and electronic forms. The initial focus has been water planning for the San Francisco Bay Delta; currently we are broadening our scope to other geographical areas. The target users are the participants in environmental planning employees of state agencies, but also people in local and federal agencies, environmental and industry groups, and the public.
Issues '95—electronic commerce
Authors: Rubinovitz Harvey H.
Published: June 2007

This document was written based on the introductory talk presented at the special workshop, "Issues '95-Electronic Commerce" in conjunction with the Eleventh Annual Computer Security Applications Conference held in December 1995. This document serves to set the stage for the papers which will follow and to provide a catalyst to discussions at the conference.
Experiences in the art of security
Authors: Arceneaux Joseph
Published: June 2007

In May of 1995 Wells Fargo Bank became the first bank to make customer accounts accessible over the Internet. The system, called Online Banking, uses a secure Web server to provide balances and account history to registered bank customers. Building the system provided the author and his team with several insights into designing secure systems, especially for a large institution of the financial industry.
Security risks in computer-communication systems
Authors: Neumann Peter
Published: June 2007

This section provides a few highlights from the Risks-Forum Digest relating to security and privacy. Pointers '(R i j)' to items in the on-line Risks Forum denote RISKS vol i number j. The RISKS archives are available on ftp.sri.com, cd risks. Please send RISKS-related items to risks@CSL.sri.com. Read RISKS as a newsgroup (comp.risks), or subscribe via the automated listserv at risks-request@CSL.sri.com. Peter G. Neumann, SRI International EL-243,333 Ravenswood Ave., Menlo Park CA 94025-3493 (1-415-859-2375; neumann@csl.sri.com).
A note on the Relationship Between Covert Channels and Application Verification
Authors: Slater David
Published: June 2007

The purpose of this paper is to present a warning that covert channels even at very low bandwidths can be a significant threat in conjuction with sufficiently sophisticated "trojan horses".According to DOD 5200,28-STD (the orange book) covert channels with a bandwidth of under 1 bit per ten seconds need not even be audited in a trusted system.While this seems reasonable it is easy to imagine scenarios where covert channels with a flow rate much lower than this may indeed compromise vital information, if the process from which the flow originates is an intelligent trojan horse.Consider the following scenario: A trusted multi-level secure strategic logistics system with a trojan horse which is an expert system capable of detecting whether there are troop and supply movements planned, which would allow offensive action within the next week. A convert channel with the rate of one bit per day, which each day transmits this information from the expert trojan horse to an insecure process would certainly be of great value in strategic planning.In summary, when considering the maximum bandwidth requirements on convert channels, it is necessay to consider this in line with the type of information available to processes running at the higher security levels, and the degree of trust that one has in these applications.
Distributed decision making: a research agenda
Authors: Holsapple Clyde W. , Whinston Andrew B.
Published: June 2007

Beyond the narrow objective of supporting individual problem solving, computerized decision support systems have a potential for more directly supporting decisions distributed across multiple participants. The realization of distributed support system potential depends on a clear understanding of distributed decision making. Here, we introduce the broad outlines of a conceptual, general-purpose framework for describing and studying distributed decision making. It provides a basis for addressing both the structure and dynamics of distributed decision making with respect to the three elements of individual problem solving, communication, and coordination. The framework provides a foundation for comparing, contrasting, designing, and managing distributed decision making systems which are jointly human-computer in nature. We offer a commentary on a variety of research issues that deserve to be investigated within the framework's context.
A logically distributed approach for structuring office systems
Authors: Chrysanthis P. K. , Stemple D. , Ramamritham K.
Published: June 2007

An object-oriented office model is presented. It uses the object taxonomy of Booch featuring object classes based on calling patterns. Our model is motivated by that of Woo and Lochovsky, but has a number of differences, especially in the definition of the object classes and in the treatment of nested objects. An office application, setting a meeting among office workers, is defined in terms the office model.
Answer Garden: a tool for growing organizational memory
Authors: Ackerman M. S. , Malone T. W.
Published: June 2007

Answer Garden allows organizations to develop databases of commonly asked questions that grow “organically” as new questions arise and are answered. It is designed to help in situations (such as field service organizations and customer “hot lines”) where there is a continuing stream of questions, many of which occur over and over, but some of which the organization has never seen before. The system includes a branching network of diagnostic questions that helps users find the answers they want. If the answer is not present, the system automatically sends the question to the appropriate expert, and the answer is returned to the user as well as inserted into the branching network. Experts can also modify this network in response to users' problems.

Our initial Answer Garden database contains questions and answers about how to use the X Window System.
The work group manager's role in developing computing infrastructure
Authors: Jewett T. , Kling R.
Published: June 2007

Much of the literature about the management of computing has focused on the role of computing professionals and upper level managers. We are interested in the managers of groups which use computing to support their work, for whom computer use and computing management are only adjuncts to other duties. Even when managers do not personally have high levels of computing skills or even interest in computing, they must manage the use of computing in their workplaces and provide informal continuing support for employees' use of computers. In this paper, we describe two work groups in which different management styles have shaped the integration of new computing systems. We find that the way in which these managers approach computing problems is substantially similar to their approach to non-computing aspects of the workplace. We also find the effects of the manager's approach to be more subtle and complex than “user involvement” studies have indicated. We found that managers of more dynamic computerization projects involve their subordinates in the design of work, not just the design of systems. And they help build the infrastructure of their work groups, as well as an infrastructure for computing.
Coordinating distributed actions via agent voting
Authors: Urken A. B.
Published: June 2007

This paper investigates the use of voting policies to coordinate routing decisions in a phone network. Although the social metaphor of voting has been applied to network coordination decision tasks, this study presents the first operational example of a vote-theoretic group decision support system (GDSS) for nodes. The experimental evidence shows that a collective choice voting policy dominates a policy of individual, hierarchical voting in minimizing movement toward system saturation and promoting load balancing. This result provides a basis for using voting policies to create more complex self-correcting networks.
Implication of the guaranteed, reliable, secure broadcast technology to office information systems
Authors: Tseung L. C. N. , Yu C. C.
Published: June 2007

Guaranteed, Reliable, Secure Broadcast (GRSB) - is a protocol that provides reliable and secure broadcast/multicast communications. Four logical nodes are enforced in the network - a Central Retransmitter, a Security Controller, a Designated Acknowledger, a (many when need) Playback Recorder(s). Through the coordinated service of the four nodes, every user node can be guaranteed to receive all broadcast messages in a secure manner and in the correct temporal order. This paper focuses on the implication of GRSB to office information systems. How GRSB coherently supports several progressive functional requirements, from small number of user nodes to complex, but integrated functions, is elaborated.
Xsketch: a multi-user sketching tool for X11
Authors: Lee J. J.
Published: June 2007

This is a report of work-in-progress on a multi-user sketching tool. The intent behind the project is to produce a simple tool for use in multi-user design and brainstorming sessions. The tool, xsketch, is intended to function across existing internetwork facilities and run on a variety of platforms. This paper covers the requirements and design goals for the tool. Details of a prototype implementation are given along with a list of known problems, shortcomings, and possible extensions.
Sharing views and interactions with single-user applications
Authors: Greenberg S.
Published: June 2007

Although work is frequently collaborative, most computer-based activities revolve around software packages designed to be used by one person at a time. To get around this, people working together often talk and gesture around a computer screen, perhaps taking turns interacting with the running “single-user” application by passing the keyboard around. However, it is technically possible to share these unaltered applications—even though they were originally designed for a single user only—across physically different workstations through special
view-sharing software
. Each person sees the same image of the running application on their own screen, and has an opportunity to interact with it by taking turns. This paper discusses the various roles and responsibilities of the view-sharing software that must be considered during its design and evaluation: view management, floor control, conference registration by participants, and handling of meta-level communications. A brief survey of existing shared view systems is provided for background.
A comparison of application sharing mechanisms in real-time desktop conferencing systems
Authors: Ahuja S. R. , Ensor J. R. , Lucco S. E.
Published: June 2007

Desktop conferencing is a term used to describe real-time, computer-based conferences in which users may share data through their personal computers. In these conferences, the participants may access user-level programs, called application programs, which produce common displays (screens or windows) on their computers. Because each participant may give input to the application program and sees its resulting output as though the program were executing on his or her local computer, these applications retain their own look and feel as they form a shared environment for the conference. We compare some methods of sharing application programs during real-time, computer-based conferencing. In particular, we have explored different methods in three versions of Rapport, a multimedia conferencing system. We examine the qualitative and quantitative differences of these implementations using some typical shared applications and find that one method possesses good semantic characteristics as well as good performance in several network environments.
Replicated architectures for shared window systems: a critique
Authors: Lauwers J. C. , Joseph T. A. , Lantz K. A. , Romanow A. L.
Published: June 2007

Replicating applications in a shared window environment can significantly improve the performance of the resulting system. Compared to a completely centralized approach, a replicated architecture offers superior response time and reduces network load. To date, however, these advantages have been overshadowed by the equally significant synchronization problems associated with replication. In this paper we document these problems and show that the most frequent synchronization problems can be solved without changing existing software. We further indicate how some of the limitations of the resulting system can be removed by making applications or system servers collaboration-aware. Finally, we point out where general system support is needed to address the remaining deficiencies.
Collaborative modeling and negotiation
Authors: Samarasan Dhanesh
Published: June 2007

New problems in negotiation call for a new framework of solutions. Negotiation management, one such framework, has at its heart the application of computer models and related technology to a collaborative effort at dispute resolution. In this paradigm, negotiation is treated as a communicative and knowledge-intensive group problem-solving process. Easily accessible techniques are being developed for modeling both the process and substance of negotiation. In addition, tools are being designed for negotiators to use in risk and decision analysis, optimization, and precedent analysis. This paper outlines a synthesis of these elements in an integrated computer environment for negotiation management.
The influence of training on use of end-user software
Authors: Olfman Lorne , Bostrom Robert P.
Published: June 2007

Research in end-user software training has not addressed the issue of designing methods to influence use of software. The research reported here is based on a field experiment that compared two software training methods for Lotus 1-2-3. Applications-based training was designed to be more personally relevant than construct-based training with the expectation that personal relevance would lead to higher levels of use. Self-reported hours of use by applications-based trainees were higher, although only 38 of 70 trainees used the software after training. Post-training interviews were conducted to determine reasons for use and nonuse.
Social choice theory and distributed decision making
Authors: Urken Arnold B.
Published: June 2007

Strategies of distributed decision making based on social choice theory can be used to create a balance between organizational complexity and uncertainty. Although Group Decision Support Systems (GDSS's) have included options for making human collective choices, their design has not been based on optimal rules. Social choice theory can also be used to improve the reliability of decisions made by nodes in distributed computer networks. Three examples illustrate the application of this theory: human computer-mediated distributed decision making, electing a coordinator to reorganize a failed distributed network, and using weighted votes to improve network reliability.
Seeing the forest for the trees: hierarchical displays of hypertext structures
Authors: Feiner Steven
Published: June 2007

Most recent hypertext systems support hierarchy only as a restricted subset of directed graph structure. Consequently they do not provide many of the capabilities for graphical information hiding and structure manipulation that a tree makes possible. This paper describes display techniques developed for IGD, a hypertext system that supports the creation of large graphical documents whose arbitrary directed graph structure is embedded in a strict hierarchy. IGD offers the full generality of arbitrary keyworded links, while simultaneously allowing hierarchies to be easily manipulated and displayed with much of their structural detail selectively abstracted.
Interactive retrieval office documents
Authors: Croft W. B. , Krovetz R.
Published: June 2007

Office information systems are being used to describe and store documents with complex structure and multimedia content. Users of these systems can potentially make very complex specifications of the structure, layout and content of the documents they wish to retrieve. Although these complex queries could be more effective in identifying relevant documents, it is important that a well-defined model of retrieval is used, both as the basis for the retrieval strategies and the user interface. In this paper, we present a system (OFFICER) for the retrieval of office documents that is based on a model of plausible inference. The OFFICER query interface allows the specification of uncertain queries and combines uncertainties in the matching of queries and documents to produce an overall ranking for the documents.
An experimental multi-media bridging system
Authors: Addeo E. J. , Dayao A. B. , Gelman A. D. , Massa V. F.
Published: June 2007

The prototype system, which is described in this paper and called the Multi-Media Bridge, is designed to test service concepts and evolving technologies that make possible the deployment of multi-media group communications in future broadband networks. It incorporates such features as extended quality audio, full-motion video, graphics and data multi-point communications capability. The Bridge could serve as either a separate vendor entity or as an integral part of a network-based complex. The multi-shelf architecture of the experimental system allows a variety of technical problems and issues to be autonomously addressed. The shelves, designated Audio, Video, Graphics, and Data, are functionally integrated by a distributed control capability. A graphics user interface was developed which can be realized on any PC or workstation that supports the MIT X-Windowing system. It provides users with the flexibility to dynamically invoke each medium at any time and control various modes of media integration.
Vitrail
Authors: Wegmann Alain
Published: June 2007

This paper describes the implementation of a window manager called 'Vitrail'. Vitrail has been designed with a highly modular and open architecture allowing activities to interface to it at various levels while favouring overall consistency in the interface that is presented by these activities to the user. The most interesting module is the outermost, which handles the user interface of the window manager and facilitates the exchange of information between the user and the various activities. In addition, it permits information exchange among the various activities themselves.
Managing transient internetwork links in the Xerox Internet
Authors: Radicati Siranush
Published: June 2007

The Xerox Research Internet, which has been in operation within Xerox for over a decade now, is composed of some 200 geographically dispersed Ethernet local area networks [1,2]. Not all networks in the Internet, however, require the same degree of interconnectivity. In some cases information is exchanged only occasionally, and then in the form of mail messages. In order to support this type of interaction, in a cost effective manner, it is highly desirable to implement internetwork communication links using switched media.

This paper describes an experimental facility, developed for the management of transient internetwork communication links. The major novelty lies in the idea of allowing high level application programs to dynamically alter the Internet topology, without end-users being involved, or even aware of what is happening.
An office study
Authors: Barber Gerald R.
Published: June 2007

The results of an office study are presented. The goals of the study were to determine some parameters of the problem solving and knowledge level processing that occurs in a particular organization. The problem solving processes in the organization are described and the relationship between these problem solving processes and some characteristics of the knowledge used to solve the problems is discussed. In addition we describe the impact exceptions have on the evolution of the organization and identify two mechanisms that help the organization adapt to change. The implications of the results of the study on the understanding of organizations are discussed. Areas of further study are described.
Towards an in-house integrated publishing service
Authors: Kease W. J.
Published: June 2007

An in-house printing and publishing department has advantages over its equivalent in the outside world in that its market can, to some extent, be captive. But it has disadvantages too, for it can become neglected if the primary business of the organisation it serves is far removed from the world of Garamond 10 point and perfect binding.

This paper describes the work of an internal publishing house which is a part of an international UK-based Company working in the fields of telecommunications and electronic systems; and how it is moving, over a period of a few short months and years, from being a somewhat run-down printing unit to being up with the leaders in its field, and in some cases actually pioneering the use of new techniques.
The structure of abstract document objects
Authors: Kimura Gary D. , Shaw Alan C.
Published: June 2007

Underlying every document processing system is a model of the document. For many applications a simple model, such as a long string of characters, is adequate. However, more expressive models are desirable for more demanding applications that involve complex textual material and also nontextual objects, such as mathematical notation, tables, and figures. In this paper we present an expressive model, suitable for paper and electronic documents, that is based on a graph-like structure.

The principal concepts are the notions of abstract and concrete objects, hierarchical composition of ordered and unordered objects, sharing of components, and reference links. This model has proven useful for specifying a wide variety of document objects, and is the basis for an implemented document preparation system.
An approach to assessment of text handling systems
Authors: Irving R. H.
Published: June 2007

Office Automation is of major concern to vendors, to users, and to those academics who study relations between organizations, people and technology. Though technologies such as text processing and electronic mail have become common, other more esoteric systems such as file management, relational data bases and distributed information systems have yet to be widely accepted.

Several reasons are offered for this lag. One main reason is the lack of acceptable means for cost justifying office automation technology. Uttal [29] reports that direct cost savings are hard to identify. Despite these difficulties, there have been many attempts to develop cost-justification methods. These range from comprehensive approaches such as those suggested by Bair [3, 4] to very specific methods such as those suggested by Boczany [7]. One of the main reasons that justifications are hard to develop is the difficulty in modeling the effects of these new systems in terms of productivity and effectiveness.
A Daemon-based programming system for office procedures.
Authors: Cortese Giovanni , Sirovich Franco
Published: June 2007

The paper presents a daemon-based approach to office programming systems. Daemons are “agents” users create to automate their tasks. They can be seen as user assistants which are able to recognize when their activation is required. Daemons can be exemplarly defined, by supplying them with concrete examples of what they will be asked to do, and are useful to support the individual work as well as to automate in a decentralized, “bottom-up” fashion complex office procedures. In fact, since they are independent pieces of code, they seem well suited for programming systems which are 'incrementally' developed by different users. A facility for “run-time” exception handling is also discussed.
A conceptual approach to document retrieval
Authors: Barbi E. , Calvo F. , Perale C. , Sirovich F. , Turini F.
Published: June 2007

A document retrieval system is a quite useful tool in office environments, expecially for professionals who are interested in keeping along with the state of the art of their field by quickly consulting documents. The paper describes the design and the implementation of a document retrieval system based on a concept extraction from documents. Concept extraction is implemented using an internal knowledge representation (semantic network memory) of the subject the documents deal with retrieving concepts from a text is performed by search/inferential algorithms. Advantages of such methods are shown by comparing it to keyword extraction. The prototype system implementation is described. This system is actually in experimental phase. Several test descriptions provide a sketch of the first results.
Supporting organizational problem solving with a workstation
Authors: Barber Gerald
Published: June 2007

This paper describes an approach to supporting work in the office. Using and extending ideas from the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) we describe office work as a problem solving activity. A knowledge embedding language called Omega is used to embed knowledge of the organization into an office worker's workstation in order to support the office worker in his or her problem solving. A particular approach to reasoning about change and contradiction is discussed. This approach uses Omega's viewpoint mechanism.
Integrating diverse knowledge sources in text recognition
Authors: Srihari Sargur N. , Hull Jonathan J. , Choudhari Ramesh
Published: June 2007

The capabilities of present commercial machines for producing correct text by recognizing words in print, handwriting and speech are very limited. For example, most optical character recognition [OCR] machines are limited to a few fonts of machine print, or text that is handprinted under certain constraints; any deviation from these constraints will produce highly garbled text. This paper describes an algorithm for text recognition/correction that effectively merges a bottom-up refinement process that is based on the utilization of transitional probabilities and letter confusion probabilities, known as the Viterbi algorithm [VA], together with a top-down process based on searching a trie structure representation of a lexicon. The algorithm is applicable to text containing an arbitrary number of character substitution errors such as that produced by OCR machines.
Views of office data
Authors: Fikes Richard E. , Hewitt Carl , Joloboss Vania , Miller Lance A. , deJong S. Peter
Published: June 2007

Office applications will eventually be defined and executed by office personnel rather than professional programmers. There are many scientific disciplines and technologies that are contributing to this goal. This panel will explore a few of these areas: databases, artificial intelligence, and linguistics. Today the active database research areas are in highly distributed, real-time transaction oriented systems, and dynamic expressive data organizations such as the relational model. The extending of the database models to cover the requirements of the office is a major concern in office systems research. Artificial Intelligence has been directly involved with the problems of interfacing with end-users for a considerable period of time. The AI knowledge base systems are much closer in spirit to the way humans accumulate and use partial knowledge to solve problems than the database models. Using AI techniques, expert systems have been built for various application areas. One can envision the use of expert office systems to help in solving business and organizational problems. Much of the communications done in the office is in terms of natural language. Linguistics is concerned with the structure of language and how people generate it and understand it. The greater the extent that an office system can deal with natural languages, the more useful that system will be to end-users.

This panel will discuss how intelligent the next generation of office systems can become using these technologies.
Development of a CBMS message transfer protocol
Authors: Mulvenna Gerard F.
Published: June 2007

In recent years, organizations have been turning towards the use of automation equipment to effect productivity improvements in the office environment. One of the principal new methods of expediting communications in the modern office is the use of electronic mail and messaging systems. According to International Resource Development, Incorporated, the market for electronic mail and message systems and services will increase from about $1 billion in 1979 to more than $4.5 billion by 1989. By the latter date, there will be at least 50 companies with significant participation in electronic mail. The declining services and rising costs associated with postal deliveries along with the benefits of “instant” message delivery using electronic means, have sparked a large increase in the use of electronic mail and messaging systems by United States corporations. The growth in electronic mail can be explained by the belief that todays' businesses have to communicate far more effectively in order to compete in an increasingly complex world.
The effects of nightly normobaric hypoxia and high intensity training under intermittent normobaric hypoxia on running economy and hemoglobin mass
Authors: Neya Mituso , Enoki Taisuke , Kumai Yasuko , Sugoh Takayuki , Kawahara Takashi
Published: June 2007

We investigated the effects of nightly intermittent exposure to hypoxia and of training during intermittent hypoxia on both erythropoiesis and running economy (RE), which is indicated by the oxygen cost during running at submaximal speeds. Twenty-five college long- and middle- distance runners [maximal oxygen uptake (V̇o2max) 60.3 ± 4.7 ml·kg−1·min−1] were randomly assigned to one of three groups: hypoxic residential group (HypR, 11 h/night at 3,000 m simulated altitude), hypoxic training group (HypT), or control group (Con), for an intervention of 29 nights. All subjects trained in Tokyo (altitude of 60 m) but HypT had additional high-intensity treadmill running for 30 min at 3,000 m simulated altitude on 12 days during the night intervention. V̇o2was measured at standing rest during four submaximal speeds (12, 14, 16, and 18 km/h) and during a maximal stage to volitional exhaustion on a treadmill. Total hemoglobin mass (THb) was measured by carbon monoxide rebreathing. There were no significant changes in V̇o2max, THb, and the time to exhaustion in all three groups after the intervention. Nevertheless, HypR showed ∼5% improvement of RE in normoxia ( P < 0.01) after the intervention, reflected by reduced V̇o2at 18 km/h and the decreased regression slope fitted to V̇o2measured during rest position and the four submaximal speeds ( P < 0.05), whereas no significant corresponding changes were found in HypT and Con. We concluded that our dose of intermittent hypoxia (3,000 m for ∼11 h/night for 29 nights) was insufficient to enhance erythropoiesis or V̇o2max, but improved the RE at race speed of college runners.
Developing a Life Story: Constructing Relations between Self and Experience in Autobiographical Narratives
Authors: Pasupathi M. , Mansour E. , Brubaker J.R.
Published: June 2007

In this paper, we consider how the life story develops through the creation of self-event connections in narrating experiences. We first outline the ways in which such connections have been implied by existing work on the life story, and then consider the varieties of such connections that we see in our own work. That work suggests that self-event connections can construct both a stable sense of self as well as a sense of how the self has changed across time. Moreover, different types of connections have different implications for the development of the life story. We also consider developmental and other factors which make one or another type of connection more likely. Finally, we consider two issues for future work, as well as some methodological considerations involved in testing those proposals.
Podocin Organizes Ion Channel-Lipid Supercomplexes: Implications for Mechanosensation at the Slit Diaphragm
Authors: Huber Tobias B. , Schermer Bernhard , Benzing Thomas
Published: June 2007

The slit diaphragm is part of a three-layered glomerular filter that prevents most proteins from entering the urinary space. As a highly specialized cell-cell contact the slit diaphragm has recently been appreciated as a signaling platform that regulates podocyte cell survival, polarity, endocytosis and cytoskeletal organization. Mutations in genes encoding slit diaphragm proteins contribute to human hereditary glomerular diseases. Recently, it was discovered that transient receptor potential ion channel TRPC6 mutations cause familial glomerular disease. TRPC6 localizes to the slit diaphragm unexpectedly adding an ion channel to the list of signaling molecules functioning at this complex structure. Recent findings highlight a potential role for TRPC6 at the filtration barrier. TRPC6 has been identified as a sensor of mechanically and osmotically induced membrane stretch. In the context of the slit diaphragm signaling network, TRPC6 is clustered and regulated by a podocin-lipid complex that might translate mechanical tension to ion channel action. This review will summarize the most recent findings on protein-lipid supercomplexes at the slit diaphragm and discuss a potential novel function of the slit diaphragm as a mechanosensor.
Endogenous Thrombin Potential for Predicting Risk of Venous Thromboembolism in Carriers of Factor V Leiden
Authors: Lincz Lisa F. , Lonergan Amy , Scorgie Fiona E. , Rowlings Phillip , Gibson Richard , Lawrie Andrew , Seldon Michael
Published: June 2007

Measurement of endogenous thrombin potential (ETP) detects hypercoagulability and can be used to identify activated protein C resistance due to factor V Leiden (FVL). However, not all carriers of FVL suffer thrombosis and therefore we sought to determine if the test for ETP could be modified in such a way as to enable detection of FVL patients who were at increased risk of venous thromboembolism. Protac, an activator of both protein C and factor V, was incorporated into the traditional thrombin generation reaction and ratios (reaction with Protac:reaction without Protac) were calculated. Plasma samples from 42 FVL heterozygotes (12 with a history of thrombosis and 30 with no prior thrombosis) and 38 controls (non-FVL with no history of thrombosis) were analysed. The mean ETP ratio was significantly higher in FVL heterozygotes (0.90 ± 0.06) compared to normal controls (0.41 ± 0.10; p = 0.00004). Multivariate analysis indicated that the average ETP ratio was significantly and inversely correlated with factor V levels in FVL heterozygotes (p = 0.002) but not controls. Within the FVL group, patients with a history of thrombosis had higher ETP ratios (0.92 ± 0.06) compared to those without (0.89 ± 0.05), however, this did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.09). Further investigation into the use of ETP for detecting risk of thrombosis in people who are genetically predisposed is warranted. The recent introduction of diagnostic ETP measurements in the form of the calibrated automated thrombin generation from Thrombinoscope and the TechnoThrombin from Baxter should facilitate such studies.