M.Inf. / Users of geographic information systems (GIS) are often faced with a challenge with regard to identification, location and overall access to digital data used in the application of GIS. The selection of the appropriate data from the large volumes available, also gaining access to available data and the establishment of the distribution of data from one central source are necessary tasks in order to improve the dissemination of GIS data. However, these are difficult tasks due to many users being unaware of the full range of available digital GIS data. A mechanism that could assist in improving access to digital GIS data is the Webbased GIS clearinghouse. This study was initiated to determine the requirements of GIS clearinghouses for optimum accessibility to digital GIS data. A literature study was conducted to investigate the nature of data that is used in GIS clearinghouses, the current trends in GIS data on the Web and the unique characteristics of the Web that can increase accessibility to digital GIS data. A selection of clearinghouses was made and these were evaluated in order to determine variables that can be translated into criteria from which a model for the evaluation of GIS clearinghouses could be established. This model can act as a working document or check-list for users to evaluate GIS clearinghouses, or for designers to create new or improve existing GIS clearinghouses.

Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document / Thesis (PhD (Information Technology))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Informatics / unrestricted

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No description available.

Service quality as a component of overall Information Systems quality is examined. Three related studies test the SERVQUAL and related instruments (SERVPERF and Importance-weighted SERVPERF) using Information System users. SERVPERF outperformed SERVQUAL in all three studies.

This research was undertaken to determine whether the growth of computer-supported information systems in community mental health centers can be characterized by distinct stages of development. Data collection and analysis were designed to answer the following two questions: (1) Can distinct stages of information system growth be characterized by common profiles of computer-supported applications? (2) Are there characteristic groups of enabling factors (i.e., organization of data processing activities, management planning and control techniques, and user involvement) consistent among community mental health centers at any given stage of growth? This study draws upon earlier work by Nolan who identified distinct stages which characterize the pattern of information system growth in business organizations. A model reflecting the unique characteristics of community mental health centers was formulated to describe the aspects of information system growth addressed by this study. The components of the model were used to develop three scenarios describing the hypothesized characteristics of mental health information systems at three different stages of growth. Data for this study were obtained through a two-phase survey. The preliminary survey identified which community mental health centers are using computer-supported applications. The second survey collected detailed data about each model component using a stratified random sample of centers using computer-supported information systems. Responses to the preliminary survey showed that seventy-nine percent of the centers are using computer-supported information systems. In addition, the majority of centers with manual systems have plans to automate within one year. By contrast, a 1974 survey reported that only one-fourth of the centers were using computerized information systems. The number of centers using computers has therefore increased dramatically during the last five years. The analysis of computer-supported applications showed that a refinement of the hypothesized applications profile for each stage would be more representative of the state of the art of computerized applications in community mental health centers. The original model depicting three stages of applications development was extended to four stages. The predominant types of applications being developed are those supporting administrative and clinical recordkeeping functions. These findings indicate that the development of computer-supported applications in centers parallels applications development in other mental health programs. The analysis of characteristics of enabling factors revealed distinct differences among centers in each stage of development. The study results clearly showed that centers which are developing the most comprehensive sets of computerized applications are implementing formal planning and control techniques and user involvement strategies. These centers also reported the most favorable staff attitudes toward the usefulness of the information system and the most interest in developing new applications. While distinct characteristics of data processing organization variables were identified, these characteristics did not reflect a progression toward increased formalization of the data processing function.

With the onset of the information age, archivists are more frequently placed in professional situations where they must work with automated systems to manage the records in their custody. They must acquire new skills to use this technology, including system analysis, system planning, and the principles of computer operation. An area that is frequently neglected, however, is that of developing and maintaining in-house project documentation for systems once equipment is in place and implementation has begun. This oversight leads to poor training strategies, inconsistencies in input and output, and information loss when personnel changes occur. Project documentation is the group of records that describe the system the archivist creates. It is a communications tool, developed by the project manager as a reference document for administrative and operations purposes, and to train users. The documentation guidelines assembled in this text were developed by the author while implementing automated systems over a six-year period. They are arranged in five groups. SCOPE discusses ways to introduce the user to the project, the equipment, and to the concept of the project manual. SYSTEM ORIENTATION contains strategies for more detailed instruction on the equipment. INPUT shows how to describe the data base design and instruct the user on entering data. OUTPUT provides a format for profiling and generating reports. And OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE outlines the tools the project manager needs to maintain the system.

Thesis: M.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 1976 / Bibliography: leaf 115. / M.S. / M.S. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management

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This thesis examines biomedical text mining with an application in bone biology. A special thanks is extended to Anita Park and Mark Jaeger from the Purdue University Graduate School Office, who acted as invaluable assets in the formatting of the thesis. IUPUI and every other university would be fortunate to have staff that respond in such a timely, corteous, and professional manner. / Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The biological literature is a huge and constantly increasing source of information which the biologist may consult for information about their field, but the vast amount of data can sometimes become overwhelming. Medline, which makes a great amount of biological journal data available online, makes the development of automated text mining systems and hence “data-driven discovery” possible. This thesis examines current work in the field of text mining and biological literature, and then aims to mine documents pertaining to bone biology. The documents are retrieved from PubMed, and then direct associations between the terms are computers. Potentially novel transitive associations among biological objects are then discovered using the transitive closure algorithm and the maximum flow algorithm. The thesis discusses in detail the extraction of biological objects from the collected documents and the co-occurrence based text mining algorithm, the transitive closure algorithm, and the maximum network flow which were then run to extract the potentially novel biological associations. Generated hypotheses (novel associations) were assigned with significance scores for further validation by a bone biologist expert. Extension of the work in to hypergraphs for enhanced meaning and accuracy is also examined in the thesis.