Informatica Economica Vol. XI No. 3/2007SUMMARYThe long way of knowledge society Abstract: I think, therefore I am. Our ancestors said Cogito, ergo sum, in a Latin form of René Descartes’ expression “Je pense, donc je suis”, in Discourse on Method (1637). The same did Thomas Davenport, when gave his book the title Thinking for a living. Probably he didn’t prefer the direct form in English of the above mentioned expression: “I think, therefore I am”, but one that in essence is more poetical and more anchored in the reality of the third millennium’s early days, in the way that only thinking we can exist. The title is also a commercial one, because the previous ten books also basically referred to knowing or knowledge. They used the research done in the following fields: knowledge management, process management and innovation. The opening of his last book, a best seller of 2005, is also interesting. The author gives the first chapter the title “What’s a Knowledge Worker, Anyway?”. We could draw the conclusion that after so much effort, including a publishing one, the author remains with the doubt on the terminology so much used at the end of the 2nd millennium and the beginning of the 3rd one or leaves an open way to the next volumes. It is not by chance that there are voices that say he might be the next Peter Drucker. The last one said that the future society would be the knowledge society (see also Managing in the Next Society, 2002). Some Remarks on Collaborative Systems Framework Abstract: DARPA Intelligent Collaboration and Visualization Program [DARPA1997] developed a general framework for the collaborative systems architecture for the audit of these systems. The authors applied the framework for different applications and for collaborative project management [Niţchi2006]. In different particular type of collaborative systems were developed other frameworks. By these, but also from our experience we developed a new general framework for collaborative systems. This note would be a short presentation of this framework used by the authors in development of the CSCW for the collaborative systems in business and also in education . Innovative digital learning Abstract: The new programming technologies allow for the creation of components which can be automatically or manually assembled to reach a new experience in knowledge understanding and mastering or in getting skills for a specific knowledge area. A Visual C# .NET implementation under development is discussed. Why Is Hard To Patent An Invention? Abstract: When employed by a company, in almost all the cases a new employee has to sign an agreement giving the company exclusive rights to any intellectual property developed as part of their work assignments. This agreement could extend beyond a change of jobs and cause conflict of interests in new employment situations.
A patent is a government-granted monopoly given to an inventor as both a reward for the intellectual and financial investment, and a stimulus to innovate. As a monopoly, the patent has legal power to exclude others from exploiting the invention in any way for a period of 20 years from the time the patent application has been filed. A trademark provides instant recognition of a product or company; a service mark provides instant recognition of a service. They both have unlimited lifetime. But the owner must renew or confirm continuous use at the end of five years, and every 10 years thereafter. A trade secret is information keep secret by the owner to give him advantage over competitors. Since it is secret, a trade secret protection has unlimited lifetime. Abstract: Business Intelligence is the process for increasing the competitive advantage of a company by intelligent use of available data in decision-making. Only a revolutionary Business Intelligence solution, like the proposed portal-based, can solve the complex issues faced when evaluating decision support applications and ensures the availability of any business-critical information. Abstract: The experience in developing performance-centered systems for higher education has improved significantly, and practitioners have made considerable progress in elaborating a methodology. This paper discusses the convergence of thinking among various disciplines in analysis and design methodologies, and describes the key elements of the new-emerged performance support engineering development methodology. These are important for designing web-based systems, information systems, and knowledge management systems in higher education. Abstract: Basing on mean field theory and corporate entrepreneurship (CE) concept a mathematical model of complex organization has been derived. The model was applied to computer simulations of corporation’s reaction to hostile environment in corporations similar to British Petroleum. Abstract: The idea of master data and master data management (MDM) evolved from the increased necessities of enterprises for a more efficient and effective data management, requiring unification and integration of enterprise-wide data from multiple systems. In order to do that, many companies are considering MDM solutions, which automate data integration across various systems and applications. The paper aims to establish the correct position and role of the MDM in the enterprise IT (Information Technology) systems and to identify the main approaches, trends and solutions in the emergent area of enterprise MDM. The Blog – a new paradigm for exploiting the educational resources Abstract: By using blogs, the way towards a new learning environment within which the teacher and the student are connected, thus becoming more powerful, more motivated and reflective, is opened. In this way, the balance between individualized technologies and centralized ones is more stable. The use of web logs within an educational system will have a limited impact if the present dynamics of this communication system is ignored. In the light of these data, a possible resemblance with the implementation of institutionalized systems of study is underlined as an alternative form of the online studying environment. Abstract: On-The-Job Training, developed as direct instruction, is one of the earliest forms of training. This method is still widely in use today because it requires only a person who knows how to do the task, and the tools the person uses to do the task.
This paper is intended to be a study of the methods used in education in Knowledge Society, with more specific aspects in training the trainers; as a result of this approach, it promotes scaffolding in assisted instruction as a reflection of the digital age for the learning process. Training the trainers in old environment with default techniques and designing the learning process in assisted instruction, as an application of the Vygotskian concept of the zone of proximal development (ZPD) to the area of computer literacy for the younger users, generate diversity in educational communities and requires standards for technology infrastructure, standards for the content, developed as a concepts map, and applications for personalized in-struction, based on ZPD theory. Abstract: The focus of this article lies on the specific features of the existing software packages for risk management differentiating three categories. Representative for these categories we consider the Crystal Ball, Haufe Risikomanager and MIS – Risk Management solutions, outlining the strenghts and weaknesses in a comparative analysis. Abstract: A key to survival in the business world is being able to analyze, plan and react to changing business conditions as fast as possible. With multidimensional models the managers can ex-plore information at different levels of granularity and the decision makers at all levels can quickly respond to changes in the business climate–the ultimate goal of business intelligence. This paper focuses on the implementation of the multidimensional concepts into object-relational databases. Abstract: In the new Internet economy, risk management plays a critical role to protect the organization and its ability to perform their business mission, not just its IT assets. Risk management is the process of identifying risk, assessing risk, and taking steps to reduce risk to an acceptable level. The risk management is an important component of a IT security program. Information and communications technology management and IT security are responsible for ensuring that technology risks are managed appropriately. These risks originate from the deployment and use of IT assets in various ways, such as configuring systems incorrectly or gaining access to restricted software. Abstract: Governments worldwide are faced with the challenge of transformation and the need to rein-vent government systems in order to deliver efficient and cost effective services, information and knowledge through information and communication technologies. Development of Information and communication technologies catalyzed and led up to E-government. Abstract: On the last decade the integration of e-business into organizations has increased, but there are still difficulties during this process. In the present environment any organization must include into their business plan the possibility of identifying the e-business integration method, the implementation cost, and the expected results. The article’s aim is to analyze the necessary means and steps in e-business integration into the business plan of an organization.
Improving Organizations Efficiency through CMMI and IDEAL Abstract: In this paper we present the characteristics of the CMMI process model and the IDEAL im-plementation frameworks that have appeared from the need to address generic company-wide organizational issues for a broader range of activity domains. Abstract: The new stage of the market-based economy is more strongly and more directly rooted in the production, distribution and use of knowledge. Knowledge creation and knowledge diffusion are key driving forces in the economy and knowledge has become an economic resource in its own right (Fischer and Atalik, 2002). Accordingly, firms are more and more interested in absorbing the advances in technological and organizational knowledge and in applying it in the production process and organization of work. In this context, any discussion about knowledge invariably leads to the question of the relationship between information and knowledge. Thus, according to Fischer, the common understanding is that “information does not become knowledge unless its value is enhanced through interpretation, organization, filtration, selection or engineering” (Fischer, 2002, p. 18). Moreover, nowadays the ICT revolution and the knowledge-based economy are closely interrelated. The convergence of computing, information and telecommunication technologies has changed the conditions for the production and dissemination of knowledge and its connection with the production system as well. New flexible information and communication technologies such as internet, web, intranet, extranet, data warehousing and data mining, as well as collaborative groupware technologies are responsible for the major changes in current abilities to handle data and information, to codify knowledge and to transmit codified knowledge (Fischer, 2006). Abstract: In the Knowledge Age to maintain profitability and in some cases to remain in the market, companies must focus their actions in activities such as collecting, filtering, and disseminating information about market, about competitors and their actions. Those are part of Competitive Intelligence (CI) concept. In digital age, most of the information needed for CI projects is available on the web. This paper focuses on this field and presents a mix of directions that companies need to take into consideration in their CI projects in order to achieve the goals. Abstract: A copyright provides protection for original artistic or literary work and is valid for the life of the owner plus 70 years. There is a growing tension between creative practices that require access to content that is often copyrighted, and increasingly restrictive intellectual property laws and policies governing access to copyrighted content. Very recently this has played out in the law suit between the media corporation Viacom and the Internet portal YouTube, which is owned by Google. This is against the background of a steadily emerging open source and creative commons culture. Milestones in the open source movement are the OpenOffice office suite, Netscape’s publication of the source code for its product as open software, Google’s library project, various free archives for scientific dissemination, such as Cornell University’s ArXiv. Executive Information Systems’ Multidimensional Models Abstract: Executive Information Systems are design to improve the quality of strategic level of man-agement in organization through a new type of technology and several techniques for extract-ing, transforming, processing, integrating and presenting data in such a way that the organi-zational knowledge filters can easily associate with this data and turn it into information for the organization. These technologies are known as Business Intelligence Tools. But in order to build analytic reports for Executive Information Systems (EIS) in an organization we need to design a multidimensional model based on the business model from the organization. Abstract: Data warehouse technology includes a set of concepts and methods that offer the users useful information for decision making. The necessity to build a data warehouse arises from the ne-cessity to improve the quality of information in the organization. The date proceeding from different sources, having a variety of forms – both structured and unstructured, are filtered according to business rules and are integrated in a single large data collection. Using infor-matics solutions, managers have understood that data stored in operational systems – including databases, are an informational gold mine that must be exploited. Data warehouses have been developed to answer the increasing demands for complex analysis, which could not be properly achieved with operational databases. The present paper emphasizes some of the criteria that information application developers can use in order to choose between a database solution or a data warehouse one. Abstract: Integration is an activity that unites people, equipments, programs but also managerial prac-tices and helps a company to put its knowledge into good use. In Romania, more and more private companies choose to have integrated systems to help them grow. Public owned com-panies and institutions, for example The National House of Pensions and Other Social Insur-ance Right, invested large amounts of founds in the development of new information systems to help them gather, process and disseminate data from the population. Abstract: Also most of the big ERP providers provide solutions for higher education, including SAP AG, Oracle, JD Eduards, Peoplesoft, universities preferr other specialized applications which better fit their specific needs. This paper presents the advantages of an integrated solution for higher education and analyzes the solutions offered for this sector by the Romanian ERP market. The conlusion is more like an invitation to discussion about possible solutions to the present Romanian university situation: low budgets, changing regulations, isolated, self-developed applications. Abstract: The future of mobile banking will be represented by such applications that support mobile, Internet banking and EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer) transactions in a single user interface. In such a way, the mobile banking will be able to cover all the types of applications demanded at the market level. Abstract: Education reorientation towards the electronic, computerized environment naturally leads to transferring evaluation activities to the same environment. Beside the general trend of the so-ciety, use of Computer Aided Assessment is also required by other objective factors. Among them we have the huge raise in student numbers leading to the need to test and evaluate many students in a short time, in a coherent manner, while the numbers of the personnel administer-ing the testing did not raise or raised much slower. Computers can perform this task removing any suspicion of subjective evaluation. Downside of this is that computers are machines that perform preprogrammed tasks. They lack the ability to understand free answers therefore test-ing has to be redesigned in a compatible manner. Also, some algorithms should be implemented to prevent and detect wrongful conduct from those undertaking tests. Abstract: The Academy of Economic Studies has more than 45000 students and about 5000 computers with Internet access which are connected to AES network. Students can access internet on these computers through a proxy server which stores information about the way the Internet is accessed. In this paper, we describe the process of discovering internet user behavior models by analyzing proxy server raw data and we emphasize the importance of such models for the e-learning environment. Abstract: In the new economy there are various forms of training for human resources. In this paper we are trying to make a parallel into new forms of training and traditional ones. We will discus about this in the new economy context. Abstract: This paper presents the authors’ research for developing a tutorial system which enables the delivery of proper training to specialized personnel in Small and Middle Enterprises (SMEs), in order to eliminate or reduce the health and safety risks of these enterprises to an acceptable level, according to the European Union directives. During the analysis phase, the requirements of the tutorial system were described using UML use case diagrams, the activity flow was modeled with an activity diagram, and the relevant classes were identified and described in a class diagram. INFOREC Association 123 |