Barry Eaglestone

Knowledge management issues in knowledge‐intensive SMEs

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a study of knowledge management understanding and usage in small and medium knowledge‐intensive enterprises.Design/methodology/approach – The study has taken an interpretitivist approach, using two knowledge‐intensive South Yorkshire (England) companies as case studies, both of which are characterised by the need to process and use knowledge on a daily basis in order to remain competitive. The case studies were analysed using qualitative research methodology, composed of interviews and concept mapping, thus deriving a characterisation of understandings, perceptions and requirements of SMEs in relation to knowledge management.Findings – The study provides evidence that, while SMEs, including knowledge intensive ones, acknowledge that adequately capturing, storing, sharing and disseminating knowledge can lead to greater innovation and productivity, their managers are not prepared to invest the relatively high effort on long term knowledge management goals fo...

Software development: two approaches to animation of Z specifications using Prolog

Formal methods rely on the correctness of the formal requirements specification, but this correctness cannot be proved. This paper discusses the use of software tools to assist in the validation of formal specifications and advocates a system by which Z specifications may be animated as Prolog programs. Two Z/Prolog translation strategies are explored; formal program synthesis and structure simulation. The paper explains why the former proved to be unsuccessful and describes the techniques developed for implementing the latter approach, with the aid of case studies.

Data Quality Issues in Electronic Health Records: An Adaptation Framework for the Greek Health System

This article address data quality issues relating to electronic health records (EHRs). It discusses the nature of the problem of supporting EHRs at national and international levels, and examines the data quality issues. In particular, the discussion focuses on the role of intelligent interfaces, structured data entry and mobile computing within this context. The problems are then made tangible by considering the implementation of a Greek national EHR system. The article concludes by recommending an adaptation framework that will enable a stepwise approach in the development of EHRs for the Greek health system which takes into account the data quality issues considered.

Countering method bias in questionnaire‐based user studies

Purpose – This paper seeks to discuss reliability problems associated with questionnaires, commonly employed in library and information science. It aims to focus on the effects of “common method variance” (CMV), which is a form of bias, and ways of countering these effects.Design/methodology/approach – The paper critically reviews the use of existing tools for demonstrating reliability in questionnaire‐based studies. In particular, it focuses on Cronbachs alpha, “Harmans single factor test” and Lindell and Whitneys “marker variable” approach. The paper introduces an illustrative case study based on the work on metacognition and web searching. It goes on to make recommendations for researchers considering using a questionnaire‐based approach.Findings – CMV is a problem affecting questionnaire‐based studies in different disciplines across social and information science. Where questionnaire items are more abstract, CMV has been found to be more of a problem. The widely used Cronbach alpha measure, of the ...

Web searching by the “general public”: an individual differences perspective

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of a number of human individual differences on the web searching of a sample of the general public.Design/methodology/approach – In total, 91 members of the general public performed 195 controlled searches. Search activity and ratings of search difficulty and success were recorded and statistically analysed. The study was exploratory, and sought to establish whether there is a prima facie case for further systematic investigation of the selection and combination of variables studied here.Findings – Results revealed a number of interactions between individual differences, the use of different search strategies, and levels of perceived search difficulty and success. The findings also suggest that the open and closed nature of searches may affect these interactions. A conceptual model of these relationships is presented.Practical implications – Better understanding of factors affecting searching may help one to develop more effective search support...

Information systems and creativity: an empirical study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report research that sought to understand the requirements of information systems designed to support people engaged in creative intellectual activity. The research aimed to provide empirical evidence based on a case study of a particular arena of creativity, namely electro‐acoustic music composition. However, it also sought to identify issues that may apply more widely to other arenas of human creativity.Design/methodology/approach – The research was based on a related series of three in‐depth studies of electro‐acoustic music composers at work. These studies entailed the collection of qualitative data from interviews, observations and “think aloud” protocols. These data were analysed inductively to reveal concepts and relationships that formed the basis for a model of interactions between the composers and the information systems with which they were working.Findings – The paper presents a model of relationships between information system features and use, and t...

A Review of Multidatabase Transactions on The Web: From the ACID to the SACReD

This paper analyses the characteristics of Web-multidatabase transactions and associated transaction management issues. Current Web-database transaction management solutions are reviewed. Conclusions drawn are that these are currently too restrictive. Flexibility is required through nested flexible transaction strategies, with compensation, and contingency or alternative subtransactions. Furthermore, the classical ACID test of transaction correctness is over-restrictive and unrealistic in the Web context. A relaxation of the ACID test is proposed, based on semantic atomicity, local consistency, and durability, for resilient transactions, i.e., the SACReD properties. These conclusions motivate the authors ongoing research and development of a prototype CORBA-compliant middleware Web-multidatabase transaction manager based upon a hybrid configuration of open and closed nested flexible transactions.

A Formal Treatment of the SACReD Protocol for Multidatabase Web Transactions

Issues of multidatabase transaction management within the Web are addressed. After examining the nature of the problem and reviewing current solutions, we argue that the classic ACID test of transaction correctness is not appropriate for Web transactions and propose new criteria based on SACReD properties. A new Web Transaction Model (WebTraM), based upon open and closed nested transaction models, is proposed and formally specified. Preliminary analysis demonstrates performance improvements over other Web transaction management methods.

Towards “metacognitively aware” IR systems: an initial user study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe: a new taxonomy of metacognitive skills designed to support the study of metacognition in the context of web searching; a data collection instrument based on the taxonomy; and the results of testing the instrument on a sample of university students and staff.Design/methodology/approach – The taxonomy is based on a review of the literature, and is extended to cover web searching. This forms the basis for the design of the data collection instrument, which is tested with 405 students and staff of Sheffield University.Findings – Subjects regard the range of metacognitive skills focused on as broadly similar. However, a number of significant differences in reported metacognition usage relating to age, gender and discipline.Practical implications – These findings contribute to the long‐term aims of the research which are to: develop a model of the actual and potential role of metacognition in web searching, and identify strategic “metacognitive interventions” ...

Validation and verification of knowledge-based systems: report on EUROVAV99

Knowledge-Based (KB) technology is being applied to complex problem solving and safety and business critical tasks in many application domains. Concerns have naturally arisen as to the dependability of Knowledge-Based Systems (KBS). As with any software, attention to quality and safety must be paid throughout development of a KBS, and rigorous Verification and Validation (V&V) techniques must be employed. Research in V&V of KBSs has emerged as a distinct field only in the last decade, and is intended to address issues associated with quality and safety aspects of KBSs, and to provide such applications with the same degree of dependability as conventional applications. In recent years, V&V of KBSs has been the topic of annual workshops associated with the main AI conferences, such as AAAI, IJCAI and ECAI.