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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/REC-html401-19991224/loose.dtd"> <HTML> <HEAD> <title>Information Science Discussion Papers Series: 1994 abstracts</title> <META NAME="generator" CONTENT="BBEdit 5.1.1"> <link rel="Stylesheet" href="/infosci/styles.css" type="text/css"> <link rel="Stylesheet" href="DPSstyles.css" type="text/css"> </HEAD> <BODY> <h2>Information Science Discussion Papers Series: 1994 Abstracts</h2> <hr> <h3><a name="dp9401">94/1: A comparison of authorship style in the document corpus of the Epistles of St. Ignatius of Antioch</a></h3> <h4>P.J. Sallis</h4> <p>This paper is the result of some research in computational stylistics; in particular, the analysis of a document corpus that has attracted the attention of scholars from several disciplines for hundreds of years. This corpus, the <EM>Epistles of Saint Ignatius of Antioch</EM>, was originally written in Greek but this analysis is of a single translation in English. The analysis has been undertaken using a conventional approach in computational stylistics but has employed a number of contemporary software packages, such as a grammar checker, normally used for text and document creation.</p> <p>Research in this field predominantly characterises authorship style by the use of document statistics, such as word frequency, sentence and paragraph length and in some cases the recurrence of certain phrases. During the research described here it was considered appropriate to use a grammar checker to identify the existence of a ‘new’ set of characteristics. These include comparing the use of <EM>passive voice</EM> across the corpus being analysed, the percentage use of prepositions, as well as document statistics such as sentence and paragraph length, and the application of text readability formulas as indicators of writing style.</p> <p>The corpus analysed in this paper consists of the seven <EM>Epistles of Ignatius of Antioch</EM>, together with the <EM>Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians</EM>. The latter epistle has traditionally been held to authenticate the Ignatian writings. It has been suggested by some church historians that Ignatius was not the author of these epistles and may not in fact, have existed as a person at all. Further, they suggest that two paragraphs in the Polycarp Epistle may have been added later by a second author to authenticate the Ignatian corpus. In order to contribute to the ongoing debate, this paper first examines the Ignatian corpus in order to determine single authorship of the seven epistles. Second, it seeks to determine whether or not the two disputed paragraphs in Polycarp’s Epistle to the Philippians vary in authorship style from the rest of that epistle. Third, it compare authorship style in the two inserted paragraphs of Polycarp’s Epistle with that of the Ignatian corpus in order to make some observations on the hypothesis that a single author was responsible for both.</p> <hr> <h3><a name="dp9402">94/2: Management perceptions of IS research and development issues</a></h3> <h4>P.J. Sallis</h4> <p>Whilst <EM>change</EM> is an inherent characteristic of the IT industry, the difficulty of frequent and timely change in tertiary curricula is a constraint on the ability of universities to adequately meet the requirements of knowledge and expertise expected of new graduates. In this paper, some recently published research concerning the top ten issues for managers of information technology in the USA, Europe and Australia is evaluated in terms of its impact on IS teaching and research. The paper concludes that the top ten issues perceived by IS managers was probably in large part due to change resulting not only from advances in technology but also in response to past failures or inadequacies in the process of delivering high quality information system products to corporate consumers. The need for business and education to be aware of the motivations for change and the constraints that are attendant on it in both environments is emphasised for harmonious progress to prevail in the production and utilisation of new IS graduates.</p> <hr> <h3><a name="dp9403">94/3: Assessing the graphical and algorithmic structure of hierarchical coloured Petri net models</a></h3> <h4>G.L. Benwell and S.G. MacDonell</h4> <p>Petri nets, as a modelling formalism, are utilised for the analysis of processes, whether for explicit understanding, database design or business process re-engineering. The formalism, however, can be represented on a virtual continuum from highly graphical to largely algorithmic. The use and understanding of the formalism will, in part, therefore depend on the resultant complexity and power of the representation and, on the graphical or algorithmic preference of the user. This paper develops a metric which will indicate the graphical or algorithmic tendency of hierarchical coloured Petri nets.</p> <hr> <h3><a name="dp9404">94/4: Phoneme recognition with hierarchical self organised neural networks and fuzzy systems</a></h3> <h4>N.K. Kasabov and E. Peev</h4> <p>Neural networks (NN) have been intensively used for speech processing. This paper describes a series of experiments on using a single Kohonen Self Organizing Map (KSOM), hierarchically organised KSOM, a backpropagation-type neural network with fuzzy inputs and outputs, and a fuzzy system, for continuous speech recognition. Experiments with different non-linear transformations on the signal before using a KSOM have been done. The results obtained by using different techniques on the case study of phonemes in Bulgarian language are compared.</p> <hr> <h3><a name="dp9405">94/5: A model for exploiting associative matching in AI production systems</a></h3> <h4>N.K. Kasabov, S.H. Lavington, S. Lin and C. Wang</h4> <p>A Content-Addressable Model of Production Systems, ‘CAMPUS’, has been developed. The main idea is to achieve high execution performance in production systems by exploiting the potential fine-grain data parallelism. The facts and the rules of a production system are uniformly represented as CAM tables. CAMPUS differs from other CAM-inspired models in that it is based on a non-state saving and ‘lazy’ matching algorithm. The production system execution cycle is represented by a small number of associative search operations over the CAM tables which number does not depend, or depends slightly, on the number of the rules and the number of the facts in the production system. The model makes efficient implementation of large production systems on fast CAM possible. An experimental CAMPUS realisation of the production language CLIPS is also reported. The production systems execution time for large number of processed facts is about 1,000 times less than the corresponding CLIPS execution time on a standard computer architecture.</p> <p><strong>Keywords: </strong>associative matching, content-addressable memory (CAM), production systems</p> <hr> <h3><a name="dp9406">94/6: A system development methodology for geomatics as derived from informatics</a></h3> <h4>G.L. Benwell</h4> <p>This paper describes the creation of a system development methodology suitable for spatial information systems. The concept is substantiated on the fact that spatial systems are similar to information systems in general. The subtle difference being the fact that spatial systems are not yet readily supported by large digital data bases. This fact has diverted attention away from system development to data collection. A spatial system development methodology is derived, based on a historical review of information systems methodologies and the coupling of same with a data collection and integration methodology for the spatially referenced digital data.</p> <hr> <h3><a name="dp9407">94/7: Software metrics in New Zealand: Recent trends</a></h3> <h4>M.K. Purvis, S.G. MacDonell and J. Westland</h4> <p>Almost by definition, any engineering discipline has quantitative measurement at its foundation. In adopting an engineering approach to software development, the establishment and use of software metrics has therefore seen extensive discussion. The degree to which metrics are actually used, however, particularly in New Zealand, is unclear. Four surveys, conducted over the last eight years, are therefore reviewed in this paper, with a view to determining trends in the use of metrics. According to the findings presented, it would appear that no more than one third of organisations involved in software development utilise software metrics.</p> <hr> <h3><a name="dp9408">94/8: A comparative review of functional complexity assessment methods for effort estimation</a></h3> <h4>S.G. MacDonell</h4> <p>Budgetary constraints are placing increasing pressure on project managers to effectively estimate development effort requirements at the earliest opportunity. With the rising impact of automation on commercial software development the attention of researchers developing effort estimation models has recently been focused on functional representations of systems, in response to the assertion that development effort is a function of specification content. A number of such models exist—several, however, have received almost no research or industry attention. Project managers wishing to implement a functional assessment and estimation programme are therefore unlikely to be aware of the various methods or how they compare. This paper therefore attempts to provide this information, as well as forming a basis for the development and improvement of new methods.</p> <p><a href="http://divcom.otago.ac.nz/infosci/publctns/complete/papers/dp9408sm.pdf.gz">Download</a> (gzipped PDF, 252KB)</p> <hr> <h3><a name="dp9409">94/9: Viruses: What can we really do?</a></h3> <h4>H.B. Wolfe</h4> <p>It is virtually impossible to know everything about any facet of computing as it changes on almost a daily basis. Having said that I believe that it is worth sharing some of the knowledge that I have gained as a result of 5 years of study and experimentation with viruses and virus defense strategies as well as having personally tested nearly 50 anti-virus products.</p> <hr> <h3><a name="dp9410">94/10: Stochastic models of the behaviour of scrubweeds in Southland and Otago</a></h3> <h4>L. Gonzalez and G.L. Benwell</h4> <p>This paper investigates statistical models for the understanding of the behaviour of scrubweeds in Southland and Otago. Data pertaining to eight scrubweed species have been collected along four transects together with the environmental factors, altitude, slope, aspect and land use classification. Each transect is approximately 80km by 2km, with data being held for every 1ha so that there are approximately 16,000 pixels for each transect. It is important to understand the relationship between the species so that interpolation and extrapolation can be performed. The initial survey, completed in 1992, will be repeated in 1995 and 1998. These surveys will then form the baseline for an understanding of the spread or contraction of the species in farmlands of the South Island. This in turn will assist policy makers in formulating management plans which relate eradication to farmland productivity. This paper deals in detail with one of the transects—Balclutha to Katiki Point.</p> <p><strong>Keywords: </strong>canonical correlation, kriging, log-linear models, logistic regression, spatial correlation, variogram analysis</p> <hr> <h3><a name="dp9411">94/11: Towards using hybrid connectionist fuzzy production systems for speech recognition</a></h3> <h4>N.K. Kasabov</h4> <p>The paper presents a novel approach towards solving different speech recognition tasks, i.e. phoneme recognition, ambiguous words recognition, continuous speech to text conversion, learning fuzzy rules for language processing. The model uses a standard connectionist system for initial recognition and a connectionist rule-based system for a higher level recognition. The higher level is realised as a Connectionist Fuzzy Production System (CFPS) which makes possible introducing different parameters to the higher level production rules, like: degrees of importance, dynamic sensitivity factors, noise tolerance factors, certainty degrees and reactiveness factors. It provides different approximate chain reasoning techniques. The CFPS helps to solve many of the ambiguities in speech recognition tasks. Experiments on phoneme recognition in the English language are reported. This approach facilitates a connectionist implementation of the whole process of speech recognition (at a low level and at a higher logical level) which used to be performed in hybrid environments. It also facilitates the process of learning fuzzy rules for language processing. All the language processing tasks and subtasks are realised in a homogeneous connectionist environment. This brings all the benefits of connectionist systems to practical applications in the speech recognition area.</p> <hr> <h3><a name="dp9412">94/12: Connectionist fuzzy production systems</a></h3> <h4>N.K. Kasabov</h4> <p>A new type of generalised fuzzy rule and generalised fuzzy production system and a corresponding reasoning method are developed. They are implemented in a connectionist architecture and are called connectionist fuzzy production systems. They combine all the features of symbolic AI production systems, fuzzy production systems and connectionist systems. A connectionist method for learning generalised fuzzy productions from raw data is also presented. The main conclusion reached is that connectionist fuzzy production systems are very powerful as fuzzy reasoning machines and they may well inspire new methods of plausible representation of inexact knowledge and new inference techniques for approximate reasoning.</p> <hr> <h3><a name="dp9413">94/13: Information display design: A survey of visual display formats</a></h3> <h4>W.B.L. Wong</h4> <p>This paper reviews the research and practice of how computer-based output information has been presented in nine different information display formats and the suitability of their use in environments ranging from static, reference-type situations, to complex, dynamic situations. The review while not generating conclusive results suggests that displays are more than a platform to place information. Instead care should be taken to organise, lay out, and pre-process the information so that it enhances the communication between computer and human. The information on the screen should also be designed to augment human cognitive limitations. For instance, human weakness in integrating information across time and multiple sources could be assisted by display formats that integrate the information in the display rather than having the user attempt to integrate that information mentally. If this be the desired outcome, information designers must start to consider performing analyses that help them understand the demands on the human information processing system and hence how information can be presented to augment this weakness. This would have to be further investigated in subsequent research.</p> <p><strong>Keywords: </strong>information display design, output information, visual display formats,</p> <hr> <h3><a name="dp9414">94/14: A conceptual data modelling framework incorporating the notion of a thematic layer</a></h3> <h4>P.G. Firns</h4> <p>Semantic data models comprise abstractions used, in conceptual database design, to represent real world relationships and aspects of the structure of real world phenomena. Such abstractions have previously been applied to the modelling of spatial concepts, but in the process their semantics are <EM>implicitly</EM> extended. This paper <EM>explicitly</EM> extends the semantics of the entity relationship model, defining two specific types of entity set to enable the notion of a thematic layer to be incorporated in entity relationship schemas. It places this in the context of a conceptual modelling framework to be used in the design of spatially referenced databases.</p> <hr> <h3><a name="dp9415">94/15: Recording, placement and presentation of Mäori place names in a spatial information system</a></h3> <h4>I.J. Cranwell and G.L. Benwell</h4> <p>This paper deals with matters relating to toponymy. The concept of indigenous place names is discussed. A view is presented, based on empirical evidence, that current processes for the official recording of names are detrimental to a fair and reasonable representation of indigenous names. Historical events in Aotearoa are examined as well as the existing place name recording process. Research is outlined as to what can be done to examine and redress this situation. A proposition is tendered whereby names can be recorded via a process which is people based and not government based. Research matters surrounding this concept are discussed.</p> <hr> <h3><a name="dp9416">94/16: Towards the deductive synthesis of nonlinear plans</a></h3> <h4>S.J.S. Cranefield</h4> <p>Recently there has been a resurgence of interest in the deductive approach to planning. There are many benefits of this approach but one shortcoming is the difficulty of performing nonlinear planning in this framework. This paper argues that these problems are caused by a flaw in the partial order approach—the lack of structure in such a representation—and proposes an alternative, dynamic programming style approach based on a more structured representation of plans.</p> <hr> <h3><a name="dp9417">94/17: Hybrid fuzzy connectionist rule-based systems and the role of fuzzy rules extraction</a></h3> <h4>N.K. Kasabov</h4> <p>The paper presents the major principles of building complex hybrid systems for knowledge engineering where at the centre of the design process is the task of learning (extracting) fuzzy rules from data. An experimental environment FuzzyCOPE, which facilitates this process, is described. It consists of a fuzzy rules extraction module, a neural networks module, module fuzzy inference methods and a production rules module. Such an environment makes possible the use of the three paradigms, i.e. fuzzy rules, neural networks and symbolic production rules, in one system. Automatic rules extraction from data and choosing the most appropriate reasoning mechanism is also provided. Using FuzzyCOPE for building hybrid systems for decision making and speech recognition is discussed and illustrated.</p> <hr> <h3><a name="dp9418">94/18: Integrating neural networks and fuzzy systems for speech recognition</a></h3> <h4>N.K. Kasabov, C.I. Watson, S. Sinclair and R. Kilgour</h4> <p>The paper presents a framework of an integrated environment for speech recognition and a methodology of using such environment. The integrated environment includes a signal processing unit, neural networks and fuzzy rule-based systems. Neural networks are used for “blind” pattern recognition of the phonemic labels of the segments of the speech. Fuzzy rules are used for reducing the ambiguities of the correctly recognised phonemic labels, for final recognition of the phonemes, and for language understanding. The fuzzy system part is organised as multi-level, hierarchical structure. As an illustration, a model for phoneme recognition of New Zealand English is developed which exploits the advantages of the integrated environment. The model is illustrated on a small set of phonemes.</p> <hr> <h3><a name="dp9419">94/19: The visual display test: A test to assess the usefulness of a visual speech aid</a></h3> <h4>C.I. Watson</h4> <p>The facility to be able to display features of speech in a visual speech aid does not by itself guarantee that the aid will be effective in speech therapy. An effective visual speech aid must provide a visual representation of an utterance from which a judgement on the “goodness” of the utterance can be made. Two things are required for an aid to be effective. Firstly, the clusters of acceptable utterances must be separate from the unacceptable utterances in display space. Secondly, the acoustic features which distinguish acceptable utterances from unacceptable utterances must be evident in the displays of the speech aid. A two part test, called the Visual Display Test (VDT), has been developed to assess a visual speech aid’s capacity to fulfil these requirements.</p> <p><a href="http://divcom.otago.ac.nz/infosci/publctns/complete/papers/dp9419cw.pdf.gz">Download</a> (gzipped PDF, 132KB)</p> <hr> <!--#include file="/infosci/footer.htm" --> <center><small><small>Last Modified <!--#ECHO VAR="LAST_MODIFIED" --></small></small></center> </BODY> </HTML>

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<h2>Information Science Discussion Papers Series: 1994 Abstracts</h2>

<hr>

<h3><a name="dp9401">94/1: A comparison of authorship style in the document corpus of the Epistles of St. Ignatius of Antioch</a></h3>
<h4>P.J. Sallis</h4>

<p>This paper is the result of some research in computational stylistics; in particular, the analysis of a document corpus that has attracted the attention of scholars from several disciplines for hundreds of years. This corpus, the <EM>Epistles of Saint Ignatius of Antioch</EM>, was originally written in Greek but this analysis is of a single translation in English. The analysis has been undertaken using a conventional approach in computational stylistics but has employed a number of contemporary software packages, such as a grammar checker, normally used for text and document creation.</p>

<p>Research in this field predominantly characterises authorship style by the use of document statistics, such as word frequency, sentence and paragraph length and in some cases the recurrence of certain phrases. During the research described here it was considered appropriate to use a grammar checker to identify the existence of a &#8216;new&#8217; set of characteristics. These include comparing the use of <EM>passive voice</EM> across the corpus being analysed, the percentage use of prepositions, as well as document statistics such as sentence and paragraph length, and the application of text readability formulas as indicators of writing style.</p>

<p>The corpus analysed in this paper consists of the seven <EM>Epistles of Ignatius of Antioch</EM>, together with the <EM>Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians</EM>. The latter epistle has traditionally been held to authenticate the Ignatian writings. It has been suggested by some church historians that Ignatius was not the author of these epistles and may not in fact, have existed as a person at all. Further, they suggest that two paragraphs in the Polycarp Epistle may have been added later by a second author to authenticate the Ignatian corpus. In order to contribute to the ongoing debate, this paper first examines the Ignatian corpus in order to determine single authorship of the seven epistles. Second, it seeks to determine whether or not the two disputed paragraphs in Polycarp&#8217;s Epistle to the Philippians vary in authorship style from the rest of that epistle. Third, it compare authorship style in the two inserted paragraphs of Polycarp&#8217;s Epistle with that of the Ignatian corpus in order to make some observations on the hypothesis that a single author was responsible for both.</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="dp9402">94/2: Management perceptions of IS research and development issues</a></h3>
<h4>P.J. Sallis</h4>

<p>Whilst <EM>change</EM> is an inherent characteristic of the IT industry, the difficulty of frequent and timely change in tertiary curricula is a constraint on the ability of universities to adequately meet the requirements of knowledge and expertise expected of new graduates. In this paper, some recently published research concerning the top ten issues for managers of information technology in the USA, Europe and Australia is evaluated in terms of its impact on IS teaching and research. The paper concludes that the top ten issues perceived by IS managers was probably in large part due to change resulting not only from advances in technology but also in response to past failures or inadequacies in the process of delivering high quality information system products to corporate consumers. The need for business and education to be aware of the motivations for change and the constraints that are attendant on it in both environments is emphasised for harmonious progress to prevail in the production and utilisation of new IS graduates.</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="dp9403">94/3: Assessing the graphical and algorithmic structure of hierarchical coloured Petri net models</a></h3>
<h4>G.L. Benwell and S.G. MacDonell</h4>

<p>Petri nets, as a modelling formalism, are utilised for the analysis of processes, whether for explicit understanding, database design or business process re-engineering. The formalism, however, can be represented on a virtual continuum from highly graphical to largely algorithmic. The use and understanding of the formalism will, in part, therefore depend on the resultant complexity and power of the representation and, on the graphical or algorithmic preference of the user. This paper develops a metric which will indicate the graphical or algorithmic tendency of hierarchical coloured Petri nets.</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="dp9404">94/4: Phoneme recognition with hierarchical self organised neural networks and fuzzy systems</a></h3>
<h4>N.K. Kasabov and E. Peev</h4>

<p>Neural networks (NN) have been intensively used for speech processing. This paper describes a series of experiments on using a single Kohonen Self Organizing Map (KSOM), hierarchically organised KSOM, a backpropagation-type neural network with fuzzy inputs and outputs, and a fuzzy system, for continuous speech recognition. Experiments with different non-linear transformations on the signal before using a KSOM have been done. The results obtained by using different techniques on the case study of phonemes in Bulgarian language are compared.</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="dp9405">94/5: A model for exploiting associative matching in AI production systems</a></h3>
<h4>N.K. Kasabov, S.H. Lavington, S. Lin and C. Wang</h4>

<p>A Content-Addressable Model of Production Systems, &#8216;CAMPUS&#8217;, has been developed. The main idea is to achieve high execution performance in production systems by exploiting the potential fine-grain data parallelism. The facts and the rules of a production system are uniformly represented as CAM tables. CAMPUS differs from other CAM-inspired models in that it is based on a non-state saving and &#8216;lazy&#8217; matching algorithm. The production system execution cycle is represented by a small number of associative search operations over the CAM tables which number does not depend, or depends slightly, on the number of the rules and the number of the facts in the production system. The model makes efficient implementation of large production systems on fast CAM possible.  An experimental CAMPUS realisation of the production language CLIPS is also reported. The production systems execution time for large number of processed facts is about 1,000 times less than the corresponding CLIPS execution time on a standard computer architecture.</p>

<p><strong>Keywords: </strong>associative matching,
content-addressable memory (CAM),
production systems</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="dp9406">94/6: A system development methodology for geomatics as derived from informatics</a></h3>
<h4>G.L. Benwell</h4>

<p>This paper describes the creation of a system development methodology suitable for spatial information systems. The concept is substantiated on the fact that spatial systems are similar to information systems in general. The subtle difference being the fact that spatial systems are not yet readily supported by large digital data bases. This fact has diverted attention away from system development to data collection. A spatial system development methodology is derived, based on a historical review of information systems methodologies and the coupling of same with a data collection and integration methodology for the spatially referenced digital data.</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="dp9407">94/7: Software metrics in New Zealand: Recent trends</a></h3>
<h4>M.K. Purvis, S.G. MacDonell and J. Westland</h4>

<p>Almost by definition, any engineering discipline has quantitative measurement at its foundation. In adopting an engineering approach to software development, the establishment and use of software metrics has therefore seen extensive discussion. The degree to which metrics are actually used, however, particularly in New Zealand, is unclear. Four surveys, conducted over the last eight years, are therefore reviewed in this paper, with a view to determining trends in the use of metrics. According to the findings presented, it would appear that no more than one third of organisations involved in software development utilise software metrics.</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="dp9408">94/8: A comparative review of functional complexity assessment methods for effort estimation</a></h3>
<h4>S.G. MacDonell</h4>

<p>Budgetary constraints are placing increasing pressure on project managers to effectively estimate development effort requirements at the earliest opportunity. With the rising impact of automation on commercial software development the attention of researchers developing effort estimation models has recently been focused on functional representations of systems, in response to the assertion that development effort is a function of specification content. A number of such models exist&#8212;several, however, have received almost no research or industry attention. Project managers wishing to implement a functional assessment and estimation programme are therefore unlikely to be aware of the various methods or how they compare. This paper therefore attempts to provide this information, as well as forming a basis for the development and improvement of new methods.</p>

<p><a href="http://divcom.otago.ac.nz/infosci/publctns/complete/papers/dp9408sm.pdf.gz">Download</a> (gzipped PDF, 252KB)</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="dp9409">94/9: Viruses: What can we really do?</a></h3>
<h4>H.B. Wolfe</h4>

<p>It is virtually impossible to know everything about any facet of computing as it changes on almost a daily basis. Having said that I believe that it is worth sharing some of the knowledge that I have gained as a result of 5 years of study and experimentation with viruses and virus defense strategies as well as having personally tested nearly 50 anti-virus products.</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="dp9410">94/10: Stochastic models of the behaviour of scrubweeds in Southland and Otago</a></h3>
<h4>L. Gonzalez and G.L. Benwell</h4>

<p>This paper investigates statistical models for the understanding of the behaviour of scrubweeds in Southland and Otago. Data pertaining to eight scrubweed species have been collected along four transects together with the environmental factors, altitude, slope, aspect and land use classification. Each transect is approximately 80km by 2km, with data being held for every 1ha so that there are approximately 16,000 pixels for each transect. It is important to understand the relationship between the species so that interpolation and extrapolation can be performed. The initial survey, completed in 1992, will be repeated in 1995 and 1998. These surveys will then  form the baseline for an understanding of the spread or contraction of the species in farmlands of the South Island. This in turn will assist policy makers in formulating management plans which relate eradication to farmland productivity. This paper deals in detail with one of the transects&#8212;Balclutha to Katiki Point.</p>

<p><strong>Keywords: </strong>canonical correlation,
kriging,
log-linear models,
logistic regression,
spatial correlation,
variogram analysis</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="dp9411">94/11: Towards using hybrid connectionist fuzzy production systems for speech recognition</a></h3>
<h4>N.K. Kasabov</h4>

<p>The paper presents a novel approach towards solving different speech recognition tasks, i.e. phoneme recognition, ambiguous words recognition, continuous speech to text conversion, learning fuzzy rules for language processing. The model uses a standard connectionist system for initial recognition and a connectionist rule-based system for a higher level recognition. The higher level is realised as a Connectionist Fuzzy Production System (CFPS) which makes possible introducing different parameters to the higher level production rules, like: degrees of importance, dynamic sensitivity factors, noise tolerance factors, certainty degrees and reactiveness factors. It provides different approximate chain reasoning techniques. The CFPS helps to solve many of the ambiguities in speech recognition tasks. Experiments on phoneme recognition in the English language are reported. This approach facilitates a connectionist implementation of the whole process of speech recognition (at a low level and at a higher logical level) which used to be performed in hybrid environments. It also facilitates the process of learning fuzzy rules for language processing. All the language processing tasks and subtasks are realised in a homogeneous connectionist environment. This brings all the benefits of connectionist systems to practical applications in the speech recognition area.</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="dp9412">94/12: Connectionist fuzzy production systems</a></h3>
<h4>N.K. Kasabov</h4>

<p>A new type of generalised fuzzy rule and generalised fuzzy production system and a corresponding reasoning method are developed. They are implemented in a connectionist architecture and are called connectionist fuzzy production systems. They combine all the features of symbolic AI production systems, fuzzy production systems and connectionist systems. A connectionist method for learning generalised fuzzy productions from raw data is also presented. The main conclusion reached is that connectionist fuzzy production systems are very powerful as fuzzy reasoning machines and they may well inspire new methods of plausible representation of inexact knowledge and new inference techniques for approximate reasoning.</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="dp9413">94/13: Information display design: A survey of visual display formats</a></h3>
<h4>W.B.L. Wong</h4>

<p>This paper reviews the research and practice of how computer-based output information has been presented in nine different information display formats and the suitability of their use in environments ranging from static, reference-type situations, to complex, dynamic situations. The review while not generating conclusive results suggests that displays are more than a platform to place information. Instead care should be taken to organise, lay out, and pre-process the information so that it enhances the communication between computer and human. The information on the screen should also be designed to augment human cognitive limitations. For instance, human weakness in integrating information across time and multiple sources could be assisted by display formats that integrate the information in the display rather than having the user attempt to integrate that information mentally. If this be the desired outcome, information designers must start to consider performing analyses that help them understand the demands on the human information processing system and hence how information can be presented to augment this weakness. This would have to be further investigated in subsequent research.</p>

<p><strong>Keywords: </strong>information display design,
output information,
visual display formats,</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="dp9414">94/14: A conceptual data modelling framework incorporating the notion of a thematic layer</a></h3>
<h4>P.G. Firns</h4>

<p>Semantic data models comprise abstractions used, in conceptual database design, to represent real world relationships and aspects of the structure of real world phenomena. Such abstractions have previously been applied to the modelling of spatial concepts, but in the process their semantics are <EM>implicitly</EM> extended. This paper <EM>explicitly</EM> extends the semantics of the entity relationship model, defining two specific types of entity set to enable the notion of a thematic layer to be incorporated in entity relationship schemas. It places this in the context of a conceptual modelling framework to be used in the design of spatially referenced databases.</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="dp9415">94/15: Recording, placement and presentation of M&auml;ori place names in a spatial information system</a></h3>
<h4>I.J. Cranwell and G.L. Benwell</h4>

<p>This paper deals with matters relating to toponymy. The concept of indigenous place names is discussed. A view is presented, based on empirical evidence, that current processes for the official recording of names are detrimental to a fair and reasonable representation of indigenous names. Historical events in Aotearoa are examined as well as the existing place name recording process. Research is outlined as to what can be done to examine and redress this situation. A proposition is tendered whereby names can be recorded via a process which is people based and not government based. Research matters surrounding this concept are discussed.</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="dp9416">94/16: Towards the deductive synthesis of nonlinear plans</a></h3>
<h4>S.J.S. Cranefield</h4>

<p>Recently there has been a resurgence of interest in the deductive approach to planning. There are many benefits of this approach but one shortcoming is the difficulty of performing nonlinear planning in this framework. This paper argues that these problems are caused by a flaw in the partial order approach&#8212;the lack of structure in such a representation&#8212;and proposes an alternative, dynamic programming style approach based on a more structured representation of plans.</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="dp9417">94/17: Hybrid fuzzy connectionist rule-based systems and the role of fuzzy rules extraction</a></h3>
<h4>N.K. Kasabov</h4>

<p>The paper presents the major principles of building complex hybrid systems for knowledge engineering where at the centre of the design process is the task of learning (extracting) fuzzy rules from data. An experimental environment FuzzyCOPE, which facilitates this process, is described.  It consists of a fuzzy rules extraction module, a neural networks module, module fuzzy inference methods and a production rules module. Such an environment makes possible the use of the three paradigms, i.e. fuzzy rules, neural networks and symbolic production rules, in one system. Automatic rules extraction from data and choosing the most appropriate reasoning mechanism is also provided. Using FuzzyCOPE for building hybrid systems for decision making and speech recognition is discussed and illustrated.</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="dp9418">94/18: Integrating neural networks and fuzzy systems for speech recognition</a></h3>
<h4>N.K. Kasabov, C.I. Watson, S. Sinclair and R. Kilgour</h4>

<p>The paper presents a framework of an integrated environment for speech recognition and a methodology of using such environment. The integrated environment includes a signal processing unit, neural networks and fuzzy rule-based systems. Neural networks are used for &#8220;blind&#8221; pattern recognition of the phonemic labels of the segments of the speech. Fuzzy rules are used for reducing the ambiguities of the correctly recognised phonemic labels, for final recognition of the phonemes,  and for language understanding. The fuzzy system part is organised as multi-level, hierarchical structure. As an illustration, a model for phoneme recognition of New Zealand English is developed which exploits the advantages of the integrated environment. The model is illustrated on a small set of phonemes.</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="dp9419">94/19: The visual display test: A test to assess the usefulness of a visual speech aid</a></h3>
<h4>C.I. Watson</h4>

<p>The facility to be able to display features of speech in a visual speech aid does not by itself guarantee that the aid will be effective in speech therapy. An effective visual speech aid must provide a visual representation of an utterance from which a judgement on the &#8220;goodness&#8221; of the utterance can be made. Two things are required for an aid to be effective. Firstly, the clusters of acceptable utterances must be separate from the unacceptable utterances in display space. Secondly, the acoustic features which distinguish acceptable utterances from unacceptable utterances must be evident in the displays of the speech aid. A two part test, called the Visual Display Test (VDT), has been developed to assess a visual speech aid&#8217;s capacity to fulfil these requirements.</p>

<p><a href="http://divcom.otago.ac.nz/infosci/publctns/complete/papers/dp9419cw.pdf.gz">Download</a> (gzipped PDF, 132KB)</p>

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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <HTML> <HEAD> <title>Information Science Discussion Papers Series: 1995 abstracts</title> <META NAME="generator" CONTENT="BBEdit 5.1.1"> <link rel="Stylesheet" href="/infosci/styles.css" type="text/css"> <link rel="Stylesheet" href="DPSstyles.css" type="text/css"> </HEAD> <BODY> <h2>Information Science Discussion Papers Series: 1995 Abstracts</h2> <hr> <h3><a name="dp9501">95/1: Semantic data modelling for hypermedia database applications</a></h3> <h4>R.J. Pegler and P.G. Firns</h4> <p>This paper develops an approach to data modelling for the design of hypermedia databases. First, the use of data modelling for the design of hypermedia database systems is investigated. A specific example, that of a car parts database, is used as a means of illustrating a generic problem, namely the difficulty associated with interrogating a large database when the exact data element being sought is unknown. The use of hypermedia as a basis for data retrieval in such situations is then discussed. The data contained within hypermedia database systems is typically unstructured, which has led to systems being developed using ad hoc design approaches with little regard for formal data modelling techniques. Hence, the main contribution of the paper is the illustration of a hybrid data modelling approach of suitable semantic richness to capture the complexities of hypermedia databases.</p> <hr> <h3><a name="dp9502">95/2: Pursuing a national policy for information technology in school education: A New Zealand odyssey</a></h3> <h4>P.J. Sallis and T. McMahon</h4> <p>In September 1994, the government of New Zealand published a document entitled <EM>Education for the 21st Century</EM>. The document sets out targets and challenges for the education system in New Zealand to meet by 2001. One of the targets, and the associated fiscal challenge, is to improve the access of New Zealand students to information technology, so that by 2001 there is at least one computer for every five students at all levels of school education.</p> <p>This bold policy statement follows a chain of reports and government initiatives extending over approximately 15 years.</p> <p>This paper describes government policy initiatives, the reports which gave rise to them, and the changes in curriculum, teacher, and classroom practice which have taken place since computers were first used in New Zealand classrooms in the 1970s.</p> <p>The short history of educational computing in New Zealand has spanned a period of massive political and economic reform, and enormous structural change in the education system. The authors have been observers of, and contributors to, aspects of the development of New Zealand’s use of information technology in education over the whole of this period.</p> <hr> <h3><a name="dp9503">95/3: Information portrayal for intentional processes: A framework for analysis</a></h3> <h4>W.B.L. Wong, P.J. Sallis and D.P. O’Hare</h4> <p>It is increasingly recognised that the manner in which information required by a decision maker is portrayed is as important as providing appropriate information. In dynamic intentional process environments such as emergency dispatch control, where the problems are non-trivial and time is tightly constrained, it is important to portray information that is used together, close to one another or appropriately integrated. This is important in speeding up the decision maker’s interpretation of the information and assessment of the state of the situation.</p> <p>But how should information be portrayed so that the information may be assimilated quickly in such situations? To answer this question, a framework for analysis was developed to guide the investigation. This framework brings together the decisions made, the information used, the source and accessibility of the source, and how the information is used in each decision, thereby identifying the information portrayal requirements. This framework will be presented in this paper.</p> <p>However, before discussing the framework, it is necessary to introduce the concept of decision making in naturalistic environments as it is within this context of dynamic decision making that the problem of information portrayal is studied. The paper will examine the characteristics of dynamic intentional processes, and then briefly describe the environment of one example of an intentional process environment, an emergency control center, that formed the basis of the study. The cognitive task analysis techniques use to elicit the decision processes and the information portrayal requirements will also be described, and then finally, the initial results of the study will be presented.</p> <hr> <h3><a name="dp9504">95/4: An object repository model for the storage of spatial metadata</a></h3> <h4>S.K.S. Cockcroft</h4> <p>The design of spatial information systems has traditionally been carried out independently of mainstream database developments. It is contended that the adoption of mainstream database design techniques is important to progress in the spatial information systems development field. An accepted approach to the development of information systems is through an integrated development environment with a design repository at its core. This paper proposes a skeleton model for the design of a repository to store spatial metadata. An object oriented modelling approach is adopted in preference to an entity relationship approach because of its ability to model functional and dynamic aspects of the repository.</p> <p><a href="http://divcom.otago.ac.nz/infosci/publctns/complete/papers/dp9504so.pdf.gz">Download</a> (gzipped PDF, 138KB)</p> <hr> <h3><a name="dp9505">95/5: Establishing relationships between specification size and software process effort in CASE environments</a></h3> <h4>S.G. MacDonell</h4> <p>Advances in software process technology have rendered many existing methods of size assessment and effort estimation inapplicable. The use of automation in the software process, however, provides an opportunity for the development of more appropriate software size-based effort estimation models. A specification-based size assessment method has therefore been developed and tested in relation to process effort on a preliminary set of systems. The results of the analysis confirm the assertion that, within the automated environment class, specification size indicators (that may be automatically and objectively derived) are strongly related to process effort requirements.</p> <p><strong>Keywords: </strong>CASE, process effort, software metrics</p> <p><a href="http://divcom.otago.ac.nz/infosci/publctns/complete/papers/dp9505sm.pdf.gz">Download</a> (gzipped PDF, 205KB)</p> <hr> <h3><a name="dp9506">95/6: Information portrayal for decision support in dynamic intentional process environments</a></h3> <h4>W.B.L. Wong, P.J. Sallis and D.P. O’Hare</h4> <p>This paper reports on preliminary findings of a cognitive task analysis conducted at an ambulance despatch control center. The intense and dynamic nature of the decision making environment is first described, and the decision process modelled in an attempt to identify decision strategies used by the Communications Officers. Some information portrayal requirements stemming from one of the decision processes are then discussed, and these requirements are then translated into a proposed display solution.</p> <p><strong>Keywords: </strong>information portrayal, information display design, decision support design, decision modelling, naturalistic decision making, critical decision method, ambulance service</p> <p><a href="http://divcom.otago.ac.nz/infosci/publctns/complete/papers/dp9506ww.pdf.gz">Download</a> (gzipped PDF, 189KB)</p> <hr> <h3><a name="dp9507">95/7: Communicating agents: An emerging approach for distributed heterogeneous systems</a></h3> <h4>S.J.S. Cranefield, P. Gorman and M.K. Purvis</h4> <p>The concept of an intelligent software agent has emerged from its origins in artificial intelligence laboratories to become an important basis for the development of distributed systems in the mainstream computer science community. This paper provides a review of some of the ideas behind the intelligent agent approach and addresses the question “what is an agent?” Some principal application areas for agent-based computing are outlined and related research programmes at the University of Otago are discussed.</p> <p><a href="http://divcom.otago.ac.nz/infosci/publctns/complete/papers/dp9507sc.pdf.gz">Download</a> (gzipped PDF, 143KB)</p> <hr> <h3><a name="dp9508">95/8: Causal agent modelling: A unifying paradigm for systems and organisations</a></h3> <h4>M.K. Purvis and S.J.S. Cranefield</h4> <p>With the increasing size, complexity and interconnectedness of systems and organisations, there is a growing need for high level modelling approaches that span the range of application domains. Causal agent modelling offers an intuitive and powerful approach for the development of dynamic models for any application area. This paper outlines some of the basic ideas behind the nature of causal agent models, why they are fundamental to the modelling enterprise, and compares developments in this area to those in the related field of coordination theory. It also describes some research activities using causal agent models at the University of Otago.</p> <p><a href="http://divcom.otago.ac.nz/infosci/publctns/complete/papers/dp9508mp.pdf.gz">Download</a> (gzipped PDF, 132KB)</p> <hr> <h3><a name="dp9509">95/9: Case-based reasoning and spatial analysis</a></h3> <h4>A. Holt and G.L. Benwell</h4> <p>This paper brings emphasis to the plausible concept of case-based reasoning being integrated with spatial information systems, and the adaptation of artificial intelligence techniques to improve the analytical strength in spatial information systems. This adaptation of artificial intelligence techniques may include examples of expert systems, fuzzy logic, hybrid connectionist systems and neural networks, all integrated with spatial information systems. The unique process of case-based reasoning is described. The research into the possible integration of case-based reasoning and spatial information systems is outlined. The benefits of a case-based reasoning spatial information hybrid system are discussed.</p> <hr> <h3><a name="dp9510">95/10: Modelling and simulation of the New Zealand Resource Management Act</a></h3> <h4>M.K. Purvis, M.A. Purvis and G.L. Benwell</h4> <p>A single piece of legislation, the Resource Management Act, governs the management of environmental resources in New Zealand. It establishes procedural requirements and time constraints for all decision-making activities related to governmental environmental management. The present paper describes a model, based on coloured Petri nets, that is under development to facilitate understanding of the Act and to examine performance characteristics of legal processes defined in the Act.</p> <hr> <h3><a name="dp9511">95/11: Fuzzy concepts, land and cultural confidentiality</a></h3> <h4>B.A. Ballantyne, G.L. Benwell and N.C. Sutherland</h4> <p>Fuzzy concepts might have potential for protecting and preserving land which has special cultural or spiritual significance for indigenous peoples, because it might support any tangata whenua (indigenous peoples) desires for secrecy and confidentiality. These issues are examined in terms of New Zealand and from the technical perspective of Information Science. The various meanings of <EM>fuzzy</EM> are discussed. Some pertinent questions are: Is a fuzzy concept a useful tool to apply? Do the tangata whenua wich to make use of this tool?</p> <hr> <h3><a name="dp9512">95/12: A case study in environmental decision making</a></h3> <h4>S.A. Mann</h4> <p>Resource management in New Zealand is fraught with debate and controversy. Regional Councils often seem stuck in the middle of two opposing groups, the farmers and the environmentalists. There are areas, however, where the Regional Councils could be seen to be hindering progress towards resolution of problems. By avoiding policy formulations of certain issues eg: vegetation burning, Councils are creating difficulties for their own staff, landholders and environmental groups. This paper examines one debate that could be greatly simplified by a few policy direction decisions.</p> <hr> <h3><a name="dp9513">95/13: Local government GIS in New Zealand since 1989</a></h3> <h4>A.J. Marr and G.L. Benwell</h4> <p>This paper draws together existing data with recent survey results and compares the development of local government GIS with the evolution of Information Systems (IS). These comparisons are made using the philosophy that organisational GIS can be modelled. Using this model, various stages of GIS maturity are evaluated.</p> <p><a href="http://divcom.otago.ac.nz/infosci/publctns/complete/papers/dp9513gb.pdf.gz">Download</a> (gzipped PDF, 212KB)</p> <hr> <h3><a name="dp9514">95/14: Integrating modelling and simulation into a problem solving paradigm for improved regional and environmental decision making</a></h3> <h4>G.L. Benwell, S.A. Mann and C.B. Smith</h4> <p>In New Zealand the management of the environment is now largely embodied in the Resource Management Act. Within this context there is a clear need to support regionally significant decisions. Furthermore it is important that such decisions are scale invariant, that is, they are appropriately implementable at the micro and macro levels. This demands that decision makers at these diametrically opposed levels are cognisant of the influence of their domain on other domains. A difficult concept. It also implies that there is consensus on what are the significant regional decisions and also how decisions and consequences interact across all scales and, possibly, even regions. As a region is a scale dependent term it is important that the different views can be perceived and conveyed to the different proponents and opponents. This paper develops the case that it is important to make appropriate use of technology when attempting to make decisions at the regional level. This is particularly so in the fragile environments of the high country of southern New Zealand. Furthermore, this paper embodies a concept of the <EM>Six Thinking Hats</EM> of E. de Bono in developing a simulation modelling tool which presents interactive management scenarios of agricultural areas of the high country. The modelling concept is presented along with the reasons for adopting the de Bono concept.</p> <hr> <h3><a name="dp9515">95/15: Agent-based integration of general-purpose tools</a></h3> <h4>S.J.S. Cranefield and M.K. Purvis</h4> <p>Agent-Based Software Integration (ABSI) entails the development of intelligent software agents and knowledge-sharing protocols that enhance interoperability of multiple software packages. Although some past ABSI projects reported in the literature have been concerned with the integration of relatively large software frameworks from separate engineering disciplines, the discussion in this paper concerns the integration of general-purpose software utilities and hand-crafted tools. With such smaller-scale ABSI projects, it may be difficult to justify the expense of constructing an overall ontology for the application. There are cases, however, when the project involves general-purpose tools that manipulate the same general entity types (such as files) but at different levels of abstraction. In such cases it is appropriate to have ontologies appropriate for the general usage of each tool and constraint descriptions that enable the ontological specifications to be mapped across the various levels of abstraction. This paper discusses issues associated with this type of ABSI project and describes an example information management application associated with university course administration. For the information management application presented the key issues are the provision of standard agent wrappers for standard desktop information management tools and the design of standard ontologies describing information stored in relational databases as well as in structured text files. Examples of a conceptual model describing such a database ontology are presented in connection with the example application. It is also suggested that a general planning agent, distinct from the notion of a facilitator agent, be employed in this context to assist in the use of various agents to manipulate information and move items from one data format to another.</p> <hr> <h3><a name="dp9516">95/16: Applying case-based reasoning to spatial phenomena</a></h3> <h4>A. Holt and G.L. Benwell</h4> <p>This paper outlines a unique approach applying artificial intelligence techniques to the solving of environmental problems. The approach combines case-based reasoning with spatial information systems, enabling technologies and techniques from each domain to be applied to environmental problems. This paper defines a possible case-based reasoning/spatial information system hybrid that would allow spatial cases to be defined and analysed by both technologies. The example used in this paper involves soil series classification which, using case-based reasoning, is performed according to spatial criteria. Evaluations and spatial criteria are then used to predict properties of new cases based on similar previous spatial cases.</p> <hr> <!--#include file="/infosci/footer.htm" --> <center><small><small>Last Modified <!--#ECHO VAR="LAST_MODIFIED" --></small></small></center> </BODY> </HTML>

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<h2>Information Science Discussion Papers Series: 1995 Abstracts</h2>

<hr>

<h3><a name="dp9501">95/1: Semantic data modelling for hypermedia database applications</a></h3>
<h4>R.J. Pegler and P.G. Firns</h4>

<p>This paper develops an approach to data modelling for the design of hypermedia databases. First, the use of data modelling for the design of hypermedia database systems is investigated. A specific example, that of a car parts database, is used as a means of illustrating a generic problem, namely the difficulty associated with interrogating a large database when the exact data element being sought is unknown. The use of hypermedia as a basis for data retrieval in such situations is then discussed. The data contained within hypermedia database systems is typically unstructured, which has led to systems being developed using ad hoc design approaches with little regard for formal data modelling techniques. Hence, the main contribution of the paper is the illustration of a hybrid data modelling approach of suitable semantic richness to capture the complexities of hypermedia databases.</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="dp9502">95/2: Pursuing a national policy for information technology in school education: A New Zealand odyssey</a></h3>
<h4>P.J. Sallis and T. McMahon</h4>

<p>In September 1994, the government of New Zealand published a document entitled <EM>Education for the 21st Century</EM>. The document sets out targets and challenges for the education system in New Zealand to meet by 2001. One of the targets, and the associated fiscal challenge, is to improve the access of New Zealand students to information technology, so that by 2001 there is at least one computer for every five students at all levels of school education.</p>

<p>This bold policy statement follows a chain of reports and government initiatives extending over approximately 15 years.</p>

<p>This paper describes government policy initiatives, the reports which gave rise to them, and the changes in curriculum, teacher, and classroom practice which have taken place since computers were first used in New Zealand classrooms in the 1970s.</p>

<p>The short history of educational computing in New Zealand has spanned a period of massive political and economic reform, and enormous structural change in the education system. The authors have been observers of, and contributors to, aspects of the development of New Zealand&#8217;s use of information technology in education over the whole of this period.</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="dp9503">95/3: Information portrayal for intentional processes: A framework for analysis</a></h3>
<h4>W.B.L. Wong, P.J. Sallis and D.P. O&#8217;Hare</h4>

<p>It is increasingly recognised that the manner in which information required by a decision maker is portrayed is as important as providing appropriate information. In dynamic intentional process environments such as emergency dispatch control, where the problems are non-trivial and time is tightly constrained, it is important to portray information that is used together, close to one another or appropriately integrated. This is important in speeding up the decision maker&#8217;s interpretation of the information and assessment of the state of the situation.</p>

<p>But how should information be portrayed so that the information may be assimilated quickly in such situations? To answer this question, a framework for analysis was developed to guide the investigation. This framework brings together the decisions made, the information used, the source and accessibility of the source, and how the information is used in each decision, thereby identifying the information portrayal requirements. This framework will be presented in this paper.</p>

<p>However, before discussing the framework, it is necessary to introduce the concept of decision making in naturalistic environments as it is within this context of dynamic decision making that the problem of information portrayal is studied. The paper will examine the characteristics of dynamic intentional processes, and then briefly describe the environment of one example of an intentional process environment, an emergency control center, that formed the basis of the study. The cognitive task analysis techniques use to elicit the decision processes and the information portrayal requirements will also be described, and then finally, the initial results of the study will be presented.</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="dp9504">95/4: An object repository model for the storage of spatial metadata</a></h3>
<h4>S.K.S. Cockcroft</h4>

<p>The design of spatial information systems has traditionally been carried out independently of mainstream database developments. It is contended that the adoption of mainstream database design techniques is important to progress in the spatial information systems development field. An accepted approach to the development of information systems is through an integrated development environment with a design repository at its core. This paper proposes a skeleton model for the design of a repository to store spatial metadata. An object oriented modelling approach is adopted in preference to an entity relationship approach because of its ability to model functional and dynamic aspects of the repository.</p>

<p><a href="http://divcom.otago.ac.nz/infosci/publctns/complete/papers/dp9504so.pdf.gz">Download</a> (gzipped PDF, 138KB)</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="dp9505">95/5: Establishing relationships between specification size and software process effort in CASE environments</a></h3>
<h4>S.G. MacDonell</h4>

<p>Advances in software process technology have rendered many existing methods of size assessment and effort estimation inapplicable. The use of automation in the software process, however, provides an opportunity for the development of more appropriate software size-based effort estimation models. A specification-based size assessment method has therefore been developed and tested in relation to process effort on a preliminary set of systems. The results of the analysis confirm the assertion that, within the automated environment class, specification size indicators (that may be automatically and objectively derived) are strongly related to process effort requirements.</p>

<p><strong>Keywords: </strong>CASE,
process effort,
software metrics</p>

<p><a href="http://divcom.otago.ac.nz/infosci/publctns/complete/papers/dp9505sm.pdf.gz">Download</a> (gzipped PDF, 205KB)</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="dp9506">95/6: Information portrayal for decision support in dynamic intentional process environments</a></h3>
<h4>W.B.L. Wong, P.J. Sallis and D.P. O&#8217;Hare</h4>

<p>This paper reports on preliminary findings of a cognitive task analysis conducted at an ambulance despatch control center. The intense and dynamic nature of the decision making environment is first described, and the decision process modelled in an attempt to identify decision strategies used by the Communications Officers. Some information portrayal requirements stemming from one of the decision processes are then discussed, and these requirements are then translated into a proposed display solution.</p>

<p><strong>Keywords: </strong>information portrayal,
information display design,
decision support design,
decision modelling,
naturalistic decision making,
critical decision method,
ambulance service</p>

<p><a href="http://divcom.otago.ac.nz/infosci/publctns/complete/papers/dp9506ww.pdf.gz">Download</a> (gzipped PDF, 189KB)</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="dp9507">95/7: Communicating agents: An emerging approach for distributed heterogeneous systems</a></h3>
<h4>S.J.S. Cranefield, P. Gorman and M.K. Purvis</h4>

<p>The concept of an intelligent software agent has emerged from its origins in artificial intelligence laboratories to become an important basis for the development of distributed systems in the mainstream computer science community. This paper provides a review of some of the ideas behind the intelligent agent approach and addresses the question  &#8220;what is an agent?&#8221; Some principal application areas for agent-based computing are outlined and related research programmes at the University of Otago are discussed.</p>

<p><a href="http://divcom.otago.ac.nz/infosci/publctns/complete/papers/dp9507sc.pdf.gz">Download</a> (gzipped PDF, 143KB)</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="dp9508">95/8: Causal agent modelling: A unifying paradigm for systems and organisations</a></h3>
<h4>M.K. Purvis and S.J.S. Cranefield</h4>

<p>With the increasing size, complexity and interconnectedness of systems and organisations, there is a growing need for high level modelling approaches that span the range of application domains. Causal agent modelling offers an intuitive and powerful approach for the development of dynamic models for any application area. This paper outlines some of the basic ideas behind the nature of causal agent models, why they are fundamental to the modelling enterprise, and compares developments in this area to those in the related field of coordination theory. It also describes some research activities using causal agent models at the University of Otago.</p>

<p><a href="http://divcom.otago.ac.nz/infosci/publctns/complete/papers/dp9508mp.pdf.gz">Download</a> (gzipped PDF, 132KB)</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="dp9509">95/9: Case-based reasoning and spatial analysis</a></h3>
<h4>A. Holt and G.L. Benwell</h4>

<p>This paper brings emphasis to the plausible concept of case-based reasoning being integrated with spatial information systems, and the adaptation of artificial intelligence techniques to improve the analytical strength in spatial information systems. This adaptation of artificial intelligence techniques may include examples of expert systems, fuzzy logic, hybrid connectionist systems and neural networks, all integrated with spatial information systems. The unique process of case-based reasoning is described. The research into the possible integration of  case-based reasoning and spatial information systems is outlined. The benefits of a case-based reasoning spatial information hybrid system are discussed.</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="dp9510">95/10: Modelling and simulation of the New Zealand Resource Management Act</a></h3>
<h4>M.K. Purvis, M.A. Purvis and G.L. Benwell</h4>

<p>A single piece of legislation, the Resource Management Act, governs the management of environmental resources in New Zealand. It establishes procedural requirements and time constraints for all decision-making activities related to governmental environmental management. The present paper describes a model, based on coloured Petri nets, that is under development to facilitate understanding of the Act and to examine performance characteristics of legal processes defined in the Act.</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="dp9511">95/11: Fuzzy concepts, land and cultural confidentiality</a></h3>
<h4>B.A. Ballantyne, G.L. Benwell and N.C. Sutherland</h4>

<p>Fuzzy concepts might have potential for protecting and preserving land which has special cultural or spiritual significance for indigenous peoples, because it might support any tangata whenua (indigenous peoples) desires for secrecy and confidentiality. These issues are examined in terms of New Zealand and from the technical perspective of Information Science. The various meanings of <EM>fuzzy</EM> are discussed. Some pertinent questions are: Is a fuzzy concept a useful tool to apply? Do the tangata whenua wich to make use of this tool?</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="dp9512">95/12: A case study in environmental decision making</a></h3>
<h4>S.A. Mann</h4>

<p>Resource management in New Zealand is fraught with debate and controversy. Regional Councils often seem stuck in the middle of two opposing groups, the farmers and the environmentalists. There are areas, however, where the Regional Councils could be seen to be hindering progress towards resolution of problems. By avoiding policy formulations of certain issues eg: vegetation burning, Councils are creating difficulties for their own staff, landholders and environmental groups. This paper examines one debate that could be greatly simplified by a few policy direction decisions.</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="dp9513">95/13: Local government GIS in New Zealand since 1989</a></h3>
<h4>A.J. Marr and G.L. Benwell</h4>

<p>This paper draws together existing data with recent survey results and compares the development of local government GIS with the evolution of Information Systems (IS). These comparisons are made using the philosophy that organisational GIS can be modelled. Using this model, various stages of GIS maturity are evaluated.</p>

<p><a href="http://divcom.otago.ac.nz/infosci/publctns/complete/papers/dp9513gb.pdf.gz">Download</a> (gzipped PDF, 212KB)</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="dp9514">95/14: Integrating modelling and simulation into a problem solving paradigm for improved regional and environmental decision making</a></h3>
<h4>G.L. Benwell, S.A. Mann and C.B. Smith</h4>

<p>In New Zealand the management of the environment is now largely embodied in the Resource Management Act. Within this context there is a clear need to support regionally significant decisions. Furthermore it is important that such decisions are scale invariant, that is, they are appropriately implementable at the micro and macro levels. This demands that decision makers at these diametrically opposed levels are cognisant of the influence of their domain on other domains. A difficult concept. It also implies that there is consensus on what are the significant regional decisions and also how decisions and consequences interact across all scales and, possibly, even regions. As a region is a scale dependent term it is important that the different views can be perceived and conveyed to the different proponents and opponents. This paper develops the case that it is important to make appropriate use of technology when attempting to make decisions at the regional level. This is particularly so in the fragile environments of the high country of southern New Zealand. Furthermore, this paper embodies a concept of the <EM>Six Thinking Hats</EM> of E. de Bono in developing a simulation modelling tool which presents interactive management scenarios of agricultural areas of the high country. The modelling concept is presented along with the reasons for adopting the de Bono concept.</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="dp9515">95/15: Agent-based integration of general-purpose tools</a></h3>
<h4>S.J.S. Cranefield and M.K. Purvis</h4>

<p>Agent-Based Software Integration (ABSI) entails the development of intelligent software agents and knowledge-sharing protocols that enhance interoperability of multiple software packages. Although some past ABSI projects reported in the literature have been concerned with the integration of relatively large software frameworks from separate engineering disciplines, the discussion in this paper concerns the integration of general-purpose software utilities and hand-crafted tools. With such smaller-scale ABSI projects, it may be difficult to justify the expense of constructing an overall ontology for the application. There are cases, however, when the project involves general-purpose tools that manipulate the same general entity types (such as files) but at different levels of abstraction. In such cases it is appropriate to have ontologies appropriate for the general usage of each tool and constraint descriptions that enable the ontological specifications to be mapped across the various levels of abstraction. This paper discusses issues associated with this type of ABSI project and describes an example information management application associated with university course administration. For the information management application presented the key issues are the provision of standard agent wrappers for standard desktop information management tools and the design of standard ontologies describing information stored in relational databases as well as in structured text files. Examples of a conceptual model describing such a database ontology are presented in connection with the example application. It is also suggested that a general planning agent, distinct from the notion of a facilitator agent, be employed in this context to assist in the use of various agents to manipulate information and move items from one data format to another.</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="dp9516">95/16: Applying case-based reasoning to spatial phenomena</a></h3>
<h4>A. Holt and G.L. Benwell</h4>

<p>This paper outlines a unique approach applying artificial intelligence techniques to the solving of environmental problems. The approach combines case-based reasoning with spatial information systems, enabling technologies and techniques from each domain to be applied to environmental problems. This paper defines a possible case-based reasoning/spatial information system hybrid that would allow spatial cases to be defined and analysed by both technologies. The example used in this paper involves soil series classification which, using case-based reasoning, is performed according to spatial criteria. Evaluations and spatial criteria are then used to predict properties of new cases based on similar previous spatial  cases.</p>

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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html> <head> <title>Information Science Discussion Papers Series: 1995</title> <META NAME="generator" CONTENT="BBEdit 5.1.1"> <link rel="Stylesheet" href="/infosci/styles.css" type="text/css"> <link rel="Stylesheet" href="DPSstyles.css" type="text/css"> </head> <body> <h2>Information Science Discussion Papers Series: 1995</h2> <!--#include file="pre97blurb.htm" --> <!--#include file="menu.htm" --> <h3><a name="1995">1995</a></h3> <p><strong>95/1:</strong> R.J. Pegler and P.G. Firns. <em>Semantic data modelling for hypermedia database applications.</em> <a href="dp1995-abstracts.htm#dp9501">Abstract</a> </p> <p><strong>95/2:</strong> P.J. Sallis and T. McMahon. <em>Pursuing a national policy for information technology in school education: A New Zealand odyssey.</em> <a href="dp1995-abstracts.htm#dp9502">Abstract</a> </p> <p><strong>95/3:</strong> W.B.L. Wong, P.J. Sallis and D.P. O’Hare. <em>Information portrayal for intentional processes: A framework for analysis.</em> <a href="dp1995-abstracts.htm#dp9503">Abstract</a> </p> <p><strong>95/4:</strong> S.K.S. Cockcroft. <em>An object repository model for the storage of spatial metadata.</em> <a href="dp1995-abstracts.htm#dp9504">Abstract</a> \| <a href="http://divcom.otago.ac.nz/infosci/publctns/complete/papers/dp9504so.pdf.gz">Download</a> (138KB)</p> <p><strong>95/5:</strong> S.G. MacDonell. <em>Establishing relationships between specification size and software process effort in CASE environments.</em> <a href="dp1995-abstracts.htm#dp9505">Abstract</a> \| <a href="http://divcom.otago.ac.nz/infosci/publctns/complete/papers/dp9505sm.pdf.gz">Download</a> (205KB)</p> <p><strong>95/6:</strong> W.B.L. Wong, P.J. Sallis and D.P. O’Hare. <em>Information portrayal for decision support in dynamic intentional process environments.</em> <a href="dp1995-abstracts.htm#dp9506">Abstract</a> \| <a href="http://divcom.otago.ac.nz/infosci/publctns/complete/papers/dp9506ww.pdf.gz">Download</a> (189KB)</p> <p><strong>95/7:</strong> S.J.S. Cranefield, P. Gorman and M.K. Purvis. <em>Communicating agents: An emerging approach for distributed heterogeneous systems.</em> <a href="dp1995-abstracts.htm#dp9507">Abstract</a> \| <a href="http://divcom.otago.ac.nz/infosci/publctns/complete/papers/dp9507sc.pdf.gz">Download</a> (143KB)</p> <p><strong>95/8:</strong> M.K. Purvis and S.J.S. Cranefield. <em>Causal agent modelling: A unifying paradigm for systems and organisations.</em> <a href="dp1995-abstracts.htm#dp9508">Abstract</a> \| <a href="http://divcom.otago.ac.nz/infosci/publctns/complete/papers/dp9508mp.pdf.gz">Download</a> (132KB)</p> <p><strong>95/9:</strong> A. Holt and G.L. Benwell. <em>Case-based reasoning and spatial analysis.</em> <a href="dp1995-abstracts.htm#dp9509">Abstract</a> </p> <p><strong>95/10:</strong> M.K. Purvis, M.A. Purvis and G.L. Benwell. <em>Modelling and simulation of the New Zealand Resource Management Act.</em> <a href="dp1995-abstracts.htm#dp9510">Abstract</a> </p> <p><strong>95/11:</strong> B.A. Ballantyne, G.L. Benwell and N.C. Sutherland. <em>Fuzzy concepts, land and cultural confidentiality.</em> <a href="dp1995-abstracts.htm#dp9511">Abstract</a> </p> <p><strong>95/12:</strong> S.A. Mann. <em>A case study in environmental decision making.</em> <a href="dp1995-abstracts.htm#dp9512">Abstract</a> </p> <p><strong>95/13:</strong> A.J. Marr and G.L. Benwell. <em>Local government GIS in New Zealand since 1989.</em> <a href="dp1995-abstracts.htm#dp9513">Abstract</a> \| <a href="http://divcom.otago.ac.nz/infosci/publctns/complete/papers/dp9513gb.pdf.gz">Download</a> (212KB)</p> <p><strong>95/14:</strong> G.L. Benwell, S.A. Mann and C.B. Smith. <em>Integrating modelling and simulation into a problem solving paradigm for improved regional and environmental decision making.</em> <a href="dp1995-abstracts.htm#dp9514">Abstract</a> </p> <p><strong>95/15:</strong> S.J.S. Cranefield and M.K. Purvis. <em>Agent-based integration of general-purpose tools.</em> <a href="dp1995-abstracts.htm#dp9515">Abstract</a> </p> <p><strong>95/16:</strong> A. Holt and G.L. Benwell. <em>Applying case-based reasoning to spatial phenomena.</em> <a href="dp1995-abstracts.htm#dp9516">Abstract</a> </p> <!--#include file="menu.htm" --> <!--#include file="/infosci/footer.htm" --> <center><small><small>Last Modified <!--#ECHO VAR="LAST_MODIFIED" --></small></small></center> </body> </html>

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<h2>Information Science Discussion Papers Series: 1995</h2>

<p><strong>95/1:</strong> R.J. Pegler and P.G. Firns. <em>Semantic data modelling for hypermedia database applications.</em> <a href="dp1995-abstracts.htm#dp9501">Abstract</a> </p>

<p><strong>95/2:</strong> P.J. Sallis and T. McMahon. <em>Pursuing a national policy for information technology in school education: A New Zealand odyssey.</em> <a href="dp1995-abstracts.htm#dp9502">Abstract</a> </p>

<p><strong>95/3:</strong> W.B.L. Wong, P.J. Sallis and D.P. O&#8217;Hare. <em>Information portrayal for intentional processes: A framework for analysis.</em> <a href="dp1995-abstracts.htm#dp9503">Abstract</a> </p>

<p><strong>95/4:</strong> S.K.S. Cockcroft. <em>An object repository model for the storage of spatial metadata.</em> <a href="dp1995-abstracts.htm#dp9504">Abstract</a> | <a href="http://divcom.otago.ac.nz/infosci/publctns/complete/papers/dp9504so.pdf.gz">Download</a> (138KB)</p>

<p><strong>95/5:</strong> S.G. MacDonell. <em>Establishing relationships between specification size and software process effort in CASE environments.</em> <a href="dp1995-abstracts.htm#dp9505">Abstract</a> | <a href="http://divcom.otago.ac.nz/infosci/publctns/complete/papers/dp9505sm.pdf.gz">Download</a> (205KB)</p>

<p><strong>95/6:</strong> W.B.L. Wong, P.J. Sallis and D.P. O&#8217;Hare. <em>Information portrayal for decision support in dynamic intentional process environments.</em> <a href="dp1995-abstracts.htm#dp9506">Abstract</a> | <a href="http://divcom.otago.ac.nz/infosci/publctns/complete/papers/dp9506ww.pdf.gz">Download</a> (189KB)</p>

<p><strong>95/7:</strong> S.J.S. Cranefield, P. Gorman and M.K. Purvis. <em>Communicating agents: An emerging approach for distributed heterogeneous systems.</em> <a href="dp1995-abstracts.htm#dp9507">Abstract</a> | <a href="http://divcom.otago.ac.nz/infosci/publctns/complete/papers/dp9507sc.pdf.gz">Download</a> (143KB)</p>

<p><strong>95/8:</strong> M.K. Purvis and S.J.S. Cranefield. <em>Causal agent modelling: A unifying paradigm for systems and organisations.</em> <a href="dp1995-abstracts.htm#dp9508">Abstract</a> | <a href="http://divcom.otago.ac.nz/infosci/publctns/complete/papers/dp9508mp.pdf.gz">Download</a> (132KB)</p>

<p><strong>95/9:</strong> A. Holt and G.L. Benwell. <em>Case-based reasoning and spatial analysis.</em> <a href="dp1995-abstracts.htm#dp9509">Abstract</a> </p>

<p><strong>95/10:</strong> M.K. Purvis, M.A. Purvis and G.L. Benwell. <em>Modelling and simulation of the New Zealand Resource Management Act.</em> <a href="dp1995-abstracts.htm#dp9510">Abstract</a> </p>

<p><strong>95/11:</strong> B.A. Ballantyne, G.L. Benwell and N.C. Sutherland. <em>Fuzzy concepts, land and cultural confidentiality.</em> <a href="dp1995-abstracts.htm#dp9511">Abstract</a> </p>

<p><strong>95/12:</strong> S.A. Mann. <em>A case study in environmental decision making.</em> <a href="dp1995-abstracts.htm#dp9512">Abstract</a> </p>

<p><strong>95/13:</strong> A.J. Marr and G.L. Benwell. <em>Local government GIS in New Zealand since 1989.</em> <a href="dp1995-abstracts.htm#dp9513">Abstract</a> | <a href="http://divcom.otago.ac.nz/infosci/publctns/complete/papers/dp9513gb.pdf.gz">Download</a> (212KB)</p>

<p><strong>95/14:</strong> G.L. Benwell, S.A. Mann and C.B. Smith. <em>Integrating modelling and simulation into a problem solving paradigm for improved regional and environmental decision making.</em> <a href="dp1995-abstracts.htm#dp9514">Abstract</a> </p>

<p><strong>95/15:</strong> S.J.S. Cranefield and M.K. Purvis. <em>Agent-based integration of general-purpose tools.</em> <a href="dp1995-abstracts.htm#dp9515">Abstract</a> </p>

<p><strong>95/16:</strong> A. Holt and G.L. Benwell. <em>Applying case-based reasoning to spatial phenomena.</em> <a href="dp1995-abstracts.htm#dp9516">Abstract</a> </p>

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