School of Information Systems

Information Systems Seminar Series

School of Information Systems colloquia are held regularly throughout the academic year. The objective of the colloquia is to attract high quality researchers both from within our University and from other institutions throughout Australia and the rest of the world.

2009 Visiting speaker schedule

TITLE	interactive workshop on us-australia r&d grants
Presenter	Lakshmi Narasimhan, (East Carolina University; narasimhanl@ecu.edu)
Venue	Q501
Date	Friday, 3 July 2009
Time	9:30 am - 12 noon
Abstract	This will be an interactive workshop on US-Australia R&D grants available from many sources such as, the NSF, NIH, DoD, DARPA, industry and many other sources. We will kick start this workshop with exchange of the notes on our experiences in obtaining funds from within the country and outside the country. In particular, US-Australia grants are based on the experience and expertise of not only individual Chief Investigators, but also the teams behind the two countries. Quite often, if one can elaborate how the members of team can supplement and/or complement each other and, across the continents, then we have a very good chance of winning. This involves the preparation of a "cross-cutting matrix of research interests" that fits into the particular project being chosen. Basically this is a strategic direction, around which the project proposal needs to be approached. Perhaps we can have a show of hands on a few projects of interests, filter or rank order them and choose two out of them. Subsequently, we can work on how to create an outline for a proposal or two, develop various elements of the proposal, collaborative matrix, task assignment towards proposal/s development and the various ways ahead.

TITLE	Seeking, Sourcing, Managing and Exploiting Business Intelligence
Presenter	Lakshmi Narasimhan, (East Carolina University; narasimhanl@ecu.edu)
Venue	Q501
Date	Thursday, 2nd July 2009
Time	10:00 am - 12 noon
Abstract	Business Intelligence (BI) is a term used to explain the vast amount of background and on-going work performed by the business community in order to initiate, sustain and lead in their businesses. With the advent of computers, the Internet and other technologies, the process of seeking, sourcing, managing and exploiting business intelligence has changed by leaps and bounds. In this seminar, I shall explore the concept of business intelligence of various types, their application to various fields, domains and disciplines, and the impact of technology of various natures on business intelligence. I will outline the impact of BI on issues such as, business performance management, operational performance and developing confidence in decision making. The issue and relevance of data quality will also be outlined. I shall also explore some aspects of Open Source Intelligence (OSI) also. Depending on the audience interest, I shall give detailed examples of systems, technologies, processes and (international) Standards that are being developed around the world.

TITLE	The European Network for Health Technology Assessment (EUnetHTA)
Presenter	Lise Lund Håheim (Norwegian Knowledge Centre for the Health Service; lise.lund@haheim.no)
Venue	Q501
Date	Monday, 29 June 2009
Time	12 noon–1:30pm
Abstract	The European network for Health Technology Assessment, EUnetHTA was established to connect public national/regional HTA agencies, research institutions and health ministries, enabling an effective exchange of information and support to policy decisions by the Member States. In 2004 the European Commission and Council of Ministers targeted Health Technology Assessment (HTA) as “a political priority”, recognising “…an urgent need for establishing a sustainable European network on HTA”. A Commission call was answered in 2005 by a group of 35 organisations throughout Europe. EUnetHTA, coordinates the efforts of 29 European countries including 25 Member States of the European Union in evaluating health technology in Europe. EUnetHTA aims at developing an organisational framework for a sustainable European network for HTA along with practical tools to fill into this framework to ensure timely and effective production, dissemination and transfer of HTA results into useful policy advice to the Member States and the EU. Professor Lund Håheim will report on an evaluation of EUnetHTA.

2008 Visiting speaker schedule

TITLE	NEW PERSPECTIVE FOR MAPPING INFORMATION FLOW WITHIN SURGERY OPERATING ROOMS
Presenter	Latif Hakim (School of Management & Marketing, USQ, Toowoomba) hakim@usq.edu.au)
Venue	T452
Date	Thursday, 25 September 2008
Time	12noon–1:00pm
Abstract	Every activity that an enterprise engages in requires information. Without adequate information quality, the activity may not result in a quality outcome. The current organisational techniques are activity-based techniques. These techniques answer the question, 'what other activities must be completed before the start of the current activity?' The newly developed Information Quality theory directs researchers and practitioners to answer a very different question: 'What information is needed from other activities before completing the existing one?' With the aid of field study within surgery operating room, this presentation shows how such perspective can be used to identify disruption in the surgical flow and help to rectify surgical errors.

TITLE	QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS: FIELD EXPERIENCE
Presenter	Gordon M Hunter (Faculty of Management, University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada) ghunter@uleth.ca)
Venue	Q501
Date	Wednesday, 2 July 2008
Time	12noon–1:00pm
Abstract	This presentation discusses various qualitative research methods. To begin a qualitative research perspective is outlined. Then two methods are discussed. The first method is based upon Personal Construct Theory. A project which investigated 'Excellent' systems analysts is reviewed. The status of a current project involving recruitment and retention of medical practitioners will be presented. The second method is Narrative Inquiry. The following projects will be briefly reviewed: Information systems and small business Multi-generation small business Information systems professionals: voluntary turnover decisions ERP Implementations More detail will be presented about a project which investigated the experiences of Chief Information Officers. Finally, conclusions about conducting qualitative research will be presented.

TITLE	DATA QUALITY: A DATABASE PERSPECTIVE
Presenter	Xiaofang Zhou (School of IT & Electrical Engineering, UQ, zxf@itee.uq.edu.au)
Venue	Q501
Date	Thursday, 26 June 2008
Time	12noon–1:00pm
Abstract	Data quality is an important yet very complex and challenging issue which can be approached from organizational, architectural and computational angles. The industry response to this issue has already resulted in dedicated tools and technologies to provide reliable data quality control methods. In this talk Dr Zhou will present an overview of key issues and solutions from a database perspective. It will cover general aspects of the problem space as well as the most significant research achievements in key topics including data cleaning, record linking, constraints, provenance and data uncertainty research by the database research community.

TITLE	RESEARCH & PUBLISHING IN THE IT ENVIRONMENT
Presenter	Jeretta Horn Nord (Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA, jnord@okstate.edu) G Daryl Nord (Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA, dnord@okstate.edu)
Venue	T356
Date	Friday, 20 June 2008
Time	11:00am–12noon

Title	ANGEL: RAISING THE ALARM WHEN THE BUTTON IS OUT OF REACH
Presenter	Judith Symonds (Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand, judith.symonds@aut.ac.nz )
Venue	Q501
Date	22 May 2008
Time	11:00am–12noon
Abstract	For people who are frail and live alone, in their own home or in a low care facility, there is a danger that they will have an adverse event such as a fall and on occasions not be able to raise the alarm themselves. They rely on being discovered by someone visiting them and may lie unattended, for many hours. Current solutions to this problem rely on the use of a wearable radio button (bracelet, belt or pendant) to allow them to raise the alarm. However, at times, the wearable radio button is removed as often happens when showering or sleeping, and so an adverse event may occur when the user is unable to raise the alarm using the wearable radio button. It is proposed that prototype evaluation will occur with the cooperation of the Salem Lutheran Rest Home, Toowoomba at the Hursley Road complex.

Title	School of Information Systems PhD Seminar
Venue	T452
Date	Thursday, 8 May 2008
Time	11:00am–12:30pm
Presenter	Dave Roberts (USQ PhD Student, School of Information Systems, USQ, roberts@usq.edu.au)

Title	What factors influence the decision of small businesses to upgrade their software
Presenter	Anas Al Bakri (USQ PhD Student, anasbakri9@yahoo.com )
Title	The adoption and diffusion of Business-to-business (EC) by Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Jordan and its Influence on performance and efficiency
Presenter	Shelly Grist (USQ PhD Student, grist@usq.edu.au)