*********************************************************** DSS News D. J. Power, Editor April 24, 2005 -- Vol. 6, No. 10 A Free Bi-Weekly Publication of DSSResources.COM with 1,122 active subscribers ************************************************************ New article at DSSResources.COM - Check Evan Levy "Beyond the Data Warehouse: Architectural Alternatives for Data Integration" ************************************************************ Featured: * Ask Dan! - Report from ISCRAM 2005 in Brussels * DSS Conferences * DSS News Releases ************************************************************ Ask Dan! Report from ISCRAM 2005 in Brussels by Dan Power On Friday, April 15, 2005, I journeyed from Cedar Falls to Brussels for ISCRAM 2005. The trip was uneventful and I was able to engage in some celebrity watching for part of the trip. Larry Hagman (aka J.R. Ewing of the TV Show "Dallas") and his wife Maj were flying on the same KLM Cityhopper from Amsterdam to Brussels that I was (for more about Larry, check LarryHagman.com). There was a steady down pour in Brussels when I arrived and I took the train to Central Station and then a taxi to my guesthouse-hotel. The driver had some trouble finding the place with all of the winding and one way streets, but I arrived safely at Club Fondation Universitaire Stichting (http://www.universitairestichting.be/) in mid-afternoon on Saturday. After checking in, I walked into the main lobby and found Professor Murray Turoff (NJIT) sitting just off the lobby at a computer checking his email. The Club Fondation is a meeting place for university professors and researchers. It includes a large sitting room, 2 small meeting rooms, a restaurant and twenty-two guest rooms. The guest rooms have been renovated and the setting had a special "old world" elegance. The breakfast was included. The Club is conveniently located near the city centre and it is only 3 blocks from the conference venue. Murray and I chatted briefly, I unpacked and then wandered the nearby streets to avoid "jet lag" and orient myself. For supper I ate at the McDonalds Restaurant a few blocks away and around the corner. The Chicken sandwich, fries and Coke met my needs and reminded me of the global franchising that has occurred. After watching some television, I went to sleep about 9pm. Sunday morning was dry and sunny. I met Murray at breakfast and we went exploring and antique hunting. We are both collectors and Murray was hunting for interesting human artifacts that did some thing useful. He found a silk flower press and some other treasures. I found a few things I couldn't resist. My major purchase was a set of 31 prints by an artist named Cieslik. The drawings are World War II scenes (probably of Warsaw). I'm trying to learn more about the artist and Google searches are turning up very little. If you have leads about an artist named Cieslik circa 1945, please let me know. His images are strong and even stark in the emotions they evoke. Sunday evening Murray and I walked to the informal pre-registration event in the brasserie Mort Subite. About 20 attendees gathered for talk and light snacks and drinks. Bartel Van de Walle, Tilburg University, and Benny Carle, Belgian Nuclear Research Center SCK-CEN, the ISCRAM program chairs led the socializing at Mort Subite. I drank a Kriek Cherry Beer or two, chatted with Catherine Campbell, Associate Dean at New Jersey Institute of Technology, and returned to my hotel at about 8:15pm. I had a light meal and went to bed early so I'd be ready for my Monday morning talk. I restrained my partying, but it was a fun time none the less. What is ISCRAM (iscram.org)? ISCRAM is an acronym for "Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management". It is also an online community of researchers, scholars, teachers, students, practitioners and policy makers interested or actively involved with a specialized Information Systems domain. ISCRAM is an ad hoc group that has evolved due to the vision and efforts of Turoff, Van de Walle, Carle and many others. ISCRAM 2005 took place at the Palace of the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts (http://www.kvab.be/english/academy.htm), near the Royal Palace and the Parliament Building in Brussels. The setting was a magnificent blending of the grandeur of the early 19th Century with the technologies of the early 21st Century. The 200 year discontinuity showcased how complex our world has become, but it reinforced the need for reflection, analysis and discourse on important topics like using information technology to assist in crisis management and response. On Monday morning April 18, a small group walked from the Club to the conference site. Following registration, coffee and a Welcome, John Harrald gave the first key note talk. John is the Director of The George Washington University Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management, Washington, D.C. He briefly discussed the developments in the US including the National Response Plan (NRP) and the National Incident Management System (NIMS). He emphasized the ability and need to improvise, create, and adapt in the face of unforeseen events. Following a coffee break, I spoke to an audience of about 100 IS researchers on "DSS for Crisis Planning, Response and Management". I tried to keep the talk low key and summarize material that has appeared in some Ask Dan! columns on the topic. Readers can view my PowerPoint slides at dssresources.com/iscram/ISCRAM2005presentation_files/frame.htm and check past DSS News at DSSResources.com. I discussed the expanded DSS framework in the context of 8 diverse categories of crisis, disaster and emergency situations: 1) Recurring emergencies for public agencies, 2) Sudden natural catastrophic events, 3) Sudden public infrastructure catastrophic events, 4) Complex and continuing emergencies, 5) Public Health crises, 6) Economic/Political crises, 7) Terrorist acts, and 8) Company/organizational crises. I had enough material for a much longer talk, but I stopped after about an hour for questions. In retropect, I should have shortened the talk to make sure I could cover some of the conclusions covered on the last 10 slides. My message was and is that we have much to do to develop appropriate DSS for the diverse crisis situations that will be encountered. Please check my slide titled "A Path in the Wilderness" and read through my 3 conclusion slides. Following lunch, there were 2 parallel tracks for the afternoon. As always, I had to pick from among a number of potentially interesting presentations. The conference proceedings includes 49 papers and all of them should eventually be accessible to registered ISCRAM community members at iscram.org. I listened to the four presentations in the Information Systems Design track. The presentations were short, but interesting. I can't mention every presentation, but let me note Catherine Campbell's talk on using asynchronous collaboration software for determining software requirements for an Emergency Response Information System. She reported favorable results from such an approach. Steve Hannestad, Director of Research, Center for Information Policy, College of Library and Information Sciences, University of Maryland, expanded my perspective on the Incident Command System. Steve is pursuing a new career. For almost 10 years until he retired, Steve was Director of Security for the US National Archives. At 3:15pm (15:15), the Knowledge Management track was on my agenda. Another 4 presentations, in rapid succession had me near information overload. Then a round table plenary session slowed the pace and gave us more relaxed conversation and discussion. The topic was "Public Security: The Role of Information Systems". We had drinks and conversation from 18:00-19:00. Then the students in attendance participated in an "Evening of the Phd's". I was tired, a bit jet lagged and ready for some sleep. After a quick meal at Quick Burger, an alternative to McDonald's, I went back to the Club. Quick Burger is supposedly 50% cheaper than McDonald's with better food. Not in Brussels! The cost was about the same and definitely not as tasty. Tuesday, April 19 started with a talk by Liz Carver (BAE Systems, UK) on "Human Factors in Crisis Management". Liz had a lot of energy and got the group interested in her topic. Following a coffee break, I participated in a computer-supported meeting using GroupSystems conducted by staff from GroupSupport.com. About 15 of us provided ideas related to ISCRAM. I also checked the poster session. Following lunch, I listened to presentations in the Decision Support Systems track and then in the Training and Gaming Systems track. I returned to the Club at about 4:30 pm (16:30) to get ready for the conference dinner at La Vierge Noire (http://www.ebru.be/Restaurants/rstviergenoire.html). Navigating the streets of downtown Brussels was a challenge, but with some help from new found friends I arrived on time at La Vierge Noire (The Black Virgin). The art déco setting and modern cuisine was a contrast from McDonald's and Quick Burger. Our group of 97 filled La Vierge Noire. My table companions were Gary Eipried (he proofed the wine), Mark Taylor of Mitre who also helped guide me to the restaurant, John Park, Steve Hannestad and Murray Jennex. Murray Jennex edits the International Journal of Knowledge Management. One really has time for conversation during a four course French style meal with wine -- the six of us regaled each other with stories and talked DSS. Our meal started with an asparagus and shrimps turret followed by fried goose liver (foie gras) with passion fruits. The main course was roasted lamb fillet with seasonal vegetables. The dessert was hot pear pie with ginger. The wines were Chateau les Valentines Bergerac white and a red. A great meal and good conversation capped my stay in Brussels and the ISCRAM 2005 meeting. On Wednesday, April 20, ISCRAM hosted 2 parallel activities, an Early Warning Systems Special Symposium and the European Seminar on Transparent and Traceable Decision Making in Off-site Nuclear Emergencies. I couldn't stay for either of those day long activities. Following breakfast, I walked to the Central Station and rode the train to the airport for a Noon flight. When I arrived in Amsterdam, I found my flight to the U.S. cancelled with mechanical problems. The KLM staff offered me hotel accomodations, but eventually they got me on a plane to Detroit and I finally arrived back in Cedar Falls, Iowa at 11:20 pm US Central time. After the travails of the trip, it was nice to return home. The next day I taught my classes at the University of Northern Iowa. Some of my students were surprised that I didn't accept the KLM offer to spend a day in Amsterdam. Oh well, at this point in the semester, it is hard to spend time traveling to attend conferences and there is definitely no time for a stay in Amsterdam. ISCRAM 2005 was a great conference. Let me express my thanks to Prof. Murray Turoff (New Jersey Institute for Technology) for securing funding for my air fare and registration and to the ISCRAM conference organizers and sponsors for providing my housing at the Club Fondation. Many thanks to Murray, Bartel and Benny. ISCRAM 2006 will be held at New Jersey Institute for Technology. I hope to see my ISCRAM DSS friends at that venue. ************************************************************* DAMA+Metadata May 22-26, 2005, Orlando, Florida USA. Check wilshireconferences.com/MD2005/index.htm ************************************************************ DSS Conferences Upcoming Conferences 1. DAMA+Metadata -- 9TH Annual Wilshire Meta-Data Conference and the 17TH Annual DAMA International Symposium, May 22-26, 2005, Orlando, Florida USA. Check wilshireconferences.com/MD2005/index.htm . PLEASE NOTE: DSSResources.COM and DSS News are Media Sponsors of DAMA+Metadata. 2. 2005 Crystal Ball User Conference will be held June 13-15, 2005 at the Marriott Denver City Center, Denver, Colorado, check decisioneering.com/cbuc . 3. Eighth International Conference on Decision Support Systems (ISDSS'05),Trends in DSS Research and Practice, sponsored by AIS SIG DSS, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, July 12-15, 2005. Check www.ufrgs.br/dss2005 . 4. AMCIS 2005 with SIG DSS mini-tracks in Omaha, Nebraska, USA, August 11 - 14, 2005. Check amcis2005.isqa.unomaha.edu . 5. 2005 NPRA Plant Automation and Decision Support Conference, October 18-21, 2005, Gaylord Texan Hotel, Grapevine, Texas. Check npra.org . ************************************************************ Purchase Dan Power's DSS FAQ book 83 Frequently Asked Questions about Computerized DSS http://dssresources.com/dssbookstore/power2005.html ************************************************************ DSS News Releases - April 11, 2005 - April 22, 2005 Read them at DSSResources.COM and search the DSS News Archive 04/21/2005 U.S. first responder funding reform clears committee; headed for floor. 04/20/2005 Experian establishes the world's most comprehensive consumer classification system. 04/20/2005 University of Michigan Medical School pioneers interactive data analysis with Xcelsius; selects Xcelsius for innovative Web-based dashboard tool for medical school administration. 04/20/2005 Overstock.com, Inc. selects Teradata for enterprise data warehouse, customer analytics and single view of the business. 04/20/2005 Corporate Express signs new deal with MicroStrategy. 04/19/2005 Sears honors Applied Intelligence Solutions with three vendor awards. 04/18/2005 Open Solutions debuts Interaction Management Center (IMC); software suite links business intelligence and transactional applications in to one integrated, interactive environment for frontline staff. 04/18/2005 Intergraph executive, Preetha Pulusani, to speak at joint GSDI-8 and FIG working week 2005 conference. 04/18/2005 Greenplum unveils The Bizgres Project; new open source work project dedicated to making PostgreSQL the strongest open source database platform for business intelligence. 04/18/2005 MySQL and Business Objects announce partnership; companies form business and technology alliance to integrate the MySQL open source database and the BusinessObjects XI business intelligence platform. 04/18/2005 ISCRAM 2005 starts today in Brussels. 04/16/2005 Evidence-based capabilities of AtStaff Advantage, healthcare's newest, most advanced staff management software draw positive marketplace response among patient care leaders. 04/15/2005 Communications: key weapon in battling terrorism. 04/14/2005 TransUnion announces new debt management scoring model for industry, consumers; score delivers benefits to all - complements new bankruptcy law. 04/13/2005 Interactive dashboards critical to performance visibility according to Hyperion survey. 04/13/2005 DataWorks Systems introduces Incuity EMI product that unites disparate data sources for enhanced decision-making. 04/13/2005 Bull market for GPS Fleet Management Systems. 04/12/2005 Schwab selects Teradata® Data Warehouse technology to enhance customer service and reduce IT complexity. 04/12/2005 Environmental Tectonics Corporation completes third virtual training at BWI Airport; simulation prepares first responders for mass casualty emergencies. 04/12/2005 TNT Logistics to enhance supply chain operations with labor management and slotting optimization from Manhattan Associates. 04/12/2005 Pfizer taps Send Word Now for emergency notification to keep employees informed and safe. 04/11/2005 Lockheed Martin opens Center for Innovation as new laboratory for transformation. ************************************************************ Please tell your DSS friends about DSSResources.COM ************************************************************ DSS News is copyrighted (c) 2005 by D. J. Power. Please send your questions to daniel.power@dssresources.com. |