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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
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New article at DSSResources.COM - Check Evan Levy
"Beyond the Data Warehouse: Architectural Alternatives
for Data Integration"
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Featured:
* Ask Dan! - Report from ISCRAM 2005 in Brussels
* DSS Conferences
* DSS News Releases
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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.
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DAMA+Metadata
May 22-26, 2005, Orlando, Florida USA.
Check wilshireconferences.com/MD2005/index.htm
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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 .
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Purchase Dan Power's DSS FAQ book
83 Frequently Asked Questions about Computerized DSS
http://dssresources.com/dssbookstore/power2005.html
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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.
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DSS News is copyrighted (c) 2005 by D. J. Power. Please send your
questions to daniel.power@dssresources.com.
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