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DSS News
by D. J. Power
September 23, 2001 -- Vol. 2, No. 20
A Bi-Weekly Publication of DSSResources.COM
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Check the Document-Driven DSS page at DSSResources.COM
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Featured:
* DSS Wisdom
* Ask Dan! - Can DSS and Decision Support technologies help reduce the
threat of terrorism?
* What's New at DSSResources.COM
* DSS News Stories
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This newsletter has more than 650 subscribers from 50 countries. Please
forward this newsletter to people interested in Decision Support Systems
or suggest they visit DSSResources.COM.
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Join us at IFIP WG 8.3 Conference on Decision Support Systems (DSS),
Decision Support in the Internet Age, Cork, Ireland,
July 4-7, 2002. Paper submissions due November 30, 2001.
Check http://afis.ucc.ie/dsiage2002/.
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DSS Wisdom
Gordon Davis (1974) summarized the information systems support needed
for decision making and planning and control. He noted "The MIS support
for decision making thus consists of a comprehensive data base, a data
base retrieval capability, statistical and analytical software, and a
model base containing model-building software, decision models, and
decision aids (p. 335)." Also, he noted "The planning process requires
a planning model, input data, and manipulation of the model to produce
the planning output. The information system should provide support for
each of these requirements (p. 348)."
Davis, Gordon B., Management Information Systems: Conceptual
Foundations, Structure, and Development. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1974.
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Ask Dan!
Can DSS and Decision Support technologies help reduce the threat of
terrorism?
Before answering this question, I want to remember those who died and
extend my sympathy to the many people who have been directly impacted by
the tragedies of September 11, 2001. May we all find strength to make
the hard decisions we will face in the weeks and months ahead.
Some of those hard decisions will relate to trying to prevent terrorism.
I do think Decision Support Systems can be helpful. Knowledge-Driven
DSS can be built to help profile passengers at Airports and Train and
Bus Stations. Data-Driven DSS can help agencies like the U.S.
Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) track visitors to the U.S.
and other countries and monitor their movements. Communications-Driven
DSS can assist is coordinating police and investigative efforts. Many
decisions related to who can enter a country, use services like air
transportation, purchase items like firearms, or make financial
transactions can be supported by DSS. The problem in building such
systems is generally not the capabilities of the technology, but rather
the problem lies in obtaining quality data. Data gathering for new DSS
and their use can have a major impact on individual liberties and
privacy.
Also, we need to realize that new uses of Information and Decision
Support technologies will not completely eliminate the threat of
terrorism. In fact, for some security and safety concerns low
technology solutions may actually be more effective, less intrusive and
much cheaper to implement. Many people are concerned that airplanes are
vulnerable to hijacking and hence they are now afraid to fly. An
elaborate computer-based DSS profiling system, physical security
measures and even sky marshals may help reduce these fears. Some
observers even advocate Data Mining and elaborate intelligence systems
to check passsenger manifests. These DSS might also help, but they would
be costly and certainly not "fool-proof".
Both DSS and "low tech" solutions need to be considered. If our concern
is that a hijacked plane will be used as a weapon, then we need to
examine a broad array of alternatives for reducing the likelihood of
that happening. One "low tech" solution that comes to mind is making it
physically impossible for any passenger to enter the Pilot's Cabin. I've
heard suggestions that a controller on the ground should determine
access or that a lock should secure the cabin. Given how ruthless and
brutal terrorists can be, I doubt that such approaches would work. An
alternative on large passenger airlines is to only allow entrance to the
Pilot's Cabin from outside of the airplane. This solution will be
costly, but it is more likely to keep terrorists from hijacking an
airliner and using it as a weapon. Also, a physical modification of an
airliner involves a one-time cost rather than on-going costs. From a
psychological standpoint, passengers would have a visible indication
that a terrorist in the passenger cabin could not force or cajole entry
into the Pilot's Cabin.
Would we still need security and DSS at airports? YES. Could planes
still be hijacked? YES. Could planes still be used as weapons? PERHAPS,
but it should be MUCH LESS LIKELY. Once pilots are screened and safely
in the Pilot's Cabin, it is very unlikely that a passenger could gain
control of a plane. Both pilots and passengers would be much safer.
Any Decision Support Systems that are built to assist in combatting
terrorism will need to be updated and improved regularly to reduce
chances that terrorists can exploit the systems. The users of the DSS
at ticket counters or passport control checks will need to remain
vigilant. "Human" interaction and decision maker judgment will be part
of a decision support solution.
Finally, although we need to explore Decision Support options to help in
the War on Terrorism, sometimes it is better to change the physical task
environment and business and decision processes rather than using
technology to improve decisions. If we can change the decision that
needs to be made or the importance of the decision then we may not have
the same concern about "poor" decisions that created the need to improve
decisions in the first place.
Peace/Salam/Shalom
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What's New at DSSResources.COM
09/09/2001 Updated and posted Document-Driven DSS page. Updated and
posted DSS Roulette.
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DSS News Stories - September 10-23, 2001
09/20/2001 ROI for handheld computers, Planet PDA summit December 4-6,
2001.
09/19/2001 Free online decision tool from SAP; mySAP supply chain
management value calculator.
09/18/2001 Microsoft SQL Server rated highly in survey of 644 OLAP users
from 46 countries.
09/16/2001 Invention Machine Corp. introduced Knowledgist 2.5 to create
a personal knowledge base.
09/12/2001 Landmark Graphics announced StrataMap Framework Builder, a
3-D geological framework building and editing application.
09/11/2001 Oracle acquired 3Cube, a maker of collaborative software for
online meetings.
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http://dssresources.com/newsletters/ .
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DSS News is copyrighted (c) 2001 by D. J. Power. Please send your email to
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