Information Systems - Theses
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ItemA framework for valuing the quality of customer information( 2009)This thesis addresses a widespread, significant and persistent problem in Information Systems practice: under-investment in the quality of customer information. Many organisations require clear financial models in order to undertake investments in their information systems and related processes. However, there are no widely accepted approaches to rigorously articulating the costs and benefits of potential quality improvements to customer information. This can result in poor quality customer information which impacts on wider organisational goals. To address this problem , I develop and evaluate a framework for producing financial models of the costs and benefits of customer information quality interventions. These models can be used to select and prioritise from multiple candidate interventions across various customer processes and information resources, and to build a business case for the organisation to make the investment. The research process involved: The adoption of Design Science as a suitable research approach, underpinned by a Critical Realist philosophy. A review of scholarly research in the Information Systems sub-discipline of Information Quality focusing on measurement and valuation, along with topics from relevant reference disciplines in economics and applied mathematics. A series of semi-structured context interviews with practitioners (including analysts, managers and executives) in a number of industries, examining specifically information quality measurement, valuation and investment. A conceptual study using the knowledge from the reference disciplines to design a framework incorporating models, measures and methods to address these practitioner requirements. A simulation study to evaluate and refine the framework by applying synthetic information quality deficiencies to real-world customer data sets and decision process in a controlled fashion. An evaluation of the framework based on a number of published criteria recommended by scholars to establish that the framework is a purposeful, innovative and generic solution to the problem at hand.
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ItemThe case for mobile trajectory – a practical 'theory' for mobile work( 2009)This thesis progressively evolves and presents a practical 'theory' for mobile work – mobile trajectory – through three case studies conducted using fieldwork. The three cases presented here examine tram travellers finding their way around a city centre (Case A), health care workers looking after people with mental illness in a residential setting (Case B) and mobile clinicians caring for young people with mental illness in a community setting (Case C). My concern is to develop a 'theory' for mobile work that is both practical and theoretical,; at once supporting the practical action of completing field and analytic work while abstracting away from the ordinary affairs of society. The contribution of this ‘theory’ is to synthesise ideas from the domain of studies of ICTs mobile work to support description, rhetoric, inference and application for mobile work. This 'theory' has particular COMPONENTS, FEATURES, PROPERTIES, CONCERNS and ASSOCIATED NOTIONS. A mobile trajectory has a CORE TRAJECTORY that involves particular work: the CORE WORK. There are ALIGNED TRAJECTORIES that feed the CORE TRAJECTORY. These are part of the CORE TRAJECTORY. The FEATURES of mobile trajectory are CYCLES, TRANSITIONS, TRAVERSALS, STREAMS, SCHEMES, POSSIBILITIES, HISTORICITY and SHAPE. The PROPERTIES are PHYSICALITY, LOCALITY, INSTRUMENTALITY, SYNCHRONICITY, INTER- DEPENDENCY, PREDICTABILITY and PALPABILITY. Important CONCERNS are RECONCILIATION CONCERNS, ALIGNMNENT CONCERNS, RECIPROCAL CONCERNS and CONTINGENCY CONCERNS. Key ASSOCIATED NOTIONS are SOCIAL SPHERES with particular WORLDS and SUB-WORLDS comprising MEMBERS with particular ROLES and INVOLVEMENT. SOCIAL SPHERES have particular BOUNDARIES, RESOURCES and MEDIA and shared KNOWLEDGE and PRACTICES. MEDIA and RESOURCES have particular AVAILABILITY and MUTABILITY. MEMBERS have particular BIOGRAPHIES, TIES and OBLIGATIONS and AWARENESS of others. Through the case material presented I demonstrate how this 'theory' supports the work of describing and discussing mobile work for the purpose of conceptualising, selecting, recommending and critically evaluating everyday Information and Communication Technologies. At the end of the thesis I compare mobile trajectory to three alternative approaches and two alternative theories with regard to supporting the same kind of work.
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ItemAcquiring plans within situated, resource-bounded agents: a hybrid, BDI-based approach( 2009)The BDI model is a widely accepted model for situated, resource-bounded agents. Intentions are a key component of the BDI model, and constrain the agent’s commitment to achieving its desires, and execution of behaviours. These behaviours are fulfilled via plans, which are an abstract representation for behaviours. Plans specify a course of action in a given context to achieve a particular goal. Acquiring plans is a complex problem, which is due to the complex relationships between the plan goal/context and the presence of multiple action steps in a plan. The BDI model does not feature a plan acquisition, or more generally, a knowledge acquisition, capability. Acquiring atomic knowledge is comparatively more straightforward, as reinforcement and management of the knowledge is less complex than plans. This thesis presents an approach to plan acquisition for agents based on the BDI model and combined with a ‘bottom-level’ learner. The system, which we call PGS (plan generation system), essentially transforms knowledge from the bottom-level into the BDI-based top-level. PGS manages the top-level and bottom-level interactions whilst managing action execution. These processes all occur during run-time. We will firstly explain concepts that are central to the thesis, and then describe related work that goes towards achieving the thesis aims. We then describe the PGS architecture, the results from case study experiments that have been conducted, and a discussion of these results and the main thesis outcomes.