New Trends in Informatics Research - NTIR

May 2, 2008 The University at Albany | State University of New York

Research Presenters

 

Theresa Pardo, CTG, Fawzi Mulki, Informatics, & Tung-Mou Yang, Informatics

Moderator: Dean Peter Bloniarz, College of Computing and Information

Panel on Program on Comparative Information Sharing Research (IPCISR)

Panel Discussion:

The International Research Program in Cross-boundary Information Sharing is focused on building new knowledge about cross-boundary information sharing in an international context. This transnational program combines the resources of a National Science Foundation funded research team at the Center for Technology in Government (CTG) together with doctoral students from Public Administration and Policy and Information Science programs at the University at Albany. This Panel will provide background on the formation of the program and discuss the goals in moving forward.

Goal 1: Extend current theory about cross-boundary information sharing into new policy domains and new international contexts.

Goal 2: Develop culturally aware research designs appropriate for comparative studies in interorganizational information integration.

Goal 3: Build a sustainable network of researchers in cross-boundary information sharing across the world and the foundation for future collaborations among scholars during and after the completion of the dissertations.

The panel members will discuss key issues related to engaging with an existing domestic research program and the extension of that program into an international context through a variety of initiatives including dissertations; highlight the formation process for a comparative cross-boundary information sharing research network; and identify key barriers.

Biographies:

Peter A. Bloniarz, Ph.D., a veteran of more than 30 years at UAlbany, was appointed Dean of the College of Computing and Information in 2005. He previously served as Dean of the School of Information Science and Policy, as well as Associate Provost for Informatics. A Ph.D. graduate in electrical engineering and computer science from M.I.T., Dr. Bloniarz began at UAlbany as a faculty member in the Department of Computer Science. He ultimately served as Interim Vice President for Research, Interim Director for the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, Research Director for the Center for Technology in Government, and the Director of the Information Science Ph.D. program. A recipient of the SUNY Chancellor¹s Award for Excellence in Teaching, his primary research areas are information science and education.

Theresa A. Pardo is Deputy Director of the Center for Technology in Government located at the University at Albany. She is also a faculty member in Public Administration and Policy and Informatics at the University. Theresa has directed numerous applied research projects with government partners and written articles, research reports, book chapters and case studies focusing on IT innovation in government, cross-boundary information sharing and integration, trust and knowledge sharing, preservation of government digital records, and XML. She has received research funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the Library of Congress, among others. Theresa is co-chair of the North American Digital Government Working Group and serves on various editorial and advisory boards including Government Information Quarterly, the International Advisory Board for Mobile Technologies for the United Nations, the Financial Market Regulation Program at the University at Albany and the Expert Working Group for the EUReGov project. She was recently appointed as a senior adviser to the Informatization Research Institution, State Information Center, P.R. China.

Fawzi Mulki is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Informatics at the College of Computing and Information, University at Albany. He joined the program in the Fall of 2005 and is specializing in Information, Government and Democratic Societies, with interests in cross-boundary information sharing, information policy and public management, and e-government research. He is particularly interested in conducting such research in the context of international settings—both comparative and transnational studies. Since February 2006, Fawzi has been a research assistant at the Center for Technology in Government and has worked on a number of research projects. Fawzi's dissertation will focus on issues related to leadership and authority in cross-boundary information sharing within the domain of public-health crises. After completing his degree, he plans on returning to Jordan to pursue a professional career in the Jordanian government, as well as continuing applied research in the domain of digital government.

Tung-Mou Yang comes from Taiwan. He is a second year Ph.D. student in information science program at the University at Albany. He got both his undergraduate and master degrees in Management Information Systems. He worked as an information systems developer in Taiwan for several years. He had several experiences in participating in large-scale information system developments such as accounting information system, network information system, and bio-informatics laboratory information system. He enjoyed the processes of system analysis, design, and programming. He is also a certified Java programmer. His current research interest is in E-Government. He is interested in understanding the impact and interactions that information technology brings to government and the public sector. He is currently participating in a research project of Center for Technology in Government in modeling cross-boundaries information sharing and integration. He is preparing himself for a career in research. His future career objective is to work in a research institution or university in Taiwan. He hopes to conduct research that can benefit society and to share his learned knowledge and experience with the younger generation.

 

Michael Kolta, Computer Science

Melody Matching Using Strictly Relative Musical Abstractions

Abstract:

Have you ever had a tune stuck in your head, and cannot figure out what it is? This is a fairly common frustration in our media saturated society. Often times we are able to find the song by doing a text based search on whatever lyrics we can remember utilizing the Internet. However, what if we cannot remember enough of the lyrics to create a useful query, or if the piece is instrumental and does not have lyrics? The main goal of this research is solve this problem, that is, to devise a new type of search engine specifically for music that is based on melodies, not text or words.

The foundation of the search mechanism is known as the Parson's code and was developed in 1975 by Denys Parsons. This is a simplified musical abstraction that allows users with no musical training to be able to find songs based on their melodies. Parson's original publication of the Parson's code was an actual book, and thus was limited to only the first 16 notes of songs. Kolta's system is designed to be able to search for any part of the melodies; beginning, middle, or end.

Our experimental system currently utilizes the Smith-Waterman algorithm from the field of Bioinformatics which was originally designed to find matching sequences of DNA. The algorithm gives the highest scores to exact matches and also calculates lesser scores for approximate matches. The result is a tune-based search engine that will enable users to identify melodies and find the songs from which they originate based on their unique musical “DNA”.

Preliminary testing shows that the system is somewhat successful. We are conducting a survey that will show the relative usefulness of different abstractions of melodies and help us to improve the system. You may learn more while simultaneously helping Mr. Kolta with his research by participating in the previously mentioned survey at www.albany.edu/~mk1787.

Biography:

Michael Kolta is currently a fifth year Doctoral student in Computer Science at SUNY Albany with a minor in Computer Music. With only his dissertation to complete, he expects to graduate in the spring of 2008. Michael holds degrees from SUNY Albany (M.S. Computer Science) and RPI (B.S. Industrial Engineering; minor in Electronic Arts). He is a lifetime member of the Engineering Honor Society (TBΠ) and is on the National Dean's List.

Michael's research interests include Artificial Intelligence, Information Retrieval, Informatics and Computer Music. His previous work experiences include: Software QA Engineer (Autodesk), Multimedia Engineer (CNN), and college instructor (Marist, SUNY Albany). Michael plans to pursue careers as a professor and an entrepreneur.

Michael is an accomplished and active musician playing local shows regularly. For over 20 years, he has played piano, keyboard, and drums. Later, Michael began singing and songwriting under the stage name “F.L.E.X”. He now produces music under his own label ReFLEXion Records (www.ReFLEXionRecords.com).

 

Meg Fryling, Informatics

Enterprise Resource Planning Total Cost of Ownership in Higher Education: Ensuring Success and Return on Investment

Abstract:

Organizations fail to recognize the true Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of vendor purchased Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, particularly when the applications are customized to meet existing business processes (Dodds and Spencer 2007). Although experts strongly encourage Business Process Reengineering (BPR), this is often difficult to accomplish in practice because it requires significant enterprise-wide change management (Hammer 1990).

Organizations have long struggled with information system implementation failures and overruns (Martin 1998; Peterson 2003; Tapp, Hesseldenz et al. 2003). Increasing resource constraints are an enormous issue for all organizations and there is a strong expectation to do more with less. It is critical that management understand the mistakes being made when choosing and implementing technical solutions. The purpose of this study is to give practitioners a true sense of the lifelong impact and hidden cost of ERPs as well as the effect on perceptions of success.

This research extends the system dynamics project management and software implementation research to include pre-packaged software and the affect of customizations on implementation success factors. The goal is to uncover dynamic lessons such as:

This study uses literature review, case study data and system dynamics simulation modeling to explore the TCO of implementing and maintaining ERP information systems and the effect on IS success. The goals of this research are: 1) to expose the dynamic relationships involved in implementing ERPs; 2) identify the indicators of ERP success over time; 3) develop a framework to improve policies and decision making that will enable organizations to better allocate IT resources appropriately to improve ERP implementation success rates and ROI.

Biography:

Meg Fryling came to the University at Albany in 1998 as both a part-time graduate student and a full-time programmer-analyst in the department formerly known as University Business Systems. Shortly after completing her MBA in 2002, Meg continued her studies at UAlbany as an Informatics Ph.D. student with a primary specialization in Decision and Policy Sciences and a secondary specialization in Business Information and Decision Systems.

Meg continues her full-time employment in ITS as the Assistant Director of University Applications Development. Many of Meg's research interests stem from her work at the University, including information system implementations, project management and higher education enrollment management strategies.

Meg began teaching computer science courses for business students at Siena College in 2003 and has taught database development at UAlbany. Most recently Meg was accepted to the Frye Leadership Institute (http://www.fryeinstitute.org/); a highly selective intensive leadership development program for individuals in higher education who aspire to more significant leadership roles, including information technology and library science professionals. Meg will be joining the Frye Institute class of 2008 at Emory University this summer.

Meg expects to finish her Ph.D. in 2009 and plans to complete her dissertation work on the Total Cost of Ownership of Enterprise Resource Planning Software: Simulating a Dynamic Feedback Perspective in the Higher Education Environment.

 

Robin Burk, Informatics

Reasoning via a Formal Ontology in a Complex Domain

Abstract:

Planning for the movement of equipment and personnel during military activities is a complex process that draws on simulation models, optimization software, command and control systems and human judgments and sense-making. Our team’s project began with the definition of a standard data model to enable existing software applications to interoperate as a unified mobility planning tool. The data model describes equipment, road networks, terrain and the effects of weather on soil and hard surfaces. However, it became clear that data modeling alone was inadequate to represent all of the factors that go into the human judgments in this domain. We therefore applied formal concept analysis and then constructed a description logic-based formal ontology. This ontology became the basis for a prototype software service that reasons about the impact of unexpected and disruptive events such as improvised explosive devices or extreme weather conditions on planned travel routes. The service receives notification of events, infers the potential impact on movement of specific types of vehicles across road or terrain segments and, when needed, triggers route re-planning using a network flow optimization model. Suggested route modifications are then presented to decision-makers for their approval. Such a service promises to reduce cognitive load on commanders by off-loading low-level tracking of local conditions while continuing to provide appropriate situational awareness. Although this project was motivated by the need to assess military ground mobility and to plan maneuvers it could easily be extended to support relief efforts in response to natural disasters or other civil emergencies.

Biography:

Robin K. Burk is an assistant professor in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department at the United States Military Academy, where she has also taught undergraduates in the Systems Engineering Department. Prior to joining the faculty as an adjunct instructor in 2001 she spent over 27 years in software engineering, engineering management, program management and as a senior corporate executive in early and mid-stage high-technology firms serving both defense and commercial markets. She is the author and technical editor of a number of well-selling books for software and networking practitioners, including TCP/IP Blueprints and several editions of UNIX Unleashed. Robin holds an MBA with specializations in finance and operations from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a bachelor's degree in physics and philosophy from St. John's College. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Information Science at SUNY with a dissertation research focus on natural language understanding linked to probabilistic object recognition in autonomously mobile robots.

 

Namjoo Choi, Informatics

Identifying Success Factors for Open Source Software Projects

Abstract:

This study is aimed to make a contribution to the developing body of empirical research on open source software projects by identifying success factor and success measures that can be applied to open source software projects. First, the study will identify success factor measures and success measures in relevant literature. Then, to determine their content validity and to see if new themes exist, developers randomly selected from the SourceForge.net website will be given an open-ended email survey and the data content analyzed. Secondly, the success factor measures and success measures from the above will be again surveyed with developers randomly selected from the SourceForge.net website for re-verification. Finally, once the study has a complete list of success factor measures and success measures, the relationships among them will be analyzed with secondary data collected from the SourceForge.net website. The study ultimately aims to invent a success model for open source software projects.

Biography:

Namjoo Choi is a Ph.D. student at the department of Informatics,University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY), New York, U. S. A. He specializes primarily in Business Information and Decision Systems (BIDS) and secondarily in Information in OrganizationalEnvironments (IOE). He published in the proceedings of the Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS, 2006) and served as an adhoc reviewer for AMCIS. In addition, he served as manager of the Planning and Public Relations Team at the Korea Cyber University and as a coordinator for World Economy Forum. His research interests are IT-related phenomena in societal, behavioral and organizational settings including e-Learning, information security management, IT driven organization change, management of IT innovations in organizations. He has an MA in Telecommunication, Information Studies and Media from Michigan State University, Michigan, U. S. A. and a B.A. in Mass Communications from Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea.

 

Alexis Wichowski, Informatics

The myth of fragmentation? Assessing political information and public sphere discourse in the everyday online environment

Abstract:

Many observers of political discourse online report that participants fragment into issue- and interest-specific groups, denying themselves incidental exposure to the diversity of opinions and ideas considered crucial for democratic societies. Additionally, even within their homogenous groups, researchers report conversations to be generally superficial and of low quality, a far cry from the ideals of rational-critical debate that builds a public sphere. Yet much of the research underlying the fragmentation argument is incomplete, relying on self-reported measures that may fail to represent actual web behavior, or examinations of self-selecting populations that may fail to represent the everyday online experiences of the larger populace. This dissertation study will address the shortcomings of the fragmentation argument through a triangulated methodology that a. assesses the diversity of opinions and ideas that people might be incidentally exposed to in the everyday online environment, b. measures whether people are visually attentive to these ideas and opinions, and c. analyzes if the structure of political discussion in the “Web 2.0” online environment approach the ideals of “public sphere discourse.”

Biography:

Alexis Wichowski is a second year doctoral student in the Informatics program at the University at Albany specializing in IGDS. Prior to graduate studies, she received her undergraduate degree in Chinese (Connecticut College, 1993-96), completed a State Education Council of China / Fulbright-Hayes fellowship (Zhongshan University, Guangzhou, China, 1996-97), and worked various jobs in New York City as gallery assistant, off-off Broadway theater producer, disaster relief field worker, farmer’s market vendor, and academic book indexer. Current research interests include computer-mediated communication, political communication, ambient and encountered information, and Internet studies.

 

Devendra D. Potnis, Informatics

Role of Mobile Technologies in Shaping Information Behavior of Disadvantaged Populations in Developing Nations: A Mixed Methods Study

Abstract:

Various theoretical frameworks, grounded in the western context, developed for studying human information behavior are not robust enough to capture everyday life information behavior of disadvantaged populations from developing nations. Using a theoretical framework offered by Wilson’s global model of human information behavior (yr. 2000), this dissertation attempts to study everyday life information behavior shaped by mobile cell phones for financially disadvantaged women from rural part of India.

Future research involves exploring relationships between information behavior and socio-economic opportunities in the context of mobile technologies for disadvantaged populations from developing nations. Findings of dissertation are expected to inform global model of information behavior and various policies and strategies designed to deploy mobile technologies in communities of disadvantaged populations from developing nations and incorporation of mobile technologies under mobile-Governance.

Biography:

Devendra Potnis is a second year doctoral student at the Information Science program offered by the College of Computing and Information, State University of New York at Albany. He is passionate to be a part of a team pursuing Millennium Development Goals set by the United Nations and the World Bank. His academic journey has been influenced by the notion of equity and equality for all through effective technology solutions, policy framework and management practices.His doctoral dissertation studies role of mobile technologies in shaping information behavior of disadvantaged women from rural India.

Devendra received his Bachelor of Computer Engineering from the University of Mumbai, India, and Master in Computer Science from the University of Louisiana, and Master in Public Administration from the Rockefeller College, SUNY at Albany. Currently, he is working on three research publications that focus on barriers to socio-economic opportunities in Africa, the ways in which information and communication technologies enable rural India for sustainable development, and measuring e-Government through innovation management measurement framework.

 

Carrie Chang & Deborah Andersen, Informatics

The Affinity between Online Information-Seeking Behavior and Emotion: A Pilot Focus Group Study of Information Studies Master’s Students at the University at Albany

Abstract:

Emotion is an issue people confront too frequent to neglect the role it plays in daily information processing. The great influence of emotion reflects on its interdisciplinary nature in research. Information science professionals focus on pursuit of users' affective information needs by analyzing their information-seeking behaviors. Computer scientists pay much attention to computational emotion and affective computing. Management information systems scholars are concerned with user acceptance of information technology. Political scientists are interested in the relationship between citizens' emotions and their political behaviors. Psychologists and sociologists primarily contribute to fundamental theories of emotion. However, the structure and content of emotion have not yet reached agreement among disciplines. Much research has to be done to solve the puzzle of emotion. The primary purpose of this study will explore how emotional or affective factors are linked to different information search stages and intentions for information professionals who seek information at the University at Albany. This study reviews the emotional aspects currently mentioned in information-seeking behavior models and the theories on which they are based. As a pilot focus group study of University at Albany Master of Science in Information Studies (MSIS) students which will ground a future and larger project, it will capture emotion users feel or experience while performing information-seeking tasks online. It will broaden the understanding of emotions felt in the search context across different stages and intentions.

Biographies:

Carrie Chang is a second year PhD student. She got a M.S. in Information Science at University at Albany and a M.A. in Public Policy (concentrating on Urban Policy) at National Taipei University in Taiwan. Before pursuing PhD degree in informatics, she spent six years as a research assistant, a project planner, and a web manager. Her primary areas of specialization are KOM (Knowledge Organization and Management) and IGDS (Information, Government, and Democratic Society). She currently serves as an instructor of Fundamentals of Information Technology course offered by the Department of Information Science, University at Albany. She is also working on several research projects focusing on affective information behavior from different aspects, including synthesizing research with Dr. Hemalata Iyer, conducting focus groups with Dr. Deborah Andersen, and developing affective interfaces with Ray Huang in Dr. Huahai Yang's Human-Computer Interaction course.

Deborah Lines Andersen received her Ph.D. in Information Science from the University at Albany in 1996. Dr. Andersen is an Associate Professor of Information Studies at the University. Her specializations include: public libraries, research methods and statistics, electronic information access technologies and their users. Deborah Andersen teaches statistics and research methods and reference in the department. She is also on the Informatics Department faculty and teaches Research Design for INF PhD students. She is executive editor of the Journal of the Association for History and Computing (exclusively web-based), and a consultant for the Albany Public Library system. As vice president for publications of the International System Dynamics Society, a portion of her research concerns using qualitative data methods to inform simulation modeling. Deborah Andersen is the author of "Benchmarks," an opinion column that appears in each issue of the Journal of the Association for History and Computing (JAHC). She is the author/editor of Digital Scholarship in the Tenure, Promotion and Review Process (M.E. Sharpe, 2004), a primer that looks at studies and examples of using technology for research and teaching in an academic setting.

 

Dawit Demisse, Informatics

The state of the art of e-government services in Africa: An analysis of relevant websites

Abstract:

Like most information and communication technologies, developing countries such as those in Africa are not only the last to adopt the necessary technologies in order to provide e-government services, the rate of adoption is slow due to several factors. Some of these, among others, include infrastructure, literacy, income, and culture. In spite of these obstacles, a slight progress has been made. However, this progress is not apparent partly due to the fact that current procedures for e-government ranking and indexes either don’t differentiate between the stages of e-government services or they are based on very few websites. The main goal of the current study was to consider all relevant websites and produce e-government ranking and indexes through a new set of procedures that assigns weights to e-government services according to their stages. Data were mainly collected from previous reports and relevant e-government service websites and were analyzed through content analysis using a coding dictionary specifically developed for the current study. Comparisons of the e-government rankings and indexes of African countries based on our procedures and procedures previously used by others were also made. The new set of procedures for e-government rankings and indexes are significant contributions to the study of e-government services and are hoped to serve as more reliable tools for future researchers.

Biography:

Dawit Demissie is a second year student in the Information Science Ph.D. (INF PHD) Program at the College of Computing and Information (CCI), University at Albany. He received a BS degree in Computer Science from The State University of New York at Oswego, and an MS degree in Telecommunications & Network Management (TNM) from Syracuse University. His primary and Secondary Specialization areas in the INF PHD program are Information, Government, and Democratic Society (IGDS) and Business Information & Decision Systems (BIDS) respectively.

Before joining the INF PHD program, he had been a Software Test Engineer and prior to that, he served as a System Consultant to the University community on computing issues at SUNY-Oswego. He also had been an adjunct IT Instructor at Hudson Valley Community College, UAlbany, Bryant & Stratton College-Albany Campus, SUNY-Oswego, Le Moyne College and Onondaga Community College.

His research interests include empirical testing of models and theories of information technology (IT) use, acceptance, and adoption; human technology interactions; IT issues in cross-cultural environments; knowledge management; and e-government.

 

Xiaoai Ren, Informatics

Decision-Making Models in the Public Library Systems of New York State

Abstract:

Currently 750 public libraries and 334 branch libraries serve the people of New York State. All but one of the 750 public libraries are members of one of the State's 23 public library systems. Public library systems receive Federal aid under the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), state aid is given to public library systems under the New York Education Law. For receiving aid, public library systems have to satisfy certain requirements, assume certain obligations and provide certain services to member libraries and the library users.

It is the purpose of this study to examine how the public library systems make decisions in spending aid. What kind of services do they provide and in what way? How can they align their decision making with the approved five year of plan of service? (PoS is a prerequisite document that has to be approved by the Commissioner of the NYS Education Department before they get state aid.) How do they balance interests among different member libraries and how do they evaluate their decisions? What influences do the LSTA and Education Law have on these decision-making processes?

To start this research, information about the budget of public library systems and public libraries will be collected and literature that talks about decision-making models will be reviewed to create background for this study.

It is expected that the survey or interview data or both can be collected from 20 system directors (3 of the systems will be excluded from this study because they each cover a single metropolitan area without multiple town libraries). The supplemental information will be collected from other decision makers if that is needed. Models of their decision making will be constructed through this study.

Biography:

Xiaoai Ren is a PhD student in information studies at SUNY-Albany. Xiaoai’s research interests include: public library systems in New York State; patent policy; and digital preservation.

 

Stephen Buerle, Informatics

Barriers and Borders: A Conceptualization of the Effects of Heightened Security and Inspection Measures on Trade and Safety

Abstract:

Border and transportation security is a key element in protecting US citizens from a future terrorist event. According to DHS budget projections, investments in border protection technology will increase 30% in 2007 to $10.2 billion in 2008. Much of this investment will be in high-tech tools: auto-identification techniques, biometrics and sensory networks for the tracking of people and goods. Maximal effectiveness of these tools requires comprehensive and consistent deployment. The pressure to move people and goods quickly can work against this effort, as conveyors wish to minimize transit delays. In addition gaps in inspection and screening procedures create opportunities for economic and security exploitation.

Previous work (Conrad et al. 2002; OECD, 2003; Robinson et al. 2005) has examined the impact of security measures on domestic port operations. We present a draft system dynamics model that examines the flow of people and goods from a foreign port of exit (FPOE) to a domestic port of entry (DPOE). We expect that this model will be an initial step towards understanding the effects and impact that advanced security technologies, FPOE inspections and screening procedures have on the processing and clearance of people and goods.

Biography:

Stephen Buerle is a 2nd year Ph.D. student at the University of Albany's College of Computing and Information Sciences specializing in Information Assurance. His research interests include risk analysis techniques, threat and vulnerability assessment methods, auto-identification technologies, integrated threat management systems, rule-based systems, policy compliance and sensory networks.

Steve is currently the Director for Enterprise Security at Unisys Corporation where he conducts research and intellectual property development in the areas of risk analysis, policy compliance networks, supply chain vulnerability assessment, auto-identification technologies and sensory networks. In this role Steve has conducted funded R&D for the Department of Homeland Security's Operation Safe Commerce (OSC) program and was instrumental in the development of proprietary 802.11/WiFi assessment and security controls standards for the Transportation Security Agency (TSA).

Steve holds an M.B.A. with a concentration in Decision Sciences and Engineering Systems from RPI and a Masters in Computational Design (MDesS) from Harvard University concentrating in knowledge-based CAD Systems. In addition, Steve has been certified by ISC2 as a Certified Information Security Systems Professional (CISSP), by ISACA as a Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) and by the NSA in their Information Assessment Methodology (IAM).

 

Kwang Seok Yoon, Informatics & Hyuckbin Kwon, Public Administration

An empirical investigation of issues and factors in the FOIA.

Abstract:

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552 provides a statutory right of access to information of the United States government. FOIA has been considered as a critical law to protect people’s right to know and promote democratic accountability. However, critics contend that the promises of FOIA remain largely unfulfilled due to agencies’ non-compliance and frequent delay of information disclosure in the implementation process. This issue is well illustrated by Executive Order 13392 issued by President Bush on December 14, 2005, which calls upon all agencies to improve their FOIA operations with both efficiency and customer service in mind. However, there are few existing empirical studies that analyze the implementation of FOIA. This paper will use both qualitative and quantitative research methods to identify and empirically investigate issues and factors that influence the implementation of FOIA.

Biographies:

Kwang Seok Yoon is a Ph.D. candidate in information science at the University at Albany. His specializations include Public Information Policy and Information Decision System. Kwang Seok holds degrees from the University at Albany (M.S. Information Science) and Chung-Ang University (M.A., and B.A. Public Administration). His research interests include Knowledge Management, Information Policy, and Information System. Kwang Seok is working on the dissertation research, "Testing the Firestone and McElroy Knowledge Management Model: An empirical study."

Hyuckbin Kwon is a Ph.D. candidate in Public Administration at the University at Albany, State University of New York and a graduate assistant at the Center for Technology in Government. He earned his B.A. degree in public administration from Yonsei University, Korea and his MPA degree from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University Bloomington. His research interests include freedom of information policy, interorganizational collaboration and information sharing, public management information systems, and electronic government.

 

Monika P. Calef, Geography and Planning & Informatics

Population changes and disappearing farmland in the Capital District, NY

Abstract:

During the early 20th century, the US experienced a net migration of people from rural areas to cities mainly attributable to improved agricultural methods and the attractiveness of urban versus rural living. This land abandonment was soon counteracted by rapid exurban and suburban development in the Northeast at rates as high as 8 - 15% increase in suburban landuse for every percent population increase. With diminishing fossil fuel reservoirs and growing international food safety concerns, there is renewed interest in local food production; however, this requires preservation of prime agricultural lands. Our study goals were: (1) assessment of historic trends in population, land use, and farms; (2) simulation of a likely scenario for 2030; and (3) evaluation of alternative trajectories for land use. We determined population and farm trends from decadal US census data for the four counties Saratoga, Schenectady, Albany, and Rensselaer. To determine land use changes, we used the MRLC Consortium land use change product comparing land use in 1992 to 2001. Population density and distribution along with landuse trends were then modeled to predict future extents of agricultural versus urban areas. We found that population in the four counties has increased consistently since 1900, while both total number and acreage of farms have decreased. This is reflected in an increase in developed lands with a simultaneous decrease in agricultural lands and forests. Our study provides valuable insights into long-term land use trends in this region and provides a better understanding of their implications.

Biography:

Dr. Calef holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences from the University of Virginia which focused on modeling climate change impacts on the boreal forest. Halfway through the degree program, she relocated to Fairbanks, Alaska. After completing her degree, she analyzed the human influence on wildfire in Alaska as part of a postdoc at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She joined the Dept.s of Geography & Planning and Informatics at the University at Albany in 2005.

 

Kevin H. Knuth, Physics & Informatics

The Age of Robotics

Abstract:

Computers have become an integral part of our modern lives. They have replaced typewriters, calculators, newspapers, televisions, postal mail, telephones, board games, tape players and stereo systems, and have infiltrated our lives in ways that are nearly transparent to us. We will soon see computing extended to physical interaction, and with this we will enter the Age of Robotics. The first robots will not be recognizable as such. They will be small mechanisms that perform single well-defined tasks. These will quickly diversify, increase in complexity and utility to the point where we will depend on these autonomous machines as we now depend on their immobile ancestors.

The basic problems have been solved: power, mobility, and intelligence; and these solutions continue to improve. In this talk, I will discuss what needs to be accomplished to develop robotics to the point where we have machines with abilities that rival those of their human creators. To do this, we look both to the logical formalism: information theory and Bayesian probability theory, as well as nature’s solution: neuroscience. By combining nature’s short-cuts with formal logic, we will be able to make autonomous machines that complement our abilities rather that replicate our abilities. I will demonstrate some of these ideas with a robotic scientist that not only autonomously collects and analyzes data, but also chooses which measurements to take.

Biography:

Kevin Knuth was born in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, USA in 1965. He received his Ph.D.in physics at the University of Minnesota (1995). He held postdoctoral positions studying neuroscience at Louisiana State University Medical Center (1996), the City University of New York and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (1997-1998), where he was later an instructor. He was also an instructor at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University (1999) where he worked on neurodatabases, and was a research scientist at the Center for Advanced Brain Imaging at the Nathan Kline Institute (1999-2001). From 2001-2005 he worked as a Research Scientist developing machine learning techniques and their applications in the Intelligent Systems Division at NASA Ames Research Center. He joined the University of Albany faculty in October 2005 with a dual appointment in the Departments of Physics and Informatics. His scientific interests include: robotics, probability theory, astrophysics, complex systems, and brain dynamics. For recreation, he enjoys hiking, bird watching and poking around tidal pools.

 

Thomas R. Stewart, Director, Center for Policy Research

Bias in selection and detection decisions

Abstract:

Many important selection and detection decisions are based on thresholds. For example, a doctor may suspect, but not be sure, that a child has an ear infection. If her suspicion is strong enough, then she might prescribe antibiotics. The doctor's suspicion is a judgment based on the child's symptoms, and antibiotics will be prescribed if that suspicion is strong enough, i.e., if it is above some threshold. Many decisions involve such thresholds, e.g., police deciding to arrest suspects, juries deciding guilt or innocence, airport security deciding to detain passengers, emergency managers deciding to evacuate a hurricane-threatened area, personnel managers hiring job applicants, and social workers deciding to remove a child from the home. In each case, the decision to act or not is based on a judgment that must be made under uncertainty, using whatever fallible information is available. Decisions can result in two kinds of error: a) acting when inaction is more appropriate or b) not acting when action should be taken. Such errors can be costly, and can never be avoided entirely, but understanding their causes can contribute to reducing them. Good selection or detection decisions require both good judgment and an appropriate threshold. In this presentation, I will explore some reasons why thresholds might be inappropriately biased, and report on research investigating how people learn thresholds.

Biography:

Thomas R. Stewart is Director of the Center for Policy Research and Research Professor in the Department of Public Administration and Policy. He received his Ph.D. in quantitative psychology from the University of Illinois and was formerly with the Graduate School of Public Affairs and the Center for Research on Judgment and Policy at the University of Colorado. His research includes theoretical, methodological and applied studies of judgment and decision making, and he is particularly interested in expert judgment. His specific interests include methods of judgment analysis and the decomposition of judgmental skill as well as studies of expert judgment in medicine, weather forecasting and other fields. Recently he has been investigating how people learn decision thresholds under conditions of uncertainty and limited feedback.

 

Sanjay Goel, School of Business

Emergence of the Internet Behavior: Self-Organization and Resilience

Abstract:

Nature abounds with several instances where seemingly simple organisms self-organize and exhibit sophisticated emergent behavior. Such systems exhibit a natural resilience and show are remarkable ability to survive under duress. The entities in these systems are governed with simple rules and typically interact with their immediate neighbors. For instance, an ant is quite a simple animal whose behavioral repertoire is limited from 10 to 40 elementary behaviors. However, in groups, they can exhibit sophisticated collective behavior where there are clear divisions of labor. Some ants collect food while others take care of the eggs, repair the nest, or protect the anthill against threats, while the queen lays the eggs. The secret lies in self-organization. There are several artificial systems that exhibit such self-organziation such as the Internet. Here, many different components have self-assembled into a monolithic network that works to seamlessly move information around the globle. The virtual world, built in the shadow of the real world is today more intriguing and powerful than the real world. As the complexity of these systems increases, it becomes more and more difficult to control them. We may not necessarily want to control the Internet, but we do want to prevent its abuse by hackers, terrorists, and miscreants. We also need to protect everyday users from predators, scams, and identity theft. There are simple rules that govern the elements that make up the Internet. Can we also create simple rules to protect the Internet itself? This talk discusses the concepts of self-organization in complex systems especially as it relates to the Internet and its security.

Biography:

Sanjay Goel is an Associate Professor in the School of Business at the University at Albany, SUNY. He is also the Director of Research at the New York State Center for Information Forensics and Assurance at the University. The center is collaborative effort between the University at Albany, NYS Police, and CSCIC. He is also represents UAlbany as part of the Capital Region Cyber Crime Partnership which is a joint partnership with the NYS Police and the New York Prosecutors Training Institute which focuses on assisting law enforcement in dealing with computer-related crime. Before joining the University, he worked at the General Electric Global Research Center. Dr. Goel received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering in 1999 from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He is supporting a multidisciplinary research group in information security. His group is currently engaged in several projects including: investigation of computer security threats such as botnets and malware propagation, risk analysis, information classification, business continuity, disaster recovery, security models based on biological paradigms of immune systems, epidemiology, and cellular pathways. His research also delves into self-organization and self assembly in several applications. Dr. Goel teaches several classes including computer networking and security, information security risk analysis, security policies, enterprise application development, database development and Java language programming. Promising Inventor's Award in 2005.

 

Peter Shea, Educational Theory and Practice and Informatics & Prahalad Rangan, Informatics

Automating Social Network Analysis to Improve Online Instruction

Abstract:

Rapid growth in online teaching and learning is well documented and online learning environments continue to evolve. A recent national survey (Allen & Seaman, 2007) estimated that 3.5 million college students are enrolled in fully online courses in the US, roughly 20% of all college students. Further it is estimated that, with enrollment growth rates about six times traditional, classroom-based learning, online courses will continue to represent the fasting growing instructional modality in higher education. It is therefore crucial that we examine both theory and practice of online higher education. This presentation will briefly review theories of online pedagogy focusing on an "epistemic engagement" approach characterized by high levels of participant interaction. This session will also explore an essential element of this instructional modality, instructor-student interaction and present results of an ongoing pilot study to use Social Network Analysis to better understand and improve interaction in online courses.

Biographies:

Dr. Peter Shea is jointly appointed in the Department of Educational Theory and Practice in the School of Education and the Informatics Department in the College of Computing and Information. His research is in the area of computer mediated teaching and learning focusing on student and faculty experiences in online higher education. He works with a core group of researchers on the Community of Inquiry Framework which seeks to conceptualize recent learning environments through the lens of online "presence". He is also principle investigator on an Alfred P. Sloan foundation grant, one of several Sloan funded research projects, to explore the uses of blended and hybrid online instruction at the University at Albany. In his presentation for the NTIR conference he is collaborating with Prahalad Rangan, a doctoral student in Informatics, on the use of Social Network Analysis to reveal patterns of interaction in threaded discussions in online courses.

Prahalad Rangan is a student in the Informatics PhD program. Prahalad’s primary specialization is Information Assurance with a particular interest in network security. Prahalad’s advisor is Dr. Sanjay Goel, and he considers Dr. Jagdish Gangolly as his “friend, philosopher, and guide.”