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Information services transfer information goods from a creator to a user. Information services have three design aspects, i. e. content, value, and revenue, and their design has an evolutionary nature, i. e. that information gained in the service's usage stages is part of their (re)design efforts. The literature abounds of fragmented insights for information services design. This article gives a literature review of methods and techniques that are useful in the representation and analysis of the above-mentioned aspects for each evolving step of information service design. The article also describes several scenarios for information service design projects. These insights have considerable consequences for information services design practices and a list of topics for new design theory research is given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter defines the misunderstandings which might occur in engineering, especially when teams are "virtual", and the risks linked to these misunderstandings. Based on related work and our experience in particular in the VRL-KCiP network of excellence, we make the assumption that if we intend to manage these risks; we have to focus on communication errors, which are rooted in six interrelated semiotic layers. We suggest general guidelines in terms of crosscultural communications and discuss the role that IT-based tools could play in solving misunderstanding problems in virtual engineering teams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The handling of knowledge in specific contexts is often labeled knowledge management. A more precise analysis of the literature in the knowledge management field, though, distinguishes four different domains with regard to the handling of knowledge in context, i. e., knowledge management, knowledge processes, knowledge media, and knowledge exploitation. These domains we name knowledge work. We also introduce four approaches to the study of knowledge work, and operationalize the domains of knowledge work, knowledge contexts and the knowledge concept itself, to help researchers and practitioners in the manufacturing field to be more precise with regard to their analyses of knowledge work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Riverine landscapes are characterised by recurrent flooding events and successional landscape mosaics with high habitat heterogeneity, providing species-specific patterns of suitable and unsuitable biotopes. Landscape characteristics, like distance, barriers and their specifications (e.g. cumulative barrier width, barrier number) and the spatial arrangement of suitable habitat areas, are expected to affect the dispersal of animals in landscapes. The distribution of voles, shrews and mice in a floodplain was monitored for 2 years using live traps. Recolonisation was found to be a slow process, resulting in a heterogeneous distribution of small mammals in the floodplains. Microtus arvalis was found just after the floods in low densities and on or near non-flooded areas only. From summer to autumn densities gradually increased, and specimens could be observed on larger distances from the non-flooded areas. The density development pattern of Crocidura russula was similar to that of M. arvalis, but densities increased faster. In contrast, Clethrionomys glareolus and Sorex araneus could immediately be observed in the former flooded areas just after the floods, but throughout the year these species were not trapped on distances further than 120 m from the non-flooded areas. Micromys minutus and Apodemus sylvaticus were trapped only occasionally in spring and summer after which those species could be found throughout the floodplain in larger densities in autumn. To analyse the influence of landscape characteristics on recolonisation, the floodplain was classified into suitable, marginal and unsuitable habitat landscape units for each of the small mammal species, based on the trapping results. Landscape characteristics relating to monitoring sites were measured from an aerial photograph using a geographic information system. After that, presence and recolonisation time of small mammals at monitoring sites could be described by multiple regression models based on these measured landscape characteristics. The predictive power of these models was tested in another floodplain by determining the species distribution after 35 weeks. Multiple regression models appeared to be useful in analysing recolonisation patterns and determining the importance of landscape characteristics for recolonisation by small mammals after flooding events. Available distribution data suggest three different types of recolonisers: (1) Gradual, density induced colonisers; (2) Active dispersers and (3) Long-distance dispersers after a lag. Results of regression models confirmed that M. arvalis could be characterised as a type 1 and A. sylvaticus as a type 3 species. The classification of the other species was not possible due to the relatively short time available for recolonisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although many different types of technologies for information systems have evolved over the last decades (such as databases, video systems, the Internet and mobile telecommunication), the integration of these technologies is just in its infancy and has the potential to introduce "intelligent" systems. The CANDELA project, which is part of the European ITEA program, focuses on the integration of video content analysis in combination with networked delivery and storage technologies. To unleash the full potential of such integration, adaptive video-content analysis and retrieval techniques are being explored by developing several pilot applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]