Developing Information Leaders


Book Description

This title explores the skills and attitudes of information science professionals born between 1961 and 1977, the so-called Generation X. The book provides advice on how managers and organization leaders can recruit, manage and retain information professionals from the group.




Developing Information Systems Accurately


Book Description

This textbook shows how to develop the functional requirements of (information) systems. It emphasizes the importance to consider the complete development path of a functional requirement, i.e. not only the individual development steps but also their proper combination and their alignment. The book consists of two parts: Part I presents the underlying theory while Part II contains various illustrative case studies. Part I starts with an introduction to the topic (Chapter 1). Then it explains how to develop functional requirements that represent the conceptual dynamics of an information system (Chapters 2 and 3). Chapters 4 and 5 explain how to model the conceptual statics of an information system. Chapter 6 gives some directions for implementation. Finally, Chapter 7 explains how a ‘technical manager’ can organize and manage the development process. As an illustration of the theory, Part II contains three substantial case studies. The first one (Chapter 8) presents a stepwise development starting from an informal situation sketch via a simple domain model towards a precisely specified, full-fledged conceptual data model, which finally is translated to an SQL database. In the second case study (Chapter 9) the author converts the well-known non-trivial use case Process Sale from Larman into a textual System Sequence Description (SSD). For validation purposes, that textual SSD is subsequently translated into natural language and into a graphical SSD. The third case study (Chapter 10) shows the applicability of the author’s approach to a control system and also illustrates the typical situation that the requirements are constantly changing during development. This book is written for (under)graduate students in software engineering or information systems who want to learn how to carry out adequate problem analysis, to make good system specifications, and/or to understand how to organize and manage an IS-development process. It also targets practitioners who want to improve their problem analysis abilities and/or their ability to make good system specifications. To this end, it includes more than 150 explanatory figures and is accompanied by a Web site which provides additional course material such as slides, additional exercises, solutions to exercises, and the code for the figures used in the book.




Developing Quality Technical Information


Book Description

"The examples are excellent--right on target and easy to understand and adapt. Even those who don't adopt the entire procedure can profit from the parts, but the greatest value will flow to those who adopt the whole." --Carolyn Mulford, senior writer and editor of Writing That Works "This is also a book that students can keep for their professional libraries because it will increase in its value to them after they leave class and face real life experiences on the job. It is plain enough for them to understand while they are learning, and at the same time comprehensive enough to support them as professionals." --Elizabeth Boling, Instructional Systems Technology, Indiana University "It practices what it preaches. Its guidelines are understandable and appropriate; its examples clear. It contains exactly what writers and editors need to know. It is the book that I would have written." --Cynthia E. Spellman, Unisys The #1 guide to excellence in documentation--now completely updated! A systematic, proven approach to creating great documentation Thoroughly revised and updated More practical examples More coverage of topic-based information, search, and internationalization Direct from IBM's own documentation experts, this is the definitive guide to developing outstanding technical documentation--for the Web and for print. Using extensive before-and-after examples, illustrations, and checklists, the authors show exactly how to create documentation that's easy to find, understand, and use. This edition includes extensive new coverage of topic-based information, simplifying search and retrievability, internationalization, visual effectiveness, and much more. Coverage includes: Focusing on the tasks and topics users care about most Saying more with fewer words Using organization and other means to deliver faster access to information Presenting information in more visually inviting ways Improving the effectiveness of your review process Learning from example: sample text, screen captures, illustrations, tables, and much more Whether you're a writer, editor, designer, or reviewer, if you want to create great documentation, this book shows you how!




Developing Windows-Based and Web-Enabled Information Systems


Book Description

Many professionals and students in engineering, science, business, and other application fields need to develop Windows-based and web-enabled information systems to store and use data for decision support, without help from professional programmers. However, few books are available to train professionals and students who are not professional programmers to develop these information systems. Developing Windows-Based and Web-Enabled Information Systems fills this gap, providing a self-contained, easy-to-understand, and well-illustrated text that explores current concepts, methods, and software tools for developing Windows-based and web-enabled information systems. Written in an easily accessible style, the book details current concepts, methods, and software tools for Windows-based and web-enabled information systems that store and use data. It is self-contained with easy-to-understand small examples to walk through concepts and implementation details along with large-scale case studies. The book describes data modeling methods including entity–relationship modeling, relational modeling and normalization, and object-oriented data modeling, to develop data models of a database. The author covers how to use software tools in the Microsoft application development environment, including Microsoft Access, MySQL, SQL, Visual Studio, Visual Basic, VBA, HTML, and XML, to implement databases and develop Windows-based and web-enabled applications with the database, graphical user interface, and program components. The book takes you through the entire process of developing a computer and network application for an information system, highlighting concepts and operation details. In each chapter, small data examples are used to manually walk through concepts and operational details. These features and more give you the conceptual understanding and practical skill required, even if you don’t have a computer science background, to develop Windows-based or web-enabled applications for your specialized information system.







Developing Information Systems


Book Description

Systems development is the process of creating and maintaining information systems, including hardware, software, data, procedures and people. It combines technical expertise with business knowledge and management skill. This practical book provides a comprehensive introduction to the topic and can also be used as a handy reference guide. It discusses key elements of systems development and is the only textbook that supports the BCS Certificate in Systems Development.




The Art of Landscape Detail


Book Description

Introducing a revolutionary new approach to detail design in landscape architecture In this groundbreaking book, Niall Kirkwood of the Harvard Graduate School of Design takes a fresh,holistic approach to the theories, approaches, and practices of landscape detail. With the support of a wealth of graphic and written material taken from historic and contemporary landscape designwork, he clearly demonstrates the role that landscape detail plays in the design process. Going beyond theoretical considerations, Professor Kirkwood outlines landscape detail as a primary design activity, both pragmatic and poetic, using a range of built landscape design examples. A valuable resource for professionals and students in landscape architecture, architecture, urban design, and environmental design, The Art of Landscape Detail: * Provides a practical introduction to the aesthetic concerns, form, language, and expression of landscape detail * Explores a wide range of detail issues-including materials, climate, durability, implementation, and failure-and their influence on the overall detail design process * Examines detail design processes and research approaches that designers can apply in the analysis and development of their own work * Contains in-depth case studies of eight award-winning landscape architecture design projects, including provocative discussions with the designers on the establishment and evolution of their detail design philosophy * Features more than 150 images illustrating forms and site detail from national and international built landscapes




Information Management


Book Description




Hearings


Book Description




When Brains Meet Buildings


Book Description

After decades of research on minds and brains and a decade of conversations with architects, Michael Arbib presents When Brains Meet Buildings as an invitation to the science behind architecture, richly illustrated with buildings both famous and domestic. As he converses with the reader, he presents action-oriented perception, memory, and imagination as well as atmosphere, aesthetics, and emotion as keys to analyzing the experience and design of architecture. He also explores what it might mean for buildings to have "brains" and illuminates all this with an appreciation of the biological and cultural evolution that supports the diverse modes of human living that we know today. These conversations will not only raise the level of interaction between architecture and neuroscience but, by explaining the world of each group to the other, will also engage all readers who share a fascination with both the brains within them and the buildings around them. Michael Arbib is a pioneer in the interdisciplinary study of computers and brains and has long studied brain mechanisms underlying the visual control of action. His expertise makes him a unique authority on the intersection of architecture and neuroscience.