Demosthenes Akoumianakis | TEI of Crete (original) (raw)
Papers by Demosthenes Akoumianakis
Grid Computing refers mainly to resources which are geographically distributed over a wide-area n... more Grid Computing refers mainly to resources which are geographically distributed over a wide-area network (WAN). Therefore, the need for a high throughput transfer protocol is essential. This has led to the development and adoption of the GridFTP protocol. Although, several attempts have been made to achieve higher throughputs, they appear not to be optimal. In this work, we present a different approach to the problem. First, the throughput is modeled in terms of the following parameters: File-size, Network Bandwidth, Round Trip Time (RTT), number of parallel streams and TCP sender socket buffer size. Second, three different models are adopted: 1) Multiple Linear Regression, 2) Multiple Non-Linear Regression and 3) Linear Minimum Mean Square Error (LMMSE). Finally, a theoretical analysis is performed, assisted by a set of simulations and real-world experiments, which yields the best-fitting model.
Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems, 2007
We present the baseline of a framework called eΚοΝΕΣ, for building electronic villages of local i... more We present the baseline of a framework called eΚοΝΕΣ, for building electronic villages of local interest. An electronic village is considered as a virtual organization formed by representatives of different sectors who work together during a period of time to realize a common goal. We assume tight coupling between the virtual organization and a physical space to differentiate the electronic village of local interest from the notion of the global electronic village. In this context, the paper focuses on two primary issues, namely the stimulation and organization of collaborative work by virtual teams and the design of electronic artefacts which facilitate collaborative feedback and feedthrough in an exemplar case in the context of eΚοΝΕΣ-Tourism-a pilot electronic village on regional tourism.
Intelligent Decision Technologies, 2011
The paper elaborates on the design and use of cross-organization virtual community spaces facilit... more The paper elaborates on the design and use of cross-organization virtual community spaces facilitating knowledge-based collaborative engagement in the practice of a boundary spanning alliance. Our approach builds upon the concept of transformable boundary artifacts and advances a perspective upon their design as first class objects in common information spaces. Using a case study on vacation package assembly, we identify offline elements of practice and discuss the components of an interaction vocabulary devised to facilitate their transformable interactive embodiment. Transformations allow boundary artifacts to exhibit plasticity as they transcend different social worlds and computing contexts within the cross-organization virtual community space, which in turn, forms the virtuality through which members make sense of collaborative work and contribute to a shared mission. Such contributions are materialized through recurrent interactions with different versions of boundary artifacts, which remain consistent and synchronized at all times.
International Journal of e-Collaboration, 2015
Spanning boundaries has emerged as a key topic in the scholarship on distributed organizing. None... more Spanning boundaries has emerged as a key topic in the scholarship on distributed organizing. Nonetheless, most of the works are motivated by boundaries designated by static demarcations of time and/or place, while only recently there is some evidence emphasizing the dynamic aspects of boundaries and boundary spanning. Following the latter tradition, the present research attempts to examine the antecedents of boundary spanning in the context of e-collaboration. This is approached using a cross case assessment of two interpretive case studies. The results suggest that cross-organizational e-collaboration can be analyzed in relation to five constructs: (a) representations through which collaborative engagements are attained; (b) the affordances of the (social) medium for reconfiguring agency, both human and non-human; (c) boundary negotiating artifacts; (d) source of togetherness and sense of community; and (e) type of enacted cyber-structures. It turns out that these five constructs c...
Technology Lifecycle and Workflow Analysis
This chapter concentrates on the development of practice-specific toolkits for managing on-line p... more This chapter concentrates on the development of practice-specific toolkits for managing on-line practices in the context of virtual communities of practice. The authors describe two case studies in different application domains each presenting alternative but complementary insights to the design of computer-mediated practice vocabularies. The first case study describes how established practices in music performance are encapsulated in a suitably augmented music toolkit so as to facilitate the learning objectives of virtual teams engaged in music master classes. The second case study is slightly different in orientation as it seeks to establish a toolkit for engaging in new coordinative practices in the course of building information-based products such as vacation packages for tourists. This time the virtual team is a cross-organization virtual community of practice with members streamlining their efforts by internalizing and performing in accordance with the new practice. Collectiv...
2010 International Conference on Intelligent Networking and Collaborative Systems, 2010
Technology Lifecycle and Workflow Analysis
This chapter describes recent work and experience in setting up and supporting cross-organization... more This chapter describes recent work and experience in setting up and supporting cross-organization virtual communities of practice to facilitate new product development. The authors’ reference domain is tourism and the community’s joint enterprise is assembly of vacation packages. The chapter contrasts existing practices involved in building vacation packages against the computer-mediated practices flourishing in an electronic village of local interest on regional tourism. The electronic village is considered as an aggregation of thematic virtual communities (i.e., neighborhoods) each with own rules, policies and primitive offerings covering tourism services such as accommodation, transportation, cultural resources, etc. Electronic squads are formed as cross-neighborhood communities of practice to engage in computermediated assembly of vacation packages. The chapter presents key tasks involved in managing both electronic squads and the workflows through which the shared resources are...
Technology Lifecycle and Workflow Analysis
This chapter aims to provide an introductory tutorial to the key topics and themes suggested in t... more This chapter aims to provide an introductory tutorial to the key topics and themes suggested in the chapter’s title and further developed by authors in the four main parts of this volume. It was considered important to provide this introductory account for two main reasons. First, it serves the purpose of sketching the boundaries of the volume by establishing an early focus on the concepts being addressed and highlighting the volume’s orientation. This is expected to help the reader clarify the difference between this edited collection of chapters and other relevant literature. Secondly, the tutorial will hopefully unfold the rationale behind the structure of the volume into parts as well as the contributions selected in each part.
Eurographics, 1996
DOI to the publisher's website. • The final author version and the galley proof are versions of t... more DOI to the publisher's website. • The final author version and the galley proof are versions of the publication after peer review. • The final published version features the final layout of the paper including the volume, issue and page numbers. Link to publication General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal. If the publication is distributed under the terms of Article 25fa of the Dutch Copyright Act, indicated by the "Taverne" license above, please follow below link for the End User Agreement:
This paper addresses some critical aspects of the Rehabilitation (Assistive) Technology market in... more This paper addresses some critical aspects of the Rehabilitation (Assistive) Technology market in Europe which characterise innovation and determine its type and direction. It is argued that innovation in this field is restricted because of (i) the limited and inefficient interaction between the identified seven market elements; (ii) the structural characteristics and general economic environment of the European Rehabilitation Technology market; and (iii) the lack of a concise set of complementary and supportive actions towards the promotion of an environment favourable to industrial innovation and transfer of technologies towards the European Rehabilitation Technology market. The major conclusion from the investigation of the above factors is that innovation is not well served, while the limited innovative activity which is currently observed takes place mainly within institutions or dedicated research departments. Typically this limited amount of innovation originates outside the Rehabilitation Technology market and takes the form of "induced" innovation. The low propensity of RT producers to innovate may be explained by the fact that the present industry is composed by firms which are under financed, thus carrying out limited amount of research and development.
The demand for Assistive Technology products is considered through a methodological approach whic... more The demand for Assistive Technology products is considered through a methodological approach which provides a framework for the analysis of selected aspects of the Assistive Technology (AT) market. Throughout the paper, the AT market is considered from a socioeconomic perspective; as a system which is considerably influenced by demographics. This allows the application of systems dynamics in order to analyse the elements, activities and actors influencing demand in AT and to consolidate the results into a conceptual model facilitating the study and empirical investigation of demand determinants.
Encyclopedia of Business Analytics and Optimization, 2014
ecancermedicalscience, 2011
Background The Internet has become a widely used resource for information on cancer and for suppo... more Background The Internet has become a widely used resource for information on cancer and for support. As part of the EuroCancerComs project (www.eurocancercoms.eu), an intervention study has been designed. The study aims to help patients with cancer providing an Internet "space" where to find information about nutritional care. Methods The study consists of a randomized 6-month intervention. The website (www.supportonutrizionale.it) hosts a contents area, prepared according to guidelines and recommendations, a forum and a blog. Subjects have been randomly allocated in intervention (IG) and control group (CG). IG has a free access to the website and it is involved in live activities, discussions and examinations. CG receives the same information by e-mail, without having access to the website. Three questionnaires are used to evaluate the effectiveness of the approach, concerning quality of life (QoL), psychological status and nutrition facts. Results Since the study startup, 191 subjects have been screened, and 58 (30%) have been randomized. Participants in both groups are mainly females, married and have at least a high school education level. Participants experienced a high psychological distress for 27% of IG and 33% of CG considering the four classes of scores at the baseline. Regarding QoL, a low "role functioning" score for IG and "emotional functioning" and "social functioning" scores for both groups are reported, while "fatigue" and "nausea and vomiting" respectively for IG and CG are the worsened symptoms compared with reference values. Considering the nutrition facts questionnaire, subjects showed a medium-high score profile and the worst scale regards "Nutrition and cancer knowledge". From the beginning of the study, a total of 48 actions have been registered, including votes to contents, comments and forum messages. Conclusion The Internet has made possible the new forms of interaction and knowledge, and it is likely to become essential to gain access to health information. The results of this randomized intervention may help in the evaluation of the efficacy of these interventions in cancer setting.
Universal Access in the Information Society, 2002
ABSTRACT . This paper presents a brief overview of the European Commission funded Thematic Networ... more ABSTRACT . This paper presents a brief overview of the European Commission funded Thematic Network (Working Group) “Information Society for All”-IS4ALL (IST-1999-14101). IS4ALL aims to establish a wide, interdisciplinary and closely collaborating network of experts to provide the European Health Telematics industry with a comprehensive code of practice on how to appropriate the benefits of universal design. This paper outlines the project’s main objectives and technical approach in the context of universal access.
Journal of Software Engineering and Applications, 2010
This paper presents the notion of the global execution context of a task as a representational co... more This paper presents the notion of the global execution context of a task as a representational construct for analysing complexity in software evolution. Based on this notion a visual notation and a supporting tool are presented to support specification of a system's global execution context. A system's global execution context is conceived as an evolving network of use scenarios depicted by nodes and links designating semantic relationships between scenarios. A node represents either a base or a growth scenario. Directed links characterize the transition from one node to another by means of semantic scenario relationships. Each growth scenario is generated following a critique (or screening) of one or more base or reference scenarios. Subsequently, representative growth scenarios are compiled and consolidated in the global execution context graph. The paper describes the stages of this process, presents the tool designed to facilitate the construction of the global execution context graph and elaborates on recent practice and experience.
Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 2009
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss the collaborative practices of virtual teams carry... more PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss the collaborative practices of virtual teams carrying out knowledge‐based work and the tools required/used to assemble “collective” artefacts.Design/methodology/approachThe vast majority of recent work on communities of practice is devoted to community management (i.e. discovering, building, and maintaining communities), dismissing or undermining community practices and how they are technologically mediated (i.e. the practice‐specific tools and artefacts involved). This paper investigates existing practices and makes use of scenarios to envision new distributed collective practices in a designated application domain. The instruments used include both empirical tools (i.e. survey of current practice and expert interviews) and analytical tools (i.e. scenarios of use, walkthroughs, and virtual prototyping) to provide insight towards the design of practice‐oriented toolkits.FindingsThe proposed approach is validated in the context of an ele...
Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 2014
Purpose – Data from social media (SM) has grown exponentially and created new opportunities for b... more Purpose – Data from social media (SM) has grown exponentially and created new opportunities for businesses to supplement their business intelligence (BI). However, there are many different platforms all of which are in a constant state of evolution. The purpose of this paper is to describe a generic methodology for the gathering of data from SM and transforming it into valuable BI. Design/methodology/approach – The approach taken is termed virtual excavation and builds on the similarities between the manipulation of technological artefacts virtual communities using various forms of SM and the excavation and analysis of physical artefacts found in archaeological settlements. Findings – The paper reports on a case study using this technique that looks at the Facebook fan pages of three mobile telecommunications service providers in Greece. The paper identifies many of the standard BI indicators as well as demonstrating that additional information relating to cross-page use can be coll...
International Journal of Virtual Communities and Social Networking, 2009
This article aims to develop a conceptual frame of reference for analyzing and gaining insight to... more This article aims to develop a conceptual frame of reference for analyzing and gaining insight to virtual community practices. The author’s normative perspective is that the vast majority of studies on virtual communities concentrate on managing (i.e., identifying, forming and sustaining) virtual communities, dismissing the practice the community is about. On the other hand, there is evidence to suggest that practice-oriented insights may offer new grounds for innovative engagement in virtual settings. Following a thorough analysis of seemingly heterogeneous concepts from new media, community-oriented thinking and practice-based approaches the article discusses what is it that differentiates offline from online practice, how these two are intertwined and why the literature lacks detailed insights on the actual practice virtual communities become engaged in. In light of this discussion, the Community-media-Practice grid is proposed as a guide for designing practiceoriented toolkits f...
International Journal of Virtual Communities and Social Networking, 2010
Recent scholarship has demonstrated that virtual communities can be traced in the online ‘tells’ ... more Recent scholarship has demonstrated that virtual communities can be traced in the online ‘tells’ retained by popular virtual settlements like Facebook and Twitter. In this article, the authors push this line of research toward an analysis of pre-requisites and constrains of virtual settlements that determine the understanding of community life across settlements. The approach followed is grounded on a ‘practice lens’ that views virtual communities as enacted cyber-structures revealed through cultural artifacts facilitated by affordances inscribed into virtual settlements. The presence or absence of key affordances determines not only what is retained as online ‘tells’ in a virtual settlement but also the type and range of cultural artifacts, as well as how these artifacts are used across virtual settlements.
International Journal of Virtual Communities and Social Networking, 2011
The present work rests and elaborates on the assumption that social technologies are increasingly... more The present work rests and elaborates on the assumption that social technologies are increasingly turned into computer-mediated virtual settlements, thereby allowing the excavation of a variety of enacted cyber-phenomena such as ad hoc online ensembles, informal social networks and virtual communities, on the grounds of ‘digital’ traces or remains. In this vein, the authors motivate and present a method for virtual excavations that is tightly coupled to a transformational technology such as knowledge visualization. The analytical and explanatory value of the method is assessed using two case studies addressing representative genres of social technologies, namely web sites augmented with social plug-ins and social networking services. Analysis reveals intrinsic aspects of ‘digital’ traces and remains, the form they take in today’s social web and the means through which they can be excavated and transformed to useful information. It turns out that such virtual excavations, when organi...
Grid Computing refers mainly to resources which are geographically distributed over a wide-area n... more Grid Computing refers mainly to resources which are geographically distributed over a wide-area network (WAN). Therefore, the need for a high throughput transfer protocol is essential. This has led to the development and adoption of the GridFTP protocol. Although, several attempts have been made to achieve higher throughputs, they appear not to be optimal. In this work, we present a different approach to the problem. First, the throughput is modeled in terms of the following parameters: File-size, Network Bandwidth, Round Trip Time (RTT), number of parallel streams and TCP sender socket buffer size. Second, three different models are adopted: 1) Multiple Linear Regression, 2) Multiple Non-Linear Regression and 3) Linear Minimum Mean Square Error (LMMSE). Finally, a theoretical analysis is performed, assisted by a set of simulations and real-world experiments, which yields the best-fitting model.
Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems, 2007
We present the baseline of a framework called eΚοΝΕΣ, for building electronic villages of local i... more We present the baseline of a framework called eΚοΝΕΣ, for building electronic villages of local interest. An electronic village is considered as a virtual organization formed by representatives of different sectors who work together during a period of time to realize a common goal. We assume tight coupling between the virtual organization and a physical space to differentiate the electronic village of local interest from the notion of the global electronic village. In this context, the paper focuses on two primary issues, namely the stimulation and organization of collaborative work by virtual teams and the design of electronic artefacts which facilitate collaborative feedback and feedthrough in an exemplar case in the context of eΚοΝΕΣ-Tourism-a pilot electronic village on regional tourism.
Intelligent Decision Technologies, 2011
The paper elaborates on the design and use of cross-organization virtual community spaces facilit... more The paper elaborates on the design and use of cross-organization virtual community spaces facilitating knowledge-based collaborative engagement in the practice of a boundary spanning alliance. Our approach builds upon the concept of transformable boundary artifacts and advances a perspective upon their design as first class objects in common information spaces. Using a case study on vacation package assembly, we identify offline elements of practice and discuss the components of an interaction vocabulary devised to facilitate their transformable interactive embodiment. Transformations allow boundary artifacts to exhibit plasticity as they transcend different social worlds and computing contexts within the cross-organization virtual community space, which in turn, forms the virtuality through which members make sense of collaborative work and contribute to a shared mission. Such contributions are materialized through recurrent interactions with different versions of boundary artifacts, which remain consistent and synchronized at all times.
International Journal of e-Collaboration, 2015
Spanning boundaries has emerged as a key topic in the scholarship on distributed organizing. None... more Spanning boundaries has emerged as a key topic in the scholarship on distributed organizing. Nonetheless, most of the works are motivated by boundaries designated by static demarcations of time and/or place, while only recently there is some evidence emphasizing the dynamic aspects of boundaries and boundary spanning. Following the latter tradition, the present research attempts to examine the antecedents of boundary spanning in the context of e-collaboration. This is approached using a cross case assessment of two interpretive case studies. The results suggest that cross-organizational e-collaboration can be analyzed in relation to five constructs: (a) representations through which collaborative engagements are attained; (b) the affordances of the (social) medium for reconfiguring agency, both human and non-human; (c) boundary negotiating artifacts; (d) source of togetherness and sense of community; and (e) type of enacted cyber-structures. It turns out that these five constructs c...
Technology Lifecycle and Workflow Analysis
This chapter concentrates on the development of practice-specific toolkits for managing on-line p... more This chapter concentrates on the development of practice-specific toolkits for managing on-line practices in the context of virtual communities of practice. The authors describe two case studies in different application domains each presenting alternative but complementary insights to the design of computer-mediated practice vocabularies. The first case study describes how established practices in music performance are encapsulated in a suitably augmented music toolkit so as to facilitate the learning objectives of virtual teams engaged in music master classes. The second case study is slightly different in orientation as it seeks to establish a toolkit for engaging in new coordinative practices in the course of building information-based products such as vacation packages for tourists. This time the virtual team is a cross-organization virtual community of practice with members streamlining their efforts by internalizing and performing in accordance with the new practice. Collectiv...
2010 International Conference on Intelligent Networking and Collaborative Systems, 2010
Technology Lifecycle and Workflow Analysis
This chapter describes recent work and experience in setting up and supporting cross-organization... more This chapter describes recent work and experience in setting up and supporting cross-organization virtual communities of practice to facilitate new product development. The authors’ reference domain is tourism and the community’s joint enterprise is assembly of vacation packages. The chapter contrasts existing practices involved in building vacation packages against the computer-mediated practices flourishing in an electronic village of local interest on regional tourism. The electronic village is considered as an aggregation of thematic virtual communities (i.e., neighborhoods) each with own rules, policies and primitive offerings covering tourism services such as accommodation, transportation, cultural resources, etc. Electronic squads are formed as cross-neighborhood communities of practice to engage in computermediated assembly of vacation packages. The chapter presents key tasks involved in managing both electronic squads and the workflows through which the shared resources are...
Technology Lifecycle and Workflow Analysis
This chapter aims to provide an introductory tutorial to the key topics and themes suggested in t... more This chapter aims to provide an introductory tutorial to the key topics and themes suggested in the chapter’s title and further developed by authors in the four main parts of this volume. It was considered important to provide this introductory account for two main reasons. First, it serves the purpose of sketching the boundaries of the volume by establishing an early focus on the concepts being addressed and highlighting the volume’s orientation. This is expected to help the reader clarify the difference between this edited collection of chapters and other relevant literature. Secondly, the tutorial will hopefully unfold the rationale behind the structure of the volume into parts as well as the contributions selected in each part.
Eurographics, 1996
DOI to the publisher's website. • The final author version and the galley proof are versions of t... more DOI to the publisher's website. • The final author version and the galley proof are versions of the publication after peer review. • The final published version features the final layout of the paper including the volume, issue and page numbers. Link to publication General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal. If the publication is distributed under the terms of Article 25fa of the Dutch Copyright Act, indicated by the "Taverne" license above, please follow below link for the End User Agreement:
This paper addresses some critical aspects of the Rehabilitation (Assistive) Technology market in... more This paper addresses some critical aspects of the Rehabilitation (Assistive) Technology market in Europe which characterise innovation and determine its type and direction. It is argued that innovation in this field is restricted because of (i) the limited and inefficient interaction between the identified seven market elements; (ii) the structural characteristics and general economic environment of the European Rehabilitation Technology market; and (iii) the lack of a concise set of complementary and supportive actions towards the promotion of an environment favourable to industrial innovation and transfer of technologies towards the European Rehabilitation Technology market. The major conclusion from the investigation of the above factors is that innovation is not well served, while the limited innovative activity which is currently observed takes place mainly within institutions or dedicated research departments. Typically this limited amount of innovation originates outside the Rehabilitation Technology market and takes the form of "induced" innovation. The low propensity of RT producers to innovate may be explained by the fact that the present industry is composed by firms which are under financed, thus carrying out limited amount of research and development.
The demand for Assistive Technology products is considered through a methodological approach whic... more The demand for Assistive Technology products is considered through a methodological approach which provides a framework for the analysis of selected aspects of the Assistive Technology (AT) market. Throughout the paper, the AT market is considered from a socioeconomic perspective; as a system which is considerably influenced by demographics. This allows the application of systems dynamics in order to analyse the elements, activities and actors influencing demand in AT and to consolidate the results into a conceptual model facilitating the study and empirical investigation of demand determinants.
Encyclopedia of Business Analytics and Optimization, 2014
ecancermedicalscience, 2011
Background The Internet has become a widely used resource for information on cancer and for suppo... more Background The Internet has become a widely used resource for information on cancer and for support. As part of the EuroCancerComs project (www.eurocancercoms.eu), an intervention study has been designed. The study aims to help patients with cancer providing an Internet "space" where to find information about nutritional care. Methods The study consists of a randomized 6-month intervention. The website (www.supportonutrizionale.it) hosts a contents area, prepared according to guidelines and recommendations, a forum and a blog. Subjects have been randomly allocated in intervention (IG) and control group (CG). IG has a free access to the website and it is involved in live activities, discussions and examinations. CG receives the same information by e-mail, without having access to the website. Three questionnaires are used to evaluate the effectiveness of the approach, concerning quality of life (QoL), psychological status and nutrition facts. Results Since the study startup, 191 subjects have been screened, and 58 (30%) have been randomized. Participants in both groups are mainly females, married and have at least a high school education level. Participants experienced a high psychological distress for 27% of IG and 33% of CG considering the four classes of scores at the baseline. Regarding QoL, a low "role functioning" score for IG and "emotional functioning" and "social functioning" scores for both groups are reported, while "fatigue" and "nausea and vomiting" respectively for IG and CG are the worsened symptoms compared with reference values. Considering the nutrition facts questionnaire, subjects showed a medium-high score profile and the worst scale regards "Nutrition and cancer knowledge". From the beginning of the study, a total of 48 actions have been registered, including votes to contents, comments and forum messages. Conclusion The Internet has made possible the new forms of interaction and knowledge, and it is likely to become essential to gain access to health information. The results of this randomized intervention may help in the evaluation of the efficacy of these interventions in cancer setting.
Universal Access in the Information Society, 2002
ABSTRACT . This paper presents a brief overview of the European Commission funded Thematic Networ... more ABSTRACT . This paper presents a brief overview of the European Commission funded Thematic Network (Working Group) “Information Society for All”-IS4ALL (IST-1999-14101). IS4ALL aims to establish a wide, interdisciplinary and closely collaborating network of experts to provide the European Health Telematics industry with a comprehensive code of practice on how to appropriate the benefits of universal design. This paper outlines the project’s main objectives and technical approach in the context of universal access.
Journal of Software Engineering and Applications, 2010
This paper presents the notion of the global execution context of a task as a representational co... more This paper presents the notion of the global execution context of a task as a representational construct for analysing complexity in software evolution. Based on this notion a visual notation and a supporting tool are presented to support specification of a system's global execution context. A system's global execution context is conceived as an evolving network of use scenarios depicted by nodes and links designating semantic relationships between scenarios. A node represents either a base or a growth scenario. Directed links characterize the transition from one node to another by means of semantic scenario relationships. Each growth scenario is generated following a critique (or screening) of one or more base or reference scenarios. Subsequently, representative growth scenarios are compiled and consolidated in the global execution context graph. The paper describes the stages of this process, presents the tool designed to facilitate the construction of the global execution context graph and elaborates on recent practice and experience.
Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 2009
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss the collaborative practices of virtual teams carry... more PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss the collaborative practices of virtual teams carrying out knowledge‐based work and the tools required/used to assemble “collective” artefacts.Design/methodology/approachThe vast majority of recent work on communities of practice is devoted to community management (i.e. discovering, building, and maintaining communities), dismissing or undermining community practices and how they are technologically mediated (i.e. the practice‐specific tools and artefacts involved). This paper investigates existing practices and makes use of scenarios to envision new distributed collective practices in a designated application domain. The instruments used include both empirical tools (i.e. survey of current practice and expert interviews) and analytical tools (i.e. scenarios of use, walkthroughs, and virtual prototyping) to provide insight towards the design of practice‐oriented toolkits.FindingsThe proposed approach is validated in the context of an ele...
Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 2014
Purpose – Data from social media (SM) has grown exponentially and created new opportunities for b... more Purpose – Data from social media (SM) has grown exponentially and created new opportunities for businesses to supplement their business intelligence (BI). However, there are many different platforms all of which are in a constant state of evolution. The purpose of this paper is to describe a generic methodology for the gathering of data from SM and transforming it into valuable BI. Design/methodology/approach – The approach taken is termed virtual excavation and builds on the similarities between the manipulation of technological artefacts virtual communities using various forms of SM and the excavation and analysis of physical artefacts found in archaeological settlements. Findings – The paper reports on a case study using this technique that looks at the Facebook fan pages of three mobile telecommunications service providers in Greece. The paper identifies many of the standard BI indicators as well as demonstrating that additional information relating to cross-page use can be coll...
International Journal of Virtual Communities and Social Networking, 2009
This article aims to develop a conceptual frame of reference for analyzing and gaining insight to... more This article aims to develop a conceptual frame of reference for analyzing and gaining insight to virtual community practices. The author’s normative perspective is that the vast majority of studies on virtual communities concentrate on managing (i.e., identifying, forming and sustaining) virtual communities, dismissing the practice the community is about. On the other hand, there is evidence to suggest that practice-oriented insights may offer new grounds for innovative engagement in virtual settings. Following a thorough analysis of seemingly heterogeneous concepts from new media, community-oriented thinking and practice-based approaches the article discusses what is it that differentiates offline from online practice, how these two are intertwined and why the literature lacks detailed insights on the actual practice virtual communities become engaged in. In light of this discussion, the Community-media-Practice grid is proposed as a guide for designing practiceoriented toolkits f...
International Journal of Virtual Communities and Social Networking, 2010
Recent scholarship has demonstrated that virtual communities can be traced in the online ‘tells’ ... more Recent scholarship has demonstrated that virtual communities can be traced in the online ‘tells’ retained by popular virtual settlements like Facebook and Twitter. In this article, the authors push this line of research toward an analysis of pre-requisites and constrains of virtual settlements that determine the understanding of community life across settlements. The approach followed is grounded on a ‘practice lens’ that views virtual communities as enacted cyber-structures revealed through cultural artifacts facilitated by affordances inscribed into virtual settlements. The presence or absence of key affordances determines not only what is retained as online ‘tells’ in a virtual settlement but also the type and range of cultural artifacts, as well as how these artifacts are used across virtual settlements.
International Journal of Virtual Communities and Social Networking, 2011
The present work rests and elaborates on the assumption that social technologies are increasingly... more The present work rests and elaborates on the assumption that social technologies are increasingly turned into computer-mediated virtual settlements, thereby allowing the excavation of a variety of enacted cyber-phenomena such as ad hoc online ensembles, informal social networks and virtual communities, on the grounds of ‘digital’ traces or remains. In this vein, the authors motivate and present a method for virtual excavations that is tightly coupled to a transformational technology such as knowledge visualization. The analytical and explanatory value of the method is assessed using two case studies addressing representative genres of social technologies, namely web sites augmented with social plug-ins and social networking services. Analysis reveals intrinsic aspects of ‘digital’ traces and remains, the form they take in today’s social web and the means through which they can be excavated and transformed to useful information. It turns out that such virtual excavations, when organi...