The paper describes an ongoing project that pursues the idea of query-driven data integration. Instead of first creating a common global schema and fetching, transforming, and loading the data to be integrated, we start with the queries. They are taken as a specification of information need and thus as the overall purpose of integration. Two repositories are being developed, one for all informa...

The concept of using critical decisions as a basis for defining Information needs has been suggested by several authors. This article reports on results of a decision.oriented approach to planning for MIS. A structured group process Is used to generate both critical decisions and Information needs for a manufacturing firm. Results indicate that the decision approach is effective, particularly f...

Services are developed separately and without knowledge of all possible use contexts. They often mismatch or do not correspond exactly to the end-user needs, making direct composition without mediation impossible. In such a case, software adaptation can support composition by producing semi-automatically new software pieces called adaptors. Adaptation proposals have addressed the signature and ...

If we consider most current applications we can notice a lack of support able to adapt to the different information needs that different users may have regarding a certain topic. In this paper, we present a solution that integrates a virtual assistant, able to implement adaptive support, in an adaptable application and discuss the logical dimensions of the information that can be provided by th...

In Ghana the small-scale poultry farmers are among those that have been severely affected by the globalization process and trade liberalization. To manage their response to the globalization process and trade liberalization, the small-scale poultry farmers in Ghana need to have access to strategic information so that they can keep abreast of the global developments in the poultry industry and c...

25 Identifying First Responders Information Needs: Supporting Search and Rescue Operations for Fire Emergency Response; Vimala Nunavath, Department of Information and Communication Technology, University of Agder, Grimstad, Norway Andreas Prinz, Department of Information and Communication Technology, University of Agder, Grimstad, Norway Tina Comes, Department of Information and Communication T...

In this paper we describe our participation in the INEX 2013 Social Book Search Track. We compare the impact of different query representations for book search topics derived from the LibraryThing discussion forums, including the title and full narrative provided by the topic creator, the name of the discussion group in which the topic was posted, and a mediated search query provided by a train...

Websites for monitoring the past performance of elected representatives in the United States, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands are analysed according to how they meet the voters’ information needs. The case study reveals two distinct models of information provision. One model supports the evaluation of the enactment of election programmes by political parties, the other model supports the...