This book is the first comprehensive approach to the construction and the management of cooperative information systems. From a set of input database schemes describing the information content of multiple sources, the techniques presented yield a structured, integrated and consistent de*ion of the information content represented in a suitable data repository. The author builds his work on skilled and controlled use of results and methods from various fields of computer science, such as data mining, algorithmic learning, knowledge representation, database management, etc. The approach presented has been implemented in the prototype system DIKE, Database Intensional Knowledge Extractor, which has been studied in various application contexts.

The Internet and the World Wide Web are becoming increasingly important in our highly interconnected world. This book addresses the topic of querying the data available, with regard to its quality, in a systematic and comprehensive way, from a database point of view. First, information quality and information quality measures are systematically introduced before ranking algorithms are developed for selecting Web sources for access. The second part is devoted to quality-driven query answering, particularly to query planning methods and algorithms. The in-depth presentation of algorithms and techniques for quality-oriented querying will serve as a valuable source of reference for R&D professionals and for IT business people. In addition, the work will provide students with a comprehensible introduction to cutting-edge research.

Most histories of the personal computer industry focus ontechnology or business. John Markoff’s landmark book is about theculture and consciousness behind the first PCs—the culture beingcounter– and the consciousness expanded, sometimes chemically. It’sa brilliant evocation of Stanford, California, in the 1960s and’70s, where a group of visionaries set out to turn computers into ameans for freeing minds and information. In these pages oneencounters Ken Kesey and the phone hacker Cap’n Crunch, est andLSD, The Whole Earth Catalog and the Homebrew Computer Lab. What the Dormouse Said is a poignant, funny, and inspiringbook by one of the smartest technology writers around.

For junior-, senior-, and graduate-level courses in Management Information Systems. These best selling authors know Information Systems knowledge is essential for creating competitive firms, managing global corporations, and providing useful products and services to customers. Their book introduced management information systems that students will find vital to their professional success. It emphasizes the digital integration of the firm through enterprise applications (management of the supply chain, customer relationships, enterprise systems, and knowledge) by using their gold standard approach of relating MIS to Management, the Organization and Technology.