A new issue of Information Research is now available at:
http://www.shef.ac.uk/~is/publications/infres/ircont.html
This is the Editorial:
Times New RomanAs a result of the efforts we are making to widen the scope
of Information Research by our relationships with similar
Departments around the world, this issue has something of a
"Sheffield only" appearance - wider intake is promised for
our next issue.
Having said that, I think that the submissions are interesting:
we have a paper, based on a student dissertation from on the
attempts by UK universities to use Business Process Re-
engineering to achieve organizational change. As usual, the
British universities appear to be seizing upon some private
sector management fad just as the private sector is deciding
that it was just a fad. It seems that the academic imagination
(or at least that of those who direct the affairs of academic
institutions) leaves something to be desired when it comes to
determining how to manage.
Next, we have a number of 'working papers': Information in
organisations: directions for information management, by
Joyce Kirk of the University of Technology, Sydney; a
research note on a form of 'invisible ink' on the Internet by
Chris Brown-Syed of Wayne State University; and
Navigational data: a graphical methodology to support
qualitative analysis, by Honey Lucas, a research student in
the Department of Information Studies at Sheffield. Also
under the label of a "Working Paper" is the Web version of a
report by Francis Greene, Brendan Loughridge and myself
on the management information needs of academic Heads of
Department. This was the result of a research project
supported by the British Library R & D Department and was
completed in 1996. However, it had very little circulation at
the time, being deposited at the Document Supply Centre at
Boston Spa, and never published in book form. The results
support to some degree the final sentence of the previous
paragraph!
The final new item in this issue is a report of an International
Workshop in the field of database integrity, verification and
validitation. The lead author, hidden in the long list of
contributors, is Barry Eaglestone, who joined the Department
here in Sheffield towards the end of last year.
I have left the link to the Doctoral Papers from the ISIC
Conference, as it has had a significant number of hits (264 at
today's count) since the last issue was published, and
repetition here may guarantee more.
I hope that by the time this appears I shall have managed to
update the list of student dissertations to cover 1997/98
instead of 1996/97.
Remember that, although we now have Regional Editors, we
are willing to consider papers from anywhere in the world,
not simply those from the regions indicated. I act as General
Editor and will accept submissions from Western Europe, the
Middle and Far East, and Australasia.
Remember also that you get advance notice of new issues of
Information Research if you 0000,0000,FF00sign up.
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Professor Tom Wilson, Ph.D. *
Research Professor in Information Management *
Department of Information Studies *
University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK *
Tel: +44-114-222-2642 *
Fax: +44-114-278-0300 *
e-mail: [log in to unmask] *
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