Evaluating Information

This open access book summarizes the first two decades of the NII Testbeds and Community for Information access Research (NTCIR). NTCIR is a series of evaluation forums run by a global team of researchers and hosted by the National Institute of Informatics (NII), Japan. The book is unique in that it discusses not just what was done at NTCIR, but also how it was done and the impact it has achieved. For example, in some chapters the reader sees the early seeds of what eventually grew to be the search engines that provide access to content on the World Wide Web, todays smartphones that can tailor what they show to the needs of their owners, and the smart speakers that enrich our lives at home and on the move. We also get glimpses into how new search engines can be built for mathematical formulae, or for the digital record of a lived human life. Key to the success of the NTCIR endeavor was early recognition that information access research is an empirical discipline and that evaluation therefore lay at the core of the enterprise. Evaluation is thus at the heart of each chapter in this book. They show, for example, how the recognition that some documents are more important than others has shaped thinking about evaluation design. The thirty-three contributors to this volume speak for the many hundreds of researchers from dozens of countries around the world who together shaped NTCIR as organizers and participants. This book is suitable for researchers, practitioners, and students--anyone who wants to learn about past and present evaluation efforts in information retrieval, information access, and natural language processing, as well as those who want to participate in an evaluation task or even to design and organize one.

The adoption of Information Technology (IT) and Information Systems (IS) represents significant financial investments, with alternative perspectives to the evaluation domain coming from both the public and private sectors. As a result of increasing IT/IS budgets and their growing significance within the development of an organizational infrastructure, the evaluation and performance measurement of new technology remains a perennial issue for management. This book offers a refreshing and updated insight into the social fabric and technical dimensions of IT/IS evaluation together with insights into approaches used to measure the impact of information systems on its stakeholders. In doing so, it describes the portfolio of appraisal techniques that support the justification of IT/IS investments. Evaluating Information Systems explores the concept of evaluation as an evolutionary and dynamic process that takes into account the ability of enterprise technologies to integrate information systems within and between organisations. In particular, when set against a backdrop of organisational learning. It examines the changing portfolio of benefits, costs and risks associated with the adoption and diffusion of technology in today's global marketplace. Finally approaches to impact assessment through performance management and benchmarking is discussed.

"From the macro management level to the micro business detail, information technology (IT) is essential to modern business success and necessitates a new kind of knowledge application: IT evaluation. This academic analysis covers IT evaluation strategies for measuring its impact on individuals, organizations, and small, mid-size, and large businesses. Covered are the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), software measurement frameworks, the balanced scorecard, and project management."

The Aspiring Thinker’s Guide to Critical Thinking introduces concepts and strategies for developing essential reasoning skills and intellectual character. As students advance in their academic studies and encounter new situations in their lives, they must learn to differentiate fact from fiction and make decisions based in good reasoning. They must learn to be clear, accurate, relevant, logical, and fair when expressing ideas. This book lays out a clear framework for guiding this development and encouraging lifelong intellectual curiosity. As part of the Thinker’s Guide Library, this book advances the mission of the Foundation for Critical Thinking to promote fairminded critical societies through cultivating essential intellectual abilities and virtues across every field of study across world.

Innovative 2nd edition, heavily updated and revised from the 1st edition Introduction to various survey and evaluation methods involving IT systems in the healthcare setting Critical overview of current research in health and social sciences Emphasizes multi-method approach to system evaluation Includes instruments suitable for research and evaluation Discusses computer programs for data analysis and evaluation resources Essential reference for anyone involved in planning, developing, implementing, utilizing, evaluating, or studying computer-based health care systems

"Covering the basics of planning, collecting, and evaluating, each of the 50 standards-based exercises in this book address one or more of the ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education and promote conceptual and applied skills via active learning, problem-based learning, and resource-based learning."--[back cover]

Information systems have become a critical element of every organization’s structure. A malfunction of the information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure can paralyze the whole organization and have disastrous consequences at many levels. On the other hand, modern businesses and organizations collaborate increasingly with companies, customers, and other stakeholders by technological means. This emphasizes the need for a reliable and secure ICT infrastructure for companies whose principal asset and added value is information. Information Security Evaluation: A Holistic Approach from a Business Perspective proposes a global and systemic multidimensional integrated approach to the holistic evaluation of the information security posture of an organization. The Information Security Assurance Assessment Model (ISAAM) presented in this book is based on, and integrates, a number of information security best practices, standards, methodologies and sources of research expertise, in order to provide a generic model that can be implemented in organizations of all kinds as part of their efforts towards better governing their information security. This approach will contribute to improving the identification of security requirements, measures and controls. At the same time, it provides a means of enhancing the recognition of evidence related to the assurance, quality and maturity levels of the organization’s security posture, thus driving improved security effectiveness and efficiency. The value added by this evaluation model is that it is easy to implement and operate and that through a coherent system of evaluation it addresses concrete needs in terms of reliance on an efficient and dynamic evaluation tool.