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Electronic product catalogues and brochures are gaining popularity, but there is little agreement on content, format, and searching methods. This limits their usability and integration with existing construction software tools. This paper examines a product‐modelling approach to delivering building product information and describes a proposed multi‐tier client‐server environment. ISO/STEP and IAI/IFC building product models are considered to facilitate representation, exchange, and sharing of product information. The proposed architecture incorporates scalability with middleware components that would provide single or few points of entry to integrated product information. This paper is part of a research project that builds on the results of related projects including Construct IT Strategy, PROCAT‐GEN, Active Catalog, COMBINE, and ARROW, towards implementing the required software components.

The purpose of this paper is to present the development of a system called Structured Hypermedia Algorithm Explanation (SHALEX), as a remedy for the limitations existing within the current traditional algorithm animation (AA) systems. SHALEX provides several novel features, such as use of invariants, reflection of the high‐level structure of an algorithm rather than low‐level steps, and support for programming the algorithm in any procedural or object‐oriented programming language.

By defining the structure of an algorithm as a directed graph of abstractions, algorithms may be studied top‐down, bottom‐up, or using a mix of the two. In addition, SHALEX includes a learner model to provide spatial links, and to support evaluations and adaptations.

Evaluations of traditional AA systems designed to teach algorithms in higher education or in professional training show that such systems have not achieved many expectations of their developers. One reason for this failure is the lack of stimulating learning environments which support the learning process by providing features such as multiple levels of abstraction, support for hypermedia, and learner‐adapted visualizations. SHALEX supports these environments, and in addition provides persistent storage that can be used to analyze students' performance. In particular, this storage can be used to represent a student model that supports adaptive system behavior.

SHALEX is being implemented and tested by the authors and a group of students. The tests performed so far have shown that SHALEX is a very useful tool. In the future additional quantitative evaluation is planned to compare SHALEX with other AA systems and/or the concept keyboard approach.

SHALEX has been implemented as a web‐based application using the client‐server architecture. Therefore students can use SHALEX to learn algorithms both through distance education and in the classroom setting.

This paper presents a novel algorithm explanation system for users who wish to learn algorithms.

The primary purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive strategy for performance, reliability and scalability (PSR) testing of multi‐tier web applications.

The strategy for PSR testing is presented primarily through examination of the intangible knowledge base in the PSR testing field. The paper also draws on relevant recent work conducted in the area of software performance evaluation.

The study revealed that appropriate testing procedures are critical for the success of web‐based multi‐tier applications. However, there was little academic work that collectively focused on PSR testing issues. This paper provides step‐by‐step testing procedures to ensure that web‐based applications are functioning well to meet user demands.

Given the rapid changes in technology and business environments, more applied research will be needed in the area of PSR testing to ensure the successful functioning of web‐based applications. For future studies, structured interviews or case‐study methods could be employed to present the views of online companies.

This paper provides a comprehensive strategy and the suggested steps for managers and technical personnel to ensure that the multi‐tier, web‐based applications are effective, scalable and reliable.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a wireless web‐based ordering system called iMenu in the restaurant industry.

By using wireless devices such as personal digital assistants and WebPads, this system realizes the paradigm of pervasive computing at tableside. Detailed system requirements, design, implementation and evaluation of iMenu are presented.

The evaluation of iMenu shows it explicitly increases productivity of restaurant staff. It also has other desirable features such as integration, interoperation and scalability. Compared to traditional restaurant ordering process, by using this system customers get faster and better services, restaurant staff cooperate more efficiently with less working mistakes, and enterprise owners thus receive more business profits.

While many researchers have explored using wireless web‐based information systems in different industries, this paper presents a system that employs wireless multi‐tiered web‐based architecture to build pervasive computing systems. Instead of discussing theoretical issues on pervasive computing, we focus on practical issues of developing a real system, such as choosing of web‐based architecture, design of input methods in small screens, and response time in wireless web‐based systems.

Electric mobility as a service (eMaaS) is suggested as a possible solution to ease transportation and lessen environmental issues by providing a collaborative transport sharing infrastructure that is based on electric vehicles (EVs) such as electric cars, electric bicycles and so on. Accordingly, this study aims to propose a multi-tier architecture to support the collection, processing, analytics and usage of mobility data in providing eMaaS within smart cities. The architecture uses application programming interfaces to enable interoperability between different infrastructures required for eMaaS and allow multiple partners to exchange and share data for making decision regarding electric mobility services.

Design science methodology based on a case study by interview was used to collect data from an infrastructure company in Norway to verify the applicability of the proposed multi-tier architecture.

Findings suggest that the architecture offers an approach for collecting, aggregating, processing and provisioning of data originating from sources to improve electric mobility in smart cities. More importantly, findings from this study provide guidance for municipalities and policymakers in improving electric mobility services. Moreover, the author’s findings provide a practical data-driven mobility use case that can be used by transport companies in deploying eMaaS in smart cities.

Data was collected from a single company in Norway, hence, it is required to further verify the architecture with data collected from other companies.

eMaaS operates on heterogeneous data, which are generated from EVs and used by citizens and stakeholders such as city administration, municipality transport providers, charging station providers and so on. Therefore, the proposed architecture enables the sharing and usage of generated data as openly available data to be used in creating value-added services to improve citizen’s quality of life and viability of businesses.

This study proposes the deployment of electric mobility to address increased usage of vehicles, which contributes to pollution of the environment that has a serious effect on citizen’s quality of life.

This study proposes a multi-tier architecture that stores, processes, analyze and provides data and related services to improve electric mobility within smart cities. The multi-tier architecture aims to support and increase eMaaS operation of EVs toward improving transportation services for city transport operators and citizens for sustainable transport and mobility system.

An intranet puts a new layer into a client/server (C/S) architecture, the Web server, which acts as the gateway to the application logic and data. It is three‐tier computing, where these functions are performed on separate servers. The servers store everything and perform the bulk of the querying and the data presentation. Although there is great potential using an intranet to develop applications, there are certain challenges, including: security, privacy, currency, and performance. There is progress with security but performance with high volume transaction processing is still unproved. There have been a lot of mistakes with C/S and the danger here is to go down the same road with the intranet. To avoid this, this study explores the managerial and technical issues involved in developing a corporate intranet. Inspired with the success of Internet, intranet is proved to be an extension of and an enhancement to C/S. Client/server is not dead just as the mainframe is not dead; but the C/S model is being changed by the intranet.

Provides an overview of the present state of development of integrated library systems and identifies, describes and evaluates significant trends in the industry in relation to their context within the overall development of library services. Notes that the library systems market, and developments in library systems, are driven by Internet trends and by the software Industry rather than by the library and information community and that they are subject to global economic imperatives.

In an article published in the May 1997 issue of College and Research Libraries Merri Beth Lavagnino traced the history of the systems librarian and systems department in academic libraries. She identified four evolutionary stages, where Stage One was no automation and Stage Four was characterized by the effects of networking and distributed computing. Lavagnino ended her article by predicting the emergence of a fifth stage. However, she pointed out it was too early to describe that stage. This paper examines the growth of automation at two university libraries, with particular attention to the four stages described by Lavagnino. The authors then attempt to provide a more complete description of Stage Five. It seems to be an outgrowth of the distributed computing and networking components of Stage Four. New factors include a growth in digitized resources, integration of systems, and developments in client/server technology, especially as they relate to the World Wide Web. Finally, Stage Five libraries seem to have made changes in the organizational structure, reflecting a need for a technical person at the upper management level.

Information agility, or informational efficiency, represents the major prerequisite for agile management and means eliminating inefficiencies in accessing, exchanging and disseminating all kinds of information. Presents a framework for implementation of Web technology in enhancing information access for agile management. Web‐to‐host access tools as a specific subset of Web technology are used to improve and ease access to several types of information such as legacy data, messaging system, electronic documents, and business intelligence.