Showing papers on "Services computing published in 1996"

Middleware: a model for distributed system services

Abstract: he computing facilities of largescale enterprises are evolving into a utility, much like power and telecommunications. In the vision of an information utility, each knowledge worker has a desktop appliance that connects to the utility. The desktop appliance is a computer or computer-like device, such as a terminal, personal computer, workstation, word processor, or stock trader’s station. The utility itself is an enterprise-wide network of information services, including applications and databases, on the localarea and wide-area networks. Servers on the local-area network (LAN) typically support files and file-based applications, such as electronic mail, bulletin boards, document preparation, and printing. Local-area servers also support a directory service, to help a desktop user find other users and find and connect to services of interest. Servers on the wide-area network (WAN) typically support access to databases, such as corporate directories and electronic libraries, or transaction processing applications, such as purchasing, billing, and inventory control. Some servers are gateways to services offered outside the enterprise, such as travel or information retrieval services, news feeds (e.g., weather, stock prices), and electronic document interchange with business partners. In response to such connectivity, some businesses are redefining their business processes to use the utility to bridge formerly isolated component activities. In the long term, the utility should provide the information that people need when, where, and how they need it. Today’s enterprise computing facilities are only an approximation of the vision of an information utility. Most organizations have a wide variety of heterogeneous hardware systems, including personal computers, workstations, minicomputers, and mainframes. These systems run different operating systems (OSs) and rely on different network architectures. As a result, integration is difficult and its achievement uneven. For example, local-area servers are often isolated from the WAN. An appliance can access files and printers on its local server, but often not those on the servers of other LANs. Sometimes an application available on one local area server is not available on other servers, because other departments use servers

Marketing Financial Services

Abstract: Marketing and financial services: - an overview The financial services environment The Financial Services Customer Segmenting& Targeting the Financial Services Marketplace Information for marketing financial services Relationship Marketing in Financial Services Building and sustaining the financial services brand Creating value: the financial services product Pricing and Value in Financial Services Distributing Financial Services Communicating in the Marketing of Financial Services Marketing Strategies in Financial Services

System and method for accessing customer contact services over a network

Abstract: A customer contact services node/Internet gateway (CCSN/IG) connects a user to the services and to information from a provider via the Internet. The user can thereby get information about the services and can initiate service changes and can get user-specific information.

Strategies for globalizing service operations

Abstract: International trade in services is growing rapidly despite many barriers to trade. Consumer services are being established world wide and increasingly business services are becoming globalized in much the same way that manufacturing is outsourcing overseas. The manager of a service organization can no longer ignore international competition in services, especially the globalization of back‐room operations. Service managers need a framework in which to develop a global service strategy. Addresses two questions which managers face when developing a global service strategy: what are the factors that we can use to classify services in terms of their potential for moving globally; and how do these factors translate into strategies for the globalization of specific services? The most common dimensions for classifying service operations include consumer involvement and customization, complexity of inputs and outputs, and labour intensity. Examines five generic strategies: multi‐country expansion; importing customers; following your customers; service unbundling; and beating the clock.

Implementing shared manufacturing services on the World-Wide Web : Computing in manufacturing

Abstract: s a direct result of increasing global competitive pressures, corporations in every industrial sector are addressing product development challenges by focusing on what each does best and turning to partnerships to supplement internal abilities. In the manufacturing sector, this trend is manifested through joint manufacturing ventures, increased outsourcing, and supplier partnerships, often with geographically distributed partners. The challenge is to swiftly create agile partnerships, linking best-of-breed partners in virtual corporations capable of world-class performance. Today, no general information infrastructure is available to support the interactions between such partners as they engage in integrated product and process development. This problem is especially severe in the manufacturing sector, which offers few tools but involves interactions between partners that are often paper-and voice-intensive with little integration of tools and data. This article describes a staged pragmatic approach for sharing manufacturing services over the Internet and for facilitating integrated product and process development. A variety of manufacturing support services are possible for the WorldWide Web portion of the Internet [2], including: • Software for engineers concerned with design for manufacturability; • Simulation of manufacturing processes; • Part fabrication (submit a computer-aided design [CAD] model to a server, receive a part by mail); and • Testing (mail a part to a laboratory, receive the test data electronically). 1 Figure 1 shows a few of the manufacturing services that can be presented, including process simulation (e.g., a numerical-control [NC] tool-path verification), a fabrication technology (e.g., a six-axis composite winding 1 Because the WorldWide Web provides such a facile means of exchanging information, much of the documentation about the Web is available on the Web itself—often nowhere else. For this reason, we include universal resource identifiers (URIs) wherever possible for the references cited in this article. Addressing the lack of a general information infrastructure for supporting interactions between corporate partners in virtual enterprises — particularly in the manufacturing sector — this article endorses a pragmatic approach for sharing manufacturing ser vices over the Internet's WorldWide Web. machine), and a test technology (e.g., three-dimensional computed tomography). (For more detail and examples from the authors, see [14] and the authors' Web site: http://ce-toolkit.crd.ge.com.) Many strategies help manufacturers share tools and data, ranging from electronic communications to paper to word of mouth. Unfortunately, informal communications lack completeness and control, and electronic communications is often not available to prospective partners, who may be burdened with incompatible legacy hardware. To deal with …

Virtual environment manager for network computers

Abstract: A system and method for a downloadable just-in-time middleware called VEM that provides access to network services, including system services such as printing and local storage, to applications that run on Network Computers. The VEM configures the default client services and stores information about these services. When an application executing on the Network Computer wishes to use one of the services, it communicates with its local VEM. The VEM returns a handle to the appropriate service to complete the service request.

WebIN-an architecture for fast deployment of IN-based personal services

Abstract: The article outlines a hybrid architecture which subsumes IN services and can provide a realisation of merged content and communication services. It will substantially ease the manageability, scalability and distribution problems faced by IN solutions today. Furthermore, the architecture allows easier service creation, deployment and integration with system management for some enhanced IN services.

European third-generation mobile systems

Abstract: Vast importance is being placed in Europe on the development of third-generation mobile telecommunications systems, since it is expected that mobile and personal communications will become a key driver for growth and innovation in the next millenium as well as being a necessary building block of the wireless information society. Significant progress has been made since 1988 by a number of European Union funded R&D projects working toward the development of future generations of mobile communication concepts, systems, and networks. The ACTS (Advanced Communications Technologies and Services) program will offer, in the period 1995-1998, service providers, communications operators, and equipment manufacturers greater opportunities to master and trial mobile and personal communications services and technologies. From the user's perspective the ACTS program will strive to ensure that current mobile services are extended to include multimedia and broadband services, that access to services are made without regard to the underlying networks, and that convenient, lightweight, compact, and power-efficient terminals adapt automatically to whatever air-interface parameters are appropriate to the user's location and desired services.

Studying the cost and value of library and information services: applying functional cost analysis to the library in transition

Abstract: Library managers must respond to institutional demands for the justification of maintaining or supplementing resources and services. The difficulty of assigning costs and values to library and information services and resources is magnified by the advent of a broad variety of computerized and electronic modes of library service. This article provides a general discussion of the issues relating to costs of library and information services in the library in transition, reviews the functional cost analysis method, and presents selected data gathered from a larger study on the costs and value of various library services. The results of applying functional cost analysis to reference service show great variation in unit costs, within and across libraries, indicating that there are substantial challenges remaining in determining the sources of these variations, and in understanding the cost basis of library services.

Agent communication system for multimedia communication services

Abstract: This paper proposes an agent communication system, in which many communication system's elements, such as communication services, charging and network operation functions, are expressed as agents and multimedia communication services are offered that multi-agents negotiate with each other. The agent communication system is the third communication system. The first communication model is circuit communication model for telephone services, and the second model is the packet communication model for data communication services. The agent communication model is based on the concept of distributed cooperative agent-oriented networking. The agent-oriented software architecture is introduced for supporting multimedia communication services in wide-area networks. Multimedia services are expressed as agents. The paper proposes an agent request broker for multimedia communication services in an agent communication wide-area network. The agent request broker, which is the platform for multi-agents, is based on the concept of agent-oriented software. Furthermore, a five-layer agent communication networking architecture is proposed. Finally, personal communication telephone services, video-mail services and video-on-demand services are presented by using the agent communication system's experimental setup of IP-over-ATM.

Telecommunications service interactions

Abstract: A basic call in a telecommunications network provides a transmission path between two users. Additional functionality is provided by a set of services, wherein, if a number of services is invoked during the same call, it is important that the services do not interact adversely with one another. For detecting service interactions, a service abstract is produced based on a Basic Call State Model and a data processing sequence performed by basic call state processing and by the services in respect of a global data item.

Hybrid fiber-coax access networks

Abstract: As the communications industry moves rapidly toward open communication, it is introducing new, higher bandwidth services. Providers of communications services must develop new services while continuing to protect their existing revenue. The HFC-2000™ broadband access system, a cost-effective, full service network solution, was designed to address these competitive needs. This paper describes the technology and performance of hybrid fiber-coax (HFC) systems in general and the powerful paradigms offered by the HFC-2000 system.

Business services: Markets and transactions

Abstract: Tertiary activities and among them business services represent an increasingly dominant share of GDP. The main purpose of this paper is to show that the concepts and theories which have been developed mainly with reference to industrial, essentially material, activities are not relevant for service, dominantly non-material, activities, more particularly for informational business services. These-the way they operate, the relations between the actors, the processes through which values are created and prices are determined...-are substantially different, and would thus seem to require substantially, or even radically different approaches and theories.

Support Services For Business Networking

Abstract: This paper describes the computer communication services needed in forming networks of small businesses. It describes a method used to identify the services needed for network formation, and develops a framework that simplifies service choice. It centers network formation process made up of three stages and shows that services needed at each stage are different. It then outlines the results of a questionnaire made to indicate priorities placed on these services and describes an initial set of services based on the World Wide Web.

Residential data services via hybrid fiber-coax local access networks

Abstract: The deployment of two-way broadband hybrid fiber-coax (HFC) local access networks will enable a wide variety of new communication services for consumers and small businesses. Interactive television, video-on-demand, video telephony, and other services focused on TV and video have attracted much attention. Broadband local access networks also offer compelling data-oriented services that support computers and other devices in homes and small businesses. This paper gives an overview of these new residential data services and applications, the technical challenges involved in their delivery, and architectures and key components of the required networking infrastructure.

Redesigning the work of human services

Abstract: Introduction Definitions and Historical Overview Children and Families as Common Pool Resources: A Metaphor for Understanding Family Policies Strategic Planning in Human Services: Promoting Competition and Local Responsibility for Problem-Solving Public-Private Partnerships in Human Services: Negotiating the Trade-off between Flexibility and Accountability Linking Tasks and Technologies in Designing Community Social Services Streamlining Social Services Budgeting, Managing, and Monitoring for Results in the Interorganizational Environment: An Impossible Dream or Public Sector Revolution in the Making? Community Asset Mapping: Place-Based Stories and Grass-Roots Development Next Steps in the Redesign of Human Services References Index

Personal communication in traditional cellular networks

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to describe the flow of calls through the mobile network as it applies to the operation of Basic and Enhanced Services. Included in the discussion is the overall network layout, the physical connections between the network entities, and the signaling protocols which allow the entities to be integrated. The specific functionality of the applications and services are not detailed as the specific implementation varies from vendor to vendor and from service provider to service provider. The Enhanced Services Platform is installed in a service providers network in order to offer mobile subscribers services and applications which would otherwise not be available. The service providers' objective is to increase revenue/subscriber, increase subscriber loyalty/decrease churn, and build competitive advantages through differentiation. The services provided on the Enhanced Services platform can be viewed as either Basic or Enhanced. For the purpose of this paper, Basic Services refers to Numeric Paging, Call Answering, and Voice Messaging while Enhanced Services refers to FAX Messaging, One Number Service, Voice Dialing and other Voice Recognition applications, Information Services including FAX on Demand, and Automated Call Routing.© (1996) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Human Services as Service Industries

Abstract: Human services industries are defined as the sub-set of service industries that deal in the provision of services to consumers with the aim of bringing about beneficial change in those consumers. A number of characteristics of such services are discussed, including the influence of value systems and ideologies, their sources of finance, their heterogeneity and the issue of consumer choice. These and other characteristics are seen as crucial influences on human services management and organisation structure, service delivery technology and quality assurance.

An overview of commercial electronic document delivery suppliers and services

Abstract: There has been a proliferation in commercial electronic document delivery services. Over the past few years this consistent growth, combined with enhancements to existing services, has made it difficult for librarians to keep abreast of the latest developments and service availability. This paper presents an overview of document delivery services and suppliers, and provides discussion on the various types currently available. The paper is further divided into non‐collection‐based services, collection‐based services and specialised collection‐based services. Detailed information about particular services has been collated and presented in tabular form: this includes information regarding cost, delivery time, subject field and full contact details.

Multimedia network protocols: where are we?

Abstract: Protocols for multimedia communication are needed to integrate into a single network services intended to satisfy the different requirements of multiple types of traffic. An essential prerequisite for designing these protocols is that the services to be offered by the network must be selected and specified in detail. We present the service models proposed, or being developed, by the Internet community, by the ATM community, and by the Tenet Group. We compare their common characteristics, which reveal the characteristics of the first integrated services networks are likely to offer. The services referred to in this paper are those at the network and transport layers, which support the services to be offered to the system's end users.

A component-based, distributed object services architecture for a clinical workstation.

Abstract: Attention to an architectural framework in the development of clinical applications can promote reusability of both legacy systems as well as newly designed software. We describe one approach to an architecture for a clinical workstation application which is based on a critical middle tier of distributed object-oriented services. This tier of network-based services provides flexibility in the creation of both the user interface and the database tiers. We developed a clinical workstation for ambulatory care using this architecture, defining a number of core services including those for vocabulary, patient index, documents, charting, security, and encounter management. These services can be implemented through proprietary or more standard distributed object interfaces such as CORBA and OLE. Services are accessed over the network by a collection of user interface components which can be mixed and matched to form a variety of interface styles. These services have also been reused with several applications based on World Wide Web browser interfaces.