(Chair Steve Liddle)

The Role and Challenges of Data in the Digitalization Era

In an increasing digital world, information systems deal with complex and diverse data with many associated challenges for modeling, accessing, and manipulating data. We have progressed from traditional data management, to the era of big data, and now to an era where the digitalization of applications and processes are having a profound impact on business and society. Proper management of data is critical in the era of digitalization, as is archiving it for current and future use. However, many traditional challenges of data management remain, requiring a deep understanding of the use of data in the digital world. This paper compares data management in the era of digitalization to traditional data management. Challenges related to data semantics, data structure and syntax, and data use are analyzed and illustrated for an emerging technology, blockchain, which is heavily data-dependent. Continuing data challenges and future research directions are proposed.

Short Bio

Veda C. Storey is the Tull Professor of Computer Information Systems and professor of computer science at the J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University. Her research interests are in  data management, conceptual modeling, intelligent information systems, and design science research. Dr. Storey is a member of the AIS College of Senior Scholars, an AIS Fellow, and an advisor to the Workshop on Information Technologies and Systems. She is also a member of the steering committee of the International Conference of Conceptual Modeling, where she has the honor of being an ER Fellow and a recipient of the Peter P. Chen Award. She received a Georgia State University Teaching Innovation Award for her work on experiential and interdisciplinary teaching. Dr. Storey received her Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia and holds a degree in flute performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music, University of Toronto.

Session Chair: Steve Liddle

 

(Mercado Modelo I)

The 7^th Symposium on Conceptual Modeling Education (SCME 2017) is aimed at providing a forum for the education and teaching of concepts related to conceptual modeling. The scope of the SCME is the education of conceptual modeling at any level: undergraduate, graduate, professional or continuing education. The participants will be the following professors and we aspect a fruitful discussion with the participants.

• Barbara Weber (University of St.Gallen), Switzerland
• Geert Poels (Ghent University), Belgium
• Monique Snoeck (KU Leuven) Belgium
• Matthias Jarke (RWTH-Aachen University), Germany
• Oscar Pastor (Universidad Politecnica de Valencia), Spain
• Giancarlo Guizzardi (Free University of Bozen-Bolzano), Italy – Mediator

(Chair Barbara Pernici)

Next Generation Modeling Environments

Conceptual models play an important role in many organizations. They serve as tools for communication and documentation, are often a central part in process improvement initiatives, and are key to the development and evolution of information systems. Existing modeling tools typically support end users in a rather generic and non-personalized manner. However, users not only differ in their modeling expertise and the challenges they encounter while modeling, but also in their preferences. Therefore, they would benefit from a new generation of modeling environments that are highly personalized and adapt themselves to users’ needs. This keynote presents a vision of such modeling environments with a focus on process modeling. It highlights this potential with several examples from our research and touches upon challenges that come with the development of next generation modeling environments.

Short CV

Barbara Weber is Professor for Software Systems Programming and Development at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland. She is Chair for Software Systems Programming and Development and Director of the Institute of Computer Science. In addition, she holds a part-time full professor position at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science with the Technical University of Denmark. Barbara’s research interests include process model understandability, process of process modeling, process flexibility, and user support in flexible process-aware systems as well as neuro-adaptive information systems. Barbara has published more than 150 refereed papers, for example, in Nature Scientific Reports, Information and Software Technology, Information Systems, Data and Knowledge Engineering, Software and System Modeling, and Journal of Management Information systems and is co-author of the book “Enabling Flexibility in Process-aware Information Systems:  Challenges, Methods, Technologies” by Springer.

Session Chair: Barbara Pernici

(Chair Peter Chen)

Multi-dimensional Complexity

We live in a  world of increasing complexity.  We work in domains that use words like systems, systems of systems, cross disciplinary engineering, interdisciplinary engineering, transdisciplinary engineering, man machine interfaces, autonomy and AI.  Furthermore, we see the need to move outside of engineering itself into design, art, ethics, risk, biology, national and international law.  We live on the tech frontier—but frontiers can be dangerous.  How do we cope?  How to we tame the growing complexity we ourselves create? What tools, tactics, techniques and strategies can we use to function responsibly, ethically, and creatively?

Short CV

Dr. Paul D. Nielsen is director and chief executive officer of the Software Engineering Institute (SEI), a global leader in advancing software and cybersecurity.  Prior to joining the SEI in 2004, Nielsen served in the U.S. Air Force, retiring as a major general and commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory after 32 years of distinguished service. Nielsen is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and a fellow of both the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). In 2011, he received the Aerospace Software Engineering Award from AIAA, and in 2004 AIAA awarded him the Hap Arnold Award for Excellence in Aeronautical Program Management. In 2014, he was recognized by the Pittsburgh Business Times with a Diamond Award as one of the region’s top CEOs. And in 2016, AFCEA awarded him its Distinguished Award for Excellence in Engineering. Nielsen earned a BS in physics from the U.S. Air Force Academy, an MBA from the University of New Mexico, and an MS and a PhD in applied science from the University of California, Davis.

Session Chair: Peter Chen

(Chair Oscar Pastor)

State of Permissionless and Permissioned Blockchains: Myths and Reality

Abstract. It has been a decade since the concept of blockchain was invented as the underlying core data structure of the permissionless or public Bitcoin cryptocurrency network. Since then, several cryptocurrencies, and associated concepts like tokens and ICOs have emerged. After much speculation and hype, significant number of them have become problematic or worthless, even though some countries have embraced them! The permissionless blockchain system Ethereum emerged by generalizing the use of blockchains to manage any kind of asset, be it physical or purely digital, with the introduction of the concept of Smart Contracts. Over the years, numerous myths have developed with respect to the purported utility and the need for permissionless blockchains. The adoption and further adaptation of blockchains and smart contracts for use in the permissioned or private environments is what I consider to be useful and of practical consequence. Hence, the technical aspects of only private blockchain systems will be the focus of my ER 2019 keynote. Along the way, I will bust many myths associated with permissionless blockchains. I will also compare traditional database technologies with blockchain systems’ features and identify desirable future research topics.

 

Short Bio

Dr. C. Mohan is currently an IBM Fellow at the IBM Almaden Research Center in Silicon Valley and a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Tsinghua University in China. He has been an IBM researcher for 37 years in the database and related areas, impacting numerous IBM and non-IBM products, the research and academic communities, and standards, especially with his invention of the well-known ARIES family of database locking and recovery algorithms, and the Presumed Abort distributed commit protocol. This IBM (1997), ACM (2002) and IEEE (2002) Fellow has also served as the IBM India Chief Scientist (2006-2009). In addition to receiving the ACM SIGMOD Innovations Award (1996), the VLDB 10 Year Best Paper Award (1999) and numerous IBM awards, Mohan was elected to the US and Indian National Academies of Engineering (2009) and named an IBM Master Inventor (1997). This Distinguished Alumnus of IIT Madras (1977) received his PhD at the University of Texas at Austin (1981). He is an inventor of 50 patents. He is currently focused on Blockchain, Big Data and HTAP technologies. For 2 years, he has been an evangelist for private blockchains and the myth buster of public blockchains. Since 2016, Mohan has been a Distinguished Visiting Professor of  China’s prestigious Tsinghua University. He has served on IEEE Spectrum’s advisory board, and on many conference and journal boards. Mohan is a frequent speaker in USA, Europe and Asia, and has given talks in 40 countries. He is very active on social media and has a huge network of followers. More information can be found in the Wikipedia page at http://bit.ly/CMwIkP

• SIGMOD  2019 Paper

Session Chair: Oscar Pastor