The Year 2000 Problem
Computers' Year-2000 problem (Y2K), whereby some computer software won't recognize any digits as representing years in the 21st century, may well strike hoteliers particularly hard due to hotels' reliance on date-sensitive data (room reservations, for example). Moreover, unless hotels' software is updated, Y2K will manifest itself sooner among hotels than in many other industries, as hotels begin to book rooms in the year 2000. Hoteliers can (1) choose to do nothing (i.e., wait and see what actually happens), (2) debug their existing computer applications, or (3) purchase and install all new systems software. Some methods to remove the Y2K problem include these five techniques: size expansion, data encoding, date shift, soft windows, and hard windows. Replacing existing application software with new, Y2K-compliant computer software will resolve the problem. That approach, however, means that all of a hotel's related computer-program requirements be accounted for—which is an enormous undertaking. Moreover, new computer systems are costly, and “off the shelf” business software rarely is of much help to hoteliers. As a result, hotels' computer systems and software most often require extensive customization. Time is short; hoteliers don't have until 2000 to solve their Y2K problems, since a hotel's existing reservation system may not be able to recognize reservations for the year 2000 (“00”). In practical terms, the time required for software development and testing is substantial. Therefore, hotels need to handle the Y2K issue immediately.
Environmental control systems and Y2K
Abstract The Year 2000 (Y2K) computer crisis and its potential societal implications have been extensively reviewed. Most computers and associated applications rely on dates to make calculations to determine when to take specific actions. Several of these systems, however, use two-digit representations within data fields and consequently, the “00” that will be read when the clock rolls over at the turn of the century could result in miscalculations and additional problems, including complete computer shutdown. An area of industry that could be particularly susceptible to the Y2K problem is environmental management and pollution prevention. Efforts to minimize and manage the release of wastes from point sources has led to an increased dependence upon electronic, computerized environmental control systems—equipment that contributes to Cleaner production. Many of these, which are intricate combinations of software, hardware, and microprocessors that originate from a variety of vendors, are not Y2K compliant. A crash of a complex computer due to Y2K could lead to malfunctioning or complete shutdown of an environmental control system, which would have myriad environmental consequences. Ensuring that these and similar systems do not fail come the turn of the century will involve the locating and replacing of faulty computer chips and archaic code, and in many cases, the replacing of computer components.
The Role of Information Retrieval in the Diagnostic/Decision making Process within the Medical Appointment: A Review of the Literature
ABSTRACT Information retrieval/memory recall by patients/carers within the medical appointment is reported to be of paramount importance to the diagnostic/decision-making process within the medical appointment and hence to the outcome of the medical encounter itself. The rationale behind this paper (second in a series of papers) is to delve into the current literature to ascertain the pervasiveness of long-term information retrieval/memory recall concepts within this intricate environment, including the disease states in which patient information retrieval/memory recall research has been conducted, affording an analysis of research activities in order to identify the gaps in knowledge that currently exist. A rigorous systematic process detected 49 papers that clearly consider information retrieval/memory recall events within the medical appointment. Content analysis was conducted using a Concept-Centric Matrix in conjunction with open-coding techniques, giving rise to the detection of 227 concepts, which were subsequently assembled into 63 categories. Our analysis reveals the prevalence of long-term information retrieval/memory recall concepts, and the disease states that have conducted patient information retrieval/memory recall research (within the medical appointment) reported in writings over the past 43 years. Additionally, we have advanced our conceptual model of memory recall/information retrieval within the elicitation phase of the medical appointment, which we first presented in an earlier paper . The current paper is of significance as it facilitates an augmented understanding of information retrieval/memory recall (and the importance of same to the diagnostic/decision-making process and to patient outcomes, within the medical appointment. Furthermore, the exploration serves to highlight a number of IS research opportunities.