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Workshop: "Decision Support Systems for Sustainable Development:
Software Technology for Agenda 21"
The Workshop "Decision Support Systems for Sustainable Development: Software
Technology for Agenda 21" has been organized by UNU/IIST (United Nations University / International
Institute for Software Technology, Macau) and IDRC (International Development Research Centre, Canada)
in Macau, 26 February - 8 March 1996. The Macau Foundation and Macau Polytechnic sponsored some
events of the Workshop.
Forty four scientists from 21 countries attended the Workshop. The Workshop program included invited
lectures, case study presentations, round-table discussions and presentation of scientific papers. Good
working atmosphere and very high scientific level of most presentations were matched by participants'
involvement in discussions, hands-on laboratory sessions and planning for future collaboration.
A position paper based on plenary discussions will by produced by the end of April and published in a major
journal concerning information technology in development. The position paper will identify main issues of
development and deployment of decision support systems in developing countries to improve decision making
in such areas as social services, environmental protection, health services, natural resources management.
The paper endorsed by all participants will discuss the role and contribution of information technology
specialists in implementation of Agenda 21.
The following post-workshop activities are being carried out:
- exchange of messages on the list server (iist-uw@cousteau.uwaterloo.ca)
- preparation of the position paper (Pat Hall, e-mail: p.a.v.hall@open.ac.uk,
fax: 44-1908-552140),
- editing of a DSS book (editors: A. Yeh, G. Kersten, M. Rais); a list serverwill be made available for the
correspondence regarding the book at Carleton University;
- sample software suite for DSS development (J. G. Krishnayya e-mail:
jgk@soochak.ncst.ernet.in, fax: 91-212-477902, B. Adams e-mail:
b.adams@facet.com, fax: 1-604-739 7753);
please send suggestions which free software should be included in a DSS suite.
Please send your comments regarding post-workshop activities and new ideas to the listserver, or specific
activity group or to me (zmikolajuk a idre.ca).
Information, access to information, knowledge, development policy and decision-making are imminent topics
in discussions on sustainable development. Agenda 21 underlines the necessity to improve decision-making
concerning economic development and environmental protection at local, national and international levels.
Decisions taken by every man and woman, municipal and provincial authorities, government departments,
multinational corporations and international organizations will determine the realization of sustainable
development. Agenda 21 calls for research programs and implementation of information systems which
support decision-making based on sound information and procedures. Global sharing of knowledge,
collaboration and coordination of decision-making at all levels will need new tools and methods.
A practical, and in my opinion, critical issue in achieving sustainable development is how the wide range of
decisions will be made and coordinated on local and global scales. Technical aids are essential for both
information- and judgment-driven decision-making. Interdependence of international, regional and national
development, poses stronger than in the past, requirements for exchange of information and sharing of
knowledge and coordination of actions. Local, as well as global factors must be taken into consideration and
available academic as well as traditional knowledge must be applied to solve sustainable development
problems. Computerized decision support systems, well integrated with decision-making processes and
valued by decision-makers, will contribute to the implementation of objectives of sustainable development.
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Sustainable development implies a holistic approach to human development and preservation of the natural
environment. Decisions regarding economic, political, or social activities should solve concrete problems, and
at the same time, all implications from the point-of-view of the paradigm of sustainable development should
be analysed. Many decision-makers are not prepared for handling the complexity of such an analysis. DSS
with built-in knowledge concerning the analysis and capability to investigate and correlate large amounts of
data are needed.
Since the 1970s, DSS research has concentrated on financial (banking, insurance) and medical systems.
New application domains need to be investigated from the viewpoint of decision-making for sustainable
development :
- land and water management;
- food production and distribution;
- poverty alleviation;
- primary health services;
- public services and administration;
- education;
- pollution control;
- urban planning and management;
- natural disaster recovery;
- population growth control; and
- economic planning.
There are many definitions of decision support systems and their functions in decision -making processes.
Some definitions are so broad that simple software tools such as spreadsheets or database packages are
labelled as DSS. They are used in a technology driven market to "sell" a particular technology, e.g. relational
data base management, GIS, expert systems, document management. One can develop a sophisticated DSS
using a spreadsheet or data base package, but it would be more appropriate to call these packages DSS
generators or simply software tools. A combination of different software tools is needed in the case of
development of DSS for sustainable development applications.
A decision support system can be defined by its functional characteristics as a system designed to
support:
- the analysis of decision problems,
- determination and evaluation of alternative decisions,
- selection of a particular decision (or rejection in given conditions), and
- monitoring of the execution of selected decisions and suggesting corrective actions.
DSS provides software for collecting and processing of data, applying encoded domain knowledge and
communicating with users. In the area of sustainable development a DSS is designed to support
decision-makers and not to replace them as opposite to some automatic control or manufacturing systems
which aim at replacing human decision-making in industrial processes.
Workshop Programme:
Monday, 26 February 1996
Welcome UNU/IIST, IDRC, Macau Foundation DSC&C,
A Framework for Research on DSS for Sustainable Development,
Zbigniew Mikolajuk, IDRC, Canada
General DSS Issues and Survey of Research in DSS
Gregory E. Kersten, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Population Growth and Health & Social Services
Brent Hall, University of Waterloo, Canada
Population Growth and Health & Social Services: Case Study
Brent Hall and Serge Poulard, University of Waterloo, Canada and ECLAC,
Santiago, Chile
Tuesday, 27 Feb. 1996
DSS: State of the Art
Jian-Kang Wu, Institute of Systems Science, NUS, Singapore
Finding Decision Rules in Data for Knowledge-Based Decision Support Systems,
TuBao Ho IolT, Hanoi, Vietnam, pt., JAIST,Japan
Monitoring and Evaluation Infomation System of Major Natural Disasters in China: GIS Development and
Application
He Jianbang, State Key Lab of Resource and Environment Information System,
Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Multi-Criteria /Multi-Objective Decision Procedures using GIS: IDRISI Case Study
Demo, J. R. Eastman, M. Ramachandran, The Clark Labs, Clark University, USA
Multi-Criteria /Multi-Objective Decision Procedures using GIS: IDRISI Case Study
Hands-on, J. R. Eastman, M. Ramachandran The Clark Labs, Clark University,USA
Wednesday, 28 Feb. 1996
DSS for Sustainable Development, J. G. Krishnayya Systems Research Institute,
Pune, India
Uncertainty and Decision Risk in Multi-Criteria Evaluation: Implication for GIS Software Design, J. Ronald
Eastman, The Clark Labs, Clark University, USA
Building DSS Planning in India: Some Lessons, Subhash Bhatnagar
I.I.M., Ahmedabad, India
Guandong Flood Protection and Disaster Reduction, Auxiliary Decision Support System -- A Study of DSS
for SD
Chen Shijing, Liao Qifang, Guangzhou Institute of Geography, China
Decision Support Systems in Chernobyl GIS Project,
V. S. Chabanyuk Intelligent Systems, Inc., Kyiv, Ukraine
Thursday, 29 Feb. 1996
GIS Development and Application in Management of Natural Resources and Environment Vladimir
Tikunov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
GIS Based DSS for Sustainable Development
Mukand Rao, V. Jayaraman, M. G. Chanderashekar ISRO, Bangalore, India
Spatial Decision Support and Tourism Planning
Robert D. Feick and G. Brent Hall University of Waterloo, Canada
C4.5 Tool Presentation: Hands-on TuBao Ho IolT, Hanoi, Vietnam, JAI ST, Japan
SAAM-APIC: Demo Visit, B. V. Bossche, Macau Water Supply Co. Ltd. (SAAM), Macau
Friday, 1 March 1996
Round-table discussion:
DSS for SD: Definitions, Contexts, Experience and Expectations
Organizational an Institutional Issues in the Deployment of DSS
Improving Accessibility to Primary Health Care Services
Robert L. Bowerman, G. Brent Hall, Paul H. Calamai University of
Waterloo, Canada
A Succinct Presentation of Research Theme in the Project Initiated by the CART
for the Creation of An African Regional Group of Research on DSS.
Koussoube, J. L. Ndoutoume, R. Noussi, African's Computer Science Institute, Gabon
Round Table Discussion, cntd.
Monday, 4 March 1996
GIS in Decision Support Systems for Sustainable Development,
Anthony Yeh, Hong Kong University, Hong Kong,
A Decision Support System for Sustainable Land Development in China Using Remote Sensing and GIS,
Anthony Gar-On Yeh, Li Xia, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Guangzhou Institute of Geography,
China
Computer Assisted Programming of Rural Water in Cameroon
J.P. Weti, Department of Rural Water Ministry of Mines, Water Resources and Energy, Yaounde,
Cameroon
The Design of Decision Support Systems as Federated Information Systems,
D. J. Abel, CSIRO, Canberra, Australia
DSSA-ADAGE: Decision Support Capabilities, Will Tracz, Loral Federal Systems, Owego, USA
Tuesday, 5 March 1996
From Decision Theory to Decision-Aid Theory and Decision Support Systems,
M. K. Luhandjula University of Kinshasa, Zaire
An Evaluation Model for Configuring Computer-based Decision Support System,
Clement Dzidonu, Michael Mulvey, Dublin Institute of Technology and University of Dublin, Ireland
Integrated Rural Energy Decision Support Systems, Shaligram Pokharel, Ministry of Water Resources,
Nepal, pt., Univ. of Waterloo, Canada
On The Interactive System to Support The Management of Industrial HEVEA Plantations, S. Koussoube,
J. L. Ndoutoume, R. Noussi, African's Computer Science Institute, Gabon
A Semi-Automated System for the Location of Forest Ecosystem Networks: Hands-on,
Blair Adams, Facet Decision Systems, Inc., Canada
Wednesday, 6 March 1996
Handling Uncertain Information in a Decision Support System for Planning:
Application to Water Supply Problems, M. K. Luhandjula, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Zaire
Land Use Planning in India: DSS Requirements, M. Rais NISTADS, New Delhi, India, pt., UNU/IIST,
Macau
Various Data Collecting Systems and Their Role as DSS for SD in Mongolia,
H. Yakhanbai, Ministry for Nature and Environment, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Satellite Images and Geographical Information Systems: The Tools of the Future: APIC Case Study,
Chris Audroing, Francis Asia Ltd.,Macau
Knowledge Based Method Applications in Remote Sensing, Image Classification
for Environmental Monitoring and Landuse, Zhu Honglei, State Key Lab of Resource and Environment
Information System, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Intergraph Demo Visit, Vicente L. Gracias, Direccao dos Servicos De Cartografia e
Cadastro, Macau
Thursday, 7 March 1996
Economic Planning and Water and Sanitation Management
E. D. Gamboa, EcoKnowMICS Project, Manila, Philippines
Economic Planning and Water Sanitation Management: Case Study Hands-on,
E. D. Gamboa, EcoKnowMICS Project, Manila, Philippines
Decision Support System: Integrating Scientific Research and Local Knowledge
for Sustainable Development, S. Gameda, J. Dumanski, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Knowledge Centres/ Networks for Empowering Knowledge Rich-Economically Poor Communities and
Innovators: DSS for Solution Augmentation for Sustainable Development, Anil K Gupta, Srinivas
Chokkakula SRISTI c/o, I.I.M., Ahmedabad, India
Natural Resources Conservation and Crop Management Expert Systems,
Ahmed Rafea Central Lab for Agricultural Expert System, Cairo, Egypt
Software Internationalization Architecture for Decision Support Systems,
Patrick A.V. Hall, The Open University, UK
Organizational Memory Information Systems: Case-Based Approach,
F.V. Burstein, H.G.Smith, R. Sharma, A. Sowunmi, Monash University, Australia
Friday, 8 March 1996
Round Table Discussion and Closing Session
Future collaborative work and world-wide working group on DSS for SD.
Requirements for new generation DSS, training and absorption of
technology by developing countries.
Excursion, Macau Foundation
Post-workshop activity coordinated by Prof. J.G. Krishnayya:
Prof. J. G. Krishnayya
Executive Director
Systems Research Institute
17-A Gultekdi
Pune 411037, India
tel: 91-212-460323
fax: 91-212-477902
e-mail: jgk@soochak.ncst.ernet.in
"A Suite of Integrated Software Tools for the Development of Decision
Support Systems"
The purpose of this activity is to support the network of
scientists established at the Workshop in achieving the following
objectives:
A) Integration and expansion of the network of scientists
interested in developing decision-support systems.
B) International collaboration in developing practical portable
decision-support systems using an affordable (free of charge or
very low cost) suite of software tools.
C) Sharing of expertise and research achievements by
dissemination of research materials produced by the Workshop and
follow-up activities.
D) Identification of application domains for DSS in developing
countries and development of research project proposals.
To achieve these objectives, the Systems Research Institute in
collaboration with IDRC and institutions represented at the
Workshop will carry out the following activities:
- integration, testing and dissemination of application software
and software tools presented at the Workshop using Internet,
- analysis of software presented at the Workshop and other
software available free of charge in order to identify and
integrate a suite of software tools to be distributed to
researchers of the DSS (Macau) group,
- discussion on requirements for a DSS Development Workbench and
proposals of research projects in this area,
- exchange of information on current research and development
activities (a listserv has been already established at the
University of Waterloo),
- dissemination of the first version of low cost package of
software tools for DSS development.
Expected outputs/results:
1) Expanded network of collaborating scientists in the area of
decision-support systems for sustainable development.
2) Tested and verified package of software tools and documentation
for development of decision support systems disseminated to institutions
in developing countries.
3) A report on requirements for a DSS Development Workbench.
4) A draft proposal for an international research project on
software tools for DSS development.
