Humanistic Informatics

The application of Informatics in the areas of Humanistic and Social Sciences covers a wide range of topics and interests. Despite the potential it represents for the related scientific fields, the adoption of Informatics in these areas is faced with reservations.The department addresses the needs for education and research within the area of Informatics, and tones in with the nature of the Ionian University and Greece in general. The department is unique in Greece with respect to this orientation.

A department of Informatics with a specialization in Humanistic and Social studies does not only imply an emphasis on applications of Informatics in the related areas, but also

• core research in all areas regarding the methodologies and the modes of incorporating new technologies into the scientific body of the corresponding fields.
• education and research in areas of high interest to the science of Informatics, as well as to the corresponding scientific fields. As an indication, such areas are:
  a. Computational Linguistics and Natural Language Processing,
  b. Historical Informatics,
  c. Computational Music,
  d. Informatics in the History of Art, in Architecture and Design,
  e. Informatics in Publishing and Text.
• education and research concerning the implications of Informatics to the related scientific fields, as well as to the culture and the community in general. These effects often entail radical changes in social relations and social structures.

Scientific fields that could be included within this direction and which could possibly constitute a course schedule (alongside with core courses), are:

• Computational Linguistics
• Machine Translation
• Graphics Communication
• Image Processing
• Information Visualization
• Data Representation
• Database Theory and Design
• Text Structural Analysis and Format
• Data Encoding
• Electronic text processing:
• Linguistic processing, stylistic and content analysis
• Computational Music
• Natural Language Processing
• Historical Informatics
• Communication and Data Transmission

Information Systems

Information systems constitute nowadays a crucial factor in the production and provisioning of services as well as the management of organizations. The effective and efficient use of Information Technologies is a significant element for commercial enterprises that wish to gain a competitive advantage, as well as for state organizations that wish to provide quality services. As a result, Information technologies are an integral part of the strategy of every organization, regardless its size and status.

The field of Information Systems (as a field of academic research and education), arose in the 1960s, when organizations extended the use of Information Technologies in order to support the operating processes of decision making, as well as their competition strategy. Thereby, university departments that were related to financial and human resources management acknowledged the need to create course plans that cover the topics of Information Technologies.

The topics that need to be mastered by Information Systems scientists are defined in the ACM Model Curriculum and Guidelines for Undergraduate Degree Programs in Information Systems (ACM IS 2002):

• Basic Principles of Information Systems
• Strategies, Architecture and Design of E-commerce applications
• Theory and Practice of Information Systems
• Software and hardware for Information Technologies
• Programming
• Structures of Data, Objects and Files
• Networks and Telecommunications
• Analysis and Logic Design of Information Systems
• Databases and Data Mining
• Management of IT Projects

Taking into account the above scientific fields, we have formed a cohesive course plan for the Information Systems specialization of our department.

To a large extent these areas are of educational and research interest to the other departments of the Ionian University and related courses can be implemented in collaboration with the latter.