Experience Seamless Full Ebook Downloads for Every Genre at textbookfull.

com

Perspectives in Business Informatics Research 15th

International Conference BIR 2016 Prague Czech
Republic September 15 16 2016 Proceedings 1st
Edition Václav Řepa
https://textbookfull.com/product/perspectives-in-business-
informatics-research-15th-international-conference-
bir-2016-prague-czech-republic-
september-15-16-2016-proceedings-1st-edition-vaclav-repa/

OR CLICK BUTTON

DOWNLOAD NOW

Explore and download more ebook at https://textbookfull.com

 Recommended digital products (PDF, EPUB, MOBI) that
you can download immediately if you are interested.

Perspectives in Business Informatics Research: 19th

International Conference on Business Informatics Research,
BIR 2020, Vienna, Austria, September 21–23, 2020,
Proceedings Robert Andrei Buchmann
https://textbookfull.com/product/perspectives-in-business-informatics-
research-19th-international-conference-on-business-informatics-
research-bir-2020-vienna-austria-september-21-23-2020-proceedings-
robert-andrei-buchm/
textboxfull.com

Knowledge Engineering and Semantic Web 7th International

Conference KESW 2016 Prague Czech Republic September 21 23
2016 Proceedings 1st Edition Axel-Cyrille Ngonga Ngomo
https://textbookfull.com/product/knowledge-engineering-and-semantic-
web-7th-international-conference-kesw-2016-prague-czech-republic-
september-21-23-2016-proceedings-1st-edition-axel-cyrille-ngonga-
ngomo/
textboxfull.com

Perspectives in Business Informatics Research: 18th

International Conference, BIR 2019, Katowice, Poland,
September 23–25, 2019, Proceedings Ma■gorzata Pa■kowska
https://textbookfull.com/product/perspectives-in-business-informatics-
research-18th-international-conference-bir-2019-katowice-poland-
september-23-25-2019-proceedings-malgorzata-pankowska/
textboxfull.com

Informatics in Schools Improvement of Informatics

Knowledge and Perception 9th International Conference on
Informatics in Schools Situation Evolution and
Perspectives ISSEP 2016 Münster Germany October 13 15 2016
https://textbookfull.com/product/informatics-in-schools-improvement-
Proceedings 1st Edition Andrej Brodnik
of-informatics-knowledge-and-perception-9th-international-conference-
on-informatics-in-schools-situation-evolution-and-perspectives-
issep-2016-munster-germany-octobe/
textboxfull.com
Statistical Language and Speech Processing 4th
International Conference SLSP 2016 Pilsen Czech Republic
October 11 12 2016 Proceedings 1st Edition Pavel Král
https://textbookfull.com/product/statistical-language-and-speech-
processing-4th-international-conference-slsp-2016-pilsen-czech-
republic-october-11-12-2016-proceedings-1st-edition-pavel-kral/
textboxfull.com

Cryptology and Network Security 15th International

Conference CANS 2016 Milan Italy November 14 16 2016
Proceedings 1st Edition Sara Foresti
https://textbookfull.com/product/cryptology-and-network-security-15th-
international-conference-cans-2016-milan-italy-
november-14-16-2016-proceedings-1st-edition-sara-foresti/
textboxfull.com

Collaboration and Technology 22nd International Conference

CRIWG 2016 Kanazawa Japan September 14 16 2016 Proceedings
1st Edition Takaya Yuizono
https://textbookfull.com/product/collaboration-and-technology-22nd-
international-conference-criwg-2016-kanazawa-japan-
september-14-16-2016-proceedings-1st-edition-takaya-yuizono/
textboxfull.com

Advances in Multimedia Information Processing PCM 2016

17th Pacific Rim Conference on Multimedia Xi an China
September 15 16 2016 Proceedings Part I 1st Edition Enqing
Chen
https://textbookfull.com/product/advances-in-multimedia-information-
processing-pcm-2016-17th-pacific-rim-conference-on-multimedia-xi-an-
china-september-15-16-2016-proceedings-part-i-1st-edition-enqing-chen/
textboxfull.com

Advances in Multimedia Information Processing PCM 2016

17th Pacific Rim Conference on Multimedia Xi an China
September 15 16 2016 Proceedings Part II 1st Edition
Enqing Chen
https://textbookfull.com/product/advances-in-multimedia-information-
processing-pcm-2016-17th-pacific-rim-conference-on-multimedia-xi-an-
china-september-15-16-2016-proceedings-part-ii-1st-edition-enqing-
chen/
textboxfull.com
 Václav Repa · Tomáš Bruckner (Eds.)

Perspectives in
Business Informatics
LNBIP 261

Research
15th International Conference, BIR 2016
Prague, Czech Republic, September 15–16, 2016
Proceedings

123
Lecture Notes
in Business Information Processing 261

Series Editors
Wil M.P. van der Aalst
Eindhoven Technical University, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
John Mylopoulos
University of Trento, Trento, Italy
Michael Rosemann
Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Michael J. Shaw
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
Clemens Szyperski
Microsoft Research, Redmond, WA, USA
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/7911
Václav Řepa Tomáš Bruckner (Eds.)
•

Perspectives in
Business Informatics
Research
15th International Conference, BIR 2016
Prague, Czech Republic, September 15–16, 2016
Proceedings

123
Editors
Václav Řepa Tomáš Bruckner
Department of Information Technology Department of Information Technology
University of Economics University of Economics
Prague 3 Prague 3, Praha
Czech Republic Czech Republic

ISSN 1865-1348 ISSN 1865-1356 (electronic)

Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing
ISBN 978-3-319-45320-0 ISBN 978-3-319-45321-7 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-45321-7

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016948608

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016

This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the
material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation,
broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information
storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now
known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication
does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant
protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are
believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors
give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or
omissions that may have been made.

Printed on acid-free paper

This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature

The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland
 Preface

Business informatics is a discipline that combines information and communication

technology (ICT) with the knowledge of management. It is concerned with the
development, use, application, and the role of management information systems and all
other possible ways of using ICT in the field of management. It is also an important
interdisciplinary academic and research discipline. The Perspectives in Business
Informatics Research (BIR) conference series was established 16 years ago as a result
of a collaboration of researchers from Swedish and German universities in order to
create a forum where researchers in business informatics, both senior and junior, could
meet and hold discussions. The conference series is led by the Steering Committee, to
which one or two persons from every appointed organizer are invited. To date, BIR
conferences were held in: Rostock (Germany – in 2000, 2004, 2010), Berlin (Germany
– 2003), Skövde (Sweden – 2005), Kaunas (Lithuania – 2006), Tampere (Finland –
2007), Gdańsk (Poland – 2008), Kristianstad (Sweden – 2009), Riga (Latvia – 2011),
Nizhny Novgorod (Russia – 2012), Warsaw (Poland – 2013), Lund (Sweden – 2014),
and Tartu (Estonia – 2015). This year’s 15th International Conference on Perspectives
in Business Informatics Research (BIR) was held during September 14–16, 2016, at the
University of Economics, Prague (PUE), the biggest and most prestigious Czech
university of economics and business.
This year the BIR conference attracted 61 submissions from 16 countries. They were
precisely reviewed by 42 members of the Program Committee representing 21 coun-
tries. As the result, 22 full papers and two short papers from nine countries were
selected for presentation at the conference and publication in this volume together with
abstracts of invited talks by Dimitris Karagiannis and Giancarlo Guizzardi. The papers
presented at the conference cover many important aspects of business informatics
research. This year there was a particular emphasis on business processes and enter-
prise modeling, information systems development, information systems management,
learning, capability, and data analysis issues. The main conference was also accom-
panied with satellite events: three workshops and a doctoral consortium took place
during the first day of the conference.
We would like to thank everyone who contributed to the BIR 2016 conference. First
of all, we thank the authors for presenting their papers, we appreciate the invaluable
contributions from the members of the Program Committee and the external reviewers,
and we thank all the members of the local organization team from the University of
Economics, Prague, for their help in organizing the conference. We acknowledge the
EasyChair development team for providing a valuable tool for preparing the pro-
ceedings and the Springer publishing team for their excellent collaboration. Last but
not the least, we thank the Steering Committee for directing the BIR conference series.

July 2016 Václav Řepa

Tomáš Bruckner
 Organization

Program Co-chairs
Václav Řepa University of Economics, Czech Republic
Tomáš Bruckner University of Economics, Czech Republic

Program Committee
Eduard Babkin State University Higher School of Economics (Nizhny
Novgorod), Russia
Per Backlund University of Skövde, Sweden
Ilia Bider Stockholm University/IbisSoft, Sweden
Daniel Braunnagel Universität Regensburg, Germany
Rimantas Butleris Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania
Cristina Cabanillas Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austria
Sven Carlsson Lund University, Sweden
Raffaele Conforti Queensland University of Technology, Australia
Massimiliano de Leoni Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands
Marlon Dumas University of Tartu, Estonia
Peter Forbrig University of Rostock, Germany
Bogdan Ghilic-Micu Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania
Jānis Grabis Riga Technical University, Latvia
Giancarlo Guizzardi Federal University of Espirito Santo, Brazil
Markus Helfert Dublin City University, Ireland
Björn Johansson Lund University, Sweden
Anna Kalenkova National Research University Higher School of
Economics, Russia
Marite Kirikova Riga Technical University, Latvia
John Krogstie Norwegian University of Science and Technology,
Norway
Michael Le Duc Mälardalen University, Sweden
Barbara Livieri University of Salento, Italy
Irina Lomazova National Research University Higher School of
Economics, Russia
Raimundas Matulevicius University of Tartu, Estonia
Charles Møller Aalborg University, Denmark
Jacob Nørbjerg Aalborg University, Denmark
Grzegorz J. Nalepa AGH University of Science and Technology, Poland
Alexander Norta Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia
Boris Novikov St. Petersburg University, Russia
VIII Organization

Michael Petit University of Namur, Belgium

Tomáš Pitner Masaryk University, Czech Republic
Manuel Resinas University of Seville, Spain
Kurt Sandkuhl University of Rostock, Germany
Flavia Santoro UNIRIO, Brazil
Pnina Soffer University of Haifa, Israel
Chris Stary Johannes Kepler University of Linz, Austria
Janis Stirna Stockholm University, Sweden
Bernhard Thalheim Christian Albrechts University Kiel, Germany
Peter Trkman University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Anna Wingkvist Linnaeus University, Sweden
Stanislaw Wrycza University of Gdansk, Poland
Jelena Zdravkovic Stockholm University, Sweden
Iryna Zolotaryova Kharkiv National University of Economics, Ukraine

External Reviewers

Hassan Adelyar, Estonia Giovanni Maccani, Ireland

Anis Ben Othman, Estonia Aleksas Mamkaitis, Ireland
Szymon Bobek, Poland Alfonso Marquez-Chamorro, Spain
Mario Bochicchio, Italy Mirella Muhic, Sweden
Thomas Falk, Germany Karima Qayumee, Estonia
Owen Foley, Ireland Salim Saay, Estonia
Nicklas Holmberg, Sweden Eriks Sneiders, Sweden
Amin Jalali, Sweden Olgerta Tona, Sweden
Miranda Kajtazi, Sweden Filip Vencovsky, Czech Republic
Krzysztof Kluza, Poland Benjamin Wehner, Germany
Alexandr Kormiltsym, Estonia

BIR Series Steering Committee

Mārīte Kirikova Riga Technical University, Latvia (Chair)
Kurt Sandkuhl Rostock University, Germany (Co-chair)
Eduard Babkin State University – HSE, Russia
Rimantas Butleris Kaunas Technical University, Lithuania
Sven Carlsson Lund University, Sweden
Peter Forbrig Rostock University, Germany
Björn Johansson Lund University, Sweden
Andrzej Kobyliñski Warsaw School of Economics, Poland
Raimundas Matulevičius University of Tartu, Estonia
Lina Nemuraitė Kaunas Technical University, Lithuania
Jyrki Nummenmaa University of Tampere, Finland
Václav Řepa University of Economics Prague, Czech Republic
Benkt Wangler University of Skövde, Sweden
Stanislaw Wrycza University of Gdansk, Poland
 Organization IX

Sponsoring Institutions

Česká spořitelna, a.s., Czech Republic

BIR2016_Keynotes
 Agile Modelling Method Engineering - AMME

Dimitris Karagiannis

University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

[email protected]

In this context, the foundations of a “conceptual-model”-awareness approach for next

generation Enterprise Information Systems will be presented. This novel approach
makes use of semantic networks to extend model-awareness towards arbitrary types of
models that are developed for specialized communities aiming for domain-specificity
(or even case-specificity) in their modeling language, therefore favoring productivity at
the expense of reusability across domains. The technological space for capturing and
bridging knowledge through model semantics is primarily based on diagrammatic
models. Two categories of models are employed in this context: (1) Models of Con-
cepts – for describing a common understanding of a domain through its concepts and
relations; (2) Models that use Concepts – typically domain-specific models based on
some already established understanding of the domain.
The hereby introduced Agile Modeling Method Engineering – AMME- concept
aims to apply the principle of agility established in Software Engineering (e.g., evo-
lutionary development, flexible response to change) to the practice of Modeling
Method Engineering. The main assumption is that a modeling method may evolve
iteratively based on changing modeling requirements and feedback loops.
Within the context of AMME, a full methodological life cycle is established by the
OMiLab Laboratory (http://www.omilab.org), with encompassing five phases: (1)
create, (2) design, (3) formalize, (4), develop and (5) deploy/validate. The approach is
supported, in its prototyping stage, by the meta modeling domain-specific language
MM-DSL and within the academic version of the meta-modeling platform ADOxx
(http://www.adoxx.org).
 Formal Ontology, Patterns and Anti-Patterns
for Next-Generation Conceptual Modeling

Giancarlo Guizzardi

Federal University of Espírito Santo, Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brazil

[email protected]

In his ACM Turing Award Lecture entitled “The Humble Programmer”, E.W. Dijkstra
discusses the sheer complexity one has to deal with when programming large computer
systems. His article represented an open call for an acknowledgement of the complexity
at hand and for the need of more sophisticated techniques to master this complexity.
This talk advocates the view that we are now in an analogous situation with respect to
Conceptual Modeling. We will experience an increasing demand for building Refer-
ence Conceptual Models in subject domains in reality, as well as employing them to
address classes of problems, for which sophisticated ontological distinctions are
demanded. One of these key problems is Semantic Interoperability. Effective semantic
interoperability requires an alignment between worldviews or, to put it more accurately,
it requires the precise understanding of the relation between the (inevitable) ontological
commitments assumed by different conceptual models and the systems based on them
(including sociotechnical systems). This talk advocates the view that an approach that
neglects true ontological distinctions (i.e., Ontology in the philosophical sense) cannot
meet these requirements. The talk discusses the importance of foundational axiomatic
theories and principles in the design of conceptual modeling languages and models.
Moreover, it discusses the role played by three types of complexity management tools:
Ontological Design Patterns (ODPs) as methodological mechanisms for encoding these
ontological theories; Ontology Pattern Languages (OPLs) as systems of representation
that take ODPs as higher-granularity modeling primitives; and Ontological Anti-Pat-
terns (OAPs) as structures that can be used to systematically identify possible devia-
tions between the set of valid state of affairs admitted by a model (the actual ontological
commitment) and the set of state of affairs actually intended by the stakeholders (the
intended ontological commitment). Finally, the talk elaborates on the need for proper
computational tools to support a process of pattern-based conceptual model creation,
analysis, transformation and validation (via model simulation).
 Contents

Business Processes and Enterprise Modeling

A Conceptual View of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems as Services . . . 3

Nicklas Holmberg and Björn Johansson

Supporting Social Network Analysis Using Chord Diagram

in Process Mining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Amin Jalali

Crowdsourcing in Business Process Outsourcing: An Exploratory Study

on Factors Influencing Decision Making . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Kurt Sandkuhl, Alexander Smirnov, and Andrew Ponomarev

On the Role of Enterprise Modelling in Engineering

Cyber-Physical Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Kurt Sandkuhl

Working with Process Abstraction Levels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Oleg Svatoš and Václav Řepa

A Coarse-Grained Comparison of Modelling Languages for Business

Motivation and Intentional Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Rando Tõnisson and Raimundas Matulevičius

Information Systems Development

The Novel Approach to Organization and Navigation by Using All

Organization Schemes Simultaneously . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Aneta Bartuskova and Ivan Soukal

When Do Projects End? – The Role of Continuous Software Engineering . . . 107

Peter Forbrig

Business-Driven Open Source Software Development: Motivational

Aspects of Collective Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Birgit Großer and Ulrike Baumöl

Attributes of User Engagement for Website Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Jurgis Senbergs and Marite Kirikova

What Is a Framework? - A Systematic Literature Review in the Field

of Information Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Dirk Stamer, Ole Zimmermann, and Kurt Sandkuhl
XVI Contents

Combination of DSL and DCSP for Decision Support

in Dynamic Contexts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Boris Ulitin, Eduard Babkin, and Tatiana Babkina

Information Systems Management

A Change Management Review: Extracting Concepts to Preserve Business

and IT Alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Oscar Avila, Kelly Garces, and Sebastian Sastoque

Cloud Computing Governance Reference Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

Soňa Karkošková and George Feuerlicht

Auditing Security of Information Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

Dmitrijs Kozlovs and Marite Kirikova

Information Security Governance: Valuation of Dependencies Between IT

Solution Architectures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Oscar González-Rojas, Lina Ochoa-Venegas, and Guillermo Molina-León

Learning and Capability

Intelligent Tutoring System for Learning Graphics in CAD/CAM . . . . . . . . . 239

Jānis Dāboliņš and Jānis Grundspeņķis

Using Alliances to Cut the Learning Curve of ICT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

Paul Pierce and Bo Andersson

Supporting Perspectives of Business Capabilities by Enterprise Modeling,

Context, and Patterns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Janis Stirna and Jelena Zdravkovic

A Method for Situating Capability Viewpoints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278

Anders W. Tell, Martin Henkel, and Erik Perjons

Data Analysis

What Role Do Emotions Play for Brands in Online Customer Reviews? . . . . 297
Armin Felbermayr and Alexandros Nanopoulos

Associations Rules Between Sector Indices on the Warsaw Stock Exchange . . . 312
Krzysztof Karpio, Piotr Łukasiewicz, and Arkadiusz Orłowski

Algorithms for Database Keys Discovery Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322

Christian Mancas
 Contents XVII

A Classifier to Determine Whether a Document is Professionally

or Machine Translated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
Michael Luckert, Mortiz Schaefer-Kehnert, Welf Löwe,
Morgan Ericsson, and Anna Wingkvist

Author Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355

 Business Processes
and Enterprise Modeling
 A Conceptual View of Enterprise Resource
Planning Systems as Services

Nicklas Holmberg and Björn Johansson(&)

Department of Informatics, School of Economics and Management,

Lund University, Ole Römers Väg 6, Lund, Sweden
{nicklas.holmberg,bjorn.johansson}@ics.lu.se

Abstract. This paper brings forward a conceptual view, based on practical

experiences from designing information systems as services. Viewing infor-
mation systems (IS) as services is beneficial but still an unexplored approach in
organizations. The aim of this exercise is to contribute to the knowledge base of
IS designers and modelers. In the paper, we present an analysis of Enterprise
Resource Planning (ERPs) systems through a conceptual lens of Service Ori-
ented Architecture (SOA). This paper contributes to the debate on viewing ISs
as services by presenting a view of SOA-architected ERPs as facilitating to
fulfill business needs. This paper is influenced by systems and design thinking,
and service oriented IS design. Based on shared promises between SOA and
ERP we discuss the question whether SOA or ERP fulfills business needs? The
analysis of ERPs from a SOA perspective provides us with the conclusion that
the question is not about SOA or ERP but rather to provide SOA architected
ERPs. It can be said that by viewing ERPs as services it is clear that the
combination of ERPs and SOA could be seen as one way forward when
designing ISs that aims at bridging gaps between IS and business e.g., processes
and, allowing the business to fuse with IS forming servitized SOA based ERPs.

Keywords: Enterprise Resource Planning
Service Oriented Architecture

Business processes
Business rules

1 Introduction

At the end of 1990’s there were a big hype among organizations to implement stan-
dardized software packages named Enterprise Resource Planning (ERPs) systems.
Implementation of ERP systems was the prize organizations had to pay to compete in a
constant emerging market. Despite the fact that a service dominant economy emerged
and influenced organizations to be recognized as goods or service dominant, not much
was done by dominant providers to design Information Systems (ISs) as services [1, 2].
ERP systems must reflect “reality” because they have profound influence on
business processes, the inner workings of a business and thus on the way business runs.
Manifesting the idea about; business and IS fusion forming a business oriented IS [3],
captures much of the essence in the prerequisite for such reflection. Similar directions
are discussed by Hirschheim and Klein [4] and Taylor and Raden [5]. Business owners
have limited influence on ERPs design thus, vendor specific standardized software
packages emerged as embedded business actors [6, 7].
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016
V. Řepa and T. Bruckner (Eds.): BIR 2016, LNBIP 261, pp. 3–15, 2016.
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-45321-7_1
4 N. Holmberg and B. Johansson

Implemented ERPs, to some extent, do not fulfill the promises that were indicated
by vendors making organizations searching for other solutions. One solution presented
is Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), and according to Forrester Research SOA
penetration is stronger than ever [8].
Viewing IS as services is beneficial but still an unexplored approach for IS in
organizations [1]. In addition, thinking of systems as services enables new systems
design methods to emerge [1]. Indeed, new IS Development (ISD) methods aim to
improve business communication and provide practical routes toward increased rele-
vance of IS in business and society [1].
This paper is influenced from practical experiences of a national research project
named VacSam. VacSam is a set of composed digital services shaping a servitized IS
as a SOA architected Enterprise System (ES).
VacSam provides unique vaccination recommendations to any foreign child
entering Sweden with a purpose to decrease child deaths due to preventable infectious
diseases. VacSam exemplifies one of many applicable contexts for the suggested view
of ISs e.g., decision support, diagnosis, predictive analytics.
From glancing at SOA it can be said that the conceptual architecture promises to
service orient a business by bridging the gaps between IS and business processes
permitting business to shape IS, automated through services [9, 10]. From a quick
overview of the promises of ERPs it is indicated that ERPs promise to deliver a similar
solution. However, if ERPs aim at bridging gaps through service-orientation is not
clear. That brought us to explore ERPs from a service perspective, - a conceptual view
of ERPs as services.
SOA is used as a lens for the conceptualization and as the architecture providing a
service with properties and the suggested view with a concrete ground for explanation
of what SOA services are. Because SOA shares promises expressed by ERPs we
question whether SOA or ERP fulfills business needs? The view of ERPs and SOA as
separate but related entities is more carefully discussed in future sections of this paper
organized accordingly:
First, we present and define SOA and the concept of services in SOA. The section
thereafter defines ERPs and discusses problematic issues with ERP implementation.
The reason for doing so; is to be able to provide an exploration of designing ERPs as
services, which is done in Sect. 4. In the final section concluding thoughts on what it
means to design ERPs as services as well as giving some directions for future studies in
this area is presented.

2 Service Oriented Architecture (SOA)

The presented approach to SOA departs from a none-technical point of view; (1) SOA
as a conceptual architecture, (2) SOA manifesto and the basic principles of SOA and,
(3) SOA realizing technologies. The purpose is to decrease the risk of putting SOA on a
par with e.g., Web-services, one of many SOA realizing technologies [10].
SOA is a conceptual architecture functioning independent from choice of realizing
technology [9]. During the last decade, SOA received criticism as an ambiguous
buzzword only realizing obsolete application platforms e.g., standardized software
 A Conceptual View of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems as Services 5

packages. In 2007 Gartner [11] predicted less than 25 percent of large companies to
manage their SOA projects by 2010.
This paper therefore argues that only realizing obsolete application platforms is not
the intention of SOA [9, 10, 12]. Just as different designers have different under-
standings of different material and its respectively properties, SOA means different
“things” depending on whom you ask [13].
Sincere efforts to operationalize SOA have been made. In 2005, Erl [10] established
the basic principles for SOA. Eight basic principles could now intrinsically express
Separation of Concerns (SoC) and properties for a SOA service. However, it was still
unclear how SOA managed SoC in terms of which logic to encapsulate. A few years
later in 2009, Arsanjani et al. [9] established the SOA Manifesto. Fourteen guiding
principles stressed the importance of maintaining a business perspective in any SOA
initiative [9]. To consider shared services therefore became more important than
specific purpose implementations.
In 2009, the SOA manifesto, an extended abstract level of SOA, expressing high
level business modeling guidelines was set e.g., ‘to respect the social and power
structure of the organization’ [9]. To achieve architecture supporting the SOA mani-
festo the basic principles for SOA became of profound importance. The eight principles
express properties that a SOA service must possess to be recognized as eligible and
responsible. Supporting SoC, the basic principles express modularization and encap-
sulation realized through information hiding, also, commonly known in Object Ori-
ented Programming (OOP).
“Conceptual”, -a property of SOA, dates back to the origin of “service”. At the
time, the non-defined term “service” was and, sometime still is, the reason to the
intrinsic confusion of what SOA is.
In the 1930’s, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Standard Industrial Classifi-
cation (SIC) provided a service a code of classification. In the late 1970’s Hill [14]
provided “service” a definition [2]: “[…] a service is a change in the condition of a
person, or a good belonging to some economic entity, brought about as the result of the
activity of some other economic entity, with the approval of the first person or eco-
nomic entity.” [14].
Thus, a SOA service changes a condition of a Service Provider (SP), because of an
activity, corresponding to a request made by a Service Requestor (SR) to a SP through
a transport medium e.g., Internet, with the approval of a SP.
Arsanjani et al. [9] suggests that service-orientation, a term encapsulating: service,
frames what “one does”. Service-orientation of SOA is then interaction between a SR,
requesting a service from a SP, providing a service from a Service Directory (SD). That
is similar to how Gustiené [15] stressed the importance of interaction as the base for
service orientation which must support principles of SoC.
Then, “[…] Service-oriented architecture (SOA) is a type of architecture that results
from applying service orientation.” [9]. While, interaction is “[…] Related mutual
actions occurring within a shared space of time or place.” [16]. Interaction occurs
through a transport medium and its direction is no simplistic association but guideposts
indicating orientation of interaction in “reality”. Then, an SD-listed-service permits
peer-to-peer communication between SR and SD with approval of SP. It can therefore
be said that service-orientation based on interaction permits a service to become a unit
6 N. Holmberg and B. Johansson

of communication enabling a SR, a SP and a SD, to interact within a shared space on a

share time in a known real world direction i.e., SOA depicted in conceptual and data
level in Fig. 1 accordingly:

Fig. 1. Basic SOA model in conceptual and data level (use of Erl, 2005)

Industry bodies and e.g., OASIS Group and Open Group created formal definitions
of SOA with intentions to facilitate SOA’s implicit terminology and reduce its different
meanings to: “A paradigm for organizing and utilizing distributed capabilities […]”
[17]. According to the SOA manifesto SOA is realized with varying technologies and
standards and functions independent from choice of realizing technology [9].
Based on this we define SOA accordingly: SOA is a paradigm that shapes a
conceptual architecture, functioning independent from choice of realizing technology,
providing abilities to describe a service, its properties and its orientation, for conscious
change or design of a service-oriented business.

2.1 SOA Services

Addressing SOA services addresses SOA realizing technology. SOA realizing tech-
nology is used for designing a SOA service as a unit of communication realizing inter-
action. Services responsible for functional components, together shaping a SOA based
 A Conceptual View of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems as Services 7

ES, could thus be viewed as components equipped with logical boundaries forming
composable subject matters. Hence, a service is responsible for the logic it encapsulates
independently existing, as an entity of its own right, from other services and ISs.
SOA realizing technologies are: e.g., Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP),
Universal Description, Discovery and Integration (UDDI), Web Service Description
Language (WSDL) etc. Such technologies are architectural styles or patterns solving
reoccurring known design problems quite contrary to conceptual SOA [10, 13] which
rather benefits from being thought of in Alexandrian terms e.g.; design methodology
applicable when suitable. Based on that, there is a plethora of SOA realizing tech-
nologies putting the basic principles of SOA into use and thereby supporting SoC.
Then the basic principles of SOA are: (1) Services are reusable, (2) Services share a
formal contract, (3) Services are loosely coupled, (4) Services abstract underlying logic,
(5) Services are composable, (6) Services are autonomous, (7) Services are stateless,
(8) Services are discoverable [10] are what shape SOA services representing a part of
the physical form of a SOA. Based on the same conditions we argue that functional
areas shaping components of ERPs can be designed as services. That is better discussed
and explained in Chap. 4.

3 Enterprise Resource Planning Systems

The ERP concept is broad and the market of ERP is dominated by a number of few
companies including SAP, Oracle, and Microsoft. However, there are a number of key
characteristics that more or less all ERP systems have making them a unique subtype of
IS: (1) ERPs are standardized packaged software [18] designed with the aim of inte-
grating an entire organization [19–21]. (2) The ERP ought to cover all information
processing needs and to integrate the internal value chain with an organization’s
external value chain through Business Process (BP) integration [19] and (3) Provide the
entire organization with common master data [22]. From this it can be stated that ERPs
have a high impact on organization’s business processes, but as argued by Millman
[23] there exist problems, such as, it is either not used or is implemented in the wrong
way.
The main problem presented is the misfit between ERP functionality and business
requirements. Soh, Kien and Tay-Yap [24] describe this as a common problem when
adopting software packages. The problem of “misfit” means that e.g., “Many people
feel that the current ERP system has taken (or been given) a role that hinders or does
not support the business processes to the extent desire” [7]. Then, ERPs are
process-based or at least attempt to be process-based. According to Koch [25] the basic
architecture building on a department/stab model as for instance SAP’R/3 makes ERPs
not supporting the idea of BPs and thereby not the integration between different
departments in an organization. It does not help that the ERP vendor attached some
words about BPs onto their ERP if the basic architecture does not support BPs [25].
8 N. Holmberg and B. Johansson

3.1 Functional Areas of ERP Systems Architecture

ERPs are often described from a functional perspective meaning that the systems
architecture mimics a functional organizational description. That implies that each
department has its own ERP component. However, the basic architecture of an ERP
follows the master data thoughts [22]. Then, functional ERP areas use a unified
database. Different ERP vendors describes this in different ways, however, the most
common description is to discuss modules. Thus, the implementing organization
implements a core module and then selects what modules to implement on top of the
core module(s). The ERP architecture therefore builds on a vertical organizational
description. The implication of that is that horizontal work tasks involving different
departments are not clearly described in ERP architecture. Resulting in that users of
ERPs could understand the ERPs as not supporting the business process they work
with, resulting in a misfit between ERP and users interpretation of how the system
fulfill their needs.

4 Designing ERP Systems as Services

ERPs as described above, builds to a high extent on functional areas e.g.; (1) Inventory,
(2) Production, (3) Accounting, (4) HR, (5) Delivery, (6) BI, (7) Sales, (8) Engineering,
(9) Production Planning, and (10) Purchase. However, the volatile nature of business
makes it complex to implement the same ERP in all organizations. Based on the basic
principles of SOA, functional areas of an ERP system could be designed as indepen-
dent components, separated by logical boundaries, designed with the same accuracy as
a single class or entity is [10, 26]. That view is based on modularization realized
through information hiding and to learn ISD by “doing”.
From the description of ERPs it can be stated that it is hard to see if its promises -
bridging the gaps between IS and business processes - have been fulfilled. The same
can be said about SOA promises. However, it seems that if combing the ideas of SOA
when designing an ERP that may be a way forward to fulfill promises from both ERP
and SOA.
From this it could be claimed that the desired result is to bridge the gap between
BPs and IS so that business shapes IS into what could be described as a SOA archi-
tected ERP. The question is then how can SOA improve the design of ERPs? A
tentative answer to that question could be that the focus moves from a functional view
to a conceptual holistic view, meaning that functions in the ERP, if designed as
services, could be seen and provided as applications that could be used in different BPs.
In practice this could imply that an organization is permitted to deal with the problem
of organizational support with a horizontal supportive IS.
On those conditions, functional areas of an ERP could form components shaped by
services eligible to execute in SOA. Based on practical experiences from VacSam, it is
shown that by composing digital services a SOA architected IS can be shaped.
Through the design science research initiative it can be said that this conceptual
view of ERPs as services became even more evident.
 A Conceptual View of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems as Services 9

Through the Enterprise Model (EM) (see, [27]) of the VacSam project it can be
seen that Fig. 4 depicts that the five sub models of the EM express how business rules
integrate in a business and how the business vision model casts the ground for the
business strategy and common business goal; fully vaccinated according to the Swedish
vaccination schedule.
Moreover, the EM depicts that (1) The business rules model (a) triggers the
business process model, (b) defines the business concepts model, (c) uses the business
resource and actor model and, (d) supports the business vision model. (2) The business
process model in turn, requires the business rules model. (3) The business concepts
model (a) defines the business rules models. (4) The business vision model motivates
and requires the business rules model [27].
In addition, (5) the business resource and actors model, including General Practi-
tioners (GPs), Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and Vaccination Experts (VEs), is,
responsible for the business rules model [27].
Based on that it can be said that Fig. 4 depicts the business models that were
digitally transformed and automated through digital services forming applications that
could be used in different BPs and shaping the servitized IS named VacSam:

Fig. 2. The business model of VacSam (use of, [27])

If applying this view on the design of ERPs with the aim of integrating an entire
organization, a noteworthy detail is that the five models of the business model in Fig. 2
fits e.g., the Zachman framework for Enterprise Architecture (EA) as integrals
accordingly:
Hence, the business model of VacSam indicates the desired level of service-orientation
and the desired result in the form of a SOA based ES. This is further exemplified through
the BRs model and the BP model of VacSam. With the business concepts model in hand
BRs it is possible to design well-formed business rules.The business rules model was thus
10 N. Holmberg and B. Johansson

Fig. 3. The business model and its relation the EA framework [27]

constituted by 1126 BRs all designed according to the principles of Business rules
approach (BRA) (Fig. 3).
Together the BRs forms business rules packages which in turn shapes decision
logic centric SOA services expressing a businesses’ “what”, only exposing a WSDL
according to the basic principles for SOA. Implementing the process logic centric SOA
services in imperative JAVA results in an expression of a businesses’ “how”
This means that all rule projects including a number of BRs is automated through
digital services of their own right. Those decision logic centric services are meant for
governing the business process presented in Fig. 4. The business process model in
Fig. 4 depicts the process logic explored, extracted and implemented in VacSam:
Together the businesses’ “what” and “how” implemented as SOA services support
the inner functioning of the business process of Fig. 4. However, the business models
per se, could be viewed as archetypes in terms of well-known “standard” ISD models.
Thus, it is not the models that are of interest but their combination and
service-orientation.
Through SOA, these models are service-oriented and automated hence modular and
encapsulated realized through separate digital services kept by the service directory of
 A Conceptual View of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems as Services 11

Fig. 4. The Business Process for VacSam’s Process Logic

Fig. 5 below. As a result, each service reflects part of a reality and together the services
reflect a reality, a holism i.e., the Swedish vaccination recommendation activity. As a
result business processes and IS merges to the servitized ES named VacSam through
this SOA perspective:

Fig. 5. The Intuitive SOA Orientation Model of VacSam (instance of Fig. 1) (use of, [10])

Figure 5 depicts that SOA has been realized both technically and conceptually.
This means that in the VacSam-project SOA was implemented as:
The paradigm informing the design of models and frameworks for a conceptual
architecture for interaction, functioning independent from realizing technology, pro-
viding abilities to describe a service, its properties and its orientation, for conscious
change or design for business service orientation.
12 N. Holmberg and B. Johansson

The intuitive orientation model, permitting inter-organizational communication,

illustrates key actors in the SOA based on the actors-model of the business model. Each
service listed in the service directory knows about the other services listed since they all
share the same basic principles for SOA only exposing WSDL.
However, VacSam is not strictly an ERP system. On the other hand, from this
perspective, VacSam corresponds to a component shaped by about 60 digital services
used by GPs for diagnosis. Logically, diagnosis is similar to any Business Rules
(BR) governed process reified into a functional IS-area and could most likely be
compared to e.g., an accounting-module of a ERP. That is the foremost reason to why
we consider SOA a conceptual architecture applicable in a plethora of contexts and not
a pattern for routine design. This is made even clearer in Fig. 6.

Fig. 6. How SOA Encapsulates Logic in VacSam (use of, [10])

Figure 6 depicts how SOA encapsulates logic of VacSam. It is clear from the figure
that process logic and decision logic are encapsulated by separate species of digital
services. However our idea draws on that each functional area of an ERP could be
analyzed for extracting its process logic respectively decision logic for implementation
into separate digital services. Through service composition the collection of different
services could easily replace a component or a functional area of an ERP shaping a
truly flexible IS.
Thus, SOA permits to design eligible services and thereby service orienting a
business regardless of its character. With profound influence on “how” and “what”
business runs, functional areas of any IS must reflect reality to be able to support
business processes as a whole thus, bridging the gap between IS and BPs. Therefore it
is crucial for the purpose, entitling the being, of an ERP to support decision points in a
BP permitting or constraining its execution. Such decision points require business rules
why the decision per se could be viewed as the connection between business processes
and business rules. Moreover, any ERP must have such business rules as a ground for
decisions.
This SOA approach also facilitates managerial IS capabilities in terms of e.g., a
shared service repository and the fact that changing one SOA service will not affect the
other services because a service is responsible for the logic it encapsulates. This ought
to provide better chances for bridging the gap between business processes and IS and
 A Conceptual View of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems as Services 13

the chances for the IS to continue to function in the businesses’ active equilibrium
through managing change in an organized way.
From research on ERPs we recognize a lack of transparency regarding logic
responsibility. What logic that shapes a functional area of an ERP component, is not
clear. According to Morgan, [28], Graham, [29] and Von Halle [30] part of business
logic shapes decision logic. The other part of business logic is shaped by BPs i.e.,
process logic [31]. Logic separation through SoC then has profound influence on
foundational e.g., alethic logic, and is crucial for IS and ISD success [31]. Tentative
results of such SoC is consistent automated business logic [30] -a promise made by
Business Rules Approach (BRA) familiar as a support to SOA nowadays [28, 29], but,
still an unrecognized approach for native ERP design.
BRs of BRA renounce from expressing “who”, “when”, “where” or “how” a
business rule executes [28, 30, 32] or any temporal aspects managed by operational
process logic of an IS [31] as can be seen above. Thus BRs express “what” [32]. BRs
then either constrain BP activities from executing or permit them to execute attaining a
state why BRs triggers BPs [27]. A BR could therefore be viewed as a definition or a
delineation of an aspect of a business [28, 29, 33]. Then, BRs govern BPs [34]. And,
BRs are recognized as the operational decision logic of an IS.
Quite contrary, BPs are recognized as the operational process logic of an IS [31].
With that distinction a business’s “what” i.e., decision logic expressed by BRs and,
“how” i.e., process logic expressed by BPs, becomes transparent and manageable as
separate but interrelated components shaped by business objects advocating IS and
business alignment [27, 31].
Without separation of logic, decision logic is scattered with process logic and
application specific code in the same object, in plural forming components or modules,
commonly known as obsolete legacy IS. That makes it hard to recognize what a
functional area of an ERP is and which logic each component shaping a functional area
of an ERP is encapsulating. Moreover, that would renounce SoC, SOA and BRA by
being solely one track minded [26, 28, 29, 34, 35]. Even if there has been some
progress, ERPs could be seen as quite far from supporting SoC, since it implies to
“consume an elephant” rather than trying to break down problems into smaller man-
ageable pieces, similar to objectification or break down of connections. That directs us
to the conclusion that it would be beneficial viewing ERPs as services to a higher
extent.

5 Conclusion

We have learnt that, ERP since it is a standardized software package demands adopting
organizations to change BPs. However, if viewing ERPs as services, that would not be
the case. The view would rather force BPs or their process logic to shape composable
services forming one part of an ERP expressing “how”, to achieve goals. The other part
is shaped by BRs or their decision logic as services expressing “what”, to achieve
goals. When the two types of services are composed, they can be viewed as a com-
ponent reflecting a functional area of an ERP providing a desired result similar to those
14 N. Holmberg and B. Johansson

provided by components for e.g., diagnosis or accounting. That would then correspond
to a SOA-architected ERP.
Viewing ERPs as services explicitly renounce from any “silver bullet approach” but
implies to break down problems into smaller pieces, supporting principles of SoC, and
systematically design responsible services, supporting SOA, shaping components
reflecting functional areas of an ERP in turn supporting business needs, one at a time.
The analysis of ERPs from a SOA perspective provides us with the conclusion that the
question is not about SOA or ERP but rather to provide SOA-architected ERPs. By
viewing ERPs as services it is clear that the combination of ERPs and SOA could be
seen as one way forward when developing software that aims at bridging the gaps
between supporting IS and business processes. However, additional empirical research
e.g., DSR on designing functional areas as components, shaped by SOA services,
supporting important business problems, followed by evaluation, would cast a better
ground for interesting future research on the suggested perspective of ERPs. To the best
of our knowledge, this perspective of ERPs, BRs and BPs, is an important area for IS
research providing more knowledge on how business and IS are independent but
intrinsically related entities of today.

References
1. Alter, S.: Viewing systems as services: a fresh approach in the is field. Commun. Assoc. Inf.
Syst. 26(11), 195–224 (2010)
2. Chesbrough, H., Spohrer, J.: A research manifesto for services science. Commun. ACM 49
(7), 35–40 (2006)
3. El Sawy, O.A.: The IS core ix: the 3 faces of is identity: connection, immersion, and fusion.
Commun. Assoc. Inf. Syst. 12(1), 588–598 (2003)
4. Hirschheim, R., Klein, H.K.: Four paradigms of information systems development.
Commun. ACM 32(10), 1199–1216 (1989)
5. Taylor, J., Raden, N.: Smart (Enough) Systems, How to Deliver Competitive Advantage by
Automating Hidden Decisions. Prentice Hall, Pearson Education, USA (2007)
6. Melin, U.: The ERP system as a part of an organization’s administrative paradox. In: 11th
European Conference on Information Systems, Naples, Italy (2003)
7. Askenäs, L., Westelius, A.: Five roles of an information system: a social constructionist
approach to analyzing the use of ERP systems, In: Twenty First International Conference on
Information Systems, pp. 426–434. Association for Information Systems, Brisbane (2000)
8. Robinson, J.: SOA still kicking, says Forrester (2009). http://www.information-age.com/
channels/development-and-integration/perspectives-and-trends/1053022/soa-still-kicking-
says-forrester.thtml. (Cited 22 Nov 2011)
9. Arsanjani, A., et al. The SOA Manifesto (2009). http://www.soa-manifesto.org/.
(30 September 2010)
10. Erl, T.: Service-oriented architecture: concepts, technology, and design. Prentice Hall PTR,
Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River (2005)
11. Gartner. Bad Technical Implementations and Lack of Governance Increase Risks of Failure
in SOA Projects. Gartner Newsroom. Press Release (2007). http://www.gartner.com/it/page.
jsp?id=508397. (21 October 2011)
12. Erl, T.: SOA Principles, The Service-Orientation Design Paradigm (2008). http://www.
soaprinciples.com/p3.php. (04 March 2010)
 A Conceptual View of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems as Services 15

13. Holley, K., Arsanjani, A.: 100 SOA questions asked and answered. Pearson Education, Inc.,
(2011)
14. Hill, P.T.: On goods and services. Rev. Income Wealth 23(4), 314–339 (1977)
15. Gustiené, P.: Development of a New Service-Oriented Modelling Method for Information
Systems Analysis and Design. Karlstad University, Karlstad (2010)
16. Alexanderson, P.: Adding Audibility, in Department of Informatics. Lund University, Lund
(2007)
17. OASIS Group. Reference Model for Service Oriented Architecture 1.0. (2006). http://docs.
oasis-open.org/soa-rm/v1.0/soa-rm.pdf. (06 October 2011)
18. Wieder, B., et al.: The impact of ERP systems on firm and business process performance.
J. Enterp. Inf. Manag. 19(1), 13–29 (2006)
19. Lengnick-Hall, C.A., Lengnick-Hall, M.L., Abdinnour-Helm, S.: The role of social and
intellectual capital in achieving competitive advantage through enterprise resource planning
(ERP) systems. J. Eng. Technol. Manag. 21(4), 307–330 (2004)
20. Rolland, C., Prakash, N.: Bridging the gap between organisational needs and ERP
functionality. Requirements Eng. 5(3), 180–193 (2000)
21. Wier, B., Hunton, J., HassabElnaby, H.R.: Enterprise resource planning systems and
non-financial performance incentives: the joint impact on corporate performance. Int. J. Acc.
Inf. Syst. 8(3), 165–190 (2007)
22. Hedman, J., Borell, A.: ERP systems impact on organizations. In: Grant, G. (ed.) ERP &
Data Warehousing in Organizations: Issues and Challenges, pp. 1–21. Idea Group
Publishing, Hershey (2003)
23. Millman, G.J.: What did you get from ERP, and what can you get? Financ. Executives Int. 5,
15–24 (2004)
24. Soh, C., Kien, S.S., Tay-Yap, J.: Cultural fits and misfits: is ERP a universal solution?
Commun. ACM 43(4), 47–51 (2000)
25. Koch, C.: BPR and ERP: Realising a vision of process with IT. Bus. Process Manag. J. 7(3),
258 (2001)
26. Dijkstra, E.W.: On the role of scientific thought. In: Selected Writings on Computing: A
Personal Perspective, pp. 60–66. Springer-Verlag New York, Inc., New York (1982)
27. Bajec, M., Krisper, M.: A methodology and tool support for managing business rules in
organisations. Inf. Syst. 30(6), 423–443 (2005)
28. Morgan, T.: Business rules and information systems: aligning IT with business goals.
Addison-Wesley, Boston (2002)
29. Graham, I.: Business rules management and service oriented architecture: a pattern
language. Wiley, Chichester (2006)
30. Von Halle, B.: Business Rules Applied: Building Better Systems Using the Business Rules
Approach. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Computer Publishing, New York (2001)
31. Holmberg, N., Steen, O.: Business process and business rules modelling in concert for
e-service design and business alignment. In: 1st International Conference on Cloud
Computing and Services Science (CLOSER), Noordwijkerhout, The Netherlands (2011)
32. Date, C.J.: What Not How: The Business Rules Approach to Application Development.
Addison-Wesley, Reading (2000)
33. Van Eijndhoven, T., Iacob, M.E., Ponisio, M.L.: Achieving business process flexibility with
business rules. In: 12th International IEEE Enterprise Distributed Object Computing
Conference, pp. 95–104 (2008)
34. BRG. The Business Rules Manifesto Version 2.0., November 1, 2003 (2003). http://www.
businessrulesgroup.org/brmanifesto.htm. (04 January 2011)
35. Ross, R.G.: Principles of the Business Rule Approach. Addison-Wesley, Boston (2003)
Another Random Scribd Document
with Unrelated Content
 It was against human nature to remain hidden under the circumstances,
and the young diver leaped up with all rapidity.

At the same time he yelled at the snake, and the reptile, much startled,
dropped back into the stream and was lost to view.

"Dave Fearless!" gasped Bart Hankers, as soon as the danger from the
snake was past.

"That boy!" came from Lemuel Hankers and Pete Rackley in a breath.

"Yes, it is I," answered the young diver, boldly.

"How did you get here?" demanded Lemuel Hankers, much

disconcerted.

"Tumbled."

"Tumbled?"

"That is what I said, Lemuel Hankers. Have you any objection to my

being here?"

"You followed us. You have been playing the part of a spy!" cried the
rich man.

"How could I have followed you, seeing that I am on this side of the
stream?"

"You leaped over."

"No, he couldn't do that, dad," interposed Bart. "He must have come in
some other way."

"You overheard our talk?"

"I did."

At this Pete Rackley emitted a low whistle.

 "In that case our cake is dough," he muttered.

"Not if I know it," muttered Lemuel Hankers, savagely. "Do you think I
am to be worsted by a mere boy?" And he shook his fist at Dave.

All three of the young diver's enemies came to the edge of the stream.

"How did you get where you are?" repeated Lemuel Hankers.

"As I said before, I tumbled."

"You are trying to poke fun at me."

"I was never more serious in my life."

"You think you are smart," put in Bart.

"What I think is none of your business."

"We'll make it our business," burst out Lemuel Hankers, wrathfully.

"Come over here, and come instantly."

CHAPTER XI

FACING A JAGUAR

Dave was surprised. He had not dreamed that Lemuel Hankers would
carry his highhandedness so openly.

"I cannot come over," he said.

"And why not?"

 "I cannot leap the distance."

"Then swim across."

"The current is too strong. Besides, I have no more wish for your
company than for the company of that snake which just disappeared."

"Boy, you are a—a young scamp!" burst from Lemuel Hankers' lips.

"Thanks, but I don't wish any of your backhanded compliments, Lemuel

Hankers. I am not half as much of a scamp as you are a villain."

"A villain?"

"That's what I said."

"Don't you dare to call my dad names," put in Bart, shaking his fist
across the stream.

"I overheard your plot," went on Dave, ignoring Bart. "It's a pretty piece
of business for a gentleman to propose."

At this Lemuel Hankers grew red and then pale.

"You—you know too much, boy," he faltered. "Come over here, I say.
Or shall I bring you?"

"I don't see how you are going to bring me. You can't get over the
stream any better than I can."

"It's running very strong, dad," announced Bart, who had been testing
the current with some chips. "I don't believe anybody can get across without
a long plank. He must have gotten into the cave from the other end."

"Then we can get in that way, too," put in Pete Rackley. "We ought to
make him a prisoner," he added, in a low voice.

"I don't think you will get in," thought Dave. "If you do, the chances are
you won't come out alive."
 A short talk followed, which Dave could not hear.

Then Pete Rackley left the cave on a run, to reappear a few minutes
later with a good-sized tree limb which the storm of a few days before had
brought down.

"Now we'll get him!" cried Rackley, and threw the limb over the stream.

Dave was much startled. He knew not what to do, for to retreat was
impossible.

Soon Rackley was over the underground stream, and Lemuel Hankers
and his son followed.

All three ran after the young diver, who retreated to the extreme rear of
the cavern.

Here Rackley caught him by the arm.

"You had better submit quietly," said Rackley. "If you don't, it will be
the worse for you."

Dave saw at once that resistance was out of the question.

They were three to one, and all armed, while he was unarmed, and still
weak from his tumble and what had followed.

"You have no right to make me a prisoner," he remarked, for the want of

something better to say.

"We'll take the right," said Rackley, with a wicked grin. "Didn't expect
to see me here, after our little affair in the Washington hotel, did you?" he
added.

"Perhaps you'll get left now, as you did then," retorted Dave.

Rackley produced a rope which he had brought in with the tree limb,
and soon Dave's hands were bound behind him.
 "I have an idea," said Lemuel Hankers. "Why can't we leave him in this
cave until both ships have sailed?"

"Just my notion," answered Rackley.

"You can feed him until the Raven gets back, and he will be kind of
company for you."

"I'll feed him if he behaves himself," growled Pete Rackley.

All three of the others tried their best to "pump" Dave, but could get
nothing out of the young diver regarding his father's plans or those of
Captain Broadbeam.

"You must find out yourself," he answered.

He was made to march to the extreme right of the cave, and here
Rackley fastened him to a sharp rock which jutted from one of the walls.

"There, I reckon he won't get loose from that in a hurry," said the rascal,
after his job was finished.

Then the three evildoers withdrew to the mouth of the cave, stopping at
the underground stream just long enough to remove the tree limb so that
Dave could not cross the stream even if he did get free.

A quarter of an hour later the others went away from the cave, and all
became as silent as a tomb.

If the young diver had been disheartened before, he was now utterly cast
down.

He was a prisoner of the enemy, and he felt almost certain that Pete
Rackley would desert him and leave him to starve.

No food had been left with him excepting that which was in the water-
soaked pouch that he carried.
 And this he could not get at, for his hands were still bound tightly
behind him.

An hour went by, and to him it seemed an age.

His thoughts wandered back to the Swallow. How was his stricken
father getting along, and what did he think of his disappearance?

And what had become of poor Bob Vilett, who had accompanied him on
this ill-fated expedition after game?

"Captain Broadbeam will most likely send out an expedition in search

of us," he reasoned, "but I don't think any of them will come in here."

But then his hopes brightened a little.

Perhaps if the captain sent out somebody to look for himself and Bob,
that person might discover the Raven in that port.

"If the Raven is discovered, father will feel sure Lemuel Hankers has
had a hand in my disappearance, and he'll take the rascal to task for it."

Dave did not know that Lemuel Hankers had given strict orders to
Captain Nesik, of the Raven, to keep out of sight of the Swallow, and that
the Raven was now well hidden in a little cove thickly surrounded by palms
and tropical vines.

In less than two hours after leaving Dave, Lemuel Hankers and his son
rejoined the Raven.

"What has become of Pete Rackley?" questioned Captain Nesik.

"He went off by himself," answered Lemuel Hankers. "To my mind, he

isn't just right in his head."

"Why, what do you mean?"

"He ran around like a crazy man, and broke out into the wildest kind of
singing. Said he was done with living on a ship, and was going to become a
hermit."

This story was told for the benefit of the crew of the Raven.

In private, Lemuel Hankers told Captain Nesik the truth, and before
nightfall the captain went ashore, pretending to look for Rackley.

When he came back he announced that Rackley must be dead, for he

had found his hat at the top of a high cliff overlooking the ocean, and a part
of his jacket on the jagged rocks below.

That night the Raven pulled up anchor and left the vicinity of the island.
Before morning she was crowding on all steam, steering straight for the
spot where the sunken treasure ship had gone down.

On board of the Swallow there was much anxiety when Dave and the
engineer did not return.

Captain Broadbeam did not deem it advisable to acquaint Amos

Fearless with the true state of affairs at once.

When the old diver asked where Dave was, he was told that his son and
Bob Vilett had determined to stay out until the next day.

In the meantime poor Dave remained a prisoner in the cave. His wet
clothing gave him something of a chill during the night, and morning found
him sick and hungry, and almost ready to give up in despair.

It was scarcely daylight when Dave heard odd-sounding footsteps

approaching from the outer entrance of the cave.

He strained his eyes and at last made out a large wild animal.

It was a savage-looking jaguar, and had tracked the footsteps of those

who had come to the cave the day before.

Presently the jaguar came to the underground stream.

Here it paused for a moment, then leaped to the other side.

 It was now less than fifty yards from where Dave stood, a prisoner.

Suddenly the wild beast lifted its head, stared into the darkness, and
gave a growl of rage.

It had discovered the helpless boy!

CHAPTER XII

WELL-TIMED SHOTS

"I am lost now for sure!"

Such were the words which escaped Dave Fearless' lips as he watched
the approach of the jaguar that had entered the cave and leaped the
underground stream.

The young diver had long since given up trying to loosen the bonds
which held him so tightly to the jagged rocks. Pete Rackley had done his
villainous work well, and the efforts to get free had only caused the cords to
sink deeply into Dave's wrists and ankles, until now the blood was flowing
freely from those members.

And it was this blood which the wild beast of the island forest had
scented!

The growl of the jaguar echoed and re-echoed throughout the lonely
cave, causing Dave to shiver as with the ague.

It did indeed look as if the young diver's last hour on earth had come.

"Hi, go away!" he cried, frantically. "Go away! Scat!"

 The cries caused the jaguar to pause while yet fifty feet from the youth.

It had never before attacked a human being, and the new experience
caused it to proceed with caution.

But now it advanced again, crouching low on the cavern floor, its two
eyes glowing like balls of fire in the semi-darkness of the retreat.

Nearer and nearer came the beast, until Dave imagined he could feel the
hot breath of the jaguar upon his cheek. Then the tail of the animal began to
oscillate slowly, showing that the jaguar was preparing to make a leap.

Bang! bang!

Almost deafening was the double report of a repeating rifle as it rang

throughout the cave. At the shots the jaguar leaped high in the air, turned
over several times, and then stretched itself in a convulsive death shudder.

Dave could scarcely believe his eyes and ears. Who had thus
unexpectedly come to his deliverance?

"Bob!" The cry was little short of a scream. "Where in the world did
you come from?"

"From the bowels of the earth, I reckon," was the reply, as the young
engineer of the Swallow ran forward. "Is the beast dead?" he went on, as he
halted at the outer edge of the underground stream.

"I guess he is," answered Dave, watching the jaguar for a moment. "You
are a good shot."

"I knew I had to kill him, or it would be all up with you, Dave. But how
came you to be bound to yonder rock?"

"It's a long story. Take care of that stream, or you'll go underground

again. You'll have to get a tree limb, or something, before you can come
over. I think you'll find a tree limb at the mouth of the cave."
 Without delay Bob Vilett ran out of the cave again, to return in a few
minutes with the very tree limb Pete Rackley had used for crossing the
stream.

Soon the young engineer was at Dave's side, and a slash or two of a
pocket-knife set the young diver free.

Then both lost no time in quitting the cave.

Sitting down near the entrance, each told his story, to which the other
listened with close attention.

Bob Vilett had lost his senses after going down into the hole, and had
recovered, to find himself resting on a ledge in another cave, not far from
the one Dave was occupying.

In trying to get out he had lost his way, and had at last emerged in the
middle of a tiny valley choked with brush, vines, and other tropical growth.

He had wandered around until chance had brought him to the cave
where Dave was a prisoner, and he had been astonished beyond measure to
hear his friend calling loudly.

"It was a lucky thing that I retained my rifle, and that the water didn't
hurt the cartridges," concluded Bob. "Had it been otherwise, the jig would
have been up with you."

"That's true, Bob, and I shan't forget what you have done for me,"
returned Dave, warmly.

"Where have the rascals gone?"

"I don't know. Probably they have carried out the plot they mentioned
while here."

"Then the Raven has sailed."

"But what of the Swallow? Surely they wouldn't sail without us."
 "I don't think they would. We must hunt her up without delay."

"I must have something to eat first. I am as hungry as—as that jaguar
was."

"Hurrah! I have it. Let's broil ourselves a jaguar steak, just for the
novelty."

To this Dave instantly agreed, and returning to the cave, they brought
the beast forth and Bob proceeded to cut him up.

The steak was soon broiling over a fire which Dave kindled, and the
smell proved more than appetizing.

The jaguar meat was tough and not of an extra fine flavor, yet they were
tremendously hungry, and that made them less critical than otherwise.

In less than an hour the dinner was over, and after getting a drink and a
wash-up, both proceeded on their way.

It was warm outside of the cave, so they did not suffer much
inconvenience because of their wet clothing.

"Now to find our way back to the Swallow, and with all speed," said
Dave. "Which do you suppose is the right direction?"

"That way," and Bob pointed with his hand.

"And I was thinking it was in that direction," and Dave pointed at right
angles to the other course.

Then both laughed.

"We can't both be right," said Bob.

"Let us split the difference and take a course between the two. Then we
probably won't go far wrong, Bob."

"Right you are."

 On they went, into the valley which Bob had traversed, and then up the
line of hills where they had shot the goats just after coming ashore.

But now they found themselves confronted by a deep ravine, partly

choked with brush and vines.

"How are we going to get across that, Dave!"

"We'll have to walk along the bank until we reach some crossing-place,"
answered the young diver. "I am not going to risk a tumble by taking a
leap."

"Nor I. I have had tumbles enough to last me a lifetime," and the young
engineer shook his head dubiously.

On they went, the way growing more perilous every moment. They
were at the edge of a forest, and the top of the ravine was lined with loose
rocks.

Suddenly Bob, having made a leap from one rock to another, went down
in a heap and gave a loud cry of pain.

"My foot! My foot!"

"What's the matter?"

"I've caught my foot under the rock!"

Dave immediately hastened forward, and saw that his chum was indeed
fast.

The foot was wedged in a crevice, and could not be budged until Dave
rolled the rock away by main force.

Then Bob grated his teeth and gave a deep groan.

"My ankle! It must be broken! Oh, Dave!"

And with another moan he fell back in a faint.

 If Dave had been alarmed before, he was doubly so now, and he
scarcely knew what to do. He remembered passing a pool of water a
distance back, and he ran to this, filling the water bottle Bob had been
carrying.

The water revived the young engineer somewhat, and in the meantime
Dave cut loose his shoe. He found the injured ankle much discolored, and
swelling rapidly. He bathed it, and this gave some relief, until the pain gave
way to a stiff numbness.

"Now I am in a pickle," groaned Bob. "Did ever anybody run up against

such luck before?"

"Better not try to stand yet," replied Dave.

"Stand? Why, the pain would go to my very heart if I tried it!" And poor
Bob gave another groan.

Dave walked back and got more water, and after another bath the
sprained ankle was bound up in some crushed leaves and some linen torn
from one of the youth's shirtsleeves. Then they made themselves as
comfortable as possible on the rocks, and began to talk over the new turn of
affairs.

"Do you think I had better go on alone?" questioned Dave.

"I don't know. Somehow, I don't think we ought to separate."

"I agree, and yet we ought to try to reach the Swallow as soon as
possible."

"That's so, too."

"Supposing I try to get over the ravine and to the top of the hill? I won't
get out of rifle shot, and it may be I'll be able to spot our ship from the
hilltop."

"All right, go ahead. But don't wander too far, or—gracious, look!"
 He broke off short and pointed to a tree growing close at hand.

The leaves of the tree had parted slowly, and now from between them
appeared the hideous head and shoulders of a monstrous gorilla! The
gorilla's eyes were bent upon both boys, and the beast looked as if he meant
immediate mischief!

CHAPTER XIII

SURROUNDED BY SAVAGES

"He's coming down on us, Bob!"

"Jump and save yourself, Dave!"

Crack! bang!

The cries and shots were uttered almost at the same time, and the air
was instantly filled with smoke, followed by an unearthly squeal from the
gorilla, who instantly disappeared from view.

But the beast was not seriously wounded, for the rifle balls had merely
nipped his paw and his shoulder, and he was in a terrible rage.

"Is he dead, Bob?"

"Beckon not, for I can hear him climbing through the tree."

"We ought to get away from here, for there may be more of the gorillas
about."

"That's true. But I can't walk."

 "I'll carry you."

And having allowed Bob to slip some extra cartridges into the repeating
rifle, Dave took his friend up in his arms.

He was just about to start down the ravine when the gorilla showed
himself a second time.

He had armed himself with half-green cocoanuts, and taking aim, he let
fly at Dave's head.

"Dodge!" yelled Bob, and the cry came none too soon, for the missile
brushed over the top of the young diver's head. Then came several more
cocoanuts, and Bob was struck in the side.

He could not stand the fusillade, and watching his chance, discharged
the rifle again.

He only fired one shot, but this found its way through the gorilla's
stomach, and mortally wounded the creature.

Down dropped the cocoanuts, one at a time. Then the animal's hold
relaxed, and he too came down, almost at the feet of the youths.

The distorted, half-human face was terrible to look upon, and both Dave
and Bob turned quickly away.

"I never want to see another gorilla," shuddered Dave.

"And I never want to shoot one," responded Bob.

Along the ravine went the young diver, carrying his friend upon his
shoulder.

Two hundred feet of the rough way was covered when they reached a
spot where the ravine might be crossed with ease.

Over they went, and then Dave set down his burden and took a well-
earned rest.
 By this time night was coming on, and still they were at least half a mile
from the sea-coast.

"We won't gain the Swallow to-day," murmured the young diver,
ruefully.

"And perhaps we won't gain the ship at all," responded the young
engineer.

As is usual in the tropics, night came on suddenly. The sun went down
behind the trees and the rim of the distant ocean, and soon the stars shone
out clearly and beautifully.

All was quiet save for the sounds of the night birds in the thicket behind
them.

To keep off the wild animals they built a large camp fire, and at this
cooked some of the meat they had brought along from the cave.

Bob's ankle was cared for several times during the evening, and the
youth declared that it now felt much better.

They took turns watching during the night, yet little came to disturb
them. Once Dave heard a wild animal approaching and brought up the rifle,
ready to fire on the instant. But the fire made the beast keep his distance,
and he finally slunk away without showing himself.

Both boys were up at daybreak, and Bob declared that he would try to
walk upon his foot, at least as far as the seacoast.

A quarter of an hour's climb took them to the top of the hills, and here
they took a good look at the beach and the ocean spread out before them.

Not a sign of the Swallow was to be seen anywhere.

This was disheartening, and Dave's heart sank.

Were they really deserted?

 "We can't see all of the beach from here," said Bob, encouragingly.
"See, yonder patch of wood hides a good stretch from view. The Swallow
may be behind that. And even if she has gone off, remember that Pete
Rackley was to disable her so that she would have to put back for repairs."

"And so far as he was concerned, I might have starved in the

meantime," added Dave, bitterly.

"Yes. He must be a thorough rascal."

"He is. But no worse than Lemuel Hankers, to my way of thinking,

Bob."

"Right you are."

They had to be careful in descending the side of the hill, for here were
many treacherous stones, and neither wished to risk another sprained ankle.

But at last they stood at the bottom, with the ocean's shore but half a
dozen rods away.

The foam from the breakers could be seen distinctly through the tall
palms, and with their hearts beating rapidly they hurried forward to where a
long stretch of dazzling sand stood as a barrier between the woodland and
the water.

"No ship here," said Dave, soberly.

"This is not the spot where the Swallow cast anchor, Dave. The question
is, was that cove north or south of here?"

"North, I should say."

"This time I agree with you. Come, walking along the beach will be
easy enough."

And so it proved, although the fierce rays of the sun soon made both
more than willing to seek the shade of the overhanging palms and other
tropical trees which lined the beach.
 At a distance ahead the beach curved, and as they approached this spot
they heard a sudden wild shouting, combined with a flapping, which was
altogether new to their ears.

"Savages, I'll bet a dollar!" cried Bob. "We had better go into hiding!"

"But what is that other noise?" queried Dave.

"I can't imagine. But come, don't stay here."

Both started for the forest, but the movement came too late.

From around the curve of the beach appeared half a dozen wild savages
of the South Sea type, and the two youths were discovered.

"Hi ki werra!" shouted one of the savages. He was armed with a bow
and arrows, and quickly leveled an arrow at Dave, who was nearest.

"Hi ki werra!" repeated the other savages, and they, too, leveled their
arrows. "The white demons! The white demons!"

"We are in for it now!" whispered Dave. "Give them a shot from the
rifle!"

"No, that would only make them mad," replied the young engineer.
Nevertheless, he pointed the rifle at the head of the nearest native.

The effect was magical, for the savage immediately threw up both hands
and began to yell like a madman.

He had once seen a gun go off and a goat shot thereby, and he imagined
the "white demon" was going to slay him likewise.

The other savages also came to a halt, and all lowered their arrows.

Then Bob lowered the rifle.

A long pause on both sides followed.

 The natives did not know what to do, and the youths were in a similar
predicament.

One of the savages began to jabber away in his native tongue, but
neither Dave nor Bob understood a word of what was said.

"This is all Greek to me!" shouted Dave. "Talk English."

"Englees!" repeated the savage, and shook his head. He understood that
single word, but no more.

"We want to be left alone," put in Bob. "If you don't leave us alone,
somebody will get hurt."

"Englees," repeated the native. Then, struck by a sudden inspiration, he

advanced a few feet, threw down his bow and arrows, and held out his
hands.

"He wants to be friendly, evidently," observed Bob.

"If it isn't a trick," answered the young diver. "I must say I don't like
their looks."

"No more do I; but what are we to do, retreat?"

"Rather than fall into the hands of cannibals I'd go back over the hills to
the cave."

The native was coming closer, and he tried to put as pleasant a look on
his face as possible.

But the effort was a failure, for he was both crafty and cruel, and this
disposition shone in every line of his reddish-black features.

"Go back!" shouted Bob, and raised the rifle again.

Scarcely had he spoken when there came a shout from the rear, and
looking behind them, the two youths found that they were surrounded!
 CHAPTER XIV

ANOTHER CAPTURE

"We are in for it now, Dave!"

"Right you are, Bob. What shall we do, fight?"

"It would be useless, for they outnumber us ten to one."

And so speaking, Bob lowered the rifle once more.

It was well he did so, otherwise several arrows would have been sent
whizzing through his body.

In a few seconds the natives had closed in on them and taken the rifle
and other things from them.

Then they were bound with thongs and carted up the beach.

During all this time the thrashing on the beach ahead had continued, and
now the boys saw what caused it.

In some unaccountable manner a whale had become cast up by the

breakers.

He was caught in some brushwood and a fallen tree, but was doing his
best to get back into his native element.

The savages considered the whale a great find, and were doing all in
their power to make him their prisoner and kill him.
 Scores of arrows had been shot into the huge, blubbery body, and the
beach was dyed crimson with the blood of the marine monster.

Yet he thrashed around lively, and one native who went too near was
knocked senseless by a blow from the whale's tail.

The fighting with arrows went on for a quarter of an hour longer, and in
the meantime a long rope, made of vines and as tough as rawhide, was
passed around the monster and made fast to a tree back of the beach.

The whale fought to the last, but gradually its struggles grew less and
less, and finally ceased altogether.

Then arose a loud shouting, and rushing in, the savages began to dig at
the body with their long knives and their war hatchets.

Some of the blubber they ate raw, much to the disgust of the prisoners,
who found themselves forced to look on.

"They are worse than Esquimaux," muttered Dave. "Ugh! it makes me

sick at the stomach."

"I wonder what they intend to do with us?"

"There is no telling. But I guess they won't eat us so long as the whale
meat lasts. They seem to relish that immensely."

The boys passed a dismal half-hour, and during that time the savages
cut up the whale and carted the meat off in huge chunks.

Then a savage who was evidently a chief came up and ordered some of
his followers to bring Dave and Bob along.

Still bound, the two chums were picked up by two savages, who seemed
to count their weight as nothing.

A journey lasting over an hour followed, straight into the interior of the
island.
 At the end of the inland lake previously mentioned, the band of savages
halted.

Bob and Dave were tied fast to two trees, and then the natives
proceeded to hold a council of war.

They wished to question the lads, but not one of them could speak
English.

Presently a loud chanting was heard, and from a distance the boys saw
more savages approaching.

There were three men and half a dozen women.

There was likewise another man, but he was white, even though his face
had evidently been stained a reddish-brown color.

This man wore an attire which was comical in the extreme.

The suit consisted of a sailor's shirt and trousers, the latter cut off at the
knees, and a shiny stovepipe hat, the band filled with feathers.

"Great Scott!" burst from Dave. "Look at that scarecrow!"

As soon as the man in the silk hat appeared all of the natives began
bowing and chanting in chorus, and this they kept up until the strange one
lifted his hands and let out a peculiar yell.

Then the stranger caught sight of the boys and ran up to them.

"Be th' eyes av Saint Patrick!" he cried, in a rich Irish brogue. "Who are
ye, now; tell me that!"

"An Irishman!" ejaculated Dave, fervently. "Thank Heaven, one man

can talk United States."

"Who are you?" demanded Bob.

 At this the Irishman took off the stovepipe, swung it into the air, and
made them a profound bow.

"Sure, I am Pat Stoodles, grand muck-a-muck av this wild tribe av

haythins, castaway sailor from th' bark Emma D., high lord av the island,
and second cousin av the royal Emperor of Turkey, ha, ha!"

And he laughed long and loud, and then shook hands.

"Are you putting this on for the natives' benefit?" questioned Bob. "If
you are, let me say they don't understand a word."

At once a frown crossed Pat Stoodles' face.

He was indeed a castaway, and a solitary life of several years had partly
turned his brain.

When the savages had found him he had acted so strangely that they had
fancied he was some inhabitant of the infernal region. At first they had
wanted nothing to do with him, but they had ended by making him
something of a chief. In their own language they called him the fun-making
high lord.

Pat Stoodles listened to their talk with interest, but shook his head when
they mentioned the Swallow.

"You are afther bein' mistaken about th' ship," he said. "No ship comes
here. What looks loike a ship is a vision in th' heavens, nothin' more!" And
he clenched his fists. He had looked so long for a sail when alone that the
subject had turned his brain.

"Poor chap!" said Bob, in an undertone, "I don't believe he can help us
much."

"Perhaps he can save our lives." Our hero turned to the Irishman. "What
will these natives do with us?"

"Sure an' I don't know. Maybe they'll be afther makin' princes av ye, me
bould b'ys!"
 "We would like our liberty."

Pat Stoodles shrugged his shoulders.

"Ye can gain yer liberty on but wan night av the month," he said. "That
is whin th' moon is full an' they be afther havin' the feast av the skulls."

They did not know if he was in earnest, or if the talk was that of a crazy
man.

Having spoken with them for some time, Pat Stoodles turned to the
natives and began to jabber at them.

Evidently he had learned much of their language, for they listened

attentively.

Then they brought the boys something to eat and to drink, and tried to
make them otherwise comfortable.

But they would allow neither of them his liberty.

Night came and went, and still the chums remained prisoners of the
savages.

Pat Stoodles spoke to them a long while in the morning, and at last
appeared to believe their story of a ship.

"I will be afther lookin' fer her," he said. "But it's more likely a drame. I
used to be afther dramin' loike that meself." And then he disappeared.

The morning slipped by, and the boys were thoroughly miserable. At
first the natives left them alone, but presently they came on one after
another and pulled their noses, their ears, and their hair. One savage doused
them with dirty water from the lake, and all laughed loudly at the trick.

Noon had come and gone, when of a sudden several shots sounded in
the distance.
 The shots were followed by a loud yelling of natives, and at once those
surrounding Dave and Bob ran off to learn the cause of the conflict.

"Something is up!" cried Dave. "What can it mean?"

"I reckon we'll soon learn," answered the young engineer.

A few more shots followed, and soon after all became quiet, the stillness
lasting for over an hour.

Then a chanting was heard, and a body of savages appeared, having in

their midst two prisoners.

"Look!" cried Dave. "Captain Broadbeam and Doctor Barrell! Is it

possible!"

He was right. The newly made prisoners were the captain and the
doctor, who had been surprised while on a second hunt for the missing
ones.

CHAPTER XV

A DOOR OF WATER

"Dave Fearless! And Bob Vilett! Thank Heaven you are not dead!"

So spoke Captain Broadbeam as his eyes rested upon the two youthful
prisoners of the savages.

The captain's clothing was torn, and there were marks of blood upon his
face, showing that he had not submitted without a struggle. Indeed, both the
captain of the Swallow and Doctor Barrell had fought to the bitter end.
 "We have been hunting everywhere for you," put in the doctor. "Some
thought you dead, but we were not willing to believe it."

"Did a man named Pete Rackley come to the Swallow?" questioned

Dave, quickly.

"I know nothing of a man of that name," answered the captain, "but
there came to us a poor and forlorn castaway, who said he had been alone
on this island for nearly two years."

"Please describe him," said Bob.

The captain did so. Both Dave and Bob gave a groan.

"He is a fraud!" burst out the young diver.

"And he will wreck the Swallow before we can get back to her," added
Bob.

Of course, both Captain Broadbeam and Doctor Barrell were astonished

at these remarks.

"I don't understand," said the master of the ship.

As quickly as he could Dave explained the plot which had been hatched
out by Lemuel Hankers and which Rackley, his tool, was to carry out.

"It is dastardly!" cried both the captain and the doctor.

"And to think I took him on board, gave him new clothing, and
promised him pay until we should get back to the States," added the
captain.

"Even now he may be wrecking my beautiful engine!" groaned Bob.

"Oh, if only I had the rascal by the neck!"

The savages now interrupted the talk by separating the prisoners, tying
each to a tree some distance from the others.
 Pat Stoodles was nowhere to be seen, for he had gone off in an entirely
different direction from that taken by the natives.

Slowly the day dragged by until night was at hand. The natives were
busy preparing the meat taken from the whale, and for the time being paid
but scant attention to the prisoners.

"We must escape to-night," thought Dave.

Yet how was it to be accomplished?

Although the natives took little notice of them, one of the younger men
of the tribe had been set on guard, to see that none of them broke his bonds.

At last darkness settled down on the encampment. At first the fire

blazed brightly, but at last it died down, leaving the prisoners in gloom.

The savages gathered close to the campfire, the women by themselves,

and were soon wrapped in slumber.

One native remained on guard, seated on a fallen tree.

Suddenly a form appeared in the midst of the prisoners.

It was Pat Stoodles, but so transformed that Dave scarcely recognized

the half-witted Irish castaway.

Stoodles was dressed in a suit of skins, and on his head rested a crown
made of horn, set with peacock feathers.

In his hand the Irishman carried a long knife.

"I am the King of the Island Windjammers!" he cried, in a low tone. "I
am sent to free the world! Avaunt, ye ghosts of ships! Begone, ye rats of my
brain! Ha! and how is that, my bonnie b'y! An' that! An' that!"

Rambling on in this fashion, he quickly cut the ropes which held Dave
and Bob. Then he turned to Captain Broadbeam and of a sudden he stopped
with mouth wide open.
 "Captain Broadbeam, or is it another av thim drames?" he gasped.

"Pat Stoodles!" cried the captain. "And so you are the king of these
savages. Release me at once!"

"I will! I will!" answered Stoodles, and cut the bonds, and also those of
the doctor.

All this time the savage on guard was looking on in silence, for he dared
not interfere with the doings of Stoodles. Yet he grew uneasy when he saw
all the prisoners liberated and saw the Irishman shake Captain Broadbeam
by the hand. He gave a sudden and shrill cry.

Quick as a flash Stoodles turned upon him.

"That's fer ye!" roared the Irishman, and knocked him flat with a blow
of his fist.

"Quick, we must get away!" cried Dave. "See, all of the savages are
awake!"

He spoke the truth, and the others felt that they must fly on the instant
or it would be too late.

"To the woods!" cried the doctor. "Perhaps we can hide!"

"I will show ye a spot!" put in Stoodles. "I have a cave all me own
where they won't be afther findin' ye!"

He led the way and the others followed, through the brush and up a hill
back of the lake upon which the encampment was located.

It was a crooked and dangerous path, yet by keeping close to Stoodles

they avoided many a nasty pitfall.

Soon they heard the savages on their trail. At first they were some
distance off, but gradually they grew closer and closer.
 "I can't go much further!" gasped poor Bob. "My ankle pains me
something awful!"

"Don't ye be afther givin' up!" said Pat Stoodles. "We'll soon be at me

castle, which all the savages on the island can't conquer."

They were now passing along the bed of a small stream which flowed
into the lake. Presently before them arose a beautiful waterfall, twenty feet
high and eight or nine feet broad.

"That's the dure av me castle," announced Stoodles. "Make a quick

sthep inside an' ye'll not git overly wet."

With this he dove straight into the waterfall and disappeared from view.

"Gracious! What does that mean?" came from Dave.

"He is mad and has committed suicide," muttered the doctor.

"Perhaps not," came from Bob. "That waterfall may conceal the
entrance to a cave."

"Hurrah! I believe you are right," answered Dave. "And I am for finding
out," and he took a step forward.

But the captain caught the young diver by the shoulder.

"Don't be rash, lad. It may cost you your life."

Scarcely had Captain Broadbeam spoken when Stoodles reappeared

through the falling sheet of water.

"Come on!" he cried. "Don't be afraid. The futtin' is safe enough," and
again he disappeared.

None of the others hesitated any longer. Dave went first, holding his
breath as he took the plunge. To his surprise the falling body of water was
less than four inches thick, and in a moment he found himself on a smooth,
rocky floor.
 "That's the greatest yet!" muttered Bob, when all were safe in the cave
under the upper stream. "Don't the savages know of this?" he asked of the
Irishman.

"Sure not. Once they followed me up the strame an' I scared the wits out
av thim, talkin' to thim from the wathers!" And Pat Stoodles laughed loudly,
a laugh that echoed and re-echoed throughout the cavern.

It was pitch-dark, but soon they had a light, and Stoodles brought forth a
torch.

Then he led the way to a branch of the cave, on higher ground.

Here the flooring and walls were perfectly dry, and here the castaway
had something of a comfortable home, with a rude table, a bench, a sea
chest, and a cupboard with dishes and other household articles.

In one corner of the cave was a rough fireplace, the smoke of a fire
going up through half a dozen small cracks.

It was easy to see that the castaway had not always been simple-minded.

"I knew him years ago quite well," said Captain Broadbeam. "He once
sailed under me. He is suffering for the want of companionship. Many a
castaway, you know, has gone stark mad through loneliness. The savages
were really no company for him."

"Do you think he will get over it?" asked Dave.

"I think he will," put in the doctor. "I have seen such cases before.
Sometimes the recovery is quite rapid, when the castaway gets back among
his own people."

Leaving the crowd seated around a comfortable fire, in order to dry their
clothing before going to sleep, Pat Stoodles returned to the entrance of the
cave.

He was gone the best part of half an hour, when he returned in

considerable excitement.
Welcome to our website – the ideal destination for book lovers and
knowledge seekers. With a mission to inspire endlessly, we offer a
vast collection of books, ranging from classic literary works to
specialized publications, self-development books, and children's
literature. Each book is a new journey of discovery, expanding
knowledge and enriching the soul of the reade

Our website is not just a platform for buying books, but a bridge
connecting readers to the timeless values of culture and wisdom. With
an elegant, user-friendly interface and an intelligent search system,
we are committed to providing a quick and convenient shopping
experience. Additionally, our special promotions and home delivery
services ensure that you save time and fully enjoy the joy of reading.

Let us accompany you on the journey of exploring knowledge and

personal growth!

textbookfull.com