Evaluation apparatus and evaluation method

• US 7,058,543 B2
• Filed: 01/23/2004
• Issued: 06/06/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Business Innovation Corp. (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Hattori, Hiroyuki, Fujimoto, Masakazu, Yamasaki, Nobuhiro, Takahashi, Masamichi, Onuki, Hiroko
• Primary Examiner(s): Tsai, Carol S. W.
• Application Number:
  US10/762,475
• Publication Number:
  US 20040210422A1
• Time in Patent Office: 865 Days
• Field of Search: 702/182, 702/187, 702/189, 707/1, 707/100, 707/101, 707/102, 707/200, 707/201, 707/203
• US Class Current: 702/183
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]

Abstract

An analysis and evaluation apparatus analyzes, for organizations and individuals, the communication content of email, and extracts common words for each organization. The analysis and evaluation apparatus compares common words and concepts for an organization or an individual that is to be evaluated, with common words and concepts for other organizations, and performs an evaluation to determine how they influence the other organizations. Thereafter, the analysis and evaluation apparatus analyzes the usage level whereat the other organizations utilize the organization or individual to be evaluated. And then, based on the usage level and the number of organizations that are influenced by the organization or the individual to be evaluated, the analysis and evaluation apparatus evaluates and ascertains the value of the organization or individual to be evaluated, and analyzes and stores a time-transient change as to how others are influenced.

Claims

1. An evaluation apparatus comprising:

a propagation information storage unit configured to store propagation information data including information messages to be electrically propagated within a plurality of groups to be evaluated; and

an evaluation unit configured to evaluate an influence that one group, which is selected from among the plurality of groups, has on other group by analyzing the propagation information data stored in the propagation information storage unit,

wherein the propagation information data includes content data representing content of the information to be propagated,

wherein the propagation information storage unit stores content data representing content of the propagation information data, and

wherein the evaluation unit, based on the content data for the information that has been stored for a group to be evaluated, extracts an attribute for the group to be evaluated, extracts a concept for content data in information that has been propagated or received by the other groups, and employs the attribute extracted for the group to be evaluated and the concept extracted for the content data to evaluate the influence of the concept that the group to be evaluated has had on the other groups.

2. The evaluation apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a usage analysis unit configured to analyze, based on the attribute extracted for the group to be evaluated and the attribute extracted for the content data in information that has been propagated or received by the other groups, the extent to which the other groups have used the group to be evaluated.

3. The evaluation apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a change analysis unit for analyzing a change in an influence that the group to be evaluated has on the other groups.

4. The evaluation apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein an email is propagated as the information,

wherein the propagation information data includes sender group data representing a group that has propagated the email, recipient group data representing a group that has received the email, and content data representing the content of the email, and

wherein the evaluation unit extracts an attribute for the group to be evaluated by analyzing content data for an email propagated by the group to be evaluated, extracts concepts for the content data in emails that are propagated or received by the other groups, analyzes a relationship between the group to be evaluated and each of the emails based on the attribute extracted for the group to be evaluated and the concepts extracted for the content data in the emails, and employs the analysis results obtained for the relationship between the group to be evaluated and each of the emails to evaluate an influence of the concept that the group to be evaluated has on the other groups.

5. The evaluation apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the groups are organizations each having one or more components.

6. The evaluation apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the concept is a common word, which frequently appears in the one group.

7. An evaluation method comprising:

storing propagation information data including information messages to be electrically propagated within a plurality of groups to be evaluated; and

evaluating an influence that one group, which is selected from among the plurality of groups, has on other group by analyzing the propagation information data stored,

wherein the propagation information data includes content data representing content of the information to be propagated,

wherein the method further comprising;

storing content data representing the content of the propagation information data;

extracting an attribute for the group to be evaluated based on the content data for the information that has been stored for the group to be evaluated;

extracting a concept for content data in information that has been propagated or received by the other groups; and

evaluating the influence of the concept that the group to be evaluated has had on the other groups based on the attribute extracted for the group to be evaluated and the concept extracted for the content data.

8. The evaluation method as claimed in claim 7, further comprising:

analyzing, based on the attribute extracted for the group to be evaluated and the attribute extracted for the content data in information that has been propagated or received by the other groups, the extent to which the other groups have used the group to be evaluated.

9. The evaluation method as claimed in claim 7, further comprising:

analyzing a change in an influence that the group to be evaluated has on the other groups.

10. The evaluation method as claimed in claim 7, wherein an email is propagated as the information,

wherein the propagation information data include sender group data representing a group that has propagated the email, recipient group data representing a group that has received the email, and content data representing the content of the email, and

wherein the method further comprising:

analyzing the content data for an email propagated by the group to be evaluated;

extracting an attribute for the group to be evaluated;

extracting a concept for the content data in emails that are propagated or received by the other groups;

analyzing a relationship between the group to be evaluated and each of the emails, based on the attribute extracted for the group to be evaluated and the concepts extracted for the content data in the emails; and

evaluating an influence of the concept that the group to be evaluated has on the other groups by the analyzed results obtained for the relationship between the group to be evaluated and each of the emails.

11. The evaluation method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the groups are organizations each having one or more components.

12. The evaluation method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the concept is a common word, which frequently appears in the one group.

13. A program for computer to evaluate activities of a plurality of groups to be evaluated, the program making the computer to perform a process comprising:

storing propagation information data including information messages to be electrically propagated within a plurality of groups to be evaluated; and

evaluating an influence that one group, which is selected from among the plurality of groups, has on other group by analyzing the propagation information data stored,

wherein the propagation information data includes content data representing content of the information to be propagated,

wherein the program further making the computer to perform the process comprising;

storing content data representing the content of the propagation information data;

extracting an attribute for the group to be evaluated based on the content data for the information that has been stored for the group to be evaluated;

extracting a concept for content data in information that has been propagated or received by the other groups; and

evaluating the influence of the concept that the group to be evaluated has had on the other groups based on the attribute extracted for the group to be evaluated and the concept extracted for the content data.

14. The program as claimed in claim 13, further making the computer to perform the process comprising:

analyzing, based on the attribute extracted for the group to be evaluated and the attribute extracted for the content data in information that has been propagated or received by the other groups, the extent to which the other groups have used the group to be evaluated.

15. The program as claimed in claim 13, further making the computer to perform the process comprising:

analyzing a change in an influence that the group to be evaluated has on the other groups.

16. The program as claimed in claim 13, wherein an email is propagated as the information,

wherein the propagation information data include sender group data representing a group that has propagated the email, recipient group data representing a group that has received the email, and content data representing the content of the email, and

wherein the program further making the computer to perform the process comprising:

analyzing the content data for an email propagated by the group to be evaluated;

extracting an attribute for the group to be evaluated;

extracting a concept for the content data in emails that are propagated or received by the other groups;

analyzing a relationship between the group to be evaluated and the email, based on the attribute extracted for the group to be evaluated and the concepts extracted for the content data in the emails; and

evaluating an influence of the concept that the group to be evaluated has on the other groups by the analyzed results obtained for the relationship between the group to be evaluated and each of the emails.

17. The program as claimed in claim 13, wherein the groups are organizations each having one or more components.

18. The program as claimed in claim 13, wherein the concept is a common word, which frequently appears in the one group.