bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Data Mining Methods for Microarray Data Analysis
Authors: Yu Lei , Liu Huan
Published: May 2011

The advent of gene expression microarray technology enables the simultaneous measurement of expression levels for thousands or tens of thousands of genes in a single experiment (Schena, et al., 1995). Analysis of gene expression microarray data presents unprecedented opportunities and challenges for data mining in areas such as gene clustering (Eisen, et al., 1998; Tamayo, et al., 1999), sample clustering and class discovery (Alon, et al., 1999; Golub, et al., 1999), sample class prediction (Golub, et al., 1999; Wu, et al., 2003), and gene selection (Xing, Jordan, & Karp, 2001; Yu & Liu, 2004). This article introduces the basic concepts of gene expression microarray data and describes relevant data-mining tasks. It briefly reviews the state-of-the-art methods for each data-mining task and identifies emerging challenges and future research directions in microarray data analysis.
DEA Evaluation of Performance of E-Business Initiatives
Authors: Chen Yao , Motiwalla Luvai , Khan M. Riaz
Published: May 2011

The Internet has experienced a phenomenal growth in attracting people and commerce activities over the last decade—from a few thousand people in 1993 to 150+ million in 1999, and about one billion by 2004 (Bingi et al., 2000). This growth has attracted a variety of organizations initially to provide marketing information about their products and services and, customer support, and later to conduct business transactions with customers or business partners on the Web. These electronic business (EB) initiatives could be the implementation of intranet and/or extranet applications like B2C, B2B, Web-CRM, Web-marketing, and others, to take advantage of the Web-based economic model, which offers opportunities for internal efficiencies and external growth.
Ensemble Data Mining Methods
Authors: Oza Nikunj C.
Published: May 2011

Ensemble data mining methods, also known as committee methods or model combiners, are machine learning methods that leverage the power of multiple models to achieve better prediction accuracy than any of the individual models could on their own. The basic goal when designing an ensemble is the same as when establishing a committee of people: Each member of the committee should be as competent as possible, but the members should complement one another. If the members are not complementary, that is, if they always agree, then the committee is unnecessary — any one member is sufficient. If the members are complementary, then when one or a few members make an error, the probability is high that the remaining members can correct this error. Research in ensemble methods has largely revolved around designing ensembles consisting of competent yet complementary models.
Factor Analysis in Data Mining
Authors: Lee Zu-Hsu , Peterson Richard L. , Chien Chen-Fu , Xing Ruben
Published: May 2011

The rapid growth and advances of information technology enable data to be accumulated faster and in much larger quantities (i.e., data warehousing). Faced with vast new information resources, scientists, engineers, and business people need efficient analytical techniques to extract useful information and effectively uncover new, valuable knowledge patterns.
Multiple Hypothesis Testing for Data Mining
Authors: Mukherjee Sach
Published: May 2011

A number of important problems in data mining can be usefully addressed within the framework of statistical hypothesis testing. However, while the conventional treatment of statistical significance deals with error probabilities at the level of a single variable, practical data mining tasks tend to involve thousands, if not millions, of variables. This Chapter looks at some of the issues that arise in the application of hypothesis tests to multi-variable data mining problems, and describes two computationally efficient procedures by which these issues can be addressed.
Retrieving Medical Records Using Bayesian Networks
Authors: de Campos Luis M. , Fernandez-Luna Juan M. , Huete Juan F.
Published: May 2011

Bayesian networks (Jensen, 2001) are powerful tools for dealing with uncertainty. They have been successfully applied in a wide range of domains where this property is an important feature, as in the case of information retrieval (IR) (Turtle & Croft, 1991). This field (Baeza-Yates & Ribeiro-Neto, 1999) is concerned with the representation, storage, organization, and accessing of information items (the textual representation of any kind of object). Uncertainty is also present in this field, and, consequently, several approaches based on these probabilistic graphical models have been designed in an attempt to represent documents and their contents (expressed by means of indexed terms), and the relationships between them, so as to retrieve as many relevant documents as possible, given a query submitted by a user.
Advanced Query Optimization
Authors: Badia Antonio
Published: May 2011

Query optimization has been an active area of research ever since the first relational systems were implemented. In the last few years, research in the area has experienced renewed impulse, thanks to new development like data warehousing. In this article, we overview some of the recent advances made in complex query optimization. This article assumes knowledge of SQL and relational algebra, as well as the basics of query processing; in particular, the user is assumed to understand cost optimization of basic SQL blocks (Select-Project-Join queries). After explaining the basic unnesting approach to provide some background, we overview three complementary techniques: source and algebraic transformations (in particular, moving outerjoins and pushing down aggregates), query rewrite (materialized views), new indexing techniques (bitmap and join indices), and different methods to build the answer (online aggregation and sampling). Throughout this article, we will use subquery to refer to a nested SQL query and outer query to refer to an SQL query that contains a nested query. The TPCH benchmark database (TPC, n.d.) is used as a source of examples. This database includes (in ascending size order) tables Nation, Customer (with a foreign key for Nation), Order (with a foreign key for Customer), and Lineitem (with a foreign key for Order). All attributes from a table are prefixed with the initial of the table’s name (“c_” for Customer, and so on).
Ontologies and Their Practical Implementation
Authors: Zarri Gian Piero
Published: May 2011

Starting from the ’90s, ontologies have emerged as an important research topic investigated by several research communities (including the database community) and used especially in defining standards for data exchange, information integration, and interoperability. The word “ontology” comes from medieval philosophy, where it was used to talk about the existence of beings in the world (Guarino & Giaretta, 1995).
Application of Genetic Algorithms for QoS Routing in Broadband Networks
Authors: Barolli Leonard , Koyama Akio
Published: May 2011

The networks of today are passing through a rapid evolution and are opening a new era of Information Technology (IT). In this information age, customers are requesting an ever-increasing number of new services, and each service will generate other requirements. This large span of requirements introduces the need for flexible networks. Also, future networks are expected to support a wide range of multimedia applications which raises new challenges for the next generation broadband networks. One of the key issues is the Quality of Service (QoS) routing (Baransel, Dobosiewicz, & Gburzynski, 1995; Black, 2000; Chen & Nahrstedt, 1998; Wang, 2001). To cope with multimedia transmission, the routing algorithms must be adaptive, flexible, and intelligent (Barolli, Koyama, Yamada, & Yokoyama, 2000, 2001). Use of intelligent algorithms based on Genetic Algorithm (GA), Fuzzy Logic (FL), and Neural Networks (NN) can prove to be efficient for telecommunication networks (Douligeris, Pistillides, & Panno, 2002). As opposed to non-linear programming, GA, FL and NN use heuristic rules to find an optimal solution.
The Elaboration Likelihood Model and Web-Based Persuasion
Authors: Duthler Kirk W.
Published: May 2011

Discussing Google’s reliance on the AdWord as a major source of revenue, Wired’s Josh McHugh (2004) wrote of the obstacles faced by Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page in the late 1990’s: … the biggest challenge was convincing venture capitalists that Google could actually make money serving up minimalist, fast loading, text-only ads. It was 1998, after all, the heyday of elaborate splash pages and animated, brand-touting banners that danced at the top of every portal...Google didn’t buy in—a stubbornness that proved brilliant. Six years later, those skinny little text-based ads are a huge money maker, accounting for more than $600 million in revenue last year… . (p. 120)
Road Map to Information Security Management
Authors: Janczewski Lech J. , Portougal Victor
Published: May 2011

Developments in multimedia technology and networking offer organizations new and more effective ways of conducting their businesses. That includes intensification of external contacts. Barriers between different organizations are becoming less visible. The progress gives advantages to competing forces, as well. In the past, an organization was directly exposed to competition only within its own region. Now, due to easy communications, a competitor could be located on the opposite side of the globe, having the ability to access or even disrupt the most sensitive information of a competing company. Hackers and other cyber-criminals are another part of the external threat.
Semantic Web
Authors: Pereira Rui G. , Freire Mario M.
Published: May 2011

The World Wide Web (WWW, Web, or W3) is known as the largest accessible repository of human knowledge. It contains around 3 billion documents, which may be accessed by more than 500 million worldwide users. In only 13 years since its appearance in 1991, the Web suffered such a huge growth that it is safe to say there is no phenomenon in history that can compare to it. It reached such importance that it became an indispensable partner in the lives of people (Daconta, Obrst & Smith, 2003).
Teletranslation
Authors: O’Hagan Minako
Published: May 2011

The translation industry developed in response to the need to assimilate or disseminate information across different languages where the text in one natural language had to be converted into another. Strictly speaking, “translation” deals with written text, whereas “interpreting” handles spoken dialogues, although the latter is often subsumed in the former in common terminology. Translation services are called upon when the sender and the receiver of the message do not share a common language. Although translation is not a new area of professional practice, the industry as a whole has been transformed due to the recent advancement of information and communication technology (ICT). While computer applications ranging from text processing tools to Machine Translation (MT) have affected the production of translation, telecommunications technology has changed the operational dynamics of translation services. The development of electronic networks and computer applications to translation gave rise to the concept of teletranslation (O’Hagan, 1996). Furthermore, ICT is creating new types of content which becomes subject to translation, driving new types of language support. Teletranslation can be characterized by increased reliance on ICT in terms of transmission, storage, and processing of translation in contrast to conventional translation which dealt with off-line text distributed in print. Today modern translation operators are using the Web as a customer-interface and also as a platform to interconnect a team of translators and tools in different locations, dealing with the new types of text embedded in various electronic forms.
Type Justified
Authors: Szabados Anna , Sonwalkar Nishikant
Published: May 2011

There is growing global need for quality online education with increased classroom engagement and student-focused teaching approaches. The present text-heavy approach dominating online education is wholly unsatisfactory as a learning experience.
Conceptual Models and Usability
Authors: Macefield Ritchie
Published: May 2011

The study of conceptual models is both a complex and an important field within the HCI domain. Many of its key principles resulted from research and thinking carried out in the 1980s, arguably in the wake of Norman (1983). Since then, the importance of conceptual models in affecting the usability of an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) system has become well-established (e.g., they feature prominently in the widely cited design guidelines for interfaces defined by Norman [1988], which are summarized in Figure 1 by Lienard [2000]). Today, most HCI professionals are able to attribute significant meaning to the term conceptual model and to recognize its importance in aiding usability. However, two problems seem to prevail. First, some HCI researchers and practitioners lack a precise understanding of conceptual models (and related ideas), and how they affect usability. Second, much of the research in this field is (necessarily) abstract in nature. In other words, the study of conceptual models is itself highly conceptual, with the result that practitioners may find some of the theory difficult to apply. This article is designed to help both researchers and practitioners to better understand the nature of conceptual models and their role in affecting usability. This includes explaining and critiquing both contemporary and (possible) future approaches to leveraging conceptual models in the pursuit of improved usability.
Design Frameworks
Authors: Knight John , Jefsioutine Marie
Published: May 2011

Design frameworks are a phenomena appearing in the field of new media (e.g., Brook & Oliver, 2003; Fiore, 2003; Dix, Rodden, Davies, Trevor, Friday, & Palfreyman, 2000; Taylor, Sumner, & Law, 1997). They appear to be a response to the multi-disciplinary nature of the field and have a number of things in common. They are usually developed in response to a perceived lack of common understanding or shared reference. Frameworks often advocate a set of principles, a particular ethos, or expound a philosophical position, within which a collection of methods, approaches, tools, or patterns are framed. They aim to support design analysis, decision-making and guide activity, and provide a common vocabulary for multi-disciplinary teams. In contrast to some design methods and models, they tend to be broad and encompass a wider area of application. Rather than prescribe a single “correct” way of doing something, they provide a guiding structure that can be used flexibly to support a range of activity. This article describes one design framework, the experience design framework (Jefsioutine & Knight, 2004) to illustrate the concept.
Iconic Interfaces for Assistive Communication
Authors: Abhishek  , Basu Anupam
Published: May 2011

A significant fraction of our society suffers from different types of physical and cognitive challenges. The seriousness of the problem can be gauged from the fact that approximately 54 million Americans are classified as disabled (Ross, 2001). In addition, approximately 7% of all school-age children experience moderate to severe difficulties in the comprehension and production of language due to cognitive, emotional, neurological, or social impairments (Evans, 2001). The problems faced by this community are diverse and might not be comprehended by their able-bodied counterparts. These people can become productive and independent, if aids and devices that facilitate mobility, communication, and activities of daily living can be designed. Researchers in the human-computer interaction and rehabilitation engineering communities have made significant contributions in alleviating the problems of the physically challenged. The technology, that assists the physically challenged to lead a normal life is termed assistive technology. This article dwells on different aspects of assistive technology that have found application in real life. One of the important approaches to assistive technology is the use of iconic environments that have proved their efficacy in dealing with some of the communication problems of the physically challenged. The second part of the article discusses the issues and methods of applying iconic interfaces to assist the communication needs of the physically challenged.
Understanding and Improving Usability Inspection Methods
Authors: Woolrych Alan , Hindmarch Mark
Published: May 2011

Usability inspection method (UIM) is the term used for a variety of analytical methods designed to “find” usability problems in an interface design. The basic principle involves analysts inspecting the interface against a set of pre-determined rules, standards or requirements. Analysts inspect the interface and predict potential usability problems based on breaches of these rules. None of the UIMs currently in use are capable of detecting all of the problems associated with an interface. After describing some of the UIMs in use, this article will look at the authors’ work on improving these methods by focusing on the resources analysts bring to an inspection.
Open-Source Software Issues
Authors: Sahraoui Sofiane
Published: May 2011

Two major research publications have recently dedicated special issues to the emerging field of OSS (Research policy, 2003; Management Science, 2006). Likewise, major information systems conferences are starting to list OSS as a research track (IRMA2004, Working IFIP 8.6) translating the heightened importance of this phenomenon in the business world. Undoubtedly, OSS has been admitted as a legitimate field of study in the realm of business academics, but OSS research remains largely trailing the gigantic developments in the open-source industry. For instance, there are recurrent speculations in specialized IT magazines that Microsoft will go down the drain with the OSS phenomenon (Fontana, 2003); Oracle will have a hard time maintaining its supremacy in the database market (Bank, 2003); and Apple might come out the big winner by latching on to OSS (Brockmeire, 2003). However, there is hardly any solid piece of academic research to forecast the outlook of the IT industry in light of the surging OSS phenomenon. Existing research, including the two special issues mentioned above, is focusing on validating models of innovation in a virtual environment (Franke, 2003; Von Krogh, Spaeth, & Lakhani, 2003; Hippel, 2001); tracking project management dynamics in OSS development (Hertel, Neidner, & Herrmann, 2003; O’Mahony, 2003); examining the intellectual property, ethical and legal implications of OSS (Evers, 2000; Faldetta, 2002); or reworking the economics underlying software development in the case of OSS (Zeitlyn, 2003). Much less has been done in critical areas pertaining to the new competitive game introduced by OSS; the sustainability of the OSS business model or models; the strategies for OSS licensing; the economic and business viability of OSS in light of potential challenges and opportunities; and the nascent national and government IT strategies centered on OSS; plus a variety of other issues that are beyond the scope of this short article. This article seeks to clarify the critical factors that will increasingly determine the success of OSS in becoming a mainstream choice for software procurement processes. Along with a definition of each of these factors, potential research avenues are indicated. However, these factors are not meant to be exhaustive in any fashion.
Military Knowledge Management
Authors: Maule R. William
Published: May 2011

Knowledge is a critical component of military operations, and the military has been an early adopter of knowledge management (KM) technologies. Significant events include a strategic use of tools to filter information into knowledge, the designation of knowledge officers in high-level strategic positions, and the implementation of knowledge systems as a means to support situational awareness and understanding. Following is a brief overview of knowledge management within the military and a review of knowledge theory and practice pertinent to military knowledge management.
Mobile Knowledge Management
Authors: Derballa Volker , Pousttchi Key
Published: May 2011

Whereas knowledge management (KM) has gained much attention in the field of management science and practice as the eminent source of competitive advantage (e.g., Davenport & Prusak, 1998; Drucker, 1993; Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995; Probst, Raub, & Romhardt, 2003), one issue has been largely neglected: The aspect of mobility.
Ontology
Authors: Buchholz William
Published: May 2011

An ontology comprises the explicitly articulated and shared concepts of a knowledge community or domain. These concepts are arranged formally in a taxonomy and are governed by specifically defined rules and axioms. Ontologies often play an important role in knowledge management information technology (KMIT). An enterprise knowledge management IT system, for example, may use an ontology “to facilitate communication, search, storage, and [knowledge] representation” (O’Leary, 1998, p. 58). A general survey of the literature suggests that ontologies are capable of improving performance in a large variety of knowledge management IT functions, especially relative to knowledgebases for best practices, lessons learned, human resource skills, Help Desks, FAQs, document collections, standards and regulations, products, services, proposals, and the like. In addition, as we look to the future, ontologies will function centrally in agent-mediated knowledge management (AMKM), distributed knowledge management (DKM), and the Semantic Web (Daconta, Obrst, & Smith, 2003; Fensel, 2001; Heflin, Volz, & Dale, 2002; McGuiness, 2002), as these technologies become pervasive in a global economy that distributes KM knowledgebases across companies and cultures.
Organizational Semantic Webs
Authors: Fortier Jean-Yves , Kassel Gilles
Published: May 2011

The main subject tackled in this article is the use of knowledge technologies to develop corporate memories or (stated more generally) “organizational memories” (OMs) (Dieng, Corby, Giboin, & Ribière, 1999).
Secure Knowledge Management
Authors: Upadhyaya S. , Rao H. Raghav , Padmanabhan G.
Published: May 2011

As the world is getting more and more technology savvy, the collection and distribution of information and knowledge need special attention. Progress has been made on the languages and tools needed for effective knowledge management and on the legal issues concerning the consumption and dissemination of critical knowledge. From a business perspective, a knowledge-management system (KMS) within a firm generally strives to maximize the human-capital utilization and profitability of the firm. However, security is becoming a major issue revolving around KMS; for instance, the KMS must incorporate adequate security features to prevent any unauthorized access or unauthorized dissemination of information. Acquiring the information that one needs to remain competitive while safeguarding the information one already has is a complicated task. Firms must balance the advantages of openness against its inevitable risks, and maximize the efficiency of electronic communication without making it a magnet for intruders. One must integrate offense and defense into a comprehensive strategy, and scholars have suggested that it is time to integrate intelligence and security imperatives with other knowledge-management strategies and processes (Barth, 2001).
E-Business for SME Development
Authors: Moreau Éliane M.F. , Raymond Louis , Vermot-Desroches Bernard
Published: May 2011

In recent years, information communication technologies (ICT) have become accessible throughout the world, and appear to overcome both distance and time (Cairncross, 1997). ICT affects not only individual citizens, but also companies of all sizes and across all sectors. Of all the benefits of ICT use, the most important appears to be the improvement of competitive capacity by removing geographical and time barriers. SMEs that use ICT hope to increase their market share, achieve growth and overtake their competitors. But does better competitive capacity also have an impact on local and regional development (LRD)? And does LRD have an impact on the economy of a country and the limit of a nation? The ICT/regional development challenge is a sizeable one, since the two elements evolve at very different speeds-ICT evolves quickly, while regional development is achieved slowly.
ICT Aided Education for People's Empowerment
Authors: Banerji Ashok , Basu Saswata
Published: May 2011

It is widely recognised that knowledge and education are the key factors that need attention to eradicate poverty. Yet the poorest sections of the community have the least access to conventional means of gaining knowledge and education. Thus we are witnessing a polarized world where on the one side we would find an “information elite” and on the other, the digitally illiterates or excluded. Such a position is very apparent from the world map of the Internet users (Zooknic, 2003). This paradox is common in the developing countries across the globe. The gap between population groups and accessibility to knowledge resources is widening as the awareness, information, as well as education and skill development efforts fail to reach the right target. The major reason for this lies with the present system of knowledge dissemination and not with knowledge resources. India, where literacy is still very low, cannot simply rely on printed books for effective education and knowledge dissemination.
Mobile E-Work to Support Regional and Rural Communities
Authors: Heinonen Sirkka
Published: May 2011

Telework, or e-work as it is now more frequently called in Europe, means working outside one’s regular workplace, utilising sophisticated ICT. E-work is an alternative form of organising work, a “love child” of the information society. E-work manifests itself in numerous forms and modes. These various solutions emerge as an evolutionary process along with the technological developments, economic pressures, and changes in socio-cultural patterns such as new information-age lifestyles (e.g., Castells, 1996; Heinonen, 2000). E-work can be carried out at home, in a telework centre or at any other facility. It can also be done as a mobile mode on a train, bus or some other vehicle, as well as at airports, railways and bus stations-in other words on the move from one place to another. Such mobile e-work is primarily increasing, owing to technological and social developments. ICT has become smaller in size, more portable and more efficient.
Regional Tourism and the Internet in Australia
Authors: Braun Patrice
Published: May 2011

With economic agents operating in global networks of interaction, we now have a global economy, in which the use of ICTs and e-commerce has an impact on entire industries, regions, and firms of all sizes (Lundvall & Archibugi, 2001).
Wireless in Vietnam
Authors: Gilbert A. Lee
Published: May 2011

Although every infant industry is risky, investors are attracted by the growth potential for wireless data services in emerging economies. Access to these markets demands substantial investment capital and scarce skills, plus a solid relationship with a local player able to bring the relevant organisational and political resources into a long-term venture. Even with these assets, many new entrants fail.
New Threats to Intellectual Freedom
Authors: Buchanan Elizabeth , Campbell James
Published: May 2011

This chapter explores the growing threats to intellectual freedom through the loss of the information commons in the U.S. as a direct result of advances and changes in technology and laws. In particular, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act are considered, as is the 2003 Federal Communications Commission ruling on media consolidation. When these laws are combined with current technological developments, intellectual freedom faces serious threats. As a foundation in a democratic society, consumers should take heed of this growing erosion of rights and access to information.
Mostly Co-Lated
Authors: Jones Robert , Oyung Rob , Pace Lisa Shade
Published: May 2011

We’ll start with the mostly co-located model for virtual teams. In this model, the virtual team is comprised of one or two locations of team concentration (often with members working in the same building, site, geographic location, etc.), while there are several members working remotely from other places. This model is often how many organizations get their first start with virtual teaming, as some external event (a merger or acquisition, reorganization, desire to reward a favored employee, desire to get the right person for the job, etc.) spawns the need for more creative approaches to teamwork.
The Challenges of Virtual Teams
Authors: Jones Robert , Oyung Rob , Pace Lisa Shade
Published: May 2011

We wanted to get a perspective on the challenges of virtual teams from people who prefer working face to face rather than in a virtual setting. Greg Todd has had roles as a manager and an engineer on virtual teams. Joe Gerardi moved from Georgia to California to manage a team based on the West Coast. Joe comments in general about virtual teams as well as the challenges around meetings and people management. He also shares his views on how culture and tools can act as an enabler or barrier to the success of virtual teams. He considers himself about three-fourths of the way into the tolerate stage of the virtual team maturity curve.
Starting With What We Know
Authors: Bevan Bronwyn
Published: May 2011

This chapter examines attributes of learning in informal environments, using a research framework developed by the Center for Informal Learning and Schools. It considers how essential characteristics of learning within science centers can translate and apply to learning in Web-based informal learning environments. It argues that in designing virtual environments, informal science institutions need to build on their particular strengths and pedagogical design principles in order to fill an educational niche in the Web landscape, and not compete with commercial or even K-12 educational agencies similarly engaged in the development of online learning environments.
Personalization Issues for Science Museum Web Sites and E-learning
Authors: Filippini-Fantoni Silvia , Bowen Jonathan P. , Numerico Teresa
Published: May 2011

E-learning has the potential to be a very personalized experience and can be tailored to the individual involved. So far, science museums have yet to tap into this potential to any great extent, partly due to the relative newness of the technology involved and partly due to the expense. This chapter covers some of the speculative efforts that may improve the situation for the future, including the SAGRES project and the Ingenious Web site, among other examples. It is hoped that this will be helpful to science museums and centers that are considering the addition of personalization features to their own Web site. Currently, Web site personalization should be used with caution, but larger organizations should be considering the potential if they have not already started to do so.
The BORM Method
Authors: Knott Roger , Merunka Vojtech , Polak Jiri
Published: May 2011

BORM (Business Object Relationship Modeling) is an object-oriented system development methodology, which has proven to be very effective in the development of business systems. The effectiveness gained is largely due to a unified and simple method for presenting all aspects of the relevant model. The BORM methodology makes extensive use of business process modeling. This chapter outlines BORM, its tools and methods, and discusses differences from other similar development methodologies.
Going Global
Authors: Raisinghani Mahesh S. , Taylor Denise
Published: May 2011

The World Wide Web opened the door for many organizations with international ambitions to go global. Organizations that did not have a global presence or access to international markets could create Web sites to offer products/services to a new customer base, and companies that were already internationally entrenched could make their products easily accessible. However, developing a process to deliver products in a timely fashion and ensuring availability of items is still a challenge. This chapter explores the impact of telecommunications, customer relationship management (CRM), and supply chain management (SCM) and its impact on meeting customers’ expectations, regardless of location. We also address the challenges, advantages, and future trends in each of these areas. Finally, this chapter provides suggestions to help companies implement strategies that will effectively overcome the challenges of globalization.
Enacting Global Enterprise Transitions
Authors: Lan Yi-chen , Unhelkar Bhuvan
Published: May 2011

Enactment is the application of the theory of the Global Enterprise Transition (GET) process in practice. Thus, while the discussion up to the previous chapter in this book may be considered akin to a roadmap, the discussion here is more like actual driving on the road. Figure 4.1 explains the subtle differences between enactment and the earlier works an organization undertakes during the globalization process. In Figure 4.1, the “Consider GET” phase indicates that the organization is investigating and weighing various options, issues and factors in terms of globalization. These options and factors were considered in detail in Chapter I. As described earlier, this is the state when the organization realizes that irrespective of its current profitability and position in the market, globalization is becoming a serious part of its business strategy for survival and growth. Once the organization is satisfied and its stakeholders are convinced of the need to globalize, it then moves into the phase of “Planning and Documenting the GET process”as shown in Figure 4.1. During this phase, the organization is again applying the discussions undertaken so far in this book, particularly Chapters II and III, which encompass the vision, framework and technologies for global enterprise transitions. These visions and frameworks provide the backdrop for the planning and documentation activities that described the GETs. The organization may be considered in a strategic mode thus far. However, once the strategic aspect of the GET is consummated, the very practical phase of the process — the launching and management of the GET begins. These are the third and fourth states in which the organization finds itself, together called “Enactment,” as shown in Figure 4.1. With the commencement of this practical enactment phase of the GET, various additional and valuable activities like handling the “feedback” from the stakeholders in terms of the efficacy of the process of GET, mechanisms to manage the process in practice and approach to measuring the results of the GET, all come into play. It is this practical phase
Technological Issues
Authors: Khan Badrul
Published: May 2011

An e-learning environment is built on digital infrastructure. Boettcher and Kumar (2000) noted that, as with our physical infrastructure, this digital infrastructure needs to be designed, planned, built, maintained, and staffed. Rosenberg (2001) states that e-learning infrastructure is based on an institution’s technological capabilities to deliver and manage e-learning. Therefore, it should be based on an architecture that depends on open, published standards, reusability of components, serviceability, and maintainability.
E-Government and Private-Public Partnerships
Authors: Allen Barbara , Juillet Luc , Paquet Gilles , Roy Jeffery
Published: May 2011

E-government creates both new pressures and new opportunities for partnering — within governments, between governments and across sectors and the citizenry. In particular, new relational mechanisms are required to shape effective ties between governments and the vendors of IT systems and solutions that are more pervasive, fluid and demanding in terms of the level of collaboration and trust required between private sector vendors and public sector clients. The complexity and sophistication of such solutions produce many strategic choices for governments about how to deploy IT and the degree to which in-house capacities should be balanced and complemented with externalized skills and solutions. Thus, partnerships are now central to public management: In a digital world, effectively dealing with more relational organizational architectures becomes the core competency of a continually renewed and enabled public service. This chapter first explores the main challenges facing governments in such an environment, followed by a sketching of the main strategic directions required to address them.
All Hazards Analysis
Authors: Essam Daryl , Abbass Hussein A.
Published: May 2011

With the increase in the complexity of terrorism’s networks and activities, the advances in chemical and biological warfare, and the use of organized criminal activities, it is becoming apparent that dealing with this complexity is not possible with traditional problem-solving approaches. The artificial complexity area (Artificial Life, or ALife), complex systems and agent-based distillation (ABD) provide a new perspective to the problem and emphasize the importance of modeling the interaction between system components to tackle these issues. This chapter presents an introduction to Cellular Automota and ABD, and then reviews and critiques how these approaches specifically have been used to model aspects of bushfires, epidemics, biological warfare and terrorism. This chapter then extends upon previous works to present an overview of the possible use of artificial complexity models to the larger field of security and safety applications.
How Hard Is It To Red Team?
Authors: Yang Ang , Abbass Hussein A. , Sarker Ruhul
Published: May 2011

Red teaming is the process of studying a problem by anticipating adversary behaviors. When done in simulations, the behavior space is divided into two groups: one controlled by the red team, which represents the set of adversary behaviors or bad guys; the other controlled by the blue team, which represents the set of defenders or good guys. Through red teaming, analysts can learn about the future by forward prediction of scenarios. More recently, defense has been looking at evolutionary computation methods in red teaming. The fitness function in these systems is highly stochastic, where a single configuration can result in multiple outcomes. Operational, tactical and strategic decisions can be made based on the findings of the evolutionary method in use. Therefore, there is an urgent need to understand the nature of these problems and the role of the stochastic fitness to gain insight into the possible performance of different methods. This chapter presents a first attempt at characterizing the search space difficulties in red teaming to shed light on the expected performance of the evolutionary method in stochastic environments.
Multi-Agent Evolutionary ame Dynamics and Reinforcement Learning Applied to Online Optimization for the Traffic Policy
Authors: Sasaki Yuya , Flann Nicholas S.
Published: May 2011

This chapter demonstrates an application of agent-based selection dynamics to the traffic assignment problem. We introduce an evolutionary dynamic approach that acquires payoff data from multi-agent reinforcement learning to enable an adaptive optimization of traffic assignment, provided that classical theories of traffic user equilibrium pose the problem as one of global optimization. We then show how these data can be employed to define the conditions for evolutionary stability and Nash equilibria. The validity of this method is demonstrated by studies in traffic network
Web Services
Authors: Polgar Jana , Braum Robert Mark , Polgar Tony
Published: May 2011

Web services aim to provide application-to-application interoperability. Messages are exchanged between two parties called service provider and service requestor. The messages are described in an abstract way and then bound to a concrete network protocol and message format. The message exchange between provider and requester results in the invocation of an operation. A collection of operations represents an interface to the service. This interface is then bound to a concrete protocol and message format via one or more bindings. The interface definition and operation implementation are the responsibility of the service providers.
Accessing Remote Locations
Authors: Polgar Jana , Braum Robert Mark , Polgar Tony
Published: May 2011

Most of today’s portal implementations provide a model that facilitates plugging various components (portlets) into the portal infrastructure. Portlets run locally on the portal server, process input data, and render output. A local portlet and a good caching strategy for the content improves the response times, performance, and scalability of portal systems. However, very often we need to access remote Web services. One solution is to use a local portlet to access a remote Web service via its interface, obtain the required results as a raw data stream, and locally render the results in a fragment. This approach is relevant for data-oriented Web services. An alternative solution is to equip the Web service with an additional interface in the form of a portlet. When the Web service is called, it returns the entire portlet instead of raw data. This approach is suitable for presentation-oriented Web services.
Infosys Technologies Limited
Authors: Chatterjee Debabroto , Watson Rick
Published: May 2011

Infosys Technologies Ltd., one of the world’s most profitable IT services company, implemented a customer relationship management (CRM) system called CIMBA – Customer Information Management By All. This customer-focused system was conceived and designed to improve communication and collaboration between the company and its customers. By seamlessly integrating the front-end sales system with the back-end delivery system, CIMBA was expected to further enhance the company’s IT solutions delivery capability. This case provides insights into the factors that triggered the need for developing such an integrated CRM solution and how the company went about developing and launching this system. It also brings to light the various challenges associated with the implementation of this IS solution.
Semantic-Based Dynamic Enterprise Information Integration
Authors: Yuan Jun
Published: May 2011

Decision support systems or mission control systems for network-centric operations typically need input from multiple heterogeneous information sources. While the number and size of information sources increase, information integration and its semantic interoperability are becoming a growing concern and a major challenge to information management. In this chapter, we will share our experience of enabling semantic-based dynamic information integration across multiple heterogeneous information sources. While data is physically stored in existing/legacy data systems across the networks, the information is integrated based upon its semantic meanings. Informally, it sounds like a virtual data warehousing technique without any physical data conversion required in advance. Ontology is used to describe the semantics of global information content, and semantic enhancement is achieved by mapping the local metadata onto the ontology. For better system reliability, a unique mechanism is introduced to perform appropriate adjustments upon detecting environmental changes.
Constraint-Based Multi-Dimensional Databases
Authors: Ravat Franck , Teste Olivier , Zurfluh Gilles
Published: May 2011

This chapter deals with constraint-based multi-dimensional modelling. The model we define integrates a constellation of facts and dimensions. Along each dimension, various hierarchies are possibly defined and the model supports multiple instantiations of dimensions. The main contribution is the definition of intra-dimension constraints between hierarchies of a same dimension as well as inter-dimension constraints of various dimensions. To facilitate data querying, we define a multi-dimensional query algebra, which integrates the main multi-dimensional operators such as rotations, drill down, roll up… These operators support the constraint-based multi-dimensional modelling. Finally, we present two implementations of this algebra. First, OLAP-SQL is a textual language integrating multi-dimensional concepts (fact, dimension, hierarchy), but it is based on classical SQL syntax. This language is dedicated tospecialists such as multi-dimensional database administrators. Second, a graphical query language is presented. This language consists in a graphical representation of multi-dimensional databases, and users specify directly their queries over this graph. This approach is dedicated to non-computer scientist users.
Managing Quality
Authors: Brandon Daniel M.
Published: May 2011

Quality is defined by PMI as conformance to requirements, specifications, standards and fitness for use (PMI, 2000). Part of this definition is mostly quantitative, namely the requirements, specifications, and standards (assuming that these three things have been carefully and correctly itemized), but “fitness for use” is mostly qualitative. Because of this qualitative portion of the definition, the quality of the product which is the subject of the project may be an area for potential conflict between the performing organization and benefiting organization. In fact, as a project proceeds, quality is the most difficult area to keep on track, not because of its complexity, but because the project team may compromise it when a crunch arises (Hallows, 1998).
Managing Multiple Projects
Authors: Brandon Daniel M.
Published: May 2011

Managing IT projects and being on an IT project team used to be simpler. PMs typically had one project to manage, and team members were on only one team. All the team members were located in close geographic proximity, and the work was all done at the workplace. Currently the project landscape has become much more complex, where everyone is concerned with multiple projects and teams may be spread out all over the world. The business needs of cutting costs and being quicker to market have increased the pressures on project teams and their managers. According to the “Chaos Report” from the Standish Group (2004), unqualified IT project success only occurs in about one third of IT projects,. To improve this success rate, many associations (such as the IT Governance Institute) and companies are investigating broad IT governance issues. In regard to project management, these broad issues include such matters as project portfolio management, corporate-wide comprehensive standard project policies and procedures, and project knowledge management. As a vehicle for such consolidation and standardization and to deal with the complexities of project teams, companies have started to establish a Project management office (PMO). The PMO, its key current functions, and the future role of the PMO in global projects, project management maturity, Web portals, and strategic planning are discussed further in this chapter.
ICTs, Empowerment, and Development
Authors: Beardon Hannah
Published: May 2011

The digital divide has its roots in the political and power dynamics that underlie all inequality. It follows, therefore, that the response from the development sector should be rooted in learning from the long experience of tackling inequality and unequal power relations in many other fields. This chapter draws on the example of the Reflect ICTs Project to show how participatory theories, tools, and processes can be applied to ensure that ICT initiatives fundamentally address power and empowerment issues rather than ignoring or, worse, exacerbating them. The project methodology is described and some findings shown, in an attempt to show how attention to the human communication dimension of ICTs can make applied technology more sustainable and appropriate for poor communities in their struggle to access their rights.