bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Advertising Challenges in Ubiquitous Media Environments
Authors: Åkesson Maria , Eriksson Carina Ihlström
Published: May 2010

Mobile advertising opportunities have attracted interest from industry and academics as a response to the trend of diffusion of new mobile technology. One industry particularly interested in new advertising opportunities is the newspaper industry. Many media houses envision a future multi-channel media environment supporting device independent, anytime, anywhere publishing, i.e. a Ubiquitous Media Environment (UME). In this chapter we explore how ubiquitous advertising challenges the role of media houses. Ubiquitous advertising refers to advertising in a UME, anytime, anywhere and in any device. Based on results from interviews and workshops with advertisers and publishers we discuss how media houses traditional role is challenged. We contribute with an understanding of how media houses can develop their role to succeed with ubiquitous advertising and to m-advertising literature with insights into the dynamics of balancing consumer and advertiser value of ubiquitous advertising.
Situation Approach as Success Factor of Mobile Marketing
Authors: Link Jörg , Seidl Franziska
Published: May 2010

The success of Mobile Marketing is to a large extent dependent on two factors: (1) the situation appropriateness, where demands are made on the ability of the supplier to process all the central characteristics of a customer situation and turn them into an offer that is appropriate to the situation; (2) the economic success of the supplier depends on the economic potential of the situation and his accurate appraisal of it. The supplier therefore has to model both the specific features and the profit potential of the various customer situations at the right time and in the right way. This chapter is going to demonstrate that the success of Mobile Marketing measures can be guaranteed by a synergic interplay of market and result orientation. On the one hand customer situations are systemized and placed in the context of an integrated Customer Relationship Management system; on the other hand the evaluation of situations, reference object hierarchies, and the various levels of situation profit and loss statements are shown.
A Framework for Understanding Mobile Value Offering through Multi-Country Studies
Authors: Seal Kala Chand
Published: May 2010

Our chapter introduces an integrated way to look into the world of mobile offerings, referred often as m-commerce,- through a cross-country analysis of multiple applications in various countries in Europe and Asia. We investigated the role of four dominant factors - technology, government, financial incentives and culture - that influence mobile value offerings and connected them to Methlie and Pederson’s (2005) model of extrinsic and intrinsic attributes in mobile space. We found that there are many applications and services available that provide added value to customers, but an ill-defined business model prevents their successful realization. An unclear working relationship among the value players and their relative power position in the market also hinder the roll out of many services. The key findings from our research consist of-: i. the role of the four factors in development and deployment of m-commerce across multiple countries; ii. The level of influence of each of the four factors has on various applications; iii. the importance of value delivery, not merely the promotion of the “bells and whistles” of new applications, with a clear focus on a viable business model; iv. the role of socio-cultural differences in influencing mobile value applications and acceptance. In addition, we found that competition in the early phase of market growth is counter-productive and cooperative relationship between all value players is absolutely crucial for healthy growth of the mobile market and ultimately leads to a win-win situation for everyone.
Mobile Customer Relationship Management (mCRM)
Authors: Silberer Günter , Schulz Sebastian
Published: May 2010

Customer Relationship Management is conducive to providing customer information and the correct way to deal with customers. After the advent of the world-wide-web (www), which brought an increase in customer data and intensified CRM discussions in its wake, we are now entering the age of computerized mobile communication with diverse possibilities to enlist the services of mobile people. This chapter outlines the new and latest technological developments and the resultant capabilities of mobile CRM. Looking to a future in which mobile marketing efforts may become increasingly important, the erosion of personal freedom and the threat to this freedom becomes all the more significant. The findings from reactance research do not only specify the reactance conditions but also the reactance consequences. Previous research has sometimes pointed to self-determination as an acceptance factor yet failed to analyze the reactance risk more closely. This chapter will attempt to close this gap. In this respect, the initial findings of an empirical study will be presented, revealing that the acceptance of mobile services is surprisingly low and the reactance risk for mobile services is not to be underestimated, and that reactance involves the corresponding behavior on the part of the user. The plea is to consider the acceptance risk in the mobile CRM of the future and select a customer-friendly permission policy.
Employment and Acceptance of Near Field Communication in Mobile Marketing
Authors: Wiedmann Klaus-Peter , Reeh Marc-Oliver , Schumacher Henrik
Published: May 2010

Near Field Communication (NFC) is a short-distance wireless technology which allows user friendly networking of mobile terminals, e.g., cellular phones and PDAs, as it does with stationary units like Automated Teller Machines (ATM). Hardware producers, network operators and service providers are willing to implement NFC technologies in order to offer new services to their customers. The main goal is to increase the attraction of the underdeveloped areas of mobile commerce and make them more interesting for owners of mobile devices. If and how much real potential there is in NFC as a basic technology to really provide new impulses in mobile commerce and mobile marketing so that a higher acceptance can be reached are remaining open questions. This chapter tries to approach these questions and to provide possible answers by outlining relevant applicative examples and further configuration options of NFC technology as well as by discussing their acceptability.a
Understanding Consumer Recommendation Behavior
Authors: Chen Wen-Kuo , Huang Heng-Chiang , Chou Seng-Cho T.
Published: May 2010

Research shows that the use of mobile phone services is surprisingly low because users would not like to pay money without first using services. We consider that a customer is not only a service user, but also the partner of a firm. Therefore, this chapter investigates how the users recommend mobile phone services to other potential customers based on their experiences. We focus on two determinants of customer recommendation behavior, namely, overall satisfaction and flow experience. We also propose a number of hypotheses related to the constructs of overall satisfaction, and test them using data provided by 3G mobile service subscribers. The results contribute to our understanding of how customers are willing to make recommendations to others. Besides increasing customer satisfaction, we should consider a mediating factor—users’ flow experiences. Our findings provide empirical support for most of the hypotheses. The theoretical and practical implications of our findings are also discussed, and suggestions for further research are offered.
Integrating Mobile Marketing into the Marketing Communication
Authors: NASIR Süphan
Published: May 2010

With the increasing growth and sophistication of mobile communications, companies integrate the mobile channel into their marketing communication and campaigns. Companies are able to execute very different and creative mobile marketing campaigns by using a wide range of mobile platforms such as Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), Short Message Service (SMS), and Multimedia Message Service (MMS). The purpose of this chapter is to review and exemplify the concepts, objectives, strategies and promotional tactics associated with mobile marketing campaigns; so that the review of relevant literature and exemplification of mobile marketing campaigns provide an insight into the nature of mobile marketing campaigns.
Women's Health Informatics in the Primary Care Setting
Authors: Parry Gareth
Published: May 2010

Women’s health in primary care is a large part of the generalist’s practice. Information technology (IT) is now an integral part of the generalist’s office, often more so than in secondary care and therefore this chapter is a key starting point in the book. Initially there is an introduction of the role of IT in primary health and the many areas it may encompass. We then move onto organizing clinical information and the ways that this maybe represented electronically in the “cradle to grave” electronic health record. In addition to recording information, can IT help the primary care doctor? The area of IT in screening, prevention and alerts is discussed. The role of the computer in the clinician’s office and the impact it has on the consultation is explored. Can computer help clinicians perform better? Areas of discussion include the role of computers in audit and systems using artificial intelligence to improve patient care. IT is increasingly important in scheduling both within the practice and at the local hospital. This can be done by the primary care doctor and in some instances by the patient his or herself. The ideal situation is the primary care doctor having a system which can “talk” to external systems (e.g. local hospital notes, with a secure portal). In some countries such as the United Kingdom, this is becoming a reality, though there are problems which are discussed.
Imaging and Communication Systems in Obstetrics and Gynecology
Authors: Parry Graham
Published: May 2010

Information technology and communication systems have made imaging in women’s health easier at many levels. There are now many commercial systems on the market, which improve the management of appointment systems, digital storage, and reporting of images, transmission of reports, teaching, and consultation particularly in large departments. This chapter discusses the use of communication technology for many aspects of imaging including transfer of images, data storage, teaching, and training as well as audit and accounting or budgeting, information sharing and research. Ultrasound imaging is used within the examples for this chapter, although many of the comments apply equally to other imaging modalities such as Xray, CT scanning, or MRI.
Informatics Applications in Neonatology
Authors: Battin Malcolm , Knight David , Kuschel Carl
Published: May 2010

Neonatal care is an extremely data-intensive activity. Physiological monitoring equipment is used extensively along with web-based information tools and knowledge sources. Merging data from multiple sources adds value to this data collection. Neonatal databases assist with collecting, displaying, and analyzing data from a number of sources. Although the construction of such databases can be difficult, it can provide helpful support to clinical practice including surveillance of infectious diseases and even medical error. Along with recording outcomes, such systems are extremely useful for the support of audit and quality improvement as well as research. Electronic information sources are often helpful in education and communication with parents and others, both within the unit and at a distance. Systems are beginning to be used to help with decision making – for example in the case of weaning neonates from ventilators, and this work is likely to become more important in the future.
Informatics and Ovarian Cancer Care
Authors: Elit Laurie , Bondy Susan , Fung-Kee-Fung Michael , Ghatage Prafull , Le Tien , Rosen Barry , Sadovy Bohdan
Published: May 2010

Ovarian cancer affects 2,400 women annually in Canada with a case fatality ratio of 0.70. There are several practice guidelines that indicate women with early stage ovarian cancer should be appropriately staged including removal of the gynecologic organs, multiple peritoneal biopsies, and pelvic and paraaortic lymphadenectomy. In advanced disease, removing as much disease as possible and leaving less than a centimeter of residual disease in any one area improves overall duration of survival in cohort studies. Single institution studies and now work using administrative datasets in many high resource countries, show that women are not receiving adequate surgical staging or debulking. Cancer Care Ontario has used the RAND approach for defining quality indicators as a step for evaluating quality of care for several cancers including the management of women with ovarian cancer. The difficulty with current administrative datasets in the province is the lack of specific information such as stage, grade, histology, and size of residual disease. In this chapter, we will elaborate on the research that has brought ovarian cancer care to this juncture. We will highlight the importance of gathering information at the point of procedures and specifically in ovarian cancer at the point of the operation. Problems with the operative note and mechanisms to overcome these using templates, checklists, and synoptic notes will be reviewed. We will provide examples of pilot studies in Canada using synoptic operative notes in Cancer Care Alberta and Princess Margaret Hospital. We will also provide examples of computerized data entry across the spectrum of care from three projects in Ontario, Canada. Issues in building a disease site-specific electronic medical record will be discussed. The problems experienced in attempting to generalize such a system provincially will be addressed. We will elaborate on the potential benefits to the individual patient, the hospital and the province from such information system.
Electronic Information Sources for Women's Health Knowledge for Professionals
Authors: Kirtley Shona
Published: May 2010

In an age where health professionals lead very busy working lives, electronic information sources provide ease of access to vast amounts of health information on an unprecedented scale. Health professionals have the ability to access the information they require from a location convenient to them and can do so at any time, day or night. This convenience has resulted in an increasing reliance upon electronic sources of information amongst women’s health professionals. As technologies develop, both the importance placed on the electronic dissemination of information by women’s health professionals and the use of such resources will increase dramatically. This chapter outlines the different sources of electronic information available to women’s health professionals, the constantly evolving online accessibility issues, the importance of critical appraisal when assessing the validity of online resources, and the role of the information specialist in the health sector. As this topic is currently under-researched a number of future research directions are also proposed.
Computerised Decision Support for Women's Health Informatics
Authors: Parry David
Published: May 2010

Decision analysis techniques attempt to utilize mathematical data about outcomes and preferences to help people make optimal decisions. The increasing uses of computerized records and powerful computers have made these techniques much more accessible and usable. The partnership between women and clinicians can be enhanced by sharing information, knowledge, and the decision making process in this way. Other techniques for assisting with decision making, such as learning from data via neural networks or other machine learning approaches may offer increased value. Rules learned from such approaches may allow the development of expert systems that actually take over some of the decision making role, although such systems are not yet in widespread use.
Organizational Factors
Authors: Brear Michelle
Published: May 2010

The influence of organizational factors on the success of informatics interventions in healthcare has been clearly demonstrated. This health specific research, informed by a larger body of evidence emerging from interdisciplinary organizational, psychological and sociological research, has confirmed the view that organizational factors can be the decisive factor in the success of an intervention (Lorenzi et al, 1997). However it remains rare for organizational factors to be explicitly addressed in the implementation process. As such their contribution to the success or failure of informatics applications is not properly understood. This has implications for future interventions. Applications which were not utilized or did not perform adequately in a particular setting may be dismissed, while other, less appropriate systems may be adopted because organizational factors influenced their success. Explicit study of the role of organizational factors on the implementation of health informatics interventions is necessary to develop an understanding of their influence in the healthcare context. Healthcare organizations tend to be highly task oriented, labor intensive and dependent on interdisciplinary teamwork, so the influence of organizational factors within them may differ considerably from the business settings in which they have traditionally been studied (Chau, 2001). Health organisations are also increasingly underresourced due to the global downturn in government social spending, health sector privatization and aging populations. It is these characteristics which necessitate rapid uptake of informatics applications, capable of automating aspects of healthcare provision and reducing labor intensity (Coiera, 2004). From a technical perspective, rapid and fundamental transformation of the healthcare sector through informatics is achievable. However, without a clear understanding of, and ability to manage organizational factors it is unlikely that informatics applications will realize their potential in the health sector. This short review provides an overview of the key organizational factors influencing the success of informatics interventions. It begins by positioning informatics interventions in the broader context of organizational change, before discussing the current understanding of selected factors.
Evaluation of Health Information Systems
Authors: Ammenwerth Elske , Gräber Stefan , Bürkle Thomas , Iller Carola
Published: May 2010

This chapter summarizes the problems and challenges which occur when health information systems are evaluated. The main problem areas presented are the complexity of the evaluation object, the complexity of an evaluation project, and the motivation for evaluation. Based on the analysis of those problem areas, the chapter then presents recommendations how to address them. In particularly, it discusses in more detail what benefits can be obtained from applying triangulation in evaluation studies. Based on the example of the evaluation of a nursing documentation system, it shows how both the validation of results and the completeness of results can be supported by triangulation. The authors hope to contribute to a better understanding of the peculiarities of evaluation.
Mobile Social Networks
Authors: Ziv Nina D.
Published: May 2010

This chapter discusses how virtual social networks have evolved from their original purpose of being online meeting places where people interact with one another to becoming an important locus for innovation. It delineates the salient characteristics of these networks (both Web-based and mobile) and suggests that the advent of these networks has shifted the balance of value creation away from traditional companies and towards the creation of companies which provide technology platforms and services for user-centric innovation. The chapter discusses how users on these virtual networks have become important sources of innovation in a variety of ways: they develop content which they share with others and participate in virtual community centers; they interact with companies who are developing products and provide valuable feedback; and they are the impetus for the creation of new kinds of marketing tools as businesses try to tap into these virtual networks in order to better understand what products will sell to these users. In addition, the chapter discusses the implications of these developments for managers, especially those in content-intensive industries such as financial services and media. Examples will be given to support these ideas from case studies on Upoc, a New York City-based mobile services company which hosts social networks for a wide variety of users; Dodgeball, another New York City-based company (recently acquired by Google) which is one of the pioneers in the mobile social networking arena; and Tapuz Mobile, an Israeli-based social network.
Trust in Social Networking
Authors: Kennedy Max , Sakaguchi Toru
Published: May 2010

This chapter attempts to understand the trust in social network services, where users post their personal information online to everyone with or without any specific relationships. Many definitions of trust were examined through a literature review in electronic commerce and virtual community areas, and it was found that most of them were based on a specific relationship, such as a buyer-seller relationship. However, one concept of trust—generalized trust, also known as dispositional trust—was found to best fit the situation of social networking. Generalized trust in social networking is further discussed from a cultural viewpoint. As an example, a Japanese SNS, Mixi, was analyzed in detail. Future research direction on trust in social networking is discussed as well.
Matrix Genetics and Culture
Authors: Petoukhov Sergey , He Matthew
Published: May 2010

This chapter considers the topic of connections of the genetic code with various fields of culture and with inherited physiological properties which provide existence of these fields. Some examples of such physiological bases for branches of culture are described. These examples are related to linguistics, music, and physiology of color perception. Special attention is paid to connections between the genetic matrices and the system of the Ancient Chinese book “I Ching.” The conception and its arguments are put forward that the famous table of 64 hexagrams of “I Ching” reflects notions of Ancient Chinese about music quint harmony as a universal archetype.
Social Impacts of Mobile Virtual Communities on Healthcare
Authors: D’Andrea Alessia , Ferri Fernando , Grifoni Patrizia
Published: May 2010

Mobile technologies, such as PDAs, pocket PCs and cell phones, are transforming interpersonal communications, making them independent from a fixed location and then “situated nowhere”. The widespread diffusion of mobile technologies combined with the popularity of virtual communities is giving rise to the development of mobile virtual community. Mobile virtual community has the great potential to serve information needs. A relevant application’s domain for mobile virtual communities is healthcare, where the need for information is deeply felt and has a longterm nature. Mobile virtual healthcare communities encourage information exchange between patients, between physicians, and between patients and physicians. The exchange of information can be used for detecting patients and physicians that have common objectives in order to establish interaction among them.
Social Networking Sites and Critical Language Learning
Authors: Halvorsen Andy
Published: May 2010

This chapter looks at the potential use of Social Networking Sites (SNSs) for educators and second language learners. It views SNSs broadly through the lens of Critical Language Learning (CLL) and looks at specific issues of identity formation, student empowerment, learner autonomy, and critical literacy as they relate to the use of SNSs. This chapter also reports the results of an initial project to make use of the MySpace social networking site for Japanese learners of English. It is hoped that this chapter will raise awareness of some of the complex issues surrounding the use of SNSs by language learners and that it will lead to further research and consideration of these issues.
Operationalizing the Theory
Authors: Taxén Lars
Published: May 2010

By operationalization, I refer to the transformation of the theoretical elements in ADT into mediational means that can be manipulated, measured, or observed in order to construct an activity domain. In line with the correspondence between mind and the socio-cultural environment, such means should be aligned with the activity modalities as much as possible to alleviate the construction of communal meaning. Moreover, the operationalized elements must be treated as dialectically related to each other; a change in one will impact all the others.
Product Lifecycle Management Revisited
Authors: Taxén Lars
Published: May 2010

The scope of this chapter is PLM (Product Lifecycle Management). I point out some concerns with the traditional way of understanding PLM, and discuss potential benefits from tackling these concerns from the Activity Domain Theory (ADT) perspective.
In Search of an Integrating Construct
Authors: Taxén Lars
Published: May 2010

The purpose of this chapter is to analyze prevalent conceptions of basic organizational realms such as coordination, communication, business processes, etc., using ADT as a guiding framework. Based on this analysis, I will suggest the activity domain as the fundamental integrating construct in organizational inquiry, and discuss the implications of this proposal. I argue that the persistent confusion about the definitions of organizational realms is due to the lack of an integrating perspective. Taking any of these realms as a basic perspective for inquiry implies that a multi-dimensional problem is “compressed” into a one-dimensional one where other dimensions are concealed or unfocused. A consequence of this superficial way of approaching a multi-dimensional problem is that interdependencies are veiled. Without an integrative perspective that lays bare these interdependencies, and thus makes them accessible to operationalization, it is likely that the inherent difficulties in managing organizational change programs will be even more aggravated.
Social Networking and Schools
Authors: Abbott Chris , Alder William
Published: May 2010

Although social networking has been enthusiastically embraced by large numbers of children and young people, their schools and colleges have been more cautious, and often concerned about the implications for online safety. Social networking used by young people is considered here as part of a trajectory of online practices which began with personal Web sites in the mid 1990s and continued through the use of interactive services to the networking sites familiar today. The response of the education system is examined through interview and anecdotal evidence, and with reference to a growing body of research in this and allied areas. It is concluded that social networking has initiated a series of practices which cannot now be abandoned, and that the challenge for the education system is not control or abolition but the inclusion of social networking appropriately within teaching and learning.
Cyber-Identities and Social Life in Cyberspace
Authors: Berki Eleni , Jäkälä Mikko
Published: May 2010

Information and communication technology gradually transform virtual communities to active meeting places for sharing information and for supporting human actions, feelings and needs. In this chapter the authors examine the conceptual definition of virtual community as found in the traditional cyberliterature and extend it to accommodate latest cybertrends. Similar to the ways that previous social and mass media dissolved social boundaries related to time and space, cyber-communities and social software seem to also dissolve the boundaries of identity. This, in turn, questions the trust, privacy and confidentiality of interaction. The authors present a way of classifying and viewing self-presentation regarding cyber-identity management in virtual communities. It is based on the characteristics that cyber-surfers prefer to attribute to themselves and accordingly present themselves to others. In so doing, the authors coin the terms for five distinct phenomena, namely nonymity, anonymity, eponymity, pseudonymity and polynymity. They subsequently compare and contrast these terms, summarising information from their investigation, and outlining emerging questions and issues for a future research agenda.
Social Identities, Group Formation, and the Analysis of Online Communities
Authors: Code Jillianne R. , Zaparyniuk Nicholas E.
Published: May 2010

Central to research in social psychology is the means in which communities form, attract new members, and develop over time. Research has found that the relative anonymity of Internet communication encourages self-expression and facilitates the formation of relationships based on shared values and beliefs. Self-expression in online social networks enables identity experimentation and development. As identities are fluid, situationally contingent, and are the perpetual subject and object of negotiation within the individual, the presented and perceived identity of the individual may not match reality. In this chapter, the authors consider the psychological challenges unique to understanding the dynamics of social identity formation and strategic interaction in online social networks. The psychological development of social identities in online social network interaction is discussed, highlighting how collective identity and self-categorization associates social identity to online group formation. The overall aim of this chapter is to explore how social identity affects the formation and development of online communities, how to analyze the development of these communities, and the implications such social networks have within education.
Distributed Learning Environments and Social Software
Authors: Fiedler Sebastian , Pata Kai
Published: May 2010

This chapter discusses how the construction of an adequate design and intervention framework for distributed learning environments might be approached. It proposes that activity theory has some interesting concepts and perspectives to offer in this regard. In addition, it discusses the concept of affordance, understood as perceived possibilities for action, and its potential consequences for learning environment design. Furthermore, some current technical and conceptual challenges for the implementation and maintenance of distributed learning environments are addressed. The authors consider their text as a proposal for a necessary reorientation and a call for contributions to the search for an adequate design and intervention framework for distributed learning environments.
The Potential of Enterprise Social Software in Integrating Exploitative and Explorative Knowledge Strategies
Authors: Bibikas Dimitris , Paraskakis Iraklis , Psychogios Alexandros G. , Vasconcelos Ana C.
Published: May 2010

The aim of this chapter is to investigate the potential role of social software inside business settings in integrating knowledge exploitation and knowledge exploration strategies. These strategies are approached through the lens of dynamic capabilities, organisational learning and knowledge lifecycle models. The authors argue that while current enterprise Information Technology (IT) systems focus more on knowledge lifecycle processes concerning the distribution and application of knowledge, enterprise social software can support knowledge exploration strategies and leverage knowledge creation and validation procedures. We present secondary data from the utilisation of enterprise social computing tools inside two companies for that matter. The first case illustrates how social computing tools were deployed in an international bank, and the other presents the employment of these technologies in an international broadcasting company. The authors suggest that free-form and pre-defined structures can co-exist in bounded organisational environments, in which knowledge exploitation and knowledge exploration strategies can harmonically interact. This chapter concludes with some managerial implications and future research avenues.
Knowledge Media Tools to Foster Social Learning
Authors: Okada Alexandra , Shum Simon Buckingham , Bachler Michelle , Tomadaki Eleftheria , Scott Peter , Little Alex , Eisenstadt Marc
Published: May 2010

The aim of this chapter is to overview the ways in which knowledge media technologies create opportunities for social learning. The Open Content movement has been growing rapidly, opening up new opportunities for widening participation. One of the Open Educational Resources (OER) initiatives is the OpenLearn project, launched by the Open University, which integrates three knowledge media technologies: Compendium, FM and MSG. In this chapter, the authors analyse some examples, which show how these tools can be used to foster open sensemaking communities by mapping knowledge, location and virtual interactions. At the end, they present some questions and future horizons related to this research.
Engineering Information Into Open Documents
Authors: Chiang Chia-Chu
Published: May 2010

Documents are perfectly suited for information exchange via the Internet. In order to insure that there are no misunderstandings, information embedded in a document needs to be precise and unambiguous. Having a (de facto) standard data model and conceptual information model insures that the involved parties will agree on what the information means. XML (eXtensible Markup Language) has become the de facto standard format for representing information in documents for document exchange. Many techniques have been proposed to create XML documents, including the validation and transformation of XML documents. However, very little is discussed when it comes to extracting information from non- XML documents and engineering the information into XML documents. The extraction process can be a highly labor intensive task if it is done manually. The use of automated tools would make the process more efficient. In this chapter, the author will briefly survey document engineering techniques for XML documents. Then, the author will present two techniques to extract data from Windows documents into XML documents. These two techniques have been successfully applied in two industrial projects. He believes that techniques that automate the extraction of data from non-XML documents into XML formats will definitely enhance the use of XML documents.
Decision-making as a Facilitator of High-achievement in Non-hierarchical Technical Environments
Authors: Rosenburgh Dwayne
Published: May 2010

This chapter presents a look at the decision-making methods used by real-life, collegial, high-achieving, technical teams and organizations. One may argue that the type of technical team that is being considered is not critical. When a group of individuals come together to examine and solve a tough technical challenge the synergy created in reaching a conclusion is usually quite astounding. As the author will explore in this chapter, many researchers have come to the conclusion that the manner in which those teams make decisions is one factor that affects the achievement level of the team. It is then reasonable to suggest that an organization’s achievement level is related to the decision-making method of its technical teams. This chapter contains a review of the published literature on team decision-making. In keeping with the practical-level theme of this book, also discussed are the results of a unique study of 31, intact, real-life, technical teams. The teams operated in open, unbounded environments. The resulting theory that emerged from the data was that a collegial, technical, team’s selection of the majority-rule method may be an indicator that the team will reach a high-achievement level. The preceding is important because contemporary work organizations may not be obtaining the maximal benefits from their work teams if they attempt to “force” teams to implement other types of decision-making methods.
Hierarchical Organization as a Facilitator of Information Management in Human Collaboration
Authors: Nagaty Khaled Ahmed
Published: May 2010

The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the relationship between three entities: hierarchical organization, information management and human collaboration. This relationship is composed of two parts: the first part is the relationship between the hierarchical organization and information management where the role of the hierarchical organization to facilitate the information management processes is discussed. The second part is the relationship between information management and human collaboration where the role of information management to improve human collaboration in problem solving is discussed. The information management processes are illustrated through an information management life cycle model. This model has three major stages: active, semi-active and inactive stages and has three major phases: creation, searching and utilization phases. The creation phase includes: information creation and using, information authoring and modifying and information organization and indexing. The searching phase includes: information storage and retrieving and information exchange. The utilization phase includes: information accessing and filtering processes. The arguments about the role of hierarchical organization in information management and human collaboration are also discussed. The author showed that the hierarchical organization acts as a facilitator for common information management processes which are required in team collaboration such as: information gathering, organization, retrieving, filtering, exchange, integration or fusion, display and visualization. Human collaboration models are discussed with emphasis on the team collaboration structural model which has four unique but interdependent stages of team collaboration. These stages are: team knowledge construction, collaborative team problem solving, team consensus, and product evaluation and revision. Each stage has four levels: meta-cognition process which guides the overall problem solving process, the information processing tasks which is required by the team to complete each collaboration stage, the knowledge required to support the information processing tasks and the communication mechanisms for knowledge building and information processing. The author focused on the role of information management to improve human collaboration across the four collaboration stages of the team collaboration structural model. He showed that the hierarchical organization is more efficient for information management processes and team collaboration rather than other alternative organizations such as flat, linear and network organizations.
An Intelligent Information Management Tool for Complex Distributed Human Collaboration
Authors: Glaser Christine B. , Tan Amy , Kondoz Ahmet M.
Published: May 2010

Managing information collaboratively in an open and unbounded environment without an information management application influenced and challenged the users actions and cognitive abilities, hence collaborative information management behaviour (CIMB). This issue motivated us to investigate distributed synchronous CIMB to deduce criteria for the design of an intelligent information management application that supports interconnectivity and human collaboration in such an environment. The authors developed a model to understand CIMB based on qualitative and quantitative findings, which emerged from four video recordings. These findings revealed that CIMB manifests itself in five behavioural stages: Initiation, Identification, Formulation, Structuring and Decision Making. Thus, an application for open information management should support human-to-computer and human-to-human interaction, should facilitate the behavioural stages users went during an information selection task and should sustain cognitive abilities. This chapter proposes the design for such an application, which supports user’s actions and cognitive abilities required to manage information collaboratively in an open and unbounded environment.
R2-IBN
Authors: Hsairi Lobna , Ghédira Khaled , Alim Adel M. , BenAbdelhafid Abdellatif
Published: May 2010

In the age of information proliferation, openness, open information management, interconnectivity, collaboration and communication advances, extended enterprises must be up to date to the new strategic, economic and organizational structures. Consequently, intelligent software based on agent technology emerges to improve system design, and to increase enterprise competitive position as well. The competitiveness is based on the information management, cooperation, collaboration and interconnectivity. Thus, within these interconnectivity and cooperation, conflicts may arise. The automated negotiation plays a key role to look for a common agreement. Argumentation theory has become an important topic in the field of Multi-Agent Systems and especially in the negotiation problem. In this chapter, first, the proposed model MAIS-E2 (Multi-Agent Information System for an Extended Enterprise) is presented. Then an argumentation based negotiation framework: Relationship-Role and Interest Based Negotiation (R2-IBN) framework is presented, and within this framework, the authors focused mainly on, argument generation module via inference rules and argument selection module via fuzzy logic.
Measuring Information Propagation and Processing in Biological Systems
Authors: Kesseli Juha , Ribeiro Andre S. , Nykter Matti
Published: May 2010

In this chapter the authors study the propagation and processing of information in dynamical systems. Various information management systems can be represented as dynamical systems of interconnected information processing units. Here they focus mostly on genetic regulatory networks that are information processing systems that process and propagate information stored in genome. Boolean networks are used as a dynamical model of regulation, and different ways of parameterizing the dynamical behavior are studied. What are called critical networks are in particular under study, since they have been hypothesized as being the most effective under evolutionary pressure. Critical networks are also present in man-made systems, such as the Internet, and provide a candidate application area for findings on the theory of dynamical networks in this chapter. The authors present approaches of annealed approximation and find that avalanche size distribution data supports criticality of regulatory networks. Based on Shannon information, they then find that a mutual information measure quantifying the coordination of pairwise element activity is maximized at criticality. An approach of algorithmic complexity, the normalized compression distance (NCD), is shown to be applicable to both dynamical and topological features of regulatory networks. NCD can also be seen to enable further utilization of measurement data to estimate information propagation and processing in biological networks.
Open Information Management in User-driven Health Care
Authors: Biswas Rakesh , Smith Kevin , Martin Carmel M. , Sturmberg Joachim P. , Joshi Ankur
Published: May 2010

This chapter discusses the role of open health information management in the the development of a novel, adaptable mixed-platform for supporting health care informational needs. This platform enables clients (patient users) requiring healthcare to enter an unstructured but detailed account of their dayto- day health information requirements that may be structured into a lifetime electronic health record. It illustrates the discussion with an operational model and a pilot project in order to begin to explore the potential of a collaborative network of patient and health professional users to support the provision of health care services, and helping to effectively engage patient users with their own healthcare. Such a solution has the potential to allow both patient and health professional users to produce useful materials, to contribute to improved social health outcomes in terms of health education and primary disease prevention, and to address both pre-treatment and post-treatment phases of illness that are often neglected in the context of overburdened support services.
A Social Framework for Software Architectural Design
Authors: Kolp Manuel , Wautelet Yves
Published: May 2010

Information systems are deeply linked to human activities. Unfortunately, development methodologies have been traditionally inspired by programming concepts and not by organizational and enterprise ones. This leads to ontological and semantic gaps between the systems and their environments. The adoption of Multi- Agent Systems (MAS) helps to reduce these gaps by offering modeling tools based on organizational concepts (actors, agents, goals, objectives, responsibilities, social dependencies, etc.) as fundamentals to conceive systems through a development process. Socio-technical design is concerned with the direct involvement of users in software design. To this respect the DesCARTES framework presented in this paper offers three main contributions: 1) the use of agents modeled according to organizational concepts, 2) the use of social patterns in software design that better match with users’ organization structures, and 3) the inclusion in an iterative development methodology that involves the user intensively in software development.
A Modern Socio-Technical View on ERP-Systems
Authors: Benders Jos , Batenburg Ronald , Hoeken Paul , Schouteten Roel
Published: May 2010

This chapter sketches an Organization Design perspective called “Modern Socio-technical Design”, and subsequently discusses the implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems from this perspective. The authors argue that the praxis of ERP-system implementation is often at odds with socio-technical insights, leading to various problems that ERP-end users are confronted with. These tensions may not be inevitable, but simply result from taken-for-granted organization assumptions underlying ERP-implementation praxis. The socio-technical insights are intended to help practitioners reflect on ERP-implementation praxis, and discuss to what extent an ERP-system is appropriate and if so, where socio-technically inspired choices may be made within configuration processes.
Situated Evaluation of Socio-Technical Systems
Authors: Bruce Bertram C. , Rubin Andee , An Junghyun
Published: May 2010

This chapter introduces situated evaluation as an approach for evaluating socio-technical innovation and change. Many current evaluations simply identify the impacts of technology and deprecate alternate uses in their analysis. Situated evaluation instead calls for understanding how innovations emerge through use; this entails consideration of diverse uses, the contexts of use, and the reasons for the development of multiple realizations. The chapter presents a comparative study of different classroom uses of electronic Quill in order to demonstrate how this alternative evaluation can be conducted and to address the value of understanding and fostering diverse cultural appropriations of a socio-technical innovation.
Text Mining for Biomedicine
Authors: Ananiadou Sophia
Published: May 2010

Text mining provides the automated means to manage information overload and overlook. By adding meaning to text, text mining techniques produce a much more structured analysis of textual knowledge than do simple word searches, and can provide powerful tools for knowledge discovery in biomedicine. In this chapter, the author focus on the text mining services for biomedicine offered by the United Kingdom National Centre for Text Mining.