bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Next Generation CDMA Technology for Futuristic Wireless Communications
Authors: Chen Hsiao-Hwa
Published: October 2011

This chapter addresses the issues on the architecture of next generation CDMA (NG-CDMA) systems, which should offer a much better performance in terms of its capacity and transmission rate, etc., than that possible in all current 2-3G systems based on CDMA technology. The ultimate goal is to engineer a CDMA system, whose performance will no longer be interference-limited, for its application in futuristic wireless communications. To achieve this, many challenging issues should be tackled, such as innovated design approaches for CDMA codes, multi-dimensional spreading techniques, suitable CDMA signaling format for high-speed bursty traffic, and so forth. This chapter will review the author’s ongoing research activities on the NG-CDMA technology, which can offer a performance never inferior to that of orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) technology. In particular, the author will briefly introduce a new CDMA code design method, called Real Environment Adapted Linearization (REAL) approach, which can be used to generate CDMA code sets with inherent immunity against multipath interference and multiple access interference for both uplink and downlink transmissions. The chapter will also illustrate that an interference-free CDMA can only be made possible with the application of orthogonal complementary codes (OCCs). The use of traditional CDMA codes, such as Gold, Kasami, Walsh-Hadamard and OVSF codes, all working on an one-code-per-channel basis, will never help in this sense. Several other topics related to the NG-CDMA technology will also be addressed, such as system performance issues, other properties of the NG-CDMA technology, and so on.
Personalized Content Representation through Hybridization of Mobile Agent and Interface Agent
Authors: Sajja Priti Srinivas
Published: October 2011

Mobile agent has an ability to co-operate with heterogeneous network environment. There are specific predefined techniques to impart mobility to an agent. As a result, the agent behaves only in predefined way. To impart other features beside mobility that helps in interfacing the destination network to complete the intended job, a mobile agent need to be incorporated with additional functionalities. One of such functionalities is ability to access local user profiles, preferences, and other resources as well as other local agents to present information in user’s context. To meet this demand, hybridization of mobile and interface agent that facilitates development of customized application is discussed in this chapter. The multi-agent architecture, described in this chapter, encompasses this hybrid agent to access user profile and fuzzy indicator matrix. Both the profile and matrix are further utilized to construct content preference list according to users’ perspectives. The indicator matrix enlists typical interest and preferences of a group, such as purpose of surfing/using the system (research, teaching, learning, problem solving, etc.); level information needed (highly technical, conceptual, mixed, etc.), media preference (type of document such as text, code, video, etc.). The system is designed as multi-tier structure called resource tier, service tier, and application tier to provide resources, third party services, and application support to learners, instructors, and administrator groups. The chapter utilizes the proposed generic multi tier architecture for a personalized learning (p-Learning) system and discusses its design in detail including working of different agents, mobility and ticket management, user profile structure, and risk management policies. The chapter concludes with discussion on results and future research directions.
Adaptive Content Delivery in E-Learning Systems using Mobile Agents
Authors: Mangalwede S. R. , Rao D. H.
Published: October 2011

The e-Learning refers to the use of networking technologies to create, foster, deliver and facilitate learning anytime, anywhere. This chapter discusses our research on personalization of e-Learning content based on the learner’s profile. After justifying the feasibility of using mobile agents in distributed computing systems for information retrieval, processing and mining, the authors deal with the relevance of mobile agents in e-Learning domain. The chapter discusses the proposed Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) as an approach to context-aware adaptive content delivery. Different parameters like technological, cultural and educational background of a learner are taken as the basis for forming the case-base that determines the type of content to be delivered. Along with the CBR, a diagnostic assessment to gauge an insight into the student’s current skills is done to determine the type of content to deliver. The implementation observations of such implementation vis-à-vis traditional e-Learning are also documented.
Security Management in Heterogeneous Distributed Sensor Networks
Authors: Pathan Al-Sakib Khan
Published: October 2011

A Heterogeneous Distributed Sensor Network (HDSN) is a type of distributed sensor network where sensors with different functional types participate at the same time. In this sensor network model, the sensors are associated with different deployment groups but they cooperate with each other within and out of their respective groups. The heterogeneity of HDSN refers to the functional heterogeneity of the sensors participating in the network unlike the heterogeneity considered (e.g., considering transmission range, energy level, computation ability, sensing range) for traditional heterogeneous sensor networks. Taking this model into consideration, in this chapter the authors present a secure group association authentication mechanism using one-way accumulator which ensures that; before collaborating for a particular task, any pair of nodes in the same deployment group can verify the legitimacy of group association of each other. Secure addition and deletion of sensors are supported in this approach. In addition, a policy-based sensor addition procedure is also suggested. For secure handling of disconnected nodes of a group, the authors use an efficient pairwise key derivation scheme. Side by side proposing their mechanisms, they also discuss the characteristics of HDSN, its scopes, applicability, efficiency, challenges, and future. Before concluding the chapter, the authors also talk about the applicability of our security management framework for secure mobile multimedia delivery over sensor networks.
Analysis and Modeling of QoS Parameters in VoIP Traffic
Authors: Toral-Cruz Homero , Torres-Román Deni , Estrada-Vargas Leopoldo
Published: October 2011

Our studies have revealed that VoIP jitter can be modeled by self-similar processes, and through a decomposition based on Haar wavelet it is shown a possible reason of the presence of long range dependence (LRD) in VoIP jitter. On the other hand, we used a description of VoIP packet loss based on microscopic and macroscopic packet loss behaviors, where these behaviors can be modeled by 2-state and 4-state Markov chains, respectively. Besides, the distributions of the number of consecutive received and lost packets (namely gap and burst, respectively) are modeled from the transition probabilities of 2-state and 4-state Markov chains. Based on the above mentioned description, we presented a methodology for simulating packet loss and proposed a new model that allows to relate the Hurst parameter (H) with the packet loss rate (PLR). These models can be used by other researchers as input to problems related to the design of VoIP applications, performance evaluation of IP networks, and the implementation of QoS mechanisms on convergent networks.
Data Gathering with Multi-Attribute Fusion in Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: Lin Kai , Wang Lei , Shu Lei , Khan Pathan Al-Sakib
Published: October 2011

This chapter addresses the problem of data gathering with multi-attribute fusion over a bandwidth and energy constrained wireless sensor network (WSN). As there are strong correlations between data gathered from sensor nodes in close physical proximity, effective in-network fusion schemes involve minimizing such redundancy and hence reducing the load in wireless sensor networks. Considering a complicated environment, each sensor node must be equipped with more than one type of sensor module to monitor multi-targets; hence, the complexity for the fusion process is increased due to the existence of various physical attributes. In this chapter, by investigating the process and performance of multi-attribute fusion in data gathering of WSNs, we design a self-adaptive threshold to balance the different change rates of each attributive data. Furthermore, we present a method to measure the energy-conservation efficiency of multi-attribute fusion. Then, a novel energy equilibrium routing method is proposed to balance and save energy in WSNs, which is named multi-attribute fusion tree (MAFT). The establishment of MAFT is determined by the remaining energy of sensor nodes and the energy-conservation efficiency of data fusion. Finally, the energy saving performance of the scheme is demonstrated through comprehensive simulations. The chapter concludes by identifying some open research issues on this topic.
Publish/Subscribe Techniques For P2P Networks
Authors: Pham Cuong , Tran Duc A.
Published: October 2011

P2P is a popular networking paradigm in today’s Internet. As such, many research and development efforts are geared toward services that can be useful to the users of P2P networks. An important class of such services is that based on the publish/subscribe paradigm to allow the nodes of a network to publish data and subscribe data interests efficiently. This chapter is focused on the techniques that enable these services in P2P networks.
Service-Oriented Networking for the Next Generation Distributed Computing
Authors: Duan Qiang
Published: October 2011

With the rapid development of various emerging technologies, such as Web services, Grid computing, and cloud computing, computer networks have become the integrant of the next generation distributed computing systems. Networking systems have a significant impact on distributed application performance; therefore, they must be integrated with other computational resources in distributed computing systems to support the requirements of high-performance distributed applications. This chapter presents a new Service-Oriented Networking (SON) paradigm that enables the integration of networking and distributed computing systems. The SON applies the Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) principle and employs network virtualization for abstracting networking resources in the form of network services, which can be described, discovered, and composed in distributed computing environments. This chapter particularly discusses network service description and discovery as key technologies for realizing the SON, and describes a network service broker system for discovering the network services that meet the performance requirements of distributed applications. A general modeling approach to describing network service capabilities and an information updating mechanism are also presented in this chapter, which can improve the performance of the network service broker system in heterogeneous and dynamic networking environments.
Service Level Provisioning for Cloud-Based Applications Service Level Provisioning for Cloud-Based Applications
Authors: Cardellini Valeria , Casalicchio Emiliano , Silvestri Luca
Published: October 2011

Cloud computing has recently emerged in the landscape of Information Technology as a compelling paradigm for managing and delivering services over the Internet in a performance- and cost-effective way. However, its development is still at its infancy, with many issues worthy to be investigated. In this chapter, we analyze the problem of service level provisioning and the possible strategies that can be used to tackle it at the various layers of the cloud architecture, focusing on the perspective of cloud-based application providers. We also propose an approach for the dynamic QoS provisioning of cloud-based applications which takes into account that the provider has to fulfill the service level settled with the application users while minimizing the resources outsourced from the cloud infrastructure in such a way to maximize its profits.
Desktop Grids and Volunteer Computing Systems
Authors: Barrera Harold Enrique Castro , Rosero Edgar Eduardo Rosales , Cano Mario José Villamizar
Published: October 2011

Desktop Grids and Volunteer Computing Systems (DGVCSs) are approaches of distributed systems aimed at the provision of large scale computing infrastructures to support eScience project, by taking advantage of non-dedicated resources, most of them desktop computers presenting low levels of use. Those computers are available through Internet or Intranet environments, have partial availability, are highly heterogeneous, and are part of independent administrative domains. Currently, the idle computational capabilities of millions of volunteer distributed computing resources are exploited without affecting the quality of service perceived by the end users. This chapter presents a comprehensive state of the art of DGVCSs, providing a global picture of the main solutions and research trends in DGVCSs. It will discuss the evolution of such systems by analyzing representative examples. We identify the main characteristics for DGVCSs, and we introduce a new taxonomy to categorize these projects to make their study easier.
Security Standards and Issues for Grid Computing
Authors: Moralis Athanasios , Pouli Vassiliki , Grammatikou Mary , Kalogeras Dimitrios , Maglaris Vasilis
Published: October 2011

Security in grid environments that are built using Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) technologies is a great challenge. On one hand, the great diversity in security technologies, mechanisms and protocols that each organization follows and on the other hand, the different goals and policies that these organizations adopt, comprise a complex security environment. Authenticating and authorizing users and services, identity management in a multi-organizational scenario and secure communication define the main context of the problem. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the security protocols and technologies that can be applied on a Web Service (WS) based grid environment.
Information Security in Data and Storage Grids through GS3
Authors: Cunsolo Vincenzo Daniele , Distefano Salvatore , Puliafito Antonio , Scarpa Marco
Published: October 2011

In this work we face the problem of data security in grid, by proposing a lightweight cryptography algorithm combining the strong and highly secure asymmetric cryptography technique (RSA) with the symmetric cryptography (Advanced Encryption Standard, AES). The proposed algorithm, we named Grid Secure Storage System (GS3), has been implemented on top of the Grid File Access Library (GFAL) of the gLite middleware, in order to provide a file system service with cryptography capability and POSIX interface. The choice of implementing GS3 as a file system allows to protect also the file system structure, and moreover to overcome the well-known problem of file rewriting in gLite/GFAL environments. This chapter describes and details both the GS3 algorithm and its implementation, also evaluating the performance of such implementation and discussing the obtained results.
From Non-Invasive Hemodynamic Measurements towards Patient-Specific Cardiovascular Diagnosis
Authors: Bernhard Stefan , Al Zoukra Kristine , Schtte Christof
Published: October 2011

The past two decades have seen impressive success in medical technology, generating novel experimental data at an unexpected rate. However, current computational methods cannot sufficiently manage the data analysis for interpretation, so clinical application is hindered, and the benefit for the patient is still small. Even though numerous physiological models have been developed to describe complex dynamical mechanisms, their clinical application is limited, because parameterization is crucial, and most problems are ill-posed and do not have unique solutions. However, this information deficit is imminent to physiological data, because the measurement process always contains contamination like artifacts or noise and is limited by a finite measurement precision. The lack of information in hemodynamic data measured at the outlet of the left ventricle, for example, induces an infinite number of solutions to the hemodynamic inverse problem (possible vascular morphologies that can represent the hemodynamic conditions) (Quick, 2001). Within this work, we propose that, despite these problems, the assimilation of morphological constraints, and the usage of statistical prior knowledge from clinical observations, reveals diagnostically useful information. If the morphology of the vascular network, for example, is constrained by a set of time series measurements taken at specific places of the cardiovascular system, it is possible to solve the hemodynamic inverse problem by a carefully designed mathematical forward model in combination with a Bayesian inference technique. The proposed cardiovascular system identification procedure allows us to deduce patient-specific information that can be used to diagnose a variety of cardiovascular diseases in an early state. In contrast to traditional inversion approaches, the novel method produces a distribution of physiologically interpretable models (patient-specific parameters and model states) that allow the identification of disease specific patterns that correspond to clinical diagnoses, enabling a probabilistic assessment of human health condition on the basis of a broad patient population. In the ongoing work we use this technique to identify arterial stenosis and aneurisms from anomalous patterns in signal and parameter space. The novel data mining procedure provides useful clinical information about the location of vascular defects like aneurisms and stenosis. We conclude that the Bayesian inference approach is able to solve the cardiovascular inverse problem and to interpret clinical data to allow a patient-specific model-based diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases. We think that the information-based approach provides a useful link between mathematical physiology and clinical diagnoses and that it will become constituent in the medical decision process in near future.
Personalized Experience Sharing of Cai’s TCM Gynecology
Authors: Li Guo-Zheng , You Mingyu , Xu Liaoyu , Huang Suying
Published: October 2011

This chapter introduces experience sharing of Cai’s gynecology in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). It argues that Cai’s family in China are experts in TCM gynecology, whose seventh generation Xiaosun Cai is a TCM master. Therefore, inheriting experience of Xiaosun is a critical business in the present TCM field. The authors demonstrate a novel system (named TCM-PMES) for preserving the diagnostic processes of veteran practitioners like Xiaosun in a personalized way. Based on the summarized Cai’s diagnostic template, a custom input system embracing the particular expressions of the specialist is set up in the platform. Unique and unfiltered experience of veteran practitioner is maintained as complete as possible. Various approaches on exploring relationships among TCM components and speculating syndrome types from clinical symptoms are also studied. This work provides a new way for keeping and researching the personalized factors in the diagnostic process of Cai’s TCM gynecology.
Low Level Multispectral Palmprint Image Fusion for Large Scale Biometrics Authentication
Authors: Kisku Dakshina Ranjan , Gupta Phalguni , Sing Jamuna Kanta , Tistarelli Massimo , Hwang C. Jinsong
Published: October 2011

Continuous biometric authentication is a process where the installed biometric systems continuously monitor and authenticate the users. Biometric system could be an exciting application to log in to computers and in a network system. However, due to malfunctioning in high-security zones, it is necessary to prevent those loopholes that often occur in security zones. It has been seen that when a user is logged in to such systems by authenticating to the biometric system installed, he/she often takes short breaks. In the meantime some imposter may attack the network or access to the computer system until the real user is logged out. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor the log in process of the system or network by continuous authentication of users. To accomplish this work we propose in this chapter a continuous biometric authentication system using low level fusion of multispectral palm images where the fusion is performed using wavelet transformation and decomposition. Fusion of palmprint instances is performed by wavelet transform and decomposition. To capture the palm characteristics, a fused image is convolved with Gabor wavelet transform. The Gabor wavelet feature representation reflects very high dimensional space. To reduce the high dimensionality, ant colony optimization algorithm is applied to select relevant, distinctive, and reduced feature set from Gabor responses. Finally, the reduced set of features is trained with support vector machines and accomplishes user recognition tasks. For evaluation, CASIA multispectral palmprint database is used. The experimental results reveal that the system is found to be robust and encouraging while variations of classifiers are used. Also a comparative study of the proposed system with a well-known method is presented.
The Challenges of Compressing and Streaming Real Time Video Originating from Mobile Devices
Authors: Uti Ngozi V. , Fox Richard
Published: October 2011

In recent years, mobile phones have become the de facto system of communication across the planet. Mobile phones have helped increase economic growth and critical response in many parts of the world. Mobile phones are even being used for data transmission. However, little academic research has been done on the specific problem of streaming real time video originating from the cameras of mobile devices over cell phone networks. There are many factors that complicate this problem including the limited computational resources of mobile phones, the low and variable bandwidth of cell phone networks, and the need for video compression and streaming algorithms that can be supported by both the mobile phones and cell phone networks. This chapter examines the problems involved and discusses on-going research on the topic. The main goal of this chapter is to identify the real time constraints and challenges of compressing and streaming video from mobile devices for the purpose of designing efficient video compression and streaming techniques that are able to work within the constraints of the limited computational resources and bandwidth available to mobile devices.
Multimedia Services for Mobile WiMAX
Authors: Fleury Martin , Al-Majeed Salah S. , Al-Jobouri Laith , Ghanbari Mohammed
Published: October 2011

Mobile WiMAX is suitable for video-on-demand as well as broadcast TV services. Delivery of video streams over an IP packet-switched network, which includes broadband wireless access, requires rate or congestion control along with methods to protect the compressed stream from the impact of channel conditions. The Chapter considers possible solutions for both these requirements: multi-connection streaming overcomes the risk of poor channel utilization when restraining rates due to detected packet loss, while data-partitioning is a form of error resilience which includes the possible of graceful quality degradation. In the Chapter, ratelesschannel coding is adaptively employed along with error control. The Chapter also surveys the WiMAX option, acknowledging demerits as well as merits of this technology, and considering what other investigations have taken place to deliver multimedia services over broadband wireless.
Media Resource Adaptation for Multimedia Services and Streaming Media for Mobile Telephones
Authors: Szkaliczki Tibor
Published: October 2011

Nowadays an intensive diversification can be experienced among the devices that can display multimedia content to the user. Typically, clients are unable to receive large audio-visual data volumes in original quality because of resource limitations and deficiency of terminal capabilities. The aim of media resource adaptation is to provide multimedia items for users in a format that is most appropriate with respect to the current terminal capabilities, network characteristics, server capacities and user preferences. The execution time of adaptation is crucial in order to shorten startup delay. The chapter is intended to give a survey on media resource adaptation. Our aim is to introduce the related standards and specifications, show an adaptation framework. We put special emphasis on the algorithmic aspects of adaptation decision taking and present some optimization methods to efficiently select adaptation parameters.
Multi-Platform Video Streaming Implementation on Mobile Terminals
Authors: Macías Elsa , Suarez Alvaro , Espino Francisco
Published: October 2011

Video streaming technique is at present the key factor of some multimedia services. The efficient implementation of multimedia services in mobile telephones is currently a major challenge. Today, the deployment of multi-platform multimedia software in high-end mobile telephones is also a challenge. In this chapter, we will review current and upcoming mobile multimedia services and programming frameworks for video streaming software deployment in mobile telephones. We will show that the multi-platform implementation of video streaming clients in mobile telephones remains a fallacy. However, we did make innovative progress regarding the critical challenge of mitigating the adverse effects of long lasting service disruptions impacting a video streaming service. For instance, if a service disruption lasts a long time, the Server will terminate the video streaming session; subsequently, such an event usually leads to a user re-initiating the terminated session from scratch which provokes a huge loss of performance for the streaming technique; furthermore, these types of disruptions tend to be sporadic and impossible to predict. We used JADE-LEAP for programming a multi-platform software solution for the video streaming service disruptions’ challenge by utilizing the internal service of JADE-LEAP which automatically controls the availability of the mobile telephone (that is, the service disruption). We implemented a novel mechanism (protocol) using that internal service to mitigate the adverse effects of video streaming service disruptions. It improved the user experience spectacularly reducing the jitter and minimizing video communication latency.
Firms’ Banking and Pooling in the EU ETS (2005-2007)
Authors: Chevallier Julien , Etner Johanna , Jouvet Pierre-André
Published: October 2011

This chapter investigates firms’ banking and pooling behaviors in the context of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) during Phase I (2005-2007). It provides an overview of the questions raised at the firm-level by the introduction and implementation of the EU trading system in terms of allowances management. More specifically, the article details the banking behavior at the installation level, and the pooling of risks at the group level attached to allowance trading between the parent company and its subsidiaries. Based on case-studies of the most significant patterns in terms of allowances management among firms, the empirical analyses underline the efficiency of the banking instrument as a risk-management tool.
Low Carbon Economy and Developing Countries
Authors: Bista Raghu Bir
Published: October 2011

This study finds that community forest contributes 45 percent livelihood income (fire wood, leaf litter, grass, water) to the forest dependent stakeholder’s total income. This labor incentive based on labor contribution in forest management is distributed among the member households. This study further finds huge carbon income potentials. Annually, KCF can earn carbon income Rs. 39, 81,196, if KCF enters in REDD. It is 41 times higher than the present mean income Rs 24, 549.55 from the forest product sale. In mixed familiarity about REDD, the study finds only 44 percent households expecting that REDD will be a better livelihood alternative to the poor. 63 percent responds need and use of carbon income for livelihood objectives. From estimation, household stakeholders who have good asset holdings (land and Rlivestock) think that REDD will be not a better livelihood alternative to the poor. However, the household stakeholders who have literacy, different food sufficiency level, land holding (1>), different earning per day, Rsex, per day earning and age think that REDD will be a better alternative. Thus, the poor households expects livelihood role from REDD in Nepal. Therefore, REDD should be more beneficial to the poor household stakeholders and their livelihoods.
Warehouse Financing Risk Analysis and Measurement with Case Study in Carbon Trading
Authors: Yin Ying , Luo ZongWei
Published: October 2011

Warehouse financing has been emerged as one of the most effective financing approaches for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME). Its basic working mechanism is to transfer the company’s assets to collaterals which are more acceptable by the bank. As a logistics service provider, the 3rd Party Logistics (3PL) coordinates and controls the whole financing process. With the professional 3PL’s help, it is easier for SMEs to get loan from the bank. In the meantime, the 3PL’s profit margin has also been increased by providing financing service in addition to their traditional logistics based functions. This chapter explains the basic working mechanism of warehouse financing, applies SCOR reference model to identify financing activities and the risks caused by them. Then this chapter synthesizes four relevant risk analysis / management frameworks from previous literatures, and proposes a new risk framework and evaluation measures aimed specifically for warehouse financing. Finally, a case of carbon trading in China is studied using the previous framework.
Modeling Closed Loop Supply Chain Systems
Authors: Poles Roberto
Published: October 2011

In the past, many companies were concerned with managing activities primarily along the traditional supply chain to optimize operational processes and thereby economic benefits, without considering new economic or environmental opportunities in relation to the reverse supply chain and the use of used or reclaimed products. In contrast, companies are now showing increased interest in reverse logistics and closed loop supply chains (CLSCs) and their economic benefits and environmental impacts. In this chapter, our focus is the study of remanufacturing activity, which is one of the main recovery methods applied to closed loop supply chains. Specifically, the authors investigate and evaluate strategies for effective management of inventory control and production planning of a remanufacturing system. To pursue this objective, they model a production and inventory system for remanufacturing using the System Dynamics (SD) simulation modeling approach. The authors primary interest is in the returns process of such a system. Case studies will be referred to in this chapter to support some of the findings and to further validate the developed model.
Learning with Technologies
Authors: Campbell Anne
Published: October 2011

This study explores the perceptions of undergraduate students and their teachers towards the current and future role of learning with technologies in university education in China. Data from a survey completed by 1,740 undergraduate students from 12 universities and colleges throughout a rural province in north-eastern China was supplemented by an analysis of student response to learning with technology in Chinese classroom contexts using visual ethnography. The analysis of the data indicated that the use of technologies in the undergraduate classrooms in this study has had little effect on the way the university lecturers teach, but that their undergraduate students made extensive use of mobile technologies for interpersonal communication and learning outside the classroom, albeit not necessarily in relation to their formal education. These changes raise questions about the key role of socio-cultural expectations regarding effective education in determining the uptake of learning with technologies.
E-Governance Adoption
Authors: Karavasilis Ioannis , Zafiropoulos Kostas , Vrana Vasiliki
Published: October 2011

This chapter introduces Technology Acceptance Model, the Diffusion of Innovation model and constructs of trust, risk and personal innovativeness as a means of studying e-governance adoption. As governments around the world are moving forward in e-governance development it is important to identify factors that determine acceptance under specific circumstances prevailing in each country and give strategic insight to increase the usage of e-governance services. Primary and secondary education teachers responded to an online survey resulting to 230 questionnaires. A SEM validation of the proposed model reveals that Personal Innovativeness, Compatibility and Relative advantage are stronger predictors of intention to use, compared to trust, and perceived risk. The findings give some clues and directions for planning effective e-governance practices and could assist policy-makers with the first guidelines about which areas should be improved in order to enhance e-governance services.
E-Government Maturity Levels in Brazil
Authors: Fernandes Ciro Campos Christo , Joia Luiz A.
Published: October 2011

This chapter examines the experiences of e-government programs in state public administrations, identifying differences in trajectory and levels of maturity achieved, by focusing on the Brazilian states of Alagoas, Minas Gerais, Paraná, Pernambuco and São Paulo. The study devised and implemented a framework for analyzing the development of e-government, incorporating components and factors related to strategy and organizational structure. The evidence collected corroborates the hypothesis that strategic vision, planning and organizational coordination structures are associated with experiences that have progressed through to the deployment of e-government projects of greater complexity. It was further detected that the alignment between strategy and program is a critical factor for achieving higher stages of maturity, although a linear and sequential linkage is not always verifiable between the stages of vision, planning, organization and implementation of electronic government.
Pressures or Weapons?
Authors: Lin Liang-Hung
Published: October 2011

Innovating organizational structures by using information technologies (IT), this study introduced new IT-enabled structures, and presented how managers scan firms capabilities and design suitable structures in the information age. Another purpose of this chapter is to verify the role of IT-enabled structures in the multilevel study of innovation management. Findings based on hierarchical regression analyses revealed that IT-enabled structures are critical in the management of innovation. Furthermore, IT-enabled structures can explain the difference of both organizational innovation and individual creativity in organizations. It also can moderate the relationship between organizational innovation and individual creativity.
E-Reference in Public Libraries
Authors: McLachlan Ross , Sullivan Kathleen
Published: October 2011

This case study offers insight into how Phoenix Public Library attempts to meet customer’s needs for 24/7 access to Library information and services. Strategies to achieve quality results, successful and failed initiatives, and lessons learned are presented.
Building the IT Workforce of the Future
Authors: Armstrong Deborah J. , Nelson H. James , Nelson Kay M. , Narayanan V.K.
Published: October 2011

The software development process has undergone a considerable amount of change from the early days of spaghetti code to the present state of the art of development using strategic patterns. This has caused not only changes in the toolkits that developers use, but also a change in their mindset—the way that they approach and think about software development. This study uses revealed causal mapping techniques to examine the change in mindset that occurs across the procedural to OO development transition, and lays the foundation for future studies of the OO/ pattern cognitive transition. The results indicate that there is not only increasing complexity in the cognitive maps of the OO developers, but also that there is a need for the developer to shift from routine, assembly line coding to more abstract thought processes.
Preparedness of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises to Use Information and Communication Technology as a Strategic Tool
Authors: Antlova Klara
Published: October 2011

The objective of this chapter is to emphasize issues connected with adoption of information and communication technology (ICT) as a strategic tool contributing to further organizational growth. This understanding is based on the results of a qualitative analysis of a group of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Gradual development of a group of 30 organizations has been monitored over the last fifteen years during their co-operation with the Technical University of Liberec. These organizations have hosted one-year student placements where students, as part of their Bachelor’s degree course, undertake a long term work experience enabling them to integrate the practical and theoretical aspects of their course. The research focused on SME management’s approach to ICT, its utilization for competitive advantage and its relation to and defining of business strategy. Other aspects of the study looked at the effect of ICT on organizational performance, knowledge and skills of the employees, training and organizational culture. The results indicate that successful and growing companies have gradually established business, information and knowledge strategies and make strategic use of ICT.
Factors Influencing the Use of Decision Support Tools of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems
Authors: Kamhawi Emad M.
Published: October 2011

Over the past few years, the marketplace and the trade press have recognized the value derived from using enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems for decision making support. However, research studies have tended to concentrate primarily on the use of ERP systems on their transactional and recordkeeping aspects. This study used the technology acceptance model (TAM) to evaluate the impact of a set of individual differences (demographics, computer self efficacy, and knowledge of the system), system characteristics (relevance, terminology and screen design), and perceived benefits of the system, on the intentions to use ERP systems for decision support. A field study was used to collect data from managers working in Bahraini enterprises that use ERP systems. The results indicate that individual differences concerning age, gender, level of education, and even computer self efficacy did not influence intentions of using the decision tools of ERP systems. The only individual difference that showed significant influence is the degree of knowledge of the system. In addition, both perceived shared benefits and system characteristics had significant influence on the intention to use the system for decision support tasks, through perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness. The chapt4er discusses the implications of these findings and ends with possible extensions of the study.
Measuring Critical Factors of Software Quality Management
Authors: Vitharana Padmal , Mone Mark A.
Published: October 2011

Literature presents attributes of effective quality management in building software systems. The value of the capability maturity model (CMM), ISO 9000, and total quality management (TQM) concepts in managing software quality has been widely acknowledged. However, shortcomings of these approaches have also been recognized. For instance, scholars have acknowledged CMM implementation difficulties because of its inherent complexity. This research synthesizes existing literature base in CMM, ISO 9000, TQM, among others, to identify six critical factors of software quality management (SQM) and then develops an instrument that can be used to measure critical factors of SQM. Validity and reliability are established by reviewing extant literature, testing a preliminary version of the instrument among a group of researchers and industry experts, and empirically testing a revised version of the instrument among a group of IS professionals. The instrument is relatively easy to implement and requires minimal resources. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
Using Organizational Semiotics and Conceptual Graphs in a Two-Step Method for Knowledge Management Process Improvement Measurement
Authors: Schiffel Jeffrey A.
Published: October 2011

The semantic normal forms of organizational semiotics extract structures from natural language texts that may be stored electronically. In themselves, the SNFs are only canonic descriptions of the patterns of behavior observed in a culture. Conceptual graphs and dataflow graphs, their dynamic variety, provide means to reason over propositions in first order logics. Conceptual graphs, however, do not of themselves capture the ontological entities needed for such reasoning. The culture of an organization contains natural language entities that can be extracted for use in knowledge representation and reasoning. Together in a rigorous, two-step process, ontology charting from organizational semiotics and dataflow graphs from knowledge engineering provide a means to extract entities of interest from a subject domain such as the culture of organizations and then to represent these entities in formal logic reasoning. This paper presents this process, and concludes with an example of how process improvement in an IT organization may be measured in this two-step process.
Challenges of Data Management in Always-On Enterprise Information Systems
Authors: Varga Mladen
Published: October 2011

Data management in always-on enterprise information systems is an important function that must be governed, that is, planned, supervised, and controlled. According to Data Management Association, data management is the development, execution, and supervision of plans, policies, programs, and practices that control, protect, deliver, and enhance the value of data and information assets. The challenges of successful data management are numerous and vary from technological to conceptual and managerial. The purpose of this chapter is to consider some of the most challenging aspects of data management, whether they are classified as data continuity aspects (e.g., data availability, data protection, data integrity, data security), data improvement aspects (e.g., coping with data overload and data degradation, data integration, data quality, data ownership/stewardship, data privacy, data visualization) or data management aspect (e.g., data governance), and to consider the means of taking care of them.
The Benefits of Using Technology in Human Resource Management
Authors: Parry Emma
Published: October 2011

The use of technology within human resource management has grown considerably over the last decade with the majority of organizations now using some form of HR information system (HRIS). For instance, in Europe, Watson-Wyatt (2002) found that 70% of the organizations surveyed used the Internet or Intranet to deliver HR services to employees with most respondents planning to enhance substantially their e-HR capabilities over the two years after the survey. In the UK alone, survey research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development in 2005 showed that 77% of organizations used an HRIS. Research from Cranfield School of Management in 2003 found an even higher proportion of companies using HRIS at 82%. An HRIS can perform a number of functions from the simple storage and communication of information, to more complex transactions. As technology advances, the range of functions that an HRIS can undertake increases. The use of HRIS can provide a number of benefits to the HR function, line managers, and the wider organization. On one level, the use of technology has been shown to lead to faster, more accurate and more efficient processes, and reduced HR costs. Technology can also be used to provide HR information and to enable managers and employees to perform simple HR tasks themselves. On another level, the use of HRIS to reduce the administrative and transactional burden on the HR function can lead to a change in the structure of HR and allow the function to play a more strategic role in the organization. The reasons behind an organization’s introduction of an HRIS may vary considerably from the need to facilitate efficient processes or cut costs, to improve communication and customer service, or the desire to create a shift in the role of the HR function from one that is mainly administrative to one that is more strategic. This chapter will discuss the potential impacts of technology on HRM in terms of the possible rationale behind the introduction of an HRIS. The chapter will draw on the past literature on HRIS as well as on case study research conducted by the author in conjunction with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (Parry, Tyson, Selbie, & Leighton, 2006) to examine the possible components of a business case for HRIS and the benefits that such systems can potentially offer to an organization.
Linking Exploration and Exploitation Capabilities with the Process of Knowledge Development and with Organizational Facilitators
Authors: Camisón-Zornoza César , Boronat-Navarro Montserrat
Published: October 2011

Knowledge management is a fundamental capability in today’s evolving markets. Management needs to understand which organizational processes are necessary to trigger each of the stages in knowledge development. The objective of this study is to outline the main concepts and stages in the process of knowledge development in organizations and the organizational activities that have a positive influence on those stages. A conceptual framework is proposed which combines the model of knowledge development proposed by Nonaka (1994) with the concepts of exploration and exploitation initially described by March (1991). Information systems are seen to play a fundamental role in supporting this process, especially in activities related to exploitation capability.
Integrating Software Engineering and Costing Aspects within Project Management Tools
Authors: Gelbard Roy , Kantor Jeffrey , Edelist Liran
Published: October 2011

This study proposes and prototypes a model that integrates these three aspects of software projects by automatically mapping SE objects and accounting–costing objects into PM objects. To validate the feasibility of the model and without loss of generality, it is demonstrated using former research platform focused on conversion of data flow diagrams (DFD), which are actually full enterprise set of use cases diagrams reflecting entire system-software project into Gantt charts.