bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Brain Metastases in Gastrointestinal Cancers: Is there a Role for Surgery?
Authors: Lemke Johannes , Scheele Jan , Kapapa Thomas , Von Karstedt Silvia , Wirtz Christian , Henne-Bruns Doris , Kornmann Marko
Published: September 2014

About 10% of all cancer patients will develop brain metastases during advanced disease progression. Interestingly, the vast majority of brain metastases occur in only three types of cancer: Melanoma, lung and breast cancer. In this review, we focus on summarizing the prognosis and impact of surgical resection of brain metastases originating from gastrointestinal cancers such as esophageal, gastric, pancreatic and colorectal cancer. The incidence of brain metastases is <1% in pancreatic and gastric cancer and <4% in esophageal and colorectal cancer. Overall, prognosis of these patients is very poor with a median survival in the range of only months. Interestingly, a substantial number of patients who had received surgical resection of brain metastases showed prolonged survival. However, it should be taken into account that all these studies were not randomized and it is likely that patients selected for surgical treatment presented with other important prognostic factors such as solitary brain metastases and exclusion of extra-cranial disease. Nevertheless, other reports have demonstrated long-term survival of patients upon resection of brain metastases originating from gastrointestinal cancers. Thus, it appears to be justified to consider aggressive surgical approaches for these patients.
Are Humans the Most Intelligent Species?
Authors: Erickson Robert
Published: September 2014

Hunt and Jaeggi [1] nicely summarize the point that within the academic field of intelligence, we do not have a commonly understandable definition of what intelligence is. Still the term is used extensively and with consensus to the effect that humans are the most intelligent species. An example is given of this problem, and a definition and solution are suggested.
Regional Development Scenario Evaluation through Land Use Modelling and Opportunity Mapping
Authors: Shahumyan Harutyun , Williams Brendan , Petrov Laura , Foley Walter
Published: September 2014

In the context of sustainable urban development, the application of selected indicators integrated with scenario simulation and analysis can contribute to evidence-based decision making. This paper discusses the application of land use modelling and opportunity mapping approaches to evaluate regional development scenarios for the Greater Dublin Region in the period to 2026 evolving from research initially developed with the Dublin Regional Authority. This involved the simulation of four different future regional development scenarios using an adapted version of the MOLAND model with opportunity maps based on combined spatial indicators corresponding to these scenarios. The results produce valuable information for policy makers and planners assisting the evaluation of the consequences of their decisions in both a spatial and temporal context. This paper aims to show how current and future planning and economic policy can make targeted and evidence-based policy interventions and achieve resource efficiencies through the use of scenario analysis.
Multifunctional Material Structures Based on Laser-Etched Carbon Nanotube Arrays
Authors: Emplit Aline , Tooten Ester , Xhurdebise Victor , Huynen Isabelle
Published: September 2014

High-power electronics in the transportation and aerospace sectors need size and weight reduction. Multifunctional and multistructured materials are currently being developed to couple electromagnetic (EM) and thermal properties, i.e., shielding against electromagnetic impulsions, and thermal management across the thermal interface material (TIM). In this work, we investigate laser-machined patterned carbon nanotube (CNT) micro-brushes as an alternative to metallic structures for driving simultaneously EM and heat propagation. The thermal and electromagnetic response of the CNT array is expected to be sensitive to the micro-structured pattern etched in the CNT brush.
SU-8 Photolithography as a Toolbox for Carbon MEMS
Authors: Martinez-Duarte Rodrigo
Published: September 2014

The use of SU-8 as precursor for glass-like carbon, or glassy carbon, is presented here. SU-8 carbonizes when subject to high temperature under inert atmosphere. Although epoxy-based precursors can be patterned in a variety of ways, photolithography is chosen due to its resolution and reproducibility. Here, a number of improvements to traditional photolithography are introduced to increase the versatility of the process. The shrinkage of SU-8 during carbonization is then detailed as one of the guidelines necessary to design carbon patterns. A couple of applications—(1) carbon-electrode dielectrophoresis for bioparticle manipulation; and (2) the use of carbon structures as micro-molds are also presented.
Carbonylation of Ethene Catalysed by Pd(II)-Phosphine Complexes
Authors: Cavinato Gianni , Toniolo Luigi
Published: September 2014

This review deals with olefin carbonylation catalysed by Pd(II)-phosphine complexes in protic solvents. In particular, the results obtained in the carbonylation with ethene are reviewed. After a short description of the basic concepts relevant to this catalysis, the review treats in greater details the influence of the bite angle, skeletal rigidity, electronic and steric bulk properties of the ligand on the formation of the products, which range from high molecular weight perfectly alternating polyketones to methyl propanoate. It is shown that the steric bulk plays a major role in directing the selectivity. Particular emphasis is given to the factors governing the very active and selective catalysis to methyl propanoate, including the mechanism of the catalytic cycles with diphosphine- and monophosphine-catalysts. A brief note on the synthesis of methyl propanoate using a “Lucite” type catalyst in ionic liquids is also illustrated. A chapter is dedicated to the carbonylation of olefins in aqueous reaction media. The nonalternating CO-ethene copolymerization is also treated.
Multi-Chromatic Analysis of SAR Images for Coherent Target Detection
Authors: Bovenga Fabio , Derauw Dominique , Rana Fabio , Barbier Christian , Refice Alberto , Veneziani Nicola , Vitulli Raffaele
Published: September 2014

This work investigates the possibility of performing target analysis through the Multi-Chromatic Analysis (MCA), a technique that basically explores the information content of sub-band images obtained by processing portions of the range spectrum of a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image. According to the behavior of the SAR signal at the different sub-bands, MCA allows target classification. Two strategies have been experimented by processing TerraSAR-X images acquired over the Venice Lagoon, Italy: one exploiting the phase of interferometric sub-band pairs, the other using the spectral coherence derived by computing the coherence between sub-band images of a single SAR acquisition. The first approach introduces the concept of frequency-persistent scatterers (FPS), which is complementary to that of the time-persistent scatterers (PS). FPS and PS populations have been derived and analyzed to evaluate the respective characteristics and the physical nature of the targets. Spectral coherence analysis has been applied to vessel detection, according to the property that, in presence of a random distribution of surface scatterers, as for open sea surfaces, spectral coherence is expected to be proportional to sub-band intersection, while in presence of manmade structures it is preserved anyhow. First results show that spectral coherence is well preserved even for very small vessels, and can be used as a complementary information channel to constrain vessel detection in addition to classical Constant False Alarm Rate techniques based on the sole intensity channel.
Novel Wearable and Wireless Ring-Type Pulse Oximeter with Multi-Detectors
Authors: Huang Cheng-Yang , Chan Ming-Che , Chen Chien-Yue , Lin Bor-Shyh
Published: September 2014

The pulse oximeter is a popular instrument to monitor the arterial oxygen saturation (SPO2). Although a fingertip-type pulse oximeter is the mainstream one on the market at present, it is still inconvenient for long-term monitoring, in particular, with respect to motion. Therefore, the development of a wearable pulse oximeter, such as a finger base-type pulse oximeter, can effectively solve the above issue. However, the tissue structure of the finger base is complex, and there is lack of detailed information on the effect of the light source and detector placement on measuring SPO2. In this study, the practicability of a ring-type pulse oximeter with a multi-detector was investigated by optical human tissue simulation. The optimal design of a ring-type pulse oximeter that can provide the best efficiency of measuring SPO2 was discussed. The efficiency of ring-type pulse oximeters with a single detector and a multi-detector was also discussed. Finally, a wearable and wireless ring-type pulse oximeter was also implemented to validate the simulation results and was compared with the commercial fingertip-type pulse oximeter.
A Filtration Based Technique for Simultaneous SEM and TEM Sample Preparation for the Rapid Detection of Pathogens
Authors: Beniac Daniel , Siemens Christine , Wright Christine , Booth Tim
Published: September 2014

Diagnostic electron microscopy for infectious diseases has the advantage that “everything” in the specimen can be observed, without a priori knowledge of the likely identity of the microorganisms present in the sample. The classical specimen preparation method used employs a droplet of sample, which allows particles to adsorb to a support film, and is subsequently negative stained. This “grid on drop” procedure has a sensitivity range of approximately 106 viruses per mL if no enrichment procedures are used. In the current investigation we present a novel use of filtration that allows us to detect viruses at concentrations as low as 102 viruses per mL. We present here methods based on filtration, in which total virus, and not virus concentration, is the limiting factor for detection. We show that filtration is more sensitive than conventional negative staining and can detect as few as 5 × 103 particles per sample.
Expanding the scope of cyclopropene reporters for the detection of metabolically engineered glycoproteins by Diels–Alder reactions
Authors: Späte Anne-Katrin , Schart Verena F , Häfner Julia , Niederwieser Andrea , Mayer Thomas U , Wittmann Valentin
Published: September 2014

Monitoring glycoconjugates has been tremendously facilitated by the development of metabolic oligosaccharide engineering. Recently, the inverse-electron-demand Diels–Alder reaction between methylcyclopropene tags and tetrazines has become a popular ligation reaction due to the small size and high reactivity of cyclopropene tags. Attaching the cyclopropene tag to mannosamine via a carbamate linkage has made the reaction even more efficient. Here, we expand the application of cyclopropene tags to N-acylgalactosamine and N-acylglucosamine derivatives enabling the visualization of mucin-type O-glycoproteins and O-GlcNAcylated proteins through Diels–Alder chemistry. Whereas the previously reported cyclopropene-labeled N-acylmannosamine derivative leads to significantly higher fluorescence staining of cell-surface glycoconjugates, the glucosamine derivative gave higher labeling efficiency with protein preparations containing also intracellular proteins.
Le suicide comme karōshi ou l'overdose de travail
Authors: Jobin Paul , Tseng Yu-Hwei
Published: September 2014

Depuis les années 1990, au Japon, les conséquences tragiques du surtravail ont suscité une mobilisation sociale importante autour de la notion de karōshi , conduisant progressivement le ministère de la Santé et du Travail à reconnaître les suicides liés au travail. Parallèlement, la police fournit des statistiques précieuses pour appréhender le phénomène. Taiwan, et plus récemment la Chine s’inspirent de l’expérience japonaise et de sa législation. Les critères de reconnaissance tendent toutefois à se focaliser sur la durée de travail ou les événements individuels aux dépens de facteurs touchant à l’organisation du travail et les effets délétères de certaines cultures managériales. Il faut donc rechercher ailleurs que dans le seul « surtravail » ou le « stress » les causes possibles du phénomène des suicides liés au travail. Enfin, un cas emblématique de suicide d’un jeune chercheur nous alerte sur les finalités et les modalités de la recherche scientifique.
Clasificación inédita de catedrales góticas españolas en función de su iluminación
Authors: Medina J. M.
Published: September 2014

La luz natural y la arquitectura gótica son dos conceptos que viajan inseparables. Son muchas las teorías existentes acerca de la luz gótica y su valor simbólico y teológico, pero no existe ningún estudio de esa luz como realidad física cuantificable, cualificable y por tanto, clasificable.

El presente artículo recoge algunos de los resultados de la investigación realizada en busca de una metodología de entendimiento de la luz gótica a través de la definición de unos factores inéditos que matizan sus cualidades. La investigación se ha desarrollado mediante un análisis profundo de seis espacios góticos singulares, aportando una clasificación según «tipos de luz gótica» que pretende ser un nuevo condicionante a tener en cuenta en el futuro, ayudando a entender y respetar, aquello que fue en su inicio motor principal del proyecto arquitectónico y que hoy día no se valora suficientemente tan solo por falta de conocimiento: su luz.
«Estudio Precost&e»: evaluación de los costes constructivos y consumos energéticos derivados de la calificación energética en un edificio de viviendas situado en Madrid
Authors: García-Navarro J. , González-Díaz M. J. , Valdivieso M.
Published: September 2014

Este artículo presenta un caso de estudio en el que, mediante la calificación energética, se relacionan la eficiencia energética de un edificio, sus costes de construcción y sus consumos energéticos. La variación del comportamiento energético del edificio se realiza a través de cambios en la envolvente y los sistemas de producción de energía. El estudio es teórico y fue realizado en 2009-2010 sobre el proyecto de un edificio residencial de protección oficial situado en Madrid.

El trabajo desarrolla una metodología que permite evaluar las variaciones de eficiencia energética en un proyecto y sus implicaciones económicas. Ello permitirá a promotores y arquitectos valorar cómo la adopción de medidas activas y pasivas afecta a la calificación energética de un edificio, a su consumo de energía y a los costes constructivos. Además se analiza la relación entre la orientación de las viviendas y la calificación energética, y las características de los programas utilizados.
Innovation and Competitiveness
Authors: Karabay Melisa Erdilek
Published: September 2014

While the fostering effect of globalization continues, the traditional perspectives of corporations regarding competition lose their significance as the conventional strategies have started to give way to new approaches in the business world. Many firms have realized the fact that it is fundamentally necessary to revise their competitive strategies to maintain their sustainability. Therefore, “innovation,” one of the emerging strategies of competition, has globally become more and more dominant. However, the debate on the strategic value of innovation is still ambiguous not only in the theoretical framework but also in practice. The main purpose of this chapter is to make clear the theoretically informed definition of “innovation” and express its potential for providing competitive advantage in the financial sector. The chapter discusses some of the main scholarly sources of the issues related to the innovation strategies supported by the cases in the Turkish Banking and Insurance Industries.
Production, Trade, Knowledge Economy, and ICTs in Arab Countries
Authors: Zouag Nada , Achehboune Amale
Published: September 2014

This chapter introduces, respectively, the issues related to production, trade with a focus on the degrees of concentration and diversification besides the relationships to innovation, and knowledge with a focus of information and communication technologies (ICTs). The link between innovation and the value added in diverse sectors of the overall Arab economies is then addressed and discussed. Links between ICTs and other sectors are also discussed for the development of Arab economies.
The Situation of Knowledge Economy in the Arab and EEE Regions
Authors: Pele Daniel
Published: September 2014

This chapter introduces different knowledge components and indices and attempts to show their impacts on different economic and development indicators with focus on EEE and Arab economies. It uses mainly descriptive statistics and regression analysis to globally assess these performances. The sets of data used for EEE show already the data limitations faced by Arab economies.
Factors Driving Value Creation in Online B2B Banking
Authors: Lai Jung-Yu , Ulhas Khire Rushikesh , Lin Ching-Tsung , Ong Chorng-Shyong
Published: September 2014

In today's highly competitive business environment, online business-to-business (B2B) banking services offer efficient, reliable, securable, and convenient financial services for customers. However, research has paid scant attention to quantifying the value of online B2B banking and identifying the factors that drive it from the employees' perspective. Hence, this study explores value creation in online B2B banking in terms of user satisfaction, individual impacts, and organizational impacts by incorporating technological, organizational, and environmental forces. The results based on a survey of 178 respondents collected from Taiwanese Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) strongly support the contention of the study that technological, organizational, and environmental forces really drive value creation in online B2B banking in terms of user satisfaction, individual impacts, and organizational impacts. These findings and the proposed research model may be helpful to managers when implementing online B2B banking, and valuable for researchers who are developing related theories.
Financial Distress and Bankruptcy Costs
Authors: Sami Ben Jabeur
Published: September 2014

Since the crisis of the 1930s and the early work of writers such as Fitzpatrick (1932), the problem of failure has become a field of investigation and research in its own right. According to Franks and Sussman (2005), a firm is defined as being in distress once the local branch or regional credit manager decides to transfer a status report to the monitoring unit of economic enterprises or responsible financial diagnosis. Such decisions may occur, especially for SMEs, in the case of violations of certain terms (non-payment of interest exceeding the overdraft limit ...) or following a poor assessment of the future of the firm by directors of credit (by reference to indicators such as high debt and low profitability). The objective of this chapter suggests analyzing the processes of the financial distress of companies and their impact.
Behavioral Finance in Theory and Practice
Authors: Okur Mustafa , Gurbuz A. Osman
Published: September 2014

Behavioral finance is a new approach in finance literature. The main idea is that investors are not as rational as they are assumed to be. Therefore, financial markets could be better understood by using models that capture the effects of both rational and irrational investors. The critics of behavioral finance could be grouped into two main categories: limits of arbitrage and psychological factors. This chapter concentrates on both challenges and possible contributions of behavioral finance theory to the modern finance theory, which is mainly based on rational expectations theory and efficient market hypothesis.
International Stock Investment Portfolio Management Strategies for Emerging Economies
Authors: Sayin H. Cem , Çakan Sinan
Published: September 2014

People or companies canalize their money to consumption or retain it for the future. Their desire to use their savings to obtain extra income gave birth to the concept of investment. They do this in a frame of expectations about the future. Expectations are the foundation of all investment decisions. This chapter focuses on how an investment and portfolio management process should be and explains different portfolio management strategies. It also includes different types of stock investments. The chapter intends to teach how one can choose a stock and manage money effectively. For this aim, the chapter includes value investment style, growth investment sytle, technical investment style, momentum investment style, fundamental investment style, and beyond. It is very important to know which strategy best fits your aims and your characteristics, so you will be able to learn this through this chapter. In addition, it is important to know how these strategies can used together effectively. In this chapter, an investor will find answers to questions about stock investment.
Banks and People in the Development Process
Authors: Sengupta Atanu , De Sanjoy
Published: September 2014

Economic development is crucially an end product of mobilizing dormant savings into the fragrance of a new life - what is commonly called as investment. Banks play a crucial role in this channelization. In an underdeveloped economy like India, there are many traditional avenues of savings (such as gold, land, livestock, real estate, and so on). There may be many motives why people opt for traditional avenues rather than formal banking. The traditional avenues are believed to be more trustworthy and down to earth. The strict rules and stereotyped functioning of the formal banks can make them uncomfortable to the people in the underdeveloped areas. Thus, a huge fund in India is caught in the web of informal banking streams. This chapter seeks to understand how far and to what extent these changes have occurred in India. First, the authors consider a case study from rural India that depicts disparate banking behavior of rural populace. Next, they use district level data on banking habits across all the states of India. The authors first note the pattern and distribution of banking habits of people across the subcontinent. They then try to assess the reasons behind such discrepancy.
Customers' Perspectives of Internet Banking Adoption in Developing Economies
Authors: Varaprasad G. , Sridharan R. , Unnithan Anandakuttan B.
Published: September 2014

The competition in the banking sector has increased dramatically from the past decade. This increased competition environment in the financial service sector has resulted in the development and utilization of alternative delivery channels. The advancements and revolutions in the communication and information technology have changed the functional scenario of the banking sector significantly. Internet banking is a novel delivery channel of banking and has been found to be an optional channel for the traditional banking because of the savings in time, money and effort. Banks have become more and more competitive to meet the customers demand for ease of use, functionality, relative advantage, greater accessibility and the best of the services at a lower price. The objective of this study is to investigate the factors which influence the adoption of Internet banking adoption in private sector banks of India. Factors such as perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived risk, relative advantage and trialability have been found to be the determinants of Internet banking in the previous studies. A new variable called conspicuousness has been introduced in the present study. Such a study has not been reported in the literature in the Indian context. A model has been proposed and tested using various statistical techniques. The findings are of great use primarily for the banks which are planning to offer Internet banking services, and for already existing banks to focus on the gaps. This research article provides valuable insights into the underlying contextual factors of Internet banking behavior for researchers and practitioners. The outcome of the study can be used to formulate new marketing strategies to increase the customer base of Internet banking market.
Fund Manager Overconfidence and Investment Narratives
Authors: Eshraghi Arman
Published: September 2014

This chapter proposes a novel approach to measuring fund manager overconfidence and its impact on investment performance. Among numerous behavioural biases identified in financial agents, overconfidence is perhaps most widely studied. Abundant research suggests that overconfidence can have a significant value-diminishing impact on financial decisions taken by small investors, but very few studies have sought to measure the overconfidence of professional investors. This study investigates more than 4600 US equity mutual funds and demonstrates why the proxies commonly used to measure investor overconfidence cannot be readily applied to fund managers, hence the usefulness of the content analysis approach as an alternative. A number of potential proxies for overconfidence including overoptimism, excessive certainty, and excessive self-reference are measured across fund manager reports. The findings suggest that superior past performance boosts overconfidence, which is, in turn, associated with diminished future investment returns. In addition, word frequency analysis is conducted to shed light on the genre and tone fund managers employ in their investment narratives and how this interplays with their demonstrated level of overconfidence.
Modern Risk Management Techniques in Banking Sector
Authors: Acar Okan , Acar Aslı Beyhan
Published: September 2014

Risk management as a very rapid emerging subject has been affected by several happenings in the world. There are many studies covering risk definition, risk types, and risk management, plus there are many contemporary approaches in order to calculate the risk incurred by the companies due to their transactions. In the modern business life, since the transactions have become very fast and their risk exposure increases, the companies, especially the financial institutions, started to use new techniques to measure the probable effects of the risks that they have taken while undertaking the transactions. In this chapter, the authors show two techniques as the contemporary approaches to risk management. These are operations research and statistics. They know that these two concepts are very detailed and sophisticated tools, which require software for better results. The banks have been investing in these solutions, and they are designing new organizations to handle these issues. Thus, the authors introduce these techniques very briefly with using some banking practices for better understanding.
The Role of Relational Mediators in the CRM-Performance Link
Authors: Padmavathy Chandrasekaran
Published: September 2014

CRM literature has considered the role of relationship quality (satisfaction, trust and commitment), but its respective effects on relationship maintenance (retention) and relationship development (cross-buying) are unnoticed. This research proposes an integrated model of CRM and investigates its impact on relationship quality, relationship maintenance, and relationship development. Specifically, it examines the effect of CRM on satisfaction, trust, retention and cross-buying. The results indicate significant and positive effect of CRM on satisfaction; satisfaction has a positive effect on trust, retention and cross-buying, and trust positively influences retention. Satisfaction plays a mediating role in the relationship between CRM and its outcomes. The results imply bank managers to focus on satisfying customers primarily to maintain and develop customer relationships.
An Investigation into the Risk of Construction Projects Delays in the UAE
Authors: Motaleb Omayma , Kishk Mohammed
Published: September 2014

The growing rate of delays in project delivery is considered a major criticism of the construction companies in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This paper aims to investigate the causes and effects behind the delays pertaining to delivery of construction projects in the UAE. The study is exploratory in nature, and incorporates a pilot questionnaire survey and interviews. An extensive literature review indicates potential factors that have possible effects on construction completion delay. The questionnaire forms were sent to 50 construction companies. Thirty-five (70%) completed responses were received. Analysis of the survey data has revealed that about 42 potential causes and effects of delay relate to various groups of stakeholders. The results show the top fifteen factors relate to clients, project managers and finance aspects. It was found that cost and time overruns are the most significant effects. These results are in partial agreement with previous studies. The paper argues that the key determinant in ensuring project control is on-time project delivery. The results of the study can provide moderate support for a suggested hypothesis, through a framework of project success factors. It should be of high concern to knowledge managers in various roles and decision-makers.
Identifying the Business Value of Information Security
Authors: Cardholm Lucas
Published: September 2014

Management may see information security as an inhibitor to daily operations if the investment is not well aligned with current business activities or is presented in financial terms not relevant to their agenda. While this chapter shows that information security improvements create bottom-line business benefits, there is still a need for security managers to focus on quantifying those benefits in relevant financial terms. The purpose is to demystify the principles of general investment processes and criteria for calculating the benefits and costs of investments while accentuating alignment to the imperatives of the organization that makes the investment. As information security investments are assessed alongside other investment projects, it helps to consider them on an equal footing, implying the use of similar, and ideally the same, methods of financial cost projection. It is equally important to position and present the proposed investment in a relevant business context.
A Diagnosis of the Determinants of Dividend Payout Policy in India
Authors: Kumar Raj , Jha Pawan Kumar
Published: September 2014

Dividend decision involves the portion of a firm's net earnings that are paid out to the shareholders, and the remaining is ploughed back in the company for its growth purpose. Despite comprehensive theoretical and empirical explanations, dividend policy and its determinants are a puzzle to be fixed in corporate finance. This chapter is an attempt to assess the dynamics and determinants of dividend-payout policy using a factor analytical tool and a multiple regression analysis as a supportive tool. The authors take into account the sample of ten automobile companies based on Market Capitalization listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) for a period of 10 years from 2002-2003 to 2012-2013. The results of the factor analysis show that six factors, current ratio, cash flow, retained earnings per share, earnings per share, equity dividend, and corporate dividend tax, are identified as the most critical factors determining dividend payout in Indian automobile companies. However, regression results depict only three factors (i.e. cash flow, equity dividend, and corporate dividend tax) have been found statistically significant in determining dividend payout policy.
The Impact of Internet Adoption on the International Marketing of the Jordanian Banking Sector
Authors: Al-Hasan Said , Thomas Brychan , Mansour Ayman
Published: September 2014

The research aims are to explore the extent of the banking sector's adoption of Internet applications in Jordan for marketing products and to identify the impact of such adoption on developing international markets. This study also aims to determine the major obstacles restraining banks marketing their products internationally through the Internet and to make recommendations conducive to an effective and optimal implementation of Internet applications for marketing bank products locally and internationally. The statistical software package SPSS was used to analyse data and test hypotheses and from the findings a series of recommendations were formulated for upgrading the banking industry in Jordan. A population frame included banking organisations in Jordan and a research sample of 19 banks was used involving an inclusive field survey. For the unit of analysis, the study analysed information and data gathered through the questionnaire which was distributed to managers and other personnel involved in marketing at banks. Statistical methods used to analyse data and test hypotheses were frequency rates and percentages relevant to the questionnaire, standard deviations and means, and multiple regression analysis. The key results from the statistical analysis have shown that the Jordanian banking sector's adoption of the Internet has had an impact on the international clients' commitment towards the banks.
The Use of Soft Computing for Optimization in Business, Economics, and Finance
Authors: Dostál Petr
Published: September 2014

Optimization methods have had successful applications in business, economics, and finance. Nowadays the new theories of soft computing are used for these purposes. The applications in business, economics, and finance have specific features in comparison with others. The processes are focused on private corporate attempts at money making or decreasing expenses; therefore the details of applications, successful or not, are not published very often. The optimization methods help in decentralization of decision-making processes to be standardized, reproduced, and documented. The optimization plays very important roles especially in business because it helps to reduce costs that can lead to higher profits and to success in the competitive fight.
Identifying Different Forms of Innovation in Retail Banking
Authors: Favre-Bonte Véronique , Elodie Gardet , Thevenard-Puthod Catherine
Published: September 2014

To be competitive and capture new customers, banks must develop continuous innovations that can reduce costs, enhance existing service quality, expand current service offerings, and increase market share. This article proposes a typology of different types of innovation in the retail banking sector on the basis of a case study of the leading French credit institution, Crédit Agricole. This bank does not innovate just incrementally, and radical innovations resulted from the launch of a new distribution channel, though several innovations are unrelated to new technology. This study adds to literature on innovation services by enhancing understanding of the different types of innovation. The empirical investigation further shows that the banking sector can develop process innovations, which give the bank a longer term competitive advantage. To innovate radically, the bank should anticipate the impact of its new offerings on different areas of the system.
The Use of Simulations as an Analytical Tool for Payment Systems
Authors: Diehl Martin
Published: September 2014

Simulations are among the analytical tools in payment systems analysis. They can be used to overcome epistemological weaknesses of models and calibrations, and they are virtual experiments that do not affect the real performance of payment systems. The chapter is intended to give an inside view into the use of simulations as an analysis tool for payment systems as well as settlement systems. Section 1 highlights the basic features of payment systems in order to explain the usefulness of, and the most important questions addressed by, simulations. Based on these features, an epistemological assessment of simulations versus other analytical tools will show the range and limits of simulations (section 2). Following the historic development, the use of simulations for functional development will be explained in section 3, before dealing with oversight aspects (section 4). Finally, in section 5, the authors list a couple of practical tools to do simulations and to discuss tendencies in simulation tools and speculate on the future direction of research.
Analysis of Firefly Algorithms and Automatic Parameter Tuning
Authors: Yang Xin-She
Published: September 2014

Many metaheuristic algorithms are nature-inspired, and most are population-based. Particle swarm optimization is a good example as an efficient metaheuristic algorithm. Inspired by PSO, many new algorithms have been developed in recent years. For example, firefly algorithm was inspired by the flashing behaviour of fireflies. In this chapter, the authors analyze the standard firefly algorithm and study the chaos-enhanced firefly algorithm with automatic parameter tuning. They first compare the performance of these algorithms and then use them to solve a benchmark design problem in engineering. Results obtained by other methods are compared and analyzed. The authors also discuss some important topics for further research.
Population Diversity of Particle Swarm Optimizer Solving Single- and Multi-Objective Problems
Authors: Cheng Shi , Shi Yuhui , Qin Quande
Published: September 2014

Premature convergence occurs in swarm intelligence algorithms searching for optima. A swarm intelligence algorithm has two kinds of abilities: exploration of new possibilities and exploitation of old certainties. The exploration ability means that an algorithm can explore more search places to increase the possibility that the algorithm can find good enough solutions. In contrast, the exploitation ability means that an algorithm focuses on the refinement of found promising areas. An algorithm should have a balance between exploration and exploitation, that is, the allocation of computational resources should be optimized to ensure that an algorithm can find good enough solutions effectively. The diversity measures the distribution of individuals' information. From the observation of the distribution and diversity change, the degree of exploration and exploitation can be obtained. Another issue in multiobjective is the solution metric. Pareto domination is utilized to compare two solutions; however, solutions are almost Pareto non-dominated for multiobjective problems with more than ten objectives. In this chapter, the authors analyze the population diversity of a particle swarm optimizer for solving both single objective and multiobjective problems. The population diversity of solutions is used to measure the goodness of a set of solutions. This metric may guide the search in problems with numerous objectives. Adaptive optimization algorithms can be designed through controlling the balance between exploration and exploitation.
Experimental Study on Boundary Constraints Handling in Particle Swarm Optimization from a Population Diversity Perspective
Authors: Cheng Shi , Shi Yuhui , Qin Quande
Published: September 2014

Premature convergence happens in Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) for solving both multimodal problems and unimodal problems. With an improper boundary constraints handling method, particles may get “stuck in” the boundary. Premature convergence means that an algorithm has lost its ability of exploration. Population diversity is an effective way to monitor an algorithm's ability of exploration and exploitation. Through the population diversity measurement, useful search information can be obtained. PSO with a different topology structure and a different boundary constraints handling strategy will have a different impact on particles' exploration and exploitation ability. In this chapter, the phenomenon of particles getting “stuck in” the boundary in PSO is experimentally studied and reported. The authors observe the position diversity time-changing curves of PSOs with different topologies and different boundary constraints handling techniques, and analyze the impact of these settings on the algorithm's abilities of exploration and exploitation. From these experimental studies, an algorithm's abilities of exploration and exploitation can be observed and the search information obtained; therefore, more effective algorithms can be designed to solve problems.
Artificial Insect Algorithms for Routing in Wireless Sensor Systems
Authors: Ang Li-Minn , Zungeru Adamu Murtala , Seng Kah Phooi , Habibi Daryoush
Published: September 2014

Social insect communities are formed from simple, autonomous, and cooperative organisms that are interdependent for their survival. These communities are able to effectively coordinate themselves to achieve global objectives despite a lack of centralized planning. This chapter presents a study of artificial insect algorithms for routing in wireless sensor networks, with a specific focus on simulating termites and their behaviours in their colony. The simulating behaviour demonstrates how the termites make use of an autocatalytic behaviour in order to collectively find a solution for a posed problem in reasonable time. The derived algorithm termed Termite-Hill demonstrates the principle of the termite behavior for solving the routing problem in wireless sensor networks. The performance of the algorithm was tested on static and dynamic sink scenarios. The results were compared with other routing algorithms with varying network density and showed that the proposed algorithm is scalable and improved on network energy consumption with a control over best-effort service.
Coverage Path Planning Using Mobile Robot Team Formations
Authors: Dasgupta Prithviraj
Published: September 2014

The multi-robot coverage path-planning problem involves finding collision-free paths for a set of robots so that they can completely cover the surface of an environment. This problem is non-trivial as the geometry and location of obstacles in the environment is usually not known a priori by the robots, and they have to adapt their coverage path as they discover obstacles while moving in the environment. Additionally, the robots have to avoid repeated coverage of the same region by each other to reduce the coverage time and energy expended. This chapter discusses the research results in developing multi-robot coverage path planning techniques using mini-robots that are coordinated to move in formation. The authors present theoretical and experimental results of the proposed approach using e-puck mini-robots. Finally, they discuss some preliminary results to lay the foundation of future research for improved coverage path planning using coalition game-based, structured, robot team reconfiguration techniques.
Swarm Intelligence for Dimensionality Reduction
Authors: Janecek Andreas , Tan Ying
Published: September 2014

Low-rank approximations allow for compact representations of data with reduced storage and runtime requirements and reduced redundancy and noise. The Non-Negative Matrix Factorization (NMF) is a special low-rank approximation that allows for additive parts-based, interpretable representation of the data. Various properties of NMF are similar to Swarm Intelligence (SI) methods: indeed, most NMF objective functions and most SI fitness functions are non-convex, discontinuous, and may possess many local minima. This chapter summarizes efforts on improving convergence, approximation quality, and classification accuracy of NMF using five different meta-heuristics based on SI and evolutionary computation. The authors present (1) new initialization strategies for NMF, and (2) an iterative update strategy for NMF. The applicability of the approach is illustrated on data sets coming from the areas of spam filtering and email classification. Experimental results show that both optimization strategies are able to improve NMF in terms of faster convergence, lower approximation error, and/or better classification accuracy.
Synthesis of Ionic Hydrophobic Associating Polymer and it’s Aqueous Solution‘s Viscosity Characteristics
Authors: Feng Fa Yong , Yu Pei Zhi
Published: September 2014

Brief introduction of research progresses of hydrophobically associating water soluble polymer, as well as a synthesis method of a hydrophobically associating water-soluble polymer P (AM/KAA/MAHB). Meanwhile the molecular structure is characterized, and the viscosity behavior of the ionic hydrophobic-associating polymer solution is analyzed. The influences of polymer concentration, temperature, shear rate and water salinity of the saline solution on apparent viscosity are discussed. The critical associating concentration of polymer in salt solutions and salt thickening effect are also studied. The results show that the polymer possesses obvious temperature resistance and salt tolerance compared with partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide polymer.
Synthesis and Characterization of Melamine-Formaldehyde Resin for Foaming Use
Authors: Liu Jun Xia , Zhou Lei , Jiang Qi Bin , Yang Jin , Xie Jian Jun
Published: September 2014

The effects of mole ratio of formaldehyde and melamine (F/M), solution pH, reaction temperature and time on the foaming melamine-formaldehyde resin (MF resin) with caprolactam as modifier were investigated by orthogonal experiment design where the solid content and the viscosity of the resin, the density and the size uniformity of the foam resin were used as performance evaluation parameters. The results had shown that the optimal conditions for preparing the foaming MF resin were F/M= 3.25, pH=8.0, T=90°C, t=45min. The MF resin prepared under the optimal conditions could be foamed well and its storage time was prolonged to 16 days. The structure and thermal properties of MF resin under the optimal conditions were investigated.
Modeling and Simulation of the Ultrasonic Motor which Using Bending Vibration Transducer
Authors: Huang Zi Li , Chen Wei Shan
Published: September 2014

Build the mathematical model and mechanical model of ultrasonic motor which using bending vibration transducer. Based on this model, analyze the contact and friction processes between driven-foot which belonging to ultrasonic motor which using bending vibration transducer and guide rail. Analyze the influence preload force make to the process of motor’s running. Take the cases of stick, slip, flight into consideration, and explain nonlinearity of the Dynamics. Do computer simulations of starting process though this model, and summarize the motor’s working results when it works under different conditions.
Prediction of Classification of Rock Burst Risk Based on Genetic Algorithms with SVM
Authors: Peng Ya Hui , Peng Kang , Zhou Jian , Liu Zhi Xiang
Published: September 2014

Due to the complex features of rock burst hazard assessment systems, a support vector machine (SVM) model for predicting of classification of rock burst was established based on the SVM theory and the actual characteristics of the project in this study. The main factors of rock burst, such as coal seam, dip, buried depth, structure situation, change of pitch angle, change of coal thickness, gas concentration, roof management, pressure relief and shooting were defined as the criterion indices for rock burst prediction in the proposed model. In order to determine reasonable and efficient the parameters of SVM, Firstly, the appropriate fitness function for genetic algorithms (GA) operation was determined, and then optimization parameters of SVM model were selected by real coded GA, therefore, the genetic algorithms and support vector machine (GSVM) model was established. A GSVM model was obtained through training 23 sets of measured data, the cross-validation method was introduced to verify the stability of GSVM model and the ratio of mis-discrimination is 0. Moreover, the proposed model was used to predict 12 new samples rock burst, the correct rate of prediction results is 91.6667% and are identical with actual situation. The results show that the genetic algorithm can speed up SVM parameter optimization search, the proposed model has a high credibility in the study of rock burst prediction of risk classification, which can be applied to practical engineering.