bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Is "Usefulness" or "Use" the Superior Metric When Assessing Web-Based Information System Success?
Authors: Landrum Hollis T. , Prybutok Victor R. , Strutton David , Zhang Xiaoni
Published: May 2010

Managers are increasingly confronting the question of how to convey electronic information to e-commerce users in a manner that permits individuals to resolve information search related problems more easily. Information service quality and the associated performance outcomes are challenging to manage during Web-based interactions, primarily because such settings involve several features (i.e., less tangible contact, more uncertainty, differing feedback loops between business and consumers) not found in more traditional exchanges. To capture a broader view of the quality of information offerings in ecommerce settings, the model tested in this study compares the DeLone and McLean (2003) framework, one that includes use as an outcome measure, with a model suggested by Landrum and Prybutok (2004), one that features usefulness as its outcome measure. A random sample of Army Corp of Engineers library customers was performed at two library sites with the Corps. Theoretical and applied implications are developed and discussed.
Inter-Team Negotiation Support, Coalition Formation, and Negotiation Outcomes
Authors: Guo Xiaojia , Lim John , Wang Fei
Published: May 2010

This chapter is an attempt to investigate the role of negotiation support systems (NSS) in supporting inter-team negotiations, which have become commonplace for today’s business negotiations. Inter-team negotiations differ from simple dyadic negotiations, and are associated with enormous complexity introduced by the negotiating team dynamics. When there are three or more members in a negotiating team, coalition formation by team members stands out as an intriguing phenomenon, of which cultural diversity is a primary antecedent. NSS through altering coalition formation dynamics have important impacts on various negotiation outcomes. An experiment was conducted to test the authors’ research model and hypotheses. A content analysis was undertaken to measure the extent of coalition formation. Besides the quantitative approach, a qualitative analysis was also conducted to further enhance our exploratory efforts in examining the phenomenon. The results provide initial evidence of the usefulness of NSS in supporting inter-team negotiations, and have both theoretical and practical implications.
A Technological Perspective of Mobile and Electronic Commerce Systems
Authors: Hu Wen-Chen , Zuo Yanjun , Kaabouch Naima , Chen Lei
Published: May 2010

The emergence of wireless and mobile networks has made possible the introduction of electronic commerce to a new application and research subject: mobile commerce. Mobile commerce is a promising trend of commerce because Internet-enabled smartphones such as iPhones are becoming very popular these days. People use smartphones to perform daily tasks like browsing the mobile Internet and making phone calls anytime and anywhere. However, understanding or constructing a mobile or an electronic commerce system is not easy because the system involves a wide variety of disciplines and technologies and the technologies are constantly changed. To facilitate understanding and constructing such a system, this chapter divides the system into six components: (i) applications, (ii) client devices or computers, (iii) mobile middleware, (iv) wireless networks, (v) wired networks, and (vi) host computers. Elements in these components specifically related to the subject are described in detail and lists of current technologies for component construction are discussed.
The Evolving Portfolio of Business-to-Business E-Services
Authors: Legner Christine
Published: May 2010

E-services have been recognized for their contribution to strengthening customer relationships and fostering customer loyalty. While prior research has focused on the role of e-services in business-to-consumer interactions, this chapter studies e-services in the business-to-business domain. More specifically, it explores how the preferences for e-services and electronic channels change over time as a result of developing technology and evolving customer requirements. Based on the case study of ETA SA, a Swiss manufacturer of watch movements and components, three stages of increasing electronic interaction with customers have been identified. The company pioneered online ordering of watch spare parts based on a first generation e-commerce solution and subsequently introduced a comprehensive customer service portal. This research suggests that moving from the e-commerce solution to the customer process portal involved a significant extension of the e-service portfolio (service innovation), whereas the subsequent stage introduced an additional electronic channel (channel innovation). Every stage in this evolution path forces companies to substantially re-architect their interorganizational process and system linkages. From the experiences of ETA SA, we conclude that a well-designed B2B architecture is required to cope with the growing number of e-services and the complexity of serving multiple electronic channels.
Business Process Onshore Outsourcing within the Community Banking System
Authors: Medlin B. Dawn , Romaniello Adriana
Published: May 2010

Business processes refer to the activities that are performed within an organization that are used in order to produce value for the organization and its customers. Through the use of onshore outsourcing, banks as do other industries expect several benefits such as cost savings and reduction in overhead. Using knowledge management concepts, banks can better understand their firm’s performance as well as their own needs. This knowledge may also lead to the increase of employees’ skill sets. This study surveyed members of the North Carolina Bankers Association in order to determine what if any of their business processes they selected to outsource.
Ethical Concerns in Usability Research Involving Children
Authors: Ellis Kirsten , Quigley Marian , Power Mark
Published: May 2010

This chapter examines the issues in conducting ethical usability testing with children including the special complications presented by the unique characteristics of children. It outlines the process of gaining approval of overseeing bodies to conduct research with children and discusses the difficulties in gaining informed consent from teachers, parents and the children themselves; protection of the research subject from harm and the difficulty of empowering children to instigate their right to refuse to participate in the research project. The chapter also discusses practical issues regarding the research design such as age appropriate practice, the duration of testing and recruitment of participants.
Pedagogical Theories and Research
Authors: Hai-Jew Shalin
Published: May 2010

Some pedagogical theories and research have direct application to the use of digital imagery in electronic learning (e-learning). Applied perceptional research forms a foundational understanding of how humans see through their eyes. Cognitive theories address how the mind handles visual information. Pedagogical theories provide understandings of how individuals process information and learn effectively. These concepts lead to applied uses of digital imagery in e-learning contexts. These principles and practices will be introduced, analyzed, and evaluated in the context of the creation and use of digital imageries in e-learning. Then, strategies for how to apply theory to the selection, creation, and deployment of digital imagery in e-learning will be proposed.
Visual Literacy in E-Learning Instructional Design
Authors: Hai-Jew Shalin
Published: May 2010

Visual literacy refers to a deeper knowledge of what images convey, where the visual data comes from, how it is captured, how it may be manipulated, and how it may be deployed for the most effective conveyance of information. It may clarify nuanced messages embedded in imagery. This chapter addresses the principles of visual literacy in the context of e-learning. It will introduce some foundational terminology and visual phenomena. This will help readers evaluate the veracity of digital images and have a better understanding of digital visual effects. A sidebar by Jason Maseberg-Tomlinson shows the need for accessibility and how building this feature into an image is a part of visual literacy.
Effectively Integrating Graphics into E-Learning
Authors: Hai-Jew Shalin
Published: May 2010

Pedagogical theories and practices inform the effective integration of digital graphics in e-learning. This chapter examines how digital images may enhance e-learning at critical junctures, based on the learning context, learning objectives and learner needs. This also offers some insights on the procurement and / or creation of existing digital imagery to fit the learning context. This offers strategies for updating e-learning graphics for continuing applicability to a learning situation. Diana Marrs addresses how to maximize digital content quality in live interactive television and video conference courses, in a sidebar.
Complementary Resources, Web-Based Applications, and the Development of Web-Enabled Supply Chain
Authors: Lee Yootaek , Kim Jay , Miller Jeffery G.
Published: May 2010

The purpose of this chapter is to enhance our understanding of how web-based applications and complementary resources can work together to create competitive advantages in supply chains. This chapter is organized as follows. First, this chapter introduces the theoretical background of complementary resources. Then, it moves on to report a preliminary result of secondary data analysis that explores the role of complementary resources to the development of web-enabled supply chains. Lastly, this chapter reports a case study that focuses on identifying: 1) the complementary resources that influence the successful implementation of web-based applications for supply chain management, and 2) the degree to which certain types of complementary resources function to support the successful implementation of web-based applications.
A Comparison of Information Technology in Supply Chains
Authors: Kenyon George N. , Neureuther Brian D.
Published: May 2010

Historically, the growth of the beef industry has been hampered by the various entities (breeders, cowcalf producers, stockers, backgrounders, processors, etc..) within the beef industry’s supply chain. The primary obstacles to growth are the large number of participants in the upstream side of the supply chain and the lack of coordination between them. Over the last decade significant advances have been made in information and communication technologies. Many new companies have been founded to promote these technical advances. This research looks at both the upstream and downstream participants to determine the degree to which information technologies are currently being utilized and the degree to which these new technologies have driven performance improvements in the beef industry’s supply chain. We find through our survey that, by and large, the beef industry does not use information technologies to their benefit and that the US beef supply chain is not yet strategically poised to enable the use of these technologies.
Multimodal and Multichannel Issues in Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing
Authors: Rouillard José
Published: May 2010

Multimodality in mobile computing has become a very active field of research in the past few years. Soon, mobile devices will allow smooth and smart interaction with everyday life’s objects, thanks to natural and multimodal interactions. In this context, this chapter introduces some concepts needed to address the topic of pervasive and ubiquitous computing. The multi-modal, multi-channel and multidevice notions are presented and are referenced by the name and partial acroynm “multi-DMC”. A multi-DMC referential is explained, in order to understand what kind of notions have to be sustained in such systems. Next we have three case studies that illustrate the issues faced when proposing systems able to support at the same time different modalities including voice or gesture, different devices, like PC or smartphone and different channels such as web or telephone.
Ubiquitous User Interfaces
Authors: Blumendorf Marco , Lehmann Grzegorz , Roscher Dirk , Albayrak Sahin
Published: May 2010

The widespread use of computing technology raises the need for interactive systems that adapt to user, device and environment. Multimodal user interfaces provide the means to support the user in various situations and to adapt the interaction to the user’s needs. In this chapter we present a system utilizing design-time user interface models at runtime to provide flexible multimodal user interfaces. The server-based system allows the combination and integration of multiple devices to support multimodal interaction and the adaptation of the user interface to the used devices, the user and the environment. The utilization of the user interface models at runtime allows exploiting the design information for advanced adaptation possibilities. An implementation of the system has been successfully deployed in a smart home environment throughout the Service Centric Home project (www.sercho.de).
Determinants of E-Commerce Adoption among Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Malaysia
Authors: Hua Sim Chia , Rajesh Modapothala Jashua , Theng Lau Bee
Published: May 2010

With a major proportion of research on Electronic Commerce (EC) undertaken on large corporations, and focused primarily on developed countries, little is known about the determinants of EC in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) of developing nations. This chapter explores the extent of EC use by SMEs, and provides some empirical evidence of how internal factors of firm and owner are influencing EC adoption among smaller businesses in Malaysia. The methodology and results of this study may be applicable to other developing countries. Findings confirm the low level of participation in EC by SMEs. The age of enterprise, as well as the owner’s gender and education were found to be significant in determining the level of EC adoption. Though some of the results contradict those of previous studies, they may have a greater implication for government authorities in drawing up guidelines, approaches, and formulating more effective frameworks to promote EC use among SMEs in developing countries.
Online Auctions
Authors: Ho James K.
Published: May 2010

The Internet is a new medium of communication connecting potential partners in trade worldwide. The initial frenzy over its promises led to grossly exaggerated valuations of business models that were mere transplantations of existing processes to the alternative channel. Now that the bubble has burst, more sensible and critical thoughts can be turned to true transformations that are creating and nurturing markets of the future. Online auction is one of the very few cases that has held a steady course, as evidenced in the success to date of eBay.com. Founded in September 1995, eBay has become a global trading platform with presence in 39 markets where on any given day, there are more than 113 million listings across 50,000 plus categories. In 2009, at least 86 million people will buy and sell well over $2000 worth of goods every second (www. ebay.com). To survey the state of development of online auctions apart from eBay, on a pragmatic rather than theoretical basis, we examine variations in auction mechanisms, and give examples of implementation online at this writing. The commonly used terminology and definition of auction models can be found in e.g. McAfee and McMillan (1987). For conciseness and consistency, the www prefix and .com suffix are omitted from the URL of corresponding companies, and all lowercase is used throughout.
Effect of Perceived Risk on E-Commerce Acceptance
Authors: Herrero-Crespo Ángel , Rodríguez-del-Bosque Ignacio
Published: May 2010

The risk or uncertainty perceived on a conduct (e.g. purchasing or consuming of a product, or using an information system) by the individuals has been traditionally identified as one of the main determinants of consumer behavior. In particular, the influence of perceived risk has been specially linked to high involvement products or conducts (Laurent & Kapferer, 1985) which imply a high value or concern for the individual, and that are usually purchased after long and careful consideration. In the specific context of e-commerce, perceived risk has been traditionally identified as one of the main barriers for Internet shopping acceptance and diffusion (Korgaonkar & Wolin, 1999; Goldsmith & Lafferty, 2001; Miyazaki & Fernández, 2001; Wu & Wang, 2005). However, the empirical evidence available regarding this issue is contradictory, and some authors have found that the influence exerted by perceived risk on consumers’ online shopping behavior may not be so relevant (Jarvenpaa & Todd, 1997; Herrero & Rodríguez del Bosque, 2008).
Building Context-Aware E-Commerce Systems
Authors: Martirosyan Anahit , Tran Thomas , Boukerche Azzedine
Published: May 2010

Context is any information/knowledge about an application and user that can be used by an e-commerce system to provide efficient services to the users of the system. In this article, we propose to extend usage of context as compared to previously designed context-aware e-commerce systems. While in previous work, context was mainly considered for mobile e-commerce systems, we propose to build and use context for e-commerce systems in general. The context is employed to tailor an e-commerce application to the preferences and needs of users and provide insights into purchasing activities of users and particular e-commerce stores by means of using Data Mining techniques. This article proposes a model of context that includes micro-, macro- and domain contexts that constitute knowledge about the application and its user on different levels of granularity. The article also proposes a technique for extracting groups in social networks. This knowledge is part of macro-context in the proposed model of context. Moreover, the article discusses some of the challenges of incorporating context with e-commerce systems, emphasizing on the privacy issue, with an ultimate goal of developing intelligent e-commerce systems.
A Holistic View of the Challenges and Social Implications of Online Distribution
Authors: Harrison Tina , Waite Kathryn
Published: May 2010

Recent policies, aimed at reducing pension costs and improving consumer awareness, have contributed to the development of the Internet as a distribution channel within the pensions sector. This article critically evaluates the extent to which use of the Internet has facilitated and promoted pension distribution in the UK, as well as identifying the forces that are constraining or facilitating further change. Drawing on data gathered from pension providers, intermediaries and consumers the paper discusses the threat and implication of disintermediation, the capability of the Internet to empower those who use it, the resource implications of channel conflicts and the outcomes of shifts in responsibility for process enactment. The article reveals that the Internet has had some impact on the structure, geography and processes of pension distribution within the UK.
Web 1.0, Web 2.0 and Web 3.0
Authors: Kollmann Tobias , Lomberg Carina
Published: May 2010

Both, Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 were linked directly to new stages in the development of e-business. Whereas the distinction between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 became widely accepted in literature and practice, we are merely at the beginning of the possibilities arising from current trends culminating in our information society. Information emerges increasingly as a major factor of production, allowing the activation of innovative business opportunities. However, over the past years, a sheer explosion of supplies has taken place. This development is both a blessing and a curse as it leads to an oversupply of information within the World Wide Web. Thus, the time needed for finding required information may take longer eventually. Therefore, a next generation technology is needed being capable to cope with these challenges. Due to the logic of this chain of ideas, Web 3.0 technologies are characterized particularly by demand-orientated systems, i.e. demand for objects and services are at the centre. Starting point are demand-driven registration and specification systems. The consumer is at the centre of these processes and will gain individual help, comparable to an information desk. Not only information but also individual products and services may be released (customized products).
Information Technology Enabled Vendor Managed Inventory in Modelling Supply Chain Issues
Authors: Nachiappan Subramanian , Jawahar Natarajan
Published: May 2010

Supply chain is a network of firms interacting in a linear fashion to produce, sell and deliver a product or service to a predetermined market segment. It links all the chain partners within and across organization to work competitively by forming the partnerships together with the integration of business processes, technical and organizational aspects. The successful implementation of supply chain management depends on many soft issues (strategic/behavioural). The soft issues of supply chain models can be dealt through proper information sharing, communication and coordination between the stages of supply chain. Vendor managed inventory is a proven concept for successful collaborative and cooperative agreements in supply chain. This chapter reviews some of the soft issues in two-echelon supply chain models and proposes a classification schema. This chapter surveys the theoretical background and application of vendor managed inventory systems based on environment, operational issues and solution approaches. Hence it is concluded that the framework presented in this chapter would aid supply chain managers and researchers to further look into the soft issues while modeling supply chain with information technology enabled vendor managed inventory systems.
Benefits of Information Technology Implementations for Supply Chain Management
Authors: Nair Prashant R.
Published: May 2010

The usage of Information Technology (IT) in organizations across the supply chain has become a determinant of competitive advantage for many corporations. This chapter focuses on the usage of IT tools for Supply Chain Management (SCM). It also highlights the contribution of IT in helping restructure the entire distribution set-up to achieve higher service levels, lower inventory, and lower supply chain costs. An overview and tangible benefits of the existing IT tools, which are widely deployed, is provided with focus on existing configuration considerations, available applications, and deployments in India. The role of existing communication technologies in making IT an enabler of SCM, is highlighted by addressing a range of different point and enterprise solutions in a variety of supply chain settings. Critical IT demonstrations and implementations in SCM are discussed. Fundamental changes have occurred in today’s global economy. These changes alter the relationship that we have with our customers, our suppliers, our business partners, and our colleagues. Reflection on the evolving and emerging IT trends like software agents, RFID, web services, virtual supply chains, electronic commerce, and decision support systems, further highlights the importance of IT in the context of increasingly global competition. The rapid adoption of the Internet for communication with all stakeholders, seems to reflect the potential of the new-age communication media. It has also been observed that several progressive Indian companies are extensively using emerging tools like virtual supply chains, web services, RFID, and electronic commerce to shore up their supply chain operations. However, adoption of tools like software agents and decision support systems for supply chain integration by Indian companies, is limited.
Leaders, Decisions, and the Neuro-Knowledge System
Authors: Bennet Alex , Bennet Alex , Bennet David , Bennet David
Published: May 2010

Every decision-maker has a self-organizing, hierarchical set of theories (and consistent relationship among those theories) that guide their decision-making process. In support of this thesis the authors explore the following: (1) the development of invariant hierarchical patterns removed from the context and content of a specific situation; (2) the connections among values, beliefs, assumptions and those patterns (a personal theory); and (3) the robustness of those patterns and connections in a complex decision situation. These focus areas are addressed through the following chapter sections: baseline definitions; surface, shallow and deep knowledge; the decision-making process; decision-making viewed from outside the decision-maker; decision-making viewed from inside the decision-maker; anticipating the outcome of actions; hierarchy as a basic property of the decision-making system; advanced decisionmaking: the cortex; and final thoughts. It is also forwarded that the workings of our mind/brain provide a model for decision-making in a complex situation.
Decision Integrity and Second Order Cybernetics
Authors: Hodgson Anthony
Published: May 2010

The rational worldview of management science has come to dominate decision theory. This chapter proposes that, despite its evident successes, this view of decision making is decreasingly effective in a global world which turns out to be unruly and unpredictable in critical areas. The result is an escalation of unintended consequences in business, public affairs and human ecology. Despite its success in some fields of management, we need to question the rational view which disconnects the observer from the observed. Decision integrity is proposed as a reflexive theory of decision making that incorporates the decision maker as part of the decision field. It requires stepping out of the observer/object paradigm of classical science and into the alternative paradigm of second order cybernetics. The decision maker is not simply an observer but also a participant who cannot abdicate from personal ethical considerations and ultimate responsibility even in the face of uncertainty.
Metatheorising Transformational Management
Authors: Edwards Mark G.
Published: May 2010

Corporate management is facing a world full of transformational challenges. How might theory development contribute to a more transformative vision of management? While there have been attempts by theorists to move beyond conventional conceptualizations, more innovative and, in particular, more integrative theoretical frameworks are still needed. Conventional and new paradigm management theories take contending sides in the change debate and often define their approaches in terms of dichotomous oppositions. Using an integrative approach to metatheory building, this article proposes that the application of a relational lens overcomes many common polarities and oppositions present within current theorisings. The relational qualities that emerge from this metatheoretical approach are presented as useful guides for developing innovative theories that address the operational and transformational challenges of 21st century management. The metatheoretical analysis not only provides an integrative framework for exploring more visionary conceptualisations of management it also shows that metatheorising has powerful critical capacities for assessing scientific theories in the social sciences.
The Dynamic Usage of Models (DYSAM) as a Theoretically-Based Phenomenological Tool for Managing Complexity and as a Research Framework
Authors: Minati Gianfranco
Published: May 2010

In this paper, after recalling some fundamental concepts used in the science of complexity, we focus on theoretical and applicative cases of interest for the science of management of complex systems, where processes of emergence occur with the acquisition of new properties. The tool proposed is the DYnamical uSAge of Models (DYSAM). Within this framework we then focus upon a) the theoretical difference between growth and development; b) the sustainability of development rather than of growth as originally introduced in the literature; c) the concept of long tail (when, after initial large volume sales, low-revenue and infrequent buying may become a very important percentage of the entire business) as in telecommunications and management of long-tailed systems; d) non-reductionist management of complexity not reduced to solutions, and e) a future line of research to model processes of emergence.
Knowledge Cybernetics
Authors: Yolles Maurice I.
Published: May 2010

Knowledge cybernetics is part of complex systems, and a post-normal science approach principally concerned with the development of agents like autonomous social collectives that survive through knowledge and knowledge processes. Deriving from epistemological antecedents created by Stafford Beer and explored through notions of ontology by Eric Schwarz, a new form of knowledge management arises that is connected with the notions of Marshall and her new radical classifications for knowledge. These ideas can be closely associated with concepts of lifeworld and the ideas of communicative action by Habermas, and leads to a useful knowledge cybernetic framework. This has the capacity to relate to and develop a variety of what might be thought of as otherwise disparate theories that can ultimately be expressed in terms of knowledge.
Intrabody Communications (IBC) as an Alternative Proposal for Biomedical Wearable Systems
Authors: Estudillo M. A. , Naranjo David , Roa Laura M , Reina-Tosina Javier
Published: May 2010

Many times, medical monitoring requires the use of wires that connect patients with monitoring devices and reduce their mobility and comfort at the same time that hamper the work of doctors and medical staff. The development of transmissions technologies based on wireless communications standards, like Bluetooth or Zigbee, does not conform optimal solutions to develop the communication links in the biomedical wearable systems because of the situation of overexploitation and saturation of the Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) frequency bands, and also due to the consumption of their transceivers. This chapter presents both theoretical and application aspects of Intrabody Communications Technology (IBC) as an optimum solution for wireless communications in the wearable biomedical monitoring domain, which overcomes the previous inconveniences. The chapter is addressed by referencing dense scientific literature of the IBC technologies evolution till nowadays.
MIMO
Authors: Tocino Almudena Vicente , Calvo Alcalde Ana Isabel , Andrés Gutiérrez Juan José , Álvarez Navia Iván , García Peñalvo Francisco J. , Castrejón Esteban Pérez
Published: May 2010

According to previsions, Spanish population over 65 years old will soon be an important fraction. For the EU region, old-age dependency ratios will more than double in 2000 to 2050, decreasing, at the same time, the ratio of persons of working age to every elderly people. These data show the need for some helping technologies that make possible to deal with this scenario. One of the possibilities explored is the use of some kind of intelligence at home. This chapter describes the current status of the ambient intelligence (Aarts, Rabaey, & Weber, 2005) initiatives that link multi-agent technologies with personal monitoring for health and wellbeing. The aim is to explore various enabling technologies based on environmental intelligence, by means of which the user interacts with his or her home in various scenarios: home assistance and wellbeing, entertainment, identity management in a home environment, and location management in a home. All these possibilities are intended to satisfy the objective of home assistance and wellbeing, and it fits well within Ambient Assisted Living Joint Programme (AAL) (“Ambient Assisted Living,” 2008) partly funded by the European Commission. The authors will focus this technology on a personal health monitor integrated with the multi-agent system for home environments created by Telefónica R+D in cooperation with the Departamento de Informática y Automática of the University of Salamanca and the Computer Science Department of the University of Valladolid, Spain. This research aims to explore the use of several device discovery technologies and ambient intelligence techniques in order to allow the user interaction at home as transparent as possible. To achieve this goal a multi-agent system is proposed, focussing on knowledge representation for multi-agent system communication and personal health monitoring.
GuiMarket
Authors: Cruz-Cunha M. Manuela , Simões Ricardo , Tavares António , Miranda Isabel
Published: May 2010

The healthcare sector has been continuously growing in importance in the past years throughout the entire world, and particularly in most Western countries and the U.S., where we witness an increase of expenditure in health per capita every year. This is related to many aspects of contemporary society, including an increase in life expectancy, the public demand for a better quality of life and better health services. This must be met with more cost-efficient approaches, and new technology-based solutions for providing health and other services. The chapter contextualizes the utilization of electronic marketplaces (e-marketplaces) for the social and healthcare sectors, how this field has been evolving in recent years, current challenges and trends, and their contribut to society. The authors also discuss a pilot project of an e-marketplace for healthcare and social services currently being developed in the Guimarães Municipality, including its goal, definition and implementation, as well as the commercially available enabling technology and tools.
Virtual Learning Environment (ClassSim) Examined Under the Frame of Andragogy
Authors: Carrington Lisa , Kervin Lisa , Ferry Brian
Published: May 2010

ClassSim, an online simulation, was developed to support existing teacher education programs by providing pre-service teachers with access to additional classroom experience. This research reports on how pre-service teachers make use of the virtual learning environment to link knowledge from university coursework with field experiences and through this, we are able to examine affordances the virtual environment offers pre-service teacher learning. Andragogy provides a theoretical framework to review and make assumptions about the nature of learning for the participants. A comparative case study approach allows for in-depth comparison of two cohorts of pre-service teachers (first and final year) as they interact with the ClassSim environment.
Overview of Service Oriented Architecture for Resource Management in P2P Systems
Authors: Azzedin Farag , Eltoweissy Mohamed , Khwaja Salman Ahmad
Published: May 2010

The P2P computing is one of the technologies that is having a significant impact on the way Internet-scale systems are built. It is well established for applications such as file sharing and parallel distributed computation. The well establishment for P2P systems is built on the notion of sharing. One of the objectives of resource sharing is to increase some measure of the overall work done by the collection of resources. The authors present a service oriented architecture for sharing and managing resources in P2P systems. As P2P services have shown expedient way of interaction between peers utilizing different services, our architecture will extend the high utilization of P2P networks with service orientation for handling more services with better management and easy extendibility to further capitalize on the success of P2P networks.
Distributed and Adaptive Service Discovery Using Preference
Authors: Egashira Ryota , Enomoto Akihiro , Suda Tatsuya
Published: May 2010

In Service-Oriented Computing, service providers publish their services by deploying service components which implement those services into a network. Since such services are distributed around the network, Service-Oriented Computing requires the functionality to discover the services that meet certain criteria specified by an end user. In order to overcome the scalability issue that the current centralized discovery mechanism inherently has, distributed discovery mechanisms that the P2P research community has developed may be promising alternatives. This chapter outlines existing distributed mechanisms and proposes a novel discovery mechanism that utilizes end users’ preferences. The proposed mechanism allows end users to return their feedback that describes the degree of the preference for discovered services. The returned preference information is stored at nodes and utilized to decide where to forward subsequent queries. The extensive simulation demonstrates that the proposed mechanism meets key requirements such as selectivity, efficiency and adaptability.
Interactions and Distance Learning
Authors: Bertin Jean-Claude , Gravé Patrick , Narcy-Combes Jean-Paul
Published: May 2010

In the second part of this book, we discussed the nature of the five poles on which our didactic ergonomics model rests, as well as the nature of the language learning process around which the system revolves. While, in some cases, we could identify sets of theories on which to construct acceptable representations, we were faced with a number of areas where uncertainty proves to be unavoidable. This in no way invalidates the model but points to the complexity inherent in any attempt to describe human behaviors and actions.
Developing Serious Games for Learning Language-In-Culture
Authors: Barrett K. A. , Johnson W. Lewis
Published: May 2010

This chapter will focus on the instructional design process used to create Alelo’s language and culture training programs. The objective of the design process is not just a serious game, but an integrated learning environment which combines serious games with other supporting learning activities. Learners apply their newfound communication skills and cultural knowledge to complete tasks in a simulated environment. The chapter will specifically focus on the design and development phases of the process, which uses interdisciplinary teams combined with an iterative approach to meet customer needs. The authors employ innovative learning technologies such as artificial intelligence and speech recognition; these add greatly to the learning experience but also introduce unique challenges for instructional design. Central to the instructional design process is situated instructional design and rapid prototyping. Authoring techniques that facilitate the creation of lessons and games that scaffold the learner from beginning- to intermediate-level proficiency are also be described. In addition, the chapter will explain how Alelo’s technology instantiates current theories, models, and research findings in the fields of language learning, serious games, and artificial intelligence.
Principles and Signatures in Serious Games for Science Education
Authors: Borchert Otto , Brandt Lisa , Gutierrez Eric J. , Hokanson Guy , Slator Brian  M. , Vender Bradley
Published: May 2010

The World Wide Web Instructional Committee at North Dakota State University has developed a number of serious games aimed at science education. Their games are all multiuser, with a role-based orientation, promoting a task-and-goal cultural awareness. Constructed in collaboration with content experts, these games were developed under a proven set of design guidelines (design principles and signature elements) that serve to preserve consistency among the applications. As a consequence of this high-concept design constraint, their systems share important cognitive and pedagogical features that assist players in learning the serious game content while also allowing for consistent evaluation of learning outcomes across games. The authors have formatively evaluated these games and found them to be effective. It is now their hope that by sharing their design guidelines, others may be able to use and evaluate them to their advantage. The authors continue to develop and refine these design principles and signature elements through basic and evaluative research.
Rethinking Genre in Computer Games
Authors: Kallay Jasmina
Published: May 2010

“Rethinking Genre in Computer Games” is an attempt to find a new way of categorising game genre. Instead of dividing gameplay and game story as two separate entities, and regarding them by different genre standards, what if there were a way of distinguishing shared psychological qualities of a game’s narrative and gameplay components? If the gameplay and the game narrative can be seen to conform to the same psychological underpinnings (as in the same cognitive–emotional responses), then such a common denominator may open up this particular area of game studies to a new perspective on game genre. By analysing two games as case studies, the intention is to provide a widely applicable theoretical model for game analysis, with suggestions provided on possible future directions. The proposed model should challenge preexisting ideas on genre organisation and emphasise the value of employing psychology to better understand computer games.
Document and Schema XML Updates
Authors: Colazzo Dario , Guerrini Giovanna , Mesiti Marco , Oliboni Barbara , Waller Emmanuel
Published: May 2010

Purpose of this chapter is to describe the different research proposals and the facilities of main enabled and native XML DBMSs to handle XML updates at document and schema level, and their versions. Specifically, the chapter will provide a review of various proposals for XML document updates, their different semantics and their handling of update sequences, with a focus on the XQuery Update proposal. Approaches and specific issues concerned with schema updates will then be reviewed. Document and schema versioning will be considered. Finally, a review of the degree and limitations of update support in existing DBMSs will be discussed.
Mobile Vision on Movement
Authors: Spaanenburg Lambert , Malki Suleyman
Published: May 2010

In the early days of photography, camera movement was a nuisance that could blur a picture. Once movement becomes measurable by micro-mechanical means, the effects can be compensated by optical, mechanical or digital technology to enhance picture quality. Alternatively movement can be quantified by processing image streams. This opens up for new functionality upon convergence of the camera and the mobile phone, for instance by ’actively extending the hand’ for remote control and interactive signage.
Economic and Organizational Factors in the Future of Telemedicine and Home Care
Authors: Turchetti Giuseppe , Geisler Elie
Published: May 2010

The chapter reviews the state of the art of telemedicine and remote care in the home and the economic and organizational factors that impinge on its future success. Because of the constraints of distance, costs, and availability of providers (doctors and nurses) in specific areas of medical specialties, the model of treating patients in the general hospital is losing its luster in favor of dedicated clinics dispersed in the community and remote care in the home. Such a trend of decentralization of medical services has been in existence for some time. Yet, although technologies are quickly evolving and the need for telemedicine and home care is increasing, the progress of this mode of delivery of medical services has not kept up with the demand. The chapter attempts to review the economic and organizational factors which act as facilitators and barriers to the rapid diffusion of telemedicine and home care. In particular, the chapter explores the case of chronic diseases, and also offers a valuable comparison between two systems of national healthcare: the Italian and the American.
EPICT
Authors: Csoma Katalin
Published: May 2010

This case aims at introducing international professional audiences to a transnational teacher development program, the European Pedagogical ICT License (EPICT), empowering teachers to use information technologies with greater efficiency in their everyday practice. Beyond introducing the program through the Hungarian experience, the present state of teacher training will be discussed, under transformation in line with the Bologna process and the joint European harmonization of education systems. It will be examined how alternative forms of learning and networking bring about changes to the teaching profession in Europe and other affiliated countries.
Clearing the Air: A Policy Analysis of the Ethanol Excise Tax Credit
Authors: Cato Greg
Published: May 2010

Established in 1978, the ethanol excise tax credit has been a resounding success in helping establish a vibrant corn ethanol market, with almost 11 billion gallons produced in 2009. However, the original goals of the credit—energy security and oil independence—have not been significantly aided and, by at least some measures, have actually been hindered by the subsidy. Secondary environmental goals, such as avoidance of carbon emissions from motor fuels, show limited success. Ex post cost-benefit analyses of the subsidy have shown that it has negative to zero cost-benefit ratios and that socially optimal levels are well below current tax credit rates. The credit had a high dollar cost of $4.8 billion in 2009, and has also increased corn prices. Finally, development of a host of alternatives, such as cellulosic ethanol, have been retarded by the creation of hegemonic constituencies dependent on the credit.
A dynamic model of photoadaptation in phytoplankton
Authors: Geider Richard J. , MacIntyre Hugh L. , Kana Todd M.
Published: May 2010

We present a new dynamic model that uses a small number of prescribed parameters to predict the chlorophyll a:carbon ratio and growth rate of phytoplankton in both constant and varying irradiance. The model provides a self‐contained description of energy and mass fluxes and regulation of partitioning of photosynthate during phytoplankton adaptation to irradiance. The kinetics and steady‐state outcomes of photoadaptation are described in terms of changes in the rates of synthesis of three intracellular carbon pools. These pools account for the distribution of cell material between light‐harvesting components, the biosynthetic apparatus, and energy storage compounds. Regulation of the flow of recent photosynthate to these pools is controlled by the ratio of realized to potential photosynthetic electron flow at a given instant. The responses of growth rate and Chl a:C to static and dynamic irradiance regimes can be adequately described by specifying four parameters: the initial slope of the photosynthesis‐irradiance curve, the maximum growth rate, the maximum Chl a:C observed under light limitation, and the maintenance metabolic rate. The model predictions compared favorably with observations of the diatoms Thalassiosira pseudonana and Phaedactylum tricornutum.