bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
New Internet Protocals for Multimedia Transmission
Authors: Welzl Michael
Published: May 2011

This chapter will introduce three new IETF transport layer protocols in support of multimedia data transmission and discuss their usage. First, the stream control transmission protocol (SCTP) will be described; this protocol was originally designed for telephony signaling across the Internet, but it is in fact broadly applicable. Second, UDP-Lite (an even simpler UDP) will be explained; this is an example of a small protocol change that opened a large can of worms. The chapter concludes with an overview of the datagram congestion control protocol (DCCP), a newly devised IETF protocol for the transmission of unreliable (typically real-time multimedia) data streams.
Perceptual Voice Quality Measurement - Can You Hear Me Loud and Clear?
Authors: Mahdi Abdulhussain E. , Picovici Dorel
Published: May 2011

In the context of multimedia communication systems, quality of service (QoS) is defined as the collective effect of service performance, which determines the degree of a user’s satisfaction with the service. For telecommunication systems, voice communication quality is the most visible and important aspects to QoS, and the ability to monitor and design for this quality should be a top priority. Voice quality refers to the clearness of a speaker’s voice as perceived by a listener. Its measurement offers a means of adding the human end user’s perspective to traditional ways of performing network management evaluation of voice telephony services. Traditionally, measurement of users’ perception of voice quality has been performed by expensive and time-consuming subjective listening tests. Over the last decade, numerous attempts have been made to supplement subjective tests with objective measurements based on algorithms that can be computerised and automated. This chapter examines some of the technicalities associated with voice quality measurement, presents a review of current subjective and objective speech quality measurement techniques, as mainly applied to telecommunication systems and devices, and describes their various classes.
Adapting Web Sites for Mobile Devices - A Comparison of Different Approaches
Authors: Stormer Henrik
Published: May 2011

With the rise of mobile devices like cell phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) in the last years, the demand for specialized mobile solutions grows. One key application for mobile devices is the Web service. Currently, almost all Web sites are designed for stationary computers and cannot be shown directly on mobile devices because of their limitations. These include a smaller display size, delicate data input facilities and smaller bandwidth compared to stationary devices. To overcome the problems and enable Web sites also for mobile devices, a number of different approaches exist which can be divided into client and server based solutions. Client based solutions include all attempts to improve the mobile device, for example by supporting zoom facilities or enhance the data input. Server based solutions try to adapt the pages for mobile devices. This chapter concentrates on server-based solutions by comparing different ways to adapt Web sites for mobile devices. It is assumed that Web sites designed for stationary devices already exist. Additionally, it concentrates on the generation of HTML pages. Other languages, designed especially for mobile devices like WML or cHTML, are not taken into account simply because of the improvement of mobile devices to show standard HTML pages. The following three methods are generally used today: Rewrite the page, use an automatic generator to create the page, or try to use the same page for stationary and mobile devices. This chapter illustrates each method by adapting one page of the electronic shop software eSarine. Afterwards, the methods are compared using different parameters like the complexity of the approach or the ease of integration in existing systems.
Towards a Taxonomy of Display Styles for Ubiquitious Multimedia
Authors: Ledermann Florian , Breiteneder Christian
Published: May 2011

In this chapter, a domain independent taxonomy of sign functions rooted in an analysis of physical signs found in public space is presented. This knowledge is necessary for the construction of future multimedia systems that are capable of automatically generating complex yet legible graphical responses from an underlying abstract information space such as a semantic network. The authors take the presence of a sign in the real world as indication for a demand for the information encoded in that sign, and identify the fundamental types of information that are needed to fulfill various tasks. For the information types listed in the taxonomy, strategies for rendering the information to the user in digital mobile multimedia systems are discussed.
V-Card
Authors: Nosekabel Holger , Rockelein Wolfgang
Published: May 2011

This chapter presents the use of mobile multimedia for marketing purposes. Using V-Card, a service to create personalized multimedia messages, as an example, the advantages of sponsored messaging are illustrated. Benefits of employing multimedia technologies, such as mobile video streaming, include an increased perceived value of the message and the opportunity for companies to enhance their product presentation. Topics of discussion include related projects, as marketing campaigns utilizing SMS and MMS are becoming more popular, the technical infrastructure of the V-card system, and an outline of social and legal issues emerging from mobile marketing. As V-card has already been evaluated in a field test, these results can be implemented to outline future research and development aspects for this area.
Validation of Digital Forensic Tools
Authors: Craiger Philip , Swauger Jeff , Marberry Chris , Hendricks Connie
Published: May 2011

An important result of the U.S. Supreme Courts Daubert decision is that the digital forensic tools must be validated if the results of examinations using those tools are to be introduced in court. With this audience in mind, our chapter describes important concepts in forensic tool validation along with alternative just-in-time tool validation method that may prove useful for those who do not have the capability of conducting extensive, in-depth forensic tool validation efforts. The audience for this chapter is the law enforcement agent and industry practitioner who does not have a solid theoretical background—from training or experience—in software validation, and who is typically time-constrained in the scope of their validation efforts.
Outsourcing and Offshoring
Authors: Efendioglu Alev M.
Published: May 2011

Recently, outsourcing/offshoring has gained significant exposure in the popular as well as academic publications, with authors arguing the many different facets of the concept and its implications. The ongoing debates have revolved around issues related to cost of operations, benefits for outsourcing countries and countries that are recipients of outsourcing, the types of skills and associated unemployment, the types of industries that are being most effected, and even its political implications. This chapter discusses various issues related to outsourcing/offshoring and presents the findings of a research study (a survey of 364 individuals from 101 San Francisco Bay Area venture capital firms) attempting to validate (or disprove) some of the most widely discussed and presented points of view.
An Overview of Service Level Agreements
Authors: Beaumont Nicholas B.
Published: May 2011

This chapter notes and explains the increasing use of outsourcing and service level agreements (SLAs); proposes and describes an outsourcing methodology emphasising the role of SLAs; stresses SLAs’ importance to insourcing and outsourcing relationships; proposes a taxonomy of service attributes, and recommends a hierarchical methodology for constructing SLAs. Evidence from interviews and examination of extant SLAs suggests that well-designed SLAs contribute to fruitful relationships between business partners. The proposed methodology and taxonomy will simplify and shorten the time-consuming tasks of writing and negotiating SLAs that are complete, consistent and satisfy business objectives. SLAs have not received academic attention proportionate to their commercial importance. Recommendations to practitioners and for further research are given, In particular, research ascertaining whether SLAs are used effectively and seeking better expression of business requirements in an SLA is appropriate.
Intelligent Support for Building Knowledge Bases for Natural Language Processing
Authors: Pham Son B. , Hoffmann Achim
Published: May 2011

In this chapter we discuss ways of assisting experts to develop complex knowledge bases for a variety of natural language processing tasks. The proposed techniques are embedded into an existing knowledge acquisition framework, KAFTIE, specifically designed for building knowledge bases for natural language processing. Our intelligent agent, the rule suggestion module within KAFTIE, assists the expert by suggesting new rules in order to address incorrect behavior of the current knowledge base. The suggested rules are based on previously entered rules which were “hand-crafted” by the expert. Initial experiments with the new rule suggestion module are very encouraging as they resulted in a more compact knowledge base of comparable quality to a fully hand-crafted knowledge base. At the same time the development time for the more compact knowledge base was considerably reduced.
Building Intelligent Multimodal Assistants Based on Logic Programming in the Meme Media Architecture
Authors: Ito Kimihito
Published: May 2011

This chapter introduces a software architecture to build intelligent multimodal assistants. The architecture consists of three basic components: a meme media system, an inference system, and an embodied interface agent system that makes multimodal presentations available to users. In an experimental implementation of the architecture, the author uses three components as the basic framework: Intelligent Pad for a meme media system, Prolog for a logic programming system, and Multimodal Presentation Markup Language (MPML) for controlling an interface agent system. The experimental implementation shows how character agents are defined in a simple declarative manner using logic programming on meme media objects.
Building a Virtual Trainer for an Immersive Haptic Virtual Reality Environment
Authors: Krumpholz Alexander
Published: May 2011

This chapter describes the virtual trainer we developed for CSIRO’s temporal bone dissection simulator. This simulation software runs on an immersive haptic virtual reality environment. The prototype system uses a task model based on a finite state machine to describe the procedure and interactive landmarks to trace the user’s action in relation to vital structures. This gives the user situation related feedback based on user actions. The future virtual trainer would need to be based on research on intelligent tutoring systems to tailor feedback for the students and maximize their knowledge and skill acquisition. Various features for such a system are described.
Trade Liberalization and International Performance of Australian Manufacturing Industries and Its
Authors: Marks Andrew
Published: May 2011

Trade liberalization has played a pivotal role in improving the export orientation of the various Australian manufacturing industries (at the two-digit level) in the period 1974/75-2000/01. However, those industries subjected to industry-specific assistance measures — for example, the textile, clothing and footwear and the machinery and equipment industries (motor vehicle industry component) — have exhibited a superior export-oriented performance. The important lesson emanating from this result for the information technology sector is that although it is also subjected to these measures, their expansion can help alleviate the weak and stagnant export performance in information technology goods thereby helping to combat the projected large balance of trade deficit. Moreover, stronger output and employment growth will arise because of the significant contribution of these goods to the economy.
Investment in IT Stocks by Japanese Life Insurers
Authors: Kobayashi Takeshi
Published: May 2011

This chapter examined the relationship between Japanese life insurers’ investment in IT stocks and conventional financial statistics, such as ROE and dividend yield, in the period from 1996 to 2003. It demonstrates that Japanese life insurers do not necessarily formulate their portfolios based on these statistics. In particular, insurers who invested in low-ROE stocks tended to be financially unstable. These findings may confirm that even after the Japanese financial crisis of the late 1990s, the primary objective of stock investment by Japanese life insurers continued to be the maintenance of business relationships with client firms, and not the maximization of investment performance.
Usability Driven Open Platform for Mobile Government (USE-ME.GOV)
Authors: Olmstead Paul Moore , Peinel Gertraud , Tilsner Dirk , Abramowicz Witold , Bassara Andrzej , Filipowska Agata , Wisniewski Marek
Published: May 2011

This chapter introduces the USE-ME.GOV project that supports and encourages the authorities with the access to new e-government services at any time and anywhere through the use of mobile communications and Semantic Web technologies. The USE-ME.GOV system addresses openness, interoperability, usability, and security scienti?c goals, and throughout the chapter the methodology and main outcomes are described.
Business Models for M-Government Services
Authors: Peinel Gertraud
Published: May 2011

This chapter reports on experiences gained in the sustainable implementation of mobile e-government services. Sustainable operations require appropriate business models and partnerships for the implementation and provision of services. The lessons learned are based on experiences gained in major European research projects for the implementation of information services for environmental information and for the provision of mobile services. This chapter will brie?y present the mobile services provided in these projects and then turn to the speci?c dimensions of interest: added values materialized by the combination of m-government, business models, and, in particular, revenue models for ?nancing the services. Speci?c attention will be devoted to public-private partnerships for implementing, maintaining, and operating the services. Each dimension will be discussed in terms of pros and cons. The section on business models will be completed by a summary of speci?ed experiences gained with different stakeholders.
Soft Success Factors for M-Government
Authors: Capra Eugenio , Francalanci Chiara , Marinoni Clementina
Published: May 2011

This chapter proposes a reference “soft” competence framework to support both the implementation of m-government actions and the management of related organizational changes. Our framework focuses on organizational factors and competences that act as enablers of successful e-government and m-government implementation, and has been tested by means of an empirical analysis carried out in the major European countries. E-government and m-government policies are analyzed according to this framework, which is based on several dimensions, including centralization, involvement, leadership, learning, and soft skills. Key success factors are discussed and validated by empirical evidence. Finally, two signi?cant cases of m-government projects, one successfully implemented and the other about to be implemented, are presented. Furthermore, the chapter aims at showing how soft factors are crucial for the success of m-government initiatives.
Adoption of Mobile Communication Technologies in the Municipal Open Care Service Sector
Authors: Sell Anna , Patokorpi Erkki , Walden Pirkko , Anckar Bill
Published: May 2011

In this chapter, the writers present and discuss the ?ndings from an empirical study conducted in Turku, Finland, to explore the social workers’ willingness to adopt mobile communication technologies in the workplace, and more speci?cally in the context of domiciliary care. As the respondents have many distinguishing features (the population consisted solely of females with a relatively high median age), the results contradict some assumptions generally made in literature about the impact of age and experience on technology adoption. Considering the rate at which information and communication technology is developing and its use spreading in all walks of life, one hardly needs to stress the need for studying the technology acceptance and adoption of special, more marginal, user groups.
Business Process Integration in a Knowledge-Intensive Service Industry
Authors: Lawrence C.
Published: May 2011

Knowledge-intensive administration and service activity has features favouring a particular architectural approach to business process integration. The approach is based on a process metamodel that extends the familiar input-process-output schema, and embodies the principle that the essential WHAT of a process is prior to any empirical and/or physical HOW. A structure of interrelated concepts can be derived from the metamodel. These can be used at logical level to define and analyze processes. They can also be implemented at a physical level—as an achievable and ideal integrated process architecture, or as a continuum of incremental control and integration improvements. Overall, the approach is to process what double entry is to accounting and the relational model is to data.
Using ePortfolios to Foster Peer Assessment, Critical Thinking and Collaboration
Authors: Stevenson Heidi J.
Published: May 2011

An ePortfolio is frequently seen as a space for electronically compiling and storing student work. After completing assignments, students generally submit their ePortfolio to an instructor, prospective employer, or other assessor. This chapter questions if the typical use of ePortfolios could be modified to create opportunities to encourage students (elementary school through graduate school) to engage in critical thinking, and provide feedback to their peers.
The ePortfolio
Authors: Peters Martine , Chevrier Jacques , LeBlanc Raymond , Fortin Gilles , Malette Judith
Published: May 2011

The study reported here explored the use of an ePortfolio in teacher education, focusing on its possibilities for development of competencies in technology. The goal was to assess this competency development over a three-month period and to examine pre-service teachers’ perception of the ePortfolio as a learning tool. Results show that pre-service teachers’ competencies with technology increase while working on the ePortfolio and that they respond favorably to the ePortfolio as a learning tool. Pre-service teachers feel that the ePortfolio fosters reflection and the development of organizational skills and self-esteem while giving them better chances of finding employment. Solutions and recommendations about improving the use of an ePortfolio as a learning tool in a teacher education program are proposed.
It was Hard Work but it was Worth It
Authors: Bartlett Andrea
Published: May 2011

Student ePortfolios offer both advantages and challenges for teacher educators. The purpose of this case study is to identify benefits that make the effort worthwhile. Two groups of pre-service teachers—one undergraduate and one graduate—created complex ePortfolios under the direction of a non-technology faculty member. Faculty observations and student evaluations revealed ePortfolios enhance students’ educational technology learning, reflection, and collaboration. The author concludes creating ePortfolios was “worth it,” and she provides recommendations for making ePortfolios even more valuable for pre-service teachers, their programs, and the schools in which they will someday teach.
Community Through Constructive Learning
Authors: McGee Patricia , Sailors Misty , Fraga Lucretia
Published: May 2011

This case study illustrates a community-based constructive learning approach to ePortfolio development, and the subsequent phenomena and outcomes that came from the initial implementation. The authors discuss why and how an ePortfolio system was chosen, as well as faculty engagement, student engagement, and recommendations to others based on the University of Texas at San Antonio experience.
Alliances and Information Technology
Authors: Medina-Garrido José Aurelio , Martinez-Fierro Salustiano , Ruiz-Navarro Jose
Published: May 2011

This chapter is organized into three sections. In the first section we briefly define some basic concepts about alliances, their attributes, the differences between them and traditional structures, and the types of alliance. The second section analyzes the state of the art in the literature on alliances. We stress the conceptual evolution in organizational design and the main theoretical approaches explaining alliance formation. The final section analyzes the role of information technology (IT) in the formation and running of alliances. In this respect, we stress the impact of IT on organizational structures in general, and on inter-organizational relationships in particular, with these relationships being based on the so-called inter-organizational systems.
Intellectual Basis of Research on Alliances
Authors: Medina-Garrido José Aurelio , Ramos-Rodriguesz Antonio Rafael
Published: May 2011

The disorder that is apparent in the literature on inter-organizational relationships makes this field ideal for conducting quantitative studies that clarify the conceptual map and complement existing qualitative research. These latter studies only reflect the point of view of a small number of expert researchers, and hence provide a somewhat biased perspective on inter-organizational relationship research. In this context, a bibliometric study should contribute to giving form to the state of the art. In this chapter, a bibliometric study reveals the theoretical fragmentation of the literature on inter-organizational relationships; maps the most relevant studies and theoretical approaches; and highlights the topics that have been addressed most in this field.
The Role of Shared Cognition and CSCW in Strategic Alliances
Authors: Rosen Michael A. , Kelly Brooke C. , Salas Eduardo
Published: May 2011

Information asymmetry is omnipresent within strategic alliances. This diversity in knowledge structure and content between team members comprising the alliance is complicated by the increasing trend of physical distribution of team members in international strategic alliances. While technical solutions to distance work abound, a strong and theoretically grounded approach to how best to implement these solutions is lacking. However, research in the area of shared cognition holds promise as an appropriate solution. This chapter presents a three-part framework for organizing research in the areas of shared cognition and CSCW (Computer Supported Collaborative Work) so that strategic alliance managers will have a resource for implementing their technologically mediated teams.
The Role of IT in Family Firm Internalization Through Strategic Alliances
Authors: Marquez-Garcia Alfonso Miguel , Fuentes-Lombardo Guadalupe , Bruque-Camara Sebastián
Published: May 2011

In this chapter we analyze the potential impact of information technology (IT) on the internationalization processes of family firms via cooperation agreements. With this in mind, we address the main research questions concerning the management of family firms and internationalization processes via strategic alliances. Subsequently, we carry out an analysis to determine IT’s impact on family firms’ internationalization processes. Our conclusions and the future trends that we observe suggest that family firms should undertake a series of internal adjustments in order to exploit, with more possibility of success, the changes resulting from the technological integration processes that can be expected in the near future.
Product and Market Diversification and the Stock Market Response to Business Combinations
Authors: Sanchez-Lorda Pablo , Garcia-Canal Esteban
Published: May 2011

In this chapter, we analyzed the stock market reaction to internationalization and diversification of the European telecom firms through acquisitions or strategic alliances. We analyzed these operations with the purpose of verifying to what extent the stock market reaction to these business combinations is influenced by information asymmetry, resource complementarity, and management costs. There are two main findings of this work. First, while acquisitions are more valued when entering into one of the more related businesses—telecommunication equipment shops—alliances, however, are only positively valued in the less related businesses. Second, the strength of the competitive position of the firm moderates the relationship between product and market diversification and abnormal returns.
Developments in Purchasing and Supply Chain Management and Logistics
Authors: Quayle Michael
Published: May 2011

The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of the differences between procurement, purchasing, outsourcing, supply, and, sustainable supply chain management. An overview of the global marketplace and the emerging business issues of the 21st century will also be provided, along with some guidance on effective education programmes. Supply chain management a crucial element of competitive advantage (see, e.g., Figure 1). Understanding what supply chain management is and what it means is vital.
E-Business
Authors: Quayle Michael
Published: May 2011

In this chapter, I examine electronic data interchange and the phenomenon of e-business with a focus on e-procurement.
Astrocytes and the Biological Neural Networks
Authors: Martin Eduardo D. , Araque Alfonso
Published: May 2011

Artificial neural networks are a neurobiologically inspired paradigm that emulates the functioning of the brain. They are based on neuronal function, because neurons are recognized as the cellular elements responsible for the brain information processing. However, recent studies have demonstrated that astrocytes can signal to other astrocytes and can communicate reciprocally with neurons, which suggests a more active role of astrocytes in the nervous system physiology and fundamental brain functions. This novel vision of the glial role on brain function calls for a reexamination of our current vision of artificial neural networks, which should be expanded to consider artificial neuroglial networks. The neuroglial network concept has not been yet applied to the computational and artificial intelligent sciences. However, the implementation of artificial neuroglial networks by incorporating glial cells as part of artificial neural networks may be as fruitful and successful for artificial networks as they have been for biological networks.
Self-Adapting Intelligent Neural Systems Using Evolutionary Techniques
Authors: Manrique Daniel , Rios Juan , Rodriguez-Paton Alfonso
Published: May 2011

This chapter describes genetic algorithm-based evolutionary techniques for automatically constructing intelligent neural systems. These techniques can be used to build and train multilayer perceptrons with the simplest architecture. These neural networks are usually designed using binary-coded genetic algorithms. The authors show how the basic architectures codification method, which uses an algebra-based codification, employs a shorter string length and voids illegal architectures in the search space. The networks are trained using real number codification. The morphological crossover operator is presented and compared to other important real-coded crossover operators. The purpose is to understand that the combination of all these techniques results in an evolutionary system, which self-adaptively constructs intelligent neural systems to solve a problem given as a set of training patterns. To do so, the evolutionary system is applied in laboratory tests and to a real-world problem: breast cancer diagnosis.
Ontology Extraction Using Views for Semantic Web
Authors: Wouters Carlo , Rajagopalapillai Rajugan , Dillon Tharam S. , Rahayu Wenny
Published: May 2011

The emergence of Semantic Web (SW) and the related technologies promise to make the Web a meaningful experience. Conversely, success of SW and its applications depends largely on utilization and interoperability of well-formulated ontology bases in an automated heterogeneous environment. This creates a need to investigate utilization of an (materialized) ontology view as an alternative version of an ontology. However, high level modeling, design and querying techniques still proves to be a challenging task for SW paradigm, as, unlike classical database systems, ontology view definitions and querying have to be done at high-level abstraction. In order to address such an issue, in this chapter, we describe an abstract view formalism forSW (SW-view) with conceptual and logical extensions. SW-views provides the needed conceptual and logical semantics to engineer ontology bases using three levels of abstraction, namely (1) conceptual, (2) logical/schema and (3) instance levels. We first provide the view model and it formal properties including a set of conceptual operators, which enable us to do ontology extraction at the conceptual level. Later, we provide a schemata transformation methodology to materialize SW-views under the Ontology Extraction Methodology (OEM) framework.
Contextual Ontology Modeling Language to Facilitate the use of enabling Semantic Web Technologies
Authors: Caliusco Laura , Maidana César , Galli Maria R. , Chiotti Omar
Published: May 2011

A common approach to represent semantics on Semantic Web area is to use an ontology. However, there is an emerging approach that combines an ontology with its context definition. So, the misunderstanding can be avoided if the context is explicitly defined. The resulting structure is called contextual ontology. To process a contextual ontology at run time, it has to be expressed in a machine processable language. However, for the analysis and design phase of a Web domain, a more appropriate ontology modeling language is needed. To this aim, this chapter presents a metamodel for modeling explicit and formal contextual ontologies that assists Web domain designers in modeling contextual ontologies. Furthermore, the relationship between XML specifications and ontologies in order to add formal and explicit semantics to Web domain designs is analyzed.
From Ontology Phobia to Contextual Ontology Use in Enterprise Information Systems
Authors: Rifaieh Rami , Benharkat Aïcha-Nabila
Published: May 2011

Shared understanding in an enterprise is necessary to permit a unifying framework serving as the basis of communication between people, interoperability between systems, and other system engineering benefits such as reusability, reliability, and specification. Bringing systems to work together is increasingly becoming essential for leveraging the Enterprise Information Systems (EIS) and reaching common goals. Currently, enterprises develop their systems independently with low consideration for the collaboration that systems can play with other systems. Certainly, semantic sharing represents the daunting barrier for making these systems work together through common shared understanding. In the last decade, theoretical research such as ontologies and context were suggested separately as formal support for treating the semantics-sharing problem. In order to resolve this main problem, we intend to pair up the two notions of Context and Ontologies. Typically, contextualization can be seen at the ontology level in order to enable the multiple views and multi-representation requirements. Hence, the formal representation of contextual ontologies should preserve adequate reasoning mechanisms. A machine understandable semantics and interpretation should be also given for information in a context, according to a specific system’s point of view. However, we perceived a growing ontology phobia in many enterprises. This fear is based on misunderstanding of ontologies’ advantages and lack of practical applications for theoretical proposals. The aim of this chapter is twofold. On one hand, it concentrates on studying the application of tightening together context and ontologies which can serve as formal background for reaching a suitable EIS environment. It invests in resolving the semantic-sharing problem between these systems. It focuses on suggesting a formalism for contextual ontologies based on a combination of Description Logics and Modal Logics. On the other hand, it investigates issues and arguments helping to overcome the ontology phobia. It shows with examples the usefulness of these contextual ontologies for resolving the semantic-sharing problem between some EIS.
Description of Policies Enriched by Semantics for Security Management
Authors: García Clemente Félix J. , Perez Gregorio Martínez , Botía Blaya Juan A. , Gómez Skarmeta Antonio F.
Published: May 2011

Policies, which usually govern the behavior of networking services (e.g., security, QoS, mobility, etc.) are becoming an increasingly popular approach for the dynamic regulation of Web information systems. By appropriately managing policies, a system can be continuously adjusted to accommodate variations in externally imposed constraints and environmental conditions. The adoption of a policy-based approach for controlling a system requires an appropriate policy representation regarding both syntax and semantics, and the design and development of a policy management framework. In the context of the Web, the use of languages enriched with semantics has been limited primarily to represent Web content and services. However the capabilities of these languages, coupled with the availability of tools to manipulate them, make them well suited for many other kinds of applications, as policy representation and management. In this chapter, we present an evaluation of the ongoing efforts to use ontological (Semantic Web) languages to represent policies for distributed systems.
IT-Enabled Strategy
Authors: Drnevich Paul L.
Published: May 2011

The rapid evolution of IT has enabled new organizational capabilities to manage knowledge and information. Given this evolution, IT systems for enabling the acquisition, processing and dissemination of knowledge may present unique opportunities, if effectively leveraged, for firm competitive capabilities. This chapter examines some of these uses of IT; offers a framework to view firm activities as knowledge Inflow, Intraflow and Outflow processes; and explores possible performance implications of some potential IT-enabled capabilities. Such IT enablement challenges some existing views of strategic management theory and suggests that theory may need to be reexamined and extended to handle some implications arising from advances in IT systems. We explore potential implications of IT-enabled capability and argue that through adopting, integrating and effectively leveraging these capabilities, firms may have the opportunity to enhance their competitive advantages and performance.
ERP as an Integration Strategy
Authors: Singletary Les , Huynh Minh Q.
Published: May 2011

Integration has been the dominant technical strategy of Information Technology (IT). Computers were introduced for business use and have evolved through multiple stages, including integration of subroutines, modules, programs and applications. Major developments include database, object-oriented programming and communications technologies (especially the Web and Internet). Although integration continues as a technical strategy, IT integration has become part of the overall business strategy due to considerable organizational dependence on IT. The complexity of IT advances necessitated viewing and managing major IT components differently, which have become known as infrastructures. Since the late 1980s, implementation of enterprise-wide systems has been the primary IT business strategy, although it entails great cost, risks and disruption of operation. This chapter describes the evolution of IT integration strategies and examines enterprise resource planning (ERP) as the most popular IT business strategy. The major theme is IT integration, and we examine the question, “Is IT integration desirable?”
Information and Communication Technology-Enabled Economic Growth and Convergence
Authors: Carayannis Elias G. , Ziemnowicz Christopher
Published: May 2011

Globalization can be viewed as a process of increased freedom and capacity of individuals and firms to conduct economic activities with residents of other countries. The driving forces of globalization stem from the reduction in barriers for conducting business across political and geographic barriers, as well as the reduction and convergence of transaction costs via advances in “transport of information.” There is a consensus that innovation and the accompanying progress in information and communication technology (ICT) serve as a catalyst for economic growth. This chapterdiscusses the ICT environment within the Central and Southeastern European (CSEE) counties and the changes in this sector within the European Union (EU). Examination of strategies taken by these nations to improve their economic performance may offer decision makers in other regions some options to deal with impending changes. Particular emphasis is on the efforts of CSEE nations to build a creditable government, reliable political system, and competitive economy. These nations serve as a laboratory for implementing radical changes in their political economy from a centrally planned, one-party system to a democratic market-based system. Specific recommendations include emphasis on effectual dissemination of information between purchasers and suppliers. Information broadcasting is highly related to the creation of an efficient digital system. Specific needs include improved capacity to standardize reports, forms and information transmission functions. Furthermore, IT support and training programs are essential to reduce market distortions.
Security Management for an E-Enterprise
Authors: Masood Ammar , Sedigh-Ali Sahra , Ghafoor Arif
Published: May 2011

Enterprise integration is the key enabler for transforming the collaboration among people, organization, and technology into an enterprise. Its most important objective is the transformation of a legacy operation into an e-enterprise. In an e-enterprise, the tight coupling between business process and the underlying information technology infrastructure amplifies the effect of hardware and software security failures. This accentuates the need for comprehensive security management of the infrastructure. In this chapter, the challenges posed by fulfilling myriad security requirements throughout the various stages of enterprise integration have been outlined. To better categorize these requirements, the set of security domains that comprise the security profile of the e-enterprise have been specified. The set of security metrics used to quantify various aspects of security for an e-enterprise are also identified. The chapter concludes by describing the details of the proposed security management strategy.
E-Commerce Security
Authors: Furnell Steven
Published: May 2011

This chapter considers the requirements for security in business-to-consumer e-commerce systems. Experience to date has revealed that these services are potentially vulnerable to a wide range of Internet-based threats. Some of these, such as data streaming and phishing, can be closely tied to the e-commerce domain, whereas others (such as malware, denial-of-service attacks, and Web site defacement) represent more generally applicable problems that nonetheless assume additional significance in an e-commerce context. The existence of the threats demands a variety of safeguards. Technical measures can be used to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of transactions and to support authentication of the parties involved. In addition, supporting measures are considered valuable to raise consumer awareness of security and boost confidence in e-commerce services. It is concluded that e-commerce represents an area of continued growth, and potential threats are likely to grow rather than diminish. As such, appropriate attention by service providers is crucially important.
Security Engineering
Authors: Henning Ronda R.
Published: May 2011

Information security engineering is the specialized branch of systems engineering that addresses the derivation and fulfillment of a system’s security requirements. For years, security engineering practitioners have claimed that security is easier to build into a system when it is integrated with the system analysis and design. This paper presents some basic tenets of security analysis that can be applied by any systems engineer to ensure early integration of security constraints into the system definition and development process. It sheds light on security requirements interpretation to facilitate the fulfillment of security requirements throughout the system lifecycle.
The Demilitarized Zone as an Inforamtion Protection Network
Authors: Murphy Jack J.
Published: May 2011

This chapter presents some basic concepts for the design, implementation, and management of a network-based enterprise boundary protection mechanism. The reader should not expect to see a complete security solution from the material presented in this chapter. The concepts presented here must be combined with host and application security mechanisms, as well as procedural and administrative mechanisms. The chapter will provide an explanation of some of the security concepts involved before explaining how an information protection network (IPN) enables collaboration and information exchange between the enterprise and external entities on the public Internet. Finally, specific technologies needed to implement an IPN will be discussed.
Software Security Engineering
Authors: Zulkernine Mohammad , Ahamed Sheikh I.
Published: May 2011

The rapid development and expansion of network-based applications have changed the computing world in the last decade. However, this overwhelming success has an Achilles’ heel: most software-controlled systems are prone to attacks both by internal and external users of the highly connected computing systems. These software systems must be engineered with reliable protection mechanisms, while still delivering the expected value of the software to their customers within the budgeted time and cost. The principal obstacle in achieving these two different but interdependent objectives is that current software engineering processes do not provide enough support for the software developers to achieve security goals. In this chapter, we reemphasize the principal objectives of both software engineering and security engineering, and strive to identify the major steps of a software security engineering process that will be useful for building secure software systems. Both software engineering and security engineering are ever-evolving disciplines, and software security engineering is still in its infancy. This chapter proposes a unification of the process models of software engineering and security engineering in order to improve the steps of the software life cycle that would better address the underlying objectives of both engineering processes. This unification will facilitate the incorporation of the advancement of the features of one engineering process into the other. The chapter also provides a brief overview and survey of the current state-of-the-art of software engineering and security engineering with respect to computer systems.
Identity Management
Authors: Hollis Katherine M. , Hollis David M.
Published: May 2011

This chapter provides an introductory overview of identity management as it relates to data networking and enterprise information management systems. It looks at the strategic value of identity management in corporate and government environments. It defines the terms, concepts, and technologies associated with identity management. This chapter is a capstone to other chapters that deal with the specific technologies (strong identification and authentication, PKI, encryption, LDAP, etc…). Federated identity management is a strategic concept that encapsulates and integrates these disparate technologies into a coordinated, comprehensive strategy to accomplish enterprise-wide goals. This chapter introduces some practical business case concepts to assists the reader in putting together their own identity management strategies using ROI and success criteria.
Privacy Issues in the Web Services Architecture
Authors: Carminati Barbara , Ferrari Elena , Hung Patrick C.K.
Published: May 2011

A Web service is a software system that supports interoperable application-to-application interactions over a network. Web services are based on a set of XML standards such as Universal Description, Discovery and Integration (UDDI), Web Services Description Language (WSDL), and Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP). Recently, there have been increasing demands and discussions about Web services privacy technologies in the industry and research community. To enable privacy protection for Web service consumers across multiple domains and services, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) published a document called “Web Services Architecture (WSA) Requirements” that defines some fundamental privacy requirements for Web services. However, no comprehensive solutions to the various privacy issues have been so far defined. For these reasons, this chapter will focus on privacy technologies by first discussing the main privacy issues in WSA and related protocols. Then, this chapter illustrates the standardization efforts going on in the context of privacy for Web services and proposes different technical approaches to tackle the privacy issues.
The Journey to New Lands
Authors: Chakrabarty Subrata
Published: May 2011

This chapter introduces a prescriptive conceptual framework from the practitioner’s perspective for the “offshore-insourcing” journey. In the decision phase of offshore-insourcing, we answer the questions “Why to insource from offshore?” “What to insource from offshore?,” and “Where to offshore?” In the implementation phase we answer the question “How to insource from offshore?” and describe the importance of evaluating outcomes. In the process of answering these questions, we discuss insourcing vs. outsourcing and the possible need for offshoring. We think of ways to select the IT functions that can be insourced from offshore, and also look at the popular offshore destinations. We discuss process of managing change, setting up the offshore center, recruiting IT professionals at offshore, and managing the IT professionals at onshore and offshore within the ambit of the global delivery model. Throughout the decision and implementation phases of offshore-insourcing, the focus is on the challenges related to managing IT personnel.
The Beginnings of a Postal E-Marketplace
Authors: Hassall Kim , Welsh Karyn
Published: May 2011

This e-business case study of the corProcure enterprise is instructive as it reflects three recurrent themes of the dot-com period: 1. First, the seemingly powerful but unstable corProcure’s business model was created between a number of large corporate institutions in response to the corporate pressure to enter the dot-com world. 2. The quick revelation that the initial business model was incompatible for the founding corporate partners. 3. The buyout of the venture by one of the partners, Australia Post, and re-engineering the direction of corProcure for a more workable e-marketplace business direction. This was considered to be the way forward. This evolution, learning curve, and redirection of the e-purchasing cartel was in one way just a snapshot at the macro-level of what happened to many ventures during the dot-com boom. At the micro-level, the change in direction was reflective of a more pragmatic business sense approach, when all the late 1990s hype was stripped away from the initial e-business model. The new business model incorporating an e-marketplace also reflected the need for the new owner to diversify into non-traditional products as part of new e-business and e-logistic strategies. These strategies were being examined globally by Postal Authorities.