bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Reforms in Spectrum Management Policy
Authors: Feijóo Claudio , Gómez-Barroso José Luis , Mochón Asunción
Published: May 2011

Wireless/mobile technologies are absolutely necessary for any agent who wants to participate in the new information and communication technologies market playfield. The means for the deployment of the wireless/mobile technologies is the radio spectrum. Thus, a rational assignment and an efficient use of radio spectrum become sine qua non condition for the sector development. The objective of this chapter is to present the reforms in the radioelectric spectrum management mechanisms that are currently being drafted (or that are even being applied) as well as to assess their advisability and timeliness. In particular, the chapter assesses the three deepest changes that are being considered: authorisation of the secondary market, usage of auctions for primary allocation and full liberalisation of spectrum usage.
Shaping Regulation in the Australian Mobile Industry
Authors: Troshani Indrit , Hill Sally Rao
Published: May 2011

The adoption and diffusion of mobile services has achieved a spectacular growth in many countries around the world. However, regulators in these countries are finding that existing regulatory frameworks are not suitable for dealing with these services. This chapter employs qualitative evidence to investigate how regulation and legislation can affect mobile services in the Australian mobile telecommunications industry and draws from it to propose an innovative regulatory framework. The framework is comprised of five major components: consumer and intellectual property protection, market and resources access, and environmental protection. We argue that these encompass the interests of the stakeholders operating in mobile industry and given its dynamic and complex nature co-regulation is an effective approach that can be used to minimize costs and enhance compliance.
The Effect of Non-Market Strategies in the Mobile Industry
Authors: Fernández Zulima , Sánchez Belén Usero
Published: May 2011

This chapter analyzes the role of non-market actions (NMAs) in the competitive position of firms in the European mobile telecommunications industry. First, the bases and uses of NMAs are reviewed and classified. Second, the use of legal actions as NMAs to erode the competitive position of first-mover firms is examined. Third, the findings of an empirical study confirming the effectiveness of legal actions as competition tools in the European mobile telecommunications industry are analyzed. Lastly, some conclusions, future lines of research and practical recommendations are presented.
Human Factors for Business Mobile Systems
Authors: Golightly David
Published: May 2011

Technology has to be fit for purpose in order to deliver its promised business impact. An important component of this is making sure technology offers its intended users the functionality they require in a manner appropriate to how they want to achieve their goals. This chapter presents an area of science, human factors, with particular relevance to developing and deploying business mobile systems that are fit for purpose. The value of human factors is discussed, before moving onto some general guidelines to ensure that a mobile technology is suitable for its users. Finally, each system, each application, and each user should be taken on their own merits. To achieve this, it is critical to take an approach that puts users at the heart of requirements, build and deployment of a new technology or service. This approach is presented as a three-stage model of context analysis, specification and design, and evaluation.
Between Tradition and Innovation in ICT and Teaching
Authors: Cartelli Antonio
Published: May 2011

During the past few decades, the expanded use of PCs and the Internet introduced many changes in human activities and cooperated in the transformation process leading from the industrial society to the knowledge society. Among other things, the above instruments played a special role in education, and two main phases can be easily recognized: the former one where computing and ICT were mostly used to enhance individuals’ learning features (i.e., teachers mainly had the role of educational worker: planning, controlling and evaluating students’ learning processes); the latter one, more recent and centered on ICT use, where teachers had to adopt situated and collaborative learning strategies, build communities of learners (CoLs), organize students’ work for enhancing problem finding and solving, while helping the development of their ZPDs (zones of proximal development, meaning individuals’ cognitive areas marked by the distance between the subject’s knowledge/experience in a given field and the same knowledge/experience in the best skilled individuals in the community). The above transformation modified not only teachers’ functions, but also the whole school environment and the students’ role within it. The same ICT will help teachers and professors in finding solutions to learning problems by giving them new instruments for the analysis and continuous monitoring of students’ learning processes.
Designing Online Mental Training Using WebExcellence
Authors: Stodel Emma J. , Farres Laura G. , MacDonald Colla J.
Published: May 2011

The idea of providing mental training1 (MT) and sport psychology services online is becoming more prevalent as technology continues to shape education and the Web becomes more popular. In September 2000, a search for “mental training” using Google identified 11,700 sites (Stodel & Farres, 2000a). An identical search in February 2006 revealed approximately 1,330,000 sites, representing an increase of over one hundredfold and by April, 2007, this number had ballooned to 80,800,000. Although a dynamic and fully interactive online MT environment does not yet appear to have been realized, it seems likely in the future. In this chapter we highlight the importance of thoughtful design when developing such training and present a framework to guide the development of online MT.
E-Learning and Semantic Technologies
Authors: Markellos Konstantinos , Markellou Penelope
Published: May 2011

Traditional teaching and learning methods have had to adapt to keep up with Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in modern society. E-learning stands for all forms of Web-based learning and uses computer and computer networks to create, store, deliver, manage and support online learning courses to anyone, anytime and anywhere. It provides a configurable infrastructure that can integrate learning materials, tools, and services into a single solution to create and deliver training or educational materials quickly, effectively, and economically. Recently, emerging Semantic Web technologies have changed the focus of e-learning systems from task-based approaches to knowledge-intensive ones. The Semantic Web is a W3C initiative and according to Berners-Lee et al. (2001) comprises “an extension of the current Web in which information is given welldefined meaning, better enabling computers and people to work in cooperation”. The capability of the Semantic Web to add meaning to information, stored in such way that it can be searched and processed, as well as recent advances in Semantic Web-based technologies provide the mechanisms for semantic knowledge representation, exchange and collaboration of e-learning applications (Anderson & Whitelock, 2004).
Evaluating Online Programs Using a BSC Approach
Authors: Keinath Barbara J.
Published: May 2011

Accountability pressures on higher education have increased in recent decades (Dill, 1999; Garvin, 2000; Jacob & Hellström, 2003). Pressure for financial accountability stacks up alongside pressures to assess student learning outcomes. Student satisfaction has always been a factor in institutional success, but added mobility and growth in the for-profit educational market have increased the impact of student satisfaction. Further, citizens, parents of students, alumni, taxpayers, and, for the for-profit institutions, shareholders constitute powerful external forces. Online programs sit in a special spot in these pressures. As relatively new entrants in the educational repertoire, questions about quality of instruction and learning share center stage with questions about costs (The Learning Alliance, 2004). Online programs require an investment in technology, staff, course development, and marketing. Many campus stakeholders doubt that such investments will produce high-quality instruction and significant student learning. Even some early adopters are now starting to question the role of online learning (The Learning Alliance, 2004).
An Innovative E-Learning Platform for Vocational Training of European Local Police Forces
Authors: Chochliouros Ioannis P. , Heliotis George , Spiliopoulou Anastasia S. , Agapiou George
Published: May 2011

Over the last years, the astonishing progress of modern telecommunication networks and the simultaneous spread of the Internet have brought about unprecedented access to a wealth of information and resources. The full development of Internet’s potential to improve access to education and training, and to enhance the quality of learning, is a key prerequisite for building a European (and a global) knowledge society. In particular, not only education but also social cohesion and market competitiveness depend more and more on Europe’s ability to adapt (appropriately) its educational and training systems in order to realize this major challenge (Stewart, 2004). Without any doubt, information and communication technologies (ICT) can offer significant potential for the improvement of education and training (Kruse, 2002; Tsai & Machado, 2002) in several areas, as they can strongly support learning processes through enhanced communication, discovery, simulation, exploration, and problem solving (Ewing & Miller, 2002).
IT to Facilitate Distance Education
Authors: Hunter M. Gordon , Carr Peter
Published: May 2011

The essence of distance education is the physical separation of teacher and learner (Sauve, 1993). In many countries, universities are increasingly employing distance education. Some institutions are incorporating distance education as a way to extend the classroom by employing delivery mechanisms that replicate the presentation of material in a manner similar to face-toface communication. Other institutions are investigating new delivery mechanisms that support a revised perspective on education. These latter institutions are revising their processes for interacting with students and taking a more customer-centered approach to the delivery of education. There are many options available to universities when deciding how to employ technology to support delivery of distance education.
Online Learning Experiences of University Students
Authors: Lammintakanen Johanna , Rissanen Sari
Published: May 2011

The aim of this article is to provide an overview of university students’ experiences of online learning, based both on some previous empirical studies and literature during the last decade. Online education has become widespread in many countries during recent years, and the paradigmatic shift from traditional to online education (e.g., Harasim, 2000; Karuppan, 2001) has occurred as part of planned educational policy, with both international and national experiences supporting its growth. Similarly, students now have increasingly higher expectations regarding the quality of learning, and they expect a more individual, flexible, and humanistic approach in education. Students are increasingly demanding online access and universities are working to meet these demands (e.g., Song, Singleton, Hill, & Hwa Koh, 2004). In addition, technology is expected to improve access to education, reduce costs, improve the cost-effectiveness of education, and maintain the competitive advantage in student recruitment in higher education (Katz & Yablon, 2003; Newton, 2003). It is also important to note that no consistent paradigm for online education exists; rather there are multiple ways of making use of the Web in education, and these will vary for many reasons, for example, the needs of the learner and the subject being taught.
Web-Based Remote Experimentation
Authors: Ko C. C. , Chen Ben M. , Cheng C. D.
Published: May 2011

From the angle of computer based education, the Internet extends the power of personal computers (PC) from being a standalone machine to one that is connected to the world with uncountable resources. Applications such as library access, information search, educational material download, on-line tutorials and even examinations can now be routinely carried out by a low cost PC with Internet connection at any time from practically everywhere. Most applications are however software oriented and do not involve experimentation through remote access to physical hardware or equipment. While it is natural and easier for more flexible software to establish links and communicate with each other, these setups do provide a good learning experience in many situations. However, as pointed out by Antsaklis at al (1999), it is commonly recognized that effective and complete learning, especially in engineering and science, requires a mixture of theoretical and practical sessions. In particular, to appreciate and use theoretical knowledge to solve real world problems, practical exercises are indispensable.
Young People's Net Cultures
Authors: Dunkels Elza
Published: May 2011

Sweden has a large number of Internet users, and on a global scale only Iceland had more Internet users in 2005 (ITU, 2007). The European Union funded project Safety Awareness Facts & Tools found that 87 % of the Swedish children have access to the Internet at home (Medierådet, 2003a). Today Scandinavian media focus on alleged serious problems caused by children being on line. Despite these media reports, however, it appears that Scandinavian parents and children talk little about the Internet and its effects on life (Bjørnstad, 2002; Medierådet, 2003b). In Sweden consensus is strong regarding adult responsibility towards children. Parents often organize forums for different aspects of the child’s life. Many parents and teachers consider it bad form not to participate in these activities ranging from meetings to taking the children by car to all their activities. This shared notion of what adult responsibility means, forms a background to the debate concerning children and the Internet. At an early stage some Swedish schools discussed whether pupils should be allowed to use the Internet during school hours (Rask, 2006), despite the Swedish government having placed large resources into giving all schools access to the Internet and every pupil an e-mail address (Chaib & Tebelius, 2004).
On the Properties of the Unifying Theory and the Derived Sub-Pixel Efficacy Region
Authors: Ciulla Carlo
Published: May 2011

Concepts of efficiency, approximation, and efficacy are discussed in this chapter while referencing the existing literature. Frameworks grouping classes of interpolation functions are acknowledged. Also, properties of the unifying theory are addressed along with the characteristics of the methodology employed to derive the SRE-based interpolation functions. Properties of the unifying theory are also discussed and the reasoning pertaining to the methodology is provided. As it can be seen in this book, both properties and characteristics featuring the methodological development of the SRE-based interpolation function are quite consistent across interpolators and it is true that the empirical observations provided through this works have set the grounds for the legitimate assertion that there exist a unifying theory for the improvement of the interpolation error. Therefore, such consistency across the spectrum of interpolation functions embraced through the unifying theory shows that the concepts embedded in both properties and characteristics of the methodology employed to derive the SRE-based interpolation functions remain the same across the diversity of model interpolators. It is also due to acknowledge that Section V of the book is devoted to Lagrange and Sinc functions and will further expand on the consistency just mentioned. The last section of this chapter addresses the Fourier properties of the Sub-pixel Efficacy Region.
A Simulation Model of IS Security
Authors: Pendegraft Norman , Rounds Mark
Published: May 2011

The value of IS security evaluated by simulating interactions between an information system, its users and a population of attackers. Initial results suggest that the marginal value of additional security may be positive or negative as can the time rate of change of system value. This implies that IT security policy makers should be aware of the relative sensitivity of attackers and users to security before setting IT security policy.
Kolmogorovs Spline Complex Network and Adaptive Dynamic Modeling of Data
Authors: Igelnik Boris
Published: May 2011

This chapter describes the clustering ensemble method and the Kolmogorovs Spline Complex Network, in the context of adaptive dynamic modeling of time-variant multidimensional data. The purpose of the chapter is to give an introduction in these subjects and to stimulate a participation of both young and experienced researchers in a solution of challenging and important for theory and practice problems related to this area.
Flexible Blind Signal Separation in the Complex Domain
Authors: Scarpiniti Michele , Vigliano Daniele , Parisi Raffaele , Uncini Aurelio
Published: May 2011

This chapter aims at introducing an Independent Component Analysis (ICA) approach to the separation of linear and nonlinear mixtures in complex domain. Source separation is performed by an extension of the INFOMAX approach to the complex environment. The neural network approach is based on an adaptive activation function, whose shape is properly modified during learning. Different models have been used to realize complex nonlinear functions for the linear and the nonlinear environment. In nonlinear environment the nonlinear functions involved during the learning are implemented by the so-called splitting functions, working on the real and the imaginary part of the signal. In linear environment instead, the generalized splitting function which performs a more complete representation of complex function is used. Moreover a simple adaptation algorithm is derived and several experimental results are shown to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Introduction
Authors: Kim Daijin , Sung Jaewon
Published: May 2011

Communication between one human and another is the hallmark of our species. According to neuropsychology, the human face is the primary tool in human communication among all social communication instruments (Perry et. al., 1998). One of the most important pieces of information that the human face carries may be the identity. By recognizing the identity of a person, we can feel comfortable with familiar faces, sometimes uncomfortable with unfamiliar ones (as when a baby cries when a strange face shows up), and recall our memories of conversations with the person, which brings rich backgrounds and context information for smooth conversation.
Ethical Issues and Pervasive Computing
Authors: Duquenoy Penny , Burmeister Oliver K.
Published: May 2011

There is a growing concern both publicly and professionally surrounding the implementation of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and their social and ethical impact. As these technologies become increasingly pervasive and less visible to the user, there is a greater need for professionals to address the concerns in order to regain public trust and maximise the benefits that these technologies can bring. This chapter explores the ethical aspects of the world of pervasive computing and shows the need for an ethical perspective when considering the design and implementation of complex, integrated, multiple systems. We present the background to ethics and technology to give the foundation for our discussion, and refer to current research and ethical principles to provide the argument for ethical consideration. Finally, codes of professional conduct provide the standards, and endorsement, for professional responsibility.
Outline of the Human Factor Elements Evident with Pervasive Computers
Authors: Watson Genevieve
Published: May 2011

Pervasive computers cover many areas of both our working and personal lives. This chapter investigates this phenomenon through the human factors impacts, particularly in aviation. This chapter gives a brief introduction to pervasive computers and how they interact with aviation human factors research. Further, it follows the discussion on how pervasive computers have permeated into an integral part of the aviation industry by reviewing the specific issues of cockpit automation and the human-machine interface in the aircraft cockpit.
E-Government Knowledge Management (KM) and Data Mining Challenges
Authors: Bean LuAnn , Carstens Deborah S. , Barlow Judith
Published: May 2011

Powerful data mining models and applications in e-government settings have the potential to bring major benefits to a wide range of stakeholders. As these models evolve, structural transitions occur within e-government to which include an evolution of managerial practices through knowledge management (KM). Unfortunately these efforts are vulnerable to a number of critical human interaction and behavioral components. This chapter examines e-government challenges regarding the linkages between data mining and KM over time, discusses the organizational development of e-government applications, and details both general and specific social, ethical, legislative, and legal issues that impact effective implementations. A final focus of the chapter is the potential strategic benefits of a risk-based approach that can be used to improve the core synergy of KM and data mining operations in e-government operations.
Accessible E-Learning
Authors: Babu Rakesh , Midha Vishal
Published: May 2011

The transformation of the world into a highly technological place has led to the evolution of learning from the traditional classroom to e-learning, using tools such as course management systems (CMS). By its very nature, e-learning offers a range of advantages over traditional pedagogical methods, including issues of physical access. It is particularly useful for people with sensory limitations as it offers a level playing field for them in learning. This study examines the accessibility, usability, and richness of CMS used for e-Learning in institutions of higher education. A model is proposed that underscores the influence of accessibility, usability, and richness of the CMS, coupled with learning motivation on the learning success as perceived by students with sensory limitations. The model is tested by surveying university students with sensory limitations about their views on the course management system used. The results suggested that accessibility and usability of a CMS have a positive influence on the learning success as perceived by students with sensory limitations.
Mapping Generalizations and Specializations and Categories to Relational Databases
Authors: Bagui Sikha
Published: May 2011

An Entity Relationship (ER) model that includes all the concepts of the original ER model and the additional concepts of generalizations/specializations and categories is often referred to as the Extended ER (EER) model (Elmasri & Navathe, 2007). With the rising complexity of database applications, and also in light of today’s web data applications (Necasky, 2006), the basic concepts of the ER model, as originally developed by Chen(1976), are no longer sufficient. Hence the basic ER model has been extended to include generalizations and specializations (Bagui & Earp, 2003; Elmasri & Navathe, 2007), and the concept of categories (Elmasri, et al., 1985). In this short article we shed some light on these relationship concepts, concepts that database designers often find difficult to directly model (Engels et al., 1992/93). We also discuss the mapping rules for generalizations/specializations and categories. Important contributions in this area are also reported in (Elmasri et al., 1985; Gogolla & Hohenstein, 1991; Markowitz & Shoshani, 1992; Dey, et. al., 1999). Dullea, et. al. (2003) discusses the structural validity of modeling structures with ER models.
Versioning Approach for Database Evolution
Authors: Bounif Hassina
Published: May 2011

Schema evolution is an important research topic with an extensive literature built up over the years. However, databases are still reluctant to change and thus their evolution is difficult to achieve because the evolution of the schema involves several issues at different levels of the database schema such as the change management at the logical level. Several approaches have been proposed to achieve the evolution of a schema of a wide range of types of databases. Versioning, modification and views are examples of these chosen approaches. In this paper, we present and discuss one of these approaches, which is the versioning approach for database evolution. The future trends of the versioning are presented as well.
Current Approaches and Future Trends of Ontology-Driven Geographic Integration
Authors: Buccella Agustina , Cechich Alejandra
Published: May 2011

Currently there are many domain areas in Computer Science interested in the integration of various information sources. Federated Databases, Semantic Web, and Automated Web Services are some of them. Particularly in the geographic information area, newer and better technologies and devices are being created in order to capture a large amount of information about Earth. All of this geographic information is analyzed and stored at various levels of detail in Geographic Information Systems (GISs), possibly distributed on the Web. Then a fast search for geographic information on the Web will return several links representing parts of our world. But what happens when someone needs information that is divided into more than one system? For example, information about rivers in a country can be obtained by querying two or more systems. Although distribution of information is one of the main problems, there are some others; these systems have been developed by various entities with different points of view and vocabularies, and here is when face heterogeneity problems arise. They are encountered in every communication between interoperating systems where interoperability refers to interaction between information from various sources involving the task of data integration to combine data.
Mining Frequent Closed Itemsets for Association Rules
Authors: Gupta Anamika , Gupta Shikha , Kumar Naveen
Published: May 2011

Association refers to correlations that exist among data. Association Rule Mining (ARM) is an important data-mining task. It refers to discovery of rules between different sets of attributes/items in very large databases (Agrawal R. & Srikant R. 1994). The discovered rules help in strategic decision making in both commercial and scientific domains. A classical application of ARM is market basket analysis, an application of data mining in retail sales where associations between the different items are discovered to analyze the customer’s buying habits in order to develop better marketing strategies. ARM has been extensively used in other applications like spatial-temporal, health care, bioinformatics, web data etc (Han J., Cheng H., Xin D., & Yan X. 2007).
On the Implementation of a Logic Language for NP Search and Optimization Problems
Authors: Greco Sergio , Molinaro Cristian , Trubitsyna Irina , Zumpano Ester
Published: May 2011

It is well known that NP search and optimization problems can be formulated as DATALOG¬ (datalog with unstratified negation; Abiteboul, Hull, & Vianu, 1994) queries under nondeterministic stable-model semantics so that each stable model corresponds to a possible solution (Gelfond & Lifschitz, 1988; Greco & Saccà, 1997; Kolaitis & Thakur, 1994). Although the use of (declarative) logic languages facilitates the process of writing complex applications, the use of unstratified negation allows programs to be written that in some cases are neither intuitive nor efficiently valuable. This article presents the logic language NP Datalog, a restricted version of DATALOG¬ that admits only controlled forms of negation, such as stratified negation, exclusive disjunction, and constraints. NP Datalog has the same expressive power as DATALOG¬, enables a simpler and intuitive formulation for search and optimization problems, and can be easily translated into other formalisms. The example below shows how the vertex cover problem can be expressed in NP Datalog.
Full-Text Manipulation in Databases
Authors: Kovács László , Tikk Domonkos
Published: May 2011

The textual data format is one of the most important data types in database management. Databases support a wide range of special textual types that can be used to store string data. In the case of textual data, information retrieval mostly concerns the selection and the ranking of documents. In the traditional database management systems (DBMS), text manipulation is related to the usual string manipulation facilities, i.e. the exact matching of substrings. The main disadvantages of the traditional string-level operations are the high cost as they work without task-oriented index structures and the restrictionto the syntax level.
Secure Content Distribution in Pure P2P
Authors: Palomar Esther , Tapiador Juan M.E. , Hernandez-Castro Julio C. , Ribagorda Arturo
Published: May 2011

Perhaps the most popular feature offered by Peer-to-Peer (P2P) networks is the possibility of having several replicas of the same content distributed among multiple nodes. Among the advantages of P2P networks, we emphasize the property of robust fault tolerance. Nevertheless, there are also some disadvantages (e.g. those derived from their decentralized and self-organized nature) such as the complexity of network management and the existence of new security vulnerabilities. In fact, a significant challenge for P2P file sharing systems is maintaining the correctness and consistency of their global data structures and shared contents, as peers independently and unpredictably join and leave the system. Similarly, access control to the shared resources is a noteworthy problem for users of such systems. Most of the difficulties found to apply classic security solutions (e.g. authentication and authorization services) are just related to the impossibility of deploying a public key infrastructure (PKI) in these env ronments, and new proposals have to deal with avoiding such a centralization by exploring alternative paradigms, which often require cooperation among peers. In this chapter, we describe the background and framework of content distribution in pure P2P networks and present the most representative schemes for providing a secure content replication.
Digital Steganography Based on Genetic Algorithm
Authors: Shih Frank Y. , Wu Yi-Ta
Published: May 2011

Steganography is the art of hiding secret data inside other innocent media file. Steganalysis is the process of detecting hidden data which are crested using steganography. Steganalysis detects stego-images by analyzing various image features between stego-images and cover-images. Therefore, we need to have a system that develops more critical stego-images from which steganalysis cannot detect them. In this chapter, we present a Genetic algorithm-(GA) based method for breaking steganalytic systems. The emphasis is shifted from traditionally avoiding the change of statistic features to artificially counterfeiting the statistic features. Our idea is based on the following: in order to manipulate the statistic features for breaking the inspection of steganalytic systems, the GA-based approach is adopted to counterfeit several stego-images (candidates) until one of them can break the inspection of steganalytic systems.
The Challenges of Co-Design and the Case of e-Me
Authors: Lind Mikael , Rittgen Peter
Published: May 2011

Setting up co-design processes involving several stakeholders is a complex task. In this chapter the authors have looked upon experiences from involving 120 future users in a process of incrementally developing and deploying an electronic assistant for students. The vision is to develop an electronic assistant, an e-Me, that acts as a filter and an agent in the information society. By interviewing some of the future users we have managed to derive some different challenges associated with co-design processes. These challenges have been discussed related to the following categories; perceived usefulness, user involvement in the development process, learning process and critical factors for future development. The authors analyze the empirical data and derive suggestions for possible improvements.
Strategic Improvement of Non-Routine Services
Authors: Ramanathan Jay , Ramnath Rajiv
Published: May 2011

Organizations like the City are pressured to be more and more service oriented with fewer resources. The City has an expanding service area, fluctuating revenue, and a growing population that combine to place stress on existing response systems. The Mayor has instituted a “covenant” that includes a guiding principle that technology will be a key tool to achieve city objectives and improving service responses. To this end, the City consolidated its IT operations under Department of Technology (DoT) and began implementing a series of IT improvements. Looking to the future, the DoT wished to develop a plan more strategically aligned to the City departments that is DoT’s customer.
Computational Methods and Tools for Decision Support in Biomedicine
Authors: Dimou Ioannis , Zervakis Michalis , Lowe David , Tsiknakis Manolis
Published: May 2011

The automation of diagnostic tools and the increasing availability of extensive medical datasets in the last decade have triggered the development of new analytical methodologies in the context of biomedical informatics. The aim is always to explore a problem’s feature space, extract useful information and support clinicians in their time, volume, and accuracy demanding decision making tasks. From simple summarizing statistics to state-of-the-art pattern analysis algorithms, the underlying principles that drive most medical problems show trends that can be identified and taken into account to improve the usefulness of computerized medicine to the field-clinicians and ultimately to the patient. This chapter presents a thorough review of this field and highlights the achievements and shortcomings of each family of methods. The authors’ effort has been focused on methodological issues as to generalize useful conclusions based on the large number of notable, yet case-specific developments presented in the field.
Using Case Studies as the Narrative to Game Design and Development
Authors: Annetta Len , Minogue James , Holmes Shawn , Cheng Meng-Tzu , Folta Elizabeth , Klesath Marta
Published: May 2011

This chapter will provide concrete examples of how a research group at North Carolina State University is using case studies as the narrative/backstory for video game design and development. The chapter will begin with a background on video games for learning, followed by a description of case-based learning, and will conclude with five specific examples from games created through three different funded projects. The first example is a simulated case where a haptic feedback device was used to enhance student learning. The second case was derived from a video case on racial and ethical sensitivity. Cases on training and development for adult learners are explained in the next two descriptions. Finally, a case from a field trip was turned into a game for entomology students.
Choosing MOODLE
Authors: Stewart Brian , Briton Derek , Gismondi Mike , Heller Bob , Kennepohl Dietmar , McGreal Rory , Nelson Christine
Published: May 2011

Athabasca University—Canada’s Open University evaluated learning management systems (LMS) for use by the university. Evaluative criteria were developed in order to ensure that different platforms were tested against weighted criteria representing the needs of the university. Three LMSs (WebCt, LotusNotes, and Moodle) were selected for the evaluation. Moodle was chosen with 11 first place ratings and with only one third place rating. Lotus Notes was second with five first place ratings. Moodle garnered 40% of the total weighted score with Lotus Notes getting 32%, and WebCT 29%. The first place preferences within individual criteria show the following: WebCT 6; LotusNotes 7; and Moodle 58.
Development of a Web-Based System for Diagnosing Student Learning Problems on English Tenses
Authors: Hwang Gwo-Jen , Cheng Hsiang , Chu Carol H.C. , Tseng Judy C.R. , Hwang Gwo-Haur
Published: May 2011

In the past decades, English learning has received lots of attention all over the world, especially for those who are not native English speakers. Various English learning and testing systems have been developed on the Internet. Nevertheless, most existing English testing systems represent the learning status of a student by assigning that student with a score or grade. This approach makes the student aware of his/her learning status through the score or grade, but the student might be unable to improve his/her learning status without further guidance. In this paper, an intelligent English tense learning and diagnostic system is proposed, which is able to identify student learning problems on English verb tenses and to provide personalized learning suggestions in accordance with each student’s learning portfolio. Experimental results on hundreds of college students have depicted the superiority of the novel approach.
The Benefits of an E-Business Performance Measurement System
Authors: Barnes David , Hinton Matthew
Published: May 2011

This chapter investigates how organizations have been adapting their performance measurement practices in response to their adoption of e-business in their business operations. It aims to identify the features and benefits of an effective e-business performance measurement system. Twelve organizations known to have had some success in developing performance measurement systems suitable for the online environment were studied. The researchers found that these organizations adopted an incremental rather than a radical approach to changing their performance measurement system for e-business, thereby avoiding the costs and disruption associated with the introduction of more complex performance metrics. Secondly, they eschewed the use of best practice recipes (such as the balanced scorecard). The study concludes that although these results may be at odds with the prescriptive generic performance measurement literature, they may be appropriate for the current state of development of e-business.
The Application of Fuzzy Performance Modelling Procedures in Extended Enterprise Performance Measurement
Authors: Zhou Jian , Folan Paul , Jagdev Harinder , Browne Jim
Published: May 2011

The concept of performance, as it is measured and evaluated, is undergoing a transformation in modern business organisations, so that partnering companies who form enterprise networks that work together across the value chain, can apply evolving performance measurement structures that more accurately capture value chain realities. In this chapter an Extended Enterprise (EE) performance measurement system that can theoretically present models, measures and data from all aspects of the participating companies’ functions in an EE is presented; together with the innovative development of a fuzzy-based performance modelling method, which acts as a supplement to the original procedural measurement framework, enabling the development of a system of performance measurement that is of greater relevance to both intra-organisational and inter-organisational levels, and which goes beyond current efforts to achieve greater reliability in the selection and implementation of performance measures.
Ambient Video, Slow-Motion, and Convergent Domains of Practice
Authors: Bizzocchi Jim , Youssef Belgacem Ben
Published: May 2011

The chapter describes the synergistic integration of distinct research and creation agendas, each firmly grounded in its own set of practices and methodologies. The authors participate in three separate domains of practice: humanities scholarship, scientific research, and artistic creation. They have continued to work within their respective specialties, but have also aligned their research and creation activities within a larger context that enriches their individual work. Humanities scholarship, artistic creation, and scientific research support each other at various critical junctures in the overall arc of the research. The chapter analyzes the details of each individual research or creation strand, and identifies the instances and the dynamics of mutual support and synergy. The mechanisms and attitudes that support the success of cross-disciplinary collaboration are identified and explicated.
Distributed Scheduling Protocols for Energy Efficient Large-Scale Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: Fu Cheng , Wang Bang
Published: May 2011

A major design challenge in wireless sensor network application development is to provide appropriate middleware service protocols to control the energy consumption according to specific application scenarios. In common application scenarios such as in monitoring or surveillance systems, it is usually necessary to extend the system monitoring area as large as possible to cover the maximal area. The two issues of power conservation and maximizing the coverage area have to be considered together with both the sensors’ communication connectivity and their power management strategy. In this chapter,the authors proposed novel enhanced sensor scheduling protocols to address the application scenario of typical surveillance systems. Their protocols take into consideration of both power conservation and coverage ratio to search for the balance between the different requirements. They proposed both centralized and de-centralized sensor scheduling versions, and compared the performance of different algorithms using several metrics. The results provide evidence of the advantages of our proposed protocols comparing with existing sensor scheduling protocols.
IntegraEPI
Authors: Barbosa da Silva Fabricio Alves , Fabricio Gagliardi Henrique , Gallo Eduardo , Madope Maria Antonia , Cavicchioli Neto Virgilio , Torres Pisa Ivan , Alves Domingos
Published: May 2011

The authors present in this work a large-scale system for space-time visualization, monitoring, modeling and analysis of epidemic data using a Grid platform. This system, dubbed IntegraEPI, is capable to integrate data from heterogeneous databases related to epidemic analysis and to make available analytical and computational methods to increase the predicting capability of the public heath system, in order to optimize its activities and resources when dealing with epidemic outbreak and prevention. This system, differently of what has been proposed before, is integrated and consequently it enables the construction of detailed predictive models of the dynamics of disease spreading. With the help of IntegraEPI, Health authorities will be able to decide about a set of possible actions that will be previously tested in a virtual population interacting in an urban infrastructure, considering its environmental factors, and finally compare the simulated data to consolidated data of real epidemic dynamics.
e-Infrastructures Fostering Multi-Center Collaborative Research into the Intensive Care Management of Patients with Brain Injury
Authors: Sinnott Richard , Piper Ian
Published: May 2011

Clinical research is becoming ever more collaborative with multi-centre trials now a common practice. With this in mind, never has it been more important to have secure access to data and, in so doing, tackle the challenges of inter-organisational data access and usage. This is especially the case for research conducted within the brain injury domain due to the complicated multi-trauma nature of the disease with its associated complex collation of time-series data of varying resolution and quality. It is now widely accepted that advances in treatment within this group of patients will only be delivered if the technical infrastructures underpinning the collection and validation of multi-centre research data for clinical trials is improved. In recognition of this need, IT-based multi-centre e-Infrastructures such as the Brain Monitoring with Information Technology group (BrainIT - www.brainit.org) and Cooperative Study on Brain Injury Depolarisations (COSBID - www.cosbid.de) have been formed. A serious impediment to the effective implementation of these networks is access to the know-how and experience needed to install, deploy and manage security-oriented middleware systems that provide secure access to distributed hospital based datasets and especially the linkage of these data sets across sites. The recently funded EU framework VII ICT project Advanced Arterial Hypotension Adverse Event prediction through a Novel Bayesian Neural Network (AVERT-IT) is focused upon tackling these challenges. This chapter describes the problems inherent to data collection within the brain injury medical domain, the current IT-based solutions designed to address these problems and how they perform in practice. The authors outline how the authors have collaborated towards developing Grid solutions to address the major technical issues. Towards this end we describe a prototype solution which ultimately formed the basis for the AVERT-IT project. They describe the design of the underlying Grid infrastructure for AVERT-IT and how it will be used to produce novel approaches to data collection, data validation and clinical trial design.
Understanding Learner Trait, Test and Computer Anxiety in the Context of Computer-Based Testing
Authors: Papanastasiou Elena C. , Tzanavari Aimilia , Lowe Patricia
Published: May 2011

Testing is an integral part of the learning process that aims to estimate the learner’s abilities as accurately and efficiently as possible. This estimation frequently is influenced by factors such as the learner’s emotional state and traits. This chapter looks into the area of Computer-based Testing (CBT), visiting the relevant literature on the subject, and then investigates the particular emotional states of learner trait, test and computer anxiety in that context. A study was carried out and revealed that although both trait and test anxiety as variables do not significantly affect learner performance, computer anxiety does. Finally, future research trends in this area are outlined.
Experiences in Data Processing and Bayesian Filtering Applied to Localization and Tracking in Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: Ansari Junaid , Riihijärvi Janne , Mähönen Petri
Published: May 2011

The authors discuss algorithms and solutions for signal processing and filtering for localization and tracking applications in Wireless Sensor Networks. Their focus is on the experiences gained from implementation and deployment of several such systems. In particular, they comment on the data processing solutions found appropriate for commonly used sensor types, and discuss at some length the use of Bayesian filtering for solving the tracking problem. They specifically recommend the use of particle filters as a flexible solution appropriate for tracking in non-linear systems with non-Gaussian measurement errors. They also discuss in detail the design of some of the indoor and outdoor tracking systems they have implemented, highlighting major design decisions and experiences gained from test deployments.
Quality Management and Control
Authors: Anwar Sohail
Published: May 2011

Project management is a carefully planned, organized effort to manage the resources in order to successfully accomplish specific project goals and objectives. It involves the entire life cycle of a project right from the feasibility study of the project, project planning, implementation, evaluation, support, and maintenance of the project. Each phase of the project is a vast topic within project management. The topic of interest for this chapter is quality assurance and its relationship project management. By defining quality and situating the concept within the frame of project management, the authors’ scope and understanding of project completion will be improved.