bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
ERP and New Organizational Capabilities
Authors: Tapp Roy , Hesseldenz Jon , Morefield Linda , Kelley George
Published: May 2011

This study qualitatively assesses the organizational impact of a newly implemented ERP system in the daily and strategic functioning of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS). It serves as a powerful example to academic administrators, management consultants, and ERP practitioners seeking ways to cost-justify the implementation and recurring maintenance overhead of modern ERP systems in educational institutions, especially in settings troubled by the conflicting forces of growing enrollments and state-imposed budget cuts. With the new KCTCS ERP system in place, administrative oversight has been strengthened, and it is now easier to provide factual support for institutional funding requests. The new KCTCS ERP system has additionally enabled important new organizational capabilities in the areas of student recruitment, student retention, credit hour transferability, and credential transparency. It has also made it easier for KCTCS to adapt flexibly and responsively to change, create new knowledge and performance measures, and serve the needs of a new strategic horizon.
Critical Success Factors for Implementing an ERP System
Authors: Nielsen Jens Laurits
Published: May 2011

This chapter involves an investigation into critical success factors (CSFs) for implementing an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system into an Australian university. Existing ERP research has neglected the higher education sector (HES) worldwide and in Australia, even though a majority of Australian universities have implemented an ERP solution. Findings from the case study found that interviewees discussed 22 of the 29 factors identified from contemporary literature. Additionally, four new factors are identified, namely, competitive edge, service for students, knowledge management, and system ownership.
Plan Optimization by Plan Rewriting
Authors: Ambite José Luis , Knoblock Craig A. , Minton Steven
Published: May 2011

Planning by Rewriting (PbR) is a paradigm for efficient high-quality planning that exploits declarative plan rewriting rules and efficient local search techniques to transform an easy-to-generate, but possibly suboptimal, initial plan into a high-quality plan. In addition to addressing planning efficiency and plan quality, PbR offers a new anytime planning algorithm. The plan rewriting rules can be either specified by a domain expert or automatically learned. We describe a learning approach based on comparing initial and optimal plans that produce rules competitive with manually specified ones. PbR is fully implemented and has been applied to several existing domains. The experimental results show that the PbR approach provides significant savings in planning effort while generating high-quality plans.
Garbage In, Garbage Out
Authors: McCarthy Tess , Ratcliffe Jerry
Published: May 2011

Advances in computing technology and analytical techniques have given crime analysts increasingly powerful toolboxes with which to unlock the spatial patterns and processes of crime. However, the utility of such tools is still bounded by the “garbage in, garbage out,” maxim, whereby analytical output is only as reliable as the analytical input. Therefore, this chapter reviews some of the sources of spatial data inaccuracy that must be considered when analyzing crime. Given the prevalence of street addresses as a spatial location identifier for crime events, particular attention is given to the accuracy and optimum parameters for geographically referencing address data. Example data drawn from burglary records in the city of Wollongong, Australia, illustrate the significance of the issues and the impact that poor address management can have on the analysis of crime. The chapter emphasizes the practical, by outlining address correction options and summarizing recent research that identifies optimum settings for geocoding software tools.
Geographic Profiling and Spatial Analysis of Serial Homicides
Authors: Roh Sunghoon , Leipnik Mark R.
Published: May 2011

The characteristics of the crime of serial homicide are examined, the concept of geographic profiling is presented, and the application of geographic information system (GIS)-based spatial analysis techniques to the investigation of serial homicide investigation are discussed in this chapter. The case of serial killer Robert Yates, in which geospatial technologies played a prominent part, is detailed.
Web GIS for Mapping Community Crime Rates
Authors: Shy Tung-Kai , Stimson Robert J. , Western John , Murray Alan T. , Mazerolle Lorraine
Published: May 2011

This chapter describes a prototype Web geographic information system (GIS) and spatial model application for mapping person crime rates in Brisbane, Australia. Our application, which integrates GIS functionality, a clustering model, client/server technology and the Internet, can generate useful documents such as maps and tables to examine and present crime patterns in space and time. Our chapter also demonstrates the usefulness and appeal of the Web GIS application as an information dissemination and spatial data analysis tool for promoting public awareness of social conditions. This chapter argues that Web-based data access is a better approach to delivering large volumes of crime data and geographical information to the public. We expect that police, community workers and citizens could utilize the application and associated maps to facilitate and enhance crime prevention activities. We note, however, that further development of Web-based GIS applications need to answer a number of pertinent questions regarding system maintenance, data integrity and neighborhood crime prevention.
Identifying "Hot Link" Between Crime and Crime-Related Locations
Authors: Lu Yongmei
Published: May 2011

Crime is typically a multi-location event where multiple locations are associated through one crime incident. Understanding the patterns of the spatial association between crime locations and their corresponding crime-related locations (for example, the residence location of an offender or that of a victim) can enhance our capability to explain and predict crime patterns. GIS technologies coupled with spatial statistics have been widely used to model areas of high crime (that is, crime hot spot). But very limited effort has been spent to investigate the spatial association between crime locations from a crime hot spot and the corresponding crime-related locations. This chapter introduces the concept of “hot link” to describe the spatial autocorrelation of the one-to-one relationship between a crime location and a crime-related location. It develops an approach for the hot link analysis problem. Related techniques are applied to the hot link analysis between auto theft and recovery locations in the city of Buffalo, New York. Identifying the patterns of hot links from auto theft locations to recovery locations is important for understanding auto thieves’ travel behavior. Related findings can contribute to the law enforcement’s effort to fight against auto theft. The hot link analysis method can be easily extended to analyzing spatial patterns of other types of crime and crime-related locations.
Electronic Monitoring in the American Academy
Authors: O’Connell Brian M.
Published: May 2011

This chapter will examine the development and convergence of two abstract concepts: academic freedom and electronic monitoring. It will consider social, ethical, and legal elements that have contributed to disparate cultures supporting classical academic governance and modern corporate governance. The inevitable conflict between these competing paradigms will be illustrated through the consideration of legal decisions and institutional decision-making involving the use of networked technologies within the modern era.
Knowledge Management in Indian Companies
Authors: Gammack John , Desai Pranay , Sandhu Kuldeep , Winklhofer Heidi
Published: May 2011

In this chapter we look at knowledge management in India with particular regard to the pharmaceutical industry. In India, changes in government policy linked to global factors are bringing about increased pressures to strategically manage knowledge effectively. At the same time, significant knowledge management initiatives are already underway in other industry sectors. We outline some of the changes affecting the pharmaceutical industry globally, and consider India on some relevant activities. The development of IT solutions is seen as enabling effective knowledge management. We look at a range of knowledge management technologies and their existing or planned use in industry. The IT however merely underpins the knowledge management philosophy, which must be incorporated into processes, strategies and organisational culture for successful adoption. India and its indigenous organisations may be characterised by some specific cultural factors. Effective implementation of KM will depend on a conducive cultural climate, both organisationally and nationally. We also therefore examine the extent of the perceived benefits, that shape the cultural shift from understanding knowledge management as simply an IT problem to recognition of knowledge management as a strategic process as seen by CEOs and top managers in indigenous Indian Fortune 100 companies. We look at how the pharmaceutical industry compares to other organizations of significant size in India across a range of factors concerned with knowledge management activity, using survey and interview techniques. We conclude that while only a few significant sectoral differences are evident, there is generally a heavy orientation towards IT-based conceptions of KM, which may be incompatible with the requirements for future success in the pharmaceutical industry globally.
Managing Healthcare Organizations through the Knowledge Productivity Measurement
Authors: Ahn Jae-Hyeon , Chang Suk-Gwon
Published: May 2011

Understanding the contribution of knowledge to business performance is important for efficient resource allocations. It is very true for healthcare organizations. For the best utilization of scare medical expertise in the successful medical service delivery process, knowledge management will play a more important role in the future. In this paper, a performance-oriented knowledge management methodology or KP3 methodology was applied to the medical domain. Through actual data from the six OB/GYN specialty hospitals in Korea, the contribution of knowledge to performance was assessed. Specifically, the productivities of knowledge entities were calculated using DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) approach to give some important managerial insights for knowledge management activities.
On the Co-Evolution of SSADM and the UML
Authors: Botting Richard J.
Published: May 2011

This chapter examines how a system developed using the Structured Systems Analysis and Design Methodology (SSADM) evolves to fit the UML and XML. As a vehicle, the chapter will consider the addition of a new user story to an existing SSADM system. SSADM developed in the early 1980’s. It is still popular. It is similar to other Structured Analysis and Design methods. Evolving SSADM to use the UML and XML is important. This chapter argues that XML is an opportunity, not a problem. It also shows that the earlier UMLs did not support SSADM but the new UML 2.0 does.
Measuring Organizational Readiness for Knowledge Management
Authors: Taylor W. A. , Schellenberg M. A.
Published: May 2011

While organizations continue to grapple with the implementation of knowledge management, there remains a need for empirical research into the practical difficulties they encounter. In this chapter, we investigate the challenges faced by one multinational telecommunications company in a post-merger environment. We develop an instrument to evaluate the knowledge-sharing culture and information infrastructure and, by using qualitative and quantitative data from a survey of five European sites, we illustrate how managers can measure gaps between the effectiveness of current practices and their importance, and decide whether to direct resources toward changing employee attitudes, organizational practices, or knowledge-management infrastructure. More significantly, we highlight the need for senior managers to be in agreement about the strategic direction of their business and the strategic alignment between business strategy and knowledge-management strategy. Without such consensus, knowledge management is likely to remain, at best, a series of fragmented and unrelated initiatives at local levels.
Towards an Emotionally Intelligent IT Organization
Authors: Kaluzniacky Eugene
Published: May 2011

Considerable attention has recently been focused on the area of “emotional intelligence” (EI) in business administration circles as well as in IT management. Often, it is being suggested that IT workers need the “soft skills” of emotional literacy, especially when dealing with users and co-workers. However, how can one develop this “emotional intelligence”? What might be its various components? Moreover, to what degree and how might IT management get involved to try to move its IT organization on the EI path? Such issues are discussed in this chapter.
Identification and Measurement of the Knowledge-Sharing Requirements in Collaborative Business Processes
Authors: Daneshgar Farhad
Published: May 2011

This chapter introduces a modelling language called Awareness Net for both representation as well as measuring the knowledge-sharing requirements in collaborative business processes. It is a conceptual model that facilitates representation and analysis of knowledge-sharing requirements of the actors in collaborative business processes. The representation and measurement are handled by a set of collaborative semantic concepts and their relationships. The proposed language enforces overall specification of what matters to the actors in collaborative processes when collaborating in business process to keep them aware of the collaboration context.
The Role of Information Technology in Learning
Authors: Chang Klarissa T.T. , Lim John
Published: May 2011

This study provides an updated meta-analysis on the effects of information technology (IT) in education. Sixty-eight experimental studies conducted on the application of IT in the classrooms were integrated and analyzed. Positive effect sizes were found for learning outcomes, including academic achievement, knowledge retention, task performance, self-reported learning, and self-efficacy. Further analysis revealed the primary effects to be significantly moderated by several factors, categorized under learner and course characteristics. These findings have important implications for both research and practice.
Computing and ICT Literacy
Authors: Cartelli Antonio
Published: May 2011

Three main questions guided the author in the writing of this chapter: Is there the need for a widespread and in-depth ICT literacy in mankind? What has to be meant for ICT literacy? And are there special problems in students’ learning of ICT topics? And last but not least: How can ICTs themselves improve teachers’ work and students’ learning on ICTs? The introduction answers the first question and shows how difficult the search can be for solutions to the problem of the digital divide. The answer to the second question comes from a short survey of the experiences that some institutions made for the introduction of basic computing skills and ICT literacy in school curricula. In the meantime the problems that the students usually meet while attending computer programming and ICT literacy courses are described. Finally the author reports the results of some experiences involving the use of ICTs in teaching and describes how he arrived to hypothesize the adoption of action research strategies, of Web technologies and data mining techniques for the monitoring of the teaching-learning process and its improvement.
Technology for Management, Communication, and Instruction
Authors: Sapone Silvia L. , Hyatt Kim J.
Published: May 2011

This chapter introduces a pedagogically sound experience for teachers and teacher candidates as they prepare or continue to learn about the use of technology for the K-12 classroom. The authors hope that learning about fundamental technology skills will not only inform teachers about how to effectively meet the needs of a diverse student population, but also expand their knowledge base in terms of professional growth. Technology changes the way teachers interact with curriculum and engage in discourse with students and their families, peers, and administrators; therefore, it is essential to address how it can be utilized for management, communication, and instructional purposes in order to enhance the learning environment. This chapter argues that districts need to develop a plan that incorporates technology training for all teachers to create a positive impact on teaching and learning.
What Literacy for Software Developers?
Authors: Kral Jaroslav , Zemlicka Michal
Published: May 2011

There is a paradigm shift towards service orientation. Service orientation requires an education less oriented to a strictly computer-oriented knowledge, and education containing basics of thinking of empirical sciences and, to some degree, also humanities. The reason is, among others, the fact that the service interfaces in the service-oriented system should be user oriented—they should be based on knowledge, habits, and languages of a user problem domain. It is, however, difficult for many computer people to use user domain knowledge, as they often are overly proud of their computer knowledge (and underestimate knowledge of other disciplines—knowledge domains of the system users inclusive). We call this attitude ‘hacker syndrome’. The hacker syndrome is the main obstacle to do analysis and to apply modern software practices like agile programming and service-oriented software architectures. Hacker syndrome prevention can be based on curricula ensuring training of the knowledge important for the development of service-oriented systems. Such a training can enhance job and career opportunities of software experts in near as well as in far future.
Virtual Reality in Education
Authors: Sala Nicoletta , Sala Massimo
Published: May 2011

This chapter introduces the technology of virtual reality as an educational tool. It argues that virtual reality, combined with multimedia technologies and in support of different learning styles, offers potential help in teaching environments. The authors describe different examples of applications of virtual reality in different kinds of schools (primary schools, high schools, and universities) and in different countries (USA, Italy, Morocco, Romania, and Switzerland). They hope that by understanding the characteristics of this technology and its use in the education field, teachers will be able to use virtual reality in future teaching endeavors.
Beyond Needs
Authors: Aube Michel
Published: May 2011

This chapter proposes a model of emotions relying upon an analysis of the requirements that are to be met by individuals of nurturing species, so as to adapt themselves to their social environments. It closely reflects the structure of other motivational systems, which consist of control structures dedicated to the management of resources critical for survival. The particular resources emotional systems seem to handle have to do with social bonding and collaborative behaviors. Herein, they are called second-order resources. They refer to the resources made available by other agents, and they are captured in the model through the concept of commitments. Emotions thus appear as computational control systems that handle the variation of commitments lying at the root of interactive and collaborative behaviors. Some critical consequences of the model for the implementation of emotions in artificial systems are drawn at the end of the chapter.
Modular Representations of Cognitive Phenomena in AI, Psychology and Neuroscience
Authors: Bryson Joanna J.
Published: May 2011

Many architectures of mind assume some form of modularity, but what is meant by the term ‘module’? This chapter creates a framework for understanding current modularity research in three subdisciplines of cognitive science: psychology, artificial intelligence (AI), and neuroscience. This framework starts from the distinction between horizontal modules that support all expressed behaviors vs. vertical modules that support individual domain-specific capacities. The framework is used to discuss innateness, automaticity, compositionality, representations, massive modularity, behavior-based and multi-agent AI systems, and correspondence to physiological neurosystems. There is also a brief discussion of the relevance of modularity to conscious experience.
Memory and Emotion in the Cognitive Architecture
Authors: Clocksin William F.
Published: May 2011

This chapter explores issues in memory and affect in connection with possible architectures for artificial cognition. Because memory and emotion are evolutionarily and developmentally rooted in social interdependence, a new understanding of these issues is necessary for the principled design of true intelligent systems. We treat emotion not as an optional extra or as a brief episode of feeling, but as the underlying substrate enabling the formation of social relationships essential for the construction of cognition. We treat memory not as the storage and retrieval of immutable data, but as a continuous process contingent on experience and never fully fixed or immutable. Three converging areas of research are identified that hold some promise for further research: social constructionism, reconsolidation memory theory, and memory models based on the nonlinear dynamics of unstable periodic orbits. We argue that the combination of these ideas offers a potentially more substantive approach to understanding the cognitive architecture.
Implementing Free Will
Authors: Edmonds Bruce
Published: May 2011

Free will is described in terms of the useful properties that it could confer, explaining why it might have been selected for over the course of evolution. These properties are exterior unpredictability, interior rationality, and social accountability. A process is described that might bring it about when deployed in a suitable social context. It is suggested that this process could be of an evolutionary nature—that free will might “evolve” in the brain during development. This mental evolution effectively separates the internal and external contexts, while retaining the coherency between individual’s public accounts of their actions. This is supported by the properties of evolutionary algorithms and possesses the three desired properties. Some objections to the possibility of free will are dealt with by pointing out the prima facie evidence and showing how an assumption that everything must be either deterministic or random can result from an unsupported assumption of universalism.
Artificial Minds and Conscious Machines
Authors: Haikonen Pentti O
Published: May 2011

The following fundamental issues of artificial minds and conscious machines are considered here: representation and symbolic processing of information with meaning and significance in the human sense; the perception process; a neural cognitive architecture; system reactions and emotions; consciousness in the machine; and artificial minds as a content-level phenomenon. Solutions are proposed for related problems, and a cognitive machine is outlined. An artificial mind within this machine that eventually controls the machine is seen to arise via learning and experience as higher level content is constructed.
The Role of Context When Implementing Learning Environments
Authors: Blandin Bernard
Published: May 2011

This chapter presents some outcomes of current research on the role of contextwhen implementing learning environments. It first sets the theoretical and empiri-cal scene of current research on learning, which leads to the conclusion that thereis a general agreement on the fact that context influences learning activities. Sec-ondly, the chapter shows how theories of learning materialize and give form to thephysical and organizational structure of educational and training institutions.Then, it analyses why institutional praxis applying a given theory of learning mayconflict with the implementation of new learning environments. Finally, it providessome sociological guidelines to facilitate the implementation of a new learningparadigm within an organization. With this chapter, the author intends to promotethe use of sociology to better understand what is at stake when implementing newlearning environments.
HIPAA
Authors: Deshmukh Pooja , Croasdell David
Published: May 2011

This chapter explores privacy and security issues in health care. It describes the difference between privacy and security in the context of health care, identifies sources of concern for individuals who use information technologies for health-related purposes, and presents technology-based solutions for privacy and security in health care networks. The purpose of the chapter is to provide an investigation of the sources of concern for regulations and technologies in the health care industry. The discussion is based on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and its eight guiding principles. The chapter explores the implications of legal and regulatory environments driving HIPAA regulations, the need for privacy and security in health care networks, and information technologies used in the health care industry. Related ethical issues, current technologies for providing secure solutions that comply with the regulations, and products emerging in the market are also examined.
Technologies Challenging Literacy
Authors: Stylianou-Georgiou Agni , Vrasidas Charalambos , Christodoulou Niki , Zembylas Michalinos , Landone Elena
Published: May 2011

This chapter describes how new technologies are challenging the traditional concept of literacy and redefining its meaning. New genres of texts change conceptualizations of literacy development and present new challenges for reading and writing. Important consequences for instruction, especially how teachers and students exploit new forms of literacy to enhance teaching and learning, are presented and discussed. A particular emphasis is placed on the role of technology for community building, reflection, and teacher learning. Deconstructing notions of how technology shapes society and the role of critical emotional literacy are also explored.
Globalization, At-Risk Students, and the Reconceptualization of Technological Literacy
Authors: Waks Leonard J.
Published: May 2011

The problem of technology has, since 1970, been radically altered by the global spread of market economies and networked computers. As a result, the notion of technological literacy education that emerged in the 1970s and 1980s must be re-constructed. After reviewing the impact of globalization and the spread of communications networks on the world occupational structure, and the consequent new risks borne by low-tier routine and informal workers, I offer a revision of the concept of technological literacy education that assigns important new roles to non-governmental organizations serving low-tier workers, and that places the hands-on use of networked computers at its core.
Using WebQuests to Support the Development of Digital Literacy and Other Essential Skills at the K-12 Level
Authors: Gibson Susan E.
Published: May 2011

This chapter introduces the WebQuest as one means of addressing effective technology use for developing digital literacy skills at the K-12 education levels. It argues that technology use that promotes constructivist learning principles has been found to have the greatest effect on learning. Furthermore, the WebQuest and its extension, the Web Inquiry Project, exemplify strategies that promote constructivist learning principles when they are designed to encourage student-directed learning, problem solving, higher-level thinking, perspective taking, real-world authentic issues, and collaboration. The author hopes that by providing specific examples of each of these strategies, readers will be better able to envision effective, constructivist-based technology use for their classrooms.
Integrating Computer Literacy into Mathematics Instruction
Authors: Yuen Allan , Wong Patrick
Published: May 2011

The focus of computer literacy in education has evolved from teaching computer programming to integrating information and communication technology (ICT) across subjects. However, most schools in Hong Kong or elsewhere consider computer literacy as a stand-alone subject. One important question is how teachers integrate computer literacy into other subject teaching. There is no simple method, however a well-defined pedagogical strategy might help teachers and educators to better understand the issues and opportunities that the integration provides for meaningful learning. This chapter endeavors to report a case study of integrating computer literacy into mathematics instruction in a Hong Kong secondary school which focused on exploring essential conditions to the integration from the different ways students and teachers experienced the implementation of the curriculum integration. Four conditions emerged from the data analysis, namely, student performance and preference, pedagogical approach, student satisfaction, and perceived constraints.
Authentic Online Assessment
Authors: Keppell Mike , Oi Eliza Au Kit , Wing Ada Ma Wai
Published: May 2011

An action research project conducted over a 12-month period focused on authentic technology-enhanced assessment. This chapter examines three case study experiences in the field of teacher education that attempted to align learning outcomes, activities, and assessment tasks in three teaching and learning modules. The modules focus on diverse content areas from creative arts (art education), information and applied technology (fashion design), and the Centre for Integrating Technology in Education (virtual learning communities).
Integrating Tutoring Systems for Distributed Learning Environments
Authors: Lin Fuhua , Esmahi Larbi , Poon Lawrence
Published: May 2011

This chapter discusses an integrated approach to designing and developing adaptive distributed learning environments. It presents a distributed learning environment based on agent technology and Web services technology. Agents are expected to be used as the core components in intelligent distributed learning environments because of their inherent natures: autonomous, intelligent, sociable, etc. However, to integrate agents into existing legacy learning environments or into heterogeneous learning environments, one may encounter many difficulties. They may be technical issues, economical issues, social issues, or even political issues. Web services technology, on the other hand, characterized by its standardized communication protocol, interoperability, and easy integration and deployment, is an excellent complimentary partner with agents in distributed learning environments. The integration of Web services and agents simplifies the complexity of development, saves time, and, most important of all, makes distributed learning environments feasible and practical. To take advantage of the merits of agents and Web services, we advocate agent-supported Web services in designing and developing distributed learning environments.
Intelligent Tutoring Systems for the New Learning Infrastructure
Authors: Rosic Marko , Glavinic Vlado , Stankov Slavomir
Published: May 2011

Intelligent tutoring systems (ITS) are a generation of computer systems which provide students with learning and teaching environments adapted to their knowledge and learning capabilities. In this chapter, we analyze the conceiving of intelligent tutoring systems in the new learning infrastructure environment, encompassing technologies like the Semantic Web and the Web Services.
From Knowledge Repository to Knowledge Space
Authors: Dzbor Martin , Motta Enrico , Stutt Arthur
Published: May 2011

Management literature recognizes that knowledge is replacing more traditional sources of competitive advantage, and perhaps the only sustainable competitive advantage is the ability to use and embed knowledge into an organization’s life. In this chapter, we look at the notion of embedding knowledge chunks in a variety of contexts from the viewpoint of ontological frames. We suggest a three-level typology that was driving our efforts to develop a knowledge-rich application based on Semantic Web technologies. The core concepts refer to our Frame-Annotate-Navigate framework, and we discuss this extrapolation in terms of moving from designing knowledge portals and centralized repositories toward supporting open and modular knowledge spaces.
Composing Systems of Systems
Authors: Periorellis Panayiotis
Published: May 2011

Information Systems in general carry or have embedded in their structure, elements that stem from the organization’s strategic, tactical, and operational goals. Finding elements of an organization’s strategic, tactical, or operational goals embedded in computer systems is not at all surprising, since most developers and programmers were taught how to successfully map such goals into the Information System. We are, however, in an era where technology allows us to develop systems that are composed of smaller autonomous parts (sometimes complete systems themselves) that are integrated together despite being bound by their corresponding organizational boundaries. Therefore integration is not only a technical challenge but an organizational one, too. In this chapter we address a number of issues, namely system composition, regulation, evolution, and dependability, using examples from the two case studies we worked on for three years.
Requirements Engineering for Value Webs
Authors: Gordijn Jaap
Published: May 2011

Value webs are cooperating, networked enterprises and end-consumers that create, distribute, and consume things of economic value. The task of creating, designing, and analyzing such webs is a prototypical example of a multi-disciplinary task. Business-oriented stakeholders are involved because the way an enterprise creates economic value is discussed. But also representatives responsible for business processes (many innovative value webs require changes in processes) and inter-organizational information systems (enabling value webs from a technical point of view) play a key role, as well as end-consumers. To facilitate exploration and analysis of such value webs, we propose an approach called e3value that utilizes terminology from business sciences, marketing, and axiology but is founded on methodology seen in requirements engineering such as semi-formal, lightweight graphical conceptual modeling, multiple viewpoints, and scenario techniques. We have developed and tested this methodology in a series of e-business consultancy projects. In this chapter we will present lessons learned in developing value webs, which stem from our consultancy experience. Then we present the e3value methodology, with a focus on modeling and understanding what parties offer each other of economic value. Analysing value webs from such an economic value perspective is the main contribution of our approach; business science approaches contain the right terminology but are far too sloppy to be usable in practice, whereas requirements engineering and conceptual modeling approaches are sufficiently rigorous but do not provide adequate terminology. For educational purposes, we illustrate the methodology with an easy-to-understand, inline example. Finally we discuss related approaches and conclusions.
The Politcal Economy of Knowledge Management in Higher Education
Authors: Metcalfe Amy Scott
Published: May 2011

In this chapter, I discuss the economic and political implications of knowledge management in higher education. First, I examine the linkages between KM and capitalism, with the help of theoretical frameworks that connect increasing managerialism in higher education with the promises of profit-making in the New (Knowledge) Economy. Next, I discuss the politics of information and the ways in which knowledge is stratified in postsecondary institutions. Third, the social dynamics of information and communications technologies (ICT) are explored in the context of higher education institutions. These perspectives provide a counter-balance to the decidedly functionalist views of much of the knowledge managementliterature. The intent of the chapter is to provide a foundation for the rest of the volume and the more specific studies of KM in higher education to follow.
We've Got a Job to Do - Eventually
Authors: Wagoner Richard L.
Published: May 2011

The implementation of knowledge management systems at universities can be tremendously costly in terms of both human and capital resources. One reason for this cost is the extended time period, generally measured in years, not months, over which they are implemented. This qualitative study presents data on the implementation of one such project at a Research I university in the southwestern United States. The analysis focuses on the concept of knowledge management fatigue syndrome and the increase of technological bloat and academic technocracy as a result of the project.
Policy Processes for Technological Change
Authors: Smith Richard , Lewis Brian , Massey Christine
Published: May 2011

Universities, among the oldest social institutions, are facing enormous pressures to change. There have always been debates about the university, its purpose, its pedagogical program, and its relationship to other social and political structures. Today, these debates have been given renewed vigor and urgency by the availability of advanced information and communication technologies for teaching and learning. These include computers and computer networks, along with the software and telecommunications networks that link them together. When these technologies are used to connect learners at a distance, they are called “telelearning technologies.” When referring to their use more generally, to include local as well as remote teaching innovations, they are sometimes called “technology mediated learning” (TML). Despite much media attention and recent academic criticism, pressures on universities are facilitated, but not caused, by telelearning technologies. Change in universities is not simply a result of forces acting upon universities, but is the result of a complex interaction of internal and external drivers. The use of telelearning technologies intersects with a host of social, political, and economic factors currently influencing university reform. Technology, in this context, has become the catalyst for change, reacting with other elements in a system to spark a reaction and a change in form and structure. This chapter examines policy processes for the introduction of technology-mediated learning at universities and colleges. It is based on the results of a two-year research project to investigate policy issues that arise with the implementation of telelearning technology in universities and colleges. The focus was on Canadian institutions of higher learning, but the issues raised are common to higher educational institutions in other countries. The study scanned a large number of institutions, reviewed documents, and interviewed key actors including government and institutional administrators, faculty, and students, to discover the range of issues raised by the implementation of telelearning technologies. This chapter discusses these issues and findings. CASE Questions • What policies or processes are in place to guide change in colleges and universities? Who knows about these policies and participates in them? • What are the forces behind technological change in higher education organizations? Are they external or internal? • Can technology be used as a tool for achieving meaningful and positive change or is it an end to itself? • In what ways can technology be used to increase access to education?
Higher Education Culture and the Diffusion of Technology in Classroom Instruction
Authors: Smith Kandis M.
Published: May 2011

The diffusion of an innovation takes, on an average, 25 years in an educational setting. Many factors contribute to this slow acceptance rate. Rogers’ (1995) theory on the diffusion of innovation and the influence of culture on such diffusion is used to shed light on the causes for this slow diffusion. While not a full explanation of this slow rate of change, this case study shows that the academic culture, within which faculty function, has a strong influence on the diffusion of the use of technology in classroom instruction. This case study provides a point of reference for further study of diffusion of technology in classroom instruction. This case focuses on a Research I institution in the Midwest that has made a number of commitments to the integration of technology into the curriculum and has channeled many resources into this campaign. While the institution has invested large sums of money in the development of the infrastructure, the rate at which faculty have adopted the use of technology in their teaching has remained low. In order to determine the perceptions of faculty and develop some framework for understanding why the infusion of technology into classroom instruction was so low, faculty members on the campus were interviewed, focus groups were conducted, and meetings between faculty and administrators concerning technology issues were observed. Because additional issues exist with distance education, the scope of this case study research was limited to on-campus classroom instruction and support. Case Questions • Do the values and beliefs of academic culture promote or discourage a pro-innovation social climate? • What aspects of academic culture hinder or promote the diffusion of innovation, specifically, the process for adoption of the use of technology in higher education? • How do disciplinary differences affect the adoption of technology? • What roles do faculty play in the diffusion of technology in the classroom? • What tools and support structures drive successful technology integration into the classroom?
Learner Engagement and Success in CMS Environments
Authors: Bender Bob
Published: May 2011

This chapter is a case study in the use of course management systems (CMS) in teaching and learning.  A narrative from a faculty perspective, this study discusses how technology can be used effectively to shift the burden from teaching to student learning by paying attention to pedagogy rather than to the use of technology itself.  “Shakespeare and the New Movies,” a course designed to stimulate student writing about Shakespeare and films based on his plays, is used to illustrate this process.
Pushing the Envelope
Authors: Dabbagh Nada
Published: May 2011

This chapter describes how course management systems (CMS) can be utilized to support learner-centered practices and meaningful learning in distributed or online learning environments. Specifically, the chapter provides: (1) a pedagogically-oriented classification of the features and components of CMS enabling the online course developer to comprehensively understand the pedagogical potential of a CMS; and (2) a framework that explicitly demonstrates how to design authentic learning tasks using the features and components of CMS to create course designs and distributed learning interactions that engage students in meaningful learning.
An Approach for Managing IT Skills Portfolio
Authors: Nakayama Makoto , Sutcliffe Norma
Published: May 2011

In this chapter, the focus is on best practice for IT skills portfolio management. To begin, we formulate the key principles or mission statement for IT skills portfolio management based on the previous chapter. Under the principles enumerated there, this chapter outlines how to build an IT skills portfolio, and then looks at how to apply the portfolio at the firm and the individual IT professional levels.
Government Involvement in Skills Issues
Authors: Lahey Elizabeth
Published: May 2011

Technology products and services make up approximately one-third of the U.S. economy. The statistics are similar around the globe. Governments are concerned because this industry sector significantly impacts employment and productivity rates. The birth of the information age and the criticality of knowledge workers had great potential. To date, however, the benefits are not fully realized. The rate of change in the industry has instead created a significant gap between the needs of employers and the skills of the workforce. While technology professionals cannot find jobs, employers claim they cannot hire workers with necessary skills portfolios. Government agencies are taking action to coordinate state, national, and international projects to bridge this skill gap. One project currently underway in the United States is the development of national skill standards for the information and communications technology (ICT) industry sector. It is funded by the Department of Labor.
Geometric Distortions Correction Using Image Moment in Image Watermarking
Authors: Li Zhang , Kwong Sam
Published: May 2011

This chapter presents a method for detecting and recovering geometrical attacks in digital watermarking by making use of geometric moments of the original images. Digital image watermarking has become a popular technique for authentication and copyright protection. However, many proposed image watermarking techniques are sensitive to geometric distortions, such as rotation, scaling, and translation. In this chapter, we propose a new way of making this estimation by using the geometric moments of original image. The moment information can be used as a private key of extraction process. This method can be used as a preprocess of the extraction watermarking process. We have embedded different watermarks into original images in different domains including discrete wavelet transform (DWT), discrete cosine transfrom (DCT), fast Fourier transform, and spatial domain. The experimental results show that our method has a good robustness to wide geometric distortion parameters ranges and it is robust to Stirmark attacks.
Time-Variant Watermarks for Digital Videos
Authors: Leiss Ernst L.
Published: May 2011

Watermarks provide a means of embedding information into digital videos that can be used for a variety of purposes, such as establishing ownership, tracing origin of copies, and so forth. We outline an approach that permits a significant increase in the amount of information that can be accommodated in a watermark, namely time-variant watermarks. The approach is formulated assuming the video is represented in an MPEG format. Implementation issues of time-variant watermarks are discussed, as are their advantages over the usual time-invariant watermarks, with emphasis on defeating attacks using filtering, cropping, resizing, and other standard methods used to defeat watermarks, such as changing existing frames, as well as new attacks, such as removing, repeating, or permuting frames.
Forty Years with Computer Technology
Authors: Hawthorne Mark D.
Published: May 2011

Technology and society are inevitably intertwined. As a result, changes in one affect the other, often in new and unexpected ways. This chapter examines how computing technology and online communication technologies have changed teaching practices in higher education. This chapter provides a first-person account of how computers and online media have changed the ways in which teachers and students approach materials.
Creating Community in the Technical Communication Classroom
Authors: Giles Timothy D.
Published: May 2011

A listserv can help to create a sense of community in a technical communication classroom. After reviewing relevant literature from Composition Studies, the author introduces the Psychological Sense of Community concept, which provides a research tool to direct a quantitative evaluation of the sense of community in four technical communication classes, two that use a listserv and two that do not. The author concludes that technical communication students would benefit from learning to become members of this type of discourse community because of its relevance to the working world.