bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ubiquitous Eco Cities
Authors: Yigitcanlar Tan , Han Jung Hoon
Published: May 2011

Efficient and effective urban management systems for Ubiquitous Eco Cities require having intelligent and integrated management mechanisms. This integration includes bringing together economic, socio-cultural and urban development with a well orchestrated, transparent and open decision-making system and necessary infrastructure and technologies. In Ubiquitous Eco Cities telecommunication technologies play an important role in monitoring and managing activities via wired and wireless networks. Particularly, technology convergence creates new ways in which information and telecommunication technologies are used and formed the backbone of urban management. The 21st Century is an era where information has converged, in which people are able to access a variety of services, including internet and location based services, through multi-functional devices and provides new opportunities in the management of Ubiquitous Eco Cities. This chapter discusses developments in telecommunication infrastructure and trends in convergence technologies and their implications on the management of Ubiquitous Eco Cities.
Human Oral Bioavailability Prediction of Four Kinds of Drugs
Authors: Yan Aixia , Wang Zhi , Li Jiaxuan , Meng Meng
Published: May 2011

In the development of drugs intended for oral use, good drug absorption and appropriate drug delivery are very important. Now the predictions for drug absorption and oral bioavailability follow similar approach: calculate molecular descriptors for molecules and build the prediction models. This approach works well for the prediction of compounds which cross a cell membrane from a region of high concentration to one of low concentration, but it does not work very well for the prediction of oral bioavailability, which represents the percentage of an oral dose which is able to produce a pharmacological activity. The models for bioavailability had limited predictability because there are a variety of pharmacokinetic factors influencing human oral bioavailability. Recent study has shown that good quantitative relationship could be obtained for subsets of drugs, such as those that have similar structure or the same pharmacological activity, or those that exhibit similar absorption and metabolism mechanisms. In this work, using MLR (Multiple Linear Regression) and SVM (Support Vector Machine), quantitative bioavailability prediction models were built for four kinds of drugs,which are Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitors or Angiotensin II Receptor Antagonists, Calcium Channel Blockers, Sodium and Potassium Channels Blockers and Quinolone Antimicrobial Agents. Explorations into subsets of compounds were performed and reliable prediction models were built for these four kinds of drugs. This work represents an exploration in predicting human oral bioavailability and could be used in other dataset of compounds with the same pharmacological activity.
Pulse Wave Analysis of Traditional Chinese Medicine Based on Hemodynamics Principles**
Authors: Guo Rui , Wang Yiqin , Yan Haixia , Li Fufeng , Yan Jianjun , Xu Zhaoxia
Published: May 2011

From the perspective of hemodynamics principles, the pressure pulse wave marked in the radial artery is the comprehensive result of pulse wave propagation and reflection in the arterial conduit. The most common pulse charts (also called pulse wave) obtained by Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) pulse-taking technique, if quantified and standardized, may become a universal and valuable diagnostic tool. The methods of feature extraction of TCM pulse charts currently involve time-domain analysis, frequency-domain analysis and time-frequency joint analysis. The feature parameters extracted by these methods have no definite clinical significance. Therefore, these feature parameters cannot essentially differentiate different types of TCM pulse. In this chapter, the harmonic analysis method was applied to analyze the common TCM pulse charts (plain pulse, wiry pulse, slippery pulse). Velocity and reflectivity coefficients of pulse were calculated. We found that wave velocities and reflection coefficients of different TCM pulse have different distributions. Furthermore, we studied the clinical significance of velocities and reflection coefficients. The result suggests that wave velocity and reflection coefficient are the feature parameters of TCM pulse with physiological and pathological significance, which can be used to interpret formation of Chinese medicine pulse. Our study reveals the mechanism of TCM pulse formation and promotes non-invasive TCM pulse diagnostic method.
Pattern Formation Controlled by External Forcing in a Spatial Harvesting Predator-Prey Model
Authors: Rao Feng
Published: May 2011

Predator–prey models in ecology serve a variety of purposes, which range from illustrating a scientific concept to representing a complex natural phenomenon. Due to the complexity and variability of the environment, the dynamic behavior obtained from existing predator–prey models often deviates from reality. Many factors remain to be considered, such as external forcing, harvesting and so on. In this chapter, we study a spatial version of the Ivlev-type predator-prey model that includes reaction-diffusion, external periodic forcing, and constant harvesting rate on prey. Using this model, we study how external periodic forcing affects the stability of predator-prey coexistence equilibrium. The results of spatial pattern analysis of the Ivlev-type predator-prey model with zero-flux boundary conditions, based on the Euler method and via numerical simulations in MATLAB, show that the model generates rich dynamics. Our results reveal that modeling by reaction-diffusion equations with external periodic forcing and nonzero constant prey harvesting could be used to make general predictions regarding predator-prey equilibrium,which may be used to guide management practice, and to provide a basis for the development of statistical tools and testable hypotheses.
Marketing Online Education
Authors: Simpson Ormond
Published: May 2011

This chapter will examine these factors in turn and will maintain that there are serious issues in all of them that need careful unpacking before marketing takes place.
Humanness, Elevated Through its Disappearance
Authors: Morris Jeffrey M.
Published: May 2011

Developments in electronic communications are drastically changing what it means to be human and to interact with humans. The value of recent technological developments to artists is more than doing more, faster and better; it is also the ability to highlight and elevate humanness in new ways through art, even by appearing to replace the real with the virtual. New tools don’t simply replace humans, they allow human creators to shift into new realms of creation: creating dynamic systems and worlds instead of static products. This chapter will give consideration to the different types of presence manifest in various communications formats, stage presence in technology-mediated performance, and several artworks that bring new light to the artist’s approach to virtual worlds as a kind of counterpoint with reality.
Genetic Privacy
Authors: Akrivopoulou Christina M.
Published: May 2011

Privacy is a right with many aspects. Although, a uniform approach on privacy is quite often sought, a consensus is growing that there are not only one but many privacy rights. This chapter explores whether there is in fact a right to protect our genetic privacy, since this is a right quite unique in its characteristics and is certainly not identified with our general presumptions about privacy. Its uniqueness lies in the fact, that apart form the dominant definition of privacy as a right to be let alone, as an individualistic right, genetic privacy protects not only the individual but also the members of his/her family. The present paper is examining the ‘hereditary’ and ‘shared’ character of our genetic information in an attempt to shape a right to genetic privacy that is based on the equilibrium of individual autonomy, family and public interest. In order to support such an argument, the premises of our genetic self are examined in connection with autonomy and its boundaries, mainly paternalism and genetic exceptionalism. Along this line, basic notions of the liberal privacy theory are critically examined, mainly the notions of control, confidentiality and consent, so as to maintain the existence of a right to genetic privacy that can enhance the individual’s autonomy without founding it on its selfish, individual interests.
Privacy Policy Improvements to Protect Children Privacy
Authors: Casarosa Federica
Published: May 2011

The achievement of an adequate level of privacy protection is a demanding objective, especially for new technologies. One relatively new but increasing class of users of Internet related services consists of children and young people. However, if Internet services can improve social skills and widen the knowledge minors have, it could open the doors to privacy abuse and misuse. As it would not be feasible to address all the legal and technical tools available within the privacy protection process, this chapter will focus on a specific element required by regulation and applicable both in Europe and in the US: the inclusion of a privacy policy in any website that collects personal data from users. The paper will provide an analysis of some of the privacy policies available online provided by companies that focus specifically on children and by social networking sites. The analysis will couple the descriptive part with suggestions to improve the level of compliance and, consequentially, the level of protection for minors’ privacy.
The implementation of the Data Retention Directive
Authors: Pateraki Anna
Published: May 2011

This paper aims to provide a comparative analysis regarding the implementation of the EC Data Retention Directive (2006/24/EC) in the most important Member States including Germany, Great Britain and France in order to provide the reader with the necessary information on the current controversial matters relating to it and display the differences in the speed, intensity and form of its implementation.
Zero-Downtime Reconfiguration of Distributed Control Logic in Industrial Automation and Control
Authors: Strasser Thomas , Zoitl Alois , Rooker Martijn
Published: May 2011

Future manufacturing is envisioned to be highly flexible and adaptable. New technologies for efficient engineering of reconfigurable systems and their adaptations are preconditions for this vision. Without such solutions, engineering adaptations of Industrial Process Measurement and Control Systems (IPMCS) will exceed the costs of engineered systems by far and the reuse of equipment will become inefficient. Especially the reconfiguration of control applications is not sufficiently solved by state-of-the-art technology. This chapter gives an overview of the use of reconfiguration applications for zero-downtime system reconfiguration of control applications on basis of the standard IEC 61499 which provides a reference model for distributed and reconfigurable control systems. A new approach for the reconfiguration of IEC 61499 based control application and the corresponding modeling is discussed. This new method significantly increases engineering efficiency and reuse in component-based IPMCS.
FPGA-Based Accelerators for Bioinformatics Applications
Authors: Alves de Melo Alba Cristina Magalhaes , Moreano Nahri
Published: May 2011

The recent and astonishing advances in Molecular Biology, which led to the sequencing of an unprecedented number of genomes, including the human, would not have been possible without the help of Bioinformatics. Bioinformatics can be defined as a research area where computational tools and algorithms are developed to help biologists in the task of understanding the organisms. Some Bioinformatics applications, such as pairwise and sequence-profile comparison, require a huge amount of computing power and, therefore, are excellent candidates to run in FPGA platforms. This chapter discusses in detail several recent proposals on FPGA-based accelerators for these two Bioinformatics applications, highlighting the similarities and differences among them. At the end of the chapter, research tendencies and open questions are presented.
Petri Net Based Deadlock Prevention Approach for Flexible Manufacturing Systems
Authors: Zhong Chunfu , Li Zhiwu
Published: May 2011

In flexible manufacturing systems, deadlocks usually occur due to the limited resources. To cope with deadlock problems, Petri nets are widely used to model these systems. This chapter focuses on deadlock prevention for flexible manufacturing systems that are modeled with S4R nets, a subclass of generalized Petri nets. The analysis of S4R leads us to derive an iterative deadlock prevention approach. At each iteration step, a non-max-controlled siphon is derived by solving a mixed integer linear programming. A monitor is constructed for the siphon such that it is max-controlled. Finally, a liveness-enforcing Petri net supervisor can be derived without enumerating all the strict minimal siphons.
Communities of Practice in Knowledge Management and Organisational Learning
Authors: Olszak Celina M. , Ziemba Ewa
Published: May 2011

It is believed that communities of practice (CoPs) more and more frequently become a critical success factor for contemporary organisations. This article, following the network organisation paradigm, identifies the most important properties of CoPs, presents CoPs capacities in the socialisation, externalisation, combination, internalisation (SECI) knowledge spiral model, and suggests information technologies that support the work of CoPs. Theoretical considerations are contrasted against empirical research results obtained in 2008 while examining 160 organisations in Upper Silesia, the most industrialised and densely populated region in Poland.
Online Communities and Social Networking
Authors: Roy Abhijit
Published: May 2011

Technology has enabled communities to move beyond the physical face-to-face contacts to the online realm of the World Wide Web. With the advent of the highways in the 1950s and 1960s, “communities” were created in suburbia. The Internet, on the other hand, has over the last two decades, enabled the creation of a myriad of “online communities” (Green, 2007) that have limitless boundaries across every corner of the globe. This essay will begin by providing a definition of the term “online communities” and then describing several typologies of this phenomenon. The various motivations for joining communities, how marketers create social bonds that enhance social relationships, as well as strategies used by firms in building online communities are also discussed. We conclude by discussing strategies for managing online communities, leveraging them for social networking, researching them, as well as directions for future research.
Negotiating Virtual Identity in an Age of Globalization
Authors: Baird Neil P.
Published: May 2011

Virtual workplaces are no longer the province of young technophiles, and we must become more conscious of the particular challenges and issues those considered “nontraditional” face in this new environment. Continued globalization, fostered in part by computer-mediated communication, is bringing diverse populations together in virtual spaces; however, because we bring our culture with us when we move online, the default identity of the faceless virtual workplace becomes the young, white male. How do those considered nontraditional then negotiate their identity in order to contribute successfully? This chapter will explore this question with a case study of a Vietnam veteran in the workplace of a freshman writing classroom and, in doing so, will invite educators, employers, and researchers into discussions of virtual identity and interaction, how we perform ourselves in online workplaces, and fostering virtual communities.
Harnessing the Cloud for Mobile Social Networking Applications
Authors: Rana Juwel , Hallberg Josef , Synnes Kåre , Kristiansson Johan
Published: May 2011

The cloud computing model inherently enables information from social networking services (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and so forth), context-based systems (location, activity, interests, etc.) and personal applications (call logs, contacts, email, calendar, and so forth) to be harnessed for multiple purposes. This article presents an agent-based system architecture for semantic and semi-automated applications that utilize the cloud to enrich and simplify communication services, for instance by displaying presence information, prioritizing information, and dynamically managing groups of users. The proposed architecture is based on the concept of aggregated social graphs, which are created from harnessed information about how people communicate. This article also presents challenges in achieving the envisioned architecture and introduces early prototyping results.
A Virtual Community for Mobile Agents
Authors: Guan Sheng-Uei , Zhu Fangming
Published: May 2011

Electronic commerce (e-commerce) is booming with the increasing accessibility of the Internet. E-commerce is revolutionizing the concept of carrying out business functions. By using a Web browser, buyers are able to access numerous e-commerce Web sites, where they can make purchases within a reasonable price range. Suppliers realize that e-commerce is essential to the success and competitiveness of their businesses. The benefits of conducting business online include reduction of the cost for many transactions and streamlining of operations. However, there are also some obstacles to the success of e-commerce. Firstly, buyers may be lost in the ocean of the items available. Secondly, it is a tedious task to search for a specific product through the Internet and it is difficult to bargain within the current infrastructure. Thirdly, some transactions are so complicated that they are too difficult to be dealt with. For instance, merchants often negotiate transactions with multiple issues of concern such as price, quantity, and method of delivery. Many strategies are adopted to accomplish these tasks, and both the negotiating counterparts and the environment can affect the choice of the strategies. However, in many existing auction Web sites, price is the main focus for both bidders and sellers. Bidders and sellers are seldom given a chance to negotiate the other issues, and many commercial opportunities are neglected. This chapter discusses SAFER for e-commerce (secure agent fabrication, evolution & roaming for e-commerce), which uses secure agents to alleviate problems in e-commerce
Adaptive Peer-to-Peer Social Networks for Distributed Content-Based Web Search
Authors: Wu Le-Shin , Akavipat Ruj , Maguitman Ana Gabriela , Menczer Filippo
Published: May 2011

This chapter proposed a collaborative peer network application called 6Search (6S) to address the scalability limitations of centralized search engines. Each peer crawls the Web in a focused way, guided by its user’s information context. Through this approach, better (distributed) coverage can be achieved. Each peer also acts as a search “servent” (server + client) by submitting and responding to queries to/from its neighbors. This search process has no centralized bottleneck. Peers depend on a local adaptive routing algorithm to dynamically change the topology of the peer network and search for the best neighbors to answer their queries. We present and evaluate learning techniques to improve local query routing. We validate prototypes of the 6S network via simulations with model users based on actual Web crawls. We find that the network topology rapidly converges from a random network to a small world network, with clusters emerging from user communities with shared interests. We finally compare the quality of the results with those obtained by centralized search engines such as Google.
Enabling Virtual Music Performance Communities
Authors: Alexandraki Chrisoula , Valsamakis Nikolas
Published: May 2011

The chapter provides an overview of virtual music communities focusing on novel collaboration environments aiming to support networked and geographically dispersed music performance. A key objective of the work reported is to investigate online collaborative practices during virtual music performances in community settings. To this effect, the first part of the chapter is devoted to reviewing different kinds of communities and their corresponding practices as manifested through social interaction. The second part of the chapter presents a case study, which elaborates on the realization of virtual music communities using a generic technological platform, namely DIAMOUSES. DIAMOUSES was designed to provide a host for several types of virtual music communities, intended for music rehearsals, live performances and music learning. Our recent experiments provide useful insights to the distinctive features of these alternative community settings as well as the practices prevailing in each case. The chapter is concluded by discussing open research issues and challenges relevant to virtual music performance communities.
Virtual Community Mentoring in Higher Education
Authors: Switzer Jamie S.
Published: May 2011

This article will focus on the characteristics of a technology- supported virtual community where university students can seek the guidance of professionals in the students’ field of study via a mediated mentoring program. Advances in information and communication technologies, particularly the Internet and interactive multimedia technologies, are creating new networking opportunities for students. Mentors and mentees can develop valuable relationships facilitated by multimedia technologies. This article will explore the characteristics of both community and mentoring within the framework of a technology-supported virtual community.
E-Learning and Virtual Campus Development
Authors: le Roux Irene , Lazenby Karen , Jordaan Dolf
Published: May 2011

The University of Pretoria (UP) implemented a virtual campus in 1999. The measure in which and rate at which the virtual campus environment was adopted in the institution, was substantial. To accommodate the expected growth the University decided in 2004 to upgrade the learning management system in order to provide more stability and better integration with the student information system. However, the more complex integrated environment resulted in more points of failure and a less stable environment. Higher user frustration levels led to a decline in the number of users. The chapter discusses four key variables that influence growth and sustainability in an e-learning environment: Management, Training and Support, Measurement, and Technology strategies. We argue that additional resources required in Information Technology Services (ITS) were not adequately provided for. We give suggestions for future directions.
Temporary Virtual Teams
Authors: Connaughton Stacey L. , Williams Elizabeth A. , Linvill Jennifer S. , O’Connor Elizabeth J. , Hayes Troy
Published: May 2011

Temporary virtual teams are common organizing forms across industries and sectors, and their members often span national, functional, and other boundaries. Many times temporary virtual team members have no prior experience working with one another, may seldom if ever meet face-to-face, and may never work together again, thus team development may occur differently than it does in long-term or in tact teams. Yet little is known about the development of temporary virtual teams and the process challenges therein. The purpose of this chapter is to contribute to this body of research by revealing how individuals who are members of a temporary virtual team experience team development. Specifically, this chapter (a) reviews two often-cited models of team development and discusses the limited body of research on virtual team development; (b) presents findings from a study of one organization’s business intelligence teams that were temporary, virtual, and global in nature; and (c) advances a research agenda for scholars in this area and recommendations to practitioners who are working in these contexts.
Using Virtual Worlds for Learning
Authors: Kuznik Lea
Published: May 2011

Virtual worlds for adults (e.g. Second Life), youth (e.g. Habbo) and children (e.g. Whyville) have a great potential for learning and teaching practices for enriching wider public and engendering collective experience and collaboration. Informal learning environments such as virtual worlds offer people various intellectual and sensory activities or »peak« experiences, according to Gogala. Virtual worlds promote social interaction and offer visitors an opportunity for various interactive activities which can sometimes not be realized in real life corporate learning and training which is one of the major concerns for large companies. Adults can explore and learn in a different way and from a different perspective. Virtual worlds represent a new medium that allows people to connect in new virtual ways and offer new challenges in the corporate educational field.
Language Learning and Social Communication Using Chat Rooms
Authors: Demirbilek Muhammet , Mutlu Berna
Published: May 2011

Information and communication technologies (ICT) have become an inevitable part of adolescents’ daily life and have caused macro and micro changes that are shaping the societies in which adolescents of the future will live. As a two-way real time communication tool, chat rooms are one of the most popular forms of ICT in adolescents’ daily life. Adolescents use ICT for meaningful communication and social interaction with their peers and relatives. Following are some of the purposes for interacting through chat rooms: staying current in what matters to them, shopping, entertainment, creating personal web pages, and, yes, completing homework assignments. These activities can promote opportunities for purposeful communication that leads to increased language production and social interaction as well as promotes higher order thinking skills. The purpose of this chapter is to highlight issues on chat rooms as a two-way real time communication tools frequently used by adolescents with an emphasis on the effects of chat rooms on adolescents’ second language development with a comprehensive review of literature.
Mobile Virtual Communities of Commuters
Authors: Kawash Jalal , Morr Christo El , Taha Hamza , Charaf Wissam
Published: May 2011

Commuting forms an integral part of our lives, whether we are commuting for leisure or business. The use of location-based services and mobile computing has potentials to improve commuting experience and awareness. For instance, printed bus schedules have been only recently complemented with online systems to provide bus timing information for the community of public transport commuters. Commuters can nowadays inquire about bus timings by the use of telephony systems and the Internet. However, the information provided to users is statically produced, just like the still in-use old fashion bus route tables, and does not take into consideration delays and cancellations. The next step in the evolution of these schedules must produce live information, track bus movements, and alert commuters of bus arrivals and timings. The experience of commuting using taxis can also be improved beyond the use of telephony, while the most common way of asking for a taxi continues to be by hand waiving. Such improvements are more crucial for commuters that are not completely aware of their surrounding environment, such as tourists and business visitors. This article envisions the formation of networked organizations of commuters, through the use of mobile and location-based services. We discuss scenarios and use cases of such organizations and propose an example software implementation for the supporting services.
Older People, the Internet, and Virtual Communities
Authors: Lepa Jerzy , Tatnall Arthur
Published: May 2011

Around the world the proportion of older people is growing, and this group is accessing the World Wide Web more and more for a variety of purposes including e-mail, finance, health information and genealogy. There are several different definitions of what constitutes an “older person,” but for the purposes of this article we will define older people as those over sixty-five years of age and no longer in the full-time workforce. The proportion of older people in Australia will increase dramatically over the next twenty-five years and Foskey (1998) notes that since the nineteenth century there has been a “longevity revolution” in the Western world. In Australia during the past decade the over sixty-five age group living in non-metropolitan areas has seen the greatest rate of growth (Foskey 1998).
Sense of Community in Professional Virtual Communities
Authors: Blanchard Anita , Askay David A. , Frear Katherine A.
Published: May 2011

Sense of virtual community (feelings of identity, belonging, and attachment) is an essential component of virtual communities. In this chapter, we develop a model of how sense of virtual community develops in professional virtual communities. Based on sense of virtual community models in social virtual communities, we expect that the exchange of support, development of a group identity, and group norms will lead to a stronger professional sense of virtual community. Unlike social virtual communities, we also predict that employee/members occupational identification will increase professional sense of virtual community, particularly when the virtual community can provide support and information not available in the employee/member’s face-to-face life. Finally, we propose that increased occupational commitment, professional networks, and employee performance are outcomes of sense of virtual community in professional virtual communities.
Virtual Worlds and the 3-D Internet
Authors: McKinnell Jacobson Carolyn
Published: May 2011

A virtual world is a computer-based simulated environment, usually modeled after the real world, accessed through an online interface, and inhabited by users in the form of avatars. The purpose of this chapter is to explore how these interactive, immersive environments are being used by a variety of organizations. Although various kinds of virtual worlds are introduced, this chapter focuses on the interactive 3-D virtual world of Second Life, describing its demographics and its features. Ways in which Second Life has been used by businesses, educational organizations, and political entities are then discussed. Legal issues associated with virtual worlds in general and Second Life in particular are raised. The chapter concludes with some ways this technology is expected to evolve in the future.
Good and Evil in the Garden of Emerging Information Technologies
Authors: Kendall Kenneth E. , Kendall Julie E.
Published: May 2011

This chapter explores the social, organizational, and individual impacts of emerging information technologies using the advent of recent technologies including push and pull technologies; DSS dashboards for decision makers complete with widgets and gadgets; and mashups that join together preprogrammed Web-based applications in new ways as examples to explore the question of good and evil as it applies to technology. The design, purchase, and use of emerging information technologies offers a double-edged sword; in that they can be deliberately designed and used for either good or evil purposes, however sometimes their use provokes unintended consequences. While many emerging technologies purport to improve the lives of workers, the quality of their work, and the overall productiveness of society, there are other consequences that belie grimmer, multifaceted impacts that can create malevolent outcomes or even disastrous consequences for their users. Our practical contribution is to formulate a series of questions to assist designers, users, and managers who purchase IT in considering the helpful or harmful consequences of emerging technology design decisions.
Dimensionality Reduction for Interactive Visual Clustering
Authors: Alagambigai P. , Thangavel K.
Published: May 2011

Visualization techniques could enhance the existing methods for knowledge and data discovery by increasing the user involvement in the interactive process. VISTA, an interactive visual cluster rendering system, is known to be an effective model which allows the user to interactively observe clusters in a series of continuously changing visualizations through visual tuning. Identification of the dominating dimensions for visual tuning and visual distance computation process becomes tedious, when the dimensionality of the dataset increases. One common approach to solve this problem is dimensionality reduction. This chapter compares the performance of three proposed feature selection methods viz., Entropy Weighting Feature Selection, Outlier Score Based Feature Selection and Contribution to the Entropy Based Feature Selection for interactive visual clustering system. The cluster quality of the three feature selection methods is also compared. The experiments are carried out for various datasets of University of California, Irvine (UCI) machine learning data repository.
Visual Survey Analysis in Marketing
Authors: Robnik-Šikonja Marko , Vanhoof Koen
Published: May 2011

The authors present a use and visualization of the ordinal evaluation (OrdEval) algorithm as a promising technique to study questionnaire data. The OrdEval algorithm is a general tool to analyze data with ordinal attributes, including surveys. It has many favorable features, including context sensitivity, ability to exploit meaning of ordered features and ordered response, robustness to noise and missing values in the data, and visualization capability. The authors select customer (dis)satisfaction analysis, an important problem from marketing research, as a case study and present visual analysis on two practical applications: business-to-business and costumer-to-business customer satisfaction studies. They demonstrate some interesting advantages offered by the new methodology and visualization and show how to extract and interpret new insights not available with classical analytical toolbox.
Assessing Data Mining Approaches for Analyzing Actuarial Student Success Rate
Authors: Olinsky Alan , Schumacher Phyllis A. , Quinn John
Published: May 2011

One way to enhance the likelihood that more students will graduate within the specific major that they begin with is to attract the type of students who have typically (historically) done well in that field of study. This chapter details a study that utilizes data mining techniques to analyze the characteristics of students who enroll as actuarial students and then either drop out of the major or graduate as actuarial students. Several predictive models including logistic regression, neural networks and decision trees are obtained. The models are then compared and the best fitting model is determined. The regression model turns out to be the best predictor. Since this is a very well understood method, it can easily be explained. The decision tree, although its underpinnings are somewhat difficult to explain, gives a clear and well understood output. Not only is the resulting model a good one for predicting success in the major, it also allows us the ability to better counsel students.
Management 2.0
Authors: Levy Moria
Published: May 2011

The world has changed a great deal since modern management principles were established one hundred years ago, at the turn of the 20th century. This chapter suggests a new management framework for managing today’s knowledge workers. This framework is based on three perspectives: analyzing the manager’s tasks; observing the knowledge worker’s behaviors and expectations; and management recommendations via suggested underlying guiding principles. Together these construct a framework for the new era’s manager, defined here as the 2.0 manager.
Adopting Web 2.0 in English Writing Course
Authors: Hwang Yuan-Chu , Chen Min-Ching
Published: May 2011

In this chapter, the authors present a Web 2.0 collaborative learning approach that facilitates the English learning process for universities in Taiwan. In traditional English writing course, the lack of intensive interactions between students and teacher may not provide sufficient information for students to improve their writing content. In order to understand how web 2.0 and collaborative peer group facilitate English learning, the authors elaborate the collaborative learning process in both micro view and macro view. The micro view focuses on individual students’ viewpoint and their learning stages in web 2.0 collaborative learning. The macro view of learning approach focuses overall interactions between students, teacher and student peer groups. The proposed web 2.0 learning model allows learners to access abundant learning materials from their peer groups. Students can learn though peer interactions and enhance the learning motivation in the collaborative learning environment. By peer learning and competition, students can benefit from various learning resources by adopt web 2.0 concept in the collaborative English writing course.
A Case Study of Integrated Innovation Model in the Cultural Innovation Industry in Taiwan
Authors: Chen Te Fu
Published: May 2011

This research was focused on case study based on qualitative analysis, literature review and depth interview, discussing inner management and external relations in Liuli Gongfang, in order to offer the concrete suggestion of development in the future. In accordance with this case, Council for Cultural Affairs pursues its ideal in the scope of the capability, communicating with each other could obtain the trust and cooperation. From the development and strategy of Liuli Gongfang, it continues to move towards the road of Culture Creative Industries continuously, however, it will be no definite answer in the future. Thus, it will remind the front office to examine both relations carefully, and must consider the actual condition in the future.
An Innovative Business Model in NPOs
Authors: Chen Te Fu
Published: May 2011

Finally, this chapter integrates different new business model of venture philanthropists from different theories of worldwide scholars, practitioners, undeveloped, developing and developed countries to construct an innovative business model: philanthropy 2.0. It integrates web 2.0 technology with trust and relationships to build a network platform of Philanthropy 2.0 is the key to successfully connect VP with donors, charities and funders. It hopes to help NPOs to connect supporters, donors with other donors and supporters and with charities, NPOs, and organizations to share knowledge and experiences, finally to help the people who are really need help. Meanwhile, charities, NPOs, and organizations all are able to achieve self-growth and sustainable operation to reach triple win.
Genetic Algorithm to Solve Multi-Period, Multi-Product, Bi-Echelon Supply Chain Network Design Problem
Authors: Dhanalakshmi R. , Parthiban P. , Ganesh K. , Arunkumar T.
Published: May 2011

In many multi-stage manufacturing supply chains, transportation related costs are a significant portion of final product costs. It is often crucial for successful decision making approaches in multi-stage manufacturing supply chains to explicitly account for non-linear transportation costs. In this article, we have explored this problem by considering a Two-Stage Production-Transportation (TSPT). A twostage supply chain that faces a deterministic stream of external demands for a single product is considered. A finite supply of raw materials, and finite production at stage one has been assumed. Items are manufactured at stage one and transported to stage two, where the storage capacity of the warehouses is limited. Packaging is completed at stage two (that is, value is added to each item, but no new items are created), and the finished goods inventories are stored which is used to meet the final demand of customers. During each period, the optimized production levels in stage one, as well as transportation levels between stage one and stage two and routing structure from the production plant to warehouses and then to customers, must be determined. The authors consider “different cost structures,” for both manufacturing and transportation. This TSPT model with capacity constraint at both stages is optimized using Genetic Algorithms (GA) and the results obtained are compared with the results of other optimization techniques of complete enumeration, LINDO, and CPLEX.
Developing Digital Literacies in Second Life
Authors: Remley Dirk
Published: May 2011

The proliferation of virtual environments and their use in business and industry begs the question of where in higher education and corporate training various literacies associated with these digital environments, such as using the technology and critically examining its affordances and constraints in applications, can occur. The author argues that such literacy training can occur in business writing courses as well as in corporate training environments that engage students and trainees in situated learning experiences. This chapter describes an instructional approach that integrates Second Life in a business writing course, which could also be applied in corporate training; and it reports on survey research related to student perceptions of their learning experience with that pedagogy. The discussion also includes how the instruction can be implemented in a corporate training environment to give employees experience using and critiquing business applications in Second Life. Generally, students perceive that Second Life is appropriate to include in business writing pedagogy because it is relevant to their career development as more companies use it in their operations. Implications of this study include identifying activities to help train students with virtual environments that they may experience in workplaces after graduation and offering activities that can be used by corporate trainers to help those already in workplaces develop these situated digital literacies.
Augmented Reality for Collaborative Assembly Design in Manufacturing Sector
Authors: Chen Rui , Wang Xiangyu , Hou Lei
Published: May 2011

Some speculations regarding the current issues existing in current assembly work have been brought out in this chapter. The theoretical basis behind the idea that Augmented Reality systems could provide cognitive support and augmentation is established. Hence, this chapter analyses the foundations for assembly feasibility evaluation and discusses possible innovative ways to provide an efficient and robust solution for these problems of realism and efficiency in design and assembly processes. The proposed platform considers the multiple dependencies in different manufacturing sectors that allow the work to be conducted in a simultaneous way, rather than sequential order.
Virtual Modelling of Prehistoric Sites and Artefacts by Automatic Point-Cloud Surveys
Authors: Farjas Mercedes , García-Lázaro Francisco J. , Zancajo Julio , Mostaza Teresa , Quesada Nieves
Published: May 2011

This chapter presents laser scanner systems as a new method of automatic data acquisition for use in archaeological research. The operation of the equipment is briefly described and results are presented from its application in two Spanish archaelogical sites: Abrigo de Buendía (Cuenca), Atapuerca (Burgos). Together with these systems, point cloud measuring photogrammetric methods are revised. Photogrammetry has been widely used in heritage documentation and in no way is to be relegated by the new scanning techniques. Instead, Photogrammetry upgrades its methods by applying digital approaches so that it becomes competitive in both, operational costs and results. Nevertheless, Photogrammetry and laser scanner systems should be regarded as complementary rather than competing techniques. To illustrate photogrammetric methods their application to generate the Digital Surface Model of an epigraph is described. The authors’ research group endeavours to combine teaching and research in its different fields of activity. Initial data are acquired in project-based teaching situations and international seminars or other activities. Students thus have the opportunity to become familiar with new methodologies while collecting material for analytical studies.
Cumulative Causation as Explanatory Theory for Innovation
Authors: Bamberry Geoff
Published: May 2011

While numerous theories have been used to explain innovation, one found to be useful in recent years is cumulative causation. Its major focus on incremental and evolutionary change, the path dependent nature of change, and its circular and cumulative effects, make it particularly useful in helping to explain innovation. In this chapter the literature on cumulative causation theory is reviewed to highlight links between these characteristics of the theory and innovation, as well as influences such as problem solving, learning by using and doing, collaboration, specialisation and the clustering of industry in certain locations. These characteristics and influences are then used as a basis for reporting empirical research into the nature of innovation in manufacturing and processing in an Australian rural region, and the usefulness of the theory for explanatory purposes is evaluated.
mobileSJ
Authors: Camacho Jesus , Galicia Leonardo , Gonzalez Victor M. , Favela Jesus
Published: May 2011

Many modern working environments are characterized by the need to manage multiple activities simultaneously. This is the case of hospital work, which also demands a high degree of mobility and collaboration among specialists. These working conditions have motivated us to design and implement mobileSJ, a mobile information management tool based on the concept of working spheres. The tool allows users to gather information related to a working sphere, including documents, contacts, and pending tasks. The tool assists users when switching between tasks, facilitates the sharing of activity related information with colleagues, as well as the synchronization of information among multiple devices, including handheld computers and public displays. We conducted a usability test and a focus group to inform the design of a new version of the tool and to know how the tool could support the work of medical interns by facilitating the management and sharing of resources, providing more efficient means of communication with colleagues and increasing their personal productivity.
The Launch of Web-Based Collaborative Decision Support at NASA
Authors: Becerra-Fernandez Irma , Del Alto Martha , Stewart Helen
Published: May 2011

Today, organizations rely on decision makers to make mission-critical decisions that are based on input from multiple domains. The ideal decision maker has a profound understanding of specific domains coupled with the experience that allows him or her to act quickly and decisively on the information. Daily, decision makers face problems and failures that are too difficult for any individual person to solve; therefore, teams are now required who share their knowledge in spontaneous collaborations. Since requisite expertise may not all reside in the same organization, nor be geographically colocated, virtual networked teams are needed. This chapter presents a case study describing the development and use of Postdoc, the first Web-based collaborative and knowledge management platform deployed at NASA.