bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evolving Relationship between Law, Offshoring of Professional Services, Intellectual Property, and International Organizations
Authors: Gupta Amar , Gantz David , Sreecharana Devin , Kreyling Jeremy
Published: May 2011

This chapter covers four issues. First, it examines evolving international conventions to determine whether countries, especially developed countries, can take any steps to inhibit offshoring with the objective of protecting jobs in their respective countries. Second, it looks at statistics from independent sources to see if outsourcing exceeds insourcing, or vice versa, in the case of the U.S. Third, it looks at trends in outsourcing in the legal arena. Fourth, it looks at the intellectual property aspects of outsourcing and presents a long-term vision on how this ticklish issue is likely to be addressed in the long-term.
Sourcing and Outsourcing Arithmetic
Authors: Sinha Tapen , Subhadra K
Published: May 2011

This chapter studies outsourcing from the United States to India. First, we show that outsourcing is not taking most jobs out of the United States. Second, we argue that outsourcing does not contradict trade theory. Third, we analyze how India has come to occupy a preeminent position in outsourcing. Fourth, we show that the Indian dominance is likely to continue well into the next decade. Finally, we discuss some risks associated with outsourcing.
Governing Health Care with IT
Authors: Suomi Reima
Published: May 2011

The pressures for the health care industry are well known and very similar in all developed countries: altering populations, shortage of resources as it comes to staff and financial resources from the taxpayers, higher sensitivity of the population for health issues, new and emerging diseases, just to name a few. Underdeveloped countries have different problems, but they also have the advantage of being able to learn from the lessons and actions the developed countries made already, maybe decades ago. On the other hand, many solutions also exist, but they all make the environment even more difficult to manage: possibilities of networking, booming medical and health-related research and knowledge produced by it, alternative care-taking solutions, new and expensive treats and medicines, and promises of the biotechnology. From the public authorities point of view, the solution might be easy: outsource as much as you can out of this mess. Usually, the first ones to go are marginal operational activities, such as laundry, cleaning, and catering services. It is easy to add information systems to this list, but we believe this is often done without a careful enough consideration. Outsourcing is often seen as a trendy, obvious, and easy solution, which has been supported by financial facts on the short run. Many examples show that even in the case of operational information systems outsourcing can become a costly option, not to speak of lost possibilities for organizational learning and competitive positioning through mastering of information technology. In this article, we discuss how information technology and health care industry work together. Information technology is a valuable resource that must be managed within the health care industry. At the same time, information technology has the potential to renew the whole industry. Good practices in both must be supported by good IT governance. Health care is a big resource user in every country. In Table 1 we have percentages of health care expenditures in relation to gross domestic product in selected countries, where the percentage is very high (WHO, 2004). As one can see, the cost explosion phenomenon hits both rich and poor countries, even though the wealthiest countries are well presented in the list. Health care costs can be born by different parties within a national economy. Shares of different potential cost carriers vary from national economy to economy: • The national government, directly or through different indirect arrangements such as separate funds or public insurance institutions • Municipalities or other local public actors • Private insurance institutions • Employers • The patients themselves For example, in the United States, the raising costs of health care born by the employers have been a topic of much academic and industry discussion (Berry, Mirabito, & Berwick, 2004). Sadly enough, there is controversial evidence whether information technology can lower the total costs of running health services (Ammenwerth, Gräber, Herrmann, Bürkle, & König, 2003; Ko & Osei-Bryson, 2004).
E-Business Deployment in Nigerian Financial Firms
Authors: Eze Uchenna
Published: May 2011

This research provides empirical evidence on factors that influence e-business deployment among financial firms in Nigeria. It explores possible differences that exist among financial firms using in-house e-business capabilities and those that outsource their e-business capabilities. This research contributes to the few pieces of literature on e-business (EB) experiences among firms operating in Africa, particularly Nigeria. Technology-Organization-Environment [TOE] model underpins the framework and hypotheses development for this article. The independent variables are the firm, technological and environmental factors while EB use constitutes the dependent variable. The findings reveal that all the factors were significant, but that environmental factors were key determinants of EB use among the firms. In addition, this study reveals practitioners’ interests in Nigerian government agencies to maintain and enhance the existing EB legal, regulatory and security frameworks in the country. By extension, this could enable greater EB use in firms, which could improve the overall economy.
Xceed
Authors: Kamel Sherif , Hussein Maha
Published: May 2011

The global spending on outsourcing has exceeded one trillion U.S. dollars in 2000 and it is expected to reach much higher heights by 2010. Outsourcing represents a major opportunity for developing nations with different capacities and skills in the field of information and communication technology (ICT) coupled with communication, business, and marketing capacities of their human capital. Contact centers are one of the growing trends that can benefit from the opportunities enabled through outsourcing. Over the last decade, India, the Philippines, and Mexico took the lead in the contact center industry in the context of developing nations. Moreover, in the 1990s Egypt, through its massive efforts to position itself as one of the ICT hubs in the Middle East, had started its efforts to develop itself as a destination for offshore outsourcing as well as penetrating the global marketplace for contact centers. This case demonstrates the process of establishing Xceed, the pioneer contact center in Egypt serving a global community of customers and excelling to become one of the brand names of the industry worldwide.
Development and Use of the World Wide Web by US Local Governments
Authors: Scavo Carmine
Published: May 2011

San Carlos, California (www.cityofsancarlos.org) claims to have developed one of the earliest local government Web sites in the world, posted on May 10, 1994 (San Carlos, 2006). From this early effort, United States (U.S.) cities moved rapidly onto the Web. Norris and Moon (2002), for example, report that some 4.4% of U.S. cities in a 2000 survey by the International City Management Association (ICMA) reported developing Web sites before 1995; 27.1% reported developing their Web sites in the 1995-’96 time period, and 68.5% reported their Web site developed after 1997. San Carlos’ original Web site comprised one page; its current Web site now contains some 8,000 pages and uses some of the Web’s most modern technology available, such as really simple syndication (RSS) and Flash Paper.1 This article uses the example of San Carlos’ Web site, along with two surveys of local government Web sites in the U.S., to illustrate the experience that U.S. local governments have had in developing and using Web sites in the pursuit of bettering governance. The article examines four local government Web applications—bulletin boards, promotions, service delivery and citizen input—and assesses their use by U.S. local governments. The article then addresses current issues of outsourcing Web site design and maintenance, and future issues of privacy, security, the digital divide and the possible effects of increased local government Web sites on U.S. civil society.
Characterization and Classification of Collaborative Tools
Authors: Soriano Javier , Fernandez Rafael , Jimenez Miguel
Published: May 2011

Traditionally, collaboration has been a means for organizations to do their work. However, the context in which they do this work is changing, especially in regards to where the work is done, how the work is organized, who does the work, and with this the characteristics of collaboration. Software development is no exception; it is itself a collaborative effort that is likewise affected by these changes. In the context of both open source software development projects and communities and organizations that develop corporate products, more and more developers need to communicate and liaise with colleagues in geographically distant places about the software product they are conceiving, designing, building, testing, debugging, deploying and maintaining. Thus, work teams face sizeable collaborative challenges, for which they have need of tools that they can use to communicate and coordinate their work efficiently.
Understanding Effective E-Collaboration Through Virtual Distance
Authors: Sobel Lojeski Karen , Reilly Richard R.
Published: May 2011

Virtual distance is a multidimensional perceptual construct resulting from key elements that promote a sense of distance in e-collaborative work environments. Why will virtual distance help to uncover some of the potential downside risks of collaboration using virtual and outsourced resources? Research has shown that the perceived distance between two or more individuals has negative effects on communication and persuasion and promotes a tendency to deceive more than those who do not perceive themselves to be as distant (Bradner & Mark, 2002). Virtual team members and work groups are, by definition, distant from one another, not only in the physical sense but in other ways as well. Socio-emotional factors, for example, can play a role in perceived distance and these factors may contribute to decreased success (Barczak & McDonough, 2003).
Challenges in Developing a Knowledge Management Strategy
Authors: Bartczak Summer E. , Turner Jason M. , England Ellen C.
Published: May 2011

It is widely acknowledged that knowledge management (KM) strategy is a desired precursor to developing specific KM initiatives. Strategy development is often difficult due a variety of influences and constraints. Using KM influences as a foundation, this case study describes issues involved in developing a KM strategy for the Air Force Material Command, including issues to be considered for future strategy development such as leadership support and understanding, conflicts with IT organizations, funding, technology usage and configuration, and outsourcing.
Rough-Cut Cost Estimation in a Capacitated Environment
Authors: Eklin Mark , Arzi Yohanan , Shtub Avraham
Published: May 2011

This article presents a deterministic model for rough-cut cost estimation in a capacitated madeto- order environment. We assume that a firm can execute each job either at its own shop or by outsourcing it. The model calculates the unit cost of each product while taking into account the shop floor rough-cut capacity planning, and by determining what to produce in the firm’s shop and what to outsource. In order to reduce run times, a greedy heuristic algorithm was developed. Comparison of the proposed model with a model that takes into account precedence between operations and with a traditional costing approach was conducted. The article gives insight on the affect of shop workload, machine loading, and outsourcing decisions on the product unit cost estimation.
Effective Virtual Working through Communities of Practice
Authors: Kimble Chris , Li Feng
Published: May 2011

Globalization is an issue currently affecting many organizations and is one that has profound consequences for the nature of work (Karimi & Konsynski, 1991; Ives & Jarvenpaa, 1992; Sachs, 1995). In order to work effectively in an international setting, companies are increasingly turning to trans-national teams (Castells, 1996; Lipnack & Stamps, 1997). In the new, networked economy, knowledge is seen as an asset that needs to be managed and is central to the success of organizations (Boersma & Stegwee, 1996). Since the 1980s, many organizations have taken steps to outsource and downsize in an effort to remain competitive (Davenport & Prusak, 1998; O’Dell, 1998). More recently, international outsourcing, often known as off-shoring, has been happening at a rapid pace in a growing range of activities and sectors. Outsourcing, off-shoring, downsizing and programs of planned redundancy all mean that, as people leave, they take with them a valuable stock of corporate knowledge. This can be knowledge of how the work is done in practice and domain knowledge (Sachs, 1995). Some knowledge is easy to replace, but the knowledge of how a company operates is built over years and is irreplaceable in the short term. In addition, many organizations now have to cope with the increasing internationalization of business that forces collaboration and knowledge-sharing across geographical boundaries. Working in a more internationalized setting places strains on the way a team operates, as they have to cope not only with geographical distance, but also time, culture and possibly language barriers. For such organizations, there is an urgent need to identify ways to work effectively in such groups.
International Outsourcing, Personal Data, and Cyber Terrorism
Authors: St. Amant Kirk
Published: May 2011

An individual’s personal information can be a valuable commodity to terrorists. With such data, terrorists can engage in a variety of illicit activities including creating false bank accounts, procuring various official documents or even creating mass panic. Unfortunately, such personal data is generally easy to access, exchange, or collect via online media including Web sites, chat rooms, or e-mails. Moreover, certain common business practices, particularly those related to data processing in international outsourcing, can facilitate such activities by placing personal information into a legal grey area that makes it easy to misuse. For these reasons, organizations and individuals need to be aware of the potential for such data misuse as well as be informed of steps they can take to curtail such abuses. This essay examines the privacy/data abuse problems related to international outsourcing and presents approaches designed to prevent the misuse of personal information by cyber terrorists.
Grey Market Informatics
Authors: St. Amant Kirk
Published: May 2011

International outsourcing often involves virtual communities in which globally dispersed co-workers use online media to collaborate on projects. Such virtual work communities are associated with reduced production costs and quicker times to market. These work relationships, however, also bring with them certain detriments. While critics have focused on job losses related to international outsourcing, few individuals have examined outsourcing’s other great drawback: diminished control over information. This reduced control creates an opening for the misuse of personal data through a series of processes collectively referred to as grey market informatics. This article overviews how grey market informatics works and examines the effects it can have on organizations that use international outsourcing. The article then concludes with strategies for avoiding such misuses of data. By realizing and addressing grey market informatics, organizations can enhance the success of their future outsourcing activities.
A Variable Precision Fuzzy Rough Group Decision-Making Model for IT Offshore Outsourcing Risk Evaluation
Authors: Cong Guodong , Zhang Jinlong , Chen Tao , Lai Kin-Keung
Published: May 2011

Risks evaluation is critical for the success of IT offshore outsourcing. Based on fuzzy group decision-making (FGDM) and variable precision fuzzy rough set (VPFRS), this article proposes a new integrated model, variable precision fuzzy rough group decision-making (VPFRGDM), to evaluate the risk in IT offshore outsourcing. This model can improve the capability to handle potential errors fairness and efficiency of risk evaluation, and is verified by a numerical case.
Management of Learning Space
Authors: Powers Susan M. , Salmon Christine
Published: May 2011

Dr. Villez looks up from her papers and sighs as her e-mail beeps again for what seems the 100th time this morning with yet another incoming mail message. She checks the subject line and sender—yes, it is from another student in one of her online courses. She sighs again. She has barely started reading the last assignment that came in 20 minutes ago, and here is yet another assignment being turned in that needs to be graded and feedback given to the student as soon as possible. Dr. Villez looks at her watch and then back at her pile of e-mail. She might need to rethink her agreement to participate in her institution’s online programs. The online courses were taking so much of her time; it was beginning to cut into her time for scholarship. There are a multitude of reasons why an institution may elect to engage in distance education (Oblinger, Barone, & Hawkins, 2001). One of those reasons might be to generate greater revenues and to expand its access. With projections that an estimated 15% of all students in higher education will be engaged in distance education (International Data Corporation, 1999), the related pressures on faculty can become enormous. While these reasons may have a basis in institutional survival and transformation, the implications may come at a cost to those who must deliver the instruction through greater teaching loads and class sizes.
Advertising in Virtual Worlds
Authors: Messinger Paul R. , Ge Xin
Published: May 2011

This chapter describes how virtual worlds can be used for advertising and other communications to consumers. To help conceptualize how virtual worlds enable enhanced forms of communications to consumers, the authors introduce a conceptual framework which they call a hierarchy of engagement in advertising communications. They argue that virtual worlds facilitate deeper levels of engagement in this hierarchy. The authors then describe, from a practical standpoint, how to manage the traditional elements of advertising campaigns—message, media, timing, intensity, and budget—in the context of virtual worlds to help achieve deeper levels of engagement, which they argue lead to greater brand recall and loyalty. To put these points in context, they begin with a short history of gaming and social computing. To assist with selection of virtual worlds in which to conduct communication campaigns, the authors present a typology of virtual worlds and provide a description of some extant virtual worlds using this typology. The chapter concludes with a description of needed future work to harness virtual worlds for customer engagement.
Evolving Media Metrics from Assumed Attention to Earned Engagement
Authors: Russell Martha G.
Published: May 2011

This chapter stems from recent discussions with academic, advertising and channel researchers.1 In this review, four types of issues relevant to new agendas for advertising research are highlighted: the legacy of metrics based on the interrupted narrative model of advertising and assumed attention; real advertising campaigns as a source of innovations in developing new metrics for earned engagement; the interdisciplinary theoretical foundations for studying engagement and persuasion in advertising; and the need for advertisers, media developers and academicians to collaborate and expedite the creation of metrics to rationalize the monetization of new media used for advertising. Measuring engagement and persuasion in the current media ecology requires metrics that consider simultaneous media exposure and continuous partial attention in the context of a participatory culture and multifaceted objectives for advertising campaigns.
Digital Metrics
Authors: Nelson Michelle R. , Katz Helen
Published: May 2011

This chapter reviews measures of advertising effectiveness in research and practice from the pre-digital to the digital era. A focus on efficacy and ethics in terms of measurement and consumer privacy issues associated with collecting, monitoring and learning from digital metrics is discussed. Research questions related to persuasion knowledge and digital privacy are posed.
Performance-Enhancing Media
Authors: Mills Jon Michael
Published: May 2011

With the billions of dollars at stake in sport enterprises, it is not surprising that advertising permeates every facet of athletic competition as companies attempt to increase awareness of their products to the millions of sports fans around the world who continue to make it a multi-billion dollar industry. Today in sports, it seems that everything can be purchased, even “virtual space.” For advertisers, however, the proliferation of exposure is not indicative of over-saturation, but rather presents a need for innovative ways to reach their target audiences. Like athletes who use intensive workouts and nutritional supplements, advertisers are looking for performance-enhancing broadcast options. Virtual advertising is a relatively new, performance-enhancing technique that can improve a company’s competitive edge. Following an examination of mere exposure theory, this chapter will turn to a discussion of the benefits and opportunities of virtual advertising in sports events, and finally will explore the potential controversies and drawbacks surrounding virtual advertising technology.
Alternative Online Videos in the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election
Authors: Kim Gooyong
Published: May 2011

This chapter examines a new form of popular political mobilization–online videos. Revising a “mix of attributes approach” to media effects (Eveland, 2003), grassroots participation is included as the Internet’s new attribute, which renders a more sociopolitical impact of the medium. Furthermore, to examine its sociopolitical impact, the author suggests a “multiple” mix of attributes approach, which considers extrinsic attributes of audiences’ media consumption contexts as well as intrinsic attributes of media configurations. In this regard, the author examines the grassroots participation attribute by interrogating how ordinary people participate in an online public sphere (www.dipdive.com) where they shared and reinforced their support for Obama by producing alternative videos. When it comes to the importance of individuals’ critical appropriation of the Internet for political participation, through alternative video production, the potential of transformative human agency by shaping personal narratives toward a better future is realized. In online videos for the Obama campaign, identity politics and the democratization of campaign leadership as extrinsic attributes are enhancing the Internet’s network politics for political mobilization. Nevertheless, there is ambivalence of online video’s practical impact on society depending on each user’s specific motivations and objectives of using it as seen in many cases of destructive, anti-social deployment of the Internet throughout the globe. Therefore, as an educational initiative to implement the multiple mixes of media attributes approach, this chapter concludes by proclaiming that it is a crucial issue for critical pedagogy practitioners to envisage Feenberg’s (2002) “radical philosophy of technology” which demands individuals’ active intervention in shaping technologies’ social applications, as well as its redesign for a more egalitarian purposes. With critical media pedagogy as a premise of the strategic deployment of new media technologies for social change, common people can become leaders of democratic, grassroots political mobilization as well as active, popular pedagogues by producing alternative online videos.
Dynamics of Outsourcing Relationships
Authors: Solli-Sæther Hans , Gottschalk Petter
Published: May 2011

Given the potential headaches of managing IT, it is tempting to hand the job over to someone else. Indeed, outsourcing once appeared to be a simple solution to management frustrations, and senior management teams at many companies negotiated contracts with large service providers to run their entire IT functions (Gottschalk & Solli-Sæther, 2006). At a minimum, these providers were often able to provide IT capabilities for a lower cost and with fewer hassles than the companies had been able to themselves. But many of these outsourcing arrangements resulted in dissatisfaction, particularly as a company’s business needs changed. Service providers, with their standard offerings and detailed contracts, provided IT capabilities that were not flexible enough to meet changing requirements, and they often seemed slow to respond to problems. Furthermore, a relationship with a supplier often required substantial investments of money and time, which entrenched that supplier in the company’s strategic planning and business processes. The company then became particularly vulnerable if the supplier failed to meet its contractual obligations (Ross & Weill, 2002). In our dynamic perspective of knowledge resources, outsourcing relationships are not just about transactions between a vendor and a supplier. The resource-based theory argues that the firm’s ability to mobilize and utilize both internal and externally available resources determines its ability to succeed in the market place. If the firm is short of important resources such as IT resources, an outsourcing arrangement might help overcome the problem as the vendor makes IT resources available to the firm for a price.
The Online Adult Learner
Authors: Parker Judith
Published: May 2011

While the online adult learners are growing in numbers, the diversity in what motivates them and what they expect from an online course has grown as well. This chapter explores the current literature as well as qualitative and quantitative data from course surveys and student reflections in online courses taught by the author in an attempt to profile these learners, determine why they are taking online courses and investigate their evolving attitudes toward technology. It includes summaries and student quotes to portray the individual thoughts of online adult learners.
On Cognitive Properties of Human Factors and Error Models in Engineering and Socialization
Authors: Wang Yingxu
Published: May 2011

Human factors are the most predominated factors in all systems where humans are part of the systems. Human traits and needs are the fundamental force underlying almost all phenomena in human task performances, engineering organizations, and socialization. This article explores the cognitive foundations of human traits and cognitive properties of human factors in engineering. A comprehensive set of fundamental traits of human beings are identified, and the hierarchical model of basic human needs is formally described. The characteristics of human factors and their influences in engineering organizations and socialization are explored. Based on the models of basic human traits, needs, and their influences, driving forces behind the human factors in engineering and society are revealed. A formal model of human errors in task performance is derived, and case studies of the error model in software engineering are presented.
On the Big-R Notation for Describing Iterative and Recursive Behaviors
Authors: Wang Yingxu
Published: May 2011

Iterative and recursive control structures are the most fundamental mechanisms of computing that make programming more effective and expressive. However, these constructs are perhaps the most diverse and confusable instructions in programming languages at both syntactic and semantic levels. This article introduces the big-R notation that provides a unifying mathematical treatment of iterations and recursions in computing. Mathematical models of iterations and recursions are developed using logical inductions. Based on the mathematical model of the big-R notation, fundamental properties of iterative and recursive behaviors of software are comparatively analyzed. The big-R notation has been adopted and implemented in Real-Time Process Algebra (RTPA) and its supporting tools. Case studies demonstrate that a convenient notation may dramatically reduce the difficulty and complexity in expressing a frequently used and highly recurring concept and notion in computing and software engineering.
Robust Independent Component Analysis for Cognitive Informatics
Authors: Gadhok N. , Kinsner W.
Published: May 2011

This article evaluates the outlier sensitivity of five independent component analysis (ICA) algorithms (FastICA, Extended Infomax, JADE, Radical, and ß-divergence) using (a) the Amari separation performance index, (b) the optimum angle of rotation error, and (c) the contrast function difference in an outlier-contaminated mixture simulation. The Amari separation performance index has revealed a strong sensitivity of JADE and FastICA (using third- and fourth-order nonlinearities) to outliers. However, the two contrast measures demonstrated conclusively that ß-divergence is the least outlier-sensitive algorithm, followed by Radical, FastICA (exponential and hyperbolic-tangent nonlinearities), Extended Infomax, JADE, and FastICA (third- and fourth-order nonlinearities) in an outlier-contaminated mixture of two uniformly distributed signals. The novelty of this article is the development of an unbiased optimization-landscape environment for assessing outlier sensitivity, as well as the optimum angle of rotation error and the contrast function difference as promising new measures for assessing the outlier sensitivity of ICA algorithms.
Ontological Mediation for Multi-Agent Systems
Authors: Rahimi Shahram , Rana Pravab J. , Ahmad Raheel , Gupta Bidyut
Published: May 2011

A major performance factor when gathering information across a platform like the World Wide Web is the efficiency of the search and retrieval system. The effectiveness of current search and retrieval systems is restricted as they do not use the semantics of the data but only utilize keywords. Using a multi-agent system where agents gather information and organize it, creating ontologies, is a very viable approach to the problem. Major difficulties that arise during collaboration among such information-providing agents are ambiguity and data misinterpretation. This is due to the diversity of ontology creators, differences in linguistics, and ontological overlapping. Users may also knowingly or unknowingly add incorrect information to ontologies. Ontological mediation tries to address such collaboration issues relating to ambiguous and unfamiliar information arising due to various reasons. We propose a communicationbased approach for ontological mediation. In the process, we also present a classification model for ontological mediation.
E-Governance and ICT Enabled Rural Development in Developing Countries
Authors: Kannabiran G. , Xavier M.J. , Banumathi T.
Published: May 2011

Proactive economic policies combined with the ICT revolution of the past decade have brought about many changes in managing businesses and organizations in developing countries like India. The prowess achieved through this revolution has also led to exploitation of ICT for better governance and rural development. As a result, several ICT projects have been initiated to foster improved governance and facilitate rural development by appropriately linking public and private institutions. RASI (Rural Access to Services through Internet) is one such government-private initiative to promote e-governance and ICT enabled rural development. Our longitudinal research is to analyze the factors related to access to and usage of the services offered through this project in Erode district of the state of Tamilnadu in India. Data for this empirical research was collected through survey and interviews during two time periods (2004 and 2006). Our findings show that the project has largely deviated from its objectives due to lack of government support, non-scalable technology and ownership issues. Based on our findings, we provide a set of recommendations to policy makers and implementing agencies.
The Örebro City Citizen-Oriented E-Government Strategy
Authors: Ask Andreas , Hatakka Mathias , Grönlund Åke
Published: May 2011

This article discusses practices, opportunities, and challenges in local e-government project management by means of a case study involving interviews, document studies, and an element of action research, over eight months. The analysis against e-government success factors finds seven “critical issues”; political timing, resource allocation, political mandate, distinction between administrative and political responsibilities, coordination of departments, dependence on providers, and use of standards. We found these issues open for local choice, influences of strong individuals and groups, and chance. This is a consequence of the prevailing strategic model for the public sector, New Public Management, which leaves these issues to be filled by negotiations among many actors with different roles, goals, and action space. The general lesson is that there is a need for practical ways of acting strategically to reduce the risk level and increase the ability to implement policy.
A Model of Intraorganizational Knowledge Sharing
Authors: Hsu I-Chieh , Wang Yi-Shun
Published: May 2011

Prior research has reported different knowledge management processes, considering each universally applicable. This article proposes that context influences company knowledge sharing policies and practices and their effectiveness. Through a literature review, a model of intraorganizational knowledge sharing is proposed. Within this model, three organizational antecedents of knowledge sharing policies and practices are included, namely: top management knowledge values, an innovation business strategy, and perceived environmental uncertainty. Further, top management knowledge values and knowledge sharing policies and practices are hypothesized to lead to knowledge sharing effectiveness. The model was constructed by taking into account industrial contexts in Taiwan, and was examined using survey data collected from companies in Taiwan. The results showed that top management knowledge values and innovation business strategy are positively and significantly associated with knowledge sharing policies and practices, which in turn lead to knowledge sharing effectiveness. Finally, this article identifies and discusses implications for international information management.
Multivariate Analysis of Stance in Fiction
Authors: Opas-Hänninen Lisa Lena
Published: May 2011

This study investigates the expression of stance in Samuel Beckett’s prose work. Following Biber and Finegan (1989), a wide variety of stance markers are identified and calculated in the texts. A multivariate statistical methodology is then used to analyze the way in which these markers of stance interact in the texts. The results are plotted two-dimensionally to enable visualizing the similarities and differences between the texts. These are also illustrated using examples from the texts. Some of the findings are a little surprising and, therefore, a new tool is used to plot the results three-dimensionally, enabling a better understanding of how stance is reflected and how the texts resemble and deviate from one another. Finally, the usefulness of this analysis is discussed.
Applying Semantic Agents to Message Communication in E-Learning Environment
Authors: Ying-Hong Wang , Chih-Hao Lin
Published: May 2011

A traditional distance learning system requires supervisors or teachers always available on online to facilitate and monitor a learner’s progress by answering questions and guiding users. We presents an English chat room system in which students discuss course contents and ask questions to and receive from teachers and other students. The mechanism contains an agent that detects syntax errors in sentences written by the online the user and also checks the semantics of a sentence. The agent can thus offer recommendations to the user and, then, analyze the data of the learner corpus. When users query the system, this system will attempt to find the answers from the knowledge ontology that is stored in the records of previous user comments. With the availability of automatic supervisors, messages can be monitored and syntax or semantic mistakes can be corrected to resolve learner-related problems.
Distance-Learning for Advanced Military Education
Authors: Huan-Chao Keh , Kuei-Min Wang , Shu-Shen Wai , Jiung-yao Huang , Lin Hui , Ji-Jen Wu
Published: May 2011

Distance learning in advanced military education can assist officers around the world to become more skilled and qualified for future challenges. Through well-chosen technology, the efficiency of distancelearning can be improved significantly. In this paper we present the architecture of Advanced Military Education – Distance Learning (AME-DL) prototype for advanced military distance-learning, it combines advanced e-learning tool, simulation technology, and Web technology to provide a set of military learning and training subjects that can be accessed easily anywhere, anytime through a Web browser. The major goal of AME-DL is to provide a common standard framework for military training program, and the major contribution for such a prototype is to reduce training cost while providing high quality learning experience.
A Methodology for Developing Learning Objects for Web Course Delivery
Authors: Karen Stauffer , Lin Fuhua , Marguerite Koole
Published: May 2011

This article presents a methodology for developing learning objects for web-based courses using the IMS Learning Design (IMS LD) specification. We first investigated the IMS LD specification, determining how to use it with online courses and the student delivery model, and then applied this to a Unit of Learning (UOL) for online computer science courses. We developed an editor and runtime environment to apply the IMS LD to a UOL. We then explored the prospect for advancement of the basic IMS LD UOL. Finally, we discussed how to construct ontology-based software agents to use with the learning objects created with the IMS LD Units of Learning.
Teaching Dimension in Web-Based Learning Communities
Authors: Francesca Pozzi
Published: May 2011

The article tackles the issue of the teaching dimension in computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) contexts. In particular, it describes two Web-based courses that were held in 2006—one by the Istituto Tecnologie Didattiche – CNR and one by the University of Genoa, which, while sharing the socioconstructivist theoretical framework, adopt different approaches as far as the teaching dimension is concerned: While in the former course tutors were asked to cover all the functions typically required by e-tutors, in the latter, experience functions were distributed across a variety of actors. The aim of the work is to foster reflections about strong points and weaknesses of the two approaches, thus leading to considerations concerning the applicability of the models even in contexts different from the original ones.
Towards Automated Specifications of Scenarios in Enhanced Learning Technology
Authors: Rius Gavidia A. , Sicilia Urbán M. , García-Barriocanal E. , Macarro Palazuelos G.
Published: May 2011

Recent standardization efforts in e-learning technology have resulted in a number of specifications, how ever, the automation process that is considered essential in a learning management system (LMS) is a less explored one. As learning technology becomes more widespread and more heterogeneous, there is a growing need to specify processes that cross the boundaries of a single LMS or learning resource repository. This article proposes to obtain a specification orientated to automation that takes on board the heterogeneity of systems and formats and provides a language for specifying complex and generic interactions. Having this goal in mind, a technique based on three steps is suggested. The semantic conformance profiles, the business process management (BPM) diagram, and its translation into the business process execution language (BPEL) seem to be suitable for achieving it.
Managing Knowledge with Technology
Authors: Handzic Meliha , Lagumdzija Amila , Celjo Amer
Published: May 2011

This chapter reports on types and roles of information and communication technologies (ICT) implemented in knowledge management (KM) solutions in local governments. A sample of nine local councils were rated on usage of various generic and KM specific ICT in supporting knowledge exploitation or exploration, and codification or personalization strategies. The results indicate a marked preference for generic types of ICT, and support for knowledge exploitation and codification approaches. These findings and their implications are further interpreted in terms of three stages of KM development in organizations.
Leadership in Technology Project Management
Authors: Mueller Ralf
Published: May 2011

This chapter addresses project managers’ leadership styles, mainly from the perspective of technology projects. It starts by defining and outlining the need for leadership, and then describes the historical schools and the recent schools of leadership theory. Subsequently the focus turns to current leadership research in project management, and its related theories. Subsequently, the personality profiles of successful project managers in different types of projects are presented. The chapter ends with some managerial and theoretical implications, as well as scholarly challenges for further research and future developments in this area.
Contactless Payment with RFID and NFC
Authors: Pasquet Marc , Vacquez Delphine , Reynaud Joan , Cuozzo Félix
Published: May 2011

The radio frequency identification (RFID) reading technology enables the transfer, by radio, of information from electronic circuit to a reader, opened up some interesting possibilities in the area of epayment (Domdouzis, Kumar, & Anumba, 2007). Today, the near field communication technology (NFC) opens up even more horizons, because it can be used to set up communications between different electronic devices (Eckert, 2005). Contactless cards, telephones with NFC capacities, RFID tag have been developed in industry and the services (Bendavid, Fosso Wamba, & Lefebvre, 2006). They are similar, but, some major differences explain the specificity of these three applications and the corresponding markets. The label, or marker, is a small size electronic element that transmits, on request, its numerical identification to a reader. The RFID identification makes it possible to store and recover data at short distance by using these miniature markers or labels (see Figure 1) associated to the articles to identify. The cost of the label is only few centimes. An RFID system is made of labels, readers connected to a fixed network, adapted software (collection of information, integration, confidentiality...), adapted services, and management tools that allow the identification of the products through packing. Contactless smartcards (see Figure 2) contain a microprocessor that can communicate under a short distance with a reader similar to those of RFID technology (Khu-smith & Mitchell, 2002). The originality of NFC is the fact that they were conceived for the protected bilateral transmission with other systems. NFC respects the standard ISO-14443 (Bashan, 2003) and thus, can be used as a contactless card. It can be used as a contactless terminal communicating with a contactless card or another NFC phone (ISO-18092). Services available through NFC are very limited today, but many experiments are in progress and electronic ticketing experiences (subways and bus) started in Japanb. There are two types of NFC phones: The mono chip composed of only one chip for GSM services (called the SIM) and NFC services. In that case, an NFC service is dependent of the phone operator. • The dual chip shows a clear separation of the two functions within two different chips. That completely isolates the operator and allows independent NFC services… We define the technology standards, the main platforms and actors in the background section. The main trust develops some contactless payment applications, and analyses the benefits and constraints of the different solutions. The future trends section concerns the research and technology evolution in contactless payment applications.
Developing User Interfaces for Community-Oriented Workflow Information Systems
Authors: García Josefina Guerrero , Vanderdonckt Jean , González Calleros Juan Manuel
Published: May 2011

Technology to support groups is rapidly growing in use. In recent years, the Web has become a privileged platform for implementing community-oriented workflows, giving rise to a new generation of workflow information systems. Specifically, the Web provides ubiquitous access to information, supports explicit distribution of business process across workers, workplaces, and computing platforms. These processes could be all supported by platform-independent user interfaces. This chapter presents a model-driven engineering method that provides designers with methodological guidance on how to systematically derive user interfaces of workflow information systems from a series of models. For this purpose, the workflow is recursively decomposed into processes which are in turn decomposed into tasks. Each task gives rise to a task model whose structure, ordering, and connection with the domain model allows the automated generation of corresponding user interfaces in a transformational approach. The various models involved in the method can be edited in a workflow editor based on Petri nets and simulated interactively.
The Design Space of Ubiquitous Mobile Input
Authors: Ballagas Rafael , Rohs Michael , Sheridan Jennifer G. , Borchers Jan
Published: May 2011

The mobile phone is the first truly pervasive computer. In addition to its core communications functionality, it is increasingly used for interaction with the physical world. This chapter examines the design space of input techniques using established desktop taxonomies and design spaces to provide an in-depth discussion of existing interaction techniques. A new five-part spatial classification is proposed for ubiquitous mobile phone interaction tasks discussed in our survey. It includes supported subtasks (position, orient, and selection), dimensionality, relative vs. absolute movement, interaction style (direct vs. indirect), and feedback from the environment (continuous vs. discrete). Key design considerations are identified for deploying these interaction techniques in real-world applications. Our analysis aims to inspire and inform the design of future smart phone interaction techniques.
The Little Chip That Could
Authors: Wyld David C.
Published: May 2011

This chapter provides an overview of RFID (radio frequency identification) and the emerging use of the technology in the governmental sector. It examines the fundamental aspects of what RFID technology is, why there is a need for it, and how it is advantageous vs. present bar code technology. The chapter provides a look at how RFID is being used today, both at the federal and state/local levels of government. It looks at the major RFID initiatives being undertaken in the military and the governmental supply chain, as well as creative uses of the technology for improving public administration. The purposes of the chapter were to raise governmental executives and academicians’ understanding and awareness of RFID technology and to spotlight the technological, business, and privacy considerations that will be raised over the next decade with the advent of what has been described as nothing less than a “weird new media revolution.”