bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Drivers and Barriers to the Uptake of Learning Technologies
Authors: Davies Alison , Smith Kelly
Published: May 2011

This chapter discusses key findings from three focus group discussions held with practitioners in a higher education institution about their experiences of using learning technologies to support student learning. Focus groups were organised in March 2004 to further explore staff responses to a 2003 campus-wide survey, which gave a general overview of learning technology use among teaching staff. The chapter will examine the key issues that staff raised during the focus group discussions, including the barriers to and implications of introducing and implementing learning technologies into different subject disciplines within a research-led institution. The question of whether or not the use of learning technologies enhances, or has the potential to enhance, the teaching and learning experience is also discussed, as well as the lessons that staff have learnt from this use.
Understanding Roles Within Technology Supported Teaching and Learning
Authors: Lockyer Lori , Bennett Sue
Published: May 2011

This chapter provides a case study of a postgraduate course focused on network-based learning, which from its original design was based on constructivist learning principles. Over time, this course has evolved to incorporate increasing use of learning technology — particularly, synchronous and asynchronous communication tools. This evolution has led to a reappraisal and less emphasis on face-to-face class meetings. The course has also increased its student base through distance and offshore offerings. These shifts have translated into changes in the way the course is resourced in both human and infrastructure terms. The case uses Goodyear, Salmon, Spector, Steeples, and Tickner’s (2001) roles and responsibilities of an online teacher to analyse the teaching team’s perspective on the resource implications of a move to increased technology-facilitated teaching and learning for the teaching staff, the academic department, and the institution.
E-Government in the Context of State Reform in Brazil
Authors: Ruediger Marco Aurélio
Published: May 2011

In this chapter, we examine key elements of state reform and the importance of e-government as a tool for increased civic participation and effectiveness. Brazil is taken as an example. We outline the political process behind state reform in Brazil and the importance of e-government in this construction. The successful case of the income-tax system and the problem of the digital divide are briefly discussed. Finally, we conclude considering the possibility of a civic participation strategy in the promotion of a sustainable process of state restructuring.
An Exploratory Study of Electronic Government and State Portals in Mexico
Authors: Luna-Reyes Luis Felipe , Gil-Garcia J. Ramón , Rojas-Bandera Jennifer S.
Published: May 2011

Many governments have embraced the information revolution by developing information and communication technologies (ICTs) to improve services to citizens. In Mexico, the number of government Web sites has increased from none in 1994 to about 2,800 in 2005. However, there is relatively little research about Mexican government portals. This chapter preliminarily evaluates the quality and functionality of four state government portals in Mexico. It also analyzes their evolution from 2002 to 2005 and uncovers some general trends. In general, Mexican state government portals seem to be mainly information catalogs with some transactional capabilities. However, the observed portals show a pattern of transitioning to a more user-centered design and integrating more electronic services. In addition, Mexican state portals show an increasing concern for transparency and citizen participation.
Developing Strategies For Competitive Advantage
Authors: Shimizu Tamio , Monteiro de Carvalho Marley , Barbin Fernando Jose
Published: May 2011

As in any game, the success of competitive strategies depends on knowing the rules as well as the other players. Nevertheless, in the real competitive environment, the rules are not always clear and can change very quickly, demanding quick responses and making it increasingly difficult to map the moves of the main players. Strong monitoring channels must be maintained to follow changes in the competitive environment and to discern new trends. Changes in the environment can result from emerging technologies or changes in society’s behavior, and thus in clients’ demands. They can also be the result of competitors’ moves in the market. Thus developing a good competitive strategy depends on mapping the environment and constantly monitoring it to be able to capitalize quickly on opportunities or neutralize threats. The focus of this chapter is on mapping the environment. It will show the main aspects of the model for industry analysis and explain the process of forming strategic groups and pressure maps.
Alignment Of Organizational Strategy With Information Technology Strategy
Authors: Shimizu Tamio , Monteiro de Carvalho Marley , Barbin Fernando Jose
Published: May 2011

Digital computers came into being after the Second World War. After a period of use solely in scientific and military areas, business perceived that this technological innovation could be very useful. The large, expensive equipment was very limited in terms of the information it could process and store, in addition to the restricted number of users who could access them simultaneously or from remote locations. Both the training and vision of professionals in the area of what was then called “data processing” was eminently technical. Thus, the early applications were developed to resolve well-structured problems, i.e., those whose stages and sequences were well-defined, such as payroll, stock control, and accounts due and received. Technology evolved and by the end of the 1970s, there were a number of alternative uses for computers and basic applications had been installed in the large companies. At that point, specialists began discussing a way to use Information Technology (IT), a term that came into use in the 1980s, better to make businesses more competitive. From that time on, many theories, models, and techniques have been studied and developed so that information technology can be used in tune with business strategies and operations. IT progressively came to play an important role in the strategy of the leading companies in competitive markets. Presently there are great expectations that IT applications will make possible new strategy alternatives for business and new opportunities for companies; as in the case of e-commerce and e-business (Porter, 2001; Evans & Wurster, 1999). However, there is also an extensive debate about the real gains derived from investments in IT. Focusing solely on the efficiency of IT applications will not provide a response to such questions. To evaluate the impact of IT on business strategy and operations, a focus on its effectiveness is needed. One must examine the results of IT applications in relation to the objectives, goals, and needs of an organization. Effectiveness should be maintained in the long run, and for this to happen, the concept of Strategic Alignment between IT and the business is fundamental.
Enterprise Systems
Authors: Portougal Victor
Published: May 2011

To support processes well, we need to have information systems and integratedinformation system support processes even better. There are a variety ofsystems that go towards supporting processes in an organisation (Scheer,1998). Figure 6.1 illustrates some of these systems.
Development of a Health Information System in a Post-Communist Country
Authors: Stevanovic Ranko , Pristas Ivan , Uhernik Ana Ivicevic , Stanic Arsen
Published: May 2011

Between 2001 and 2003, a project conducted in Croatia aimed to establish and develop a health information system based on the latest technologies. Extraordinary results in the trial run give the authors the ground to recommend such an approach to all transitional post communist countries. The development of such systems is feasible in transitional countries because most of them are still having one main insurer.
Modelling and Simulation of Biological Systems
Authors: Mihalas George I.
Published: May 2011

It is unanimously accepted that a theoretical approach of a system or phenomenon reveals new features and offers a deeper insight into the intimate mechanisms. In life science, this approach is mainly based on mathematical modeling, followed naturally by computer simulation. The chapter presented here tries to give the reader a comprehensive view over the main issues arising when attempting to build models of biological systems. A series of applications is shortly presented. The second half of the chapter is dedicated to one of the most interesting models: protein synthesis regulation. The example follows the classical steps: the scheme of the processes to be described, the set of differential equations and the results, including their possible interpretation.
Imaging the Human Brain with Magnetoencephalography
Authors: Pantazis Dimitrios , Leahy Richard M.
Published: May 2011

Magnetoencephalography is a relatively new medical imaging modality for the monitoring and imaging of human brain function. Extracranial magnetic fields produced by the working human brain are measured by extremely sensitive superconducting sensors, called SQUIDs, enclosed in a liquid helium-filled dewar. Mathematical modeling allows the formation of images or  maps of cortical neuronal currents that reveal neural electrical activity, identify cortical communication networks, and facilitate the treatment of neuronal disorders, such as epilepsy.
Agent-Based Computational Economics
Authors: Bruun C.
Published: May 2011

This chapter argues that the economic system is best perceived as a complex adaptive system, and as such, the traditional analytical methods of economics are not optimal for its study. Agent-based computational economics (ACE) studies the economic system from the bottom up and recognizes interaction between autonomous agents as the central mechanism in generating the self-organizing features of economic systems. Besides a discussion of this new economic methodology, a short how-to introduction is given, and the problem of constraining economics as a science within the ACE approach is raised. It is argued that ACE should be perceived as a new methodological approach to the study of economic systems rather than a new approach to economics, and that the use of ACE should be anchored in existing economic theory.
Agent-Based Modelnig with Boundedly Rational Agents
Authors: Ebenhoh E.
Published: May 2011

This chapter introduces an agent-based modeling framework for reproducing micro behavior in economic experiments. It gives an overview of the theoretical concept which forms the foundation of the framework as well as short descriptions of two exemplary models based on experimental data. The heterogeneous agents are endowed with a number of attributes like cooperativeness and employ more or less complex heuristics during their decision-making processes. The attributes help to distinguish between agents, and the heuristics distinguish between behavioral classes. Through this design, agents can be modeled to behave like real humans and their decision making is observable and traceable, features that are important when agent-based models are to be used in collaborative planning or participatory model-building processes.
Competitive Advantage of Geographical Clusters
Authors: Albino V.
Published: May 2011

This chapter deals with complexity science issues from two sides: from one side, it uses complexity science concepts to give new contributions to the theoretical understanding of geographical clusters (GCs); from the other side, it presents an application of complexity science tools such as emergent (bottom-up) simulation, using agent-based modeling to study the sources of GC competitive advantage. Referring to the first direction, complexity science is used as a conceptual framework to identify the key structural conditions of GCs that give them the adaptive capacity, so assuring their competitive advantage. Regarding the methodological approach, the agent-based simulation is used to analyze the dynamics of GCs. To this aim, we model the main characteristics of GCs and carry out a simulation analysis to observe that the behaviors of GCs are coherent with the propositions built up on the basis of complexity science literature.
Agent-Oriented Modeling and Simulation of Distributed Manufacturing
Authors: Taveter K. , Wagner G.
Published: May 2011

This chapter proposes an agent-oriented method for modeling and simulation of distributed production environments. The proposed method views a manufacturing enterprise as consisting of active entities—agents. The method makes use of the Radical Agent-Oriented Process (RAP) methodology introduced by Taveter and Wagner (2005) which is based on Agent-Object-Relationship (AOR) modeling. The chapter first presents the AOR Modeling Language and the RAP/AOR viewpoint modeling framework of the methodology. Thereafter its lays out principles of turning the modeling constructs of the RAP/AOR methodology into the implementation constructs of a simulation environment and briefly describes the simulation environment. The method is aimed at the creation of environments for modeling and simulation of distributed manufacturing.
Toward an Agent-Oriented Paradigm of Information Systems
Authors: Zhu H.
Published: May 2011

This chapter presents a meta-model of information systems as a foundation for the methodology of caste-centric agent-oriented software development, which is suitable for applications on the Internet/Web platform and the utilization of mobile computing devices. In the model, the basic elements are agents classified into a number of castes. Agents are defined as active computational entities that encapsulate: (a) a set of state variables, (b) a set of actions that the agents are capable of performing, (c) a set of behaviour rules that determine when the agents will change their states and when to take actions, and (d) a definition of their environments in which they operate. Caste is the classifier of agents and the modular unit of the systems. It serves as the template that defines the structure and behaviour properties of agents, as class does for objects. Agents can be declared statically or created dynamically at runtime as instances of castes. This chapter also illustrates the advantages of agent-oriented information systems by an example.
Agents for Multi-Issue Negotiation
Authors: Debenham J.
Published: May 2011

This chapter describes a generic multi-issue negotiating agent that is designed for a dynamic information-rich environment. The agent strives to make informed decisions by observing signals in the marketplace and by observing general information sources including news feeds. The agent assumes that the integrity of some of its information decays with time, and that a negotiation may break down under certain conditions. The agent makes no assumptions about the internals of its opponent—it focuses only on the signals that it receives. Two agents are described. The first agent conducts multi-issue bilateral bargaining. It constructs two probability distributions over the set of all deals: the probability that its opponent will accept a deal, and the probability that a deal should be accepted by the agent. The second agent bids in multi-issue auctions—as for the bargaining agent, this agent constructs probability distributions using entropy-based inference.
Argumentation with Wigmore Charts and Computing
Authors: Nissan Ephraim
Published: May 2011

In the previous article, “Argumentation and Computing,” we provided an overview as well as some operational knowledge of this important, emerging intersection of argumentation (paramount as it is in philosophy, ethics, and law) and computational models or computer tools. In the present short entry, instead, we focus on providing operational knowledge about a particular graphical notation for argumentation, Wigmore Charts, quite valuable for legal scholars, yet which have deservedly come within the notice of computer scientists. Once you learn how to use Wigmore Charts, they may well be the handiest notation around. This is why we find it important to teach how to use them.
Barriers Facing African American Women in Technology
Authors: Du Jianxia
Published: May 2011

In technology education, African American women are normally in the minority. Contributing factors include the continuation of discrimination based on race and/or gender in American society, together with African American women’s own self-perception, which is itself influenced by their history of discrimination. These factors in turn affect their access to technology and technology education.
Cyber-Terrorism in Australia
Authors: Beggs Christopher
Published: May 2011

Cyber-terrorism has evolved as a new form of terrorism since the development of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) such as the Internet. It has become an issue of concern to the Australian government as well as a global issue since the impact of the September 11, 2001, tragedies, the Bali bombings in 2002, and the London bombings of 2005. Australia, together with other leading nations such as the U.S., currently faces the threat of conventional terrorism; however, we also now face the possibility of a new digital form of terrorism: cyber-terrorism. This article explores this new form of terrorism and provides examples of possible cyber-terrorism and closely related cases. It also highlights vulnerabilities within Australian computer systems and provides an overview of the future trends of this new emerging threat within the Australian context.
Digital Rights Management Metadata and Standards
Authors: Cote Jo Anne , Park Eun G.
Published: May 2011

In the digital world, several ways to organize and describe digital rights management (DRM) have been developed to enforce fairness and transparency in business trades. Metadata is beginning to serve this purpose as it attempts to address property rights, licensing, privacy, and confidentiality issues in a manner that ideally renders information or content easily accessible over a variety of platforms (Koenen, 2001). With the rise of security breaches and computer crimes such as identity theft, DRM is increasingly an issue for creators, content owners, purveyors, and consumers of all sorts of digital materials. This article defines what DRM is and explains how it is implemented into description and assessment in practical metadata schemes. DRM components are discussed, in particular those related to identification and rights expression. The two commonly used standards of describing DRM are discussed with Open Mobile Alliance and MPEG-21 (Rosenblatt, 2005). Issues and problems of metadata in DRM are also discussed for future implications.
Ethical Erosion at Enron
Authors: Wang John
Published: May 2011

Enron Corporation, the seventh-largest company in the nation, was named “America’s Most Innovative Company” by Fortune Magazine from 1989 through 2001. Ironically, the company collapsed spectacularly in 2001 into bankruptcy and set off a wave of investigations into corporate malfeasance. The failure of both fiscal regulators and business analysts to notice the deterioration at Enron can debatably be labeled as the biggest business ethics failure in corporate history. The focus of this article is on the failure of Enron in conducting e-commerce due to unethical employee issues. Enron engaged in a series of complex transactions specifically to mask its activities. And yet the company saw no need to pay taxes in four of the last five years of its existence.
Ethics and Perceptions in Online Learning Environments
Authors: Ramim Michelle M.
Published: May 2011

Recent incidents of unethical behaviors reported in the media have led scholars to initiate a debate on the subject of ethics. In particular, professional and personal ethics appear to be relevant issues to explore, as literature suggests that they impact behavior. In higher education, a substantial increase in the use of online learning systems (OLSs) for the delivery of higher educational courses has been observed in the past decade (Hiltz & Turoff, 2005). However, little attention has been given in information systems (IS) literature to exploring the construct of ethics and its impact on perceptions relevant to the use (i.e., user behavior) of ISs.
Homo Electricus and the Continued Speciation of Humans
Authors: Michael Katina
Published: May 2011

Today however we are on the brink of building a new sentient being, a bearer of electricity, a modern man belonging to a new race, beyond that which can be considered merely part man part machine. We refer here to the absolute fusion of man and machine, where the toolmaker becomes one with his tools (McLuhan, 1964). The question at this point of coalescence is how human will the new species be (Toffler, 1981)? And what are the related ethical concerns? Does the “biological evolution” of humans as recorded in history end when technology can be connected to the body in a wired or wireless form?
ICT Leapfrogging Policy and Development in the Third World
Authors: Third Amanda
Published: May 2011

‘Leapfrogging’ is the term used to describe development policies, and the processes of their implementation, that aim to move lesser developed societies to a higher stage of development without them transitioning through the spectrum of changes that have underpinned the development of industrialized societies. Information and communication technology (ICT) leapfrogging strategies have the potential to bypass intermediate stages of development that are often resource intensive (in terms of capital investment in hardware and labor), environmentally unsustainable, and involve the building of infrastructure that is prone to become obsolete in a relatively short time. A number of organizations, including (and not only including) the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN, 2000), Group of Eight (G8, 2000), the United Nations (UN, 2000), and aid agencies, advocate ICT leapfrogging in the developing world.
Managed Services and Changing Workplace Ethics
Authors: Sixsmithm Alan
Published: May 2011

Organizations use various types of outsourcing for many reasons, and these have been widely documented in the research literature. However, the impact on both the employees remaining with the organization and those who move to the service provider is often neglected. Prior to the outsourcing arrangement coming into effect, the employees all work for the same organization, but now with two (or more) organizations in place, professionalism and workplace relationships are drastically changed. In this article, the impact of changing workplace relationships on individual professionalism and workplace ethics will be explored.
Mitigation of Identity Theft in the Information Age
Authors: Becker Reggie , Schmidt Mark B. , Johnston Allen C.
Published: May 2011

The information age is characterized by unprecedented levels of information sharing, connectivity, and convenience. Along with the expediency afforded us by electronic commerce (e-commerce), online banking, e-mail reminders, and electronic government (e-government) services comes a degree of dependence on the information technology that drives these processes. Moreover, these processes are inherently insecure, thereby generating an unparalleled level of concern for computer security and identity theft, in particular. This article will discuss identity theft techniques and describe how readers can avoid it.
Port Scans
Authors: Kawash Jalal
Published: May 2011

The hardest task for a hacker is to get a foothold into a computer network system. If the hacker manages to get inside, the rest of the network is easily conquered. This is often referred to as the ‘eggshell principle’. It is hard to pierce in, but once inside, the whole network can be available for the hacker’s grab.
Rule-Based Policies for Secured Defense Meetings
Authors: Shetty Pravin , Loke Seng
Published: May 2011

Security of the information in a defense department of any country is of utmost importance. And today, in this nuclear world, security and privacy of the various defense plans and other valuable strategies of a country’s defense force is in focus. This security is of prime importance during war periods. The defense strategies are normally discussed in the meetings held at the various headquarters of the defense department. In today’s computing world these meetings are conducted with the various concerned persons connected via a secured network in a room. If a person is unable to attend a meeting due to some important work, then he or she takes part in the discussion through his or her laptop. Such meetings involving technology have also become a part of research centers where innovation of new technologies is being carried out.
Universal Internet Access under an Ethical Lens
Authors: Arbore Alessandro
Published: May 2011

Universal service is a long-standing tradition of telecommunications policy, designed to ensure that all citizens have access to affordable, quality telecommunications services regardless of geographic location and socioeconomic status. The origins of it are usually traced to the U.S. 1934 Communications Act and, also within the European Union, this principle was made explicit since the very first documents on the issue, as in the Green Book of 1995 or, even before, in the Council Resolution (93/C213/01) accepting the Commission guidelines for the liberalization of voice telecommunications (COM(93)159).
A Content-Incentive-Usability Framework for Corporate Portal Design
Authors: Bajaj Akhilesh
Published: May 2011

The knowledge based theory of the firm argues that firms obtain competitive advantage by creating, storing and applying knowledge (Jayatilaka, Schwarz, & Hirschheim, 2003). According to Grant and Baden-Fuller (1995), a firm’s ability to leverage knowledge held by members in the organization is dependent on first, the ability of the firm to create an infrastructure to access this knowledge, transfer it and make it available to others. A second determinant is the extent to which the knowledge that is captured matches with the product domain of the firm.
Cross-Cultural Dimensions of National Web Portals
Authors: Dobing Brian
Published: May 2011

Culture can be defined as the manifestation of “learned behavior consisting of thoughts, feelings and actions” (Hoft, 1996, p. 41) formed under the influences of social, biological, psychological, economic, and ecological environments over an extended period of time. But, as Hoft notes, culture is a complex subject encompassing many diverse concepts. By 1952, Kroeber and Kluckhohn (1963) had already identified 164 definitions of culture, ranging from “learned behavior” to “ideas in the mind,” “a logical construct,” “a statistical fiction,” and “a psychic defense mechanism,” and claimed that over 300 existed (p. 291). Culture is a product of learning (Hoebel, 1971; Murdock, 1965), varying from place to place and changing over time. Such changes are accelerated by various social exchanges, direct and indirect, among peoples. Creative processes or innovations diffuse through cultures, so times of rapid technological innovation are likely to see accelerated cultural change.
Designing a Portal and Community with the Community Generator
Authors: Fröschle Norbert
Published: May 2011

What is behind a Web portal—indeed, it is a community. People in virtual groups and rooms. But, what is an Internet business community and how is it possible to social-engineer these communities? This article deals with this topic.
Designing Portals for Knowledge Work
Authors: Maier Ronald
Published: May 2011

An increasing share of work in businesses and organizations depends on information and knowledge rather than manual labor and physical goods (Wolf, 2005). Knowledge work contributes substantially to the long-term success of an organization. It is characterized by unstructured, creative, and learning-oriented tasks and involves access to a wide variety of structured and unstructured data sources such as Web sites, databases, data warehouses, document bases, or messaging systems. Knowledge work is often hampered by the fragmentation of resources across these numerous elements of information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructures. Consequently, concepts for the design and implementation of integrating technologies are required in order to improve ICT support for knowledge work.
E-Business Standards Setting
Authors: Jakobs Kai
Published: May 2011

Many industry sectors are facing a number of challenges to the established relations between players (the automotive sector is a particularly prominent case in point; see also Gerst & Jakobs, 2006). To meet the production requirements, standardization of processes, systems, and data are inevitable. A current trend in manufacturing is that OEMs1 attempt to cooperate with fewer suppliers, but on a worldwide scale.
E-Commerce Portals
Authors: Jin Jesse S.
Published: May 2011

Today, the business community has realized the portal solution as an opportunity to develop and maintain integrated and personalized environments for e-commerce. Based on the natural behavior of an individual portal, portals have been categorized into business-to-consumer (B2C) portals, content management system (CMS) portals and business-to- business (B2B) portals in this article. While the role of individual portals is different from each other the ultimate objective, however, is to deliver e-commerce and manageable e-commerce solutions via portal technology.
The Future of Portals in E-Science
Authors: Bosin Andrea , Dessì Nicoletta , Fugini Maria Grazia , Liberati Diego , Pes Barbara
Published: May 2011

Scientific experiments are executed through activities that create, use, communicate and distribute information whose organizational dynamics are similar to processes performed by distributed cooperative enterprise units. On this premise, the aim of this article is to discuss how a portal-based approach can support the design and management of cooperative scientific experiments executed with a strong information and communication technologies (ICT) support and in a distributed manner, hence named e-experiments. The approach assumes the Web, Web services and the grid as the enacting paradigm for formalizing e-experiments as cooperative services on various computational nodes of a network. A framework is proposed that defines the responsibility of actors of the e-experiment and of the e-nodes in offering services, as well as the portal architecture through which the e-experiment resources can be accessed. By discussing a case study in the field of bioinformatics, the article shows how an e-experiment can be planned and executed starting from a set of Web services inserted in a portal and invoked upon the possibly underlying grid structure.
Knowledge Servers
Authors: Basden Andrew
Published: May 2011

Knowledge servers aim to provide knowledge rather than mere information. While information may be “delivered” to the user, such as via Web pages, knowledge is generated within the user by the user’s own thinking processes (Newell, 1982), often stimulated by information received and the user’s situation. Therefore, a knowledge server, though it works by delivering information, is differentiated from an information server by (a) being tailored to the user at the time they connect to the server, (b) taking account of context, (c) making inferences from information provided by the user, rather than merely retrieving data or pages, and (d) engaging in a process of stimulating the user, for example, by letting the user explore different possibilities and obtain explanations. For example, an information server might list some factors that cause stress-corrosion-cracking in steel, while a knowledge server would dialogue with the user to assess the risk in their specific situation and enrich their understanding. While the entire Internet might fulfill such a function, it is possible to create resources specifically designed as knowledge servers.
A Local Community Web Portal and Small Businesses
Authors: Fulford Heather
Published: May 2011

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the role played by the establishment, in a UK village, of a local community Web portal on the Internet adoption decisions of small businesses in the village. The article reports on some of the findings of an ongoing study of this local community Web portal, focusing specifically on those small businesses that had, prior to the launch of the Web portal, made a decision not to adopt the Internet into their business operations. The barriers these nonadopting small businesses perceived to Internet adoption are identified, and the impacts their portal presence had on their subsequent choice of Internet adoption pathway are discussed. Before presenting the research design and pertinent findings of this local community Web portal project, some background details about the study and the local community Web portal are provided.
Metadata for Web Portal
Authors: Manouselis Nikos
Published: May 2011

Web portals can be defined as gateways to information and services from multiple sources (Tatnall, 2005). An important aspect of Web portals is the organisation, navigation, labeling, and indexing of their content in order to facilitate searching of information and services (that is, the resources stored as Web portal content). One of the aims of Web portals is to collect and categorize resources (otherwise called content objects), so that users can search, identify, and access the most appropriate resources for their needs.
Paradox of Social Portals
Authors: Davey Bill , Tatnall Arthur
Published: May 2011

An individual or group can create a portal with very little funds and no need or approval from any authority. This produces an interesting paradoxical impact on the social fabric: a portal can be used to overcome tyranny, or lend power to a fanatical mob. A portal can also be used to provide instant free medical advice or to cater to the hypochondria latent in all of us.
Portal Technologies and Executive Information Systems Implementation
Authors: Averweg Udo
Published: May 2011

Portals may be seen as World Wide Web (“the Web”) sites that provide the gateway to corporate information from a single point of access. The potential of the Web portal market and its technology has inspired the mutation of search engines (e.g., Yahoo!) and the establishment of new vendors (e.g., Hummingbird and Brio Technology). Leveraging knowledge, both internal and external, is the key to using a portal as a centralised database of best practices that can be applied across all departments and all lines of business within an organisation (Zimmerman, 2003). A portal is simply a single, distilled view of information from various sources. Portal technologies integrate information, content, and enterprise applications. However, the term portal has been applied to systems that differ widely in capabilities and complexity (Smith, 2004). Portals “aim to serve particular communities, including various business groups” (Deise, Nowikow, King, & Wright, 2000). A portal aims to establish a community of users with a common interest or need.
Portals for Business Intelligence
Authors: Becks Andreas
Published: May 2011

Today, the business domain is confronted with a paramount avalanche of documents and business data. Continuous capturing of business data, be it success indicators or other performance metrics, have led to a tremendous amount of information sources. At the same time, the number of documents— each carrying valuable information once perceived in a proper context—is also booming at tremendous speed.
Topic-Oriented Portals
Authors: Sigel Alexander , Ahmed Khalil
Published: May 2011

In general, portals are regarded as gateways to networked information and services, facilitating access to other related sites. Typically, portals provide transparent one-stop access to functionalities needed in a common context and make these appear as a single integrated application. Although these functionalities are implemented and made available by heterogeneous applications, they are integrated by presenting the output of such networked applications side-by-side, with only limited interaction between them. This superficial integration on the presentation level is quite useful, but it has considerable drawbacks compared to basing portals on the notion of subjects to achieve “seamless knowledge” and the “semantic superhighway” (Pepper, 2004, 2006; Pepper & Garshol, 2004).
The Web Portal as a Collaborative Tool
Authors: Rowe Michelle , Pease Wayne
Published: May 2011

Discussion of portals and their relevance to destination tourism is the main focus of this chapter. Traditional definitions of portals have focused on intraorganisational information sharing. Here a broader interorganisational view of portals is adopted. Information sharing beyond organisations via portals renders them a collaborative tool, which is of real benefit to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This applies equally to tourism destinations which are typified by many small and medium tourist enterprises (SMTEs) (Braun, 2002).
Web Usability for Not-for-Profit Organisations
Authors: Ryu Hokyoung
Published: May 2011

One of the common aspects of software design is to focus on building systems that are easier for people to learn and use, so as to improve their performance at work. The term “usability” has become so popular that it has been applied to many aspects of life (e.g., the usability of customer services or organisational usability (Kling & Elliott, 1994). This paradigmatic design approach appears to be increasingly important as complex technology allows us to connect more and more devices with people, so the essential aspects of usability—ease of learning, ease of use, useful, and pleasant to use—have been widely used as a basis for design. Indeed, the four usability dimensions proposed by Gould and Lewis (1985) have been applied to many design practices, and Web portal design is similarly an application area where usability is important. Hence, portal developers for commercial organizations should be aware of usability issues in order to obtain and retain visitors to their Web site. It is very obvious that a well-designed Web site helps to generate revenue for commercial organisations via online sales or advertising.
Web Casts as Informal E-Learning for Scientific Centers
Authors: Bernier Roxane
Published: May 2011

The advent of global digital networking, chiefly the Internet, broadened access to cultural portals with various remote online education resources, providing a unique behind-the scenes view of knowledge, and therefore re-established the visitor’s own ability of self-learning. Science centers capitalized on that development, as they expanded their mission beyond lab assessments and hands-on interactive exhibits using Web casting with explainers; the most recent innovative technology for real-time demonstrations involve real and virtual scientific institutions. Hence, adopting a multidisciplinary perspective covering both the humanities and natural sciences such as biology, heritage, physics, civilization, informatics, theology, medicine, anthropology, and even law for visitors have become involved in topical debates. Web casting allows individuals to form their viewpoints on contemporary concerns ranging from genetic engineering and sustainability to space exploration.
Knowledge Management, Terrorism, and Cyber Terrorism
Authors: Ariely Gil
Published: May 2011

This chapter applies the conceptual framework of knowledge management (and vehicles familiar from that discipline) to analyze various aspects of knowledge as a resource for terrorist-organizations, and for confronting them, in the post-modern era. Terrorism is a societal phenomenon, closely integrated with changes in our knowledge society. Terrorist organizations became knowledge-centric, networked organizations, with a post-modern approach to organizational paradigms. Cyberspace is habitat for knowledge and information, and terrorists are knowledge workers proficient in it. Cyber terrorism is the convergence of cyberspace and terrorism, and is closely entwined with “nonvirtual” terrorist activities and global terrorism. IT allows terrorists similar societal power-shift – from large organizations to small groups and individuals. The chapter reviews the changing nature of terrorism towards postmodern terrorism and towards “learning terrorist organizations” implementing knowledge, cyber terrorism and cyber planning. Since it takes a network to beat a network, the chapter discusses knowledge and knowledge management (KM) in counterterrorism. Through ‘NetWar,’ conducted also in cyberspace (not necessarily aimed at the IT systems it uses as a platform—but rather at human lives), implementing familiar vehicles from the KM toolkit such as social network analysis (SNA), to KM in intelligence and KM in low intensity conflicts. Knowledge management proves salient both for terrorism and for countering it in a knowledge society.
Antispam Approaches Against Information Warfare
Authors: Lu Hsin-Yang , Tsui Chia-Jung , Park Joon S.
Published: May 2011

The term “spam” refers to unsolicited bulk e-mail that people do not want to receive. Today it is gradually becoming a serious problem that results in significant cost both to e-mail receivers and to ISPs (Internet Service Providers). More and more people have become concerned about the issue and are making efforts to develop various anti-spam approaches, some of which are in-process proposals, while others are currently in use. In this chapter, key anti-spam approaches that include filtering, remailers, e-postage, hashcash, and sender authentication, are analyzed and discussed how these antispam approaches can be used against information warfare and cyber terrorism. Furthermore, we analyze vulnerabilities in each approach and recommend possible countermeasures. Technical details and comparisons of each antispam approach are not discussed in this chapter because of space limitations.
An Overview of IDS Using Anomaly Detection
Authors: Rokach Lior , Elovici Yuval
Published: May 2011

Intrusion detection is the process of monitoring and analyzing the events occurring in a computer system in order to detect signs of security problems. The problem of intrusion detection can be solved using anomaly detection techniques. For instance, one is given a set of connection data belonging to different classes (normal activity, different attacks) and the aim is to construct a classifier that accurately classifies new unlabeled connections data. Clustering methods can be used to detect anomaly in data which might implies intrusion of a new type. This chapter gives a critical summary of anomaly detection research for intrusion detection. This chapter surveys a list of research projects that apply anomaly detection techniques to intrusion detection. Finally some directions for research are given.
Measures for Ensuring Data Protection and Citizen Privacy Against the Threat of Crime and Terrorism
Authors: Chochliouros Ioannis P. , Spiliopoulou Anastasia S. , Chochliouros Stergios P.
Published: May 2011

Europe has entered a new phase of growth in its history, and characterized by the fast deployment of modern electronic communications networks and information systems in the broader scope of a competitive, dynamic and knowledge-based economy. Network and information security is an essential evolving concept among current strategic issues. These can impact on a wide range of existing/emerging policies, citizens’ concerns, including the protection against crime and terrorist threats, and the adaptation of governance structures to effectively deal with such matters and to preserve national security, public safety and the economic well-being of the State. In this context, several measures (legal, regulatory and technical provisions) have been adopted by the European Union to ensure data protection, citizen privacy and the legitimate interest of legal persons. However, member states preserve the right to carry-out lawful interception of electronic communications, or take other measures such as retention of traffic data, when necessary, for exact and specific purposes, to preserve security and to meet the generally recognised objectives of preventing and combating crime and terrorism. The current work examines the “balance” between these two fundamental policy requirements, with the aim of offering a high level of protection in an area of liberty, security and justice.
Advanced Techniques for Web Content Filtering
Authors: Bertino Elisa , Ferrari Elena , Perego Andrea , Zarri Gian Piero
Published: May 2011

In this chapter, besides discussing the current strategies for Web content filtering, outlining their advantages and drawbacks, we present an approach, formerly developed in the framework of the EU project EUFORBIA, which, besides addressing the main drawbacks of the existing systems, can be applied for purposes comprising both users’ protection and quality assurance. The main features of such an approach are the support for multiple metadata vocabularies for the rating and filtering of Web resources, and the possibility of specifying policies which allow the system to decide whether a resource is appropriate or not for a given user based on his/her preferences and characteristics.
Impact of Portal Technologies on Executive Information Systems
Authors: Averweg Udo , Erwin Geoff , Petkov Don
Published: May 2011

Internet portals may be seen as Web sites which provide the gateway to corporate information from a single point of access. Leveraging knowledge—both internal and external—is the key to using a portal as a centralized database of best practices that can be applied across all departments and all lines of business within an organisation (Zimmerman, 2003). The potential of the Web portal market and its technology has inspired the mutation of search engines (for example, Yahoo®) and the establishment of new vendors in that area (for example, Hummingbird® and Brio Technology®). A portal is simply a single, distilled view of information from various sources. Portal technologies integrate information, content, and enterprise applications. However, the term portal has been applied to systems that differ widely in capabilities and complexity (Smith, 2004). A portal aims to establish a community
Intellectual Property and the Internet
Authors: George Alexandra
Published: May 2011

‘Intellectual property’ (or ‘IP’) is an umbrella term that is used as shorthand to describe a variety of diverse doctrines that create legally-enforceable monopolies over the use of or access to ideas, information and knowledge. As the Internet is essentially a structure through which such material can be presented, organised, transmitted and disseminated, IP is a key area of law that is used to regulate activity on the Internet. The pervasive significance of this becomes clear when one considers that much of the hardware that forms the framework of computer networks that comprise the Internet, and almost all of the data carried through these networks and linked via the World Wide Web, are—or have been in the past—subject to regulation by IP laws.