bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Students’ Questioning and Creativity
Authors: Almeida Patrícia Albergaria , Teixeira-Dias José Joaquim , Medina Jorge
Published: October 2011

University students must develop several higher-order skills along their higher education route. One of these fundamental skills is creativity. The practice of questioning is one of the modes to enhance creativity. In this paper, the authors illustrate how students’ approaches to creativity can be linked to the types of questions they ask in Higher Education. Several teaching and learning strategies were implemented in a geology course and a chemistry course, at the University of Aveiro, Portugal, as a way of promoting students’ questioning competence. The relationship between the kinds of questions asked and the students’ approaches to creativity is analysed and discussed.
A New Method for Ranking Intuitionistic Fuzzy Numbers
Authors: Wei Cui-Ping , Tang Xijin
Published: October 2011

In this paper the ranking method for intuitionistic fuzzy numbers is studied. The authors first define a possibility degree formula to compare two intuitionistic fuzzy numbers. In comparison with Chen and Tan’s score function, the possibility degree formula provides additional information for the comparison of two intuitionistic fuzzy numbers. Based on the possibility degree formula, the authors give a possibility degree method to rank intuitionistic fuzzy numbers, which is used to rank the alternatives in multi-criteria decision making problems.
From Creative Ideas Generation to Real World Solutions
Authors: Rousselot François , Zanni-Merk Cecilia , de Bertrand de Beuvron Françoi
Published: October 2011

The first stages of the creative inventive process are devoted to choosing the problem and redefining its conditions. Most of the time, the original statement of the problem is imprecise, and occasionally even incorrect. This is why it is necessary to have mechanisms to help structure the creative thinking of a set of experts during their analysis of the problem, by providing them a knowledge-based framework. This article presents the first stages of IDM (Inventive Design Methodology). IDM is a set of methodological tools whose main interest is the evolution of technical systems. The methodology proposes a dialectical analysis of the technical system, which focuses on the past, present, and future state of the artifacts, and the most likely transitions between them. This analysis also identifies the influences (positive or negative) that the changes done to certain elements in the system may have on other elements of the system. The use of these methodological tools provides the needed structuring framework to the experts’ creative idea generation.
A Formalised Approach to the Management of Risk
Authors: Brownsword Mike , Setchi Rossi
Published: October 2011

Observations made while working with industry and government organisations have shown a number of issues with the implementation of current risk management best practice. A major issue in many cases is the lack of pragmatism associated with the risk management process and the need for a more formalised approach to risk management. In this paper, the authors propose and validate a multi-view approach to defining the processes required to carry out risk management. The formalised approach proposed includes a definition of risk, an ontology, a set of processes, and a pragmatic methodology, which shows an application of these processes enabling pro-active management of change. The ability of the processes to be applied to different types of risk has been demonstrated through a case study highlighting health and safety issues. Within the current engineering and economic climate this logical approach provides a visualisation which is consistent, repeatable, view based, and pragmatic.
Advancing Collaboration between M-Learning Researchers and Practitioners through an Online Portal and Web 2.0 Technologies
Authors: Dyson Laurel Evelyn , Litchfield Andrew
Published: October 2011

With growing interest in mobile learning to address the educational requirements of a generation of students who have grown up with digital technology, and given the widespread adoption of mobile devices by indigenous people and in developing countries, there is a need for improved practice and better theoretical understanding of m-learning. This could be achieved through a more accessible body of knowledge of m-learning principles, teaching strategies and case-studies. This paper proposes the establishment of an online portal to influence and support good m-learning practice. An m-learning portal, incorporating a range of online, Web 2.0 and mobile technologies, would foster collaboration between researchers and educators and inform emerging national and international approaches using mobile technologies at all levels of the education sector and across all disciplines.
Mobile Devices as Support Rather than Distraction for Mobile Learners
Authors: Eliasson Johan , Pargman Teresa Cerratto , Nouri Jalal , Spikol Daniel , Ramberg Robert
Published: October 2011

This article questions the design of mobile learning activities that lead students to spend time focusing on the mobile devices at the expense of interacting with other students or exploring the environment. This problem is approached from an interaction design perspective, designing and analysing geometry-learning activities. The authors present six guidelines for designing mobile learning activities, where mobile devices support rather than distract students from contents and contexts relevant to the learning goals. The guidelines are developed through video analysis of groups of middle school students doing learning activities outdoors and evaluated using the task model. The guidelines suggest that students (1) assume roles based on a different functionality of each device, (2) use devices as contextual tools, that the activities, (3) include physical interaction with the environment, (4) let teachers assume roles, (5) encourage face-to-face communication, and (6) introduce students to the mobile devices.
Involving the End-Users in the Development of Language Learning Material
Authors: Seisto Anu , Federley Maija , Kuula Timo , Paavilainen Janne , Vihavainen Sami
Published: October 2011

Printed and digital learning materials are usually developed separately. Therefore, little notice has been given to the possibilities of combining the two. This study introduces a new concept that combines printed and digital materials. A user-centric approach was chosen to develop a “hybrid book”, a combination of a traditional schoolbook and a mobile phone. Learning materials were combined into one entity by enabling access to the digital material through images in the book. The user groups of interest were 11- and 12-year-old pupils, their teachers, and parents. The concept was tested with materials for English as a foreign language (EFL). After a human-centred design process, the final application was given to one class for actual use and evaluation for a period of three weeks. Many potential benefits of using mobile phones for learning purposes were recognized, as they facilitated utilization of the digital content both inside and outside the classroom.
The Role of Gender in Mobile Game-Based Learning
Authors: Gwee Susan , San Chee Yam , Tan Ek Ming
Published: October 2011

This paper investigates whether there are gender differences in gameplay time and learning outcomes in a social studies mobile game-based curriculum. Seventeen boys and 24 girls from a ninth-grade class in Singapore used a mobile learning game Statecraft X to enact governorship in the game world. The data suggest that boys spent significantly more time playing Statecraft X than girls. However, there were no significant gender differences in their scores in an essay question assessing their learning about governorship in terms of criteria of relevance of content, perspective, and personal voice. There was also no significant correlation between gameplay time and relevance of content, perspective, and personal voice scores. Thus, higher engagement in gameplay alone does not necessarily lead to higher-order learning outcomes. This paper discusses the factors giving rise to these results.
Empirical Research into Students’ Mobile Phones and their Use for Learning
Authors: Bradley Claire , Holley Debbie
Published: October 2011

This paper reports on empirical research conducted to find out about higher education students’ mobile phone ownership, and the ways in which they are using their mobiles for learning. A survey with a group of first-year students has been followed up by an in-depth study, in which three students were lent Flip Video Camcorders to capture their mobile learning activities and were interviewed to discover more about their practice. The video footage and interview data have been compiled into three rich case studies which help us to better understand students’ practice and attitudes towards mobile learning. The paper focuses on the survey data and the three case studies, which were analysed using grounded theory. The outcomes of this research can inform the work of educators seeking to design effective mobile learning activities that build on existing student practice and extend mobile learning within the blend of learning activities that we offer students.
Analysis of Sensors’ Coverage through Application-Specific WSN Provisioning Tool
Authors: Habib Sami J.
Published: October 2011

This paper presents an automated provisioning tool for the deployment of sensors within wireless sensor networks (WSN) where we have employed evolutionary approach as a search technique to find the maximal coverage under minimal deployment cost. The coverage area is partitioned into M by N cells to reduce the search space from continuous to discrete by considering the placement of sensors at the centroid of each cell. The author has explored the relationship between various cell’s sizes versus the total number of deployed sensors. The experimental results show that when the number of cells to cover the service area from X by X cells to 2X by 2X cells is increased, on average this increases the cost by 3 folds. In this regard, it is due to the increase of the number of required sensors by an average of six folds, while improving the coverage ratio by only 9%. A custom-made graphical user interface (GUI) has been developed and embedded within the proposed automated provisioning tool to illustrate the deployment area with the placed sensors at step of the deployment process.
2-clickAuth
Authors: Vapen Anna , Shahmehri Nahid
Published: October 2011

Internet users often have usernames and passwords at multiple web sites. To simplify things, many sites support federated identity management, which enables users to have a single account allowing them to log on to different sites by authenticating to a single identity provider. Most identity providers perform authentication using a username and password. Should these credentials be compromised, all of the user’s accounts become compromised. Therefore a more secure authentication method is desirable. This paper implements 2-clickAuth, a multimedia-based challenge-response solution which uses a web camera and a camera phone for authentication. Two-dimensional barcodes are used for the communication between phone and computer, which allows 2-clickAuth to transfer relatively large amounts of data in a short period of time. 2-clickAuth is more secure than passwords while easy to use and distribute. 2-clickAuth is a viable alternative to passwords in systems where enhanced security is desired, but availability, ease-of-use, and cost cannot be compromised. This paper implements an identity provider in the OpenID federated identity management system that uses 2-clickAuth for authentication, making 2-clickAuth available to all users of sites that support OpenID, including Facebook, Sourceforge, and MySpace.
Prioritization Schemes in Queuing Handoff and New Calls to Reduce Call Drops in Cellular Systems
Authors: Mousa Allam
Published: October 2011

This paper proposes different queuing scenarios to avoid dropping of handoff and new calls in a cellular phone network, which is essential when the network has certain restrictions on the available frequencies. This limitation degrades the performance of the system and more sites are required to achieve the desired capacity and coverage. However, this leads to a higher percentage of call drops during handoff. This paper presents a queuing technique for both new and handoff calls to reduce the probability of call drop in such a system, leading to improvement in QoS. The proposed scenarios show better system performance. The blocking probability is reduced from 2% down to 0.04% for queuing handoff calls and from 2% to 1.14% when queuing new calls using the same technique. The four different presented approaches are: 1) only new calls are queued; 2) only handoff calls are queued; 3) by using all available channels; 4) by using only half. The queuing size also plays an important role for both new and handoff calls.
Resource Allocation for Multi Access MIMO Systems
Authors: Mishra Shailendra , Chauhan D. S.
Published: October 2011

In this paper, the authors discuss the emergence of new technologies related to the topic of the high-speed packet data access in wireless networks. The authors propose an algorithm for MIMO systems that optimizes the number of the transmit antennas according to the user’s QoS. Scheduling performance under two types of traffic modes is also discussed: one is voice or web-browsing and the other is for data transfer and streaming data.
Primary Research on Arabic Visemes, Analysis in Space and Frequency Domain
Authors: Chelali Fatma Zohra , Djeradi Amar
Published: October 2011

Visemes are the unique facial positions required to produce phonemes, which are the smallest phonetic unit distinguished by the speakers of a particular language. Each language has multiple phonemes and visemes, and each viseme can have multiple phonemes. However, current literature on viseme research indicates that the mapping between phonemes and visemes is many-to-one: there are many phonemes which look alike visually, and hence they fall into the same visemic category. To evaluate the performance of the proposed method, the authors collected a large number of speech visual signal of five Algerian speakers male and female at different moments pronouncing 28 Arabic phonemes. For each frame the lip area is manually located with a rectangle of size proportional to 120*160 and centred on the mouth, and converted to gray scale. Finally, the mean and the standard deviation of the values of the pixels of the lip area are computed by using 20 images for each phoneme sequence to classify the visemes. The pitch analysis is investigated to show its variation for each viseme.
Systems Development Methodology for Mobile Commerce Applications
Authors: Binsaleh Muazzan , Hassan Shahizan
Published: October 2011

There are several methodologies, including traditional and agile methodologies, being utilized in current systems development. However, it could be argued that existing development methodologies may not be suitable for mobile commerce applications, as these applications are utilized in different contexts from fixed e-commerce applications. This study proposes a system development methodology for mobile commerce applications. In order to achieve this aim, four objectives are proposed: investigating existing systems development methodologies used to develop mobile commence applications, identifying strengths and weaknesses of existing development methodologies, construction of a suitable methodology for mobile commerce applications, and testing for its applicability and practicality. The research methodology used in the study is the design research, which includes the steps of awareness of problems, suggestion, development, evaluation and conclusion. However, this paper only focuses on the first two phases of the whole study, which are awareness of the problem and making suggestions, while the evaluation and conclusion will be conducted as future works.
A Cross-Layer Design for Video Streaming Over 802.11e HCCA Wireless Network
Authors: Luo Hongli
Published: October 2011

Video transmission over wireless networks has quality of service (QoS) requirements and the time-varying characteristics of wireless channels make it a challenging task. IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN has been widely used for the last mile connection for multimedia transmission. In this paper, a cross-layer design is presented for video streaming over IEEE 802.11e HCF Controlled Channel Access (HCCA) WLAN. The goal of the cross-layer design is to improve the quality of the video received in a wireless network under the constraint of network bandwidth. The approach is composed of two algorithms. First, an allocation of optimal TXOP is calculated which aims at maintaining a short queuing delay at the wireless station at the cost of a small TXOP allocation. Second, the transmission of the packets is scheduled according to the importance of the packets in order to maximize the visual quality of video. The approach is compared with the standard HCCA on NS2 simulation tools using H.264 video codec. The proposed cross-layer design outperforms the standard approach in terms of the PSNRs of the received video. This approach reduces the packet loss to allow the graceful video degradation, especially under heavy network traffic.
Evaluating the Readability of Privacy Policies in Mobile Environments
Authors: Singh R. I. , Sumeeth M. , Miller J.
Published: October 2011

Recent work has suggested that the current “breed” of privacy policy represents a significant challenge in terms of comprehension to the average Internet-user. Due to display limitations, it is easy to represent the conjecture that this comprehension level should drop when these policies are moved into a mobile environment. This paper explores the question of how much does comprehension decrease when privacy policies are viewed on mobile versus desktop environments and does this decrease make them useless in their current format? It reports on a formal subject-based experiment, which seeks to evaluate how readable are privacy policy statements found on the Internet but presented in mobile environments. This experiment uses fifty participants and privacy policies collected from ten of the most popular web sites on the Internet. It evaluates, using a Cloze test, the subject’s ability to comprehend the content of these privacy policies.
Remote and Autonomous Studies of Mobile and Ubiquitous Applications in Real Contexts
Authors: Jensen Kasper Løvborg
Published: October 2011

As mobile and ubiquitous applications become increasingly complex and tightly interwoven into the fabric of everyday life it becomes more important to study them in real contexts. This paper presents a conceptual framework for remote and autonomous studies in the field and two practical tools to facilitate such studies. RECON is a remote controlled data capture tool that runs autonomously on personal mobile devices. It utilizes the sensing and processing power of the devices to capture contextual information together with general usage and application specific interaction data. GREATDANE is a tool for exploration and automated analysis of such rich datasets. The presented approach addresses some key issues of existing methods for studying applications in situ, namely cost, scalability and obtrusiveness to the user experience. Examples and experiences are given from remote and autonomous studies of two mobile and ubiquitous applications where the method and tools have been used.
Nudging the Trolley in the Supermarket
Authors: Todd Peter M. , Rogers Yvonne , Payne Stephen J.
Published: October 2011

The amount of information available to help decide what foods to buy and eat is increasing rapidly with the advent of concerns about, and data on, health impacts, environmental effects, and economic consequences. This glut of information can be overwhelming when presented within the context of a high time-pressure, low involvement activity such as supermarket shopping. How can we nudge people’s food shopping behavior in desired directions through targeted delivery of appropriate information? This paper investigates whether augmented reality can deliver relevant ‘instant information’ that can be interpreted and acted upon in situ, enabling people to make informed choices. The challenge is to balance the need to simplify and streamline the information presented with the need to provide enough information that shoppers can adjust their behavior toward meeting their goals. This paper discusses some of the challenges involved in designing such information displays and indicate some possible ways to meet those challenges.
3D Talking-Head Interface to Voice-Interactive Services on Mobile Phones
Authors: Danihelka Jiri , Hak Roman , Kencl Lukas , Zara Jiri
Published: October 2011

This paper presents a novel framework for easy creation of interactive, platform-independent voice-services with an animated 3D talking-head interface, on mobile phones. The Framework supports automated multi-modal interaction using speech and 3D graphics. The difficulty of synchronizing the audio stream to the animation is examined and alternatives for distributed network control of the animation and application logic is discussed. The ability of modern mobile devices to handle such applications is documented and it is shown that the power consumption trade-off of rendering on the mobile phone versus streaming from the server favors the phone. The presented tools will empower developers and researchers in future research and usability studies in the area of mobile talking-head applications (Figure 1). These may be used for example in entertainment, commerce, health care or education.
Segmentation and Feature Extraction of Panoramic Dental X-Ray Images
Authors: Lira Pedro H.M. , Giraldi Gilson A. , Neves Luiz A. P.
Published: October 2011

Automating the process of analysis of Panoramic X-Ray images is important to help dentist procedures and diagnosis. Tooth segmentation from the radiographic images and feature extraction are essential steps. The authors propose a segmentation approach based on mathematical morphology, quadtree decomposition for mask generation, thresholding, and snake models. The feature extraction stage is steered by a shape model based on Principal Component Analysis (PCA). First, the authors take the quadtree decomposition of a low-pass version of the original image and select the smallest blocks to generate a mask. Then, the original image is processed by Otsu’s thresholding. The result is improved by morphological operators and the quadtree mask is applied to address overlapping, a common problem in X-ray images. The obtained regions are searched and the larger ones are selected to find tooth candidates. The boundary of the obtained regions are extracted and aligned with the shape model in order to recognize the target tooth (molar). The selected curve is used in a search method to initialize a snake technique. Finally, morphometric data extraction is performed to obtain tooth measurements for dentist diagnosis. Experiments show the advantages of the proposed method to extract teeth from X-Ray images and discuss its drawbacks.
Microscope Volume Segmentation Improved through Non-Linear Restoration
Authors: Ponti Moacir P.
Published: October 2011

An efficient segmentation technique based on the use of a modified k-Means algorithm and the Otsu’s thresholding method is improved through a non-linear restoration of microscope volumes. An algorithm is proposed to automatically compute the k value for the clustering k-Means method. The unsupervised algorithm is used in the context of segmentation by considering regions as clusters. A comparison between the segmentation results before and after restoration is presented. The evaluation of the region segmentation included the root mean squared error and a normalized uniformity measure. Results showed significant improvement of segmentation when using the non-linear restoration method based on prior known information, such as the imaging system and the noise statistics.
PSO-CGO
Authors: Lourenço Nuno , Pereira Francisco Baptista
Published: October 2011

In this paper the authors present PSO-CGO, a novel particle swarm algorithm for cluster geometry optimization. The proposed approach combines a steady-state strategy to update solutions with a structural distance measure that helps to maintain population diversity. Also, it adopts a novel rule to update particles, which applies velocity only to a subset of the variables and is therefore able to promote limited modifications in the structure of atomic clusters. Results are promising, as PSO-CGO is able to discover all putative global optima for short-ranged Morse clusters between 30 and 50 atoms. A comprehensive analysis is presented and reveals that the proposed components are essential to enhance the search effectiveness of the PSO.
Head Motion Stabilization During Quadruped Robot Locomotion
Authors: Oliveira Miguel , Santos Cristina P. , Costa Lino , Rocha Ana , Ferreira Manuel
Published: October 2011

In this work, the authors propose a combined approach based on a controller architecture that is able to generate locomotion for a quadruped robot and a global optimization algorithm to generate head movement stabilization. The movement controllers are biologically inspired in the concept of Central Pattern Generators (CPGs) that are modelled based on nonlinear dynamical systems, coupled Hopf oscillators. This approach allows for explicitly specified parameters such as amplitude, offset and frequency of movement and to smoothly modulate the generated oscillations according to changes in these parameters. The overall idea is to generate head movement opposed to the one induced by locomotion, such that the head remains stabilized. Thus, in order to achieve this desired head movement, it is necessary to appropriately tune the CPG parameters. Three different global optimization algorithms search for this best set of parameters. In order to evaluate the resulting head movement, a fitness function based on the Euclidean norm is investigated. Moreover, a constraint-handling technique based on tournament selection was implemented.
Elementary Active Membranes Have the Power of Counting
Authors: Porreca Antonio E. , Leporati Alberto , Mauri Giancarlo , Zandron Claudio
Published: October 2011

P systems with active membranes have the ability of solving computationally hard problems. In this paper, the authors prove that uniform families of P systems with active membranes operating in polynomial time can solve the whole class of PP decision problems, without using nonelementary membrane division or dissolution rules. This result also holds for families having a stricter uniformity condition than the usual one.
DNA-Based Indexing
Authors: Garzon Max H. , Bobba Kiran C. , Neel Andrew , Phan Vinhthuy
Published: October 2011

DNA has been acknowledged as a suitable medium for massively parallel computing and as a “smart” glue for self-assembly. In this paper, a third capability of DNA is described in detail as memory capable of encoding and processing large amounts of data so that information can be retrieved associatively based on content. The technique is based on a novel representation of data on DNA that can shed information on the way DNA-, RNA- and other biomolecules encode information, which may be potentially important in applications to fields like bioinformatics and genetics, and natural language processing. Analyses are also provided of the sensitivity, robustness, and bounds on the theoretical capacity of the memories. Finally, the potential use of the memories are illustrated with two applications, one in genomic analysis for identification and classification, another in information retrieval from text data in abiotic form.
Two-Dimensional Nonlinear Fabry-Perot Interferometer
Authors: Okabayashi Youichi , Isoshima Takashi , Nameda Etsushi , Kim Song-Ju , Hara Masahiko
Published: October 2011

This study examined a possibility to use a two-dimensional nonlinear Fabry-Perot interferometer (2DNFP) as a novel information processing device. Optical bistability was realized through positive or negative feedback between heat generated by absorption of light and change in resonance condition induced by temperature-dependent refractive index. Due to heat conduction in lateral direction, “turn-on” wave propagates two-dimensionally in this device. A novel feature of this device is that the ON-state region can degenerate at suitably weak light intensity. The authors examined the function of 2DNFP as a maze solver utilizing the extension and degeneration modes, as well as its function as logic gates. “AND”, “OR”, and “NOT” gates were realized, thus the logical universality of the 2DNFP was demonstrated.
The Crystal Computer - Computing with Inorganic Cellular Frameworks and Nets
Authors: Symes Mark D. , Cronin Leroy
Published: October 2011

The enormous potential of parallel computing has led to the first prototype devices being constructed. However, all the examples to date rely on complicated chemical and/or physical manipulations, and hence do not lend themselves to the kind of widespread investigation necessary to advance the field. This article presents a new paradigm for parallel computing: the use of solid, single crystalline materials as cellular automata suggesting the idea of the “Crystal Computer,” now possible due to a new class of crystalline cellular materials that undergo single-crystal-to-single-crystal (SC-SC) oxidation and reduction (REDOX) reactions. Two avenues are proposed for investigation: reversible single-crystal to single-crystal electronic transformations and solid-state spin transfer within spin-crossover complexes. Both schemes allow computation to occur in three dimensions, within cheap and easy to assemble materials and using commonplace techniques for input and readout.
A Novel Extremal Optimization Approach for the Template Design Problem
Authors: Weise Thomas , Chiong Raymond
Published: October 2011

This paper presents a novel algorithm based on extremal dynamics for tackling the template design problem, a constrained optimization problem that originated in the printing industry. The template design problem involves printing several variations of a design onto one or more stencil sheets, where the aims are to minimize the number of stencils as well as the overproduction of prints of a particular design. In this paper, the authors introduce several search operators to be used in conjunction with the proposed algorithm. Different combinations of these search operators are tested via extensive numerical experiments. The solutions indicate that the algorithm is a feasible approach for template design optimization. In particular, hybridizing it with a deterministic local search has proven to be very effective.
Detecting Webspam Beneficiaries Using Information Collected by the Random Surfer
Authors: Largillier Thomas , Peyronnet Sylvain
Published: October 2011

Search engines use several criteria to rank webpages and choose which pages to display when answering a request. Those criteria can be separated into two notions, relevance and popularity. The notion of popularity is calculated by the search engine and is related to links made to the webpage. Malicious webmasters want to artificially increase their popularity; the techniques they use are often referred to as Webspam. It can take many forms and is in constant evolution, but Webspam usually consists of building a specific dedicated structure of spam pages around a given target page. It is important for a search engine to address the issue of Webspam; otherwise, it cannot provide users with fair and reliable results. In this paper, the authors propose a technique to identify Webspam through the frequency language associated with random walks among those dedicated structures. The authors identify the language by calculating the frequency of appearance of k-grams on random walks launched from every node.
Developers, Decision Makers, Strategists or Just End-users? Redefining End-User Computing for the 21st Century
Authors: Barker Sandra , Fiedler Brenton
Published: October 2011

The acceleration of technology in business since the 1980s suggests that traditional management techniques, systems, and strategies employed in a business environment should be challenged. As a consequence of this acceleration, end-user computing (EUC) and end-user development (EUD) have also grown. Definitions of EUC developed in the 1980s continue to be used by contemporary researchers without regard to the changing technological environment, user experience, and user needs. Therefore, the authors challenge traditional definitions of EUC developed and used by researchers to ascertain whether they meet the needs of management for the 21st century. There is a conflict among traditional definitions that has not been addressed since the early 1990s (Downey & Bartczak, 2005). In this regard, the authors proffer that the management strategies for end-user (EU) systems development in the 21st century should suggest a different and proactive role for users. This paper summarises key traditional definitions from the literature and evaluates their consonance with the technology and business system environment. The impetus for researchers to rethink the traditional definition of EUC is provided through a real world management project involving the development of a university staff workload database that investigated the role of end-users in system enhancement and development.
Antecedents of Improvisation in IT-Enabled Engineering Work
Authors: Doll William J. , Deng Xiaodong
Published: October 2011

The success of engineering work depends on the ability of individuals to improvise in response to emerging challenges and opportunities (Kappel & Rubenstein, 1999). Building on experiential learning theory (Eisenhardt & Tabrizi 1995; Kolb, 1984) and improvisation theory (Miner, Bassoff, & Moorman, 2001), this authors argue that information systems facilitate the generation of new product and process design ideas by providing richer feedback, creating shorter learning cycles, and enabling engineers to try a variety of new ideas more easily. An empirical research model of the antecedents of improvisation in IT-enabled engineering work is proposed. This model is examined using a sample of 208 individuals engaged in computer-intensive engineering design work. The multiple regression results suggest that software capability, autonomy, problem solving/decision support usage, system use for work planning, and length of use explain the extent of new product and process ideas that are generated. The practical and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.
Exploring the Dimensions and Effects of Computer Software Similarities in Computer Skills Transfer
Authors: Li Yuan , Chang Kuo-Chung
Published: October 2011

Computer software similarities play important roles in users’ skills transfer from one application to another. Despite common software attributes recognized in extant literature, a systematic understanding of the components and structure of software similarities has not been fully developed. To address the issue, a Delphi study was conducted to explore the underlying dimensions of software similarities. Inputs gathered from 20 experienced Information Systems instructors show that Computer Software Similarity is a multi-dimensional construct made up of interface similarity, function similarity, and syntax similarity. Each dimension consists of software attributes that users perceive to be transferable in learning new applications. A field study was carried out to test the impact of the construct. Results from a survey on students’ learning two software applications confirm the expectation that Computer Software Similarity facilitates the students’ skills transfer between the applications. These studies provide a basis to better design training programs for improved training performance.
An Integrated Vendor-Buyer Model with Uncertain Lead Time, Life Time under Inflation and Variable Holding Cost
Authors: Singh S. R. , Bhatia Diksha
Published: October 2011

This study considers the problem of a vendor which supplies an item to the buyer with imprecise partial backlogging rate of unsatisfied demand and non instantaneous deterioration rate considering variable holding cost, the effect of inflation and time value of money. The supplier’s lead time is a stochastic function of his managing cost. The extra costs incurred by the retailer due to the uncertain lead time in terms of shortage costs or lost sales costs should be owed by the supplier. A numerical example is cited to illustrate the results and its significant features. Finally, to study the effect of changes of demand parameters, deterioration, inflation and managing cost on supplier and the retailer’s profit, a sensitivity analysis is presented numerically.
Equal Pricing Strategies in a Dual Channel Supply Chain
Authors: Wen Ue-Pyng , Chen Yun-Chu , Cheung Kam-Hong
Published: October 2011

In this article, equal pricing strategies are studied in a dual channel supply chain where a manufacturer sells to a retailer as well as to consumers through a direct channel according to the assumption that the manufacturer commits setting the same retail price as the traditional channel to reduce the channel’s conflict. The authors first analyze the effect of different pricing strategies on the retail price, wholesale price and profits. The cooperative strategy is also studied to see how it benefits both parties in the dual channel supply chain. Finally, through a numerical example, it is demonstrated that providing convenience of the direct channel is important for the manufacturer and service is a distinctive advantage for the retailer. Furthermore, the paper shows that if the service quality has a significant effect on the direct channel, then the manufacturer tends to abandon commitment of equal pricing strategy.
Methods for Solving Fully Fuzzy Transportation Problems Based on Classical Transportation Methods
Authors: Kumar Amit , Kaur Amarpreet
Published: October 2011

There are several methods, in literature, for finding the fuzzy optimal solution of fully fuzzy transportation problems (transportation problems in which all the parameters are represented by fuzzy numbers). In this paper, the shortcomings of some existing methods are pointed out and to overcome these shortcomings, two new methods (based on fuzzy linear programming formulation and classical transportation methods) are proposed to find the fuzzy optimal solution of unbalanced fuzzy transportation problems by representing all the parameters as trapezoidal fuzzy numbers. The advantages of the proposed methods over existing methods are also discussed. To illustrate the proposed methods a fuzzy transportation problem (FTP) is solved by using the proposed methods and the obtained results are discussed. The proposed methods are easy to understand and to apply for finding the fuzzy optimal solution of fuzzy transportation problems occurring in real life situations.
Optimal Ordering Strategy of a Replenishment Policy for Deteriorating Items Under Retailer’s Partial Trade Credit Policy
Authors: Mahata Gour Chandra , Mahata Puspita
Published: October 2011

This paper investigates the economic order quantity inventory model for a retailer under two levels of trade credit to reflect the supply chain management situation. It is assumed that the retailer maintains a powerful position and can obtain full trade credit offered by supplier, yet the retailer just offers the partial trade credit to customers. Under these conditions, the retailer can obtain the most benefits. This study also investigates the retailer’s inventory policy for deteriorating items in a supply chain management situation as a cost minimization problem. The present study shows that the annual total variable cost for the retailer is convex, that is, a unique solution exists. Mathematical theorems and algorithms are developed to efficiently determine the optimal inventory policy for the retailer. The results in this paper generalize some already published results. Finally, numerical examples are given to illustrate the theorems and obtain managerial phenomena.
Technical Note
Authors: Schimmelpfennig Jörg
Published: October 2011

In 1898, two railways serving the south-east of England agreed to be managed by a joint committee. This paper finds clear statistical evidence of the negative impact this had on total economic costs, including opportunity costs of capital, as well as working expenditure. Thus, additional support was provided for the then British railway policy already strongly suspicious of railway mergers on competition grounds. At the same time the findings could reopen the discussion on the wisdom of today’s British rail privatisation philosophy. In particular, one could argue that, instead of separating infrastructure and train operations, the creation of vertically-integrated regional duopolies along the pre-1899 networks might lead to genuine competition, require less regulation, reduce costs, and thus increase economic surplus.
Fuzzy Economic Production Quantity Model for Weibull Deteriorating Items with Ramp Type of Demand
Authors: Uthayakumar R. , Valliathal M.
Published: October 2011

This paper discusses an Economic Production Quantity model for Weibull deteriorating items over an infinite time horizon under fuzzy environment. Fuzziness is introduced by allowing the cost components such as setup cost, production cost, holding cost, shortage cost and opportunity cost due to lost sales to certain extent. Triangular fuzzy numbers are used to represent the mentioned costs. Optimum policies of the described models under fuzzy costs are derived. The proposed model can be extended in several ways. For instance, the deterministic demand function to stochastic fluctuating demand patterns could be considered. The model could also be generalized to allow for quantity discounts, as well as permissible delay in payments.
Architectural Roles of Affect and How to Evaluate Them in Artificial Agents
Authors: Scheutz Matthias
Published: October 2011

This paper examines the possibility of designing affective artificial agents by laying out a program for systematically defining and evaluating possible functional roles of affective states in architectures for virtual and robotic artificial agents. The author provides functional and architectural characterizations for simple and complex affective states, discusses possible interactions between affective and non-affective processes, and proposes an experimental evaluation framework that allows for the rigorous quantification of the utility of architectural components (for affective and non-affective agents alike). In doing so, it also provides a brief overview of past findings about the utility of affect mechanisms for artificial agents that were obtained following the proposed methodology.
The Evaluation of the Implementation of Sustainability Norms
Authors: Pülzl Helga , Wydra Doris
Published: October 2011

Since the Brundtland report the world is still struggling to solve the riddle of sustainability. If there is no “blueprint” for implementing sustainable development, the practical meaning has to emerge out of an interactive process of social dialogue and reflection. Sustainability therefore goes through a constant process of redefinition and interpretation. This question of values and different approaches to implementation becomes particularly important when decision-making and the evaluation of the implementation is taking place in different fora. According to the dominant paradigm the policy process is a linear exercise of problem solving, i.e., the problem is identified, data for the problem analysis is collected and according advice is given to the policy-maker to enable his decision, which is then implemented. The implementation is evaluated by experts who determine the merit, worth or value of the result of this process, thus deciding upon its effectiveness. Against this dominant view, the authors hold that the purpose of evaluation and policy analysis is more than simply “client-oriented” advice, but should be rather about democratic dialogue and critique. Building on the methods of practical deliberation a model for evaluating sustainable development is built using the example of forest policy.
Community Based Eco Cultural Heritage Tourism for Sustainable Development in the Asian Region
Authors: Moli G. Poyya
Published: October 2011

Tourism has emerged as one of the world’s largest industries and a fast growing economic sector. The Asian region attracts a growing number of quality-conscious tourists as it is endowed with a rich bio-cultural/heritage diversity. However, the diversity and integrity of many Asian tourist destinations have been severely eroded or irreversibly damaged due to ill-conceived, poorly planned, and under-regulated mass tourism and other human activities, increasing the conflicts between conservation and local livelihoods. Fortunately, the newly emerging community-based eco-cultural heritage tourism (CBECHT) can be effectively used in the region for achieving the objectives of sustainable development by integrating pro-poor tourism approaches. Such approaches are strongly promoted and supported by several international organizations as well as Local Agenda 21. This article provides a broad conceptual framework for this approach and evaluates the potentials and constraints for evolving and implementing such strategies in the region with their policy/planning implications.
A Hybrid Style of E-Learning in MBA Education Across Borders
Authors: Magnier-Watanabe Rémy , Benton Caroline , Herrig Harald , Aba Olivier
Published: October 2011

This paper outlines a real-life example of a course taught jointly by the MBA-IB program at the University of Tsukuba in Tokyo, Japan and the Master in Management program (ESC) at the Grenoble Ecole de Management in Grenoble, France using a hybrid style of e-learning that was aimed at increasing communication and collaboration among instructors and students. The qualitative analysis of this experience found that the variables that most significantly affected the development and outcome of the course were the unique goals, resources and student profiles of each university, the blending of synchronous and asynchronous instruction, the exchange of instructors to promote face-to-face instruction, and the use of a didactic and experiential approach to cross-cultural learning. Such cross-cultural course connecting distant groups working together toward the resolution of a common problem can become a stepping stone toward the promotion of sustainable development.
Path Relinking Scheme for the Max-Cut Problem within Global Equilibrium Search
Authors: Shylo Volodymyr P. , Shylo Oleg V.
Published: October 2011

In this paper, the potential of the path relinking method for the maximum cut problem is investigated. This method is embedded within global equilibrium search to utilize the set of high quality solutions provided by the latter. The computational experiment on a set of standard benchmark problems is provided to study the proposed approach. The empirical experiments reveal that the large sizes of the elite set lead to restart distribution of the running times, i.e., the algorithm can be accelerated by simply removing all of the accumulated data (set P) and re-initiating its execution after a certain number of elite solutions is obtained.