bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Web Accessibility Essentials for Online Course Developers
Authors: Colorado Jozenia T. , Eberle Jane H.
Published: May 2011

According to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, federal agencies must provide access to electronic and information technology to individuals with disabilities who are federal employees or members of the public. As institutions of higher education (IHE) put more services and resources online, formatting pages so they are accessible to users with disabilities is essential. Although IHEs are attempting to comply with Web Accessibility Standards with their public Web pages, full compliance has been difficult. In addition, the growth of online courses has only complicated the issue. Although learning management systems (LMS) may claim to be Web accessible, accessibility of individual content items at the course level, is set by the coursedeveloper. This chapter will discuss essential information necessary for online course developers to develop Webaccessible content.
The Hybrid Course; Facilitating Learning through Social Interaction Technologies
Authors: Jackson Lorraine D. , Grimes Joe
Published: May 2011

This chapter surveys the benefits and challenges of hybridcourses, which blend face-to-face instruction with onlinelearning, and opportunities provided by the introduction of web-based social interaction technologies. It discusses thepedagogical implications of various Web 2.0 tools; that is, asynchronous discussion boards, blogs, wikis, podcasts, RSS, e-portfolios, folksonomies, educational gaming, data mashups, and simulations. The authors argue that ashybrid courses continue to evolve to meet the needs of students, instructors, and institutions of higher learning,the integration of Web 2.0 applications in a hybrid model requires thoughtful course design, clear educational objectives, and carefully planned activities.
Using a User-Interactive QA System for Personalized E-Learning
Authors: Hu Dawei , Chen Wei , Zeng Qingtian , Hao Tianyong , Min Feng , Wenyin Liu
Published: May 2011

A personalized e-learning framework based on a user-interactive question-answering (QA) system is proposed, in which a user-modeling approach is used to capture personal information of students and a personalizedanswer extraction algorithm is proposed for personalizedautomatic answering. In our approach, a topic ontology (or concept hierarchy) of course content defined by an instructor is used for the system to generate the corresponding structure of boards for holding relevant questions. Students can interactively post questions, and also browse, select, and answer others’ questions in their interested boards. A knowledge base is accumulated usinghistorical question/answer (Q/A) pairs for knowledge reuse. The students’ log data are used to build an association space to compute the interest and authority of the students for each board and each topic. The personal information of students can help instructors design suitable teaching materials to enhance instruction efficiency, be used to implement the personalized automatic answering and distribute unsolved questions to relevant students to enhance the learning efficiency. The experiment results show the efficacy of our user-modeling approach.
Web 2.0 and Collaborative Learning in Higher Education
Authors: Escofet Anna , Marimon Marta
Published: May 2011

The dissemination of university knowledge has been traditionally based on lectures to students organised in homogenous groups. The advantages of this method are that it can give a unified vision of content, guaranteeing equal access to knowledge for all students. The 21st century university must combine its learning and teaching methods and incorporate different strategies and educative resources, as well as seeking to advance individuallearning and promote collaborative work. The relevance ofWeb 2.0 is clear in this university learning context as it enables collaborative work to be carried out using ICT. In this chapter, we will deal with the different possible uses of social software in university teaching. We will show that the proper use of Web 2.0 tools can favour collaborativelearning and promote new ways of teaching and learning.
Perspectives on the Realities of Virtual Learning
Authors: Carrier Kristina K.
Published: May 2011

Thought-provoking awareness and reflection often initiate meaningful discourse and positive models for change. Globally diverse practitioners teaching online courses may benefit fromexamining how online practice, commitment, conduct, andstandards can affect teaching, learning, and the adult student experience.
Costs of E-Learning Support
Authors: Kennedy Carol Kahan , Hinkley Maureen
Published: May 2011

Understanding the costing of e-learning informs decision-making on how to support the development and implementation of teaching and learning technologies in higher education. This paper describes costings and processes in a central e-learning support service that is especially applicable to face-to-face universities that use e-learning in a blended or supplemental mode. We differentiate three types of costs: infrastructure costs that are less sensitive to variation in the complexity of e-learning strategies, and edevelopment and e-delivery coststhat are directly related to the nature of the strategies used. Using actual data from a three-year e-learningsupport project (e3Learning) with 139 sub-projects, the paper illustrates how the calculations promote an understanding of e-learning in the following four dimensions: 1) total cost of running an e-learning support service, 2) individual costs attributable to each of the sub-projects, 3) ‘price-tags’ of e-learning strategies, and 4) initial exploration of the cost-effectiveness issue.
Cost Effectiveness in Course Redesign
Authors: Kendrick David
Published: May 2011

As Web-based technologies march forward, improved access to higher education by traditional and non-traditional student, alike, is a certainty, but such technologies as a mechanism for lowering costs are still subject for further exploration. Course redesign from traditional to electronic delivery serves not only to grant access or improve achievement for the student, but can offer a cost savings for the institution. Educational leaders in higher education may consider the Web-based redesign alternative as not only a learning instrument, but a means to cut instructional costs. An explanation and application of a cost-measuring instrument, as well as reviews of literature and Web-based instructional models or strategies, is at the heart of this examination of courseredesign. Educational content has become a commodity. Improved networks provide rapid and flexible dissemination of course content, opening up numerous options for organizing programs. Rather than designing content delivery around the schedule and resources of theprovider, the institution, it can be customized around theneeds of the recipient (Lovett, 1996). Courses, programs, and even degrees, can be organized around a combination of flexible course modules to accommodate particular student/client needs. Technology-mediated instruction, taken to its anywhere-anytime extreme, makes traditional academic calendars and curricular structures irrelevant or even a barrier to effective education.
Web Accessibility Policy for Students with Disabilities in U.S. Postsecondary Distance Education
Authors: Wilkes Heidi L.
Published: May 2011

“Web accessibility” is the ability to access information online. In distance education, most instructional material is located online, and anything that prevents a person from accessing these materials becomes a barrier to distanceeducation. Demand for distance education is growing, and the Web is the most common mechanism for its delivery. Not all Websites are accessible, despite the availability of design guidelines. The purpose of this chapter is to informWeb accessibility policy decisions at U.S. postsecondaryinstitutions by increasing the awareness of Webaccessibility issues in distance education, examining societal implications, and discussing methods forimprovement. This chapter also reviews the current U.S.legal context and provides alternative cost-justification and cost-benefit frameworks for consideration by policymakers.
Web-Based Video for e-Learning
Authors: Snelson Chareen
Published: May 2011

The recent explosive growth of Web-based video has expanded the repository of free content that can be tapped into for e-learning. Millions of video clips are now available online and more are uploaded each day. Since thecreation of YouTubeTM in 2005, a video clip phenomenonhas swept the Internet. Never before has it been so easy to locate, record, and distribute video online. This opens intriguing possibilities for teaching, learning, and course design for e-learning. This chapter introduces Web-basedvideo as a new form of educational motion picture, delvesinto technical aspects of Web 2.0 video tools, describes instructional strategies that integrate Web-based videoclips in e-learning, and examines barriers that could potentially inhibit its use. Future directions are also discussed.
A Rough Set Based Approach to Find Learners' Key Personality Attributes in an E-Learning Environment
Authors: Zheng Qinghua , Wu Xiyuan , Li Haifei
Published: May 2011

One of the challenges in personalized e-learning research is how to find the unique learning strategies according to a learner’s personality characteristic. A learner’s personalitycharacteristic may have many attributes, and all of them may not have equal values. Correlation analysis, regression analysis, discriminator function, and educational psychology have been used to find solutions, but these methods have their shortcomings. This article proposes an improved approach based on rough set theory to find thekey personality attributes and evaluates the importance of these attributes. The approach has been successfully used in the actual e-learning environment for a major research university in China.
Development of a Web-Based System for Diagnosing Student Learning Problems on English Tenses
Authors: Hwang Gwo-Jen , Cheng Hsiang , Chu Carol H.C. , Tseng Judy C.R. , Hwang Gwo-Haur
Published: May 2011

In the past decades, English learning has received lots of attention all over the world, especially for those who are not native English speakers. Various English learning and testing systems have been developed on the Internet. Nevertheless, most existing English testing systems represent the learning status of a student by assigning that student with a score or grade. This approach makes the student aware of his/her learning status through the score or grade, but the student might be unable to improve his/her learning status without further guidance. In this paper, an intelligent English tense learning and diagnosticsystem is proposed, which is able to identify studentlearning problems on English verb tenses and to provide personalized learning suggestions in accordance with eachstudent’s learning portfolio. Experimental results on hundreds of college students have depicted the superiority of the novel approach.
A Novel Architecture for E-Learning Knowledge Assessment Systems
Authors: Gierlowski Krzysztof , Nowicki Krzysztof
Published: May 2011

In this article we propose a novel e-learning system, dedicated strictly to knowledge assessment tasks. In its functioning it utilizes web-based technologies, but its design differs radically from currently popular e-learningsolutions which rely mostly on thin-client architecture. Our research proved that such architecture, while well suitedfor didactic content distribution systems is ill-suited forknowledge assessment products. In our design we employed loosely-tied distributed system architecture, strict modularity, test and simulation-based knowledge and skillassessment and an our original communications package called Communication Abstraction Layer (ComAL), specifically designed to support communication functions ofe-learning systems in diverse network conditions (including offline environment).The system was tested in production environment on Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics, Technical University of Gdansk with great success, reducing staff workload and increasing efficiency of didactic process. Tests also showed system’s versatility as the system was deployed in environments of classroom, remote, and blended learning.
E-Banking Diffusion in the Jordanian Banking Services Sector
Authors: Alawneh Ali , Hattab Ezz
Published: May 2011

Grounded in the technology–organization–environment (TOE) framework, we have developed an extended model to examine factors, particularly technological, organizational and environmental factors, which influence e-banking adoption in Jordanian banks. This article added some constructs to (TOE) framework, other factors were excluded. The independent variables are the (technology readiness or competence, bank size, financial resources commitment, IT/Business strategy alignment, adequacy of IT professionals, availability of online revenues, competition intensity or pressure, and regulatory support environment) while e-banking usage constitutes the dependent variable. Our empirical analysis demonstrates several key findings related to the technological, organizational, and environmental aspects of the banks. This article can help further understanding of their role in the adoption of e-banking and examines the impacts of e-banking usage on banks’ performance in terms of sales-services-marketing, internal operations and coordination & communication. This could enable greater e-banking usage that could improve the overall economy.
Business Process Change in E-Government Projects
Authors: Kennedy Aileen , Coughlan Joseph P. , Kelleher Carol
Published: May 2011

This research investigates one of the first e-Government services launched as part of Ireland’s Information Society program, the Irish Land Registry’s implementation of their award winning Electronic Access (EAS) project. In-depth enquiries into how public sector organizations manage IT-enabled transformations have remained relatively limited and this case contributes to this emerging body of literature. The analysis highlights that the implementation of e-Government initiatives beyond basic service levels necessitates business process change in order to reap rewards. This study fulfils an identified need for research in Business Process Change (BPC) in the implementation of e-government initiatives. In this way the research attempts to add to, and complement, the existing pool of studies exploring e-Government induced change. The conclusions from the research stress the importance of planning for process change and the support of top management in the achievement of the efficiency gains and improved customer experience that are outcomes of e-Government.
Limitations and Perspectives on Use of E-Services in Engineering Consulting
Authors: Westh Nicolajsen Hanne
Published: May 2011

In this chapter we analyse organizational challenges when an engineering consultancy in the building industry integrates information and communication technologies (ICT) in the production and delivery of their services, and discuss how the e-service concept can be applied in this context. The analysis is based on a field study on introduction of 3D-modeling tools within one of the leading engineering companies in Scandinavia (Ramboll). The analysis focuses on the changes in knowledge creation and transfer both within the company and in inter-organizational relations. The analysis points towards a need to change the business model as the project engineering part of the technical engineering service becomes standardized.
Conceptualizing Competences in E-Services Adoption and Assimilation in SMES
Authors: Scupola Ada
Published: May 2011

This article investigates the competences deemed necessary both at top managerial and individual levels for the successful adoption and assimilation of business-to-business e-services in small and medium size enterprises. To this end, an in-depth case study of a business-to-business e-service system, a Web-based travel reservation system, was conducted. The results show that three main competences, namely vision, value and control, are important at top management level for the primary adoption of e-services. For secondary adoption and assimilation, three categories of competences were identified as being important either to have or to develop at the individual level, namely technical, interpersonal and conceptual skills.
Personalization Services for Online Collaboration and Learning
Authors: Evangelou Christina E. , Tzagarakis Manolis , Karousos Nikos , Gkotsis George
Published: May 2011

Collaboration tools can be exploited as virtual spaces that satisfy the community members’ needs to construct and refine their ideas, opinions, and thoughts in meaningful ways, in order to suc-cessfully assist individual and community learning. More specifically, collaboration tools when properly personalized can aid individuals to articulate their personal standpoints in such a way that can be proven useful for the rest of the community where they belong. Personalization services, when properly integrated to collaboration tools, can be an aide to the development of learning skills, to the interaction with other actors, as well as to the growth of the learners’ autonomy and self-direction. This work pre-sents a framework of personalization services that has been developed to address the requirements for efficient and effective collaboration between online communities’ members that can act as catalysts for individual and community learning.
E-Dating
Authors: Whitty Monica T.
Published: May 2011

Online dating continues to grow in popularity as a way for individuals to locate a potential romantic partner. Researchers have examined how people present themselves on these sites, which presentations are more likely to lead to success, the effectiveness of the matchmaking tools that some companies employ, the stigma attached to using these sites and the types of people who are drawn to online dating. However, there is an absence of scholarly work on how these relationships progress compared to traditional models of courtship. This chapter sets out a model for the phases of online dating and compares this model with Givens’ (1979) work on a traditional model of courtship. It is argued here the phases of online dating are very different to other courtship models. These differences pose new challenges and create new benefits to those who elect to find a partner via one of these sites.
Public Sector Human Resources Information Systems
Authors: Reddick Christopher G.
Published: May 2011

Human resources information systems (HRIS) is any technology that is used to attract, hire, retain, and maintain talent, support workforce administration, and optimize workforce management (Tannenbaum, 1990). Examples include computers, Internet (Web and e-mail) or other technological means of acquiring, storing, manipulating, analyzing, retrieving, and distributing pertinent information regarding human resources (HR). This chapter examines HRIS’ impacts on operations, relationships, and transformations of local government organizations.
Electronic Business Contracts Between Services
Authors: Miles Simon , Oren Nir , Luck Michael , Modgil Sanjay , Meneguzzi Felipe , Faci Nora , Holt Camden , Vickers Gary
Published: May 2011

Electronic contracts mirror the paper versions exchanged between businesses today, and offer the possibility of dynamic, automatic creation and enforcement of restrictions and compulsions on service behaviour that are designed to ensure business objectives are met. Where there are many contracts within a particular application, it can be difficult to determine whether the system can reliably fulfil them all, yet computer-parsable electronic contracts may allow such verification to be automated. In this chapter, the authors describe a conceptual framework and architecture specification in which normative business contracts can be electronically represented, verified, established, renewed, and so on. In particular, they aim to allow systems containing multiple contracts to be checked for conflicts and violations of business objectives. They illustrate the framework and architecture with an aerospace aftermarket example.
Sponsored Search as a Strategic E-Service
Authors: Vragov Roumen
Published: May 2011

In addition to helping consumers navigate the web search engines offer a new kind of e-service known as sponsored search. A search engine provides an auction interface to advertisers that allows them to be included in a list of sponsored links. Consumers then search the list to find the best deal. This paper uses a version of traditional consumer price search models from economic theory to evaluate the extent to which consumers and advertisers can rely on sponsored search as an effective strategic infomediary. The article also describes steps that the manager of the search engine can take to improve the sponsored search service. The findings are relevant to web advertising as well as to mobile advertising.
The Changing Nature of Business Process Modeling
Authors: Cameron Brian H.
Published: May 2011

Business process modeling (BPM) is a topic that is generating much interest in the information technology (IT) industry today. Business analysts, process designers, system architects, software engineers, and systems consultants must understand the foundational concepts behind BPM and evolving modeling standards and technologies that have the potential to dramatically change the nature of phases of the systems development life cycle (SDLC). Pareto’s 80/20 rule, as applied to the SDLC, is in the process of being drastically altered. In the past, approximately 20 % of the SDLC was spent on analysis and design activities with the remaining 80 % spent on systems development and implementation (Weske, Goesmann, Holten, & Striemer, 1999). Today, with the introduction of the Business Process Management Initiative (BPMI), Web services, and the services-oriented architecture (SOA), the enterprise SDLC paradigm is poised for a dramatic shift. In this new paradigm, approximately 80 % of the SDLC is spent on analysis and design activities with the remaining 20 % spent of systems development and implementation. Once referred to as workflow and process automation, business process modeling (BPM) has evolved into a suite of interrelated components providing significant business value. Emerging BPM technologies will be the primary vehicle by which current application portfolios transition to service-oriented architectures and Web services (Aversano, & Canfora, 2002). Business Process Management Initiative’s Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) subgroup is currently finalizing a standardized notation for business process modeling. Although the notation is still in working draft format, system architects and designers should consider incorporating the concepts of BPM into their current and future systems analysis and design procedures.
Service-Oriented Architecture for Business Management
Authors: Leyking Katrina , Ziemann Jörg
Published: May 2011

During the last two decades, many enterprises have put business processes in the focus of their organizational strategies both for internal and collaborative business activities. Business process models provide the IT department with a semiformal, business-driven requirements basis for implementing business strategy into information systems (Scheer, 1999). However, despite notable progress in integration technologies such as workflow management systems (WMS) and enterprise application integration (EAI) systems, executing enterprise applications along a business process has remained the challenge of any universal business process management (BPM) approach. The most recent technology paradigm of service-oriented architecture (SOA) is expected to accomplish seamless and flexible business process automation (Krafzig, Banke, & Slama, 2005). The vision of loosely coupled services, that execute business activities across heterogeneous, distributed software systems via the Internet, captivates by the extent of flexibility and responsiveness given to business management. Thus, service-oriented computing represents more than a concept of software engineering. It is rather considered to be the ultimate driver for a complete business reformation, finally bridging the gap between business strategy and technological infrastructure. Beyond these visionary perspectives, the effects of service-orientation on BPM methods and techniques will be manifold and challenging both for research and practice.
Evolution of Enterprise Resource Planning
Authors: McGaughey Ronald E. , Gunasekaran Angappa
Published: May 2011

Business needs have driven the design, development, and use of the enterprise-wide information systems we call Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. Intra enterprise integration was a driving force in the design, development, and use of early ERP systems. Changing business needs have brought about the current business environment, wherein supply chain integration is desirable, if not essential, thus current and evolving ERP systems demonstrate an expanded scope of integration that encompasses limited inter-enterprise integration. This chapter explores the evolution, the current status, and future of ERP, with the objective of promoting relevant future research in this important area. If researchers hope to play a significant role in the design, development, and use of suitable ERP systems to meet evolving business needs, then their research should focus at least in part on the changing business environment, its impact on business needs, and the requirements for enterprise systems that meet those needs.
A Survey of Spatio-Temporal Data Warehousing
Authors: Gómez Leticia , Kuijpers Bart , Moelans Bart , Vaisman Alejandro
Published: May 2011

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have been extensively used in various application domains, ranging from economical, ecological and demographic analysis, to city and route planning. Nowadays, organizations need sophisticated GIS-based Decision Support System (DSS) to analyze their data with respect to geographic information, represented not only as attribute data, but also in maps. Thus, vendors are increasingly integrating their products, leading to the concept of SOLAP (Spatial OLAP). Also, in the last years, and motivated by the explosive growth in the use of PDA devices, the field of moving object data has been receiving attention from the GIS community. However, not much has been done in providing moving object databases with OLAP functionality. In the first part of this article we survey the SOLAP literature. We then move to Spatio-Temporal OLAP, in particular addressing the problem of trajectory analysis. We finally provide an in-depth comparative analysis between two proposals introduced in the context of the GeoPKDD EU project: the Hermes-MDC system, and Piet, a proposal for SOLAP and moving objects, developed at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Towards the Realization of an Integrated Decision Support Environment for Organizational Decision Making
Authors: Liu Shaofeng , Duffy Alex H.B. , Whitfield Robert Ian , Boyle Iain M. , McKenna Iain
Published: May 2011

Traditional decision support systems are based on the paradigm of a single decision maker working at a standalone computer or terminal who has a specific decision to make with a specific goal in mind. Organizational decision support systems aim to support decision makers at all levels of an organization (from executive, middle management managers to operators), who have a variety of decisions to make, with different priorities, often in a distributed and dynamic environment. Such systems need to be designed and developed with extra functionality to meet the challenges such as collaborative working. This article proposes an Integrated Decision Support Environment (IDSE) for organizational decision making. The IDSE distinguishes itself from traditional decision support systems in that it can flexibly configure and re-configure its functions to support various decision applications. IDSE is an open software platform which allows its users to define their own decision processes and choose their own exiting decision tools to be integrated into the platform. The IDSE is designed and developed based on distributed client/server networking, with a multi-tier integration framework for consistent information exchange and sharing, seamless process co-ordination and synchronisation, and quick access to packaged and legacy systems. The prototype of the IDSE demonstrates good performance in agile response to fast changing decision situations.
Balancing Business, Technology, and Global Expertise
Authors: Rao N. Raghavendra
Published: May 2011

Recent changes in global economy have been focusing on the need for a proactive approach in the International Financial Services sector. Integrating business, the knowledge of experts, and emerging technologies are the basic components for proactive approach. The activities related to financial services are generally a complex process. The requirements for a global market need to be analyzed from various risks in business. Now organizations have to understand the value of sharing resources such as human centered assets, physical assets and the components of Information communication technology, to gain competitive advantage in virtual environment. The concept of virtual organization plays an important role in the present globalization scenario. All the virtual organizations will share the common resources for computing power and data across the globe. Grid and mobile computing concepts will be required to be integrated in the present global market.
Small Business Performance Impacts of Information Systems Strategic Orientation
Authors: Rajendran R. , Vivekanandan K.
Published: May 2011

Businesses invest in developing information systems resources to gain competitive advantages. Literature has demonstrated the requirement of strategic alignment in converting these competitive advantages into sustained superior business performance. The knowledge of information systems strategic orientation and its impact on business performance will enable these businesses to fine tune their strategic information systems applications portfolio in achieving required strategic alignment. This chapter describes a research study that focuses on the information systems strategic orientation of small businesses and investigates its relationship with their perceived business performance. The organizational impact of adoption of the initial stages of electronic business development is also examined. The data were collected from small businesses on nine strategy areas, through mail survey. The result reveals three multifaceted dimensions of information systems strategic orientation. These dimensions of strategic orientation have significantly influenced their business performance. This phenomenon is explained with a model named Linear Strategic Alignment Model. For the adopters of Web presence, all these three dimensions remain significant in explaining their business performance.
Elements that Can Explain the Degree of Success of ERP Systems Implementation
Authors: de Pablos Heredero Carmen , de Pablos Heredero Mónica
Published: May 2011

The implementation of an Enterprise Resource Planning System (ERP) is a risky and high cost action, even more when we are dealing with small and medium sized enterprises. Although many studies have shown the importance of paying attention to critical success factors in ERP implementations, there is still a high degree of failures and bad experiences around ERP implementations. Most literature has shown experiences of success and failure coming from large sized firms. But there is a lack of information of what has happened in the area of small and medium size firms, and for some economies, they are essential. In this chapter, we try to show a model containing the main elements that can better explain the degree of success and of failure in ERP implementations by providing examples mainly affecting to the circumstances of small and medium size firms. In our model, we propose 5 main groups of variables affecting final results in ERP implementations.
Validating the End-User Computing Satisfaction Instrument for Online Shopping Systems
Authors: Liu Chung-Tzer , Guo Yi Maggie
Published: May 2011

End user satisfaction has always been an important component of Information Systems (IS) success. This is also true for online applications, including online shopping systems where in addition to being a customer, the shoppers play the role of end users. Shoppers may not come back to or make a purchase on a website if they have an unsatisfactory experience. In this research, we focus on this aspect of online shopping by examining shoppers’ experiences as end users.
State of the Art Solutions in Enterprise Interoperability
Authors: Balzert Silke , Burkhart Thomas , Werth Dirk , Laclavík Michal , Šeleng Martin , Mehandjiev Nikolay , Carpenter Martin , Stalker Iain Duncan
Published: May 2011

More than 99% of European enterprises are SMEs. While collaboration with other enterprises provides potential for improving business performance, enterprise interoperability research has yet to produce results which can be used by SMEs without the need for high start-up costs (e.g. learning, infrastructure and installation costs). Therefore the Commius project (funded by the European Union) aims towards the development of such a “zero costs of entry” interoperability solution for SMEs, allowing them to reuse existing and familiar applications for electronic communication. This chapter provides an overview of the research field “Enterprise Interoperability.” Based on a four layer interoperability framework, this chapter will examine which technical, process-based and semantic solutions for enterprise interoperability are available at the moment and which strategic motives drive or prevail SMEs to engage in E-business activities.
Intellectual Property Protection and Process Modeling in Small Knowledge Intensive Enterprises
Authors: Kulmala Riikka , Kettunen Juha
Published: May 2011

As discussed in chapter 10, knowledge-based assets, intellectual property, and capital play a fundamental role in an enterprise’s competitiveness, especially in small knowledge intensive enterprises. Small knowledge intensive enterprises need to create new ways of operating in order to manage the intellectual and knowledge-based assets in their organizations more efficiently. Organizational knowledge and intellectual property can be protected, either formally via IPR, or informally via efficient knowledge management. Successful IP protection requires systematic intellectual property and knowledge management. Intellectual property protection via efficient knowledge management affects the entire organization rather than being just a separate task. It needs to be embedded in organizational work routines, practices, and processes as an overall operational strategy. When embedded in organizational work processes, IP protection and knowledge management become a continuous part of work routines and tasks in the enterprise, not a separate action.
Restricted Access and Blocking Websites, Internet Regulations and Turkey Practices
Authors: Erdal Murat , Ekiz Gulsah , Aksin Selim , Güngör Necmi Murat
Published: May 2011

In Turkey, access blocking to websites by judicial orders has especially come into spotlight with the blocking of globally renowned websites such as www.youtube.com and www.wordpress.com. After the police operations in 2006 concentrating on internet child pornography, the need for legal provisions to regulate internet has started to be widely discussed and Law No. 5651 on the Regulation of Publications on the Internet and Suppression of Crimes Committed by means of Such Publications was enacted on 25 May, 2007. This law has generally defined the actors related to internet and has regulated the access blocking in the scheme of suppression of the crimes listed below. Telecommunications Communication Presidency is entitled to the enforcement of the law that has come into effect as of 23 October 2007.  Chapter 19 aims to trace the short history of access blocking and try to assess the subject in the light of cases from the applications in Turkey.
Disaster Informatics
Authors: Subedi Jishnu
Published: May 2011

From risk identification to emergency response and recovery, information plays a vital role and the effective use of information is instrumental to reduce the impact of disasters. With the advancement of information and communication technology in the last few decades, lack of information is no longer a major issue for disaster risk reduction. The major issue, rather, is managing the information, translating it into a comprehensive knowledge for decision making and disseminating it to the communities at risk for action. The advancement of technology and reach of communication tools at a grassroots level have created an opportunity to increase effectiveness of disaster risk management with the optimum use of disaster informatics. This chapter presents an overview of disaster informatics, a conceptual framework for information management for disaster risk reduction, a review of existing approaches of information dissemination through the Internet and a review of the combined potential of Internet with tools which are widely available at grassroots levels.
Incident and Disaster Management Training
Authors: Hewitt Anne M. , Spencer Susan S. , Mirliss Danielle , Twal Riad
Published: May 2011

The maturation of incident and disaster management training has led to opportunities for the inclusion of multi-modal learning frameworks. Virtual reality technology, specifically multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) such as virtual worlds (VW), offers the potential, through carefully crafted applications, for increasing collaboration, leadership, and decision making skills of diverse adult learners. This chapter presents a review of ICT appropriate learning theories and a synopsis of the educational benefits and practices. A case study, offered as part of a Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA) course for health care managers, demonstrates the application of a virtual world training scenario hosted in Second Life® and using a Play2Train simulation. Students report a strong positive reaction to virtual learning and demonstrate improved crisis communication skills and decision making competencies. Additional research is recommended to demonstrate the utility of virtual world learning as compared to standard training options such as tabletop exercises.
Using Statistical Texture Analysis for Medical Image Tamper Proofing
Authors: Boucherkha Samia , Benmohamed Mohamed
Published: May 2011

This chapter discusses an approach for both authentication of medical images and confidentiality for the related textual data in an online medical application paradigm. The image authentication is achieved in a soft manner through a feature-based digital signature while the confidentiality of the related patient information is achieved through reversible data hiding. The selected features are robust towards geometric transformations, while fragile towards texture alterations that are characteristic of medical images. The processing scheme is done in a block by block basis to permit the localization of tampered image’s regions. The effectiveness of the scheme, proven through experiments on a sample of medical images, enables us to argue that implementing mechanisms lying on this approach will help to maintain personal patient privacy and medical image integrity.
A Decentralized Security Framework for Web-Based Social Networks
Authors: Carminati Barbara , Ferrari Elena , Perego Andrea
Published: May 2011

The wide diffusion and usage of social networking Web sites in the last years have made publicly available a huge amount of possible sensitive information, which can be used by third-parties with purposes different from the ones of the owners of such information. Currently, this issue has been addressed by enforcing into Web-based Social Networks (WBSNs) very simple protection mechanisms, or by using anonymization techniques, thanks to which it is possible to hide the identity of WBSN members while performing analysis on social network data. However, we believe that further solutions are needed, to allow WBSN members themselves to decide who can access their personal information and resources. To cope with this issue, in this chapter we illustrate a decentralized security framework for WBSNs, which provide both access control and privacy protection mechanisms. In our system, WBSN members can denote who is authorized to access the resources they publish and the relationships they participate in, in terms of the type, depth, and trust level of the relationships existing between members of a WBSN. Cryptographic techniques are then used to provide a controlled sharing of resources while preserving relationship privacy.
Envisioning a National e-Medicine Network Architecture in a Developing Country
Authors: Lemma Fikreyohannes , Denko Mieso K. , Tan Joseph K. , Kassegne Samuel Kinde
Published: May 2011

Poor infrastructures in developing countries such as Ethiopia and much of Sub-Saharan Africa have caused these nations to suffer from lack of efficient and effective delivery of basic and extended medical and healthcare services. Often, such limitation is further accompanied by low patient-doctor ratios, resulting in unwarranted rationing of services. Apparently, e-medicine awareness among both governmental policy makers and private health professionals is motivating the gradual adoption of technological innovations in these countries. It is argued, however, that there still is a gap between current e-medicine efforts in developing countries and the existing connectivity infrastructure leading to faulty, inefficient and expensive designs. The particular case of Ethiopia, one such developing country where e-medicine continues to carry significant promises, is investigated and reported in this article.
In What Ways Does Web Technology Support the Individual in Choice Reforms in Health Care?
Authors: Ranerup Agneta
Published: May 2011

The aim of this article is to evaluate the provision of Web support in choice reforms in health care in Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. Two main issues are investigated: (1) What institutional frameworks for choice in health care exist, and how is the exercise of choice supported by Web technology in these countries? (2) As a consequence of this, what roles of the individual are mediated by this technology? The present study provides a critical analysis of current technologies for providing information about health care. It is concluded that in Norway the individual is equipped to be a reasonably informed consumer, customer, and citizen. A similar situation exists in Denmark, but here the consumer role is even more prominent. In Sweden, there has been little technological support for these roles, but recently national actors have initiated a project aimed at creating a national portal for public health care.
Intelligent Agent Framework for Secure Patient-Doctor Profiling and Profile Matching
Authors: Mohammadian Masoud , Jentzsch Ric
Published: May 2011

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a promising technology for improving services and reduction of cost in health care. Accurate almost real time data acquisition and analysis of patient data and the ability to update such a data is a way to improve patients care and reduce cost in health care systems. This article employs wireless radio frequency identification technology to acquire patient data and integrates wireless technology for fast data acquisition and transmission, while maintaining the security and privacy issues. An intelligent agent framework is proposed to assist in managing patients health care data in a hospital environment. A data classification method based on fuzzy logic is proposed and developed to improve the data security and privacy of data collected and propagated.
On Biological Computing, Information and Molecular Networks
Authors: Riofrio Walter
Published: May 2011

We will focus this chapter on studying the set of special characteristics molecular networks which constitute living systems might have. In order to do that, we will study them from the perspective which allows us to visualize the most basic element constituting that which is living. This approach should lead us to uncover the essential properties which form any dynamic entity that could be called a living system. It will furthermore permit us to understand the intrinsic relationship produced between the handling of biological information and the start-up of something completely new that is revealed in the set of aspects which bear natural computations within living systems.
Knowledge, Truth, and Values in Computer Science
Authors: Colburn Timothy , Shute Gary
Published: May 2011

Among empirical disciplines, computer science and the engineering fields share the distinction of creating their own subject matter, raising questions about the kinds of knowledge they engender. We argue that knowledge acquisition in computer science fits models as diverse as those proposed by Piaget and Lakatos. However, contrary to natural science, the knowledge acquired by computer science is not knowledge of objective truth, but of values.
Armchair Warfare ‘on Terrorism'. On Robots, Targeted Assassinations and Strategic Violations of International Law
Authors: Weber Jutta
Published: May 2011

In the 21st century, militaries are no competing for military dominance through specific superior weapon systems but through networking these systems via information and communication technologies. The ‘Revolution in Military Affairs’ (RMA) relies on network centric warfare, ‘precision’ weaponry and ‘intelligent’ systems such as uninhabited, modular, globally connected robot systems. While some Western forces (and the U.S. Central Intelligence Service C.I.A.) claim that robots help to avoid the death of one’s soldiers (respectively agents), NGOs point out the increase of killed civilians. In my paper, I discuss the deployment of uninhabited combat aerial vehicles (UCAV) in Western ‘wars on terror’ and their political and techno-ethical consequences. The question arises whether the new military philosophy, network centric (armchair) warfare, targeted assassinations and robot technology work towards the weakening of international humanitarian law.
Information and Communication Technologies
Authors: Yigitcanlar Tan
Published: May 2011

The concept of sustainable urban development has been pushed to the forefront of policy-making and politics as the world wakes up to the impacts of climate change and the effects of modern urban lifestyles. Today, sustainable development has become a very prominent element in the day-to-day debate on urban policy and the expression of that policy in urban planning and development decisions. As a result of this, during the last few years, sustainable development automation applications such as sustainable urban development decision support systems have become popular tools as they offer new opportunities for local governments to realise their sustainable development agendas. This chapter explores a range of issues associated with the application of information and communication technologies and decision support systems in the process of underpinning sustainable urban development. The chapter considers how information and communication technologies can be applied to enhance urban planning, raise environmental awareness, share decisions and improve public participation. It introduces and explores three web-based geographical information systems projects as best practice. These systems are developed as support tools to include public opinion in the urban planning and development processes, and to provide planners with comprehensive tools for the analysis of sustainable urban development variants in order to prepare the best plans for constructing sustainable urban communities and futures.