bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Application of Parametric Cost Estimation Model to Telecommunication Networks
Authors: Samanta Swadesh Kumar , Woods John , Ghanbari Mohammed
Published: May 2011

The parametric cost estimation approach has proved to be an efficient method for analyzing complex systems such as spacecraft, missiles, ships, buildings, etc where cost varies according to a number of parameters. The cost to provision a telecom network also depends on a number of parameters; but little research effort has been applied to estimate cost using this approach. In estimating the cost of a telecom network, most published research has considered two parameters; distance and bandwidth of a link and ignored the effects of other parameters. We have modelled the cost based on distance, bandwidth, geographical terrain and technology simultaneously using a parametric cost estimation methodology applied to real data obtained from the Indian Telecom Company, BSNL. Using the model, we show how a cost optimized network can be designed given the real world constraints. The applicability of our model to determine revenue sharing mechanism for an international call is also demonstrated. [Article copies are available for purchase from InfoSci-on-Demand.com]
Mobility and Enterprise 2.0
Authors: Cosquer François J.N. , Ohayon-Dekel Annie
Published: May 2011

The emergence of Web 2.0 and its rapid adoption by the corporate world, known as Enterprise 2.0, has radically modified access to tacit knowledge and significantly reduced business latency. Meanwhile, technology for wireless LAN and mobile communication, combined with advances in handsets, has allowed for superior quality of experience with acceptable productivity level. Combining mobility with Enterprise 2.0 is the next big step in evolution. This article presents the drivers for Enterprise 2.0 and the challenge of tapping tacit knowledge and, in parallel, the evolution of wireless and mobile technologies. The era of mobile broadband life is made possible, creating new ways of use and expectations for Millennials. The next business generation will be able to unleash the full potential of mobility and Enterprise 2.0. Three scenarios selected from different vertical domains—healthcare, education and emergency services—illustrate the benefits of mobility and Enterprise 2.0 in action. With the expected continued strong growth of wireless access, mobility support is one, if not the, key success factor for Enterprise 2.0.
Revisiting the Gatekeeping Model
Authors: Cossiavelou Vassiliki , Bantimaroudis Philemon
Published: May 2011

Mediation in news industries has received significant attention by researchers for more than half a century. Gatekeepers decide which information should be delivered to different audiences. The Shoemaker/Reese Gatekeeping Model identifies five different filters of content processing: individual influences, professional routines, the organization, extra-media influences and ideology. Journalism practices, intra-organization and extra-media-related procedures and strategic alliances, including culture and ideology, add more complexity in the contemporary globalized media landscape. Gatekeeping is being processed through out all the above mentioned pillars. ICT technologies related to the media have influenced the interactivity among the pillars and wireless technologies have influenced the digital media landscape. The European Union has experienced dramatic changes in its regulation environment and spectrum resources allocation. In this paper, the authors examine the impact of wireless technology on gatekeeping practices in the context of EU news markets.
Modeling and Simulation of Self-Similar Traffic in Wireless IP Networks
Authors: Radev Dimitar , Lokshina Izabella , Radeva Svetla
Published: May 2011

The paper examines self-similar properties of real telecommunications network traffic data over a wide range of time scales. These self-similar properties are very different from the properties of traditional models based on Poisson and Markov-modulated Poisson processes. Simulation with stochastic and long range dependent traffic source models is performed, and the algorithms for buffer overflow simulation for finite buffer single server model under self-similar traffic load SSM/M/1/B are explained. The algorithms for modeling fixed-length sequence generators that are used to simulate self-similar behavior of wireless IP network traffic are developed and applied. Numerical examples are provided, and simulation results are analyzed.
Before the Internet
Authors: Eason Ken
Published: May 2011

Virtual organisations, in which the technology mediates the interactions in the social system, are an emergent form of socio-technical system. This chapter reviews the concepts and techniques of the 50 years of socio-technical systems theory development that preceded the internet to examine their relevance for the study of the virtual organisation. It first examines the socio-technical system concept of work organisation in relation to the quality of working life and relates these issues to contemporary forms of virtual organisation. It then examines work organisations as open systems and explores the implications of task interdependencies for the delivery of operational work. It questions whether socio-technical concepts are appropriate for emergent forms of virtual social community and concludes that many socio-technical characteristics are also likely to be found in these forms of organisation. The chapter then examines the implications of a technology that mediates communications between people in the social system. It concludes with a plea that we go beyond the design of technical systems to support virtual organisations and, in the tradition of socio-technical systems research, concern ourselves with the joint design of the social and technical components of virtual organisations.
Socio-Technical Issues of Participatory Design in the Developing World
Authors: Dunckley Lynne , Camara Souleymane Boundaouda , Abdelnour-Nocera José , Waema Timothy Mwololo
Published: May 2011

This article describes how the VeSeL project which involves a distributed team of technologists and users from different cultural backgrounds is attempting to manage the process of user involvement and participation. In this case the developers are distributed but linked by a number of communication technologies while the users have very few technological means of communicating with the developers. It describes how the contrasting social and community issues of both the developers and the users can be understood and managed.
Commentary
Authors: Ivanov Emil , Liebowitz Jay
Published: May 2011

The primary concern for this commentary is to examine and assess the current state of the research performed in the domain of knowledge flow theory and the relationship between these activities and the ways they are affected within different cultures and generations. We observe little research on the relationship between knowledge flow, cross-cultural factors, and stage of life. We feel that more research is needed in order to deal with cross-cultural generational knowledge flows in organizations.
The Technopolitics of the Ethiopian Nation
Authors: Gagliardone Iginio
Published: May 2011

This chapter addresses how state actors in the developing world have influenced technology adoption and favoured the diffusion of certain uses of ICTs while discouraging others. Drawing upon extensive field research and looking at the evolution of ICTs in Ethiopia, it examines how a semi-authoritarian, yet developmentally oriented regime, has actively sought to mediate the – either real or imagined – destabilising aspects of ICTs while embracing them as a tool for nation-building. A constructivist framework as developed in international relations and history of technology is employed to understand how the introduction of the new ICT framework as promoted by international organizations has been mediated both by the results of the socialization of earlier technologies in Ethiopia and by the national project pursued by the local political elite.
Knowledge Engineering Support for Agent-Oriented Software Reuse
Authors: Girardi Rosario , Leite Adriana
Published: May 2011

Automating software engineering tasks is essential to achieve better productivity in software development and quality of software products. Knowledge engineering can address this challenge through the representation and reuse of knowledge of how and when to perform a development task. This chapter describes a knowledge-based approach for automating agent-oriented development whose main components are a software process (MADAE-Pro) and an integrated development environment (MADAE-IDE). MADAE-Pro is an ontology-driven process for multi-agent domain and application engineering which promotes the construction and reuse of agent-oriented application families. MADAE-IDE is an integrated development environment which assists developers in the application of MADAE-Pro, allowing full or partial automation of its modeling tasks through a set of production rules that explores the semantic representation of modeling products in its knowledge base. The approach has been evaluated through the development of a multi-agent system family of recommender systems supporting alternative (collaborative, content-based and hybrid) filtering techniques. Some examples from these case studies are presented to illustrate and detail the domain analysis and application requirements engineering tasks of MADAE-Pro.
Software Reusability Estimation Model Using Metrics Governing Design Architecture
Authors: Nair Gopalakrishnan T.R. , R Selvarani
Published: May 2011

The current trend of open source development and outsourcing industry heavily banks upon the reusability of software for achieving consistency in quality and optimization of cost. Hence, software developers require excellent support in the assessment of the reusability levels of the software that they are trying to develop. This chapter introduces a method which will analyze the object oriented software design and calculate the possible reusability level of that software module. It measures the structural properties of software using design metrics and transforms those measures to reusability levels associated with that package. This scheme brings out a novel data driven-methodology, which can predict the reusability of a software system at its design phase itself and provide a feedback to the design architect to improve the design appropriately to achieve better reusable and cost effective software products.
Knowledge Management in Software Process Improvement
Authors: Basri Shuib Bin , O’Connor Rory V.
Published: May 2011

This chapter discusses knowledge management (KM) aspects of how software process and software process improvement (SPI) is practiced within very small entities (VSEs) in the context of Irish software development industry. In particular, this study is concerned with the process of software development knowledge management in supporting the SPI. In order to understand the support process, the authors of this chapter have studied how KM processes are practiced within VSEs which includes communication, learning, sharing, and documentation process. This study also focuses in detail on the issues of the knowledge atrophy problem in VSEs. The findings explain how KM has been practiced and influenced the software development process and process improvement in VSEs. This result indicates that KM processes in VSEs are being undertaken in a very informal manner and also in indirect way. This is due to a small team size, autonomous working and macro-management style and caused VSEs to be more informal in their KM processes specifically and SPI generally. In addition, the results have indicated that the informal environment and culture helped VSEs to easily create and share knowledge between staff members and also assisted VSEs to mitigate the knowledge atrophy problem in their organization.
Software Process Model using Dynamic Bayesian Networks
Authors: Schulz Thomas , Radlinski Lukasz , Gorges Thomas , Rosenstiel Wolfgang
Published: May 2011

This chapter describes a methodology to support the management of large scale software projects in optimizing product correction effort versus initial development costs over time. The Software Process Model (SPM) represents the implementation of this approach on a level of detail explicitly developed to meet project manager’s demands. The underlying technique used in this approach is based on Dynamic Bayesian Networks (DBNs). The use of Bayesian Networks (BNs) enables the representation of causal relationships among process and product key performance indicators elicited either by data or expert knowledge. DBNs provide an insight into various aspects of SPM over time to assess current as well as predicting future model states. The objective of this chapter is to describe the practical approach to establish SPM as state of the art decision support in an industrial environment.
Investigating Undergraduate Student Mobile Device Use in Context
Authors: Song Yanjie
Published: May 2011

This chapter reports on an in-depth one-year empirical research into examining five undergraduate student mobile device uses in context. Data collection methods include: student reflective e-journals, student artifacts, observations, interviews, field notes, and memos. Three complementary streams were involved in the data analysis. Seven interacting factors in context that could either facilitate or inhibit mobile device use were identified and discussed.
What Makes Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) Projects Successful?
Authors: Radtke Nicholas P. , Janssen Marco A. , Collofello James S.
Published: May 2011

The last few years have seen a rapid increase in the number of Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) projects. Some of these projects, such as Linux and the Apache web server, have become phenomenally successful. However, for every successful FLOSS project there are dozens of FLOSS projects which never succeed. These projects fail to attract developers and/or consumers and, as a result, never get off the ground. The aim of this research is to better understand why some FLOSS projects flourish while others wither and die. This article presents a simple agent-based model that is calibrated on key patterns of data from SourceForge, the largest online site hosting open source projects. The calibrated model provides insight into the conditions necessary for FLOSS success and might be used for scenario analysis of future developments of FLOSS.
Open Source Software Governance Serving Technological Agility
Authors: Le Texier Thomas , Versaille David W.
Published: May 2011

The development of open source software is currently arousing increasing interest in the IT world. This research inquires some specific paths enlarging the traditional view over open source software in inquiring the US Department of Defense (DoD) and the dynamics associated its front- and back-office activities. We explain how distinguishing basic administration from operational constraints and weapon R&D dynamics introduces specific governance concerns among public and private stakeholders. By no longer defining open source solutions as mere goods, but as services characterized by a flow of knowledge, we particularly highlight new emerging strategies of technological acquisition. Our analysis leads to revise the traditional role focusing mainly on cost issues and introduces open source software with distinctive properties serving the management of innovation and technological agility at the level of complex systems, exemplified here with the constraints associated to weapon systems and the Network centric warfare doctrine.
Consumer Welfare and Market Structure in a Model of Competition between Open Source and Proprietary Software
Authors: Gaudeul Alexia
Published: May 2011

I consider a Vickrey-Salop model of spatial product differentiation with quasi-linear utility functions and contrast two modes of production, the proprietary model where entrepreneurs sell software to the users, and the open source model where users participate in software development. I show that the OS model of production may be more efficient from the point of view of welfare than the proprietary model, but that an OS industry is vulnerable to entry by entrepreneurs while a proprietary industry can resist entry by OS projects. A mixed industry where OS and proprietary development methods coexist may exhibit large OS projects cohabiting with more specialized proprietary projects, and is more efficient than the proprietary model of production from the point of view of welfare.
Communication Network Characteristics of Open Source Communities
Authors: Hinds David , Lee Ronald M.
Published: May 2011

Empirical research has shown that social network structure is a critical success factor for various kinds of work groups. The authors extended this research to a new type of work group—the open source software project community—with the objective of exploring the role of communication networks within these intriguing projects. Using archival data from 143 open source project groups, the authors compiled six measures of social network structure and analyzed these in relation to four measures of group success. This study found that the social network structures of these project communities did not appear to be critical success factors at all, but rather they had no significant impact on success or their effect was opposite of that seen in prior studies of work groups. Various conjectures were suggested that might explain these results, offering opportunities for further research.
Voice Over IP
Authors: Slay Jill , Simon Matthew
Published: May 2011

With the tremendous growth in popularity and bandwidth of the Internet, VoIP technology has emerged that allows phone calls to be routed over Internet infrastructure rather than the traditional Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) infrastructure. The issues faced by law enforcement authorities concerning VoIP are very different from that of traditional telephony. Wiretapping is not applicable to VoIP calls and packet capturing is negated by encryption. This article discusses experimental work carried out to explore methods by which electronic evidence may be collected from systems where VoIP conversations play an important role in suspected criminal activity or communications. It also considers the privacy issues associated with the growing use of VoIP.
Dealing with Multiple Truths in Online Virtual Worlds
Authors: Sablatnig Jan , Lehmann-Grube Fritz , Grottke Sven , Cikic Sabine
Published: May 2011

Virtual environments and online games are becoming a major market force. At the same time, the virtual property contained in these environments is being traded for real money and thus attains a real value. Although the legal issues involved with this virtual property have not yet been decided, they will have to be soon. It is foreseeable that the next generation of very large virtual worlds will carry the possibility of multiple truths existing at the same time. Under such circumstances, it will be impossible to physically protect virtual property. In order to protect virtual property, virtual environment systems will therefore have to conform to certain requirements. We analyze what these requirements are in order to either prevent cheating or at least prove a digital offence has transpired. Along with greater security, this will also simplify end user support, which is one of the major cost factors for online games.
Reversible and Blind Database Watermarking Using Difference Expansion
Authors: Gupta Gaurav , Pieprzyk Josef
Published: May 2011

There has been significant research in the field of database watermarking recently. However, there has not been sufficient attention given to the requirement of providing reversibility (the ability to revert back to original relation from watermarked relation) and blindness (not needing the original relation for detection purpose) at the same time. This model has several disadvantages over reversible and blind watermarking (requiring only the watermarked relation and secret key from which the watermark is detected and the original relation is restored) including the inability to identify the rightful owner in case of successful secondary watermarking, the inability to revert the relation to the original data set (required in high precision industries) and the requirement to store the unmarked relation at a secure secondary storage. To overcome these problems, we propose a watermarking scheme that is reversible as well as blind. We utilize difference expansion on integers to achieve reversibility. The major advantages provided by our scheme are reversibility to a high quality original data set, rightful owner identification, resistance against secondary watermarking attacks, and no need to store the original database at a secure secondary storage. We have implemented our scheme and results show the success rate is limited to 11% even when 48% tuples are modified.
Conditions for Effective Detection and Identification of Primary Quantization of Re-Quantized JPEG Images
Authors: Sorell Matthew J.
Published: May 2011

The choice of Quantization Table in a JPEG image has previously been shown to be an effective discriminator of digital image cameras by manufacturer and model series. When a photograph is recompressed for transmission or storage, however, the image undergoes a secondary stage of quantization. It is possible, however, to identify primary quantization artifacts in the image coefficients, provided that certain image and quantization conditions are met. This chapter explores the conditions under which primary quantization coefficients can be identified, and hence can be used image source identification. Forensic applications include matching a small range of potential source cameras to an image.
Dynamic Structural Statistical Model Based Online Signature Verification
Authors: Chen Yan , Ding Xiaoqing , Wang Patrick S.P.
Published: May 2011

In this article, a new dynamic structural statistical model based online signature verification algorithm is proposed, in which a method for statistical modeling the signature’s characteristic points is presented. Dynamic time warping is utilized to match two signature sequences so that correspondent characteristic point pair can be extracted from the matching result. Variations of a characteristic point are described by a multi-variable statistical probability distribution. Three methods for estimating the statistical distribution parameters are investigated. With this dynamic structural statistical model, a discriminant function can be derived to judges a signature to be genuine or forgery at the criterion of minimum potential risk. The proposed method takes advantage of both structure matching and statistical analysis. Tested in two signature databases, the proposed algorithm got much better signature verification performance than other results.
Efficient Image Matching using Local Invariant Features for Copy Detection
Authors: Chennamma H.R. , Rangarajan Lalitha , Rao M.S.
Published: May 2011

Retrieval based approach has recently emerged as an attractive option for image copy detection. The Content Based Copy Detection (CBCD) can be treated as a restricted case of near duplicate image detection. Near duplicate images can be: (i) perceptually identical images (e.g. allowing for change in color balance, change in brightness, compression artifacts, contrast adjustment, rotation, cropping, filtering, scaling etc.), (ii) images of the same 3D scene (from different viewpoints). As we are searching for copies which are altered versions of the original image, the images with slight viewpoint variations of the same scene should not be retrieved. In this chapter, we focus on image matching strategy based on local invariant features that will assist in the detection of forged (copy-paste forgery) images. So far, no specific robust homography estimation method exists for this application. The state of the art methodologies tend to generate many false positives. In this chapter, we have introduced a novel strategy for pattern matching of key point distributions for copy detection. Typical experiments conducted on real case images demonstrate the success in near duplicate image retrieval for the application of digital image forensics. Efficiency of the proposed method is corroborated by comparison, with contemporary methods.
Reliable Motion Detection, Location and Audit in Surveillance Video
Authors: Poursoltan Samaan , Sorell Matthew J.
Published: May 2011

The review of video captured by fixed surveillance cameras is a time consuming, tedious, expensive and potentially unreliable human process, but of very high evidentiary value. Two key challenges stand out in such a task; ensuring that all motion events are captured for analysis, and demonstrating that all motion events have been captured so that the evidence survives being challenged in court. In previous work (Zhao, Poursoltanmohammadi & Sorell, 2008), it was demonstrated that tracking the average brightness of video frames or frame segment provided a more robust metric of motion than other commonly hypothesized motion measures. This paper extends that work in three ways; by setting automatic localized motion detection thresholds, by maintaining a frame-by-frame single parameter normalized motion metric, and by locating regions of motion events within the footage. A tracking filter approach is used for localized motion analysis, which adapts to localized background motion or noise within each image segment. When motion is detected, location and size estimates are reported to provide some objective description of the motion event.
At the Intersection of Learning
Authors: Matzen Nita J. , Ochoa Louisa , Purpur Geraldine
Published: May 2011

Academic libraries face challenges in meeting the information literacy needs of their off-campus students and providing comparable experiences as recommended by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). One approach to this dilemma is for the academic library to be an integral component of a 3D immersive virtual learning environment. This chapter proposes a conceptual framework that portrays the interplay of the key elements to consider when understanding the role of a 3D immersive virtual academic library. These key elements, including “library as place,” presence/co-presence, the 3D environment, Presence Pedagogy (P2), and planned and serendipitous interactions intersect to enable the development of communities of practice and further learning. Examples from a 3D immersive virtual academic library are provided to demonstrate application of the framework.
Contemporary Theory for Immersive Worlds
Authors: Bauman Eric B. , Games I. Alex
Published: May 2011

This chapter will provide the reader with a historical context and introduction to contemporary learning theories for 3D and immersive environments being used for educational purposes. Many traditional educational theories predate the emergence of the multimedia literacy movement and do not adequately address the challenges of developing, delivering, and integrating multimedia based content such as game-based immersive environments into curricula. The authors place significant emphasis on the importance of relevant, accurate, and situated aspects of culture and diversity throughout the development, implementation, and evaluation phases of immersive learning environments. To this end, a new theory is introduced and discussed in detail. The Ecology of Culturally Competent Design has been developed to specifically address the rigors and challenges of accurately situating culture within virtual environments.
A Benchmarking Study on Organizational Creativity Practices in High Technology Industries
Authors: Sousa Fernando , Monteiro Ileana
Published: May 2011

Twenty two interviews were conducted with top management in these organizations. The interviews were made by telephone addressing specific strategies in three domains: creative management, creative people management, and creativity management. Results indicate that high technology organizations, dependent upon financial support, do not seem to concentrate on corporate innovation, and do not have alternatives to budget reductions made in R&D, due to the present financial crisis, in order to innovate. The remaining companies provided several suggestions as to the way corporate innovation systems can be built and sustained within the framework of the future European innovation policies, devoted to workforce development, the service sector and the SMEs.
Integrating Technology with the Creative Design Process
Authors: Fairchild Joshua , Cassidy Scott , Cushenbery Liliya , Hunter Samuel T.
Published: May 2011

In our fast-paced world, it is necessary for organizations to continually innovate in order to stay competitive. At the same time, technology is continually advancing, and tools to facilitate work are frequently changing. This forces organizations to stay abreast of current technologies, and also puts pressure on employees to utilize the technologies available to them in order to devise innovative solutions that further the organization’s goals. To date, there has been little research on how such technologies may best be used to facilitate such creative performance. The present chapter addresses this gap by integrating a model of the creative process from the psychology literature with technology literature from engineering and information technology. This chapter examines how specific technologies may influence performance at each stage of the creative process, and provides specific recommendations for how technology may be used to facilitate the development of creative solutions.
Towards a Theoretical Framework for Creative Participation
Authors: Sergeeva Natalya , Radosavljevic Milan
Published: May 2011

To retain competitiveness, succeed and flourish, organizations are forced to continuously innovate. This drive for innovation is not solely limited to product/process innovation but more profoundly relates to a continuous process of improving how organizations work internally, requiring a constant stream of ideas and suggestions from motivated employees. This chapter investigates some recent developments and proposes a conceptual framework for creative participation as a personality driven interface between creativity and innovation. Under the assumption that employees’ intrinsic willingness to contribute novel ideas and solutions requires a set of personal characteristics and necessary skills that might well be unique to each organizational unit, the chapter then explores personal characteristics associated with creativity, innovation and innovative behavior. Various studies on the correlation between creativity and personality types are also reviewed. The chapter provides a discussion of solutions and future development together with recommendations for the future research.
Cultivating Innovation through Social Relationships
Authors: Bridgstock Ruth , Dawson Shane , Hearn Greg
Published: May 2011

In this chapter, social relationship patterns associated with outstanding innovation are described and explored. In doing so, the chapter draws upon the findings of 16 in-depth interviews with award-winning Australian innovators from science & technology and the creative industries. The interviews covered topics relating to various influences on individual innovation capacity and career development. For all of the participants, innovation was a highly social process. Although each had been recognised individually for their innovative success, none worked in isolation. The ability to generate innovative outcomes was grounded in certain types of interaction and collaboration. The chapter outlines the distinctive features of the social relationships which seem to be important to innovation, and ask which ‘social network capabilities’ might underlie the ability to create an optimal pattern of interpersonal relationships. The implications of these findings for universities play a key role in the development of nascent innovators.
The OLC Questionnaire
Authors: Rebelo Teresa , Gomes A. Duarte
Published: May 2011

This chapter is centered on the psychometric qualities of the OLC questionnaire, which has the objective of measuring the orientation of organizational culture towards learning – a kind of culture that promotes creativity and innovation in organizations. Hence, it includes description and discussion of its conception, assessment of content validity and the main construct validity studies already carried out. Its bi-dimensionality in terms of internal integration and external adaptation processes and its potentialities for research and intervention are also discussed, as well as future research directions to continue its journey of validation.
Visual Support for Use Case Modeling
Authors: Gemino Andrew , Parker Drew
Published: May 2011

The Unified Modeling Language (UML) has been evolving as a standard approach to Systems Analysis and Design. Use cases are a de facto standard tool, and corresponding use case diagrams offer visual support for this tool. The Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning suggests that the visual nature of use case diagrams would enhance understanding, particularly for novice users, by providing visual cues to focus relevant information. This paper describes an experiment to test this theory, offering use cases with and without supporting use case diagrams. Retention, comprehension, and problem solving tasks were tested and measured. As hypothesized, the results find that users had a significantly higher level of understanding, measured by problem solving tasks, if they were provided with use case diagrams accompanying the use cases. These results are promising support that use cases and use case diagrams could be considered important boundary objects in systems analysis.
XTEngine
Authors: Taha Kamal
Published: May 2011

There has been extensive research in XML Keyword-based and Loosely Structured querying. Some frameworks work well for certain types of XML data models while fail in others. The reason is that the proposed techniques overlook the context of elements when building relationships between the elements. The context of a data element is determined by its parent, because a data element is generally a characteristic of its parent. Overlooking the contexts of elements may result in relationships between the elements that are semantically disconnected, which lead to erroneous results. We present in this chapter a context-driven search engine called XTEngine for answering XML Keyword-based and Loosely Structured queries. XTEngine treats each set of elements consisting of a parent and its children data elements as one unified entity, and then uses context-driven search techniques for determining the relationships between the different unified entities. We evaluated XTEngine experimentally and compared it with three other search engines. The results showed marked improvement.
Cost Modeling and Range Estimation for Top-k Retrieval in Relational Databases
Authors: Ayanso Anteneh , Goes Paulo B. , Mehta Kumar
Published: May 2011

Relational databases have increasingly become the basis for a wide range of applications that require efficient methods for exploratory search and retrieval. Top-k retrieval addresses this need and involves finding a limited number of records whose attribute values are the closest to those specified in a query. One of the approaches in the recent literature is query-mapping which deals with converting top-k queries into equivalent range queries that relational database management systems (RDBMSs) normally support. This approach combines the advantages of simplicity as well as practicality by avoiding the need for modifications to the query engine, or specialized data structures and indexing techniques to handle top-k queries separately. This paper reviews existing query-mapping techniques in the literature and presents a range query estimation method based on cost modeling. Experiments on real world and synthetic data sets show that the cost-based range estimation method performs at least as well as prior methods and avoids the need to calibrate workloads on specific database contents.
Message-Based Routing in Mobile Networks
Authors: Stieglitz Stefan , Fuchß Christoph
Published: May 2011

This contribution provides an approach for an ad-hoc messaging network (AMNET), which uses simple store-and-forward message passing to spread data asynchronously. This approach focuses primarily on application-specific needs that can be covered by simple message passing mechanisms. In this paper, we will describe a network based on the AMNET approach. Results are derived by scenario analysis to provide insights into speeding up the network setup process and enable the use of AMNETs - even with a limited number of participants - by introducing a hybrid infrastructure and by adding mobile nodes.
Location-Aware Access Control for Mobile Workflow Systems
Authors: Decker Michael
Published: May 2011

Workflow management systems (WfMS) are a special class of information systems (IS) which support the automated enactment of business processes. Meanwhile there are WfMS which allow the execution of tasks using mobile computers like PDA with the ability of wireless data transmission. However, the employment of workflow systems as well as mobile technologies comes along with special security challenges. One way to tackle these challenges is the employment of location-aware access control to enforce rules that describe from which locations a user is allowed to perform which activities. The data model behind access control in termed Access Control Model (ACM). There are special ACM for mobile information systems as well as for WfMS, but no one that addresses mobile as well as workflow specific aspects. In the article we therefore discuss the specific constraints such a model should be able to express and introduce an appropriate ACM. A special focus is on location constraints for individual workflow instances.
Fault-Tolerant Text Data Compression Algorithms
Authors: Robert L. , Nadarajan R.
Published: May 2011

There has been an unparalleled explosion of textual information flow over the internet through electronic mail, web browsing, digital library and information retrieval systems, etc. Since there is a persistent increase in the amount of data that needs to be transmitted or archived, the importance of data compression is likely to increase in the near future. Virtually, all modern compression methods are adaptive models and generate variable-bit-length codes that must be decoded sequentially from beginning to end. If there is any error during transmission, the entire file cannot be retrieved safely. In this article we propose few fault-tolerant methods of text compression that facilitate decoding to begin with any part of compressed file not necessarily from the beginning. If any sequence of one or more bytes is changed during transmission of compressed file due to various reasons, the remaining data can be retrieved safely. These algorithms also support reversible decompression
Analysis of Quality of Service Routing Algorithms
Authors: Raj E.George Dharma Prakash , Prakash Sinthu Janita , Raja S.V.Kasmir
Published: May 2011

The routing problems can be divided into two major classes. They are 1) Unicast routing and 2) Multicast routing. The Unicast routing problem is as follows. Given a source node sr, a destination node dn, a set of QoS constraints qc and an optimization goal (optional), find the best feasible path from sr to dn, which satisfies qc. The Multicast routing problem is as follows. Given a source node sr, a set st of destination nodes, a set of constraints cts and an optimization goal (optional), find the best feasible path covering sr and all nodes in st, which satisfies cts. This article presents two such Unicast QoS based algorithms called as Source Routing and the proposed Heuristic Routing. A Client Server based model has been generated to study the performance of the two algorithms with respect to the message overhead, response time and path delay. The Experiments and the results are analyzed.
Measuring the Unmeasurable?
Authors: Saxon Andrew , Walker Shane , Prytherch David
Published: May 2011

This chapter focuses on the adoption and adaptation of methodologies drawn from research in psychology for the evaluation of user response as a manifestation of the mental processes of perception, cognition and emotion. We present robust alternative conceptualizations of evaluative methodologies, which allow the surfacing of views, feelings and opinions of individual users producing a richer, more informative texture for user centered evaluation of software. This differs from more usual user questionnaire systems such as the Questionnaire of User Interface Satisfaction (QUIS). We present two different example methodologies so that the reader can firstly, review the methods as a theoretical exercise and secondly, applying similar adaptation principles, derive methods appropriate to their own research or practical context.
A Conceptual Tool for Usability Problem Identification in Website Development
Authors: Skov Mikael B. , Stage Jan
Published: May 2011

Techniques and tools that enable website developers without formal training in human-computer interaction to conduct their own usability evaluations would radically advance the integration of usability engineering in website development. This paper presents experiences from usability evaluations conducted by developers in an empirical study of means to support non-experts in identifying usability problems. A group of software developers who were novices in usability engineering analyzed a usability test session with the task of identifying usability problems experienced by the user. When doing this, they employed a simple one-page conceptual tool that supports identification of usability problems. The non-experts were able to conduct a well-organized usability evaluation and identify a reasonable amount of usability problems with a performance that was comparable to usability experts.
Quantifying Sustainability
Authors: Abayomi Kobi , de la Pena Victor , Lall Upmanu , Levy Marc
Published: May 2011

This chapter consider new methods of component extraction and identification for the Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI) – an aggregation of environmental variables created as a measure of overall progress towards environmental sustainability. Principally, the authors propose and illustrate a parametric version of Independent Component Analysis via Copulas (CICA). The CICA procedure yields a more coherent picture of the determinants of environmental sustainability.
A New Recommendation for Green IT Strategies
Authors: Wati Yulia , Koo Chulmo
Published: May 2011

Incorporating the natural environment as a strategic focus has recently been recognized as a possible source of competitive advantage. In this regard, green IT provides an opportunity for companies to tackle the environmental issue, and simultaneously serves as a source of competitive advantage. However, the field of green IT strategy, from the perspective of environmental management, remains limited by its distinct lack of a theoretical framework and straightforward definitions. In this conceptual study, we proposed “green IT strategies” based on a resource-based perspective by incorporating modern institutional theory into a strategic formulation. This chapter conceptualizes three different strategies: tactical green IT strategy, strategic proactive green IT strategy, and sustained green IT strategy, along with theory-based propositions for each of the strategies. The chapter also demonstrates that the Green IT strategy is path-dependent; that is to say, a firm’s prior experience and history helps determine its current strategies. This study also involves a discussion of the development of the theory, the proposed model, and some possible future research directions.
MSP430 Microcontroller
Authors: Mitra Mala
Published: May 2011

In this chapter, the architecture and function of a microcontroller, a device for system operation control at micro-level, is briefed. The need for a low power microcontroller towards sustainability and greening is stressed with various examples. The MSP430 Microcontroller, a product from Texas Instruments, is a very low power microcontroller. The strategies adopted for MSP430 microcontroller power optimization are explained. Some emerging trends for further power optimization are also given. All the concepts are introduced in a simple manner with suitable analogies so that it can be understood by a reader with a different expertise.
Carbon as an Emerging Tool for Risk Management
Authors: Zoltáni Tenke A.
Published: May 2011

Since 2005, when the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) launched, green adoption in business and industry has been marred by fraudulent carbon credits, VAT swindlers and carbon cowboys, inefficiencies of a nascent market, and not least of all by legislative uncertainty. The disrepute afforded by these examples hindered low carbon growth and deterred emerging business models from adopting more carbon friendly practices. But, as this chapter argues, the shift toward liberal environmentalism has yielded a new generation of businesses seeking to incorporate carbon assets, emissions trading, and sustainability strategies across the value chain. Central to this shift is the notion of carbon as a tool for risk management in businesses, which occurred through the instrumentalisation of CO2 into a tradable asset. By utilising carbon as a financial instrument, businesses are able to manage project risk, market risk, and reputational risk more effectively. This chapter demonstrates this argument through industry examples and provides practical advice for businesses today.
Emissions Trading at Work
Authors: Mack Bernd , Salkic Sabina
Published: May 2011

After introducing the foundations of cap-and-trade markets, the authors of this chapter confirm that the market architecture of the EU ETS is working and that secondary market trading is functioning. But they also illustrate frictions in price discovery and variability in pricing relations. This leads to the conclusion that efficiency and integrity of the emissions markets are particularly susceptible to institutional uncertainty and supply and demand constraints. Against this background the authors set out recommendations for integrating auctioning into the existing market infrastructure and institutions. This way, large-scale auctioning could ensure a smooth and effective supply of the underlying emission allowances into the markets.
A Conceptual Model for Greening a Supply Chain through Greening of Suppliers and Green Innovation
Authors: Chan H. K. , Chiou T.-Y. , Lettice F.
Published: May 2011

Nowadays, more organisations are focusing on how to improve their environmental performance, partly driven by recent regulations in this area. This means that green supply chain management plays an important role over traditional supply chain management. Companies could gain competitive advantage through the proper management of their supply chain activities, for example, purchasing management. In fact, organisations can now generate more business opportunities than their competitors by addressing environmental management successfully. More specifically, it has been identified that implementation of green innovation can become a company’s order winner. However, not many studies have investigated the relationships between the greening of suppliers, green innovation, environmental performance and competitive advantage. The objective of this article is to propose a conceptual model, developed from a review of relevant literature and performance indicators, and to identify how future research can address these issues.