bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
THE HILBERT MARGINAL SPECTRUM ANALYSIS AND FEATURE EXTRACTION OF SHORT-TERM HEART RATE SIGNAL OF SPONTANEOUS VENTRICULAR TACHYARRHYTHMIA
Authors: Dong Hong-Sheng , Zhang Ai-Hua , Hao Xiao-Hong
Published: January 2012

The malignant ventricular tachyarrhythmia including ventricular tachycardia (VT) and ventricular fibrillation (VF) is the major cause of triggering sudden cardiac death (SCD) and it is seriously harmful to human. There is a great significance to predict the VT/VF. In this study, the RR interval series preceding the onset of VT/VF events are used as the study objects, and the 135 RR interval series are recorded by implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) from 78 patients. Instantaneous heart rate (IHR) series are obtained after preprocessing the RR interval series. The Hilbert spectrum and the frequency marginal spectrum of IHR series are analyzed based on the traditional Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT) and the improved HHT. Some signal spectrum features are extracted from the marginal spectrum of IHR series: low frequency amplitude, high frequency amplitude, very high frequency amplitude, total amplitude and the low-to-high frequency amplitude ratio. The statistical analysis shows that the performance of improved HHT is better than that of traditional HHT. High frequency amplitude, very high frequency amplitude and total amplitude of IHR series preceding the onset of VT/VF are significantly higher than that of normal sinus rhythm (p < 0.003), and low-to-high frequency amplitude ratio is significantly lower than that of normal sinus rhythm (p < 0.0002).
RESEARCH ON ROBUSTNESS OF THE MUTUAL INFORMATION SIMILARITY METRIC FOR REGISTRATION OF MEDICAL IMAGES
Authors: Pan Mei-Sen , Zhang Fen , Rong Qiu-Sheng , Zhou Hui-Can , Nie Fang-Yan
Published: January 2012

For the past few years, the medical image registration technology has made rapid and significant progress, and has been extensively applied for the 2D/3D medical image processing. However, the robustness of the similarity metric in the medical image registration is rarely studied. In this paper, the mutual information-based registration technology is introduced and the concept of the robustness of the similarity metric is defined. The robustness of the mutual information similarity metric is analyzed and discussed from three aspects such as interpolation methods, image data loss and noise corruption after the linear, quadratic spline, cubic spline, quadratic B-spline, and cubic B-spline interpolations are elaborated and studied. The robustness experiments reveal that the mutual information similarity metric can obtain good robustness in the case of the use of various interpolation methods in the medical image registration; the mutual information similarity metric can also keep good robustness in the case of a slight loss of image data. However, the metric will fail to register the images on the condition that the medical images are seriously incomplete. In addition, we find, if the medical images corrupted by the salt & pepper noise, then the metric basically can succeed in aligning the medical images; but regretfully, the metric fully fail under the condition of the medical images corrupted by the Gaussian noise.
A NOVEL METHOD TO SIMULATE FORCE-CHEST DISPLACEMENT RELATIONSHIP DURING CARDIOPULMONARY RESUSCITATION
Authors: Xie Xinwu , Wei Gaofeng , Liu Rui , Sun Qiuming , Ni Aijuan , Qin Xiaoli , Tian Feng
Published: January 2012

Survival from cardiac arrest is dependent on timely cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Experimental and modeling work had shown that the relationship between compression force and sternal displacement had a tendency of hysteresis curve, which in manikins was rather lineal. A novel method was introduced to improve the mechanical characteristics of the manikins using a variable-stiffness springs group-damper structure, in which the spring's group and the damper simulate the elastic and damping of human chest respectively. To do the simulation, the model of the human chest's mechanical during CPR based on Gruben's pre-result was modified and the elastic part was fitted by piecewise linear function to get the springs' stiffness. The variable-stiffness springs group system was designed accordingly to simulate the human chest' stiffness during CPR, and a damper was designed to simulate the damping of chest. The damper and the variable-stiffness springs group were paralleling combined, forming a mechanical system. A sample system was realized and the test results showed that there were nonlinear elasticity and adequate viscosity in this system, whose coefficients were adjacent to Gruben's 'typical' human. According to the method, the mechanical system could be changed to accurately simulate different models, and its stiffness could be easily adjusted by varying the interval between the nest springs' top. The simulation method could be used directly in manikin, whose mechanical character would be improved and then more adequate training would be provided.
Real Power Dispatch on Large Scale Power Systems by Augmented Lagrange Hopfield Network
Authors: Dieu Vo Ngoc , Schegner Peter
Published: January 2012

This paper proposes an augmented Lagrange Hopfield network (ALHN) for real power dispatch on large-scale power systems. The proposed ALHN is a continuous Hopfield network with its energy function based on augmented Lagrange function. For this combination, the ALHN method can easily deal with large-scale problems with nonlinear constraints. The proposed ALHN has been tested on systems from 40 units to 240 units, IEEE 118-bus and IEEE 300-bus systems, and the obtained results have been compared to those from other methods. The test results have shown that the ALHN method can obtain better solutions than the compared methods in a very fast manner. Therefore, the proposed ALHN could be favorable for implementation on the real power dispatch problems for large-scale systems.
E-Planning
Authors: Klosterman Richard E.
Published: January 2012

This paper reflects on where e-planning has been and speculates on its future. It begins by briefly reviewing forty years of efforts to use advanced information and communication technologies in planning research and practice. It then considers current efforts to develop planning and decision support systems (PSS/DSS) that adopt current geographic information systems technology to meet the unique needs of planning. It concludes with the hope that the journal will take the first word of its title seriously and share the wealth of exciting e-planning research that is being conducted in all corners of the increasingly interconnected world.
How do Professionals’ Attitudes Differ between what Game-Based Learning could Ideally Achieve and what is Usually Achieved
Authors: Tan Wee Hoe , Neill Sean , Johnston-Wilder Sue
Published: January 2012

This paper compares the results of two surveys conducted between July 2009 and January 2010 with 45 subject matter experts (SMEs) and 41 game experts in the UK. The surveys examine the attitudes and attitude differences of the participants towards teachers who use games in the classroom and studios that produced educational games. The findings revealed respondents’ attitudes were statistically significantly less positive—comparing ideal conditions to usual practice—for the issues studied. The SMEs were unaware of the problems faced by educational game studios, which could lead to a scenario where games are made fun at the expense of learning outcomes or vice versa. In issues related to educational games, the SMEs were found to be certain only about aspects of related directly to teaching and learning while the games experts were confident only for game design and development. This revealed a need for collaboration between SMEs and game experts rather than independent production when designing and developing GBL solutions.
Context-Aware Creativity Support for Corporate Open Innovation
Authors: Frieß Marc René , Groh Georg , Reinhardt Michael , Forster Florian , Schlichter Johann
Published: January 2012

This article discusses how creativity in corporate Open Innovation processes can be supported by IT, especially regarding the situative long- and short-term social context of users. Therefore, the authors first define and formalize a model for creative processes. From evidence gained through qualitative interviews with managers from companies of the German ITC sector, they derive insights on creative situations and contexts as well as the current state of IT support for creativity in these companies. On the basis of these insights and guided by the design science methodology, the paper shows the development of a social-software based creativity support system and infrastructure. Furthermore, the authors discuss how appropriate IT tools can incorporate situative and social contexts for creativity support. Examples are a tabletop-based interface for co-located creativity and a web-based, mobile-enabled interface for distributed creativity. As a partial evaluation of the ideas, the article concludes with an experimental comparison of different interfaces to a non-IT scenario.
Modeling of Cement-Bonded Sand Mould System
Authors: Surekha B. , Vundavilli Pandu R. , Parappagoudar M. B.
Published: January 2012

The present paper deals with the forward mapping problem of cement bonded sand mould system using fuzzy logic (FL)-based approaches. It is important to note that the performance of an FL-based approach depends on its knowledge base (KB) that is, rule base and data base. Here, three approaches have been proposed to solve the said problem. The first Approach deals with the development of manually constructed Mamdani-based FL system, and the second Approach deals with the optimization of the rule base and data base of the FL system constructed in Approach 1, whereas the third Approach deals with automatic evolution of the FL system, in which the consequent part has also been optimized. A binary coded genetic algorithm (GA) has been used for the said purpose. The performances of the developed approaches are tested in forward mapping of a cement bonded sand mould system. It is to be noted that all the approaches can be effectively used to model the cement-bonded moulding sand system.
Hybrid Tabu Search Hopfield Recurrent ANN Fuzzy Technique to the Production Planning Problems
Authors: Vasant Pandian M. , Ganesan Timothy , Elamvazuthi Irraivan
Published: January 2012

The fuzzy technology reveals that everything is a matter of degree. At the moment, many industrial production problems are solved by operational research optimization techniques, under the considerations of some real assumptions. In this paper, the authors have several applications of fuzzy linear, non-linear, non-continues and other mathematical programming applications. The prime objective of this paper is to investigate a new application to the literature and to solve the crude oil refinery production problem by using the hybrid optimization techniques of Tabu Search (TS), Hopfield Recurrent Artificial Neural Network (HRANN) and fuzzy approaches. In application, the real world problem of refinery model has been developed and thorough comparative studies have been carried on varies optimization techniques. The final results and findings reveal that, the hybrid optimization technique provides better, robust, efficient, flexible and stable solutions.
Design, Measurements and Characterization of Smart Electronic Board for PV Streetlight Based on LED and High Intensity Discharge Lamps
Authors: Visconti Paolo , Romanello Daniele , Zizzari Giovanni , Ventura Vito , Cavalera Giorgio
Published: January 2012

This work presents an electronic board for driving and control of High Intensity Discharge (HID) lamps and Light Emitting Diode (LED) lamps. The proposed electronic board is able to drive HID or LED lamps by means of a reconfigurable output. This feature allows using the ballast in lighting systems that currently use traditional discharge lamps, as well as keeping the same ballast when discharge lamps are replaced by LED modules in the near future, when LED street lighting systems will be more affordable. Additionally, since the lighting system is designed to be used in rural areas where there is no public electricity, each lighting point incorporates a system to convert solar energy into continuous voltage by means of photovoltaic panels. In this work, energy saving issues are taken into account.
Measurement Uncertainty in Decision-Making
Authors: De Capua Claudio , Morello Rosario , Carbone Rosario
Published: January 2012

In this paper, the authors examine a common issue concerning the influence of measurement uncertainty on decisions. In fact, in some practical applications, it can be necessary to put in comparison measurement data with thresholds and limits. It occurs when the conformity with fixed specifications has to be verified or if warning and alert levels have to be not exceeded. In such a circumstance, to take reliable decisions in presence of uncertainty is a concrete problem. Measurement uncertainty may reasonably be the cause of unreliable decisions. In order to manage properly the uncertainty effect, the authors have developed a decision making procedure based on a methodical approach to measurement uncertainty. In detail, a fuzzy logic algorithm estimates the probability to take a wrong decision because of the uncertainty. Such information is so used in order to optimize the decisional criteria, improving the consistency of the final computing results. Risks and costs associated to the possibility to take a mistaken decision are minimized. Consequently the algorithm singles out the most reliable decision.
Patient Satisfaction as Part of Quality Assurance in E-Health
Authors: Lazakidou Athina A. , Ilioudi Stamatia , Tsironi Maria
Published: January 2012

Health care is characterized by complex and interrelated processes. E-health promises to provide efficient national medical markets, service at all hours and the consistent integration of products and services. It can also be used to better patient physician relationships as web sites can be used to deliver information directly to consumers. Systematic measurement of patient satisfaction is seldom included in routine quality assurance (QA) programs. Practical reasons have been given to explain this omission: the mental and physical state of patients, their lack of the necessary scientific and technical knowledge, the rapid pace of events of care, and methodological problems related to measuring patient satisfaction. Quality medical information should be provided, which should not be marred by provider self interest. Quality assurance is of prime importance and it is necessary to make sure that, sites providing medical advice, drug manufacturers, and health insurers all associated with medicine deliver high quality services so that the consumers are satisfied. Measuring quality can also help organizations monitor their progress toward public health goals and become more accountable to both the populations they serve and policy makers.
An Application of the Socio-Technical Systems Approach to Implementation of Electronic Evidence into Practice
Authors: Abrahamson Kathleen , Arling Priscilla A. , Wesorick Bonnie , Anderson James G.
Published: January 2012

Implementation of electronic evidence into the practice environments of clinical staff is an ongoing challenge in health care organizations. Despite localized efforts to integrate point-of-care technology with clinical practice, system-wide transformation across multiple clinical settings has not commonly occurred. This paper examines a framework designed to guide the implementation of evidence-based practice using technology in health care settings from the theoretical lens of the Socio-Technical Systems (STS) approach. The framework under study is called the CPM Framework™, developed by the Clinical Practice Model Resource Center (CPMRC). The CPMRC is a collaborative consortium of health care providers representing over 300 rural, community, and university settings. The CPMRC developed the Clinical Practice Model (CPM) Framework™ to guide the integration of evidence based CPG’s into the work worlds of clinicians. The authors propose that the CPM Framework is consistent with STS approach concepts, and can serve as an exemplar for other health care organizations seeking to implement technology in a manner that is consistent with established theoretical foundations.
Health 4.0 in the i2i Era
Authors: Ferrer-Roca O. , Méndez D. González
Published: January 2012

The acceptance of iPhones, iPads, and iPods in medical environments, as well as the FDA approval of several diagnostic-prognostic-distant care-management applications, demonstrates the modern medicine trend to introduce mobile applications initiating the i2i era. Furthermore, Cloud and Internet applications ranging from non-quality control up to intelligent-quality-control data base management anytime, anywhere, are the basis of what is called Health 4.0. The present editorial listed approved FDA applications and future deployments, including three personal projects in iHealth: blood-pressure monitoring, iAnapath and the i-EEG control in child Attention Deficit Disorder.
Perceived Audit Quality from ERP Implementations
Authors: Nwankpa Joseph , Datta Pratim
Published: January 2012

Today’s organizational information technology (IT) landscape is dominated by ERP systems. These systems are typically known to bring changes within the organization. Past studies have focused on the technical perspective—the idea of integrating organizational information computing needs with change management and system learning. Although ERP systems can carve a new audit landscape requiring auditors to accommodate audit processes, controls, and test when auditing in a post-ERP implementation environment, few studies have discussed the implications. In this paper, the authors examine how perceived post-ERP implementation changes influence perceived audit quality. Using empirical evidence gathered from auditors experienced in a post-ERP implementation audit, the research found that auditor’s perception of changes in an audit due to ERP implementation have significant impacts on the perceived audit quality. Results indicate that perceived ERP-related changes in an audit process increased perceived audit quality whereas decreased substantive testing in auditing ERP implementation had a positive effect on perceived audit quality. However, findings suggest that control risk associated with auditing ERP implementation reduced perceived audit quality.
Technical and Economical Feasibility of Biomass Use for Power Generation in Sicily
Authors: Messineo Antonio , Panno Domenico , Volpe Roberto
Published: January 2012

Biomass can provide a reliable support for production of biofuels while contributing to sustainable management of natural resources. Many countries, including Italy, have introduced important incentive schemes to support the use of biomass for electricity, heat and transportation. This has raised considerable interest towards the use of biomass for energy generation purposes. Nonetheless, the design and installation of biomass-fuelled power plants present several critical issues, such as choice and availability of biomass, choice of technology, power plant localization and logistics. The case study tackled in this paper evaluates the economies originated by a 1MWel Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) turbine coupled with a biomass fuelled boiler, installed in an area close to Palermo (Italy). A Geographical Information System (GIS) was used to localize the power plant and to optimize logistics. The thermodynamics of the plant as a whole were also analyzed. Finally, two different scenarios were simulated for project financial evaluation.
Methodical Spatial Database Design with Topological Polygon Structures
Authors: Mazimpaka Jean Damascène
Published: January 2012

Spatial databases form the foundation for a Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI). For this, a spatial database should be methodically developed to accommodate its role in SDI. It is desirable to have an approach to spatial database development that considers maintenance from the early stage of database design and in a flexible way. Moreover, there is a lack of a mechanism to capture topological relations of spatial objects during the design process. This paper presents an approach that integrates maintenance of topological integrity constraints into the whole spatial database development cycle. The approach is based on the concept of Abstract Data Types. A number of topological classes have been identified and modelling primitives developed for them. Topological integrity constraints are embedded into maintenance functions associated with the topological classes. A semi-automatic transformation process has been developed following the principles of Model Driven Architecture to simplify the design process.
A Multi-Criteria GIS Site Selection for Sustainable Cocoa Development in West Africa
Authors: Alabi Tunrayo , Sonder Kai , Oduwole Olusoji , Okafor Christopher
Published: January 2012

Cocoa occupies 6 million hectares in humid coastal West Africa where 70% of the world supply is grown, 90% of which is produced on 2 million family farms of 2 hectares or less. Here, at least 16 million people depend on cocoa but earn only $100/person/year from the crop. There is need to optimize the farming system, minimize the environmental impact of technologies, and improve socio-economic dynamics. This study identifies areas with potential for intensified cocoa farming and where maximum impact to household income could be achieved without deforestation. The selection involves defining suitability criteria, preparing an inventory of available data, determining suitability based on identified criteria, and combining suitability into hierarchical preferences based on weights proposed by local experts. GIS and Multi-Criteria land Evaluation technique using biophysical, socioeconomic, and demographic variables were employed in selection. Nineteen administrative units were selected in Nigeria where the intervention project could be implemented.
Traffic Noise
Authors: Patange K. B. , Khan A. R. , Behere S. H. , Shaikh Y. H.
Published: January 2012

In this paper, the study of traffic noise is presented from the point of view of 1/f noise. Samples of Traffic Noise are collected from selected locations from busy roads of Aurangabad city in Maharashtra state (India) and data is analyzed. It is observed that in many cases the traffic noise possesses pink noise (1/f noise) prevailing over appreciable range of frequency. The log log plot of noise power versus frequency results in a straight line with a slope approximately equal to unity confirming the presence of pink noise. After certain frequency, the noise power no longer behaves like pink noise (1/f noise) and becomes more or less constant with random fluctuations. Plots of noise power versus frequency on log log basis for different locations studied are presented and the inferences are discussed.
Rough Set Based Clustering Using Active Learning Approach
Authors: Kandwal Rekha , Mahajan Prerna , Vijay Ritu
Published: January 2012

This paper revisits the problem of active learning and decision making when the cost of labeling incurs cost and unlabeled data is available in abundance. In many real world applications large amounts of data are available but the cost of correctly labeling it prohibits its use. In such cases, active learning can be employed. In this paper the authors propose rough set based clustering using active learning approach. The authors extend the basic notion of Hamming distance to propose a dissimilarity measure which helps in finding the approximations of clusters in the given data set. The underlying theoretical background for this decision is rough set theory. The authors have investigated our algorithm on the benchmark data sets from UCI machine learning repository which have shown promising results.
Superior Koch Curve
Authors: Prasad Sanjeev Kumar
Published: January 2012

In this paper, the author presents the design of Superior Koch Curve with different scaling factor, which has wide applications in Fractals Graphics. The proposed curve has been designed using the technique of superior iteration. The Koch curve is the limiting curve obtained by applying the self similar divisions to infinite number of times but in Superior Koch Curve scaling factor is based on superior iteration.
Abstract Fault Tolerance
Authors: Marcus Leo
Published: January 2012

This paper explores the concept of “pure fault tolerance”--when a system can fulfill its computational goal, even though some of its components do not fulfill theirs. This leads to a natural statement of the composition problem for a very general concept of architecture: to what extent are the properties of a system based on that architecture a function of the properties of the components? The author explores several variations on pure fault tolerance, none of which utilize fault detection or error correction.
Interactive Whiteboards
Authors: Schnackenberg Heidi L. , Heymann Michael J.
Published: January 2012

T. McDonough Central School District, located in a small city in upstate New York, is looking to invest some of its budget in new resources for Hawkins Elementary School. The School Board is strongly considering equipping each classroom in the school with interactive whiteboards. However, prior to doing so, the Board is inquiring about how the technology is currently being used. They are seeking input from teachers, students, parents, and other faculty members who have been exposed to the technology about this large-scale budget decision. For each stakeholder, the value and usefulness of the interactive whiteboards are different. Given the school board’s proposed spending initiative, the entire school community appears to be debating how to spend this money and what future interactive whiteboards may have in their schools and classrooms.
Lightweight Steganalysis Based on Image Reconstruction and Lead Digit Distribution Analysis
Authors: Zaharis Alexandros , Martini Adamantini , Tryfonas Theo , Ilioudis Christos , Pangalos G.
Published: January 2012

This paper presents a novel method of JPEG image Steganalysis, driven by the need for a quick and accurate identification of stego-carriers from a collection of files, where there is no knowledge of the steganography algorithm used, nor previous database of suspect carrier files created. The suspicious image is analyzed in order to identify the encoding algorithm while various meta-data is retrieved. An image file is then reconstructed in order to be used as a measure of comparison. A generalization of the basic principles of Benford’s Law distribution is applied on both the suspicious and the reconstructed image file in order to decide whether the target is a stego-carrier. The authors demonstrate the effectiveness of the technique with a steganalytic tool that can blindly detect the use of JPHide/JPseek/JPHSWin, Camouflage and Invisible Secrets. Experimental results show that the steganalysis scheme is able to efficiently detect the use of different steganography algorithms without the use of a time consuming training step, even if the embedding data rate is very low. The accuracy of the detector is independent of the payload. The method described can be generalized in order to be used for the detection of different type images which act as stego-carriers.
Ranking the Difficulty Level of the Knowledge Units Based on Learning Dependency
Authors: Liu Jun , Sha Sha , Zheng Qinghua , Zhang Wei
Published: January 2012

Assigning difficulty level indicators to the knowledge units helps the learners plan their learning activities more efficiently. This paper focuses on how to use the topology of a knowledge map to compute and rank the difficulty levels of knowledge units. Firstly, the authors present the hierarchical structure and properties of the knowledge map. Then they propose three hypotheses of factors influencing difficulty based on the correlation between the difficulty level of knowledge units and the learning dependency. Finally, the authors provide algorithms for ranking the knowledge units with objective and subjective difficulty scores. The experiment on the knowledge map of the “plane geometry” course shows that our algorithm can precisely calculate the difficulty level of knowledge units.
DSS-CMM
Authors: El-Gayar Omar F. , Deokar Amit V. , Tao Jie
Published: January 2012

While DSS development methodologies and implementation research are abound in the DSS literature, a gap still exists in terms of the ability to provide a holistic conceptual structure for improving the management and development of decision support systems, the ability to capture and share understanding of key DSS development processes, and most notably, the ability to provide guidance for DSS development and process improvements. This paper proposes a Decision Support System Capability Maturity Model (DSS-CMM). The model leverages related DSS literature and input from DSS researchers and practitioners to identify pertinent DSS development processes and capability levels. From a theoretical perspective, DSS-CMM provides a meta-model for DSS development processes and represents the first maturity model specifically targeting DSS development. From a practical perspective, the model provides a framework for organizations to assess the capability level of their DSS development processes and devise process improvement initiatives to address any limitations with existing practices.
Using Systems Engineering for the Development of Decision Making Support Systems (DMSS)
Authors: Vallance S. , Duffy A. , Whitfield R. I. , Mendibil K. , Hird A. , McCabe J. , Turner
Published: January 2012

Decision Making Support Systems (DMSS) can mitigate the risks involved in highly uncertain processes where novelty is high, such as NPD resource management. However such systems manipulate complex organisational information and require embedding within the business it operates within. There is a risk of poor acceptance in the business if the DMSS does not take into account a number of business related considerations. Utilising a systems approach literature was analysed, from which a set of considerations pertinent to the development of DMSS was elicited. Through the assessment of a number of System Development Methodologies (SDM), it was found that no one System Development Methodology (SDM) took into account all considerations identified. There is therefore a clear gap in current research and a real need for such a methodology which addresses the considerations identified.
IDSSE-M
Authors: Mora Manuel , Wang Fen , Gelman Ovsei , Kljajic Miroljub
Published: January 2012

Decision-making Support Systems (DMSSs) have been traditionally designed and built by using mainly the Waterfall method, Prototyping-Evolutive, or Adaptive approach in the last three decades. In this paper, the authors argue that while such approaches have guided to DMSS developers, they have been also demanded for adding ad-hoc, non-standardized activities and extra techniques based on their own expertise due to the scarcity of open-access available information of them. Additionally, from a Software Systems Engineering (SSE) viewpoint, such approaches cannot be considered as well-defined methodologies. This article contributes to the research stream of SSE-based DMSS development methodologies by reporting an initial empirical evaluation of IDSSE-M, a free-access methodology for designing and building Intelligent Decision Support Systems. IDSSE-M extends and adapts Turban and Aronson’s DSS Building Paradigm (open access), and Saxena’s Decision Support Engineering Methodology (proprietary). IDSSE-M offers DMSS developers at least a moderate level of usefulness, compatibility, and results demonstrability, which leads to a positive, good and beneficial attitude of using the methodology.
A Clustering Rule Based Approach for Classification Problems
Authors: Williams Philicity K. , Soares Caio V. , Gilbert Juan E.
Published: January 2012

Predictive models, such as rule based classifiers, often have difficulty with incomplete data (e.g., erroneous/missing values). So, this work presents a technique used to reduce the severity of the effects of missing data on the performance of rule base classifiers using divisive data clustering. The Clustering Rule based Approach (CRA) clusters the original training data and builds a separate rule based model on the cluster wise data. The individual models are combined into a larger model and evaluated against test data. The effects of the missing attribute information for ordered and unordered rule sets is evaluated and the collective model (CRA) is experimentally used to show that its performance is less affected than the traditional model when the test data has missing attribute values, thus making it more resilient and robust to missing data.
Spatial OLAP and Map Generalization
Authors: Bimonte Sandro , Bertolotto Michela , Gensel Jérôme , Boussaid Omar
Published: January 2012

Map generalization can be used as a central component of Spatial Decision Support Systems to provide a simplified and more readable cartographic visualization of geographic information. Indeed, it supports the user mental process for discovering important and unknown geospatial relations, trends and patterns. Spatial OLAP (SOLAP) integrates spatial data into OLAP and data warehouse systems. SOLAP models and tools are based on the concepts of spatial dimensions and measures that represent the axes and the subjects of the spatio-multidimensional analysis. Although powerful under some respect, current SOLAP models cannot support map generalization capabilities. This paper provides the first effort to integrate Map Generalization and OLAP. Firstly the authors define all modeling and querying requirements to do this integration, and then present a SOLAP model and algebra that support map generalization concepts. The approach extends SOLAP spatial hierarchies introducing multi-association relationships, supports imprecise measures, and it takes into account spatial dimensions constraints generated by multiple map generalization hierarchies.
The Evolution from E-Commerce to M-Commerce
Authors: Swilley Esther , Hofacker Charles F. , Lamont Bruce T.
Published: January 2012

This study focuses on the isomorphic pressures and firm capabilities that affect strategic decision-making in organizations in the context of m-commerce. The authors take into consideration that the three isomorphic forces set forth by DiMaggio and Powell (1983), mimetic, coercive and normative pressures, work together to impact strategic decisions based on stakeholder influences. This study found that the effects of mimetic pressures seen in results of previous studies may be the result of model misspecification. Findings also indicate that firms want to leverage capabilities gained from e-commerce in the m-commerce wave in order to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace
Intelligent Agent Based Model for Auction Service Discovery in Mobile E-Commerce
Authors: Sidnal Nandini S. , Manvi Sunilkumar S.
Published: January 2012

Internet enabled auctions are one of the popular application which basically require a web service discovery mechanism that is efficient in all perspectives. This paper focuses on auction service discovery and building repository of services for the use of E-customers. The auction service directory (repository) is developed based on the customer’s desires. Agent based Belief Desire Intention (BDI) architecture is used in this model, not only to support the service discovery process in spotty or no connectivity network environment but also to automate the process so that it enables the mobile users to complete the discovery process successfully without continuous on-line presence. The simulation results depict that the performance parameters like customer satisfaction, availability of requested services and stability in fetching the services are better in the proposed service discovery model as compared to auction based advertisement facilitated service discovery mechanism.
E-Service and Organizational Change
Authors: Ong Chorng-Shyong , Wang Shang-Wei
Published: January 2012

The pervasiveness of e-services offers organizations a new way to serve and engage their customers. Organizational change issues must be recognized and addressed to increase service quality and satisfaction of e-service. However, relevant research is limited. In this paper, the authors conduct a longitudinal in-depth case study of a successful e-service-induced governmental transformation and propose a three-stage change management model. First, the authors reveal the dynamic process of the e-service-induced organizational change. Second, the authors explicitly identify the role and influence of ICTs and customers in the change process, which is important in studying e-service-induced organizational change due to the boundary nature of e-service. Lastly, their three-stage change management model acknowledges the improvisational and technochange process of the e-service-induced change and can be used either as a theoretical framework or a practical management tool.
A Semi-Structured Methodology for ERP System Selection Based on MACBETH and Choquet Integral Applied to Small and Medium Sized Enterprises
Authors: Khaled Abdelilah , Idrissi Mohammed Abdou Janati
Published: January 2012

Historically, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems were initially destined to large companies in order to standardize and streamline their key business processes. Recently, they have been increasingly adopted by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). However, making strategic tradeoffs among the various marketplace solutions is a troublesome balance task for SMEs without the rescue of systematic multicriteria decision approaches. This paper addresses the question of how to choose an ERP solution that best suits a given SME. It serves twofold objectives; firstly it defines a set of selection criteria related to SMEs’ context. Secondly, it presents a selection methodology based on the construction of an induced decision model through capturing the decision maker’s preferences. The key contribution of this paper is the introduction of a new iterative learning based approach destined to make enlightened decisions through the consideration of interdependencies among the adopted selection criteria thanks to the Choquet Integral.
Building the Agile Enterprise with Service-Oriented Architecture, Business Process Management and Decision Management
Authors: Mircea Marinela
Published: January 2012

Organizations are permanently confronted with the need for adaptation to a complex business environment that is in a continuous change and transformation. Thus, the organization’s agility represents a key element in obtaining the strategic advantage and the market success. The paper analyzes the connection between the Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA), the Business Process Management (BPM) and the Decision Management, as well as the way in which these modern approaches contribute to obtaining organization agility. The main changes determined by the organization’s service orientation, changes that are necessary for the success of the transition to the agile organization, are also identified and presented within the paper. Obtaining and maintaining agility implies the existence of an agile architecture at the level of organization. For that matter, the final part of the paper analyzes the creation of an organizational architecture based on standards and oriented on services. Four relevant approaches have been selected, which joined may lead to obtaining an agile enterprise architecture, namely: SOA, Cloud Computing, BPM, and Decision Management.
User Charges and Solid Wastes Generation in Lagos, Nigeria
Authors: Sunday Ayadi Folorunso
Published: January 2012

Solid waste is a major disutility of urbanization in Nigeria as rapid urbanization combined with industrialization in Nigerian cities have created greater concentration of wastes than what these cities’ systems can possibly assimilate. One state where this problem is most severe is Lagos State. The size of the state, coupled with the other factors like population trend, topography, concentration of industries act as potential threat to the limited carrying capacity of the environment. Therefore, if the present annual growth rate in population of 6-8% is to be sustained, there should be an urgent need to de-link economic activities from environmental degradation via an efficient waste management strategy that focuses on waste minimization among others. This research analyzed the impact of user charges, recycling incentive (price of recyclables) and weather variables on both residential and commercial sectors. In addition, income and population density variables were included for the household model using the OLS and ARIMA model. The author found that user charges negatively impacts on waste quantities. Weather variable (temperature) positively influenced wastes quantities. The author recommends the use of variable user charges set appropriately and the encouragement of recycling in the state.
MNEs and Information Management
Authors: Markus M. Lynne , Sia Siew Kien , Soh Christina
Published: January 2012

This paper for the 20th anniversary issue of the Journal of Global Information Management (JGIM) looks back on the last ten years of research on two related areas highlighted in Tan and Gallupe’s (1999) manifesto for research on global information management in the decade ahead: global enterprise management and global management of information resources. In particular, the paper examines the relationship between the structure and governance of multinational enterprises (MNEs) and the structure and governance of IT resources in MNEs. Early IS research hypothesized alignment between enterprise organization structure and the structure of the IT function in high-performing organizations. However, research on “structure” in both MNEs and IT resources shifted to the concept of “governance”. This paper argues that IT organization design (structure and governance in combination) should be the focus of future research on IT resources management in MNEs. In addition, the paper argues that the relationship between MNE design and IT resources management is a critical topic. The paper examines three relationships among these two concepts: the contingency theory argument that IT resources management should follow and be aligned with MNE organization design, the universalistic argument that there is one best way to organize IT resources in MNEs, and the co-evolutionary argument that IT enterprise resources management design can lead, as well as follow, MNE organization design.
National ICT Policies and Development
Authors: Checchi Ricardo M. , Loch Karen D. , Straub Detmar , Sevcik Galen , Meso Peter
Published: January 2012

While there is a fairly robust literature on information and communications technology (ICT) national policy, there are missing elements in the existing research. First, nation states at different stages of development are generally not considered in terms of what kind of ICT national policy is optimal. Second, a stakeholder perspective on the creation and implementation of the policy is typically absent. This theoretical paper attempts to fill these gaps by combining the idea of nations at different stages of development with stakeholder theory. The authors also integrate past thinking and research about information technology transfer, i.e., ICT outcomes, into a Stage-Stakeholder Model of ICT Policy. Directions for future research are proposed.
Disruptive or Sustaining Impact of WLAN Hotspots?
Authors: Hüsig Stefan
Published: January 2012

In this paper the impact of WLAN-technologies on mobile data communications in the case of the incumbent telecommunications firms and entrants in the Western European hotspot markets based on a disruptive innovation perspective is described and analysed. The main proposition to be analysed is whether or not WLAN has developed disruptive potential for the incumbents in this market so far. The results imply that incumbents and new entrants have taken advantage of the opportunity provided by WLAN technologies and the public hotspot market in Western Europe. Although the market success of both types of players varies between the countries analysed, in most Western European countries the incumbents dominate the public hotspot market. This result suggests a predominantly sustaining impact of WLAN technologies on the incumbents based on a country basis. However, the sustaining impact of WLAN is weaker if alternative business models, such as free or community network hotspots, are taken into account.
Web-Wide Application Customization
Authors: Hagemann Stephan , Vossen Gottfried
Published: January 2012

Mashups have become popular in recent years in the context of Web 2.0 developments. They represent a way of allowing an application to grow beyond the capabilities of its original developers through an incorporation of external functionality. This paper first introduces several approaches to integrating mashups into the Web pages or services, which commonly implement ways to determine which mashups are potentially relevant for display in a certain Web page context. It then describes in detail a novel approach called ActiveTags, which enables users to create reliable mashups based on tags and hence customized views of Web pages with tagged content. A scenario that demonstrates the potential benefits of this approach is presented. Moreover, a formalization is presented which suitably combines previous work on modeling the Web with relational meta-programming, thereby showing that ActiveTags (as well as related approaches) can conceptually be described in terms of the relational model of data.
Wild-Inspired Intrusion Detection System Framework for High Speed Networks (f|p) IDS Framework
Authors: Sallay Hassen , Rouached Mohsen , Ammar Adel , Ben Fredj Ouissem , Al-Shalfan Khalid , Ben Saad Majdi
Published: January 2012

While the rise of the Internet and the high speed networks made information easier to acquire, faster to exchange and more flexible to share, it also made the cybernetic attacks and crimes easier to perform, more accurate to hit the target victim and more flexible to conceal the crime evidences. Although people are in an unsafe digital environment, they often feel safe. Being aware of this fact and this fiction, the authors draw in this paper a security framework aiming to build real-time security solutions in the very narrow context of high speed networks. This framework is called (f|p) since it is inspired by the elefant self-defense behavior which yields p (22 security tasks for 7 security targets).
Web-Based Decision Support System for School Meal Planning
Authors: Chan Jonathan H. , Limsuwan Tasanee
Published: January 2012

The prevalence of obesity is on the rise among school children globally and recent reports by several institutions have linked this fact to heightened risk from potential chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and coronary heart disease. Many elementary school students from lower socio-economic groups are especially at risk. Hence it is important for both parents and school officials to understand the benefits of healthy weight and promote suitable changes to the eating habit of children. Acquiring sufficient and appropriate nutrition during childhood will lessen the risk of nutrition-related health problems and lead to a better quality adulthood. A school meal planner with a recommender option is a helpful tool to allow parents and school to plan a nutritionally balanced meal schedule for children. This paper presents a web-based meal planning decision support system (DSS) for parents and schools to provide suitable dietary meals for elementary school students. A demonstration website for the developed system has been implemented online (http://mealplanner.hyperhub.net).