bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
User Characteristics of Transit Oriented Developments
Authors: Muley Deepti , Bunker Jonathan , Ferreira Luis
Published: May 2011

Transit oriented developments are high density mixed use developments located within short and easily walkable distance of a major transit centre. These developments are often hypothesised as a means of enticing a mode shift from the private car to sustainable transport modes such as, walking, cycling and public transport. However, it is important to gather evidence to test this hypothesis by determining the travel characteristics of transit oriented developments users. For this purpose, travel surveys were conducted for an urban transit oriented development currently under development. This chapter presents the findings from the preliminary data analysis of the travel surveys. Kelvin Grove Urban Village, a mixed use development located in Brisbane, Australia, has been selected as the case for the transit oriented developments study. Travel data for all groups of transit oriented development users ranging from students to shoppers, and residents to employees were collected. Different survey instruments were used for different transit oriented development users to optimise their response rates, and the performance of these survey instruments are stated herein. The travel characteristics of transit oriented development users are reported in this chapter by explaining mode share, trip length distribution, and time of day of trip. The results of the travel survey reveal that Kelvin Grove Urban Village users use more sustainable modes of transport as compared to other Brisbane residents.  
Infrastructure Sustainability
Authors: Thilakarathna Herath , Thambiratnam David , Dhanasekar Manicka , Perera Nimal
Published: May 2011

Infrastructure engineering and sustainable design are among the important drivers of sustainable development. Increased industrialisation has brought to the forefront the susceptibility of concrete columns (in both buildings and bridges) to vehicle impacts. Accurate vulnerability assessments are crucial in the design process due to the possibly catastrophic nature of the failures that can occur. This chapter reports on research undertaken to investigate the impact capacity of columns of low to medium raised buildings designed according to the Australian standards. Numerical simulation techniques were used in the process and validation was done by using experimental results published in the literature. The investigation thus far has confirmed the vulnerability of typical columns in five story buildings located in urban areas to medium velocity car impacts. Hence, these columns need to be re-designed or retrofitted. In addition, accuracy of the simplified method presented in EN 1991-1-7 to quantify the impact damage was scrutinised. A simplified concept to assess the damage caused by all collision modes was introduced. The research information will be extended to generate a common database to assess the vulnerability of columns in urban areas to the new generation of vehicles.
 
Structural Health Monitoring of Bridges
Authors: Kaphle Manindra , Tan Andy , Thambiratnam David , Chan Tommy
Published: May 2011

Managing the sustainability of urban infrastructure requires regular health monitoring of key infrastructure such as bridges. The process of structural health monitoring involves monitoring a structure over a period of time using appropriate sensors, extracting damage sensitive features from the measurements made by the sensors, and analysing these features to determine the current state of the structure. Various techniques are available for structural health monitoring of structures, and acoustic emission is one technique that is finding an increasing use in the monitoring of civil infrastructures such as bridges. Acoustic emission technique is based on the recording of stress waves generated by rapid release of energy inside a material, followed by analysis of recorded signals to locate and identify the source of emission and assess its severity. This chapter first provides a brief background of the acoustic emission technique and the process of source localization. Results from laboratory experiments conducted to explore several aspects of the source localization process are also presented. The findings from the study can be expected to enhance knowledge of the acoustic emission process, and to aid the development of effective bridge structure diagnostics systems.
Sustainability Performance of Construction
Authors: Masrom Asrul Nasid , Skitmore Martin
Published: May 2011

In general, the performance of construction projects, including their sustainability performance, does not meet optimal expectations. One aspect of this is the performance of the participants who are interdependent and make a significance impact on overall project outcomes. Of these participants, the client is traditionally the owner of the project, the architect or engineer is engaged as the lead designer and a contractor is selected to construct the facilities. Generally, the performance of the participants is gauged by considering three main factors, namely, time, cost and quality. As the level of satisfaction is a subjective issue, it is rarely used in the performance evaluation of construction work. Recently, various approaches to the measurement of satisfaction have been made in an attempt to determine the performance of construction project outcomes – for instance, client satisfaction, customer satisfaction, contractor satisfaction, occupant satisfaction and home buyer satisfaction. These not only identify the performance of the construction project but are also used to improve and maintain relationships. In addition, these assessments are necessary for the continuous improvement and enhanced cooperation of participants. The measurement of satisfaction levels primarily involves expectations and perceptions. An expectation can be regarded as a comparative standard of different needs, motives and beliefs, while a perception is a subjective interpretation that is influenced by moods, experiences and values. This suggests that the disparity between perceptions and expectations may possibly be used to represent different levels of satisfaction. However, this concept is rather new and in need of further investigation. This chapter examines the methods commonly practised in measuring satisfaction levels today and the advantages of promoting these methods. The results provide a preliminary review of the advantages of satisfaction measurement in the construction industry and recommendations are made concerning the most appropriate methods to use in identifying the performance of project outcomes.
Hybrid Intelligent Diagnosis Approach Based On Neural Pattern Recognition and Fuzzy Decision-Making
Authors: Chohra Amine , Kanaoui Nadia , Amarger Véronique , Madani Kurosh
Published: May 2011

Fault diagnosis is a complex and fuzzy cognitive process, and soft computing methods and technologies based on Neural Networks (NN) and Fuzzy Logic (FL), have shown great potential in the development of Decision Support Systems (DSS). Dealing with expert (human) knowledge consideration, Computer Aided Diagnosis (CAD) dilemma is one of the most interesting, but also one of the most difficult problems. Among difficulties contributing to challenging nature of this problem, one can mention the need of fine pattern recognition (classification) and decision-making. This Chapter deals with classification and decision-making based on Artificial Intelligence using multiple model approaches under soft computing implying modular Neural Networks (NN) and Fuzzy Logic (FL) for biomedical and industrial applications. The aim of this Chapter is absolutely not to replace specialized human but to suggest decision support tools: hybrid intelligent diagnosis systems with a satisfactory reliability degree for CAD. In this Chapter, a methodology is given in order to design hybrid intelligent diagnosis systems for a large field of biomedical and industrial applications. For this purpose, first, a survey on diagnosis tasks in such applications is presented. Second, fault diagnosis systems are presented. Third, the main steps of hybrid intelligent diagnosis systems are developed, for each step emphasizing problems and suggesting solutions able to ensure the design of hybrid intelligent diagnosis systems with a satisfactory reliability degree. In fact, the main steps discussed are knowledge representation, classification, classifier issued information fusion, and decision-making. Then, the suggested approach is developed for a CAD in biomedicine, from Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) test, and the prototype design and experimental results are presented. Finally, a discussion is given with regard to the reliability and large application field of the suggested approach.
A Cross-Layer Design to Wireless/Mobile Video Streaming
Authors: Cho Yongjin , Kuo C. Jay
Published: May 2011

This chapter introduces a cross-layer approach to wireless/mobile video streaming system design to meet its flexibility and adaptability requirements. On one hand, with the rapid development of wireless/mobile communication infrastructure, wireless video applications are gaining more popularity. On the other hand, there exist many new challenges due to the inherent characteristics of wireless networks and communication systems. This is especially true for video delivery under a stringent time constraint. To address these issues, flexibility and adaptability of communication systems, which are the objectives of cross-layer design, have been extensively studied for performance enhancement. In this chapter, we begin with the motivation of the cross-layer approach, which is needed in response to several challenges of efficient wireless/mobile video streaming. Then, some fundamental issues of the cross-layer design are introduced followed by video-specific system requirements. Furthermore, we examine a couple of cross-layer design ideas proposed in the past. Finally, we consider issues associated with the practical employment along with software simulations, and demonstrate the benefit of the cross-layer approach.
Environmental Challenges in Mobile Services
Authors: Lingarchani Amit
Published: May 2011

Pervasive mobile services are part of almost all business processes. These services are provided irrespective of location, time and place using devices such as mobile phones, smartphones and laptops. This boost in mobile services has also resulted in numerous environmental challenges ranging from design and manufacturing of the mobile device through to mobile service providers and corresponding network infrastructure. This chapter outlines the use of mobile services to increase customer base. In addition, it also provides a better view on opting mobile wireless services over wired services. Environmental challenges around the use of mobile services are described as part of the chapter. Finally some suggestions to reduce carbon emissions and to be energy efficient are provided. In short the chapter goes in line with sentence “Going green is no longer optional from business vantage point” (Brenner, 2008).
Ubiquitous Computing does not Guarantee Ubiquitous Learning in Schools
Authors: Nicholas Howard
Published: May 2011

In this chapter, I will argue that ubiquitous computing is a necessary, but not sufficient condition for ubiquitous learning. I will propose definitions that clarify some of the contextual features that shape both terms when they are applied in a school context. Using data and experiences derived from a year-long project with primary and secondary schools in Victoria, Australia, examples of classroom activities are analysed to illustrate how the presence of ubiquitous computing did not guarantee ubiquitous learning. These activities are compared to articulate the key features of ubiquitous learning and develop a model that shows how the contribution of ubiquitous computing to ubiquitous learning is constrained by pedagogic frameworks that shape the relationship between handhelds, other elements of the technological suite and learning.
Enterprise Application Integration (EAI)
Authors: Bussler Christoph
Published: May 2011

As long as businesses only have one enterprise application or back end application system there is no need to share data with any other system in the company. All data that has to be managed is contained within one back end application system and its database. However, as businesses grow, more back end application systems find their way into their information technology infrastructure managing different specialized business data, mainly introduced due to the growth. These back end application systems are not independent of each other; in general they contain similar or overlapping business data or are part of business processes. Keeping the data in the various application systems consistent with each other requires their integration so that data can be exchanged or synchronized. The technology that supports the integration of various application systems and their databases is called Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) technology. EAI technology is able to connect to back end application systems in order to retrieve and to insert data. Once connected, EAI technology supports the definition of how extracted data is propagated to back end application systems solving the general integration problem.
Making Sense of e-HRM
Authors: Foster Steve
Published: May 2011

Several organisations have adopted e-HRM technology as a platform for achieving transformational change, improving HR operational processes, allowing distributed access to employees / managers and providing better decision support. However, as a consultant working in this field, the author regularly encounters organisations that fail to take advantage of the transformational potential of e-HRM, particularly those in the United Kingdom public sector. This chapter argues that the concepts of sense-making and technological frames may explain the inertia experienced in some organisations. It contends that the analysis of technological frame domains provides a valuable lens for understanding and interpreting e-HRM, where high levels of frame incongruence may act as a barrier to transformational change. Research suggests that power relations between key groups of stakeholders, in particular HR Managers and line managers, may influence these frames and shape attitudes to technology. This approach may also provide the basis for strategies to manage e-HRM related change more effectively. Using a grounded theory approach, the research, currently work in progress in support of a professional doctorate (DBA),investigates how United Kingdom public sector organisations make sense of, plan for and implement HR technology.
Testing Guidelines for Developing Quality EAI Projects
Authors: Balasundaram S.R. , Ramadoss B.
Published: May 2011

The rapidly changing nature of business environments requires organizations to be more flexible to gain competitive advantages. Organizations are turning into a new generation of software called Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) to fully integrate business processes. It is an activity that integrates and harmonizes an enterprise’s isolated business applications, processes and functions involving real time data. Developing quality EAI projects is quite a big challenge. Even though success of EAI projects depends on so many parameters, ‘testing’ is the most significant phase that can ensure the quality as well as the success of EAI projects. Components integrated without testing in EAI systems may affect the enterprise system as a whole. This chapter focuses on the testing aspects related to EAI applications. Especially the significance of testing for various types of “Integrations” is discussed in detail.
The Enterprise Systems Approach
Authors: Targowski Andrew
Published: May 2011

The enterprise system approach is defined by its evolution and major milestones of architectural planning. The ES architectures are multi-faceted solutions, hence it is defined in the scope of the enterprise organization architecture (EOA), enterprise functional architecture (EFA), enterprise processive architecture (EPA), enterprise information architecture (EIA), enterprise software architecture (ESA), enterprise network architecture (ENA), enterprise service architecture (ESA), business component architecture (BCA), enterprise information infrastructure (EII), and enterprise configurations. A composite ES architecture is presented as a transitional architecture, which is currently practiced by most enterprises. The near future of the ES approach will be rather limited to the ways of delivering ES’ applications within a framework of service-oriented architecture (SOA) and the cloud computing, which satisfies effective large-scale operations. The progressive process of organization/business virtualization and the urgent need for more sustainable enterprise development should lead to new development of enterprise systems.
Benefits of Information Technology Implementations for Supply Chain Management
Authors: Nair Prashant R.
Published: May 2011

The usage of Information Technology (IT) in organizations across the supply chain has become a determinant of competitive advantage for many corporations. This chapter focuses on the usage of IT tools for Supply Chain Management (SCM). It also highlights the contribution of IT in helping restructure the entire distribution set-up to achieve higher service levels, lower inventory, and lower supply chain costs. An overview and tangible benefits of the existing IT tools, which are widely deployed, is provided with focus on existing configuration considerations, available applications, and deployments in India. The role of existing communication technologies in making IT an enabler of SCM, is highlighted by addressing a range of different point and enterprise solutions in a variety of supply chain settings. Critical IT demonstrations and implementations in SCM are discussed. Fundamental changes have occurred in today’s global economy. These changes alter the relationship that we have with our customers, our suppliers, our business partners, and our colleagues. Reflection on the evolving and emerging IT trends like software agents, RFID, web services, virtual supply chains, electronic commerce, and decision support systems, further highlights the importance of IT in the context of increasingly global competition. The rapid adoption of the Internet for communication with all stakeholders, seems to reflect the potential of the new-age communication media. It has also been observed that several progressive Indian companies are extensively using emerging tools like virtual supply chains, web services, RFID, and electronic commerce to shore up their supply chain operations. However, adoption of tools like software agents and decision support systems for supply chain integration by Indian companies, is limited.
Achieving System and Business Interoperability by Semantic Web Services
Authors: Krogstie John , Veres Csaba , Sindre Guttorm
Published: May 2011

Much of the early focus in the area of Semantic Web has been on the development of representation languages for static conceptual information; while there has been less emphasis on how to make Semantic Web applications practically useful in the context of knowledge work. To achieve this, a better coupling is needed between ontology, service descriptions, and workflow modeling, including both traditional production workflow and interactive workflow techniques. This chapter reviews the basic technologies involved in this area to provide system and business interoperability, and outlines what can be achieved by merging them in the context of real-world workflow descriptions.
Mining Association Rules from XML Documents
Authors: Rusu Laura Irina , Rahayu Wenny , Taniar David
Published: May 2011

This chapter presents some of the existing mining techniques for extracting association rules out of XML documents in the context of rapid changes in the Web knowledge discovery area. The initiative of this study was driven by the fast emergence of XML (eXtensible Markup Language) as a standard language for representing semistructured data and as a new standard of exchanging information between different applications. The data exchanged as XML documents become richer and richer every day, so the necessity to not only store these large volumes of XML data for later use, but to mine them as well to discover interesting information has became obvious. The hidden knowledge can be used in various ways, for example, to decide on a business issue or to make predictions about future e-customer behaviour in a Web application. One type of knowledge that can be discovered in a collection of XML documents relates to association rules between parts of the document, and this chapter presents some of the top techniques for extracting them.
Specifying Software Models with Organizational Styles
Authors: Kolp Manuel , Wautelet Yves , Faulkner Stéphane
Published: May 2011

Organizational Modeling is concerned with analyzing and understanding the organizational context within which a software system will eventually function. This chapter proposes organizational patterns motivated by organizational theories intended to facilitate the construction of organizational models. These patterns are defined from real world organizational settings, modeled in i* and formalized using the Formal Tropos language. Additionally, the chapter evaluates the proposed patterns using desirable qualities such as coordinability and predictability. The research is conducted in the context of Tropos, a comprehensive software system development methodology.
Improving Supply Chain Performance through the Implementation of Process Related Knowledge Transfer Mechanisms
Authors: McLaughlin Stephen
Published: May 2011

With the complexity of organizations increasing, it is becoming vitally important that organizations understand how knowledge is created and shared around their core business processes. However, many organizations deploy technology without due consideration for how their employees access, create, and share information and knowledge. This article explores the subject empirically through the study of how employees work with information and knowledge around a core business function—in this case a supply chain process. In order to do this, the organization needs to be viewed from a network perspective as it relates to specific business processes. Viewing the organization in this way enabled the author to see how employees’ preferred knowledge and information transfer mechanisms varied across the core process. In some cases, the identified transfer mechanisms where at odds with the prescribed organization wide mechanisms. However, when the organization considered the employees’ preferred transfer mechanisms as part of an overall process improvement, the E2E supply chain performance was seen to improve significantly.
Doing Business on the Globalised Networked Economy
Authors: Koumpis Adamantios , Protogeros Nikos
Published: May 2011

In this chapter the authors present a set of challenges that are to be faced by accounting information systems. More specifically, these include the support of interoperable accounting processes, for virtual and networked enterprises and for open-book accounting as well as the creation of novel interface metaphors that will automate and increase the usability of accounting information systems, and last but not least the provision of integrated e-accounting platforms.
ERP and Beyond
Authors: Subramoniam Suresh , Tounsi Mohamed , Ghani Shehzad Khalid , Krishnankutty K. V.
Published: May 2011

Enterprise-wide automation has already transformed the relations among suppliers, purchasers, producers, and customers. Conventional ERP helps only to automate individual departments. It could neither integrate its back-office benefits into the front-office, nor could it establish consistent control of all business processes. Competitive pressures and globalization stresses the need for more effective, total enterprise solutions. The world class competition, modern business environment, and the availability of the Internet are the premises which stress the need for ERP. The salient features of ERP II are presented in addition to describing some of the disruptive technologies which will help reengineer ERP systems rapidly. The results of an international survey pertaining to the embedding of intelligence in the modern day ERP shows an evolutionary trend. The order placement over the Internet by a sales clerk from a remote location forms a part of this chapter to benefit the readers in understanding the functioning of an ERP system.
Challenges and Opportunities in Global Supply Chain Integration
Authors: Holcomb Mary
Published: May 2011

Although the level of sophistication in supply chain management has grown at a dramatic rate over the past decade, many firms are still struggling to eliminate functional boundaries. Some companies, however, have begun the process of evolving to a more integrative state – both internally and across their supply chain. Increasing supply chain complexity and the relentless pressure to reduce costs, has made firms realize that attaining the desired level of performance will only be possible through the end-to-end integration of the supply chain. This chapter examines the challenges and opportunities that firms face in trying to achieve this goal. An in-depth review of the literature related to supply chain integration is presented, culminating in a framework that focuses on demand and supply integration. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the desired end state for integration efforts, which is to create an adaptive supply chain that is capable of competing in the environment of “supply chain versus supply chain.”
Network Marketing and Supply Chain Management for Effective Operations Management
Authors: Selladurai Raj
Published: May 2011

The use of network marketing by an organization as a distribution strategy in its global supply chain management activities is increasing and becoming very popular. This chapter looks at the “new” network marketing-supply chain paradigm, and analyzes some implications of the strategies for effective operations management. The network marketing paradigm has been greatly enhanced by the growth and popularity of the internet, which provides a powerful impetus to the whole concept of effective global network marketing-supply chain management area. This mainly theoretical study also provides a practical perspective by discussing manufacturing and service companies that are implementing the network marketing-supply chain strategy model in some form. It analyzes the supply chain management activities used by these organizations to achieve unprecedented success in their respective industry. This chapter concludes by developing an effective network marketing-supply chain management model that uses network marketing and supply chain management as key strategies in operations management.
A Mixed Integer Programming Approach for Sugar Cane Cultivation and Harvest Planning
Authors: Jena Sanjay , Poggi de Aragão Marcus
Published: May 2011

The planning of agricultural cultivation and harvesting is a complex task. However, this area of study is still relatively young. This chapter focuses on the tactical and operational planning for sugar cane cultivation and harvesting which determines the best moment to harvest the fields, maximizing the total profit given by the sugar content within the cane. It considers resources such as cutting and transport crews, processing capacities in sugar cane mills, the use of maturation products and the application of vinasse on harvested fields. The mixed integer programming model extends the classical Packing formulation, adding a network flow structure to represent the harvest scheduling. All experiments were performed with real-world instances provided by a Brazilian sugar cane producer. The suggested solutions are discussed in terms of quality and use in practice.
Pesticide Leaching Models in a Brazilian Agricultural Field Scenario
Authors: Júnior Rômulo , Rigitano Renê , Boesten Jos
Published: May 2011

The use of Pesticide Leaching Models (PLM) for risk assessment may be an efficient and attractive way of assessing solutions to some agricultural and environmental problems. Many countries of the European Union and the USA have been using PLM for risk assessment already for a few decades. This chapter has the aim to present a successful application of two PLM (i.e. MACRO and PEARL) in a Brazilian very intensive agricultural area to simulate moisture profiles and the leaching of a water flow tracer (i.e. bromide) and the pesticides cyproconazole and thiamethoxam. Also attempts to summarize the available knowledge about the processes governing pesticide behavior in soil, types and classifications of PLM, the use of PLM for risk assessment at European Union, a theoretical description of PEARL and MACRO models and their testing in a Brazilian agricultural field scenario.
A Computational Agent Model of Flood Management Strategies
Authors: Brouwers Lisa , Boman Magnus
Published: May 2011

A geographically explicit flood simulation model was designed and implemented as a tool for policy making support, illustrated here with two simple flood management strategies pertaining to the Upper Tisza area in Hungary. The model integrates aspects of the geographical, hydrological, economical, land use, and social context. The perspectives of different stakeholders are represented as agents that make decisions on whether or not to buy flood insurance. The authors demonstrate that agent-based models can be important for policy issues in general, and for sustainable development policy issues in particular, by aiding stakeholder communication and learning, thereby increasing the chances of reaching robust decisions. The agent-based approach enables the highlighting and communication of distributional effects of policy changes at the micro-level, as illustrated by several graphical representations of outputs from the model.
Descriptive Methods and Compromise Programming for Promoting Agricultural Reuse of Treated Wastewater
Authors: Ben Brahim Hella , Duckstein Lucien
Published: May 2011

The present chapter reports on a practical case of decision making in agricultural TWW reuse. The studied site concerns the Cebala TWW irrigated perimeter in Tunisia, located in North Africa. Crucially though in this perimeter is that TWW is under-exploited. Thus, the proposed research dwells on the future of this perimeter which could oscillate between hope and deadlock. In case of hope, shall we improve the quality of the resource and possibly move to the tertiary treatment? And in case of deadlock, shall we give up the TWW reuse or substitute it by a conventional resource? To make an evaluation of this experience, the authors first gave a general overview of the descriptive study in a dashboard. Contingent valuation method was used to assess qualitative data and gauge the intangible effects. Then, the authors presented a systemic multicriteria method deployed to make decision-making process easier. Such a method or technique, which is grounded on Lp metrics, is called Compromise Programming.
It’s All about the Relationship
Authors: Kirk Delaney J.
Published: May 2011

The rapid growth of social media sites has caught the attention of individuals and organizations hoping to use these to market their products and services. As digital products are sold online, it makes sense to tap into these networking communities to sell products as well as to share information and gather feedback. In this chapter, experts who are currently using social media in a variety of ways are asked to share their experiences. Tips are given on what to do as well as what not to do in order to participate successfully on social media sites. Future managerial and research implications are then discussed.
Human Biobanks
Authors: Jansen Brigitte
Published: May 2011

The chapter presents a careful comparative study on ethical and legal aspects of human biobanks both in Europe and elsewhere. The rapid expansion of human DNA sampling and data collection has taken place in the last few years, but the legal and ethical perception of this situation looks very different in European countries and beyond. The author focuses her attention on the European Union, especially in Estonia, where a population wide gene back has been established; moreover, she also discusses what is happening in Macedonia, a relatively neglected country in Eastern Europe, as well as Australia, India and Israel.
Communication and Automatic Interpretation of Affect from Facial Expressions
Authors: Salah Albert Ali , Sebe Nicu , Gevers Theo
Published: May 2011

The objective of this chapter is to introduce the reader to the recent advances in computer processing of facial expressions and communicated affect. Human facial expressions have evolved in tandem with human face recognition abilities, and show remarkable consistency across cultures. Consequently, it is rewarding to review the main traits of face recognition in humans, as well as consolidated research on the categorization of facial expressions. The bulk of the chapter focuses on the main trends in computer analysis of facial expressions, sketching out the main algorithms and exposing computational considerations for different settings. The authors then look at some recent applications and promising new projects to give the reader a realistic view of what to expect from this technology now and in near future.
Wireless Sensor Networks Advances for Ubiquitous Computing
Authors: Neto João B. Borges , Andrade Rossana M. C. , Neto Pedro Fernandes Ribeiro
Published: May 2011

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) have considerably evolved in recent years. Their main focus has been always restricted to the extraction of information from the environment, but only data collected by the network has been considered. All internal operations and challenges encountered in achieving the requirements assigned to the data have been ignored. However, the advances in the area of WSN, allowing their operation in scenarios under different conditions, make us believe that they are sufficiently mature and optimized to solve problems in other related areas. So, considering the WSN as an ideal laboratory to find solutions to several problems in wireless networks, this Chapter discusses how the advances of these networks may be useful to help the development and creation of smart environments, essential to make ubiquitous computing part of our everyday life.
Canon Financial Services, Inc.
Authors: Yermish Ira
Published: May 2011

Canon Financial Services, Inc. (CFS, www.cfs.canon.com) is a wholly owned subsidiary of CANON USA. Originally, an independent office products leasing company, CITILEASE, founded by Albert Smith who remains the president, CFS has grown to be an important financial arm for the U.S. Canon copier and office products business. Since CITILEASE was acquired in 1990, the operation has grown dramatically. In 1996, CANON USA recognized CFS as one of its premier divisions. A key success factor for this growth has been the strategic management of information within a corporate framework of outstanding customer service. The strong leadership of Smith and his organization as well as the commitment to information technology resources has fueled this explosive growth. In this case study we will first examine the structure of the copier and office products leasing industry. Few businesses find it desirable to purchase copiers, fax machines and other computer equipment. There are several reasons for this, not the least of which is the flexibility of capital in light of rapidly changing technological capabilities of the products being leased. The complex relationships of CANON dealers, independent dealers and service organizations, customers, credit reporting agencies, banks and CFS will be described, especially with respect to the complex flows of information necessary to complete the leasing application and contract tasks. Having established the industry basis we will describe CFS’s organizational structure and how information flows within the organization and among external organizations. The information technology infrastructure will be presented along with a brief history of the issues leading up to the current state of this structure. For example, the requirement to outsource the basic lease maintenance software will be examined in detail, especially from the point of view of this decision’s impact on strategic flexibility. The main focus of this case study will be the steering committee charged with addressing the information technology issues throughout the organization. The Systems and Methods Committee includes representatives from each of the departments and is chaired by the manager of information systems. Perhaps most striking about this organization is the role the president plays within the committee deliberations. The key players within the committee will be presented along with their comments about the committee operations. We will then place the reader at a point in time with a number of issues currently being addressed by the committee. A summary of the activity with respect to these issues will be presented. The reader will be asked to examine the issues and make a recommendation for a course of action for a new problem presented to the committee.
Case Study of the St. Paul Companies Virtual Office for the Risk Control Division
Authors: Johnson Nancy
Published: May 2011

The St. Paul Companies has successfully implemented a virtual office (VO) working environment for their US distributed construction risk control and commercial risk control employees over the past six years. The program goals of operating more cost effectively, increasing contact of the risk control specialists with their customers, and reducing office space costs for The St. Paul Companies have been met. There are many good practices that have been developed over the six years of offering the program, and more refinements and changes planned. As the communications and computer technologies advance, facilitation of working from remote sites improves. While it is easier for employees to work from remote sites, maintaining the boundaries between work and personal lives is more challenging. Improving the VO employees’ and corporate employees’ understanding of the other’s working conditions is necessary to improve relationships and the acceptance of change. The concept of VO work is well established within the organization, and the demand for it is growing.
Comparative Study of the Usefulness of Online Technologies in a Global Virtual Business Project Team Environment
Authors: Poon Simpson , Rai Shri
Published: May 2011

Lifelong learning is quickly becoming an integrated part of today’s working life because of the demand for keeping up to date with latest developments due to rapid change in technology and business. To maintain flexibility and quality, online technology is often used as a medium of educational service delivery. In this chapter, we examine a case where online technology has been used to coordinate virtual project teams (in an educational setting) around the world. The experience from the case study is that although online technology promises to offer an independent learning environment anytime and anywhere, only some aspects of the technology is useful depending on the nature of the task. In addition, there are behavioural and cultural issues, which can be exacerbated by under-developed personal relationships due to constraints imposed by online technology. The case study also shows that synchronous communication is not necessarily a better means to co-ordinate than its asynchronous counterpart. A challenge faced by online education providers is to find the right mix and how to come up with a framework that will provide optimal results.
Identifying Business Processes for, and Challenges to, Electronic Supply Chain Management
Authors: Sinkkonen Tarmo
Published: May 2011

This case examines the business practices of a small company in North–West Tasmania and identifies problems and challenges for electronic supply chain management (ESCM). The company is adopting ESCM to increase the speed of invoice production and to improve the accuracy of inventory control in its current supply chain management (SCM) system. The case study provides detailed analysis of the company, its merchandise and its experience of implementing ESCM. The analysis begins with an examination of current business practices, human resources, the information system, and issues related to customers, suppliers, products, and inventory control. Using this information, the case study examines how the company processes and fulfils sales orders, updates its inventory, and handles the receipt of ordered goods. The case concludes with a summary of the shortcomings of the company’s current SCM system and the main challenges the business faces in implementing ESCM. This study forms part of a larger ongoing investigation being conducted into SCM within small and medium sized businesses in North–West Tasmania.
Human Factors in Public Information Systems
Authors: Sandberg Karl W. , Yan Pan
Published: May 2011

News reports do not frequently mention many problems or accidents caused by human error. The specialty of human factors seeks to avoid human error by making certain that computers and all other equipment are designed to be easy to understand and use; costly human errors are thus minimised. This article provides a basic overview of the subject of human factors as it pertains to problem and error avoidance in computerised public information systems. When computer/system design does not adequately consider human capability, the performance of the computer/system and the user will be below desired levels.
Information Technology Acceptance across Cultures
Authors: Zakour Amel Ben
Published: May 2011

This chapter introduces national culture as a possible factor accounting for the differences in information technology adoption and use between countries. Based upon culture theory and the technology acceptance model (TAM), the author offers a conceptual model aiming at better understanding IT acceptance across countries of different cultures. It has been argued that six value dimensions—individualism/collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity/ femininity, high/low context, and polychronism/ monochronism—act as moderators of the TAM relationships. Furthermore, the author aims at helping IT designers and IT managers all over the world to understand why certain national cultural values may be congruent or not with the IT to be designed or implemented.
The Usability Engineering Behind User-Centered Processes for Web Site Development Lifecycles
Authors: O’Connell Theresa A. , Murphy Elizabeth D.
Published: May 2011

Usability is integral to software quality. Software developers increasingly acknowledge the importance of user-centered, Web site development. The value of usability engineering and the role of the usability engineer (UE) are less understood. A common assumption is that the UE’s role is only to be a user advocate. To this role, we add the responsibility of addressing concerns of other stakeholders in Web site design and development. We discuss usability engineering and the processes that it encompasses, such as project planning, requirements definition, user-centered design (UCD) and evaluation/testing within the context of traditional software engineering lifecycles. We define the UE’s role throughout a user-centered, Web site development lifecycle. This lifecycle integrates compatible usability engineering processes into software engineering processes, drawing examples from research and experience.
Personalization Systems and Their Deployment as Web Site Interface Design Decisions
Authors: Kumar Nanda
Published: May 2011

This chapter reviews the different types of personalization systems commonly employed by Web sites and argues that their deployment as Web site interface design decisions may have as big an impact as the personalization systems themselves. To accomplish this, this chapter makes a case for treating Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) issues seriously. It also argues that Web site interface design decisions made by organizations, such as the type and level of personalization employed by a Web site, have a direct impact on the communication capability of that Web site. This chapter also explores the impact of the deployment of personalization systems on users’ loyalty towards the Web site, thus underscoring the practical relevance of these design decisions.
Pervasive and Grid Computing Merging
Authors: Oliveira Loreno , Loureiro Emerson , Almeida Hyggo , Perkusich Angelo
Published: May 2011

Nowadays, we are experiencing an increasing use of mobile and embedded devices. These devices, aided by the emergence of new wireless technologies and software paradigms, among other technological conquests, are providing means to accomplish the vision of a new era in computer science. In this vision, the way we create and use computational systems changes drastically for a model where computers loose their “computer appearance.” Their sizes were reduced, cables were substituted by wireless connections, and they are becoming part of everyday objects, such as clothes, automobiles, and domestic equipments. Initially called ubiquitous computing, this paradigm of computation is also known as pervasive computing (Weiser, 1991). It is mainly characterized by the use of portable devices that interact with other portable devices and resources from wired networks to offer personalized services to the users. While leveraging pervasive computing, these portable devices also bring new challenges to the research in this area. The major problems arise from the limitations of the devices. At the same time that pervasive computing was attaining space within the research community, the field of grid computing (Foster, Kesselman, & Tuecke, 2001) was also gaining visibility and growing in maturity and importance. More than just a low cost platform for high performance computing, grid computing emerges as a solution for virtualization and sharing of computational resources. In the context of virtual organizations, both grid and pervasive computing assemble a number of features that are quite desirable for several scenarios within this field, notably the exchanging of information and computational resources among environments and organizations. The features of these technologies are enabling system designers to provide newer and enhanced kinds of services within different contexts, such as industry, marketing, commerce, education, businesses, and convenience. Furthermore, as time goes on, researchers have made attempts of extracting and incorporating the better of the two technologies, thus fostering the evolution of existing solutions and the development of new applications. On the one hand, pervasive computing researchers are essentially interested in using wired grids to hide the limitations of mobile devices. On the other hand, grid computing researchers are broadening the diversity of resources adhered to the grid by incorporating mobile devices. This chapter presents part of our experiences in the research of both pervasive and grid computing. We start with an overview about grid and pervasive technologies. Following, there are described and discussed approaches for combining pervasive and grid computing. These approaches are presented from both perspectives of grid and pervasive computing research. Finally, in the last section, there are presented our criticisms about the approaches discussed and our hopes about the future steps for this blend of technologies.