bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
User Interface Formalization in Visual Data Mining
Authors: Catarci Tiziana , Kimani Stephen , Lodi Stefano
Published: May 2011

Despite the existence of various data mining efforts that deal with user interface aspects, very few provide a formal specification of the syntax of the interface and the corresponding semantics. A formal specification facilitates the description of the system properties without being concerned about implementation details and enables the detection of fundamental design issues before they manifest themselves in the implementation. In visual data mining, a formal specification can: enable users to decide which interaction/operation to apply to get a desired result; help users to predict the results of their interactions/operations with the system; enable the development of a general interaction model that designers/developers can use to understand the relationships between user interactions and their compositions. In this work, we describe an approach for formalizing the visual interface of a core data mining system, which has been employed in the development of a visual data mining system named VidaMine.
Semantic Data Mining
Authors: Banerjee Protima , Hu Xiaohua , Yoo Illhio
Published: May 2011

Over the past few decades, data mining has emerged as a field of research critical to understanding and assimilating the large stores of data accumulated by corporations, government agencies, and laboratories. Early on, mining algorithms and techniques were limited to relational data sets coming directly from Online Transaction Processing (OLTP) systems, or from a consolidated enterprise data warehouse. However, recent work has begun to extend the limits of data mining strategies to include “semi-structured data such as HTML and XML texts, symbolic sequences, ordered trees and relations represented by advanced logics” (Washio & Motoda, 2003).
Homeland Security Data Mining and Link Analysis
Authors: Thuraisingham Bhavani
Published: May 2011

Data mining is the process of posing queries to large quantities of data and extracting information often previously unknown using mathematical, statistical, and machine-learning techniques. Data mining has many applications in a number of areas, including marketing and sales, medicine, law, manufacturing, and, more recently, homeland security. Using data mining, one can uncover hidden dependencies between terrorist groups as well as possibly predict terrorist events based on past experience. One particular data-mining technique that is being investigated a great deal for homeland security is link analysis, where links are drawn between various nodes, possibly detecting some hidden links.
Multimedia Content Adaptation
Authors: Knight D. , Angelides Marios C.
Published: May 2011

The previous decade has witnessed a wealth of advancements and trends in the field of communications and subsequently, multimedia access. Four main developments from the last few years have opened up the prospect for ubiquitous multimedia consumption: wireless communications and mobility, standardised multimedia content, interactive versus passive consumption and the Internet and the World Wide Web. While individual and isolated developments have produced modest boosts to this existing state of affairs, their combination and cross-fertilisation have resulted in today’s complex but exciting landscape. In particular, we are beginning to see delivery of all types of data for all types of users in all types of conditions (Pereira & Burnett, 2003).
Multimedia Information Filtering
Authors: Parmar M. J. , Angelides Marios C.
Published: May 2011

In the film Minority Report (20th Century Fox, 2002), which is set in the near future, there is a scene where a man walks into a department store and is confronted by a holographic shop assistant. The holographic shop assistant recognises the potential customer by iris-recognition technology. The holographic assistant then welcomes the man by his name and starts to inform him of offers and items that he would be interested in based on his past purchases and what other shoppers who have similar tastes have purchased. This example of future personalised shopping assistants that can help a customer find shopping goods is not too far away from becoming reality in some form or another.
Content-Based Multimedia Retrieval
Authors: Wei C. , Li Chang-Tsun
Published: May 2011

In the past decade, there has been rapid growth in the use of digital media such as images, video, and audio. As the use of digital media increases, effective retrieval and management techniques become more important. Such techniques are required to facilitate the effective searching and browsing of large multimedia databases.
Design Principles for Active Audio and Video Fingerprinting
Authors: Steinbach M. , Dittmann J.
Published: May 2011

Active fingerprinting combines digital media watermarking and codes for collusion-secure customer identification. This requires specialized strategies for watermark embedding to lessen the thread of attacks like marked media comparison or mixing. We introduce basic technologies for fingerprinting and digital watermarking and possible attacks against active fingerprinting. Based on this, we provide test results, discuss the consequences and suggest an optimized embedding method for audio fingerprinting.
Multimedia Content Representation Technologies
Authors: Hurson A. , Yang Bo
Published: May 2011

In recent years, the rapid expansion of multimedia applications, partly due to the exponential growth of the Internet, has proliferated over the daily life of Internet users. Consequently, research on multimedia technologies is of increasing importance in computer society. In contrast with traditional text-based systems, multimedia applications usually incorporate much more powerful descriptions of human thought – video, audio and images (Auffret, Foote, Li & Shahraray, 1999). Moreover, the large collections of data in multimedia systems make it possible to resolve more complex data operations, such as imprecise query or content-based retrieval. For instance, image database systems may accept an example picture and return the most similar images of the example (Cox, Miller & Minka, 2000, Huang, Chang & Huang, 2003). However, the conveniences of multimedia applications come at the expense of new challenges to the existing data management schemes
Semantically Driven Multimedia Querying and Presentation
Authors: Cruz I. , Sayenko Olga
Published: May 2011

Semantics can play an important role in multimedia content retrieval and presentation. Although a complete semantic description of a multimedia object may be difficult to generate, we show that even a limited description can be explored so as to provide significant added functionality in the retrieval and presentation of multimedia. In this chapter we describe the DelaunayView that supports distributed and heterogeneous multimedia sources and proposes a flexible semantically driven approach to the selection and display of multimedia content.
Principles of Educational Software Design
Authors: Dagdilelis V.
Published: May 2011

Despite the generalized use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in teaching, their educational applications have not yet been standardized: a general consensus does not exist on how ICT can be applied to teaching nor on how educational software must be constructed. In this chapter, it is argued in favor of educational software construction being guided by a didactic problematique. In this framework we consider as a promising software category mindtools and, in particular, the so-called open microworlds. Their design must be guided by a number of principles: the tool logique, the multiple interface and the multiple representations principles. In this chapter, a detailed critique of these principles is also presented.
Online Multimedia Educational Application for Teaching Multimedia Contents
Authors: Prata A. , Lopes P. F.
Published: May 2011

This chapter describes an experiment undertaken with higher education level students, which consists of utilizing an online multimedia educational application as an aid in teaching organizational multimedia. This course is taught to fourth year students at the Escola Superior de Ciências Empresariais (Higher School of Management Sciences, Setúbal, Portugal), where the first author teaches. This chapter also describes the educational software model used for the planning, development and evaluation of the above-mentioned application. This model is the result of the integration of the model presented in the first author’s Master’s thesis with methods, methodologies and guidelines proposed by others. As for the resulting application, the manner in which it was applied and its evaluation are also presented in this document. The results obtained are then interpreted and future developments proposed.
Perceptual Semantics
Authors: Cavallaro Andrea , Winkler Stefan
Published: May 2011

The design of image and video compression or transmission systems is driven by the need for reducing the bandwidth and storage requirements of the content while maintaining its visual quality. Therefore, the objective is to define codecs that maximize perceived quality as well as automated metrics that reliably measure perceived quality. One of the common shortcomings of traditional video coders and quality metrics is the fact that they treat the entire scene uniformly, assuming that people look at every pixel of the image or video. In reality, we focus only on particular areas of the scene. In this chapter, we prioritize the visual data accordingly in order to improve the compression performance of video coders and the prediction performance of perceptual quality metrics. The proposed encoder and quality metric incorporate visual attention and use a semantic segmentation stage, which takes into account certain aspects of the cognitive behavior of people when watching a video. This semantic model corresponds to a specific human abstraction, which need not necessarily be characterized by perceptual uniformity. In particular, we concentrate on segmenting moving objects and faces, and we evaluate the perceptual impact on video coding and on quality evaluation.
Intelligent Agents for E-Learning
Authors: Bruns Ralf , Dunkel Jürgen
Published: May 2011

We propose the software architecture of a new generation of advisory systems using Intelligent Agent and Semantic Web technologies. Multi-agent systems provide a well-suited paradigm to implement negotiation processes in consultancy situations. Intelligent software agents act as clients and advisors using their knowledge in order to assist human users. In the proposed architecture the domain knowledge is semantically modeled by means of XML-based ontology languages such as OWL. Using an inference engine the agents reason on base of their knowledge to make decisions or proposals. The agent knowledge consists of different types of data: on the one hand private data, which has to be protected against unauthorized access, and on the other hand publicly accessible data spread over different web sites. Comparable to a real consultancy situation, an agent only reveals sensitive private data if it is indispensable for finding a solution. In addition, depending on the actual consultancy situation each agent dynamically expands its knowledge base by accessing OWL knowledge sources from the Internet. The usefulness of our approach is proved by the implementation of an advisory system whose objective is to develop virtual student advisers that render support to university students in order to successfully organize und perform their studies.
On the Problem of Mining Phrase Definition from Item Descriptions
Authors: Nguyen Hung V. , Davulcu H.
Published: May 2011

Most search engines do their text query and retrieval using keywords. However, vendors cannot anticipate all possible ways in which shoppers search for their products. In fact, many times, there may be no direct keyword match between a search phrase and descriptions of products that are perfect “hits” for the search. A highly automated solution to the problem of bridging the semantic gap between product descriptions and search phrases used by Web shoppers is developed. By using scalable information extraction techniques from Web sources and a frequent itemset mining algorithm, our system can learn how meanings can be ascribed to popular search phrases with dynamic connotations. By annotating the product databases based on the meanings of search phrases mined by our system, catalog owners can boost the findability of their products.
OLEMAR
Authors: Messaoud Riadh Ben , Rabaséda Sabine Loudcher , Missaoui Rokia , Boussaid Omar
Published: May 2011

Data warehouses and OLAP (online analytical processing) provide tools to explore and navigate through data cubes in order to extract interesting information under different perspectives and levels of granularity. Nevertheless, OLAP techniques do not allow the identification of relationships, groupings, or exceptions that could hold in a data cube. To that end, we propose to enrich OLAP techniques with data mining facilities to benefit from the capabilities they offer. In this chapter, we propose an online environment for mining association rules in data cubes. Our environment called OLEMAR (online environment for mining association rules), is designed to extract associations from multidimensional data. It allows the extraction of inter-dimensional association rules from data cubes according to a sum-based aggregate measure, a more general indicator than aggregate values provided by the traditional COUNT measure. In our approach, OLAP users are able to drive a mining process guided by a meta-rule, which meets their analysis objectives. In addition, the environment is based on a formalization, which exploits aggregate measures to revisit the definition of the support and the confidence of discovered rules. This formalization also helps evaluate the interestingness of association rules according to two additional quality measures: lift and loevinger. Furthermore, in order to focus on the discovered associations and validate them, we provide a visual representation based on the graphic semiology principles. Such a representation consists in a graphic encoding of frequent patterns and association rules in the same multidimensional space as the one associated with the mined data cube. We have developed our approach as a component in a general online analysis platform called Miningcubes according to an Apriori-like algorithm, which helps extract inter-dimensional association rules directly from materialized multidimensional structures of data. In order to illustrate the effectiveness and the efficiency of our proposal, we analyze a real-life case study about breast cancer data and conduct performance experimentation of the mining process.
Domain Driven Data Mining
Authors: Cao Longbing , Zhang Chengqi
Published: May 2011

Quantitative intelligence based traditional data mining is facing grand challenges from real-world enterprise and cross-organization applications. For instance, the usual demonstration of specific algorithms cannot support business users to take actions to their advantage and needs. We think this is due to Quantitative Intelligence focused data-driven philosophy. It either views data mining as an autonomous data-driven, trial-and-error process, or only analyzes business issues in an isolated, case-by-case manner. Based on experience and lessons learnt from real-world data mining and complex systems, this article proposes a practical data mining methodology referred to as Domain-Driven Data Mining. On top of quantitative intelligence and hidden knowledge in data, domain-driven data mining aims to meta-synthesize quantitative intelligence and qualitative intelligence in mining complex applications in which human is in the loop. It targets actionable knowledge discovery in constrained environment for satisfying user preference. Domain-driven methodology consists of key components including understanding constrained environment, business-technical questionnaire, representing and involving domain knowledge, human-mining cooperation and interaction, constructing next-generation mining infrastructure, in-depth pattern mining and postprocessing, business interestingness and actionability enhancement, and loop-closed human-cooperated iterative refinement. Domain-driven data mining complements the data-driven methodology, the metasynthesis of qualitative intelligence and quantitative intelligence has potential to discover knowledge from complex systems, and enhance knowledge actionability for practical use by industry and business.
Minimizing the Minus Sides of Mining Data
Authors: Wang John , Hu Xiaohua , Zhu Dan
Published: May 2011

This research explores the effectiveness of data mining in a commercial perspective. Statistical issues are specified first. Data accuracy and standardization are followed then. Diverse problems related to the information used for conducting a data mining research are identified. Also, the technical challenges and potential roadblocks in an organization itself are described. Certainly, minimizing the possible negative side of data mining, hopefully without interfering its tremendous potentials, is a challenging task we are facing.
The Intelligence of Rumors
Authors: Turrini Paolo , Paolucci Mario , Conte Rosaria
Published: May 2011

This chapter presents a theory of reputation seen as the result of evaluation spreading in a multi-agent system (MAS). In particular the capacities of agents that spread reputation have been analyzed and decomposed in their atomic parts (pragmatic, memetic, epistemic). For each decision we state and verify several claims, using the methodologies that allowed best to capture the relevant aspects of the theoretical statements. Our major claim is that only when considering agents’ architectures and roles it is possible to find out which regulatory patterns cannot emerge. Reputation is argued to be no exception to this rule. Therefore, in order to interact with each other, agents need evaluation concerning which partner to choose. We will describe how by using various kinds of methodologies that account for theory fragments a coherent picture can be observed and how interdisciplinary can help to account for complex intelligent phenomena among adaptive social systems.
Complex Adaptive Systems Theory and Military Transformation
Authors: Holloman Kimberly
Published: May 2011

The United States and many of its coalition partners have initiated a broad program of reform aimed at transforming their defensive capabilities to take advantage of recent advances in technologies and to meet emerging security challenges. Progress to date, however, has been mixed in terms of the ability of the DoD redefine itself as an information age organization and in terms of the DoD’s capacity to deliver transformational capabilities to war fighters. This chapter examines questions regarding our ability to guide, direct and control large scale organizational change. I suggest that transformational efforts can be viewed through the lens of the agent-structure, which posits that that social change is the outcome of a complex dialectic between human agents and social structures. I argue that our understanding of this dialectic may be significantly enhanced if we examine the theoretical and empirical insights gained from the study of complex adaptive systems (CAS).
E-Learning Classifications
Authors: Negash Solomon , Wilcox Marlene V.
Published: May 2011

This chapter identifies six e-learning classifications to understand the different forms of e-learning and demonstrates the differences and similarities of the classifications with classroom examples, including a pilot empirical study from the authors’ experience. It argues that understanding the different e-learning classifications is a prerequisite to understanding the effectiveness of specific e-learning formats. How does the reader distinguish e-learning success and/or failure if the format used is not understood? For example, a learning format with a Web site link to download lecture notes is different from one that uses interactive communication between learner and instructor and the latter is different from one that uses “live” audio and video. In order to understand effectiveness, or lack thereof of an e-learning environment, more precise terminology which describes the format of delivery is needed. To address this issue, this chapter provides the following six e-learning classifications: e-learning with physical presence and without e-communication (face-to-face), e-learning without presence and without e-communication (self-learning), e-learning without presence and with e-communication (asynchronous), e-learning with virtual presence and with e-communication (synchronous), e-learning with occasional presence and with e-communication (blended/hybrid-asynchronous), and e-learning with presence and with e-communication (blended/hybrid-synchronous). E-learning classifications can aid researchers in identifying learning effectiveness for specific formats and how it alters the student learning experience.
A Framework for Distance Education Effectiveness
Authors: Shanker Murali , Hu Michael Y.
Published: May 2011

Distance education is now an integral part of offering courses in many institutions. With increasing access to the Internet, the importance of distance education will only grow. But, to date, the specific benefits that distance education brings to student learning objectives remain unclear. We first propose a framework that links student performance and satisfaction to the learning environment and course delivery. Next, we empirically evaluate our framework using data from a Business Statistics course that we offer in the traditional classroom setting and as a distance-education course. Our results show that a well-designed distance education course can lead to a high level of student satisfaction, but classroom-based students can achieve even higher satisfaction, if they also are given access to learning material on the Internet. This indicates that material for an effective distance-education course also can be used to supplement in-class teaching in order to increase satisfaction with student learning objectives.
Achieving a Working Balance Between Technology and Personal Contact Within a Classroom Environment
Authors: Springer Stephen
Published: May 2011

This chapter addresses the author’s model to assist faculty members in gaining a closer relationship with distance learning students. The model that will be discussed consists of a greeting, message, reminder, and conclusion (GMRC). The GMRC will provide concrete recommendations designed to lead the faculty through the four steps. Using these steps in writing and responding to electronic messages demonstrates to the distance learning student that in fact the faculty member is concerned with each learner and the learner’s specific questions and needs. It is a practical application of human relations theory and is based on ideas generated by counseling theory. In addition, the chapter will take the reader through issues and examples that will arise during the duration of discussions and exchange of information using electronic messages. It is the intent of the author to provide not simply a theoretical model, but a model that can be learned and applied immediately upon completion of reviewing the article.
Motivators and Inhibitors of Distance Learning Courses Adoption
Authors: Mafé Carla Ruiz , Blas Silvia Sanz , García de los Ríos José Tronch
Published: May 2011

The main aim of this chapter is to present an in-depth study of the factors influencing asynchronous distance learning courses purchase decision. We analyse the impact of relations with the Internet, distance course considerations, and perceived shopping risk on the decision to do an online training course. A convenience sample of 111 students attending classroom-taught postgraduate and management training programmes were used in March 2005 to obtain the information necessary to test in the Spanish market the conceptual model proposed by applying logistical regression. The results show that perceived course utility, lack of mistrust in the organising institution (service considerations), and satisfaction with the use of Internet when doing this type of training (relations with the medium) determine the asynchronous distance learning course purchase intention. Finally, the authors consider a set of recommendations for company managers.
How the World is Signified
Authors: Abdoullaev Azamat
Published: May 2011

How reality or the world with its parts and levels might be truly symbolized and represented by emerging semantic technology and knowledge systems appears the most challenging topic in the field of top ontology and ontology engineering. Along with causality, knowing the relationship of meaning makes all the difference in true representation of the real world features, in understanding (sensing, reading, or resolving) the real meaning values of world knowledge representation and reasoning. A formal account of meaning (or significance) is becoming a decisive issue in the whole matter of the Semantic Web promising machine-based processing by means of advanced information technologies. For without understanding the nature of meaning, its critical dimensions, mechanisms, and algorithms of representation in computable forms, the whole enterprise of semantic technology is an otiose undertaking and expensive academic mystification. As far as computing ontology is viewed as a semantic model where the relationships among resources are to be identified, differentiated, or processed by automated tools [SICoP, 2005], the above meaningful topics presuppose creating the standard ontology framework. As far as the emerging Semantic Web is the universal medium for the exchange of information across users, systems, applications, and networks, the unified frame ontology is the universal semantic platform for a uniform organization of all human knowledge.
The Knowledge Society Applications
Authors: Abdoullaev Azamat
Published: May 2011

Like in the human mind marked by rationality, goals, and purposeful actions, knowledge in advanced computer systems and intelligent agents is thought to constitute a distinct level lying above the symbol (computational), the logical (algorithmic), and the physical (biological, mechanical) levels (Newell, 1980; Newell, 1990; Newell, 1993). The symbol or code level with its two kinds of representations, data structures (contents) and processes (codes and procedures), is considered to be a representational medium level realizing knowledge content and actuating the agent’s thoughts and decisions. Accordingly, all inquiries of AI usually are arranged as a separate contribution either to the symbol (code) level or to the knowledge (semantic) level. Any sort of logic, whatever may be its generality, contributes little directly to the knowledge level, since “no matter how general a logic is, it is not at the knowledge level” (Newell, 1980). Logical principles are by nature merely rules of reasoning, deductive arguments, and demonstration, they are not principles of real knowledge. So, being neutral to their subjects, formal logical systems neither describe nor represent, nor explain, nor predict any real phenomena. Consequently, nothing substantive can be deduced from the logical axioms or postulates regarding the nature and order of things in the real world. Nevertheless, despite the public fact that logic says nothing about any real thing, and that it is all about proposition and inference forms, there is an established habit to combine formal logic languages with entity taxonomies and typologies so that to construct a general representational language for the DA, in particular, and knowledge technologies, in general (Ontology and Taxonomies, 2001). Nowadays, such versions of logical formalisms and languages as semantic networks, rule systems, fuzzy logic, frame models, predicate calcuThe lus, or situation calculus still constitute all the thrust of current knowledge and reasoning applications. Some AI practitioners feel concern about this conceptual confusion, and urge on replacing “form-oriented AI research” with “content-directed AI Research,” whereby substituting knowledge engineering with ontological (domain knowledge) engineering, thus, underlining the higher value of content theories in comparison with so-called logical mechanism theories (Mizoguchi, 1998).
The Modular Design of an Internet-Based Laboratory
Authors: Azad Abdul
Published: May 2011

This chapter presents the development of a modular Internet-based laboratory facility using cutting edge technologies along with its implementation for offering a laboratory course. The modules are developed using commercial products and are adaptable with a variety of laboratory experiments with little effort or maintenance cost. The developed facility has in-built capability to collect systems’ operational data that are used to evaluate the effectiveness of the system and assess the students learning behavior. Provision was also made to assess the level of learning while using the facility. An Internet-based laboratory facility involves real laboratory equipment being controlled remotely over the Internet that enables students to get access to laboratory equipment any time from any location, where most laboratory equipment is idle for a major part of its working life. Having these advantages, there is very little effort or interest within the academic community to implement the Internet-based laboratories for course offerings due to the complexity of operation, complicated design, extensive maintenance effort, higher implementation cost, lack of human interactions, and ethical issues. To address these problems the author has developed this modular Internet-based laboratory facility and studied its performance through a laboratory course.
Online Pedagogical Effectiveness in Adult Contexts
Authors: Dixon Robert , Dixon Kathyrn
Published: May 2011

A longitudinal study of students in the Training and Development program at Curtin University of Technology has been undertaken in an attempt to develop a framework which describes the dimensions of pedagogical effectiveness in online teaching and learning. The research began in 2004 and data has been collected from the sample group of students in the program from 2004 through to 2007. As a result of analysis and review of the findings, the Online Pedagogical Effectiveness Framework (OPEF) emerged incrementally. The new framework challenges the traditional importance placed on the centrality of teaching skills and the need for student interaction in online teaching and learning, which according to this study, diminished over time. This has ramifications for the interchangeability of the roles of teacher, learner, instructional designer peers and colleagues.
Self-Construction in Computer Mediated Discourse
Authors: Kupferberg Irit
Published: May 2011

This chapter presents and illustrates the theoretical and methodological frameworks of a discourse-oriented approach to the study of self-construction in computer-mediated discourse (CMD). It is argued that this approach is suitable for the study of CMD, when the major traces of self are imprinted in discourse – language used in a specific context. Espousing functionalist approaches to discourse analysis which view language resources as the building blocks of human communication the approach foregrounds the process of discursive positioning – a central theoretical construct and a methodological principle. It also shows how micro- and macro-levels of analysis can be integrated in the exploration of self-construction in CMD.
Surveys as a Complementary Method for Web Log Analysis
Authors: Rainie Lee , Jansen Bernard J.
Published: May 2011

Every research methodology for data collection has both strengths and limitations, and this is certainly true for transaction log analysis. Therefore, researchers often need to use other data collection methods with transaction logs. In this chapter, we discuss surveys as a viable alternate method for transaction log analysis and then present a brief review of survey research literature, with a focus on the use of surveys for Web-related research. The chapter then identifies the steps in implementing survey research and designing a survey instrument. We conclude with a case study of a large electronic survey to illustrate what surveys in conjunction with transaction logs can bring to a research study.
Finding Meaning in Online, Very-Large Scale Conversations
Authors: Smith Brian K. , Sharma Priya , Yon Lim Kyu , Kaplan Akilli Goknur , Kim KyoungNa , Fujimoto Toru
Published: May 2011

Computers and networking technologies have led to increases in the development and sustenance of online communities, and much research has focused on examining the formation of and interactions within these virtual communities. The methods for collecting data and analyzing virtual online communities, especially very large-scale online discussion forums can be varied and complex. In this chapter, we describe two analytical methods—qualitative data analysis and Social Network Analysis (SNA)–that we used to examine conversations within ESPN’s Fast Break community, which focuses on fantasy basketball sports games. Two different levels of analyses—the individual and community level—allowed us to examine individual reflection on game strategy and decision-making as well as characteristics of the community and patterns of interactions between participants within community. The description of our use of these two analytical methods can help researchers and designers who may be attempting to analyze and characterize other large-scale virtual communities.
Using Action-Object Pairs as a Conceptual Framework for Transaction Log Analysis
Authors: Zhang Mimi
Published: May 2011

In this chapter, we present the action-object pair approach as a conceptual framework for conducting transaction log analysis. We argue that there are two basic components in the interaction between the user and the system recorded in a transaction log, which are action and object. An action is a specific expression of the user. An object is a self-contained information object, the recipient of the action. These two components form one interaction set or an action-object pair. A series of action-object pairs represents the interaction session. The action-object pair approach provides a conceptual framework for the collection, analysis, and understanding of data from transaction logs. We believe that this approach can benefit system design by providing the organizing principle for implicit feedback and other interactions concerning the user and delivering, for example, personalized service to the user based on this feedback. Action-object pairs also provide a worthwhile approach to advance our theoretical and conceptual understanding of transaction log analysis as a research method.
The Next Generation of Shopbots
Authors: Fasli Maria
Published: May 2011

The huge growth of e-commerce has had a profound impact on users who can now choose from a vast number of options online. Inevitably, as the number of choices has increased, so has the need for tools to help users organize, manage and utilize information on these for better decision-making. Comparison shopping agents or shopbots can help users decide what to buy and enhance their online shopping experience. However, despite the high expectations, the immense potential of shopbots has not been fully realized. In this chapter, the author identifies the limitations and drawbacks of current shopbots, in particular, with regard to the underlying technology for building such systems. She then discusses how these technical limitations can be overcome by making use of the Semantic Web and Web Services. She also considers how shopbots can truly serve the user by providing personalized, impartial and flexible services.
Extreme Rate Distributed Video Transcoding System
Authors: Yang Seung S. , Khan Javed I.
Published: May 2011

This chapter provides a comprehensive awareness and understanding of research efforts in the field of extreme rate-distributed video transcoding. The basic concepts and theories of rate control methods such as requantization, temporal resolution reduction, spatial resolution reduction, and object-based transcoding are introduced. We will identify each rate control scheme’s strengths and weaknesses and provide a distributed video transcoding system architecture that uses multiple transcoding techniques in the creation of an extreme rate video. Experimental results show that the appropriate use of multiple transcoding schemes retains a better quality video in an extreme rate control. At the end of this chapter, we will identify unsolved problems and related issues and will offer suggestions for future research directions.
Controversies and Concurrence in Science Education
Authors: Downing Kevin F. , Holtz Jennifer K.
Published: May 2011

The practical application of theory, or praxis, in science education is arguably less straightforward today than it has been in preceding generations. While formal education and learning theories have been promulgated for close to 100 years, the changing disposition and balance of academia, and the consequent dissemination of questionable and unverifiable social theories, have led to a more ambiguous discussion and application of au courant learning theories to science education. Much of what the authors consider the detrimental entanglement in academia of definitions and educational theories about science occurs at the confluence of different professional attitudes and motivation. Scientists are generally complacent in terms of championing and defending their own core philosophy and epistemology, and a scientist’s professional rewards and efforts rarely consist of debunking critics in the so-called other ‘ways of knowing’ (see the Science Wars website and the Sokal Affair for a droll exception at http://members.tripod.com/ScienceWars/). The defense of scientific reasoning is not what scientists focus on by training; thus, this is an area that almost certainly needs more systematic attention and treatment in science curricula. By contrast, science’s detractors in the humanities, social sciences and even education, find professional incentive and marketable topic in assailing the science colossus. Most notably, postmodernism with its socially relativistic and radical constructivist theories, replete with the denial of objective truth, have attempted to undermine science, or as Fishman (1996) noted, are attempting to put science on an “indefinite furlough” (p. 95). Like it or not, the science community is at war with nihilistic ideologies and one of the battle grounds is pedagogy, a deliberation that extends to online science learning environments.
Online Mathematics and Physical Science (Mathematics, Astronomy, Chemistry and Physics)
Authors: Downing Kevin F. , Holtz Jennifer K.
Published: May 2011

Our focus in this chapter is to present a more discipline-centered review of representative and sound practices published examples from math and the physical sciences. This builds on to the previous chapters on Contemporary Approaches and Promising Technologies and Strategies and compliments the mathematics and physical science examples reviewed earlier. We group the examples into the chief areas: courses, simulations, virtual laboratories, collaborations, virtual science museums and digital libraries. Our goal is to provide the reader with a surveyed appreciation of the many recent innovations in online mathematics, physics, astronomy and chemistry.
Thesaurus-Based Automatic Indexing
Authors: de Campos Luis M.
Published: May 2011

In this chapter, we present a thesaurus application in the field of text mining and more specifically automatic indexing on the set of descriptors defined by a thesaurus. We begin by presenting various definitions and a mathematical thesaurus model, and also describe various examples of real world thesauri which are used in official institutions. We then explore the problem of thesaurus-based automatic indexing by describing its difficulties and distinguishing features and reviewing previous work in this area. Finally, we propose various lines of future research.
EFL through the Digital Glass of Corpus Linguistics
Authors: Viana Vander , Zyngier Sonia
Published: May 2011

Like the advent of the telescope, computers today can provide ways of looking into language patterns that cannot be seen with the naked eye. From this perspective, this chapter argues for the centrality of corpus use in English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms. It shows how the computer can offer new ways of looking at language and of relying on real data to see how language is used. A historical background is provided so as to enable an approach to corpus linguistics, one which moves away from reliance on intuitions and abstract examples. Having made the claim for the strengths of corpus linguistics as a way to develop students’ autonomy in language learning, an online corpus and some concordancers are provided, and examples are offered of how they could work in a classroom. The chapter ends with research and educational prospects in the area.
The Impact of Academic Podcasting on Students' Learning Outcomes
Authors: Facer Betty Rose , Abdous M’hammed , Camarena Margaret M.
Published: May 2011

As part of an initiative to enhance the humanities’ use of emerging technologies, the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at Old Dominion University is currently developing strategies for incorporating the use of podcasting—disseminating audio programming over the Internet—in its foreign language curricula and is studying podcasting’s effects on foreign language teaching and learning. The academic use of podcasting allows for 24/7 accessibility and portability of the teaching and learning experience, while enabling on-demand learner control and personalization (Lee & Chan, 2007). It permits the restructuring of valuable classroom time and can convert the popular iPod and other MP3 players into multipurpose teaching and learning tools that can be used to reinforce class content, to improve pronunciation and vocabulary, and to improve oral and aural skills. The early results of this pilot project suggest that podcasting has positive effects on students’ learning outcomes and study habits.
From Global to Universal-Complementary Civilization
Authors: Targowski Andrew
Published: May 2011

The purpose of this chapter is to define processes triggering the emergence of global civilization at the beginning of the 21st century. In addition, a proof is provided that the fourth wave of globalization leads towards the emergence of global civilization as one of facets of world civilization, including a proposal of the direction in which one must lead the further development of world civilization. The further purpose of this section is to define the sources of crisis affecting civilization and to define a solution by developing the concept of universal-complementary civilization. The study is based on the critical theory of civilization, which not only analyzes “how it is” but also provides some solutions “how it should be.” A graphic modeling of civilizations will be applied to move from scenario-driven considerations to system-driven synthesis of components and their relationships. First to be analyzed will be symptoms of the civilization crisis in general. Later, the question is posed: Can Western and global civilizations solve this crisis? Eventually a new solution is offered under the term “universal- complementary civilization,” as a foundation for all kinds of particular and common (global) civilizations. The life cycle of this new civilization is defined and the strategy how to begin its implementation will be suggested.
Adaptive Web Presence and Evolution through Web Log Analysis
Authors: Li Xueping
Published: May 2011

The Internet has become a popular medium to disseminate information and a new platform to conduct electronic business (e-business) and electronic commerce (e-commerce). With the rapid growth of the WWW and the intensified competition among the businesses, effective web presence is critical to attract potential customers and retain current customer thus the success of the business. This poses a significant challenge because the web is inherently dynamic and web data is more sophisticated, diverse, and dynamic than traditional well-structured data. Web mining is one method to gain insights into how to evolve the web presence and to ultimately produce a predictive model such that the evolution of a given web site can be categorized under its particular context for strategic planning. In particular, web logs contain potentially useful information and the analysis of web log data have opened new avenues to assist the web administrators and designers to establish adaptive web presence and evolution to fit user requirements.
Association Rule Mining of Relational Data
Authors: Denton Anne
Published: May 2011

Most data of practical relevance are structured in more complex ways than is assumed in traditional data mining algorithms, which are based on a single table. The concept of relations allows for discussing many data structures such as trees and graphs. Relational data have much generality and are of significant importance, as demonstrated by the ubiquity of relational database management systems. It is, therefore, not surprising that popular data mining techniques, such as association rule mining, have been generalized to relational data. An important aspect of the generalization process is the identification of challenges that are new to the generalized setting.
Best Practices in Data Warehousing
Authors: Pang Les
Published: May 2011

Data warehousing has been a successful approach for supporting the important concept of knowledge management— one of the keys to organizational success at the enterprise level. Based on successful implementations of warehousing projects, a number of lessons learned and best practices were derived from these project experiences. The scope was limited to projects funded and implemented by federal agencies, military institutions and organizations directly supporting them. Projects and organizations reviewed include the following: • Census 2000 Cost and Progress System • Defense Dental Standard System • Defense Medical Logistics Support System Data Warehouse Program • Department of Agriculture Rural Development Data Warehouse • Department of Defense (DoD) Computerized Executive Information System • Department of Energy, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Enterprise Reporting Workbench • Department of Health and Human Services, Health Care Financing Administration (HFCA) Teraplex Integration Center • Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Envirofacts Warehouse • Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Investigative Data Warehouse • Federal Credit Union • Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Compliance Data Warehouse • Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Data Warehouse • U.S. Army Operational Testing and Evaluation Command • U.S. Coast Guard Executive Information System • U.S. Navy Type Commander’s Readiness Management System