bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Cooperative Routing Algorithm to Increase QoS in Wireless E-Healthcare Systems
Authors: Manfredi Sabato
Published: February 2013

The recent increased interest in distributed and flexible wireless pervasive applications has drawn great attention to WNCS (Wireless Networked Control Systems) architectures based on WSANs (Wireless Sensor and Actuator Networks) and the resulting Quality of Service obtained in specific applications. Particularly, in wireless E-Healthcare systems based on WSANs, providing certain QoS specifications is crucial for the actuators as they perform actions based on the vital data received from sensors. This chapter is concerned with the performance evaluation of a cooperative routing algorithm QBAR (Queue Based Ad hoc Routing algorithm) for wireless E-Healthcare systems. Simulations have been carried out in order to quantify the impact of the proposed algorithm on the overall network performance, and a comparison with the existing AODV algorithm is presented. The algorithm performances are validated by the Matlab/Simulink-based simulator, TrueTime, which facilitates the co-simulation of controller task execution in real-time kernels and in a wireless network environment. The simulation results highlight that “cooperation” strategies between wireless healthcare devices can strongly improve the reliability of the wireless network, and hence, they are suitable and rewarding for the management of the future generation of E-Healthcare systems.
A Centralized Real-Time E-Healthcare System for Remote Detection and Prediction of Epileptic Seizures
Authors: Pham Dung V. , Halgamuge Malka N. , Nirmalathas Thas , Moran Bill
Published: February 2013

Epilepsy is one of the most common serious neurological disorders, affecting about 60 million people worldwide. There are currently about 220,000 Epilepsy patients in Australia, a significant proportion of whom are elderly and live in rural areas. In this chapter, we present the applications, requirements, solutions, and further research problems for a Centralized Real-time E-Healthcare System (CREHS) for Epilepsy patients in Australia, utilizing wearable wireless sensors and broadband technologies. Later, the authors propose, optimize, and validate biosensor devices to detect epileptic seizures. In addition, the chapter also provides a detailed description of the structures, features, and detailed implementation scenarios for the system.
Open Innovation for Non- High-Tech SMEs
Authors: Porath Amiram
Published: February 2013

This chapter presents a case of SMEs from non-High-Tech sector, which would normally find innovation harder than sectors with intensive R&D. The Users Association of Advanced Technologies is a national program that helps SMEs in searching, identifying, selecting, and implementing technologies, methodologies, and processes by reducing the resources required for that activity. The program reduces operation as well as managerial costs and allows SMEs to acquire the innovation they require, which they could not otherwise get. The initial concept of the program was meant for Israeli SMEs, however, as the concept is universal, the case study argues that the concept and basics can be adopted by other countries/regions. It can also be regarded as a risk mitigating program executed on behalf of SMEs. The readers can identify and define the concept as well as the basics to be adopted for other countries and regions. The program presented through this case does not support R&D, or the creation of new knowledge by itself, and therefore presents a complementary activity to R&D support programs.
Trends of Open Innovation in Developing Nations
Authors: Rahman Hakikur , Ramos Isabel
Published: February 2013

Evidently, innovation is a genuine reality within the entrepreneurships, given the circumstances of economic crisis, global competition, and novelties of technologies. Perplexing further to face the reality and overcome crises, enterprises are day by day adopting newly developed ideas, concepts, and perceptions to fit into the scenery of business dimension from within and outside the boundaries of their entities, thus channeling the entrepreneurships through the paradigm of open innovation. By far, the majority of the corporate businesses and multi-national enterprises are competing or collaborating with a consensus to promote value-added products, processes, or services. Notwithstanding, they are transforming the entire entrepreneurship infrastructure to face the reality and move ahead. A major portion of the business community, despite their justified contribution to economic growth and generation of employment, the sector belonging to the small and medium enterprises (SMEs), however, are not always in advantageous situations in the arena of open innovation due to many factors, seen, unseen, attended, un-attended, researched, and deserving of further research. To move further into the context of this research, it has been observed that countries ranking as developed economies are ahead in the race, adopting open innovation in their business development, while countries within the developing and transitional economies are struggling to fit into the race of the champions. This study, though not a specific case of one country, has tried to illustrate a few discrete scenarios from five developing countries through horizontal literature review. The chapter has tried to profile within the format of the casebook, providing generic context of innovation (and open innovation) in those randomly selected countries, presented challenges they are facing, including some recommendations, before concluding for further extensive research.
Rvolta, a Case for Open Innovation
Authors: Cardoso Margarida , Ramos Isabel
Published: February 2013

Rvolta has been working in waste management industry for 16 years now. This SME (Small and Medium Enterprise) from Portugal is taken as a focus point for the case study addressing a network of partners working in various activities which became related, so as to disclose the underlying innovative spirit, strategy, and partnership structure. Objectives of the present chapter are to portray and analyze a SME success case in open innovation (through various innovation practices), and clarify how knowledge creation and collaboration amongst different players in a network takes place. An exemplary collaboration episode is told. Framing issues are addressed so as to understand how they affect open innovation in SMEs. The study finds interactions, networking, and partnership connections, are important issues and indeed make a difference, thus enabling SMEs to innovate. This case evolved from an exploratory phase of an Information Systems PhD qualitative research, addressing open and crowdsourcing innovation.
“Casa do Conhecimento” (Knowledge House)
Authors: Graça José Ismael
Published: February 2013

The project “Casa do Conhecimento” (Knowledge House), based on a partnership between the Vila Verde Municipality, the University of Minho, and the Computer Graphics Center, is a case of adoption of the open innovation paradigm in a public administration context. The purpose of the Knowledge House is to work as a municipal infrastructure that invests in information technologies, and a set of technological assets and associated services. The aim is to create a space to support creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship as a local implementation of the Living Lab concept. This chapter will present the project Knowledge House in detail. It begins by approaching the theoretical assumptions that make the project highly relevant and actual; afterwards it describes the case with the aim of setting the stage for presenting the socio-economic impact of the project, and proceeds by detailing the project and what is being done to create the Knowledge House in Vila Verde, Portugal. Finally, it describes what will be done in the near future and details the expected socio-economic impacts of the Knowledge House.
An Integrative Model for Technology-Driven Innovation and External Technology Commercialization
Authors: Maarse Johan Henk , Bogers Marcel
Published: February 2013

This chapter proposes an integrative model for internal and external commercialization of technology-driven innovation. It particularly addresses how firms can practically use external technology commercialization, which is a type of open innovation that is not yet fully understood by academics and managers alike. The chapter first reviews dominant literature and frameworks in the areas of innovation, technology-driven innovation, and external technology commercialization. It subsequently develops an integrative model of technology-driven innovation and external technology commercialization, which combines various extant frameworks of internal and external commercialization of internal technologies and thereby provides a holistic understanding of what it takes to successfully commercialize technology. The model presents various phases in the process from technology to commercialization, such as divergence, convergence, technology transfer, development, validation, commercialization, and product line expansion, and presents the relevant intersections and the alternative commercialization paths. Hereby, this chapter provides a holistic perspective and a practical tool for managers seeking viable commercialization opportunities inside or outside of their firm boundaries.
Leadership in Open Innovation
Authors: Wippich Frank
Published: February 2013

Throughout the partnership interaction, leadership in Open Innovation becomes mainstream, so that everyone involved in the value creation process needs to exhibit skills along the proposed flexible leadership framework.
The Role of Promoter in the Context of University-Industry Cooperation
Authors: Mora-Valentín Eva-María , Pérez-Astray Braulio
Published: February 2013

In an open innovation scenario, organizations increasingly rely on external sources through interorganizational networks. In this chapter, the authors study the role played by the promoters in facilitating and maintaining university-firm relationships. To do so end, they have analyzed the relationship promoter model and examined his or her role in the REDOMIC project, whose purpose is to match university supply with firm demand effectively. After analysing the characteristics of the promoter role, they propose an innovative methodology that will enable supply and demand. The processing of this information at a later stage through a computer system enables us to identify matches that can then form the basis of future partnership agreements between universities and firms.
Innovation Efficiency and Open Innovation
Authors: Cid Rocío Guede , de Vicente y Oliva María A. , Bassa Jaime Manera , Ania Alberto Romero
Published: February 2013

To analyze the efficiency, the authors choose a DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) approach applied to the principal components of the set of inputs and outputs separately and they introduce a new stage at the end of the process to study the robustness of the efficient branches. This study of the robustness adds the fact of not applying DEA to the original inputs and outputs, but to the principal components of these two sets separately.
Practising Open Innovation in the Mobile Industry
Authors: Berzosa David López , Lorenzo Manuel , de Pablos Heredero Carmen , Camarillo Gonzalo
Published: February 2013

This chapter also reports on open innovation as a coherent practice in highly dynamic technological markets.
Open Innovation and Collaborative Network in Supply Chain
Authors: Sakamoto Angela Ruriko , Villar Cristiane Biazzin , Martins Michele Esteves
Published: February 2013

This chapter aims to discuss the use of open innovation and collaborative network as a resource to create value and increase competitiveness in supply chain. A case study of Open IPTV Forum was conducted based on documentary and secondary data. The analysis was based on Amit and Zott (2001) model as well as on Carayannis and Wang (2008) innovation networks and knowledge clusters roles. The results indicate the feasibility of joining simultaneously several different actors of a supply chain to develop a new product/service.
IDTVOS
Authors: Granadino Raúl Riesco , Cendón Javier Alfonso
Published: February 2013

Internet based networks and core competences; the way we communicate with each other and global economic pressure have changed the way we innovate. In this chapter, a new business model and work philosophy based on “open innovation” are presented. IDTVOS (INTECO Digital Television Operating System), developed by INTECO Labs dept., in collaboration with partners and end users, is the most recent success and serves as an example of this model. IDTVOS, a DTT decoder operating system, provides better interaction and accessibility to digital television services for disabled users. This project is a clear example of open innovation where the technologies developed provide added value for citizens, particularly those with more difficulties, while, at the same time, the knowledge and experience is open and shared with industry to create a new market.
Modelling Liquid Flow Through Carbon Nanotubes
Authors: Naghiyev Faig Bakhman Ogli
Published: February 2013

In this paper, the structure of a liquid and character of its flow in carbon nanotube is investigated. A review of the literature and the results of experiments show that the simulation of fluid flow for nanoscale systems should be based on the continuum hypothesis taking into account the quantized character of the liquid in the length scale of intermolecular distances. Consideration of the flow characteristics allowed construction of the analogy of behavior of the liquid in a nanotube with a flow of a viscoplastic Bingham fluid. A model of mass transfer of liquid in a nanotube, based on the possibility of forming an empty interlayer between the moving fluid particles and the particles of the wall of the nanotube, is presented.
Interactions Between Weighting Scheme and Similarity Coefficient in Similarity-Based Virtual Screening
Authors: Holliday John D. , Willett Peter , Xiang Hua
Published: February 2013

Similarity searching is one of the most common methods for ligand-based virtual screening, and is normally carried out using the Tanimoto coefficient with binary fingerprints. However, a recent study has suggested that it may be less appropriate for use with weighted fingerprints in some circumstances. This paper compares the Tanimoto coefficient with other coefficients, and demonstrates that one of these, the cosine coefficient, exhibits a much greater degree of robustness in the face of variations in the nature of the fragment weighting scheme that is being used.
Retrained Classification of Tyrosinase Inhibitors and “In Silico” Potency Estimation by Using Atom-Type Linear Indices
Authors: Casañola-Martín Gerardo M. , Khan Mahmud Tareq Hassan , Le-Thi-Thu Huong , Marrero-Ponce Yovani , García-Domenech Ramón , Torrens Francisco , Rescigno Antonio
Published: February 2013

In this paper, the authors present an effort to increase the applicability domain (AD) by means of retraining models using a database of 701 great dissimilar molecules presenting anti-tyrosinase activity and 728 drugs with other uses. Atom-based linear indices and best subset linear discriminant analysis (LDA) were used to develop individual classification models. Eighteen individual classification-based QSAR models for the tyrosinase inhibitory activity were obtained with global accuracy varying from 88.15-91.60% in the training set and values of Matthews correlation coefficients (C) varying from 0.76-0.82. The external validation set shows globally classifications above 85.99% and 0.72 for C. All individual models were validated and fulfilled by OECD principles. A brief analysis of AD for the training set of 478 compounds and the new active compounds included in the re-training was carried out. Various assembled multiclassifier systems contained eighteen models using different selection criterions were obtained, which provide possibility of select the best strategy for particular problem. The various assembled multiclassifier systems also estimated the potency of active identified compounds. Eighteen validated potency models by OECD principles were used.
Interval Cut-Set of Generalized Interval-Valued Intuitionistic Fuzzy Sets
Authors: Adak Amal Kumar , Bhowmik Monoranjan , Pal Madhumangal
Published: February 2013

In this paper, some different types of interval cut-set of genaralized interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy sets (GIVIFSs), complement of these cut-sets are introduced. Some properties of those cut-set of GIVIFSs are investigated. Also three decomposition theorems of GIVIFSs are obtained based on the different cut-set of GIVIFSs. These works can also be used in setting up the basic theory of GIVIFSs.
Managing Knowledge in Organizational Memory Using Topics Maps
Authors: Miller Les , Nilakanta Sree , Song Yunan , Zhu Lei , Hua Ming
Published: February 2013

Organizational memories play a significant role in knowledge management, but several challenges confront their use. Artifacts of OM are many and varied. Access and use of the stored artifact are influenced by the user’s understanding of these information objects as well as their context. Theories of distributed cognition and the notion of community of practice are used to develop a model of the knowledge management system. In the present work we look at a model for managing organizational memory knowledge. Topic maps are used in the model to represent user cognition of contextualized information. A visual approach to topic maps proposed in the model also allows for access and analysis of stored memory artifacts. The design and implementation of a prototype to test the feasibility of the model is briefly examined.
Supply Chain Disruptions and Best-Practice Mitigation Strategies
Authors: Moradeyo Adenike Aderonke
Published: February 2013

This paper reviews the supply chain management literature to summarize best-practice guidelines for mitigating supply problems. Very few studies in the extant literature focused on matching a strategy for both the supply and demand perspective. Case studies of supply chain management have traditionally focused on single companies, and especially on successful organizations rather than on the demand-supply-chain relationships (which involve at least two companies). Therefore, this study considers the experiences of the author, and researchers several well-known profitable fortune 1000 supply chain companies, to determine which supply chain mitigation strategies work best in complex situations.
The Future of Telemedicine in Europe and Methods for the Evaluation of Health Services
Authors: Di Giacomo Paola
Published: February 2013

Despite the accumulation of evidence for the effects of approaches to chronic illness, methodological and analytical work is still needed to develop widely accepted evaluation methods that are scientifically sound and also practicable in routine settings. Given all the diversity and variability of disease management, a key issue for this work concerns the difficulties in establishing a useful “comparator” in settings where it is not practical or possible to execute an evaluation as a randomized controlled trial (RCT). This is indeed an important task because evaluation methods are a precondition to select efficient and effective programs, or components within a program that can address the growing burden of chronic and more in general health conditions. This is evident, in particular, when it comes to new technologies in medicine and implementation and evaluation, in the healthcare sectors, distinguishing low-income countries, on the one-hand, and those in other middle income countries.
State of Sharing Clinical Information in a Healthcare System in the Gulf
Authors: Khan Khaled M.
Published: February 2013

The main objectives of this paper are to study the extent of automation and the state of sharing of clinical data in out-patient services of a healthcare sector in the Gulf. Based on the findings, it proposes a framework to improve the current automation process further. The paper focuses mainly on how the patients’ clinical data in the local primary health centers (PHCs) and the main hospitals in a Gulf country are stored electronically, and how the clinical data are shared among all major stakeholders. It is anticipated that the proposed framework will significantly reduce the duplication of data and services as well as reduce the use of paper files significantly. The healthcare decision makers will be able to access the relevant data in order to provide best practices and decision supports. It also promotes data sharing among all stakeholders, hence improve healthcare services.
E-Health Knowledge Management by Australian University Students
Authors: Usher Wayne , San Too Lay
Published: February 2013

This study is the first research project to investigate Australian university students’ e-health knowledge management trends. An online survey was developed (http://www.limesurvey.org) to collect both quantitative and qualitative empirical data. The survey was promoted via Facebook and 2 broadcast emails to students’ email accounts who were attending Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia (Arts, Education & Law). Two hundred and seventy-five (275) responses were included for analysis. A profile which emerged identifies that the majority of participants used the Internet to search for personal health information, used a random search engine, accessed online health information every few months, would mostly spend more than 1-15 minutes in reading it, with the majority accessing health topics concerning, 1) specific diseases, 2) medical treatment, and 3) health services. Australian university health services could benefit from understandings pertaining to students’ e-health knowledge management usage trends to meet their personal health concerns. It seems plausible to claim that reliable websites, designed and managed by university health services, should have a predominant position among interventions which are specifically aimed to address students’ health concerns.
Adaptive Output Feedback Voltage-Based Control of Magnetically-Saturated Induction Motors
Authors: Ismail Mohamed M. , Abdel Fattah Hossam A. , Bahgat Ahmed
Published: February 2013

The problem of controlling the induction motor -model with magnetic saturation is considered. An adaptive controller is developed under the assumption of measurable stator currents and speed only with unknown rotor resistance and load torque. All the unknown parameters are assumed constant or slowly varying and are estimated online by the controller. Simulation results are provided for illustration.
The White Label Space Google Lunar X Prize Project
Authors: Barton A. , Schlutz J. , Lemmen M. , de Graaf H. J. , Auvray G.
Published: February 2013

White Label Space is an official competitor in the Google Lunar X PRIZE and is developing a lunar surface mission aiming to win the prize as well as provide technologies and components for future deep space missions. The team’s long-term vision is synergistic with international plans for planetary science and exploration, both public and private, thus providing an inspirational platform for potential sponsors. This paper describes the technical approach to the mission, the financing and development plans, and the long-term vision of the White Label Space team beyond the prize.
Environmental Life Cycle Criteria for Propellant Selection Decision-Making
Authors: Johnson Christyl C. , Duffey Michael R.
Published: February 2013

A system of previously undefined environmental life cycle cost elements were developed for use in the propellant selection processes for spacecraft launch propulsion systems, with input from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Swedish Space Corporation, and stakeholders in industry and academia. These environmental life cycle cost elements were incorporated into a life cycle cost analysis of toxic propellant (hydrazine) versus green (High Performance Green Propellant) through a modified cost benefit analysis. Environmental cost element line items within the life cycle were identified as costs or benefits (cost reductions or avoided costs). A case study was also implemented to further illustrate these findings, resulting in a real-world 66% reduction in Phase E (operational) mission cost for High Performance Green Propellant (HPGP) compared with hydrazine. Based on the analysis, the largest environmental cost drivers were facility operations and maintenance, end of life disposal, and transportation, with the major costs being associated with health and human safety protection.
Managing Complex Technology Innovation
Authors: Szajnfarber Zoe , Weigel Annalisa L.
Published: February 2013

R&D management practices in engineering organizations typically conceptualize complex product innovation as a Stage-Gate process whereby novel concepts are matured through successions of development stages and progressively winnowed down at each sequential gate. This view assumes that maturity is a monotonically increasing function of the technology, and that the active process of winnowing is administrative decisions. This paper tests those assumptions using detailed evidence from six longitudinal case studies of technology innovation at NASA.
Service Recovery Encounters in the Classroom
Authors: Chandra Sneha , Gruber Thorsten , Lowrie Anthony
Published: February 2013

This paper explores the nature of service recovery encounters, particularly the qualities and behaviours that male and female students expect from professors in personal service recovery encounters. For this purpose, 40 semi-standardized laddering interviews were conducted (with 20 male and 20 female respondents) in order to gain a deeper understanding of student expectations and the values that drive these expectations. The analysis and findings enrich the existing limited stock of knowledge on desired attributes of professors in service recovery encounters in higher education by developing a deeper understanding of the attributes of professors that dissatisfied female and male students’ desire, as well as the underlying values for these expectations. Results show that the professor’s active listening skills, expertise, friendliness, concern for students, and being empathetic were important to both male and female students. However, gender differences are important in a service-recovery encounter in a classroom, which suggests differential treatment. While men place more importance on a quick problem solution, women seem to prefer a more communal approach.
Using Phenomenological Research to Drive Dynamic Modeling
Authors: Minami Nathan A.
Published: February 2013

One of the most difficult aspects in mathematical modeling and simulation is developing data to drive models and learning. This is particularly difficult when the subject involves intangible variables and concepts such as stress and perceptions that are difficult to ascribe a quantitative value to. This paper provides a description of how qualitative data collected during in depth phenomenological interviews with subject matter experts can be used to drive models. It also provides a case study of insurgency warfare and coalition and Afghan National Government performance during the last ten years. The U.S. government has spent more than $300 billion on the war in Afghanistan. Despite the employment of these resources, the goal of creating stability in the country has not been achieved. Twenty U.S. Army officers with six or more months of experience in Afghanistan were selected by random choice from a specific group. The participants were then interviewed to determine the meaning of their experiences in fighting an insurgency. Data analysis included organizing responses by question to identify the frequency of trends, patterns, and themes; and development of textural and structural descriptions of resource allocation and stability within the context of this study. Data was then transformed to create look-up tables that can be used to model, calibrate, and ascribe quantitative values to various variables in a dynamic insurgency model. A proof of concept model was then created to demonstrate the potential utility and power behind a model that combines the qualities of quantitative mathematical science and qualitative research methodology.
The Mind–Body-Spirit Learning Model Transformative Learning Connections to Holistic Perspectives
Authors: King Kathleen P.
Published: February 2013

At a time when the medical field is dominated by the pressures of private insurance demands and government regulations, many people discover they need to be self advocates in order to battle illness and regain their health. Moreover, these issues are not constant, as many countries (like the USA) face changing demographics and continuing radical changes in healthcare funding. These conditions require that patients seeking healthcare re-examine constantly their assumptions on several levels including, but not limited to medical professionals’ motivations, training and accuracy, healthcare philosophies, and recommended treatments. Within this context, patients’ self-advocacy becomes essential. Yet such positive independence regarding the medical professions contradicts traditional American cultural mores. A critical question for this situation springs from adult learning and development: what are the relationships among discovering self-agency in personal healthcare, wellness, and transformative learning? This article uses the frame of an autoethnography to explore the relationship among these domains. The writer’s eight-year journey through debilitating illness includes growing understandings of and connections among transformative learning, mind-body-spirit connections, self-agency, self-advocacy, and cultural concepts of wellness.
Linked Data as Integrating Technology for Industrial Data
Authors: Graube Markus , Pfeffer Johannes , Ziegler Jens , Urbas Leon
Published: February 2013

In a globalised world the process industry faces challenges regarding data management. Rising demands for agility and rapid shortening of innovation cycles have lead to project-based collaborations. Highly specialised small and medium enterprises are forming “virtual companies” for their mutual benefit. However, today’s industrial data structures are very heterogeneous, complicating collaborative work and hindering the flow of data between stakeholders from different domains. Existing solutions are too rigid and potentially cumbersome. A broad gap still exists between the need of virtual companies to share data from mixed sources in a controlled way and the technologies available. The authors’ approach uses semantic web technologies to represent industrial data in a generic way. Major advantages in comparison to traditional approaches arise from the inherent merging abilities and the extensibility of Linked Data. Distributed information spaces from different domains can be condensed into an interlinked cloud. Existing data can be integrated either on-the-fly using appropriate adapters or by complete migration. Furthermore, operations from graph theory can be performed on the Linked Data networks to generate aggregated views. This article discusses a set of proven web technologies for cloud-driven industrial data sharing in virtual companies and presents first results.
Utilizing Association Rules for Improving the Performance of Collaborative Filtering
Authors: Khanzadeh Zainab , Mahdavi Mehregan
Published: February 2013

Internet technology has rapidly grown during the last decades. Presently, users are faced with a great amount of information and they need help to find appropriate items in the shortest possible time. Recommender systems were introduced to overcome this problem of overloaded information. They recommend items of interest to users based on their expressed preferences. Major e-commerce companies try to use this technology to increase their sales. Collaborative Filtering is the most promising technique in recommender systems. It provides personalized recommendations according to user preferences. But one of the problems of Collaborative Filtering is cold-start. The authors provide a novel approach for solving this problem through using the attributes of items in order to recommend items to more people for improving e-business activities. The experimental results show that the proposed method performs better than existing methods in terms of the number of generated recommendations and their quality.
CRM Index Development and Validation in Indian Hospitals
Authors: Agariya Arun Kumar , Singh Deepali
Published: February 2013

This paper aims to develop a reliable and valid CRM (Customer relationship management) Index specifically catering to Indian hospitals. Standard method of scale development was followed by case based method for development of CRM Index. The proposed scale shows CRM in Indian hospitals as a multidimensional construct comprising of factors namely tangibles, service quality, trust, availability and accessibility which is validated through the structural model. The proposed Index will help in identifying issues that contribute to CRM in Indian hospitals and formulate strategies accordingly, resulting in efficient (cost) and effective (outcomes) practices. A fair amount of literature on Indian hospitals dealt with identifying factors explaining the constructs of quality, value or satisfaction. There is paucity of research pertaining to industry specific CRM Index development and validation and the authors attempt to bridge this gap in the existing literature.
A Promising Health Care Reform in Greece
Authors: Boutsioli Zoe
Published: February 2013

The Greek Ministry of Health has decided to reform hospital services, due to high cost and low services offered and a part of health care expenditures is wasted. The Minister of Health, Mr. Andreas Loverdos has enacted a law for the Greek health care system which include 3 major health reforms: the co-management of hospital units, taking either the type of ‘shared Manager’ or ‘shared Board of Directors,’ the transformation of some general hospitals/health centers or specialized hospitals that present low effective/efficiency rates into either primary health care units or day clinics for specific health care problems, and the merging of similar departments/clinics and/or laboratories either in a hospital or among two or more hospitals that are in the neighborhood. From these reforms, it is estimated that more than 150 million Euro will be saved from these reforms during the 4-year period 2012-2015.
International E-Customs Standardization from the Perspective of a Global Company
Authors: Henningsson Stefan
Published: February 2013

This paper addresses international e-Customs standardization from the perspective of a global dairy company who faces the result of the standardization efforts. International trade stands in front of a paradox of increasing security and control in order to meet threats from terrorist, diseases and other risks while at the same time lower the administrative burden for traders in order to stay competitive. To solve this seemingly impossible equation national customs and regional economic organizations are seeking to establish a standardized solution for digital reporting of customs data. However, standardization has proven hard to achieve in the socio-technical e-Customs solution. The author identifies and describes what has to be harmonized in order for a global company should perceive e-Customs as standardized. In doing so the author contributes towards an improved understanding of the challenges associated with using a standardization mechanism for harmonizing socio-technical information systems.
New Fields in Classifying Algorithms for Content Awareness
Authors: Miruta Radu-Dinel , Stanuica Cosmin , Borcoci Eugen
Published: February 2013

The content aware (CA) packet classification and processing at network level is a new approach leading to significant increase of delivery quality of the multimedia traffic in Internet. This paper presents a solution for a new multi-dimensional packet classifier of an edge router, based on content - related new fields embedded in the data packets. The technique is applicable to content aware networks. The classification algorithm is using three new packet fields named Virtual Content Aware Network (VCAN), Service Type (STYPE), and U (unicast/multicast) which are part of the Content Awareness Transport Information (CATI) header. A CATI header is inserted into the transmitted data packets at the Service/Content Provider server side, in accordance with the media service definition, and enables the content awareness features at a new overlay Content Aware Network layer. The functionality of the CATI header within the classification process is then analyzed. Two possibilities are considered: the adaptation of the Lucent Bit vector algorithm and, respectively, of the tuple space search, in order to respond to the suggested multi-fields classifier. The results are very promising and they prove that theoretical model of inserting new packet fields for content aware classification can be implemented and can work in a real time classifier.
Research Portals
Authors: Becker Jörg , Knackstedt Ralf , Lis Lukasz , Stein Armin , Steinhorst Matthias
Published: February 2013

Research portals are a means to present, discuss, and advance scientific findings. They are web-based knowledge management tools for research communities. Research portals foster collaboration among a community of scientists, research funders, and political decision-makers. However, research communities might not possess the knowledge and experience required to design a research portal. The authors support them by analyzing the status quo of existing portals and providing respective improvement perspectives. The authors ask what typical characteristics of such portals are and how these characteristics can be used to evaluate the advancement of individual portals and they seek to distinguish classes of differently advanced research portals and determine their status quo. The authors’ research is based on a systematic web search, during which the authors identify 813 relevant research portals. Following a multi-method approach, they assign each research portal a previously distinguished class of advancement. The authors conclude that research portals generally only offer basic functionality and discuss functionality that is underrepresented in this pool of analyzed research portals and elaborate on improvement perspectives in 11 feature dimensions.
Moodle-Based Software to Support the Learning of Web Programming
Authors: Antón-Rodríguez M. , Pérez-Juárez M.A. , Díaz-Pernas F.J. , Perozo-Rondón F.J. , Martínez-Zarzuela M. , González-Ortega D.
Published: February 2013

New educational trends demand learning processes that fulfill the requirements and interests of students. In this sense, developing new activities focused on specific themes for the open source e-learning platform Moodle, provides the added value of offering their integrated use in the learning environment. Basing on this assumption, Moodle applications for checking JavaScript and PHP codes have been developed, allowing improving the learning process in web programming University courses. These applications offer the students information about the committed errors and about the key terms of the programming language. Moreover, they also gather information about the type of errors committed by each student so that the teacher can graphically observe which concepts are more problematic and need to be clarified. The paper also describes the result of a qualitative analysis of its use in several courses offered in study programmes of the University of Valladolid.
Knowledge Management
Authors: Bin-Abbas Hesham , Bakry Saad Haj
Published: February 2013

Building a knowledge-based society is widely recognized as leading to human, social and economic benefits. This paper explores the issue of using knowledge management as an instrument for the development and sustainability of this knowledge society. The paper attempts to achieve its purpose through four main integrated steps: providing a brief review of knowledge management and the knowledge society; viewing knowledge management according to the STOPE “strategy, technology, organization, people and the environment” scope; incorporating knowledge management into the six-sigma DMAIC “define, measure, analyze, improve, and control” process; and deriving observations on the outcome, and producing guidelines for future work. The paper emphasizes the claim that developing and continuously sustaining the knowledge society can be achieved by applying knowledge management through building it into the STOPE scope and the six-sigma process, and by considering the multi-level nature of the society. The paper enjoys a high potential as a guide to knowledge management driven development and sustainability of the knowledge society at all levels. This would be beneficial to all those interested and concerned with supporting the role of knowledge in their own societies.
Reducing Processing Demands for Multi-Rate Video Encoding
Authors: Espeland Håvard , Stensland Håkon Kvale , Finstad Dag Haavi , Halvorsen Pål
Published: February 2013

Segmented adaptive HTTP streaming has become the de facto standard for video delivery over the Internet for its ability to scale video quality to the available network resources. Here, each video is encoded in multiple qualities, i.e., running the expensive encoding process for each quality layer. However, these operations consume both a lot of time and resources, and in this paper, the authors propose a system for reusing redundant steps in a video encoder to improve the multi-layer encoding pipeline. The idea is to have multiple outputs for each of the target bitrates and qualities where the intermediate processing steps share and reuse the computational heavy analysis. A prototype has been implemented using the VP8 reference encoder, and their experimental results show that for both low- and high-resolution videos the proposed method can significantly reduce the processing demands and time when encoding the different quality layers.
Generating Window of Sign Languages on ITU J.200-Based Middlewares
Authors: Ferreira Felipe Lacet Silva , Ugulino de Araújo Tiago Maritan , Lemos Felipe Hermínio , Neto Gutenberg Pessoa Botelho , Filho José Ivan Bezerra Vilarouca , Filho Guido Lemos de Souza
Published: February 2013

Sign languages are natural languages used by the deaf to communicate. Currently, the use of sign language on TV is still limited to a window with a sign language interpreter showed into the original video program. This approach has some problems, such as high operational costs, need for a full-time interpreter. Some works in the scientific literature propose solutions for this problem, but there are some gaps to be addressed. In this paper, the authors propose a solution to provide support for sign language in middlewares compatible with ITU J.200 specification. The solution allows sign language content to be signed by 3D-Avatars when human interpreters are not available. To provide a case study for the proposed solution, they implemented a prototype of it using Ginga, the Brazilian DTV middleware, compliant with ITU J.200. Some tests with Brazilian deaf were also performed to evaluate the proposal.
Understanding Advances in Nanotechnology
Authors: Mehta Michael D.
Published: February 2013

“Nanotechnology” is a word that has come a long way. Until recently most people associated nanotechnology with science fiction-based accounts that tended to focus on fantastical devices and applications. Due to developments in nanoscience (e.g., greater control over atomic structure and relatively better predictability of nanoscale properties), nanotechnology has entered the commercial realm, and it has begun simultaneously to stimulate the development of new governance frameworks. In this article, the author discusses potential benefits and risks and examines a select set of frameworks for governing this technology.
Volume Control by Adjusting Wrist Moment of Violin-Playing Robot
Authors: Shibuya Koji , Ideguchi Hironori , Ikushima Katsunari
Published: February 2013

This paper introduces the details of the anthropomorphic violin-playing robot built in the authors’ laboratory and an algorithm for controlling the sound volume by adjusting its wrist moment. Investigating the relationship between such sound parameters as sound volume and human impressions is an important research field in Kansei Engineering, which is a growing research field in Japan. They focused on the violin and built a violin-playing robot with two 7 DOF arms for bowing and fingering. Then they constructed an algorithm to adjust the wrist moment to control the sound volume. Based on the result of the experiments, the authors concluded that the moment-based algorithm works well to successfully control the sound volume. Finally, they analyzed the sound spectrum of the produced sounds of different wrist moment, and concluded that there is a possibility for the controlling sound spectrum, which affects human impressions.
Technology and Development
Authors: Qerimi Qerim
Published: February 2013

As many features of modern digital information and online communications are transcending and transforming the traditional modes of interaction and identity, so is transformed the need for addressing these new features in ways that conform to pertinent realities. A great deal of human events and experiences are likely to occur in ways different from those seen in the pre-digital era. Having witnessed a number of such events and experiences, the next stage is action and understanding. As the potential for change and development, associated with information and communication technology (ICT), is getting fame, its use is bearing fruits, and global internet population constantly increased, so is the demand for enabling equal, wider access, and protection. This article is thus concerned with two fundamental questions: how to universalize access to ICT, and how to protect it from abuse, censorship and restriction. These questions are predominantly explored from the lenses of international law.
Knowledge Problem and Emerging Economies
Authors: Baggiani Leonardo
Published: February 2013

The paper analyses the problem related to dispersion and substantial unconsciousness of the knowledge necessary for actions and decisions to coordinate within the economy at best. By the approach of the Austrian school of economics insights on various features of economic activity are exposed, which show the opportunity to realise a knowledge economy within the framework of a new free market experiment; as a consequence, governments must focus on how to improve the diffusion of existing knowledge instead of achieving their preferred industrial structure. Developments of information and communication technologies in emerging economies, especially the African ones, are here exposed as the perfect example of how some infrastructural deficiencies can be overcome by information and communication technologies; the current African renaissance therefore offers a real chance to implement knowledge economy prescriptions.
Creating Qualitative Interview Protocols
Authors: Hunter M. Gordon
Published: February 2013

This manuscript describes a technique which facilitates the documentation of research participant stories interpreting their experiences in response to a research question. From a Narrative Inquiry approach interview protocols were developed based upon the exploration of a research question. The technique may be applied when gathering qualitative data in one-on-one interviews. Each interview protocol provided consistency across a number of interviews; but also allowed for flexibility of responses by the research participant within their respective interviews. This document provides a description of a technique which addresses the conundrum of consistency and flexibility. Four different research projects are described in this manuscript. The specific interview protocol is presented and it is shown how the protocol serves to address the project’s research question. This document concludes with a description of how these techniques may be employed, in general, to contribute to the exploratory investigation of a research topic in business and management studies.