bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Exploring the Knowledge Management Landscape
Authors: Ponis Stavros T. , Vagenas George , Koronis Epaminondas
Published: May 2010

Relevant literature suggests that the field of knowledge management (KM) at the service of contemporary organizations is characterized by a plethora of diverse frameworks. However, none of these frameworks has achieved such a wide acceptance so as to be conceived as a standard. In fact, practice proves that each research or consultant group follows its own approach while many initiatives are based on custom approaches, developed each time from scratch, or even worse do not follow a structured method at all. In this chapter the authors attempt to go deeper by proposing a classification of knowledge management frameworks based on their macroscopic characteristics followed by their evaluation against a set of predetermined content elements that a complete approach should possess. The main result propagated from their critique is a common understanding of current theoretical and practical shortcomings of the field and the specification of a consistent set of course of actions and guidelines for researchers and practitioners engaged in knowledge management and its applications.
Learning before Doing
Authors: Rothberg Helen N. , Klingenberg Beate
Published: May 2010

Responding to increasingly competitive environments, it has become commonplace for multinationals to enter into cross-border partnerships, ventures and alliances to gain know-how, manage costs and grow revenue. The results from these activities however, have not always delivered on their promise. Part of the reason lies in the challenges of transferring knowledge compounded by an international setting. The degree of difficulty in knowledge transfer increases for multinational managers and their counterparts because cultural differences influence information processing, management styles and sense making. In addition, most knowledge transfer projects do not take the time to allow partners to develop the rapport and trust pivotal for project commitment and successful learning to occur. This chapter explores a failed knowledge transfer project between two distinct cultures and, using literature on cross-cultural knowledge transfer and communication theory as well as anecdotes from the actual process, offers a process for creating and engaging a more successful design.
Theoretical Foundations
Authors: Solli-Sæther Hans , Gottschalk Petter
Published: May 2010

IT outsourcing as a theoretical as well as practical discipline is based on several other concepts and disciplines, as well as the relations between them – such as international business, marketing, psychology, technology management, strategic management, project management, knowledge management, finance, economy, organizations, traditional management, political science, and the behavioral sciences. Even though IT outsourcing is a practical issue in the end, organizational and management theories can be applied to enlighten the emerging business practices of outsourcing. In this chapter, eleven organizational and management theories are presented according to attributes like outsourcing focus, aim, the unit of analysis, outsourcing philosophy, and critical success factors. A comparison of theories is presented in Table 1 and a comprehensive literature review of IT outsourcing based research is presented at the end of the chapter. The primary purpose of the chapter is to strengthen the theoretical understanding of IT outsourcing. This approach is adapted from Earl (2001). No claims are made that any one theory outperforms others. Each represents a particular theoretical orientation and a different form of organizational intervention of IT outsourcing. The theories are not mutually exclusive, and two or more of them can be applied to the same outsourcing arrangement. Application of different theories in a practical decision-making situation can lead to different outcomes.
Value Configurations
Authors: Solli-Sæther Hans , Gottschalk Petter
Published: May 2010

Understanding how firms differ is a central challenge for both theory and practice of management. For a long time, Porter’s (1985) value chain was the only value configuration known to managers. Stabell and Fjeldstad (1998) identified two alternative value configurations. First, a value shop schedules activities and applies resources in a fashion that is dimensioned and appropriate to the needs of client problems, while a value chain performs a fixed set of activities that enables it to produce a standard product in large numbers. Examples of value shops are professional service firms, as found in medicine, law, architecture and engineering. Next, a value network links clients or customers who are or wish to be interdependent. Examples of value networks are logistic companies, telephone companies, retail banks and insurance companies. In this chapter, we apply the contingent approach to systems outsourcing by making the outsourcing decision dependent on the value configuration of the enterprise. We present the three different value configurations – the value chain, the value shop, and the value network. Next, the three different value configurations are compared according to key characteristics, e.g. use of information systems. Then, we take a look at interfirm relations to be able to identify areas for outsourcing, and value configuration as a determinant and predictor for the extent of outsourcing. Finally, we discuss levels of strategy and we introduce the Y-model for IS/IT strategy work.
Synthesis of Analog Circuits by Genetic Algorithms and their Optimization by Particle Swarm Optimization
Authors: Tlelo-Cuautle Esteban , Guerra-Gómez Ivick , Reyes-García Carlos Alberto , Duarte-Villaseñor Miguel Aurelio
Published: May 2010

This chapter shows the application of particle swarm optimization (PSO) to size analog circuits which are synthesized by a genetic algorithm (GA) from nullor-based descriptions. First, a historical description of the development of automatic synthesis techniques to design analog circuits is presented. Then, the synthesis of analog circuits by applying a GA at the transistor level of abstraction is demonstrated. After that, the authors present the proposed multi-objective (MO) PSO algorithm which makes calls to the circuit simulator HSPICE to evaluate performances until optimal sizes of the transistors are found by using standard CMOS technology of 0.35µm of integrated circuits. Finally, the MO-PSO algorithm is compared with NSGA-II, and some open problems oriented to circuit synthesis and sizing are briefly discussed.
Diffusion and Emergence in Social Networks
Authors: Namatame Akira
Published: May 2010

Diffusion is the process by which new products and practices are invented and successfully introduced into society. Numerous studies on the diffusion of individual innovations have been conducted, many exhibiting common features such as the famous S-shaped diffusion curve. One basic question posed by innovation diffusion is why there is often a long lag time between an innovation’s first appearance and the time when a substantial number of people have adopted it. An extensive amount of theoretical and empirical literature has been devoted to this phenomenon and the mechanisms behind it. New ideas, products, and innovations often take time to diffuse, a fact that is often attributed to the heterogeneity of human populations. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the research examining how the structure of social networks impacts the diffusion process. The diffusion process enhances innovations via feedback of information about the innovation’s utility—which can be used to make future improvements—to many different users. This aspect of the diffusion process is similar to the micro-macro loop, which is an essential part of emergence. The aim of this research is to understand how the structure of social networks determines the dynamics of various types of emergent properties occurring within those networks. For emergence at the social level, patterns of social interactions are critical.
A Case Study of Advanced Airborne Technology Impacting Air Traffic Management
Authors: de Oliveira Ítalo R. , Vismari Lúcio F. , Cugnasca Paulo S. , Camargo Jr. João B. , Bakker Bert (G.J.) , Blom Henk A.P.
Published: May 2010

Great advance is expected from the CNS/ATM (Communication, Navigation, Surveillance / Air Traffic Management) paradigm. It provides significant support of a seamless global air traffic management system. Its key technical elements are the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), and the Aeronautical Telecommunication Network (ATN), which will support digital applications such as the Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) and the Airborne Separation Assistance System (ASAS). ADS-B will greatly increase surveillance precision and availability, and ASAS is aimed to increase traffic efficiency. This chapter provides an overview of the CNS/ATM infrastructure, the specific airborne technologies, and details of an example advanced air traffic management concept. For this example advanced concept, the chapter applies an advanced approach in dynamical safety risk modeling and Monte Carlo simulation based mid air collision risk estimation. The dynamical model covers the advanced airborne technologies and the cognitive contributions by the pilots and controllers involved. These initial results show the value of advanced airborne technologies for future air traffic management.
Collaboration Across the Enterprise
Authors: Liapis Aggelos , Christiaens Stijn
Published: May 2010

In the current competitive industrial context, enterprises must react swiftly to the market changes. In order to face this problem, enterprises must increase their collaborative activities. This implies, on the one hand, high communication between their information systems and, on the other hand, the compatibility of their practices. An important amount of work must be performed towards proper practices of standardization and harmonization. This can be defined as the concept of interoperability. Interoperability of enterprises is a strategic issue, caused, as well as enabled, by the continuously growing ability of integration of new legacy and evolving systems; in particular, the context of networked organizations of the reconciliation of the communicated business semantics is crucial to success. For this, nondisruptive reuse of existing business data stored in “legacy” production information systems is an evident prerequisite. In addition, the integration of a methodology, as well as the scalability, of any proposed semantic technological solution are equally evident prerequisites. Yet on all accounts current, semantic technologies as researched and developed for the so-called Semantic Web may be found lacking. Still, semantic technology is claimed about to become mainstream, as it is promoted by enterprise interoperation needs and increasing availability of domain specific content (for example ontologies) rather than pulled by basic technology (for example OWL) providers. In this chapter, we will present a methodology, which has resulted in the implementation of a highly customizable collaborative environment focused to support ontology-based enterprise interoperability. An additional key issue addressed by the particular platform is the variety and number of different resources that concur to achieve a cross-enterprise business service. A second key issue is the diversity of agreed (e.g., meaning negotiation when creating online contracts) models, and the difficulty in adapting its integrated features and services to different situations. These problems are addressed with a flexible solution, voiding rigidity that occurs in the implementation and maintenance of existing cooperation platforms and their integration with an advanced semantic repository. The proposed platform operates at two levels: at the front end, it enables the end users to access seamless collaborative (e.g., synchronous, asynchronous, and semisynchronous), as well as individual mode tools and services to extract valuable information; at the back end, it uses a sophisticated ontology framework to support and record the collaborative work, enhancing interoperability among different enterprises and other service providers.
Dynamic Data Mediation in Enterprise Application Integration Scenarios
Authors: Bouras Thanasis , Gouvas Panagiotis , Mentzas Gregoris
Published: May 2010

If we try to increase the level of automation in enterprise application integration (EAI) scenarios, we confront challenges related to the resolution of data and message heterogeneities between interoperating services, which traditional EAI technologies are weak to solve. We propose a semantically-enriched approach for dynamic data mediation in EAI scenarios, focusing on the resolution of message level heterogeneities between collaborative enterprise services, facilitating automated data mediation during execution time by providing formal transformations of the output and input messages (of the participating services) to a common reference business data model, that is, the enterprise interoperability ontology. Moreover, we present a tool that has been developed to support the user to provide business data-related semantic annotations and XSLT transformations of the input and output message parts of collaborative enterprise services. Finally, we demonstrate the utilization of the proposed approach and toll in a real-world EAI scenario.
Agent-Driven Semantic Interoperability for Cross-Organisational Business Processes
Authors: Zinnikus Ingo , Hahn Christian , Fischer Klaus
Published: May 2010

In cross-organisational business interactions, integrating different partners raises interoperability problems especially on the technical level. The internal processes and interfaces of the participating partners are often pre-existing and have to be taken as given. This imposes restrictions on the possible solutions for the problems which occur when partner processes are integrated. The aim of this chapter is the presentation of a three-tier framework for managing and implementing interoperable and crossorganizational business processes. Thereby the authors want to fill the gap currently existing between processes defined on a strategic level and executed models. We describe a solution which supports rapid prototyping by combining a model-driven framework for cross-organisational business processes with an agent-based approach for flexible process execution. We show how the W3C recommendation for Semantic Web service descriptions can be combined with the model-driven approach for rapid service integration.
Application of the FUSION Approach for Tool Assisted Composition of Web Services in Cross Organisational Environments
Authors: Alexakis Spiros , Bauer Markus , Balogh András , Kiss Akos
Published: May 2010

The research project FUSION aims at supporting collaboration and interconnection between enterprises with technologies that allow for the semantic fusion of heterogeneous service-oriented business applications. The resulting FUSION approach is an enterprise application integration (EAI) conceptual framework proposing a system architecture that supports the composition of business processes using semantically annotated Web services as building blocks. The approach has been validated in the frame of three collaborative commercial proof-of-concept pilots. The chapter provides an overview on the FUSION approach and summarises our integration experiences with the application of the FUSION approach and tools during the implementation of transnational career and human resource management services.
Semantic Business Process Management
Authors: Stein Sebastian , Stamber Christian , El Kharbili Marwane , Rubach Pawel
Published: May 2010

The application of semantic technologies promises boosting business process management because semantic integration of business and IT is achieved. To enable the vision of semantic business process management, semantic technologies like ontologies, reasoners, and semantic Web services must be integrated in BPM tools. We extended a professional BPM tool to allow semantic business process modelling using the EPC notation. In addition, we adapted the tool’s EPC to BPEL transformation to preserve the semantic annotations. By introducing a proxy service, we are able to perform Semantic Web service discovery on a standard BPEL engine. We evaluated our approach in an empirical case study, which was replicated 13 times by 17 participants from 8 different organisations. We received valuable feedback, which is interesting for researchers and practitioners trying to bring semantic technologies to end-users with no or only limited background knowledge about semantics.
A Multidimensional Model for Correct Aggregation of Geographic Measures
Authors: Bimonte Sandro , Villanova-Oliver Marlène , Gensel Jerome
Published: May 2010

Spatial OLAP refers to the integration of spatial data in multidimensional applications at physical, logical and conceptual levels. The multidimensional aggregation of geographic objects (geographic measures) exhibits theoretical and implementation problems. In this chapter, the authors present a panorama of aggregation issues in multidimensional, geostatistic, GIS and Spatial OLAP models. Then, they illustrate how overlapping geometries and dependency of spatial and alphanumeric aggregation are necessary for correctly aggregating geographic measures. Consequently, they present an extension of the logical multidimensional model GeoCube (Bimonte et al., 2006) to deal with these issues.
Recent Advances of Exception Mining in Stock Market
Authors: Luo Chao , Zhao Yanchang , Luo Dan , Ou Yuming , Liu Li
Published: May 2010

This chapter aims to provide a comprehensive survey of the current advanced technologies of exception mining in stock market. The stock market surveillance is to identify market anomalies so as to provide a fair and efficient trading platform. The technologies of market surveillance developed from simple statistical rules to more advanced technologies, such as data mining and artificial intelligent. This chapter provides the basic concepts of exception mining in stock market. Then the recent advances of exception mining in this domain are presented and the key issues are discussed. The advantages and disadvantages of the advanced technologies are analyzed. Furthermore, our model of OMM (Outlier Mining on Multiple time series) is introduced. Finally, this chapter points out the future research directions and related issues in reality.
Analysis of Content Popularity in Social Bookmarking Systems
Authors: Papadopoulos Symeon , Menemenis Fotis , Vakali Athena , Kompatsiaris Ioannis
Published: May 2010

The recent advent and wide adoption of Social Bookmarking Systems (SBS) has disrupted the traditional model of online content publishing and consumption. Until recently, the majority of content consumed by people was published as a result of a centralized selection process. Nowadays, the large-scale adoption of the Web 2.0 paradigm has diffused the content selection process to the masses. Modern SBS-based applications permit their users to submit their preferred content, comment on and rate the content of other users and establish social relations with each other. As a result, the evolution of popularity of socially bookmarked content constitutes nowadays an overly complex phenomenon calling for a multiaspect analysis approach. This chapter attempts to provide a unified treatment of the phenomenon by studying four aspects of popularity of socially bookmarked content: (a) the distributional properties of content consumption, (b) its evolution in time, (c) the correlation between the semantics of online content and its popularity, and (d) the impact of online social networks on the content consumption behavior of individuals. To this end, a case study is presented where the proposed analysis framework is applied to a large dataset collected from Digg, a popular social bookmarking and rating application.
Multiagent Truth Maintenance Applied to a Tourism Recommender System
Authors: Lorenzi Fabiana , Bazzan Ana L.C. , Abel Mara
Published: May 2010

This chapter presents a multiagent recommender system applied to the tourism domain. The multiagent approach is able to deal with distributed expert knowledge to support travel agents in recommending tourism packages. Agents work as experts cooperating and communicating with each other, exchanging information to make the best recommendation possible considering the travelers’ preferences. Each agent has a truth maintenance system component that helps the agents to assume information during the recommendation process as well as to keep the integrity of their knowledge bases. The authors have validated the system via simulations where agents collaborate to recommend travel packages to the user and specialize in some of the tasks available. The experiments show that specialization is useful for the efficacy of the system.
Exploiting a Map-Based Interface in Conversational Recommender Systems for Mobile Travelers
Authors: Ricci Francesco , Nguyen Quang Nhat , Averjanova Olga
Published: May 2010

Nowadays travel and tourism Web sites store and offer a large volume of travel related information and services. Furthermore, this huge amount of information can be easily accessed using mobile devices, such as a phone with mobile Internet connection capability. However, this information can easily overwhelm a user because of the large number of information items to be shown and the limited screen size in the mobile device. Recommender systems (RSs) are often used in conjunction with Web tools to effectively help users in accessing this overwhelming amount of information. These recommender systems can support the user in making a decision even when specific knowledge necessary to autonomously evaluate the offerings is not available. Recommender systems cope with the information overload problem by providing a user with personalized recommendations (i.e., a well chosen selection of the items contained in the repository), adapting this selection to the user’s needs and preferences in a particular usage context. In this chapter, the authors present a recommendation approach integrating a conversational preference acquisition technology based on “critiquing” with map visualization technologies to build a new map-based conversational mobile RS that can effectively and intuitively support travelers in finding their desired products and services. The results of the authors’ real-user study show that integrating map-based visualization and critiquing-based interaction in mobile RSs improves the system’s recommendation effectiveness, and increases the user satisfaction.
Developing Web3D Tools for Promoting the European Heritage
Authors: Bellotti Francesco , Berta Riccardo , De Gloria Alessandro , Primavera Ludovica
Published: May 2010

Virtual reality environments are ever more going online. This trend, opened by videogames, will open new important opportunities to enhance cultural tourism, given the possibility of creating compelling virtual adventures set in the context of artistic and natural beauties. The authors are exploring these challenges in the context of the Travel in Europe (TiE) project, and developing tools to build enriched virtual environments where the player could explore faithfully reconstructed places and live there information-rich, contextualized experiences. The TiE architecture is based on a state-of-the-art commercial game engine, with massive multiplayer online games (MMOG) facilities that support access to multiple concurrent users, plus ad-hoc designed modules. The 3D model is completely geo-referenced. In each covered area, a few points-of-interest (POIs) are implemented. These buildings are rigorously reconstructed at a high level of detail. The textures for the rest of the palaces are built dynamically by the TiE system using a statistical template-based algorithm that exploits local characterizations of common architectonic elements. The TiE virtual world is enriched by geo-localized, contextualized MicroGames (mGs). mGs are simple, short games that focus the player’s attention on a particular item that is found during exploration of the 3D world. mGs are typically taken from well known simple game models, such as Puzzle, MemoryGame, and FindTheWrongDetails. The main concept that underpins mGs is that, they should be intuitive and easy to play, so that the player can focus on the contents rather than on learning how to play. Preliminary informal tests have suggested that the approach is valid and that the enriched 3D environment supports the contextualized promotion of artifacts, products and services, which is an important growing demand from institutions and enterprises that want to valorize the resources of a territory.
Itchy Feet
Authors: Seidel Ingo , Gärtner Markus , Pöttler Michael , Berger Helmut , Dittenbach Michael
Published: May 2010

In this chapter the authors describe an e-tourism environment that places emphasis on a community driven approach to foster a lively society of travelers. It enables them to exchange travel experiences, recommend tourism destinations or just catch some interesting gossip. Moreover, business transactions such as booking a trip or getting assistance from professional travel agents are a constituent part of this environment. All these interactions happen in an integrated, game-like, 3D virtual world where each tourist is impersonated as an avatar. The authors draw a retrospective on the specification, design and implementation of this e-tourism environment and present the status quo. The authors describe how they applied electronic institutions, a framework developed and employed in the area of multi-agent systems, to the tourism domain. Furthermore, they present their approach to connect a 3D virtual world with electronic institutions. Our goal is to provide a test bed for assessing the acceptance of virtual environments, as a medium to overcome the non-tangible nature of tourism products.
The Use of Photographs on Consumer Generated Content Websites
Authors: Schmallegger Doris , Carson Dean , Jacobsen Damien
Published: May 2010

Word-of-mouth is an important source of information for tourists making decisions about what destinations to visit. Word-of-mouth has a strong influence on shaping the image of a destination, particularly for remote destinations which are in part characterised by limited market penetration in terms of more formal marketing communications. There has been some research situating consumer generated content in Web 2.0 applications as word-of-mouth that has the potential to influence destination images for some destinations and among some markets. Less attention has been paid to consumer generated photographs although photographs and other non-text media are becoming increasingly pervasive on Web 2.0 websites. This chapter argues that photographs make a substantial contribution to word-of-mouth exchange online, and that there is a need for tools to help destinations interpret photographic content. Mapping photographs to Echtner and Ritchie’s (1993) destination image framework is one approach that shows some promise as it allows for comparison between the images projected by marketing bodies and consumers.
E-Agriculture Development in South Africa
Authors: Tembo Rachael , Maumbe Blessing M.
Published: May 2010

The global development of information and communication technologies (ICT) has created a new agricultural development paradigm that promises to transform the performance of the agricultural sector and improve rural livelihoods in developing countries. Over the past five years, South Africa has witnessed a swift ICT-led transformation of its public service delivery with major innovations in key development sectors. The growth of e-agriculture is seen as an engine to accelerate agriculture and rural development, promote food security, and reduce rural poverty. This chapter examines e-agriculture initiatives in South Africa. It describes ICT applications in improving the quality of on-farm management decisions, agricultural market information system, e-packaging, product traceability, and online marketing to access lucrative global wine markets. The chapter also highlights key constraints, and identifies considerations to enhance the future prospects for e-agriculture. Given the strategic importance of agriculture in supporting the livelihoods of the majority rural population in South Africa, the successful deployment and effective utilization of ICT is pivotal for sustainable agriculture development and raising the standards of living of marginalized communities. The results of the paper demonstrate that South Africa has made significant strides in e-agriculture and tangible benefits have accrued to the agricultural communities.
Diffusion and Dissemination of Agricultural Knowledge
Authors: Malhan I.V. , Rao Shivarama
Published: May 2010

Almost sixty five percent of Indian population is engaged in agriculture that contributes to food security of the world’s second largest populated country. Though agriculture sector shares 26 percent of GDP, this sector is very crucial for the sustainable growth and development of India. The emerging agricultural challenges demand information intensive agriculture work and applications of state of the art knowledge to enhance agricultural productivity, but non-accessibility of information and subsequently awareness and knowledge gaps that exist in this sector, enormously affect agricultural productivity. Efforts are being made for e-communication of information in rural India. This chapter portrays such efforts of public and private sectors, pinpoints the problem areas for accessibility of latest agricultural knowledge and suggests an e-communication model suitable for transfer of agricultural knowledge in the rural areas of India.
Connected Government for a Developing Country Context
Authors: Ruhode Ephias , Owei Vesper
Published: May 2010

An information society begins with a connected government and ICTs are the bedrock and founding pillars of such societies. To assist public administrators think beyond traditional e-government, this study describes a concept of connected government, whose philosophy rests on the integration of back-end processes that facilitate collaboration among government agencies. This article describes a case study of five government-owned organizations in a developing country environment where even the basic egovernment services are barely available. This study was carried out to determine the extent of integration within and across government agencies, with the aim of stimulating some thinking within and among government managers and administrators, around the possibility that a connected government can indeed be established in a developing country setting. The study exposes shortcomings to inter-departmental integration not only of the organizations under investigation, but also of other similar enterprises in developing countries within the same context. The paper concludes by proposing a set of recommendations toward diffusing connected government applications for inter-organizational collaboration.
Zambia and e-Government
Authors: Coates Neal , Nikolaus Lisa
Published: May 2010

E-government can benefit developing countries by enhancing the economy, increasing access to health care, improving bureaucracy, and consolidating democracy. Sub-Saharan countries have lagged behind the world in adopting this system of communications. A variety of reasons explain the lag, namely lack of national resources and an illiterate population. Zambia serves an example of democracy on a continent where freedom and peace are lacking, but also as a country where e-government is only beginning. This evaluation is the first to examine e-government there, and is carried out at five distinct levels: Current communication systems; Zambia’s ICT policy; key central e-government websites; e-government at the provincial/municipal level; and at the individual level. As a result, this case study will evaluate how a developing country is struggling to provide government access and enhance the economy and suggests improvements needed if Zambia’s e-government will become adequate and sustainable.
The Use of Information and Communication Technologies for Health Service Delivery in Namibia
Authors: Shivute Meke I. , Maumbe Blessing M.
Published: May 2010

Information and communication technologies (ICT) have transformed health service delivery (HSD) in developing countries although the benefits are not yet fully understood. This chapter examines the use of ICT for HSD in the Namibian context. To obtain insights into the extent and degree of the current ICT uses, the chapter begins by mapping a HSD landscape for Namibia. The reported ICT use patterns are based on a primary survey of 134 patients and key informant interviews held with 27 health service providers (HSPs) in Khomas and Oshana regions of Namibia. The results from the survey indicate that Namibian patients use diverse range of ICT to access health services including the traditional television and radio, and the more modern mobile phones and computers to a limited extent. HSPs reported the growing use of ICT in various functional areas such as admissions, clinical support, family planning, maternity, and emergency services. The chapter identifies key challenges and policy implications to enhance the uptake of ICT-based health services in Namibia. The relatively high penetration rates of traditional ICT such as televisions and radios coupled with a growing use of mobile phones presents new alternative opportunities for expanding HSD to Namibian patients in remote settings. The chapter will benefit HSP and patients as they decide on affordable technology choices; and policy makers as they design interventions to stimulate the use of ICT in HSD in Namibia. The results provide key insights for other Sub-Saharan African countries contemplating ICT integration in health services.
Web 2.0 and Learning
Authors: Olaniran Bolanle A. , Williams Indi M.
Published: May 2010

This chapter explores three facets of Web 2.0: the pedagogical use of social software in a Web 2.0 e-learning environment, social software, and social networking from the perspective of transactional control in fostering student learning, as proposed in the theoretical framework of Dron’s (2006) theory. It also examines the implications of Web 2.0 as it relates to learning and e-learning. Using Facebook as a case specific Web 2.0 platform, the researcher pursues understanding of learner control, as well as cultural interactions in Web 2.0 environments in the broader context of cultural implication for Web 2.0 as a learning platform in a global e-learning environment. Accordingly, the Facebook example helps to illustrate how instructors and students can effectively control their learning environment (or relinquish control of their learning environment) within an intracultural setting, in an attempt to create a meaningful learning experience as proposed by the transactional control model. In conclusion, the chapter offers recommendations for Web 2.0 e-learning technology applications in order to create effective and meaningful learning for students and instructors.
Metacognition on the Educational Social Software
Authors: Romero Margarida
Published: May 2010

In recent years, we have witnessed an information revolution. This revolution has been characterised by widespread access to the Internet and by the emergence of information which has been generated by end-users–the so-called user-generated content. The information thus generated has been supported by Web 2.0 applications or social software. These changes in the information society have had an important impact in education, with more and more adults enrolling on life-long learning programs; moreover, the availability of distance learning courses has grown in line with this increase in demand. In this emergent educational paradigm, the new 2.0 technology context implies new competencies for learners. These competencies include literacy in information and communication technology (ICT), learning autonomy, self-regulation and metacognition, while at the same time expanding the opportunities for metacognitive development. We will consider in this chapter these two perspectives of the 2.0 context; on the one hand, the new requirements provided by the environment and, on the other hand, the new learning opportunities which this environment brings.
ScreenPLAY
Authors: Corcos Evelyne , Paolucci Peter
Published: May 2010

This chapter explores the various facets of screenPLAY, an interactive video intervention for at-risk teens, which presents social skills in a medium that is both familiar and motivating to this age group. The chapter begins with a discussion of the pedagogical ideas that motivated the creation of screen- PLAY, from the necessity to move away from a skill-driven to a content-driven social-skill intervention, to promoting learning from experience, and then to the importance of clarifying learning objectives. In addition to the adoption of a constructivist perspective, a case is made for including cognitive and linguistic concomitants with social skill acquisition. A description is provided of how these additional two variables relate to behavior and the way they are integrated in the structure of the intervention. A cognitive skill is embedded in each of the eleven templates used to present content. Video clips displaying vignettes employing student actors are analyzed in a context that requires users to record their responses, thoughts, and observations in audio or text files that are uploaded to be accessed later by other users. The anonymity of both users and actors is protected, first, by the provision of an avatar to represent the user, and then, by having the video clips transformed into a comic book look. The technical details of the construction of this digital platform are provided, as well as a dialectic analyzing how the obstacles, encountered along the way, ultimately contributed to the overall innovative functionality. Future directions are examined in the context of screenPLAY’s modular structure that allows the addition of content and functionality.
Emerging Frontiers of Learning Online
Authors: Finger Glenn , Sun Pei-Chen , Jamieson-Proctor Romina
Published: May 2010

The potential for online education for adult learning have been well argued, and in recent times there have been eLearning initiatives to realise the potential offered by online education. Adult learning institutions, particularly Universities, have adopted and introduced infrastructure to support Learning Management Systems (LMS), Local Area Networks (LAN), Learning Management Content Systems (LMCS), and Virtual Learning Environments (VLE). Following discussion of those eLearning environments, this chapter will suggest that the limitations of those digital systems is leading to the next phase with the development of digital ecosystems conceptualised as learning platforms which keeps learning central, enables interoperability, and forms a base for building upon through use of new technologies and increased capabilities of educators to use information and communication technologies (ICT) for curriculum, pedagogy and assessment (Ingvarson & Gaffney, 2008). Digital ecosystems enable the integration of student administration, LAN (requiring teacher and student logins and passwords), VLE, content repository, community links, utilise Web 2.0 (social networking) technologies, and can have the adult learner as the central focus of the design of the platform and its functionalities. Subsequently, the chapter draws upon the findings of a research project (Sun, Tsai, Finger, Chen, & Yeh, 2007) which identified the critical functionalities for eLearner satisfaction to provide suggestions that the architecture and design of an eLearning system should be informed by the adult learners’ perceived usefulness of the system (Pitnuch & Lee, 2006). More recently, the presentation of face to face teaching and online learning as alternatives has been superseded by conceptualisations of blended learning. Through presenting these learning environments in terms of their possibilities and limitations, and the emergence of blended learning, implications for adult learning will be synthesised.
Facebook as Public Pedagogy
Authors: Freishtat Richard L. , Sandlin Jennifer A.
Published: May 2010

This chapter explores the emergence of online digital media, specifically Facebook, as a space of resistance and submission to consumerist ideologies. Online digital media function as a form of public pedagogy, serving as a platform for implicit lessons in cultural norms and roles that reinforce hegemonic social structures operating in the physical world. In this chapter, we raise issues and questions regarding the determinacy of online digital media: is Facebook a pedagogical tool for reinforcing corporate interests or does it have the potential to be a space of resistance and democratic discourse? The study of the public pedagogy of online digital media calls for a reconceptualization of learning as a collaborative, social process in which adult learners assume predetermined social roles as well as have the potential to create new knowledge forms within virtual communities.
Applying Distance Learning and Structural/Pedagogical Methods to an Adult Learner Program
Authors: Hsu Jeffrey , Hamilton Karin
Published: May 2010

Adult learner students are becoming a key segment of the undergraduate college market; however, adults have a different set of needs, orientations, and approaches to learning. This paper examines the background and characteristics of adult learners, together with various approaches to meeting the needs of these non-traditional students (distance learning, intensive and block scheduling, modular learning, etc.). The application of these methods and techniques are illustrated in the structure and implementation of a real-life adult learner program for business undergraduates.
A Costume Odyssey a.k.a. Teaching Costume History in a 21st Century Classroom
Authors: Verheyen Claremarie , Liu Youmei
Published: May 2010

This chapter will explain how we have integrated the Course Management System-WebCT into the teaching of Costume History at the University of Houston’s School of Theatre and Dance. It will focus on two topics, (1) delivering the course in hybrid mode to enhance student learning experiences, and (2) conducting course evaluation to collect student feedback on the course design and delivery for future improvement.
Project Management for Project-Based Learning
Authors: Williams van Rooij Shahron
Published: May 2010

This chapter reports the results of a case study in which the final project outcomes of small virtual instructional design teams using Project Management in an online graduate-level course are compared with teams using a less-structured approach. Based on the findings, the author offers the following recommendations for structuring project-based learning in small virtual teams: (a) assess through pre- or in-course questioning individual motivators of success and performance in virtual teams, (b) provide teams with templates with which to document roles, responsibilities, milestones and key deliverables, and (c) offer time and schedule management tips to reinforce/extend entry skills in team project management and participation. This case study can serve as a resource to eLearning practitioners seeking research-based best practices for both managing and participating in project teams that may have limited human and material resources and that may be distributed over a number of geographic locations and time zones.
General Introduction
Authors: Wapakabulo Thomas Josephine
Published: May 2010

A study commissioned by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) found that ISO 10303, the Standard for the Exchange of Product Model Data (STEP), has the potential to reduce mitigation and avoidance interoperability costs in the aerospace, automotive and shipbuilding industries by approximately $928 million (2001$) a year (Gallaher, O’connor, & Phelps, 2002). Studies like these show the benefits and importance of using data-exchange standards to enable technical and business information to be shared electronically throughout an extended manufacturing enterprise (Ray & Jones, 2006). The literature surrounding these data-exchange standards indicates that a fairly large corpus of information is available with regards to the history, practical implementation and benefits ofdata-exchange standards like STEP (Kemmerer, 1999). However, a further review of the literature shows that there is very limited empirical research into the factors that impact the adoption of data-exchange standards. This means that practitioners devoted to the ongoing development and use of standards like STEP, and academics, still lack a significant body of evidence regarding the factors and barriers critical to the adoption of these standards. The research reported in this book seeks to address this gap by developing conceptual models for data-exchange standards adoption, which are tested through a series of qualitative case studies and action research. This chapter begins by giving an overview of the emergence and development of product data-exchange standards like STEP and the rationale behind the research presented. Following on from that is an overview of current work and research relating to the adoption of STEP. The aim, objectives and scope of this research are then stated.
Innovation-Centric Perspective
Authors: Wapakabulo Thomas Josephine
Published: May 2010

The standardization process and the success and failure of standards takes place in complex socio-technical settings that are shaped by a variety of factors and a multitude of actors (Gerst et al., 2005). The research reported in this book seeks to establish these factors in relation to the adoption and diffusion of data-exchange standards. Chapter 2 identified that there was a need to investigate the factors and barriers critical to the adoption of data-exchange standards to fill gaps within both the ISO/TC184/SC4 community and the research community for IT-standards adoption. Chapter 3 then introduced the novel approach of taking both an innovation-centric and adopter-centric view to address the research question, and chronicled the development of two conceptual models that capture the key factors to be researched. Following on from that, Chapter 4 went on to discuss the justifications for the interpretivist philosophy, qualitative approach and case study research strategy subscribed to for this phase of the research. Consequently, the aim of this chapter is to verify and examine the validity of the factors identified in the original innovation-centric model. The remainder of this introduction section gives an overview of the data collection and analysis processes that has been used in this chapter, and gives a brief overview of the ISO sub-committee responsible for the development of the two case study standards and concludes with a brief introduction to the chosen standards.
Innovation-Centric Checklist Application
Authors: Wapakabulo Thomas Josephine
Published: May 2010

PLCS (Product Life Cycle Support) was one of the motivations behind this research and triggered the research question into the factors and barriers critical to the adoption of data-exchange standards. A review of the literature showed that there was a gap within the SC4 community with regards to the factors critical to the adoption of the standards and there was a need for more empirical studies in IT standards adoption research. In light of this, a novel combined innovation- and adopter-centric approach was taken to establish the factors and barriers critical to the adoption of data-exchange standards. By carrying out this analysis, steps can be identified that will help to facilitate the adoption of PLCS. On a more general level, this chapter will predominately demonstrate the applicability of the ‘Adoption Checklist’ as a tool for stakeholders and decision makers involved in the adoption and diffusion of data-exchange standards such as PLCS.