bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hydrophobic analogues of rhodamine B and rhodamine 101: potent fluorescent probes of mitochondria in living C. elegans
Authors: Mottram Laurie F , Forbes Safiyyah , Ackley Brian D , Peterson Blake R
Published: December 2012

Mitochondria undergo dynamic fusion and fission events that affect the structure and function of these critical energy-producing cellular organelles. Defects in these dynamic processes have been implicated in a wide range of human diseases including ischemia, neurodegeneration, metabolic disease, and cancer. To provide new tools for imaging of mitochondria in vivo, we synthesized novel hydrophobic analogues of the red fluorescent dyes rhodamine B and rhodamine 101 that replace the carboxylate with a methyl group. Compared to the parent compounds, methyl analogues termed HRB and HR101 exhibit slightly red-shifted absorbance and emission spectra (5–9 nm), modest reductions in molar extinction coefficent and quantum yield, and enhanced partitioning into octanol compared with aqueous buffer of 10-fold or more. Comparison of living C. elegans (nematode roundworm) animals treated with the classic fluorescent mitochondrial stains rhodamine 123, rhodamine 6G, and rhodamine B, as well as the structurally related fluorophores rhodamine 101, and basic violet 11, revealed that HRB and HR101 are the most potent mitochondrial probes, enabling imaging of mitochondrial motility, fusion, and fission in the germline and other tissues by confocal laser scanning microscopy after treatment for 2 h at concentrations as low as 100 picomolar. Because transgenes are poorly expressed in the germline of these animals, these small molecules represent superior tools for labeling dynamic mitochondria in this tissue compared with the expression of mitochondria-targeted fluorescent proteins. The high bioavailabilty of these novel fluorescent probes may facilitate the identification of agents and factors that affect diverse aspects of mitochondrial biology in vivo.
La démocratie urbaine au prisme de la communauté
Authors: Berger Mathieu
Published: December 2012

Résumé Contrastant avec des dispositifs participatifs étudiés en Belgique et en France, dans lesquels s’exprimer en citoyen compétent demande au participant de faire preuve de retenue et d’atténuer la force illocutoire de ses prises de parole afin de les rendre acceptables, les assemblées californiennes nous font découvrir, à l’échelle micro-locale comme à l’échelle métropolitaine, une compétence civique intégrant un sens de l’emphase. Celui-ci se traduit par une disposition du locuteur à s’épancher en public, à abonder tant dans la familiarité et la légèreté que dans le formalisme et la gravité, à souligner les traits spéciaux et uniques de sa personne tout en marquant fortement une appartenance collective. Consubstantielles au cadrage communautaire donné à la vie civique à Los Angeles, ces pratiques expressives sont évaluées dans l’ambivalence de leurs implications démocratiques, entre dérives apolitiques et potentiels émancipatoires.
Oral Care Education in the Prevention of Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia: Quality Patient Outcomes in the Intensive Care Unit
Authors: Zurmehly Joyce
Published: December 2012

Background:

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is associated with high morbidity and mortality rates in mechanically ventilated patients in the United States. Routine oral care has been shown to have a direct effect on reducing VAP rates.

Methods:

Intensive care unit registered nurses attended educational sessions about oral care and also used online education modules. Nursing care involving 180 intubated patients was observed, and changes were noted in practices related to oral care.

Results:

After the education intervention, the frequency of oral care increased significantly (
p
= .001) to tooth brushing every 4 hours and swabbing every 12 hours with 0.12% chlorhexidine solution. The evidence-based practice education intervention decreased VAP rates by 62.5%.

Conclusion:

Significant reductions in VAP rates may be achieved through improved education and implementation of oral care protocols with 0.12% chlorhexidine solution.
Femtosecond Laser Correction of Presbyopia (INTRACOR) in Emmetropes Using a Modified Pattern
Authors: Thomas Bettina C. , Fitting Anna , Auffarth Gerd U. , Holzer Mike P.
Published: December 2012

PURPOSE:

To evaluate functional results and corneal changes after femtosecond laser correction of presbyopia (INTRACOR, Technolas Perfect Vision GmbH) in emmetropes using a modified treatment pattern over a 12-month period.

METHODS:

Twenty eyes from 20 emmetropic patients were treated with a modified intrastromal INTRACOR pattern consisting of 5 central rings and 8 radial cuts in a prospective, nonrandomized, uncontrolled, open, single-center, clinical study. Refraction, visual acuity, endothelial cell density, corneal pachymetry, total corneal power, and stray light were evaluated preoperatively and 1 (except endothelial cell density and stray light), 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively. Patients filled out a subjective questionnaire at 12 months postoperatively.

RESULTS:

Comparison of preoperative versus 12-month postoperative median values revealed a significant improvement in uncorrected near visual acuity (UNVA) from 0.60 (20/80) to 0.10 logMAR (20/25) (
P
<.0001) and a significant decrease in corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA) from −0.10 (20/16) to 0.00 logMAR (20/20), which equals a median loss of one line (
P
=.0005). Fifteen percent of patients lost two lines of CDVA in the treated eye. Subjective spherical equivalent refraction remained unchanged at 0.00 diopters (D) (
P
=.194). After INTRACOR treatment, significant corneal steepening of 1.40 D and midperipheral flattening of 0.50 D occurred (both
P
<.0001). Corneal pachymetry at the thinnest point and endothelial cell density did not change significantly (
P
=.829 and
P
=.058, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS:

After 12 months, the modified INTRACOR pattern improved UNVA in emmetropic patients without inducing a myopic shift or significant changes in endothelial cell density or pachymetry.
Participatory Design
Authors: Donegan Mick
Published: December 2012

The ACE Centre user trials have involved over a hundred people who have severe and complex physical, cognitive and visual difficulties. Participatory Design methodology underpinned the approach that was adopted, which involved being led by the requirements of the most complex users. Jayne was one of many users through whom we not only developed more effective ways of using the technology, but also more innovative strategies to support its implementation. In this chapter, we describe the process, and outcome of our participatory design approach, through the cases of Jayne and other users.
Computer Control by Gaze
Authors: Skovsgaard Henrik , Räihä Kari-Jouko , Tall Martin
Published: December 2012

This chapter provides an overview of gaze-based interaction techniques. We will first explore specific techniques intended to make target selection easier and to avoid the Midas touch problem. We will then take a look at techniques that do not require the use of special widgets in the interface but instead manipulate the rendering on the basis of eye gaze to facilitate the selection of small targets. Dwell-based interaction makes use of fixations; recent research has looked into the other option, using saccades as the basis for eye gestures. We will also discuss examples of how eye gaze has been used with other input modalities (blinks and winks, keyboard and mouse, facial gestures, head movements, and speech) to speed up interaction. Finally, we will discuss examples of interaction techniques in the context of a specific area of application: navigating information spaces.
Eye Movements and Attention
Authors: Mulvey Fiona , Heubner Michael
Published: December 2012

When it comes to measuring attention, or quantifying it in any way, it is not easy to pin down what exactly we measure. Advances in technology have enabled the construction of complex models of certain aspects of attention and identified many of the structures and factors involved in the changing nature of attention. In this chapter, we will go with a working definition of attention as the concentration or focusing of mental effort on sensory or internal mental events. In terms of eye movements, we are mainly concerned with visual attention, pertaining to events and external stimuli in the environment, but not exclusively so. Eye movements may also offer an opportunity to measure internal or subjective events and states. This chapter will look at what might be possible beyond direct, point and click gaze control, in inferring subjective states. The aim is to identify and explain those measures from cognitive psychology which are most promising in terms of future technologies for gaze based human computer interaction.
Methods and Measures
Authors: Hansen John Paulin , Aoki Hirotaka
Published: December 2012

Understanding users’ behaviour is one of the most crucial aspects in successful design of human–computer interaction. Experiments with prototypes of gaze interaction systems provide valuable quantitative measurement of performances in terms of such factors as speed, error, and accuracy, in addition to the comments and suggestions we may get from users. We will introduce some of the research methods, metrics, and measures that have emerged within the field associated with the design of gaze interactive systems. Many of the methods and measures are inherited from an engineering approach to system design that can be found within the human factors tradition. Others are unique to gaze interaction, taking advantage of the extra information that can be gained when one knows where the user is looking. In this chapter, our focus will mainly be on efficiency measures for gaze performance.
Gaze Data Analysis
Authors: Špakov Oleg
Published: December 2012

Analysis of gaze data collected during experiments is an essential part of any study that deals with eye tracking. In turn, analysis of gaze data is not a trivial procedure, on account of the nature of eye movement, peculiarities of human vision, and the imperfection of the measurement tools. In this chapter, we first draw out the most common issues that researchers are trying to resolve for analysis of gaze data, then present in detail the well-known methods and procedures of gaze data analysis, and finally point to the latest achievements in this field. The chapter contains a specification of the most promising directions in this field of research. We finish with a brief description of the most well-known academic and commercial tools that have been developed for gaze data visualisation and analysis. This chapter is based on an updated version of work originally published by Špakov in 2008.
A Client-Focused Methodology for Gaze Control Assessment, Implementation and Evaluation
Authors: Donegan Mick , Gill Lorna , Ellis Lisa
Published: December 2012

This chapter addresses challenges involved when working with people whose involuntary eye or head movements make it difficult for a gaze-controlled computer to accurately interpret their eye movements. The chapter introduces the methodology we adopted for the ACE Centre user trials, which we have described as the ‘KEE’ approach to trialling and implementing gaze control technology: Knowledge-based, End-user focused, and Evolutionary. In our experience, this approach has been found to enhance the chances of success for even the most complex end-users.
Conclusion and a Look to the Future
Authors: Donegan Mick , Majaranta Päivi , Hansen John Paulin , Hyrskykari Aulikki , Aoki Hirotaka , Hansen Dan Witzner , Räihä Kari-Jouko
Published: December 2012

Gaze-controlled computers had already been utilized successfully for well over two decades before the COGAIN project started. However, those actually benefitting from the technology were comparatively few compared to the numbers who needed it. During the five year course of the project, however, systems, software and strategies were developed that made this technology potentially available, given appropriate support and technology, to groups who might not have even considered eye control a possibility. As a result, gaze control technology was opened up to a much wider group of people. In this final chapter, we sum up research presented in this book and close it by presenting some future trends and areas with high potential for applied use of eye tracking and gaze interaction.
A Business Perspective on Non-Functional Properties for Services
Authors: Stephenson Bryan
Published: December 2012

This chapter provides an overview from a business perspective of some of the important non-functional properties of services, such as availability, performance, and security. It discusses the typical metrics for these non-functional properties which are used in service level agreements to measure and report how well a service is meeting customer expectations. It briefly discusses cost considerations for service providers and consumers, as some levels of service are expensive to attain. The goal is to provide the reader with an understanding of these non-functional properties, their measures and cost implications, and related interesting research opportunities.
Quality of Service Monitoring Strategies in Service Oriented Architecture Environments using Processor Hardware Performance Metrics
Authors: Sithole Ernest , McClean Sally , Scotney Bryan , Parr Gerard , Moore Adrian , Bustard Dave , Dawson Stephen
Published: December 2012

The sharp growth in data-intensive applications such as social, professional networking and online commerce services, multimedia applications, as well as the convergence of mobile, wireless, and internet technologies, is greatly influencing the shape and makeup of on-demand enterprise computing environments. In response to the global needs for on-demand computing services, a number of trends have emerged, one of which is the growth of computing infrastructures in terms of the number of computing node entities and the widening in geophysical distributions of deployed node elements. Another development has been the increased complexity in the technical composition of the business computing space due to the diversity of technologies that are employed in IT implementations. Given the huge scales in infrastructure sizes and data handling requirements, as well as the dispersion of compute nodes and technology disparities that are associated with emerging computing infrastructures, the task of quantifying performance for capacity planning, Service Level Agreement (SLA) enforcements, and Quality of Service (QoS) guarantees becomes very challenging to fulfil. In order to come up with a viable strategy for evaluating operational performance on computing nodes, we propose the use of on-chip registers called Performance Monitoring Counters (PMCs), which form part of the processor hardware. The use of PMC measurements is largely non-intrusive and highlights performance issues associated with runtime execution on the CPU hardware architecture. Our proposed strategy of employing PMC data thus overcomes major shortcomings of existing benchmarking approaches such as overheads in the software functionality and the inability to offer detailed insight into the various stages of CPU and memory hardware operation.
Service Selection with Uncertain Context Information
Authors: Vanrompay Yves , Kirsch-Pinheiro Manuele , Berbers Yolande
Published: December 2012

The current evolution of Service-Oriented Computing in ubiquitous systems is leading to the development of context-aware services. Context-aware services are services of which the description is enriched with context information related to non-functional requirements, describing the service execution environment or its adaptation capabilities. This information is often used for discovery and adaptation purposes. However, in real-life systems, context information is naturally dynamic, uncertain, and incomplete, which represents an important issue when comparing the service description with user requirements. Uncertainty of context information may lead to an inexact match between provided and required service capabilities, and consequently to the non-selection of services. In this chapter, we focus on how to handle uncertain and incomplete context information for service selection. We consider this issue by presenting a service ranking and selection algorithm, inspired by graph-based matching algorithms. This graph-based service selection algorithm compares contextual service descriptions using similarity measures that allow inexact matching. The service description and non-functional requirements are compared using two kinds of similarity measures: local measures, which compare individually required and provided properties, and global measures, which take into account the context description as a whole.
Performance Modeling for Quality of Service Prediction in Service-Oriented Systems
Authors: Rathfelder Christoph , Klatt Benjamin , Brosch Franz , Kounev Samuel
Published: December 2012

With the introduction of services, systems become more flexible as new services can easily be composed out of existing services. Services are increasingly used in mission-critical systems and applications, and therefore, considering Quality of Service (QoS) properties is an essential part of the service selection. Quality prediction techniques support the service provider in determining possible QoS levels that can be guaranteed to a customer or in deriving the operation costs induced by a certain QoS level. In this chapter, we present an overview on our work on modeling service-oriented systems for performance prediction using the Palladio Component Model. The prediction builds upon a model of a service-based system, and evaluates this model in order to determine the expected service quality. The presented techniques allow for early quality prediction, without the need for the system being already deployed and operating. We present the integration of our prediction approach into an SLA management framework. The emerging trend to combine event-based communication and Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) into Event-based SOA (ESOA) induces new challenges to our approach, which are topic of a special subsection.
WSARCH
Authors: Estrella Júlio Cezar , Santana Regina Helena Carlucci , Santana Marcos Jose , Bruschi Sarita Mazzini
Published: December 2012

This chapter aims at the design and implementation of a service-oriented architecture (SOA), named WSARCH – Web Services Architecture - which allows accessing Web Services using a combination of functional and non-functional aspects of Quality of Service (QoS). These QoS aspects, aiming at evaluating the performance of Web Services in order to achieve QoS in a service-oriented architecture, are identified and discussed. These QoS attributes were mapped to the components participating in a service-oriented architecture with QoS support. The proposed architecture provides the monitoring of service providers and the data obtained are used to locate the most appropriated service. The WSARCH can be used as an analytical platform for purposes of testing Web Services and understanding their behavior as well as an execution platform for building live systems. A prototype for the WSARCH was developed, and it can allow performance evaluation studies being conducted considering different components of the architecture, algorithms, protocols and standards. The proposal WSARCH is inserted into a context where it is important to define the way a SOA focusing on performance shall be designed, since the correct characterization of what to evaluate and how to evaluate.
Business Continuity Management of Business Driven IT Landscapes
Authors: Winkler Ulrich , Gilani Wasif
Published: December 2012

The overall objectives of this book chapter are (a) to provide an introduction of Business Continuity Management, (b) to discuss the importance of business continuity in a service-oriented IT environment, (c) highlight and discuss major challenges and approaches to translate business requirements and objectives down to BCM related service level terms and metrics and (e) identify requirements, such as modelling methodologies or analyses, to enable such translations.
Semantic Modelling of Resource Dependability for SLA-Based Service Governance
Authors: Hall-May Martin , Chakravarthy Ajay , Leonard Thomas , Surridge Mike
Published: December 2012

In this chapter we present a survey of research work related to the semantic modelling of security, semantic SLA modelling, and the current state of the art in SLA-based system governance. Based on this survey, and after observing the essential aspects needed to semantically model an SLA, we first propose a semantic model of resource dependability. This model can be used to semantically encode in SLA the service commitments (to customers) and resource capacity (from suppliers) in terms of usage, performance, and other QoS characteristics that represent non-functional properties. On the basis of this model, we propose a flexible approach to SLA-based system governance that allows for elastic provisioning of resources (by autonomic processes) that meet NFP requirements. This approach can be used to monitor and manage services such that they meet (and continue to meet) agreed levels of QoS.
Aiding Compliance Governance in Service-Based Business Processes
Authors: Silveira Patrícia , Rodríguez Carlos , Birukou Aliaksandr , Casati Fabio , Daniel Florian , D’Andrea Vincenzo , Worledge Claire , Taheri Zouhair
Published: December 2012

Assessing whether a company’s business practices conform to laws and regulations and follow standards and SLAs, i.e., compliance management, is a complex and costly task. Few software tools aiding compliance management exist; yet, they typically do not address the needs of who is actually in charge of assessing and understanding compliance. We advocate the use of a compliance governance dashboard and suitable root cause analysis techniques that are specifically tailored to the needs of compliance experts and auditors. The design and implementation of these instruments are challenging for at least three reasons: (1) it is fundamental to identify the right level of abstraction for the information to be shown; (2) it is not trivial to visualize different analysis perspectives; and (3) it is difficult to manage and analyze the large amount of involved concepts, instruments, and data. This chapter shows how to address these issues, which concepts and models underlie the problem, and, eventually, how IT can effectively support compliance analysis in Service-Oriented Architectures (SOAs).
Towards Interactive 3D City Models on the Web
Authors: Jochem Rainer , Goetz Marcus
Published: December 2012

A ubiquitous accessibility of data over the Web nowadays is very common. Although the Web, 3D graphics, and geographic data are crossing their ways, common applications are typically based on technologies that are rather esoteric to most web-developers. Nevertheless, in the last couple of months, some efforts towards a seamless integration of 3D graphics into common Web browsers have been performed. Regarding the data of such applications, they are mostly proprietary and commercial data, which are collected by professional cartographers or surveyors. Nevertheless, following the Web 2.0 approach, within the last five years the trend of Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) became popular, describing an ever expanding range of users who voluntarily and collaboratively collect geographic data. Trying to merge the mentioned trends and desires, within this paper the authors present a way to transform the crowdsourced OpenStreetMap data into a 3D city model. Contrary to other existing approaches towards OpenStreetMap 3D, they combine emerging and established Web technologies, allowing an easy consumption in arbitrary web browsers. The applied technologies are easy to learn and understand by the web community and allow for quick prototyping, and creating mash-ups with further spatially enabledWeb2.0 data.
Real-Time Web GIS Analysis Using WebGL
Authors: Auer Michael
Published: December 2012

Parallel processing methods in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are traditionally used to accelerate the calculation of large data volumes with sophisticated spatial algorithms. Such kinds of acceleration can also be applied to provide real-time GIS applications to improve the responsiveness of user interactions with the data. This paper presents a method to enable this approach for Web GIS applications. It uses the JavaScript 3D graphics API (WebGL) to perform client-side parallel real-time computations of 2D or 2.5D spatial raster algorithms on the graphics card. The potential of this approach is evaluated using an example implementation of a hillshade algorithm. Performance comparisons of parallel and sequential computations reveal acceleration factors between 25 and 100, mainly depending on mobile or desktop environments.
False Memory Phenomenon under Different Symbolic Forms
Authors: Paratori Silvana
Published: December 2012

Over time, researchers have identified the ‘false memory phenomenon’ by which individuals remember events that never occurred (i.e., the Deese-Roediger-McDermott paradigm). It is argued that this phenomenon is more common when individuals face stressing conditions. The objective of this article is to report the findings of a pilot investigation that was designed to determine whether ‘false memory phenomenon’ is less frequent in individuals who are exposed to pictorial representations. The aim is to use this pilot analysis as a methodological basis to investigate future developments whether the ‘false memory phenomenon’ is also less frequent in individuals who are exposed to advertising presented as pictorial representations.
Loving a Brand
Authors: Sarkar Abhigyan
Published: December 2012

Researchers postulate that an individual consumer can fall in love with a brand. They also suggest that the nature of this brand love is conceptually analogous to interpersonal love. This article analyzes how the brand love concept can be derived from interpersonal love. Brand love is related to hedonic shopping motive, rather than utilitarian shopping motive and dominant in case of few hedonic products. However, marketers can develop a lovable brand in a utilitarian product category also by carrying out emotional advertisements. This article empirically shows that perceived product category hedonism has significant positive impact on brand love, where, perceived product utilitarianism has no significant impact on brand love.
Regional Anchoring as a Selection Criterion for Compulsory Health Insurance
Authors: Dobbelstein Thomas , Renzing Ole
Published: December 2012

If consumers do not have access to all relevant information for the purchase decision process and/or if it is necessary to reduce a massive amount of information, consumers base their often simplified buying decision on key data. The paper shows the cognitive and affective importance of regional anchoring as a key information factor in selecting a form of compulsory health insurance (CHI). The perceived regional anchoring of a CHI has a positive influence on the overall image of a CHI and on resulting customer preferences. These influences are further supported by the customer’s ethnocentricity. However, the customer’s attitude towards a region influences neither the image of a CHI nor the preference for a CHI. To influence the customer’s perceived regional anchoring of a CHI positively, the most effective marketing instruments are seminars/workshops on physical exercise options in the region, advertising with typical regional pictures, and offering a regional expert hotline.
ConnectiCity
Authors: Iaconesi Salvatore , Persico Oriana
Published: December 2012

This paper presents the approaches, methodologies and results of a multidisciplinary research project which, over the last 4 years, was able to investigate on the possibility to observe the behavior of city dwellers using information harvested from social networks which was then analyzed using Natural Language Processing techniques to gather insights about the emotions and themes expressed in the messages, and Geo-Referencing, Geo-Parsing and Geo-Coding techniques to understand their relevancy to the various parts of the city. Infoaesthetics and multiple forms of information visualization were designed and used to make information accessible from a variety of perspectives, including ones created to suggest novel practices for Urban Planning, and some versions designed to suggest and support citizen-initiated activities. Research results have been presented, over time, under the form of live prototypes which used urban screens, web applications, mobile applications, and digital devices to promote novel practices for city administration and governance, as well as for participatory and peer-to-peer Urban Planning techniques which would benefit from the produced technologies, methodologies and visualization and interaction metaphors.
The Application of Computer Aided Design as Tool for Building User-Centered Design in Consumer Ceramics’ Product Development
Authors: Enoch Olalere Folasayo , Shuaib Ab Aziz Bin , Ismail Ramli bin
Published: December 2012

This paper investigates the knowledge regarding how user-centre design can be built in ceramic consumer products. The paper gives the general overview of ceramics, computer-aided design and its application in ceramic product development. It also illuminates on product emotion, its influence on consumers’ behaviour and how it can be integrated into new product conceptualization. Furthermore, the paper analysed the systematic approach in building user-centred design in new product and also reveals how CAD can be used to achieve a user-centred design. In order to test the viability of CAD in achieving user-centred design, a study was performed where a CAD-model of a multi-functional ceramic pot was created and a questionnaire with the image (CAD model) and eight emotions was given to participants so as to know their emotional responses toward the product. The result from the study reveals the viability of computer aided design as tool for building user-centred design in consumer ceramics’ product development.
An Investigation of the Relationship Between Intellectual Capital and Knowledge Transfer
Authors: Tsai Chia-Wen , Shen Pei-Di , Chiang Nien-En
Published: December 2012

In this newly competitive and dynamic knowledge economic era, knowledge becomes the most important capability for enterprises. As a part of the cultural enterprises, the music industry produces cultural products that are nonmaterial, aesthetic and expressive for audiences and consumers. The report on the artistic and cultural fields from the European Union illustrates that the importance of the creative industry increases day by day in recent years. However, the studies of intellectual capital and knowledge transfer mostly focused on the high-tech industries. In this study, the researchers adopted a case study to explore how the knowledge transfer among music band members and intellectual capital’s effect bands. Based on the interviews, the researchers found that human capital is the fundamental of a music band and organizational capital, and it influenced the transfer of human capital. The authors further discuss the implications for bands and the for music industry to promote knowledge transfer and build their intellectual capital.
The Role of Social Networking Sites for Language Learning in UK Higher Education
Authors: Brick Billy
Published: December 2012

This paper seeks to assess the potential for Social Networking Sites (SNSs) to play a role in language learning in the UK Higher Education (HE) sector. These sites are characterised by certain features including learning materials, synchronous and asynchronous video and text chat facilities, a peer review feature, and some sites also incorporate an award system, in the form of points (http://www.livemocha.com) or ‘berries’ (http://www.busuu.com). This serves to motivate participants by rewarding them for their progress and for their peer review activities. In order to consider if, or how, to integrate SNSs into the UK HE curriculum it is important to consider the views of practitioners and learners towards such sites and whether they consider them to have a potential role in HE language education. The paper will report on the outcomes of two small research projects which have sought to establish the view of both practitioners and students towards SNSs in the HE context. When considered overall the practitioners were more positive about the site than the learners.
Promotion of EFL Student Motivation, Confidence, and Satisfaction Via a Learning Spiral, Peer-Scaffolding, and CMC
Authors: Wu Wen-Chi Vivian , Marek Michael , Yen Ling Ling
Published: December 2012

This study presents an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) instructional model in which peer interaction improves motivation, confidence, satisfaction, and actual performance of students. Researchers used peer interaction for repeated assignments via Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) to study how focused peer interaction contributes to changes in the four factors. EFL students in Taiwan interacted “live” via the Internet with a native English speaker in America. Integrative and instrumental motivation, satisfaction, confidence, and actual performance all improved as a result of the peer interaction with CMC methodology. Affective variables, such as anxiety, motivation, and self-efficacy, coupled with positive peer dynamics and teacher support, all influenced the students’ reported motivation, confidence, and satisfaction. This EFL instructional model has two strengths: 1) it demonstrates that peer interaction, properly channeled, results in improved motivation, confidence, satisfaction, and actual performance, and that, 2) CMC expands the engagement of students using peer learning, resulting in improved learning compared to traditional instruction.
Energy Optimization at GSM Base Station Sites Located in Rural Areas
Authors: Ani Vincent Anayochukwu , Ndubueze Nzeako Anthony
Published: December 2012

This paper explores the best energy options by which the choice of the most energy optimized solution for a given GSM Base Station Site and location in any rural area in Nigeria can be made. The patterns of load consumption by mobile base stations at various geographical locations in rural areas are studied and suitably modeled for optimization using HOMER software. Simulation results show the optimized energy options to be superior to conventional solutions whereby diesel generators are currently used to power GSM Base Station Sites around Nigeria. Total Net Present Cost (NPC) and total impact on the environment are used as indices for measuring the optimization level of each energy solution. The solution with the highest optimization value is considered to be the best energy option for that Base Station Site.
Boiler Modelling of Simple Combustion Processes
Authors: Nosek Radovan , Jandacka Jozef , Szlek Andrzej
Published: December 2012

The aim of the work is to investigate coal combustion in fixed bed reactor. The experimental results were worked out in the form of approximation functions describing gas composition at the exit of fixed bed reactor. Furthermore, developed functions were applied for defining the boundary conditions at the interface between the fixed bed and gas phase using FLUENT. The simulations of a domestic boiler have been done and the relative effects of different factors in CFD code were evaluated by sensitivity analysis. The validity of the model was verified by measurements which were done in a 25 kW domestic boiler. Model predictions were compared with the experimental gas temperature and species concentration measurements.
A Robust Interactive Narrative Framework for Edutainment
Authors: Paracha Samiullah , Yoshie Osamu
Published: December 2012

Over the last decade, interactive edutainment systems have not only moved into the mainstream, they have spread beyond the niche area of interest in the field of artificial intelligence. Edutainment, also known as educational entertainment or entertainment-education, denotes those software applications that are designed to educate, as well as provide fun. Presented is an interactive narrative framework that has been applied to develop the Shimpai Muyou!, an interactive drama in virtual reality. This edutainment application was created to help Japanese school-age children develop anti-bullying skills and practice coping strategies through empathic interactions with intelligent virtual agents. Narrative management was used to ensure that virtual situations led to the desired learning outcomes. A computer agent was employed as a story manager to select appropriate episodes and characters that would potentiate the occurrence of certain events favoring particular authored purposes. Although the situations were pre-designed, the characters autonomously decided their actions while performing their roles. Qualitative data obtained through several small group discussions with twenty 5th and 6th graders are presented.
Measuring Blog Influence
Authors: Hassan Shahizan , Shiratuddin Norshuhada , Sakdan Mohd Fo’ad , Hashim Nor Laily , Sajat Mohd Samsu
Published: December 2012

Netizens around the world increasingly use blogs to share thoughts and opinions, create special interest groups, collaborate, and debate on issues. However, the social influence of blogs remains largely undetermined. This paper presents the outcomes of a study which investigates how the influence of blogs can be measured quantitatively. The purpose of the study was to determine how to assess the social influence of blogs and to develop two new tools for measuring blog influence: the Blog Influence Index (BII) and Blog Influence Analyzer (BIA). These tools were applied to identify top influential blogs in the blogosphere community of Malaysia. The results indicate that the top 10 most influential blogs in Malaysia fall under the categories of politics, entertainment, sports, lifestyle, and technology.
Development of a Compact 1-D Micromanipulator with Flexure Manufactured Using Rapid Prototyping
Authors: Zhao Su , Aye Yan Naing , Shee Cheng Yap , Ang Wei Tech
Published: December 2012

Presented is the design and initial experimental results of a compact 1-D micromanipulator. The presented manipulator is a piezoelectric actuator based complaint mechanism with a compact translational flexure manufactured using rapid prototyping. Rapid prototyping allows complicated designs with low manufacturing costs. Analytical and Finite Element (FE) models for designing the flexure are presented. The simulation results are compared with experiments conducted on a prototype. Nonlinear stiffness is measured and evaluated. The importance of pre-loading force is investigated. Trajectory tracking tests at different frequencies are performed on the manipulator. The maximum and root mean square errors are analyzed.
Laser Bending of 5005 Aluminum Alloy Sheets
Authors: Bellisario D. , Quadrini F.
Published: December 2012

The laser bendability of thick aluminum sheets has been scarcely investigated previously; in this article this property was evaluated for sheets of 5005 aluminum alloy by means of a high power diode laser. In the experimentation, the width of the sample to bend was changed as well as laser power and scan rate. The effect of other process parameters was also investigated; the surface aspect and the sample orientation with regard to the rolling direction. Mechanical tests and surface analyses were performed before and after laser testing so as to deepen the laser-material interaction. A thermal numerical model was also implemented to study the effect of the laser power on the laser beam absorption during processing. As a result, a good bendability of the 5005 alloy sheets was observed though many parameters need to be considered for the process control. A simple process map for line bending can be extracted from experimental data only if some of those parameters are fixed; above all the sample orientation. These results are found to be significant in better understanding the bending behavior of thick aluminum sheets with high density laser power when a complex interaction between process and material parameters is present.
Business Process Models Representation by Deducing Interpretative Evidences on Intuitively Common Symbols
Authors: Alwahaishi Saleh , Jaffar Ahmad , Vondrák Ivo , Snášel Václav
Published: December 2012

Through quantitative analysis, previous researchers have proven a significant preference towards a specific set of notations for modeling business processes. The drawn conclusion revealed a significantly correlated coefficient preference to Norm Process Chart for using easily recognizable symbols to intuitively elicit understanding in representing business process models. Further interpretative analysis to qualitatively enhance these findings will only prove and strengthen the above claimed beyond reasonable doubt. The approach is to measure respondent level of accuracy in interpreting 3 different case studies modeled using 3 different modeling techniques shown to respondents in 3 different randomized sequences. The analysis includes correlating the finding against the time taken as well as respondents’ level of confidence in interpreting these models. The significantly correlated results again confirmed beyond reasonable doubt Norm Process Chart being respondents ultimate choice. Further comparative analysis between results from an earlier investigation against the latter, revealed similar patterns in respondents’ responses despite respondents dispersed ethnicity and educational backgrounds.
The Impact of Ability and Participation on Trustworthiness and Task Performance in Virtual Teams
Authors: Fuller Christie M. , Twitchell Douglas P. , Marett Kent , Burns A. J.
Published: December 2012

The relationship between trust and task performance in virtual teams is well established. Currently, studies examine key antecedent to trust in groups, the perceived ability of other group members. While it has been shown that perceived ability of teammates contributes to trust, little is known about how the perceptions of ability are formed in virtual teams. In this study, teams performed a decision-making task in a synchronous computer-mediated communication environment. As teams were limited to verbal communication, the authors examined the relationship between participant ability and verbal communication amount, as well as team member perceptions of their partners’ ability based on the amount of participation. The results show that participants who perceive themselves to have higher ability communicate more, whereas those who speak more are rated by their teammates to have lower ability. Based on the results, post hoc analysis explored the relationship between reduced participation and perceived ability.
The Dilemma and Resolution
Authors: Xuan Xu , Xiaowei Zhang
Published: December 2012

Traditional Chinese Medicine (hereafter referred to as TCM) is made by Chinese herbal formulae and includes a ratio of pharmaceutical elements, which contain known health-enhancing functions. The trial process of the invention of TCM requires a lot of creative work and involves some risks. Winning patent protection for TCMs presents technical barriers on the patent examination. To address the problem of patent protection for TCM requires an understanding of history, medicine, pharmaceutical science, and modern drug development. The patentability of TCM may ultimately depend upon the determination of the scope and right contents of TCMs and the creation of a special patent examination system for this purpose.
Raise of the Quality of the Labor Force in China
Authors: Lidan Xiao
Published: December 2012

In the era of knowledge economy, improving quality of labor force has great effort on enhancing innovation ability of Chinese enterprise and improving competitiveness of the whole country. Currently, the quantity of Chinese labor force isn’t enough mainly due to several reasons: firstly, population policy emphasized “quantity” rather than “quality”; secondly, the structure in labor force market is irrational; thirdly, big differences exist in labor quality between urban and rural areas; fourthly, intellectual capital investment in education and training has been far from enough. However, Intellectual Capital theory has provided a solid theoretical basis for the author to improve labor quality. It suggests setting up an active policy to promote intellectual capital investment; strengthen intellectual capital investment in education system; encourage more and more Chinese enterprises to use Intellectual Capital business model in management; and set up special founding for young generation.
Scaling Instant Messaging Communication Services
Authors: Griffin Leigh , Ryan Kieran , de Leastar Eamonn , Botvich Dmitri
Published: December 2012

Designing innovative communications services that scale to facilitate potential new usage patterns can pose significant challenges. This is particularly the case if these services are to be delivered over existing protocols and interoperate with legacy services. This work explores design choices for such a service: large scale message delivery to existing Instant Messaging users. In particular the authors explore message throughput, accuracy and server load for several alternative implementation strategies. These strategies focus on approaches to concurrency, with best practice in current and emerging techniques thoroughly benchmarked. Specifically, a conventional Java Executor approach is compared with a functional approach realised through Scala and its Actors framework. These could be termed “blocking I/O” technology. A third approach has also been measured - a “non-blocking I/O” based on an alternative to Java Virtual Machine approaches - employing Node.js and Javascript. We believe that some of the results are startling.
Software Coverage Analysis
Authors: Srivastava Praveen Ranjan , Naruka Saurav Singh , Alam Afaque , Agarwal Nikhil , Shah Vaibhav Mukeshkumar
Published: December 2012

Requirements of the desired software product can be translated into state transition diagram or other UML diagrams. To verify the complete coverage of software requirements, the proposed Ant based approach generates non-repetitive transitions from the input state diagram. This approach has less redundant transitions and also gives uncovered transition in successive paths instead of giving whole redundant path again and again. The paper also contains a comparison between already existing approaches with respect to some parameters like coverage, redundancy, total number of transitions.
The Statistical Pattern Recognition of the Weather Conditions Based on the Gray-Scale of Image
Authors: Peng Li-ling , Gan Xiao-rong
Published: December 2012

In this paper, gray-scale of various types of cloud images collected over the Kunming Area were analyzed based on statistical theory and methods in order to achieve recognition of the pattern of the weather conditions. The results show that there are remarkable differences in normal distribution on the gray-scale histogram and the recurrence plot for different weather conditions. It is shown that the gray-scale method is simple, feasible, timely, reliable, and accurate. That would provide theoretical support and methods for meteorological and other related departments.