bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Emphasis on Educational Technologies Within National Science Foundation Projects
Authors: Howard Bruce C. , Curtis Laura J.
Published: February 2011

Our research team evaluated 18 months of National Science Foundation (NSF) program announcements and awarded programs to discern the amount and type of emphasis placed upon educational technologies. NSF issued 65 solicitations for proposals, with 53.8% calling for educational technology components. A sampling of 366 of the 1,180 funded projects showed that 34.7% included educational technology. Twenty-five percent of the projects were in biology and cognitive science, with another 40% in general science, computer science, technical education, engineering, and math. Many types of educational technologies were funded, with an emphasis on cognitive tutors/intelligent agents, distance learning, and online communities.
New Design Approaches and a Comparative Study of Taps Packages for Engineering Education
Authors: Sindhu Manji Singh
Published: February 2011

This work presents the development of technology-assisted problem solving (TAPS) packages at University Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN). This project is the further work of the development of interactive multimedia based packages targeted for students having problems in understanding the subject of Engineering Mechanics Dynamics. In this study TAPS packages are compared to other selected engineering computer packages. The differences found were indicative of better presentation and clarity, step-by-step approach to solve engineering problems, user-friendly environment, unbiased assessment of performance and flexibility to incorporate 3-D geometric models in the TAPS packages.
Student Success in a University Introductory Networks and Telecommunications Course
Authors: Brookshire Robert G. , Crews Tena B. , Brown III Herbert F.
Published: February 2011

Students at a large southeastern university typically find the introductory networking and telecommunications course difficult. This study examines the factors that contribute to the success of undergraduate technology support and training management students in this required course. College transcripts and academic student files provided the data, which were analyzed using multiple regression. In contrast to previous research, only performance in an introductory technology prerequisite course significantly predicted success. These findings have implications for faculty designing or organizing curricula who want to improve the success students in networking and telecommunications courses.
Information and Communication Technology in China
Authors: Li Xiaobin , Huang Yuxing , Tang Xiayun
Published: February 2011

This article provides an overview of the current development of information and communication technology (ICT) utilized in Chinese education since China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO). Specifically, the article describes and discusses the positive impacts ICT has on Chinese basic education (grade one to grade nine), as well as the existing problems in the application of ICT. The article also discusses ICT’s application in higher education and the issues that have to be dealt with. The potential for further developing distance education with ICT is considered. In addition, recommendations are made with regard to providing better distance education with ICT. The target audience of this article is policy makers, educators, ICT professionals and researchers.
Online or Traditional
Authors: Klaus Tim , Changchit Chuleeporn
Published: February 2011

Technological advancements currently penetrate society, changing the way that some courses are taught. It has become more apparent in higher education institutions that all classes are not as adaptive to an online format as others. Since many institutions of higher education further incorporate online courses into their curriculum, it is important to understand the characteristics of courses that affect students’ preferences for either traditional classroom environments or online environments. Indications of this can be seen in the attrition and retention rates of classes offered online. This study explores the characteristics of courses that affect students’ preferences towards online and traditional classroom settings. These results should help providing guidelines to institutions considering courses to offer online.
Problem-Based Learning in a Technical Course in Computing
Authors: Correia Eduardo , Watson Ricky
Published: February 2011

Problem-based learning has been well-documented, from its early days in the teaching of medical professionals to its more recent use in other disciplines. It has been adopted in many educational institutions because it gives students a realistic problem and provides opportunities to translate knowledge into solutions. This article is a case study of this approach at a second-year technical course, in which members of the class were divided into groups and given a scenario concerning a fictitious organisation about to embark on a major upgrade to its existing and problematic networking infrastructure. The course consisted of two parts. The first group was provided with a set of virtual machines to upgrade, and the second group chose and implemented a major technology on this newly upgraded network. The authors outline how problem-based learning is used in this context in a way that informs the teaching of any technical computing course.
The Role of Computer-Mediated Communication
Authors: Olaniran Bolanle A. , Rodriguez Natasha
Published: February 2011

The use of information technology to enhance classroom learning and deliver corporate training is the latest trend and focus of much research in the computer-mediated communication (CMC) and development industry. Technological advances continue to alter the various ways in which academic and organizational training is facilitated and conducted. This paper presents a review of the available literature and trends in CMC, specifically, CMC’s theoretical approaches, types/roles, benefits/disadvantages, and contributions to academic institutions and corporate organizations. The authors also provide a discussion of future trends and implications in this subject.
Intention, Transition, Retention
Authors: Kirby Dale , Sharpe Dennis
Published: February 2011

Studies of student transition to post-secondary education have not examined the transition experiences of students who complete on-line courses as part of their high school curriculum. To address this area of deficit in on-line learning research, in this paper, the authors discuss a multi-year study that examined high school on-line learners’ plans to participate in post-secondary education, their enrollment in post-secondary education, and their persistence in a post-secondary program. Data for these analyses were collected from student surveys as well as high school and university academic records. The results suggest that participation in on-line courses in high school is not a significant factor in the post-secondary education transition process while student academic achievement is consistently influential.
Asynchronous Learning and Faculty Development
Authors: Benton Cynthia J.
Published: February 2011

A phenomenological study of higher education faculty experiences with course content adaptation, methodological changes, and program assessment, this paper summarizes both psychological and work-effort considerations for creating online learning environments. Using journaling, student responses and interviews, the qualitative, two-year study yielded consistent conclusions regarding the need for supported and interactive development for faculty. Online classroom practices are investigated and a number of navigable and intractable problems are summarized. Implications for higher education practices in program design, faculty development and student learning are also described.
Network Cooperation
Authors: Acevedo Manuel
Published: February 2011

Trends in international development cooperation point to the increasing networking of initiatives and programmes, facilitated by information and communications technology (ICT). This allows many more people and organizations from around the world to contribute to a given project, as with the case of online volunteers. There are various types of networks active in development cooperation, but network management needs to be incorporated by involved organizations in order to extract the expected benefits from their involvement. Network analysis practices will help determine if they are set up and managed ppropriately.
Supporting Learner Reflection in the Language Translation Class
Authors: Lindgren Eva , Sullivan Kirk P.H. , Deutschmann Mats , Steinvall Anders
Published: February 2011

In a case study a University class undertook a translation from Swedish to English in a keystroke logging environment and then replayed their translations in pairs while discussing their thought processes when undertaking the translations, and why they made particular choices and changes to their translations. Computer keystroke logging coupled with peer-based intervention assisted the students in discussing how they worked with their translations, and enabled them to see how their ideas relating to the translation developed as they worked with the text. The process showed that Computer Keystroke logging coupled with peer-based intervention has potential to (1) support student reflection and discussion around their translation tasks, and (2) enhance student motivation and enthusiasm for translation.
Impact of Podcasts as Professional Learning
Authors: King Kathleen P.
Published: February 2011

Until now, research on podcasting in education mostly examined teacher created podcasts in K-12 and higher education. This paper explores podcasts in professional learning across several genres of podcasts. Using a popular typology of podcasts, teacher created, student created and professional development podcasts (King & Gura, 2007), this paper compares, contrasts and reveals the potential of multiple educational contexts and instructional strategies, formative instructional design, interdisciplinary strategies, formal and informal learning, and effective uses of data gathering methods. The significance of the study extends from not only the extensive reach of the data gathering and production, but also the robust research model, formative and dynamic instructional design for staff development and recommendations for podcasting research strategies.
Opportunities and Challenges of Emerging Technologies in Higher Education
Authors: Thomas P.
Published: February 2011

Recent unprecedented advances in digital technologies and their concomitant affordances in education seem to be a great opportunity to adequately address burgeoning demand for high quality higher education (HE) and the changing educational preferences. It is increasingly being recognised that using new technology effectively in HE is essential to prepare students for its increasing demand. E-learning is an integral component of the University of Botswana’s teaching and learning culture, however, teachers who are from a traditional educational system are often ill-prepared to change their role from the all-knowing “sage on the stage” who operated under the “transmission” model, to the “guide on the side” which adopts new technologies effectively for student learning. Therefore, this paper argues that one of the ways to achieve substantial pedagogical innovations is to bring a significant change in the understanding of the processes of the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL). This paper explores new directions for conducting scholarly activities at the University of Botswana (UB) to address the needs of today’s students, concluding with a call for a collaborative approach to teaching, research, and publishing to enhance student learning experience in diversified and socially rich collaborative learning contexts.
Outsourcing Contract Success
Authors: Yadav Vanita , Metri B.A.
Published: February 2011

Despite the phenomenal growth in outsourcing of various business functions like Enterprise Systems outsourcing, IT outsourcing, and Business Process outsourcing, there has been relatively less attention given to the high-risk area of outsourcing contracts. In this regard, contract has been the conventional medium for governing outsourcing relationships. This study aims to bring forward the importance of quality in the entire contracting process, involving contract planning, pre-contract negotiation, contract formulation, and post-contract management. Specifically, the objective of this paper is to posit a quality framework for planning and analyzing outsourcing contracts that will in turn help in achieving outsourcing success. The framework proposed can be a useful guiding lens for practitioners and researchers associated with outsourcing work.
An Agent-Based Approach for Sourcing Business Rules in Supply Chain Management
Authors: Ram Sudha , Liu Jun
Published: February 2011

In recent years, business rule management has become an important component of enterprise information systems. Business rules represent guidelines about how an enterprise should conduct its business and provide better service for customers. Business rules are being widely deployed in supply chains to support real-time decision making. The research reported in this paper is aimed at designing a dynamically adaptable data-sourcing service for deploying business rules effectively in supply chain management. Such a data-sourcing service is important since execution of business rules requires data to be retrieved from various data sources spread across the enterprise, including the enterprise data warehouse. We propose a semantics-based approach to implement the data-sourcing service for business rules. Our approach captures semantics of business rules and provides an agent-enabled mechanism that dynamically maps business rules to the enterprise data model. A prototype system is implemented to illustrate our sourcing service and demonstrate the feasibility of our approach.
Memes and Mutation
Authors: Kendall Kenneth E. , Kendall Julie E.
Published: February 2011

Push technologies are rapidly moving toward autonomous and evolutionary intelligent agents for seeking, organizing, and creating information via the Web and other pervasive and innovative information technologies. We describe and define autonomous and evolutionary agents designed for push technologies. Memes, which are messages one agent broadcasts to another, causing the agent to evolve are introduced and we explore how memes will influence evolutionary agents. We develop the social implications of meritorious and malevolent memes exchanged by evolutionary agents. In the conclusion we explore the interactions among humans, evolutionary agents, and memes in order to reflect upon the future. Finally, we raise a series of future research questions regarding genetic determination of evolutionary agents, whether it is possible to predict if a meme will be meritorious or malevolent, and ask whether it is desirable to legislate the evolution of agents that are evolved from malevolent memes. Our contribution is to raise awareness of the movement toward push technologies deploying evolutionary agents and its promise and caveats, as well as to provide future research directions.
A Process Data Warehouse for Tracing and Reuse of Engineering Design Processes
Authors: Brandt Sebastian C. , Schlüter Marcus , Jarke Matthias
Published: February 2011

The design and development processes of complex technical systems are of crucial importance to the competitiveness of an enterprise. These processes are characterized by high creativity and strong non-deterministic dynamics. Traditional information science methods, however, are intended for more deterministic work processes. They cannot be effectively applied to support creative activities like conceptual synthesis, analysis, and decision making. Therefore methods of experience management need to be exploited here. This paper presents a new integrated approach to such design process guidance based on capturing the process traces in a Process Data Warehouse (PDW). Both the products to be designed and the process steps corresponding are structured and stored as extended method traces. This trace capture facilitates the processing and subsequent reuse of the information through a process-integrated development environment. The concept of the PDW has been evaluated in an engineering design case study which focuses on the phases of conceptual design and basic engineering in designing a chemical production plant.
Extending Loosely Coupled Federated Information Systems Using Agent Technology
Authors: Thomas Manoj A. , Yoon Victoria Y. , Redmond Richard
Published: February 2011

Different FIPA-compliant agent development platforms are available for developing multiagent systems. FIPA compliance ensures interoperability among agents across different platforms. Although most agent implementation platforms provide some form of white- and yellow-page functionalities to advertise and identify agent roles and descriptions, there are no clear architectural standards that define how an agent community can effortlessly adapt to operate in a federated information system (FIS) where new content sources are constantly added or changes are made to existing content sources. This article presents a framework based on the semantic Web vision to address extensibility in a loosely coupled FIS.
From Logic Specification to y-calculus
Authors: Lin Hong
Published: February 2011

A program construction method based on ?-calculus is proposed: The problem to be solved is specified by first-order predicate logic, and a semantic verification program is constructed directly from the specification. We exploit this method in synthesizing the architectural specifications of multiagent systems (MAS) in ?-calculus based on the logic specifications of the MAS. By enabling the transformation from the logic specifications to operational specifications of MAS, this method allows the design of the MAS to be focused on the architectural definition level. It benefits the development of MAS by enabling logic deduction on behaviors of the MAS, and a design methodology in an incremental fashion.
Machine Learning-Based Demand Forecasting in Supply Chains
Authors: Carbonneau Real , Vahidov Rustam , Laframboise Kevin
Published: February 2011

Effective supply chain management is one of the key determinants of success of today’s businesses. However, communication patterns between participants that emerge in a supply chain tend to distort the original consumer’s demand and create high levels of noise. In this article, we compare the performance of new machine learning (ML)-based forecasting techniques with the more traditional methods. To this end we used the data from a chocolate manufacturer, a toner cartridge manufacturer, as well as from the Statistics Canada manufacturing survey. A representative set of traditional and ML-based forecasting techniques have been applied to the demand data and the accuracy of the methods was compared. As a group, based on ranking, the average performance of the ML techniques does not outperform the traditional approaches. However, using a support vector machine (SVM) that is trained on multiple demand series has produced the most accurate forecasts.
Supporting Demand Supply Network Optimization with Petri Nets
Authors: Tynjala Teemu
Published: February 2011

The present study implements a generic methodology for describing and analyzing demand supply networks, that is, networks from a company’s suppliers to its customers. There can be many possible demand supply networks with different logistics costs for a product. Therefore, we introduce a Petri Net-based formalism, and a reachability analysis based algorithm that finds the optimum demand supply network for a user-specified product structure. The method has been implemented and is currently in production use inside all Nokia business groups. It is used in demand supply planning of both network elements and handsets. An example of the method’s application to a concrete Nokia product is included.
Semantic Interoperability of Geospatial Services
Authors: Sikder Iftikhar U. , Misra Santosh K.
Published: February 2011

This article proposes a multi-agent based framework that allows multiple data sources and models to be semantically integrated for spatial modeling in business processing. The paper reviews the feasibility of ontology-based spatial resource integration options to combine the core spatial reasoning with domainspecific application models. We propose an ontology-based framework for semantic level communication of spatial objects and application models. We then introduce a multi-agent system, ontology-based spatial information and resource integration services (OSIRIS), to semantically interoperate complex spatial services and integrate them in a meaningful composition. The advantage of using multi-agent collaboration in OSIRIS is that it obviates the need for end-user analysts to be able to decompose a problem domain to subproblems or to map different models according to what they actually mean. We also illustrate a multiagent interaction scenario for collaborative modeling of spatial applications using the proposed custom feature of OSIRIS.
A Generic Internal State Paradigm for the Language Faculty of Agents for Task Delegation
Authors: Chithralekha T. , Kuppuswami S.
Published: February 2011

Language ability is an inevitable aspect of delegation in agents to provide for collaborative natural language interaction (CNLI) during task delegation. To cater to users of different languages, the CNLI is required to be multilingual. When multilingual CNLI has to be provided in a manner characteristic of agents, it leads to realizing two types of autonomies viz. behavior autonomy - to provide CNLI in every language and management autonomy for managing the multiple language competencies. Thereby, the language ability of an agent evolves into a language faculty which encompasses behavior and behavior management autonomies. The existing paradigms for the internal state of agents are only behavior-oriented and cannot accommodate the behavior and behavior management autonomies. In this paper, a new paradigm for the internal state of the language faculty of agents consisting of the belief, task and behavior (BTB) abstractions has been proposed, defined and illustrated.
Inference Degradation of Active Information Fusion within Bayesian Network Models
Authors: Li Xiangyang
Published: February 2011

Bayesian networks have been extensively used in active information fusion that selects the best sensor based on expected utility calculation. However, inference degradation happens when the same sensors are selected repeatedly over time if the applied strategy is not well designed to consider the history of sensor engagement. This phenomenon decreases fusion accuracy and efficiency, in direct conflict to the objective of information integration with multiple sensors. This paper provides mathematical scrutiny of the inference degradation problem in the popular myopia planning. It examines the generic dynamic Bayesian network models and shows experimentation results for mental state recognition tasks. It also discusses the candidate solutions with initial results. The inference degradation problem is not limited to the discussed fusion tasks and may emerge in variants of sensor planning strategies with more global optimization approach. This study provides common guidelines in information integration applications for information awareness and intelligent decision.
Evaluation of Fault Tolerant Mobile Agents in Distributed Systems
Authors: Hamidi Hojatollah , Vafaei Abbas
Published: February 2011

The reliable execution of a mobile agent is a very important design issue to build a mobile agent system and many fault-tolerant schemes have been proposed. Hence, in this article, we present an evaluation of the per­formance of the fault-tolerant schemes for the mobile agent environment. Our evaluation focuses on the checkpointing schemes and deals with the cooperating agents. We derive the Fault-Tolerant approach for Mobile Agents (FANTOMAS) design which offers a user transparent fault tol­erance that can be activated on request, according to the needs of the task. We also discuss how a transactional agent with different types of commitment constraints can commit. Furthermore, this article proposes a solution for effective agent deployment using dynamic agent domains.
Intelligent Information Integration
Authors: Ashish Naveen , Maluf David A.
Published: February 2011

The authors present their work in the conceptualization, design, implementation, and application of “lean” information integration systems. They present a new data integration approach based on a schema-less data management and integration paradigm, which enables developing cost-effective large scale integration applications. They have designed and developed a highly scalable, information-on-demand system called NETMARK, which facilitates information access and integration based on a theory of articulation management and a context sensitive paradigm. NETMARK has been widely deployed for managing, storing, and searching unstructured or semi-structured arbitrary XML and HTML information at the National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA). In this paper the authors describe the theory, design and implementation of our system, present experimental benchmark evaluations, and validate our approach through real-world applications in the NASA enterprise.
Traffic Responsive Signal Timing Plan Generation Based on Neural Network
Authors: ul-Asar Azzam , Ullah M. Sadeeq , Wyne Mudasser F. , Ahmed Jamal , ul-Hasnain Riaz
Published: February 2011

This article proposes a neural network based traffic signal controller, which eliminates most of the problems associated with the Traffic Responsive Plan Selection (TRPS) mode of the closed loop system. Instead of storing timing plans for different traffic scenarios, which requires clustering and threshold calculations, the proposed approach uses an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model that produces optimal plans based on optimized weights obtained through its learning phase. Clustering in a closed loop system is root of the problems and therefore has been eliminated in the proposed approach. The Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) technique has been used both in the learning rule of ANN as well as generating training cases for ANN in terms of optimized timing plans, based on Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) delay for all traffic demands found in historical data. The ANN generates optimal plans online to address real time traffic demands and thus is more responsive to varying traffic conditions.
Facilitating Decision Making and Maintenance for Power Systems Operators through the Use of Agents and Distributed Embedded Systems
Authors: Carrasco A. , Romero-Ternero M. C. , Sivianes F. , Hernández M. D. , Oviedo D. I. , Escudero J.
Published: February 2011

This article examines the improvements provided when multimedia information in traditional SCADAS are included in electric facility management and maintenance. Telecontrol use in the electric sector, with the fundamental objective of providing increased and improved service to the operators who manage these systems, is also described. One of the most important contributions is the use of an agent network that is distributed around the electric facility. Through the use of multi-agent technology and its placement in embedded systems, to the authors design a system with a degree of intelligence and independence to optimize data collection and provide reaction proposals for the operator. The proposed agent-based architecture is also reviewed in this article, as are the design of an example agent and the results obtained in a pilot experience using the proposed hardware platform.
Achieving Agility in Disaster Management
Authors: Harrold John R.
Published: February 2011

A significant body of social science research has concluded that improvisation in distributed, collaborative, open systems is the key to success in responding to and recovering from extreme events. The evolution of emergency management in the United States since the 9-11 attacks has emphasized the development of doctrine, process, and structure. In earlier work I concluded that both the agility desired by the social sciences and the discipline created by the professional practitioners are essential. This article explores how agility can be developed within a disciplined system and concludes that the keys are the development of outcome based goals, adaptive leadership, and technology that supports collaborative sense-making and decision making in open, organizational systems.
The Past as the Future of Emergency Preparedness and Management
Authors: Turoff Murray , Hiltz Starr Roxanne , White Connie , Plotnick Linda , Hendela Art , Yoa Xiang
Published: February 2011

Emergency preparedness, planning, and response suffer from shortcomings that impede the potential for effectiveness. In this article, we provide an overview of Emergency Preparedness and Management that is based upon our research, including insights into the shortcomings of current practices, a discussion of relevant theories (e.g., High Reliability Organizations, muddling through) and recommendations to promote more effective planning, management, and response. Our recommendations include system support for the principles of High Reliability Organizations and muddling through, rethinking risk analysis to have a longer-term view and reflect more than just monetary loss, creating ways to better inform and involve the public, and encouraging collaboration and collective intelligence through such means as a dynamic Delphi voting system.
Web-Based Group Decision Support for Crisis Management
Authors: French Simon , Bayley Clare , Zhang Nan
Published: February 2011

The early designs for crisis management decision support systems used data-based or model-based methodologies and architectures. We argue that the complexity of crisis management situations means that a greater emphasis on collaboration is needed. Moreover, modern interactive Web 2.0 technologies allow group decision support to be offered to geographically dispersed teams. Given that crisis management often requires teams to be drawn together from a number of organisations sited at different locations, we reflect upon the potential of these technologies to support the early stages of crisis management without the need to draw the team together at a common location. We also report on a small scale experiment using GroupSystems ThinkTank to manage an emerging food safety event. We conclude that such systems have potential and deserve more careful evaluation.
Effects of Real-time Imaging on Decision-Making in a Simulated Incident Command Task
Authors: McGuirl J. , Sarter N. , Woods D.
Published: February 2011

Eight Incident Commanders (ICs) took part in a simulation exercise to determine the impact of real-time imaging feedback on situation assessment and decision-making in an uncertain and high-tempo environment. The imaging feedback simulated the video feed from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that allows incident command centers to monitor developments at the crisis site. Nearly all of the ICs failed to detect important changes in the situation that were not captured in the imaging but that were available via other, more traditional data sources. It appears that the ICs placed an inappropriately high level of trust in the imaging data, resulting in a narrowing of their data search activities and limited cross-checking between the data sources being used. This research helps anticipate and guard against undesirable effects of introducing similar technologies on training and operational procedures in a variety of domains.
ISCRAM-CHINA 2008 Meeting Report
Authors: Yan Song , Van de Walle Bartel
Published: February 2011

For the third time since 2006, the ISCRAMCHINA conference took place in Harbin, one of the ten largest cities in China and capital of China’s Northeast province of Heilongjiang, where the annual conference has found a home at the Harbin Engineering University and the School of Economics and Management. The key target audience of the ISCRAM- CHINA conferences is the Chinese research community involved in crisis management and information systems, although the conference experiences a growing international attendance from the wider South-East Asian region and beyond.
Achieving Electric Restoration Logistical Efficiencies During Critical Infrastructure Crisis Response
Authors: Durbin Teresa , Jennex Murray E. , Frost Eric , Judge Robert
Published: February 2011

After the 2007 Southern California wildfire events, event-assessment of the efficacy of spreadsheets and paper forms raised the question of whether alternative tools could have achieved greater efficiencies in the logistical support of command centers, the sites from which the local utility’s electric restoration personnel were deployed. In this paper, the authors examine what approach would have enabled personnel working on the logistics of the command center effort to have easier-to-use, faster-to-access, command center data stored in, and provided via, a catastrophe resilient platform other than the traditional company computer network. Additionally, the capability to store basic command center requirements from previous emergency responses, thereby saving time during the next emergency, was examined.
Interactive Analysis of Agent-Goal Models in Enterprise Modeling
Authors: Horkoff Jennifer , Yu Eric
Published: February 2011

Understanding and analyzing the needs of an enterprise in the early stages of a project requires knowledge about stakeholders, their goals, interactions, and alternative actions. Agent-goal models offer a way to systematically and graphically capture this information, even as it evolves through continued elicitation. However, the complexity of resulting models makes it difficult to evaluate the achievement of key stakeholder goals within a model without applying systematic analysis procedures. Existing approaches to agent-goal model evaluation focus on automated procedures, without explicitly promoting model iteration and domain elicitation. In this paper, the authors argue that “Early” Enterprise modeling requires analysis procedures that account for the incompleteness and informality of early agent-goal models, facilitating iteration, elicitation, and user participation. A qualitative, interactive evaluation procedure for agent-goal models is introduced, using the i* Framework illustrated. Case study experience and results of an exploratory experiment show the applicability of the procedure to early enterprise analysis.
Business Network Modelling
Authors: Smirnov Alexander , Shilov Nikolay
Published: February 2011

Business networks have appeared as a reaction to changes taking place in the world economy and logistic networks can be considered as examples of such networks. The approach proposed in the paper is based on the idea to represent the business network members with services provided by them, and to achieve interoperability via application of the SOA standards. The approach is based on usage of such technologies as Web services, ontology, and context management. Web services enable interoperability at the technological level. Ontologies are used for description of knowledge domains and enable interoperability at the level of semantics. The purpose of the context is to represent only relevant information from the large amount of the information and the application of the approach is demonstrated on the case study from the area of dynamic logistics. The considered problem takes into account a continuously changing problem environment and requires nearly real-time solving.
Modeling Approach for Integration and Evolution of Information System Conceptualizations
Authors: Gustas Remigijus
Published: February 2011

Most information systems development methodologies are based on conceptual modeling of static and dynamic views, which are represented by totally different types of diagrams. Understanding of the interplay among interactive, behavioral and structural aspects of specifications is necessary for identification of semantic integrity problems between business process and business data. Typically, semantic inconsistencies and discontinuities between collections of conceptual representations are not easy to detect and to comprehend for information system designers due to static and dynamic aspects of models being visualized in isolation. The goal of this paper is to present a modeling approach for semantic integration and evolution of static and dynamic aspects of conceptual models. Visualization of interplay among structural, interactive and behavioral aspects of computation-neutral representations helps to understand crosscutting concerns and integrity problems of information system conceptualizations. The main advantage of the presented conceptual modeling approach is stability and flexibility of diagrams in dealing with the evolutionary changes of requirements. Therefore, the developed modeling foundation is targeted to both business managers and information system designers for the purpose of computation-neutral integration and evolution of information systems specifications.
The Role of Privacy Risk in IT Acceptance
Authors: Cazier Joseph A. , Wilson E. Vance , Medlin B. Dawn
Published: February 2011

Privacy risk is increasingly entering the public consciousness when using information technologies. To gain insight into the role of risk in the technology adoption process, we studied the use of information systems for student registration and schedule management at a major U.S. university. We further extended the technology acceptance model (TAM) to include perceptual measures of privacy risk harm and privacy risk likelihood, which apply to the extended model and predict students’ intentions to use technology. Privacy risk factors are found to negatively influence intention and contribute substantially to model predictiveness. This finding underlines the growing importance of privacy risk in the use of information technology.
A Projection of the Future Effects of Quantum Computation on Information Privacy
Authors: Skinner Geoff , Chang Elizabeth
Published: February 2011

Many of the current issues with information privacy have been the result of inadequate consideration for privacy during the planning, design, and implementation of information systems and communication networks. The area of quantum computation is still in its infancy, and a truly functional quantum computer has not been implemented. However, it is anticipated that within the next decade it may be feasible. This presents a unique opportunity to give due consideration to information privacy in the realm of future quantum computational devices and environments while they are still in their infancy. This article provides an overview of the key information privacy issues that we feel may arise with the evolution and realization of quantum computation. Additionally we propose an integrated approach of technical, legal, and social elements to address these issues.
Information Systems Security
Authors: Jahankhani Hamid , Fernando Shantha , Nkhoma Mathews Z. , Mouratidis Haralambos
Published: February 2011

In today’s business environment it is difficult to obtain senior management approval for the expenditure of valuable resources to “guarantee” that a potentially disastrous event will not occur that could affect the ultimate survivability of the organization. The total information network flexibility achieved depends to a great extent on how network security is implemented. However, this implementation depends on the network designers at the initial stage and the network administrators in the long term. Administrator may pave the way to attacks that could take place either at once where an obvious vulnerability may exist or in several phases where it requires information gathering or scanning in order to enter into the target system. Two studies on real cases given in this paper highlights the influence of such network administrators. To preserve the confidentiality, the names of personnel or organizations are not revealed.
A Rule-Based and Game-Theoretic Approach to Online Credit Card Fraud Detection
Authors: Vatsa Vishal , Sural Shamik , Majumdar A. K.
Published: February 2011

Traditional security mechanisms are often found to be inadequate for protection against attacks by authorized users or intruders posing as authorized users. This has drawn the interest of the research community towards intrusion detection techniques. We model the conflicting motives between an intruder and an intrusion detection system as a multistage game between two players, each trying to maximize its payoff. We consider the specific application of credit card fraud detection and propose a two-tiered architecture having a rule-based component in the first tier and a game-theoretic component in the second tier. Classical game theory is considered useful in many situations because it permits the formulation of strategies that are optimal, regardless of what the adversary does, negating the need for prediction of his/her behavior. However, we use it in a predictive application in the sense that we consider intruders as rational adversaries who would try to behave optimally, and the expected optimal behavior can be determined through game theory.
E-Mail Worm Detection Using Data Mining
Authors: Masud Mohammad M. , Khan Latifur , Thuraisingham Bhavani
Published: February 2011

This work applies data mining techniques to detect e-mail worms. E-mail messages contain a number of different features such as the total number of words in message body/subject, presence/absence of binary attachments, type of attachments, and so on. The goal is to obtain an efficient classification model based on these features. The solution consists of several steps. First, the number of features is reduced using two different approaches: feature-selection and dimension-reduction. This step is necessary to reduce noise and redundancy from the data. The feature-selection technique is called Two-phase Selection (TPS), which is a novel combination of decision tree and greedy selection algorithm. The dimension-reduction is performed by Principal Component Analysis. Second, the reduced data is used to train a classifier. Different classification techniques have been used, such as Support Vector Machine (SVM), Naïve Bayes, and their combination. Finally, the trained classifiers are tested on a dataset containing both known and unknown types of worms. These results have been compared with published results. It is found that the proposed TPS selection along with SVM classification achieves the best accuracy in detecting both known and unknown types of worms.
Laws and Regulations Dealing with Information Security and Privacy
Authors: Cassini John A. , Medlin B.Dawn , Romaniello Adriana
Published: February 2011

The Internet has dramatically transformed our lives in the past generation; and as our society has become dependent on information technology and more and more of our sensitive information is stored and transferred in electronic form, greater attention is being paid to privacy and security concerns. Governing bodies from states to national entities have passed laws and regulations that are designed to address and impact security and privacy practices. In this article we will examine the laws and regulations of the United States and the European Union (EU) in relationship to the issue of information security and privacy.
Using Statistical Texture Analysis for Medical Image Tamper Proofing
Authors: Boucherkha Samia , Benmohamed Mohamed
Published: February 2011

This article discusses an approach for both authentication of medical images and confidentiality for the related textual data in an online medical application paradigm. The image authentication is achieved in a soft manner through a feature-based digital signature while the confidentiality of the related patient information is achieved through reversible data hiding. The selected features are robust towards geometric transformations, while fragile towards texture alterations that are characteristic of medical images. The processing scheme is done in a block by block basis to permit the localization of tampered image’s regions. The effectiveness of the scheme, proven through experiments on a sample of medical images, enables us to argue that implementing mechanisms lying on this approach will help to maintain personal patient privacy and medical image integrity.
Electronic Medical Records, HIPAA, and Patient Privacy
Authors: Li Jingquan , Shaw Michael J.
Published: February 2011

The continued growth of healthcare information systems (HCIS) promises to improve quality of care, lower costs, and streamline the entire healthcare system. But the resulting dependence on electronic medical records (EMRs) has also kindled patient concern about who has access to sensitive medical records. Healthcare organizations are obliged to protect patient records under HIPAA. The purpose of this study is to develop a formal privacy policy to protect the privacy and security of EMRs. This article describes the impact of EMRs and HIPAA on patient privacy in healthcare. It proposes access control and audit log policies to safeguard patient privacy. To illustrate the best practices in the healthcare industry, this article presents the case of the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. The case demonstrates that it is critical for a healthcare organization to have a privacy policy.
PCI Compliance
Authors: Ngugi Benjamin , Vega Gina , Dardick Glenn
Published: February 2011

This study reviews the progress made by the introduction of the Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance rules in the USA. Available data indicate that compliance has grown but several issues remain unresolved. These are identified within, along with an analysis of the feasibility of several solutions to the challenges that have hampered compliance with the Payment Card Industry rules. These solutions are evaluated by the extent to which they can help the merchants meet their business objectives while still safeguarding the credit card data. The first solution involves upgrading the current PCI standards as suggested by the PCI council. The second solution would require moving the burden of credit card information storage to the credit card companies and member banks, as suggested by the National Retail Federation. A third option reflects a socially responsible approach that protects the interests of all stakeholders. The study concludes by suggesting the way forward.
Factors Influencing College Students’ Use of Computer Security
Authors: Pendegraft Norman , Rounds Mark , Stone Robert W.
Published: February 2011

Information systems administrators face a difficult balance between providing sufficient security to protect the organization’s computing resources while not inhibiting the appropriate use of these resources. Striking this balance is particularly difficult in higher education due to the diversity of computer uses and users. This is accentuated by one large, diverse user group, namely students. To facilitate striking such a balance, a better understanding of students’ motivations to use security measures is useful. A theoretically sound model linking student and system security characteristics to students’ security behaviors is developed and presented in this paper. The model is operationalized using student responses to a web-based questionnaire. The empirical results show that training to use security measures has no impact on students’ security behaviors while experience with security does. Furthermore, ease of security use positively impacts students’ security behaviors through security self-efficacy. The influence of peers has similar impacts through security outcome expectancy.