bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Advanced Technologies for Transient Faults Detection and Compensation
Authors: Reorda Matteo Sonza , Sterpone Luca , Violante Massimo
Published: May 2011

Transient faults became an increasing issue in the past few years as smaller geometries of newer, highly miniaturized, silicon manufacturing technologies brought to the mass-market failure mechanisms traditionally bound to niche markets as electronic equipments for avionic, space or nuclear applications. This chapter presents the origin of transient faults, it discusses the propagation mechanism, it outlines models devised to represent them and finally it discusses the state-of-the-art design techniques that can be used to detect and correct transient faults. The concepts of hardware, data and time redundancy are presented, and their implementations to cope with transient faults affecting storage elements, combinational logic and IP-cores (e.g., processor cores) typically found in a System-on-Chip are discussed.
Built-in Self Repair for Logic Structures
Authors: Koal Tobias , Vierhaus Heinrich Theodor
Published: May 2011

For several years, many authors have predicted that nano-scale integrated devices and circuits will have a rising sensitivity to both transient and permanent faults effects. Essentially, there seems to be an emerging demand for building highly dependable hardware / software systems from unreliable components. Most of the effort has so far gone into the detection and compensation of transient fault effects. More recently, also the possibility of repairing permanent faults, due to either production flaws or to wear-out effects after some time of operation in the field of application, needs further investigation. While built-in self test (BIST) and even self repair (BISR) for regular structures such as static memories (SRAMs) is well understood, concepts for in-system repair of irregular logic and interconnects are few and mainly based on field-programmable gate-arrays (FPGAs) as the basic implementation. In this chapter, the authors try to analyse different schemes of logic (self-) repair with respect to cost and limitations, using repair schemes that are not based on FPGAs. It can be shown that such schemes are feasible, but need lot of attention in terms of hidden single points of failure.
Fault Simulation and Fault Injection Technology Based on SystemC
Authors: Misera Silvio , Urban Roberto
Published: May 2011

Electronic systems are essential parts in the everyday life, and these systems have grown continuously in their performance and in their complexity. Therefore, the design process for such a system has also become more and more complex and has become a critical challenge. A popular tool for solving the design process of complex systems is SystemC. SystemC is a C++ language class library, which allows the modeling of hardware behavior in a programming language for software. Advantages by the usage of SystemC are e.g. an integrative concept of the design description in a continuous design flow, combined with a fast execution of compiled code during the simulation process. This chapter describes the simulation of faults in electronic systems by the usage of SystemC. It treats especially faults in hardware, which can occur after a successful validation of the design. The simulation of faults is well known in two operation areas. One field is the fault simulation of test pattern for the detection of fabrication faults. The other field is the simulated fault injection that the effects of faults emerging during the operation of the device. Such procedures are important for analysis of electronic system designs for safety critical applications with respect to their dependability under fault conditions. At first, the chapter explains some issues in the context of fault injection and fault simulation. Furthermore, it relates something about SystemC and the possibility to simulate the design. State of the art applications are also presented for this purpose. A prerequisite for a simulation is an appropriate modeling. The modeling of faults is presented in the context of their design level. It is also shown how a simulation with fault models can be implemented by several injection techniques. In addition, the advantages and disadvantages of the injection techniques are explained. Another challenge for a simulation task is the execution in an acceptable amount of time. Approaches are presented, which help to speed up simulations. Some practical simulation environments are shown at the end of the chapter.
A Comparative Analysis of Software Engineering with Mature Engineering Disciplines using a Problem-Solving Perspective
Authors: Tekinerdogan Bedir , Aksit Mehmet
Published: May 2011

Software engineering is compared with traditional engineering disciplines using a domain specific problem-solving model called Problem-Solving for Engineering Model (PSEM). The comparative analysis is performed both from a historical and contemporary view. The historical view provides lessons on the evolution of problem-solving and the maturity of an engineering discipline. The contemporary view provides the current state of engineering disciplines and shows to what extent software development can actually be categorized as an engineering discipline. The results from the comparative analysis show that like mature engineering, software engineering also seems to follow the same path of evolution of problem-solving concepts, but despite promising advances it has not reached yet the level of mature engineering yet. The comparative analysis offers the necessary guidelines for improving software engineering to become a professional mature engineering discipline.
Is Lean Agile and Agile Lean?
Authors: Petersen Kai
Published: May 2011

Lean and agile development are two development paradigms that were proposed to help dealing with highly dynamic markets and the resulting rapid changes in customer needs. As both paradigms address a similar problem, it is interesting to compare them and by that, determine what both paradigms can learn from each other. This chapter compares the paradigms with regard to goals, principles, practices, and processes. The outcome of the comparison is: (1) both paradigms share the same goals; (2) the paradigms define similar principles, with one principle (“see the whole”) being unique to lean; (3) both paradigms have unique as well as shared principles; (4) lean does not define processes, while agile has proposed different ones such eXtreme programming and SCRUM.
Visual Semantic Analysis to Support Semi-Automatic Modeling of Semantic Service Descriptions
Authors: Bhatti Nadeem , Fellner Dieter W.
Published: May 2011

The service-oriented architecture has become one of the most popular approaches for distributed business applications. A new trend service ecosystem is merging, where service providers can augment their core services by using business service delivery-related available functionalities like distribution and delivery. The semantic service description of services for the business service delivery will become a bottleneck in the service ecosystem. In this chapter, the Visual Semantic Analysis approach is presented to support semi-automatic modeling of semantic service description by combining machine learning and interactive visualization techniques. Furthermore, two application scenarios from the project THESEUS-TEXO (funded by German federal ministry of economics and technology) are presented as evaluation of the Visual Semantic Analysis approach.
Cognitive Complexity Measures
Authors: Misra Sanjay
Published: May 2011

Cognitive informatics (CI), a multidisciplinary area of research tries to solve the common problems in the field of informatics, computer science, software engineering, mathematics, cognitive science, neurobiology, psychology, and physiology. Measurement in software engineering is also a core issue which is still striving for its standardization process. In recent years, several cognitive complexity measures based on CI have been proposed. However, each of them has their own advantages and disadvantages. This chapter presents a critical review on existing cognitive complexity measures. Furthermore, a comparative study based on some selected attributes has been presented.
Introducing Agility into Plan-Based Assessments
Authors: Pikkarainen Minna , McCaffery Fergal
Published: May 2011

Agile or Plan-driven approaches to software process improvement (such as the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) and the ISO/IEC 15504 standard) claim to provide companies with improved processes, higher quality software and faster software development. Assessment is an important component of any software process improvement programme, as in order for an organisation to commence an improvement programme, they must first be aware of the current state of their software development practices. Therefore, in the case of small companies such assessments need also to be cost effective and focused only on the most relevant process areas.
Analyzing Concurrent Programs Title for Potential Programming Errors
Authors: Chen Qichang , Wang Liqiang , Guo Ping , Huang He
Published: May 2011

Today, multi-core/multi-processor hardware has become ubiquitous, leading to a fundamental turning point on software development. However, developing concurrent programs is difficult. Concurrency introduces the possibility of errors that do not exist in sequential programs. This chapter introduces the major concurrent programming models including multithreaded programming on shared memory and message passing programming on distributed memory. Then, the state-of-the-art research achievements on detecting concurrency errors such as deadlock, race condition, and atomicity violation are reviewed. Finally, the chapter surveys the widely used tools for testing and debugging concurrent programs.
SMEs and E-Business
Authors: Ferreira Mário Pedro Leite de Almeida
Published: May 2011

The adoption of E-Business by SMEs is a critical issue for economic development. More than 90% of world companies are SMEs and E-Business is widely recognized as a critical source of competitive advantage. Thus, it is important to understand why SMEs are lagging behind large firms in terms of E-Business adoption and assimilation. This chapter will attempt to search for explanations through a comprehensive analysis of main topics in terms of E-Business implementation, strategies and policy. It is believed that the inadequacy of existing E-Business adoption incentives and theoretical models may be due to SME specificity, as these companies are conditioned among other by resource availability and high CEOs/owners’ dependency. Empirical evidence shows that SMEs have erratic behaviors in terms of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) investment and need external support to integrate E-Business in the overall strategy of the firm.
SME Managers’ Required Entrepreneurship and Business Competences
Authors: Velegrakis George , Varajão João , Morgado Leonel , Dominguez Caroline , Rodrigues Clara , Coelho Dalila , Haidimoschi Aura , Sancin Chiara , Doppler Gerhard , Koivusalo Hillevi , Lakanen Erja
Published: May 2011

In a dynamic and competitive world, understanding the knowledge, skills and competences that managers of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) require is an important endeavour, to ensure that both academic and business training institutions offer well formed programs/courses and curricula. Several studies, conducted by academic researchers and business associations around the world, focused on identifying managers’ skills and competences, but there isn’t an overall perspective on today’s requirements of European SME managers. This is a critical aspect because managers’ competences strongly influence enterprises’ competitiveness and, therefore, the economic competitiveness of countries themselves. To help overcome this problem, the authors conducted a study in six European countries through a literature review and several interviews with business associations’ executives. The result is a list of 34 competences, which the authors organized in four categories: personal; team management; business; and technical. These competences are presented and discussed in this chapterand show that an SME manager should be well prepared in a rich set of complementary areas to perform her/his job. The findings enable a better understanding of the profile of SME managers from the point of view of required competences, and may help in the design of new training programs to fulfil the identified needs.
Preparing for Change
Authors: Heavin Ciara , Adam Frederic
Published: May 2011

In the current climate, preparing for change is an issue for companies large and small. However, there remains a dearth of empirical evidence that highlight how software Small to Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) operationalise their approach to knowledge management (KM) as a means of preparing themselves for the future. For an SME, the first step is to take stock of the types of knowledge that are valuable to the business, where it is stored and how it is used. In addition, consideration must be given to knowledge activities (KA), the constituent parts, of a company’s KM approach. By doing this, the organisation can identify where its strengths lie in terms of the type and extent to which knowledge is managed through acquisition, codification, storage, maintenance, transfer and creation activities. Using a qualitative analysis approach in a single case study, this chapter identifies occurrences of these knowledge activities as a means of assessing an SME’s approach to KM with a view to better facilitating an organisation’s ability to be increasingly flexible in the face of a changing environment.
Well-Being and E-Business as an Influential Innovation
Authors: Žižek Simona Šarotar , Mulej Matjaž , Treven Sonja
Published: May 2011

In this chapter the authors will introduce well-being and its benefits, first. Then, they will discuss connection between well-being and e-business and both positive and negative effects of this connection.
SME Adoption and Use of ICT for Networked Trading Purposes
Authors: Clear Fintan , Woods Adrian , Dickson Keith
Published: May 2011

Based on empirical evidence gained by a telephone survey of 375 SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises), this chapter uses logistical regressions as a means of identifying the potential for relationships between three variables - industry sector, firm size (as measured by employment), and age of firm - as they influence ICT ownership, ICT use and ICT benefits. Such inter-relationships can then be used to identify networked trading practice and proclivity. Data was gathered for firms on the basis of four industrial sectors (‘Media’, ‘Logistics’, ‘Internet Services’ and ‘Food Processing’) in a region encompassing West London and adjacent counties. Logistical regressions on the sample data suggest that possession, application and the benefits derived from ICT can be explained on the basis of single and multiple variables or as the result of none, and are individuated as either ‘just sector’, ‘just size’, ‘sector and size’, ‘sector and age’, ‘sector, size and age’ or ‘no variable’.
Synthesizing the Research Advances in Electronic Collaboration
Authors: Pick James B. , Romano Nicholas C. , Roztocki Narcyz
Published: May 2011

This article has the objectives to discuss the background for the two special issues of International Journal of e-Collaboration on electronic collaboration in organizations, examine four theoretical frameworks with particular regard to their relevance to the content in the articles in the special issues, and summarize each of the nine articles in these issues. The articles in the special issues are diverse in conceptual theory, units of analysis, research methods, and levels of collaboration. Units of analysis span from the individual, virtual team, company to the dyadic relationship between firms. Electronic collaboration is studied in locales including Austria, Korea, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United States. The diversity extends knowledge within varied realms of the electronic collaboration field. This introductory article offers an overall framework for these two special issues to help readers and potential authors see how the studies relate to one another and to the overall body of knowledge.
A Reference Model for E-Collaboration within the Dispersed Sales Force Training Process in Multinational Companies
Authors: Heidecke Florian , Back Andrea
Published: May 2011

Multinational pharmaceutical companies are facing the challenge of finding the right balance between local responsiveness and global integration. A cross-case study analysis of the sales force training process at the Swiss company Roche Pharmaceuticals identified four areas of collaboration, each of which comprises a certain number of collaborative tasks. The equivocality and complexity of these tasks should, however, be taken into account when considering information and communication technology (ICT) support. The authors developed a task-media fit matrix and used it to choose and justify the usage of certain information and communication technologies. The end result of this article is a reference model for the three layers of strategy, process, and ICT for e-collaboration within the dispersed sales force training process in multinational pharmaceutical companies. The authors also maintain that the task-media fit matrix can help both practitioners and researchers to either justify investments in e-collaboration tools or to evaluate ICT architectures in the field of e-collaboration.
The Impacts of Electronic Collaboration and Information Exploitation Capability on Firm Performance
Authors: Ko Ilsang , Olfman Lorne , Choi Sujeong
Published: May 2011

We assessed the effects of electronic collaboration using inter-organizational information systems (IOIS) on firm performance, particularly between dominant buyers and their suppliers. From the suppliers’ perspective, we examined ways in which higher levels of performance can be achieved by increasing the extent that they proactively participate in business activities using IOIS. We defined electronic collaboration as consisting of two major activities: electronic information sharing (EIS) and electronic cooperation (ECo). We also evaluated the extent of EIS and ECo that suppliers contribute to their development of an information exploitation capability (IEC). This capability enables them to utilize internally both information and knowledge created from electronic collaboration. In addition, we assessed the effects of electronic collaboration activities and IEC on a firm performance. We collected surveys from 169 firms, and conducted a Structural Equation Model analysis. We also empirically tested the research model and five hypotheses. The results of the statistical analysis indicated that electronic information sharing exerts a clear effect on electronic cooperation. We determined that EIS and ECo are major sources for the development of IEC and that both ECo and IEC result in improved company performance. Both electronic information sharing and electronic cooperation substantially foster an information exploitation capability. We also determined that the information exploitation capability has a partial mediating effect between electronic information sharing and electronic cooperation on firm performance.
Understanding the Progressive Nature of Inter-Organizational Systems (IOS) Adoption
Authors: Ali Mazen , Kurnia Sherah , Johnston Robert B.
Published: May 2011

Inter-organizational Systems (IOS) cannot be adopted by any organizations in isolation from their trading partner. Their adoption requires cooperation and collaboration between trading partners and, therefore, is reliant on the nature of relationships between the parties involved. For organizations to progress in their IOS adoption, improvement in relationships between trading partners is required before they can adopt a more sophisticated IOS. In addition, through IOS adoption, trading partners can actually improve their relationships overtime. There has been some research that investigates relationships and how organizations progress from one level to the next level of adoption. However, these studies do not clearly define the concepts of relationship, IOS adoption and IOS adoption maturity. Furthermore, they do not adequately justify the exclusion of other variables in defining the relevant concepts and are not theoretically based. This research extends the Kurnia and Johnston (2000) process model of IOS adoption by incorporating the notion of IOS adoption maturity and reducing the scope from a supply chain to a dyadic level to enable better evaluations of IOS adoption progression. We argue that with the proposed model, the dynamics of IOS adoption maturity can be better examined empirically.
An Empirical Study of Building Social Relationships within Virtual Teams
Authors: Liu Ying Chieh
Published: May 2011

Although virtual teams have been widely utilized nowadays, social relationships are considered highly problematic within virtual teams. This study addresses social dimensions to provide suggestions for mangers to improve the performance and satisfaction of virtual teams. We build a model derived from a comprehensive literature review and conduct an experiment to validate it through Structural Equation Modeling. The results reveal: (1) communication has a direct positive impact on relationship building, but indirect positive effects on performance and satisfaction; (2) relationship building impacts directly with strong and positive impacts on cohesion and trust, but indirectly with strong impacts on performance and satisfaction ; (3) cohesion has a direct, strong and positive impact on performance but a strong indirect impact on satisfaction; (4) trust has a positive direct impact on performance but an indirect positive impact on satisfaction; (5) performance has a strong and positive impact on satisfaction. In addition, this study confirms that relationship building is a vital mediator in the social relationship model. Managerial implications and future research directions are identified.
Collaborative Enterprise Architecture Design and Development with a Semantic Collaboration Tool
Authors: Fuchs-Kittowski Frank , Faust Daniel
Published: May 2011

The design and evolution of an enterprise architecture (EA) is a challenging and complex task. A participative approach to collaborative EA management is needed to support the collaboration of all individuals involved in the process of EA design and evolution. This article presents our concept of a semantic collaboration tool for collaborative EA management. This includes the concept of a semantic, Wiki-like collaboration tool for collaborative EA management and an EA ontology as a formal representation of the EA. Additionally, the prototypical implementation of the semantic collaboration environment and its architecture are described and the benefits of the approach discussed.
A Multi-Disciplinary Approach to Ambient Assisted Living
Authors: Ziefle Martina , Röcker Carsten , Wilkowska Wiktoria , Kasugai Kai , Klack Lars , Möllering Christian , Beul Shirley
Published: May 2011

This chapter illustrates the different disciplinary design challenges of smart healthcare systems and presents an interdisciplinary approach toward the development of an integrative Ambient Assisted Living environment. Within the last years a variety of new healthcare concepts for supporting and assisting users in technology-enhanced environments emerged. While such smart healthcare systems can help to minimize hospital stays and in so doing enable patients an independent life in a domestic environment, the complexity of such systems raises fundamental questions of behavior, communication and technology acceptance. The first part of the chapter describes the research challenges encountered in the fields of medical engineering, computer science, psychology, communication science, and architecture as well as their consequences for the design, use and acceptance of smart healthcare systems. The second part of the chapter shows how these disciplinary challenges were addressed within the eHealth project, an interdisciplinary research project at RWTH Aachen University.
Security in E-Health Applications
Authors: Pomponiu Victor
Published: May 2011

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) in e-health applications are acquiring an increasing importance due to the widespread diffusion of wearable vital sign sensors and location tags which can track both healthcare personnel and patient status location continuously in real-time mode. Despite the increased range of potential application frameworks the security breach between existing sensor network characteristics and the requirements of medical applications remains unresolved. Devising a sensor network architecture which complies with the security mechanisms is not a trivial task since the WSN devices are extremely limited in terms of power, computation and communication. This chapter presents an analysis of various WSN security techniques from the perspective of healthcare applications, and takes into consideration the significance of security to the efficient distribution of ubiquitous computing solutions.
Iterative User Involvement in Ambient Assisted Living Research and Development Processes
Authors: Müller Sonja , Meyer Ingo , Bierhoff Ilse , Delaney Sarah , Sixsmith Andrew , Sproll Sandra
Published: May 2011

The example chosen to best demonstrate how the character and detail of user ideas changed in the different stages of the R&D process is the development of an exercise support system applying an avatar showing the exercises on the TV in the home of an older person.
Med-on-@ix
Authors: Na In-Sik , Skorning Max , May Arnd T. , Schneiders Marie-Thérèse , Protogerakis Michael , Beckers Stefan , Fischermann Harold , Frenzel Nadja , Brodziak Tadeusz , Rossaint Rolf
Published: May 2011

The aim of the project Med-on-@ix is to increase the quality of care for emergency patients by the operationalisation of rescue processes. The currently available technologies will be integrated into a new emergency telemedical service system. The aim is to capture all the necessary information comprising electrocardiogram, vital signs, clinical findings, images and necessary personal data of a patient at the emergency scene and transmit this data in real time to a centre of competence. This would enable a “virtual presence” on site of an Emergency Medical Services physician (EMS-physician, the German Notarzt). Thus, we can raise the quality of EMS in total and counter the growing problem of EMS-physician shortage by exploiting the existing medical resources. In addition, this system offers EMS-physicians and paramedics consultation from a centre of competence. Thereby referring to evidence-based medicine and ensuring the earliest possible information of the hospital.
The Smart Condo Project
Authors: Boers Nicholas M. , Chodos David , Gburzynski Pawel , Guirguis Lisa , Huang Jianzhao , Lederer Robert , Liu Lili , Nikolaidis Ioanis , Sadowski Cheryl , Stroulia Eleni
Published: May 2011

Most would agree that older adults want affordable, high-quality healthcare that enables them to live independently longer and in their own homes. To this end, ambient assisted living environments have been developed that are able to non-intrusively monitor the health of people at-home and to provide them with improved care. The authors have designed an environment, the Smart Condo, to support seniors and rehabilitating patients. They have embedded a wireless sensor network into a model living space, which incorporates universal design principles. Information from the sensor network is archived in a server, which supports a range of views via APIs. One such view is a virtual world, which is realistic and intuitive, while remaining non-intrusive. This chapter examines computing technologies for smart healthcare-related environments and the needs of elderly patients. It discusses the Smart Condo architecture, reviews key research challenges, and presents the lessons learned through the project.
Green Health
Authors: Godbole Nina
Published: May 2011

Healthcare is a rapidly growing domain covering wide areas of business activities including those in hospitals, pharmacies, insurance, health administration and related supporting services. In an environmentally conscious world, healthcare is being increasingly compared with other industries in terms of the carbon footprint generation. This chapter starts with a broad overview of the healthcare industry from an environmental perspective and then discusses the stakeholders involved, use of ICT in healthcare, and the relative size of the carbon footprint generated in the sector. The emphasis in this chapter is to bring to the fore the elements in healthcare sector that affect the environment and the potential application of Green ICT to address.
Planning Sustainable Communities
Authors: Donehue Paul
Published: May 2011

This chapter evaluates the impact of commodification of land and housing on the sustainability of the residential built environment. Commodification, an institutionalized practice in the western industrialized world, refers to the capacity of individuals to trade land and housing freely in the marketplace.  This practice is so commonplace that it rarely undergoes any fundamental analysis in terms of its potential impacts. In order to consider the appropriateness of commodification to sustainable communities this chapter examines its effect on three factors identified as being important to their viability: the existence of a commonly held normative framework; the capacity of a community to reinforce or discourage individual behaviour, and; the need for appropriate resource requirements.  The commodification of residential land and housing is found to encourage effects that may negatively impact upon the environmental and social sustainability of communities, and to potentially lead to their re-absorption into a less sustainable surrounding context. The paper also identifies a tendency of social and legal structures to protect the operation of the free market, which may act to undermine the capacity of communities to achieve self determination. Finally, it is suggested that the types of resources required by a community as a consequence of commodification may be inappropriate to the maintenance of long-term sustainability.
Strategies for Greening Enterprise IT
Authors: Murugesan San
Published: May 2011

IT is both a solution and a problem to environmental sustainability. Though IT significantly benefits us in many different ways and helps to address environmental problems we face, it, on its own, can harm the environment if not managed properly. IT contributes to environmental problems in a few different ways, which most people don’t realize. IT systems and their use can be made more energy efficient and environmentally sustainable, and businesses and individuals are obliged to minimize or eliminate where possible the harmful environmental impacts of IT to help create a more sustainable environment. This chapter outlines strategic approaches for greening enterprise IT and offers recommendations that will help an enterprise define its green IT strategy and create practical guidelines for its implementation. To provide motivation for greening enterprise IT, beginning with a brief overview of environmental impacts of enterprise IT, this chapter discusses why greening enterprise IT is a necessity, not an option.
Sustainable Infrastructure Project Planning
Authors: Faizal Omar Mohd , Trigunarsyah Bambang , Wong Johnny
Published: May 2011

Most infrastructure project developments are complex in nature, particularly in the planning phase. During this stage, many vague alternatives are tabled - from the strategic to operational level. Human judgement and decision making are characterised by biases, errors and the use of heuristics. These factors are intangible and hard to measure because they are subjective and qualitative in nature. The problem with human judgement becomes more complex when a group of people are involved. The variety of different stakeholders may cause conflict due to differences in personal judgements. Hence, the available alternatives increase the complexities of the decision making process. Therefore, it is desirable to find ways of enhancing the efficiency of decision making to avoid misunderstandings and conflict within organisations. As a result, numerous attempts have been made to solve problems in this area by leveraging technologies such as decision support systems. However, most construction project management decision support systems only concentrate on model development and neglect fundamentals of computing such as requirement engineering, data communication, data management and human centred computing. Thus, decision support systems are complicated and are less efficient in supporting the decision making of project team members. It is desirable for decision support systems to be simpler, to provide a better collaborative platform, to allow for efficient data manipulation, and to adequately reflect user needs. In this chapter, a framework for a more desirable decision support system environment is presented. Some key issues related to decision support system implementation are also described.
Sustaining the Green Information Technology Movement
Authors: Garg Miti , Gupta Sumeet , Goh Mark , Desouza Robert
Published: May 2011

Green computing paradigm is a term used to describe a movement in the field of information technology whereby users and information technology professionals are adopting ‘less environmentally destructive’ practices to mitigate the detrimental effects of excessive computing to the environment. Environment friendly practices such as virtualization, cloud computing, greening of data centres, recycling, telecommuting, and teleworking are discussed in this chapter. A summary of the initiatives undertaken by government agencies in various countries is also provided.
Sustainable Supply Chain Management
Authors: Dukovska-Popovska Iskra , Bertoni Malcolm , Hvolby Hans-Henrik , Turner Paul , Steger-Jensen Kenn
Published: May 2011

Integrating environmental considerations into supply-chain management has become an increasingly important issue for industry, government and academic researchers. Supply chain managers are being required to respond to the challenges of new legislation, standards and regulations; changing customer demands; drivers for efficiency, cost effectiveness and return on investment; while simultaneously being ‘green’. The fundamental tension between business and environmental drivers is difficult, but critical to understanding how to effectively re-engineer and re-design existing supply chains in a manner that is sustainable both financially and environmentally. Information systems have a significant role to play in supporting corporate responses to environmental management and the development of holistic green logistic solutions. This chapter examines contemporary discussions on the current state of sustainable supply-chain management and green logistics. It presents a case study from the Fujitsu Corporation in Japan and explores models of information systems and RFID use in green logistics. Combining insights from the case and existing models the chapter explores an example of how a combined model can be used to explore the potential of a specific emerging technology (RFIDs) in ‘greening’ supply chains.
Sustainable Urban Development
Authors: Teriman Suharto , Yigitcanlar Tan , Mayere Severine
Published: May 2011

Sustainable development has long been promoted as the best answer to the world’s environmental problems. This term has generated mass appeal as it implies that both the development of the built environment and its associated resource consumption can be achieved without jeopardising the natural environment. In the urban context, sustainability issues have been reflected in the promotion of sustainable urban development, which emphasises the sensible exploitation of scarce natural resources for urbanisation in a manner that allows future generations to repeat the process. This chapter highlights attempts to promote sustainable urban development through an integration of three important considerations: planning, development and the ecosystem. It highlights the fact that spatial planning processes were traditionally driven by economic and social objectives, and rarely involved promoting the sustainability agenda to achieve a sustainable urban future. As a result, rapid urbanisation has created a variety of pressures on the ecosystem upon which we rely. It is believed that the integration of the urban planning and development processes within the limitations of the ecosystem, monitored by a sustainability assessment mechanism, would offer a better approach to maintaining sustainable resource use without compromising urban development.
A Framework for Environmentally Responsible Business Strategies
Authors: Unhelkar Bhuvan , Trivedi Bharti
Published: May 2011

An organization’s future increasingly depends on its environmental sustainability, so it is vital to equip present business architecture with a framework for environmental compliance. A business needs to understand the Green policies, processes that create waste and emissions, enablement of efficient use of resources, metrics for monitoring the greening of the organization and implementation of environmental strategies. This chapter will provide a review of environmental challenges and understanding of the contribution of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in environmental strategies of a business and its sustainable management. A consolidated, systematic approach to the redesign of a business enterprise and to forming an Environmentally Responsible Business Strategy (ERBS) is presented. The methodology includes five activities: Need for reengineering the business architecture, Map and investigate the processes, Design ERBS, Implement reengineered process and employ ERBS and improve continuously to monetize emissions.
A BIM Based Application to Support Cost Feasible ‘Green Building‘ Concept Decisions
Authors: Hua Goh Bee
Published: May 2011

The client’s role in leading the change in the construction industry has been widely perceived as crucial and, on the theme of sustainable building, it is advocated that clients must play their role to lead in engaging industry stakeholders in managing sustainable performance of construction projects. In essence, it is the client that makes the initial decision to procure construction works and the way in which procurement takes place. This influences the degree of environmentally-friendly (or sustainable) practice that is implemented in a project. For most building owners and property developers, this decision is affected by cost. A proposed rule-based system that contains decision-support rules pertaining to the assessment of (whole-life) cost implications for building projects is described in this chapter. The system is to be developed to meet the assessment criteria of Singapore’s BCA Green Mark Scheme and to support the use of BIM for designing energy efficient buildings and beyond.
A Data Envelopment Analysis Approach for Household Appliances and Automobile Recycling
Authors: Kongar Elif , Gupta Surendra M.
Published: May 2011

Rapid technological developments are leading to a significant decrease in the demand for old technology products. As a result, old technology products are rushed to their end-of-lives (EOLs) even though they still function properly and have the ability to satisfy stated needs. It is therefore important to find environmentally and economically benign ways to handle this accumulating waste to regain the value added to such products and to reduce the environmental damage. However, EOL recovery options are not always economically justifiable due to the complexity and uncertainty involved in the process. To reduce these setbacks, it is crucial to perform an analysis prior to taking any action and rank the products according to the importance of their EOL processing outcomes. To this end, this chapter proposes a data envelopment analysis (DEA) algorithm to determine the technical efficiency of end-of-life processing of household appliances and automobiles depending on various tangible and intangible performance criteria.
Energy Management System Using Wireless Sensor Network
Authors: Mehul Ekata , Shah Rahul
Published: May 2011

Currently, there are global efforts being made for energy saving. Lot of efforts are being done exploring the generation of alternative resources of energy – also called renewable energies which includes solar, nuclear, water and wind, to name but a few. Besides investigations of renewable energies, a global attempt is also being made to save energy consumption and reduce carbon emissions. A need to have a comprehensive Energy Management System could not have been felt more by both businesses and individuals. This Chapter describes features required for a complete system of energy management focusing on Electrical Energy. The system is designed making use of wireless sensor network & standard protocols. Chapter will address firstly the theoretical aspects of energy management followed by the detailed model for Automatic Meter Reading concept. We will focus on the features of such an Energy Management System & limits our scope to the detailing of Automatic Meter Reading concept and design.
Sustainable Product Service Systems
Authors: Ness David
Published: May 2011

This chapter introduces sustainable product service systems (S-PSS) as a means of achieving both forward and reverse supply chain utilization, leading to much improved resource productivity coupled with business and social benefits. It outlines the challenge to enable economic growth, especially in developing countries, with corresponding reduction in consumption of resources, greenhouse emissions, and waste. It is argued that S-PSS can make a significant contribution, not only in greening products, but also in poverty alleviation, employment generation, and social development. An Australian, industrybased product stewardship scheme for used computers is first outlined. The potential for S-PSS to take product stewardship to a new level is then explained, with reference to several Hewlett-Packard case studies and research involving Interface modular carpets. The author hopes that the potential for S-PSS to deliver business and social benefits with less resource use may be recognized, leading to necessary further investigation and research.
Using Knowledge Management Tools in Fostering Green ICT Related Behavior Change
Authors: Hercheui Magda
Published: May 2011

This chapter discusses the role of Green ICT in improving the management of information and knowledge about sustainability in order to promote behavior change. Drawing upon a knowledge management theoretical framework, this research investigates a free-of-charge Internet tool, Microsoft Hohm, which enables American homes to better manage their energy consumption. The study shows the relevance of designing Green ICT solutions, which cope with tacit and explicit knowledge, and reduce the complexity in managing information on sustainability. In addition, the investigation confirms that the combination of sophisticated Green ICT interfaces with social media solutions offers better ways to foster behavior change through virtual socialization.
Adaptive Management on Sustainability of Cork Oak Woodlands
Authors: Ribeiro Nuno de Almeida , Surový Peter , Pinheiro António Cipriano
Published: May 2011

The cork oak woodland production systems result from the integration of conflicting activities in the same space creating the need of constant search of equilibrium between its components in order to achieve sustainability. In a climate change environment, associated with recent modifications in rural societies, adaptive management concepts are needed so as to maintain cork oak woodland systems sustainable. Nowadays/Currently cork oak woodlands are facing disturbances that are affecting the production system sustainability both by intensification of the activities undercover- that leads to a lack of regeneration and consequent disappearing of the crown cover, loss of cork production and site degradation mainly by soil loss-, or by the abandonment that conducts to an invasion of shrubs and other oaks increasing the competition (reducing cork production) and the risk of forest fire. Only adaptive management techniques associated with growth models and decision support systems, constructed in knowledge based monitoring system, are able to prevent cork wood land decline with the adoption of management practices focused in long term objectives. For the present study it was selected a set of permanent plots according with site quality and stand age and structure. Simulation studies results indicates that cork oak woodland system sustainability (both economical and ecological) is supported in regeneration events associated with the shrub control techniques without soil mobilization with strong dependency of cork prices and valuation of carbon sequestration, especially in the less productive soils. Without modification of actual funding policies and the valuation of carbon sequestration, the system faces increased risks of decline due to the maintenance of actual non sustainable management practices by the stake holders driven by their financial needs. This study is particularly relevant regarding that woodlands dominate the landscape of the south-western Iberian Peninsula, occupying approximately 3.1 million hectares in Spain and 1.2 million hectares in Portugal.
Application of Remote Sensing Technologies and Geographical Information Systems in Monitoring Environmental Degradation in the Lake Victoria Watershed, East Africa
Authors: Twesigye Charles K.
Published: May 2011

Accurate information on the state of water resources in the Lake Victoria watershed is crucial for planning and sustainable development in the East African region. This region largely depends on its natural resource-base for economic development, and therefore comprehensive information on its resources dynamics is key in implementing poverty alleviation strategies, improving human condition and preserving the biological systems upon which the region‘s population depends. This chapter focuses on key issues, which have emerged as a result of population growth and development in the region. The research on which this chapter is based aims to address the concerns on land use and settlement trends in the study sites, vulnerability of the communities to water stress and sustainability of the livelihood systems in the watersheds of Nzoia River Basin (Kenya), Nakivubo Wetland (Uganda) and Simiyu River Basin (Tanzania). These communities engage in unique land use practices that have intensified environmental degradation in recent times. The research adopts a multi-disciplinary approach in bringing to the fore the various processes affecting watershed resources use and management in the selected wetlands of the Lake Victoria Drainage Basin (LVDB). The data presented covers trends in vegetation cover loss, pesticide pollution and general water quality parameters. Geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing techniques were employed to unveil land use patterns that have resulted in the degradation of the watershed. Wetland degradation levels have been characterized using secondary data generated by analytical techniques. New emerging challenges of environmental degradation caused by industrial, domestic and agricultural activities are presented and discussed. The potential of the new science of hydroinformatics in integrated watershed management through mathematical modeling, geographic information systems analysis and water supply management is highlighted.