bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Extending a Conceptual Modeling Language For Adaptive Web Applications
Authors: Djemaa Raoudha B. , Amous Ikram , Hamadou Abdelmajid B.
Published: February 2011

The complexity of adaptive Web applications (AWA) is increasing almost every day. Besides impacting the implementation phase, this complexity must also be suitably managed while modeling the application. To this end, the paper proposes an approach for AWA called GIWA based on WA-UML (Web Adaptive Unified Modeling Language). This extension defines a set of stereotypes and constraints, which make possible the modeling of AWA. GIWA‘s target is to facilitate the automatic execution of the design and the automatic generation of adaptable web interface. The GIWA methodology is based on different step: requirement analysis, conceptual design, adaptation design and generation. Using GIWA, designers can specify, at a requirement analysis, the features of web application to be generated. These features are represented, at the conceptual level using WA-UML. At the adaptation level, GIWA acquires all information about users’ preferences and their access condition to be used at the generation level. The last level is based on java swing interface to instantiate models which are translated in XML files. GIWA uses then XSL files (user preferences) and RDF files (devices’ capability) to generate the HTML page corresponding to the user:
An Agent-Based Approach to Process Management in E-Learning Environments
Authors: Lai Hokyin , Wang Minhong , He Jingwen , Wang Huaiqing
Published: February 2011

Learning is a process to acquire new knowledge. Ideally, this process is the result of an active interaction of key cognitive processes, such as perception, imagery, organization, and elaboration. Quality learning has emphasized on designing a course curriculum or learning process, which can elicit the cognitive processing of learners. However, most e-learning systems nowadays are resources-oriented instead of process-oriented. These systems were designed without adequate support of pedagogical principles to guide the learning process. They have not explained the sequence of how the knowledge was acquired, which, in fact, is extremely important to the quality of learning. This study aims to develop an e-learning environment that enables students to get engaged in their learning process by guiding and customizing their learning process in an adaptive way. The expected performance of the Agent-based e-learning Process model is also evaluated by comparing with traditional e-learning models.
SOMSE
Authors: Hamdi Mohamed Salah
Published: February 2011

Conventional Web search engines return long lists of ranked documents that users are forced to sift through to find relevant documents. The notoriously low precision of Web search engines coupled with the ranked list presentation make it hard for users to find the information they are looking for. One of the fundamental issues of information retrieval is searching for compromises between precision and recall. It is generally desirable to have high precision and high recall, although in reality, increasing precision often means decreasing recall and vice versa. Developing retrieval techniques that will yield high recall and high precision is desirable. Unfortunately, such techniques would impose additional resource demands on the search engines. Search engines are under severe resource constraints and dedicating enough CPU time to each query might not be feasible. A more productive approach, however, seems to enhance post-processing of the retrieved set, such as providing links and semantic maps to retrieved results of a query. If such value-adding processes allow the user to easily identify relevant documents from a large retrieved set, queries that produce low precision/high recall results will become more acceptable. We propose improving the quality of Web search by combining meta-search and self-organizing maps. This can help users both in locating interesting documents more easily and in getting an overview of the retrieved document set.
Multiagent Paradigm for the Agent Selection and Negotiation in a B2C Process
Authors: Mazumdar Bireshwar Dass , Mishra R.B.
Published: February 2011

Multi-agent paradigms have been developed for the negotiation and brokering in B2C e-commerce .Few of the models consider the mental states and social settings (trust and reputation) but rarely any model depicts their combination. In this work, we present three mathematical models. First cognitive computational model which is combined model of belief, desire, intention (BDI) model for agent’s mental attitudes and social settings; is used for the computation of trust and then index of negotiation which is based on trust and reputation and the second computation model is developed for the computation of business index that characterizes the parameters of some of the business processes, which match the buyer’s satisfaction level. The third computation model of utility is used for negotiation between seller and buyer to achieve maximum combined utility increment (CUI) which is the difference of marginal utility gain (MUG) of buyer and marginal utility cost (MUC) of seller.
Virtual Organisational Trust Requirements
Authors: French Tim
Published: February 2011

It is suggested that the use of the semiotic ladder, together with a supportive trust agent can be used together to better explicate “soft” trust issues in the context of Grid services. The contribution offered here is intended to fill a gap in current understanding and modelling of such issues and to support Grid service designers to better conceptualise, hence manage trust issues. The semiotic paradigm is intended to offer an integrative viewpoint within which to explicate “soft” trust issues throughout the Grid life-cycle. A computationally lightweight trust agent is described that can be used to verify high level trust of a Virtual Organisation. The potential benefits of the approach that is advocated here include the reduction of risk and potential improvements in the quality and reliability of Grid service partnerships. For these benefits to accrue, explicit “soft” as well as “hard” trust management is essential as is an integrative viewpoint.
KStore
Authors: Campbell Mazzagatti Jane
Published: February 2011

KStore is a computer data structure based on the Phaneron of C. S. Peirce (Peirce, 1931-1958). This structure, called a Knowledge Store, KStore or simply K, is currently being developed as a storage engine to support BI data queries and analysis (Mazzagatti, 2007). The first Ks being constructed handle nominal data and record sequences of field/record data variables and their relationships. These rudimentary Ks are dynamic allowing real-time data processing, ad hoc queries and data compression, to facilitate data mining. This paper describes a next step in the development of the K structure, to record into the K structure, meta data associated with the field/record data, in particular the column or dimension names and a source indicator.
Web 2.0 Based Intelligent Software Architecture for Photograph Sharing
Authors: Baloglu Arzu , Wyne Mudasser F. , Bahcetepe Yilmaz
Published: February 2011

With the development of Web 2.0 technologies, the sharing of photographs has increased. In this paper, the authors evaluate the art of photography, analyze how to develop intelligent photograph sharing system, and explaine the requirements of such systems. The authors present an architecture of an intelligent Web 2.0 based system and in future hope to add more modules for retention of users on the system. The system focuses on Web 2.0 usage, web mining for personalization service, and brings a different approach to collaborative filtering.
Classifying Consumer Comparison Opinions to Uncover Product Strengths and Weaknesses
Authors: Xu Kaiquan S. J. , Wang Wei , Ren Jimmy , Xu Jin S. Y. , Liu Long , Liao Stephen
Published: February 2011

With the Web 2.0 paradigm, a huge volume of Web content is generated by users at online forums, wikis, blogs, and social networks, among others. These user-contributed contents include numerous user opinions regarding products, services, or political issues. Among these user opinions, certain comparison opinions exist, reflecting customer preferences. Mining comparison opinions is useful as these types of viewpoints can bring more business values than other types of opinion data. Manufacturers can better understand relative product strengths or weaknesses, and accordingly develop better products to meet consumer requirements. Meanwhile, consumers can make purchasing decisions that are more informed by comparing the various features of similar products. In this paper, a novel Support Vector Machine-based method is proposed to automatically identify comparison opinions, extract comparison relations, and display results with the comparison relation maps by mining the volume of consumer opinions posted on the Web. The proposed method is empirically evaluated based on consumer opinions crawled from the Web. The initial experimental results show that the performance of the proposed method is promising and this research opens the door to utilizing these comparison opinions for business intelligence.
Combining Supervised Learning Techniques to Key-Phrase Extraction for Biomedical Full-Text
Authors: Qi Yanliang , Song Min , Yoon Suk-Chung , deVersterre Lori
Published: February 2011

Key-phrase extraction plays a useful a role in research areas of Information Systems (IS) like digital libraries. Short metadata like key phrases are beneficial for searchers to understand the concepts found in the documents. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of different supervised learning techniques on biomedical full-text: Sequential Minimal Optimization (SMO) and K-Nearest Neighbor, both of which could be embedded inside an information system for document search. The authors use these techniques to extract key phrases from PubMed and evaluate the performance of these systems using the holdout validation method. This paper compares different classifier techniques and performance differences between the full-text and it’s abstract. Compared with the authors’ previous work, which investigated the performance of Naïve Bayes, Linear Regression and SVM(reg1/2), this paper finds that SVMreg-1 performs best in key-phrase extraction for full-text, whereas Naïve Bayes performs best for abstracts. These techniques should be considered for use in information system search functionality. Additional research issues also are identified.
Design and Usage of a Process-Centric Collaboration Methodology for Virtual Organizations in Hybrid Environments
Authors: Dollmann Thorsten J. , Loos Peter , Fellmann Michael , Thomas Oliver , Hoheisel Andreas , Katranuschkov Peter , Scherer Raimar
Published: February 2011

This article describes a collaboration methodology for virtual organizations where the processes can be automatically executed using a hybrid web service, grid or cloud resources. Typically, the process of deriving executable workflows from process models is cumbersome and can be automated only in part or specific to a particular distributed system. The approach introduced in this paper, exemplified by the construction industry field, integrates existing technology within a process-centric framework. The solution on the basis of a hybrid system architecture in conjunction with semantic methods for consistency saving and the framework for modeling VO processes and their automated transformation and execution are discussed in detail.
Only Connect
Authors: Currion Paul
Published: February 2011

The introduction of information systems and the humanitarian reform process are both having a tremendous impact on the way that humanitarian assistance is delivered – yet the two processes are extremely weakly connected. As a result, the humanitarian community is failing to realise the potential that information technology has to support key aspects of the reform process, but also failing to recognise that technology is likely to render many of the discussions around reform moot. The balance of knowledge is shifting towards those affected by disaster, implying that they will become increasingly empowered by technology to more effectively cope with the impact of those disasters. Traditional actors in the humanitarian community must incorporate these realities into its own processes or risk being overtaken by newer and more agile institutions which may not be so concerned with humanitarian principles.
The Fifth International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, Washington DC, May 4-7 2008
Authors: Fiedrich Frank , Van de Walle Bartel
Published: February 2011

Early last May, more than 200 people gathered in Washington DC for the fifth annual meeting of the ISCRAM R&D community – with ISCRAM short for Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management. Academics, practitioners, students and policy makers could attend a variety of paper presentations, panel discussions, technical demonstration sessions and – not less important – some excellent social activities. All conference activities, technical and other, were kept on track by the excellent local organizing team of Professors Frank Fiedrich and Jack Harrald of George Washington University.
Adaptive Ontology Use for Crisis Knowledge Representation
Authors: Segev Aviv
Published: February 2011

In a crisis the problem of the lack of a shared platform or similar communication methods among the collaborators usually arises within a few hours. While a crisis requires rapid response of emergency management factors, ontology is generally represented in a static manner. Therefore, an adaptive ontology for crisis knowledge representation is needed to assist in coordinating relief efforts in different crisis situations. The article describes a method of ontology modeling that modifies the ontology in real time during a crisis according to the crisis surroundings. The method is based on modeling a basic predefined multilingual ontology while allowing the expansion of the ontology according to the crisis circumstances and the addition of other languages within the crisis time limitations. An example of ontology use based on a sample Katrina crisis blog is presented. Motivation for multilingual ontology use is supplied by the Boxing Day Tsunami crisis.
Socio-Technical Design Approach for Crisis Management Information Systems
Authors: Harnesk Dan , Lindström John , Samuelsson Sören
Published: February 2011

This article describes research in progress of a design approach for crisis management information systems. A qualitative study was designed to gather data from four municipalities in northern Sweden, which all have responsibility for crisis management in each local environment. The purpose with the article is to discuss broad but strongly related information issues to crisis management and from that suggest a socio-technical oriented approach for crisis management information systems design. The preliminary design approach suggests that a network of knowledge, IT management and information integration is a promising base for design in the area. Considering that responsible actors in crisis environments have great knowledge in crisis planning and operation indicate that such an environment can be understood as a network of knowledge that account for both the social and technical dimension during crises. Theories from IT management and information integration provide input to the technical dimension of the suggested design approach.
Lessons Learned on the Operation of the LoST Protocol for Mobile IP-Based Emergency Calls
Authors: Goulart Ana , Zacchi Anna , Chintapatla Bharath , Magnussen Walt
Published: February 2011

The technology used in citizen-to-authority emergency calls is based on traditional telephony, that is, circuit-switched systems. However, new standards and protocols are being developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) to allow emergency communications over packet switched networks, such as the Internet. This architecture is known as Next Generation-9-1-1 (NG-911). In this paper, the authors present lessons learned from experiments on the IETF standard called Location to Service Translation protocol (LoST). LoST maps the user’s location to the address of the emergency call center that serves that location. After implementing the standards in a test-bed with real-world systems, spatial databases, and communication networks, the authors observed performance issues that users may experience. Based on their observations, the authors propose practical ideas to improve the performance of the NG-911 system and LoST protocol operation for mobile users.
Factors that Influence Crisis Managers and their Decision-Making Ability during Extreme Events
Authors: White Connie , Turoff Murray
Published: February 2011

This paper reviews crisis literature, identifying factors that most challenge decision makers during extreme events. The objectives are to understand the environment in which the emergency manager is working; isolate factors that hinder the decision maker’s ability to implement optimum solutions; and identify structures that best fit the problem type. These objectives are important because extreme events are not well managed. Extreme events are best characterized as wicked problems. Stress, information overload, bias, and uncertainty create an environment that challenges even the best decision makers. Factors must be better understood so that policies, systems, and technologies can be created to better fit the needs of the decision maker. The authors discuss ongoing research efforts and describe systems being designed and implemented that provide a variety of web based collaborative tools, as well as solutions to these wicked problems.
Curriculum Design and Development at the Nexus of International Crisis Management and Information Systems
Authors: Clement Keith
Published: February 2011

This case study discusses the role of education, curriculum development, research, and service in supporting information systems for crisis response management. The study describes the Council for Emergency Management and Homeland Security (CEMHS) organization that designs and develops academic programs and courses in these specialized areas. CEMHS combines all levels of education in California (from K-12 and postsecondary education) into a “state-wide solution” and network of academicians and professionals in emergency and disaster management, crisis response, and homeland security education and training. The organizational purpose is constructing a “vertical track” of academic programs and specialized programs to benefit and enhance information resource and crisis management. The implications and lessons learned from building collaborative partnerships between the crisis and disaster response academic and professional communities in academic program development and research initiatives are also discussed.
Towards A Semi-Automatic Transformation Process in MDA
Authors: Hammoudi Slimane , Alouini Wajih , Lopes Denivaldo , Huchard Marianne
Published: February 2011

Model Driven Engineering (MDE) has been proposed for supporting the development, maintenance and evolution of software systems. Model Driven Architecture (MDA), Software Factories, and the Eclipse Modeling Framework (EMF) are representative MDE approaches. These MDE approaches have concepts and techniques in common such as modeling, metamodels, and model transformation. Today, it is well recognized that model transformation is the most important of MDE approaches and is one of the most important operations in MDE. Despite the multitude of model transformation language proposals emerging from university and industry, these transformations are often created manually, which is a tedious and error-prone task and therefore an expensive process. In this paper, the authors propose an extended architecture that aims to semi-automate the process of transformation in the context of MDA. This architecture involves concepts and techniques of metamodel matching, inspired and borrowed from schema matching techniques that are an important issue in the database and ontology domain. This architecture is enforced by a methodology which details the different steps leading to a semi-automatic transformation process. Matching foundations and the authors’ approach for metamodel matching are discussed.
Privacy-Preserving Transactions Protocol Using Mobile Agents with Mutual Authentication
Authors: Han Song , Potdar Vidyasagar , Chang Elizabeth , Dillon Tharam
Published: February 2011

This article introduces a new transaction protocol using mobile agents in electronic commerce. The authors first propose a new model for transactions in electronic commerce, mutual authenticated transactions using mobile agents. They then design a new protocol by this model. Furthermore, the authors analyse the new protocol in terms of authentication, construction, and privacy. The aim of the protocol is to guarantee that the customer is committed to the server, and the server is committed to the customer. At the same time, the privacy of the customer is protected.
On the Design of an Authentication System Based on Keystroke Dynamics Using a Predefined Input Text
Authors: Bartmann Dieter , Bakdi Idir , Achatz Michael
Published: February 2011

The design of an authentication system based on keystroke dynamics is made difficult by the fact that the typing behaviour of a person is subject to strong fluctuations. An asymmetrical method able to handle this difficulty by using a long text on enrolment and a short one at login is analysed in this article. The results of an empirical study based on an extensive field test are presented. The study demonstrates that the advantages of the analysed method remain even if a predefined input text is used. The results also show that the method’s quality highly depends on the amount of text typed on enrolment as well as on login, which makes the system scalable to different security levels. They also confirm the importance of using stable characteristics that are due, for example, to the user’s right- or left-handedness. The method’s learning velocity is shown to be high, which enables enrolment to be kept short. Moreover, the study demonstrates that admitting multiple login attempts significantly ameliorates the recognition performance without sacrificing security.
Information Security Effectiveness
Authors: Knapp Kenneth J. , Marshall Thomas E. , Rainer Jr. R. Kelly , Ford F. Nelson
Published: February 2011

Taking a sequential qualitative-quantitative methodological approach, we propose and test a theoretical model that includes four variables through which top management can positively influence security effectiveness: user training, security culture, policy relevance, and policy enforcement. During the qualitative phase of the study, we generated the model based on textual responses to a series of questions given to a sample of 220 information security practitioners. During the quantitative phase, we analyzed survey data collected from a sample of 740 information security practitioners. After data collection, we analyzed the survey responses using structural equation modeling and found evidence to support the hypothesized model. We also tested an alternative, higher-order factor version of the original model that demonstrated an improved overall fit and general applicability across the various demographics of the sampled data. We then linked the finding of this study to existing top management support literature, general deterrence theory research, and the theoretical notion of the dilemma of the supervisor.
An Ontology of Information Security
Authors: Herzog Almut , Shahmehri Nahid , Duma Claudiu
Published: February 2011

We present a publicly available, OWL-based ontology of information security which models assets, threats, vulnerabilities, countermeasures and their relations. The ontology can be used as a general vocabulary, roadmap, and extensible dictionary of the domain of information security. With its help, users can agree on a common language and definition of terms and relationships. In addition to browsing for information, the ontology is also useful for reasoning about relationships between its entities, for example, threats and countermeasures. The ontology helps answer questions like: Which countermeasures detect or prevent the violation of integrity of data? Which assets are protected by SSH? Which countermeasures thwart buffer overflow attacks? At the moment, the ontology comprises 88 threat classes, 79 asset classes, 133 countermeasure classes and 34 relations between those classes. We provide the means for extending the ontology, and provide examples of the extendibility with the countermeasure classes ‘memory protection’ and ‘source code analysis’. This article describes the content of the ontology as well as its usages, potential for extension, technical implementation and tools for working with it.
A Simulation Model of Information Systems Security
Authors: Pendegraft Norman , Rounds Mark
Published: February 2011

The value of IS security is evaluated by simulating interactions between an information system, its users, and a population of attackers. Results suggest that the marginal value of additional security may be positive or negative as can the time rate of change of system value. This implies that IT security policy makers should be aware of where they are in the state space before setting IT security policy.
SEACON
Authors: Yadav Surya B.
Published: February 2011

The extent methods largely ignore the importance of integrating security requirements with business requirements and providing built-in steps for dealing with these requirements seamlessly. To address this problem, a new approach to secure network analysis and design is presented. The proposed method, called the SEACON method, provides an integrated approach to use existing principles of information systems analysis and design with the unique requirements of distributed secure network systems. We introduce several concepts including security adequacy level, process-location-security matrix, data-location- security matrix, and secure location model to provide built-in mechanisms to capture security needs and use them seamlessly throughout the steps of analyzing and designing secure networks. This method is illustrated and compared to other secure network design methods. The SEACON method is found to be a useful and effective method.
Life Cycle Pattern Study of Malicious Codes
Authors: Wei June , Reid Randall C. , Zhang Hongmei
Published: February 2011

This article investigates the patterns of malicious code attacks based on monthly data of the top 10 virus shares from 1998 to 2005. Three parameters were identified for study, overall pattern of the attack, the number reentries into the top 10 most prevalent attacks, and the maximum percentage share. The dataset was validated by comparing it to an independent dataset that measured the same parameters for a subset of the period of the primary dataset. The effects of malicious code that started before or disappeared outside the collection period were found to not have a significant effect. A multivariate regression analysis showed that the number of entries and the maximum share had a strong relationship with the visible life span. Multivariate cluster analysis was conducted on the reentry parameters and yielded six virus clusters classifications. The high impact viruses, 43 of the 230, are identified and further grouped.
Computer Security Practices and Perceptions of the Next Generation of Corporate Computer Use
Authors: Kruck S.E. , Teer Faye P.
Published: February 2011

The purpose of this article is to present the results of an empirical study of the computer security practices and perceptions of the next generation of corporate computer users, undergraduate university students. The authors surveyed undergraduate university students who represented 42 different majors. The findings relate to the students’ usage of antivirus programs, firewalls, password security, and security patches. Student perceptions of computer security and its importance are also reported. Research in this area is important for two reasons. First, potential employers may find the results useful in assessing their vulnerability to unsafe practices from entry level employees. Secondly, research in this area can give those responsible for providing computer security education a better understanding of students’ computer security training needs.
Trust-Based Usage Control in Collaborative Environment
Authors: Yang Li , Phuong Chang , Novobilski Amy , Ege Raimund K.
Published: February 2011

Most access control models have formal access control rules to govern the authorization of a request from a principal. In pervasive and collaborative environments, the behaviors of a principal are uncertain due to partial information. Moreover, the attributes of a principal, requested objects, and contexts of a request are mutable during the collaboration. A variety of such uncertainty and mutability pose challenges when resources sharing must happen in the collaborative environment. In order to address the above challenges, we propose a framework to integrate trust management into a usage control model in order to support decision making in an ever-changing collaborative environment. First, a trust value of a principal is evaluated based on both observed behaviors and peer recommendations. Second, the usage-based access control rules are checked to make decisions on resource exchanges. Our framework handles uncertainty and mutability by dynamically disenrolling untrusted principals and revoking granted on-going access if access control rules are no longer met. We have applied our trust-based usage control framework to an application of file sharing.
The Impact of Privacy Legislation on Patient Care
Authors: Barnett Jeff
Published: February 2011

This article looks at how privacy legislation in Canada may interfere with patient care and the use of electronic health records. A review of the literature shows that legislation across Canada is not uniform and varies to the degree in which it addresses issues of privacy and confidentiality. What is not clear is what impact legislation has on the movement towards electronic health records? A case study was undertaken to look at a specific project involving the design of an electronic health record as a means of sharing information between physicians and prostate cancer patients. Through interviews with those associated with the project, it was clear that legislation itself was not a barrier. The problem was that the legislation was open to interpretation. The author hopes that an understanding of the issues raised by this article will lead to further discussion and research on this topic.
Analyzing the Vulnerability of U.S. Hospitals to Social Engineering Attacks
Authors: Medlin B. Dawn , Cazier Joseph A. , Foulk Daniel P.
Published: February 2011

One of the main threats to keeping health information secure in today’s digital world is that of social engineering. The healthcare industry has benefitted from its employees’ ability to view patient data. Although access to and transmission of patient data may improve care, increase delivery time of services and reduce health care costs, security of that information may be jeopardized due to the innocent sharing of personal and non-personal data with the wrong person. Through the tactic of social engineering, hackers are able to obtain information from employees that may allow them access into the hospitals networked information system. In this study we simulate a social engineering attack in five different hospitals of varying sizes with the goal of obtaining employees passwords. 73% of respondents shared their password. This raises serious concerns about the state of employee security awareness in our healthcare system.
The Influence of Media Trust and Internet Trust on Privacy-Risking Uses of E-Health
Authors: Wilson E. Vance , Dobrzykowski David D. , Cazier Joseph A.
Published: February 2011

People claim to be concerned about information privacy on the Internet, yet they frequently give out personal information to online vendors and correspondents with whom they have little, if any, prior experience. This behavior is known as the privacy paradox and is particularly relevant to the context of e-health, due to the special risks of health information exposure. Using data from the 2005 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS), this study addresses a key question regarding online health information privacy: Do individuals self-police risky e-health activities (i.e., uses where personal information is given out) or are they indifferent to risk based upon generalized trust in broadcast media and the Internet as sources for health information? Our results show that Internet trust mediates most effects of broadcast media trust on Internet use and that Internet trust plays a much smaller role in motivating Internet uses that are risky than is the case for low-risk uses. These results have important implications for researchers, policymakers, and healthcare administrators in determining the level of privacy protection individuals need in their use of e-health applications.
Will it be Disclosure or Fabrication of Personal Information? An Examination of Persuasion Strategies on Prospective Employees
Authors: Li Xun , Santhanam Radhika
Published: February 2011

Individuals are increasingly reluctant to disclose personal data and sometimes even intentionally fabricate information to avoid the risk of having it compromised. In such situations, , organizations face an acute dilemma: they must obtain accurate job applicant information in order to make good hiring decisions, but potential employees may be reluctant to provide accurate information because they fear it could be used for other purposes. Building on theoretical foundations from social cognition and persuasion theory, we propose that, depending on levels of privacy concerns, organizations could use appropriate strategies to persuade job applicants to provide accurate information. We conducted a laboratory experiment to examine the effects of two different persuasion strategies on prospective employees’ willingness to disclose information, measured as their intentions to disclose or falsify information. Our results show support for our suggestion. As part of this study, we propose the term information sensitivity to identify the types of personal information that potential employees are most reluctant to disclose.
Without Permission
Authors: Pratt Joanne H. , Conger Sue
Published: February 2011

Considerable research shows that personal information privacy has eroded over the last 30 years. Prior research, however, takes a consumer-centric view of personal information privacy, a view that leads to the conclusion that the individual is responsible for his/her own information. This research presents a comprehensive personal information privacy model of extra-organizational data sharing and use that incorporates how data are actually passed and leaked to organizations of which the consumer has no knowledge and no control. This research presents support for the existence of legal, illegal, and legally grey area extra-organizational parties and the need for more complete comprehension of personal information privacy in business-to-consumer research. In addition, the research identifies the magnitude of privacy violations in spite of legal and self-protection policies. The model can serve as a guide for privacy research and for social discussion and legislation to manage and regulate use of data once collected.
Large Key Sizes and the Security of Password-Based Cryptography
Authors: Boklan Kent D.
Published: February 2011

We expose a potential vulnerability in the common use of password-based cryptography. When employing a user-chosen password to generate cryptographic keys which themselves are larger than the digest size of the underlying hash function, a part of the resulting key is produced deterministically and this, in turn, may lead to an exploitable weakness.
A Chronicle of a Journey
Authors: Kosachev Alex , Nemati Hamid R.
Published: February 2011

Every email that originates from outside of an organization must go through a series of firewalls and gateways before reaching the intended recipient inside the organization. During this journey, each email may get scanned for possible viruses or other malicious programming codes. In some cases, the e-mail may also receive a score based on the possibility of spam content. On any stage of this processing email can be quarantined, or moved to a spam folder for the future possible analysis or simply deleted. Understandably, such complex structure helps secure the company’s internal infrastructure, however, e-mails have become an important tool in marketing for many e-commerce organizations and if marketing e-mails do not get to their intended receiver, the sending company will be disadvantaged. Therefore, from the point of view of the sender of an e-mail, it is important to understand the faith of the e-mail that was sent and whether it was received as intended. In this case study, we describe an e-mail bounce back system that was developed by a major e-commerce company in order to understand whether its e-mail based marketing was successful in delivering the intended message to its customers. In addition to the describing the development of the system, security and privacy issues are also discussed.
The Social Organization of a Criminal Hacker Network
Authors: Lu Yong
Published: February 2011

Financial fraud and identity theft conducted by criminal hackers have become the top source of the greatest financial losses for organizations. Even though Hacker groups are complex socio-technical systems, much extant research on hackers is conducted at the individual level of analysis. This research proposes a research model composed of five dimensions and their relations in order to study hacker’s social organization in the whole socio-technical context. Based on this model, the researcher applies network analysis methods to disclose the structure and patterns of a significant and complex hacker group, Shadow crew. Network analysis tools, such as Automap and ORA, are applied for data processing and data analysis. Three network measures: degree centrality, cognitive demand, and eigenvector centrality, are utilized to determine the critical leaders. Out-degree centrality is employed to analyze the relations among the five dimensions in the research model.
Policy Enforcement System for Inter-Organizational Data Sharing
Authors: Awad Mamoun , Khan Latifur , Thuraisingham Bhavani
Published: February 2011

Sharing data among organizations plays an important role in security and data mining. In this paper, the authors describe a Data Sharing Miner and Analyzer (DASMA) system that simulates data sharing among N organizations. Each organization has its own enforced policy. The N organizations share their data based on trusted third party. The system collects the released data from each organization, processes it, mines it, and analyzes the results. Sharing in DASMA is based on trusted third parties. However, organizations may encode some attributes, for example. Each organization has its own policy represented in XML format. This policy states what attributes can be released, encoded, and randomized. DASMA processes the data set and collects the data, combines it, and prepares it for mining. After mining, a statistical report is produced stating the similarities between mining with data sharing and mining without sharing. The authors test, apply data sharing, enforce policy, and analyze the results of two separate datasets in different domains. The results indicate a fluctuation on the amount of information loss using different releasing factors.
Probabilistic Inference Channel Detection and Restriction Applied to Patients’ Privacy Assurance
Authors: Alhaqbani Bandar , Fidge Colin
Published: February 2011

Traditional access control models protect sensitive data from unauthorised direct accesses; however, they fail to prevent indirect inferences. Information disclosure via inference channels occurs when secret information is derived from unclassified (non-secure) information and other sources like metadata and public observations. Previously, techniques using precise and fuzzy functional dependencies were proposed to detect inference channels. However, such methods are inappropriate when probabilistic relationships exist among data items that may be used to infer information with a predictable likelihood of accuracy. In this paper, the authors present definitions and algorithms for detecting inference channels in a probabilistic knowledge base and maximising an attacker’s uncertainty by restricting selected inference channels to comply with data confidentiality and privacy requirements. As an illustration, a healthcare scenario is used to show how inference control can be performed on probabilistic relations to address patients’ privacy concerns over Electronic Medical Records. To limit an attacker’s ability to know secret data selected inference channels are restricted by using a Bayesian network that incorporates the information stored within a medical knowledge base to decide which facts must be hidden to limit undesired inferences.
A Modeling Approach to Simulate Effects of Intercropping and Interspecific Competition in Arable Crops
Authors: Knörzer Heike , Graeff-Hönninger Simone , Müller Bettina U. , Piepho Hans-Peter , Claupein Wilhelm
Published: February 2011

Interspecific competition between species influences their individual growth and performance. Neighborhood effects become especially important in intercropping systems, and modeling approaches could be a useful tool to simulate plant growth under different environmental conditions to help identify appropriate combinations of different crops while managing competition. This study gives an overview of different competition models and their underlying modeling approaches. To model intercropping in terms of neighbouring effects in the context of field boundary cultivation, a new model approach was developed and integrated into the DSSAT model. The results indicate the possibility of simulating general competition and beneficial effects due to different incoming solar radiation and soil temperature in a winter wheat/maize intercropping system. Considering more than the competition factors is important, that is, sunlight, due to changed solar radiation alone not explaining yield differences in all cases. For example, intercropped maize could compensate low radiation due to its high radiation use efficiency. Wheat benefited from the increased solar radiation, but even more from the increased soil temperature.
An Agricultural Decision Support System for Optimal Land Use Regarding Groundwater Vulnerability
Authors: Voudouris Konstantinos , Polemio Maurizio , Kazakis Nerantzis , Sifaleras Angelo
Published: February 2011

The availability of quality water is a basic condition of socioeconomic development. The agriculture water demand can be damaged by contamination of groundwater resources. This paper proposes a tool to preserve groundwater quality by using groundwater vulnerability assessment methods and a decision support system (DSS). The mapping of intrinsic groundwater vulnerability was based on reliable methods, the DRASTIC and the SINTACS methods. A DSS was developed to assess the groundwater vulnerability and pollution risk due to agricultural activities and land use changes. The proposed DSS software package was designed using the Matlab language and efficiently performs tasks while incorporating new maps to cover new areas. The tool was tested at two study areas located in the Mediterranean that are dominated by different prevalent hydrogeological features, that is, the typical porous features of alluvial deposits in the Greek study area and the typical fissured and karstic features of limestones and dolostones in the Italian study area.
Global Teacher Training Based on a Multiple Perspective Assessment
Authors: Nishihori Yuri , Kushima Chizuko , Yamamoto Yuichi , Sato Haruhiko , Sugie Satoko
Published: February 2011

The main objective of this project is to design and implement Web-based collaborative environments for a global training based on a multiple perspective assessment for future and novice ALTs (Assistant Language Teachers) who will come to Japan from various parts of the world. The system was created in order to give better chances to acquire professional knowledge in advance with support from experienced senior teachers, both Japanese teachers and former ALTs. Computer Support for Collaborative Learning (CSCL) was adopted as a platform for their online discussion with much focus on multiple perspective assessment to support social and personalized aspects such as individual accountability and contribution to the collaboration. Initial results are reported using the analysis of system design and the Web-based questionnaire answered by the participants involved in this knowledge-building forum.
SocialX
Authors: Sterbini Andrea , Temperini Marco
Published: February 2011

In this paper, the authors describe design and motivational issues of the web-based system SocialX. It supports social-collaborative and cooperative aspects of e-learning such as sharing and reuse of (solutions to) single exercises, and development of projects by group-work and social exchange. Such aspects are supported in the framework of a reputation system, in which learners participate. A learner’s reputation is computed, presented, and maintained during her/his interactions with the system. The algorithm to compute reputation can be configured by the teacher from tuning weights associated to various aspects of the interactions. To enhance collaboration on exercises, the authors support contextual (to the exercise) micro-forum and FAQs with a currency-based concretization of the perceived usefulness of questions/answers. Group responsibilities, peer-assessment, and self-evaluation are supported by group-based projects with self/peer-evaluated phases, i.e., different stages of a project are assigned to different groups and a stage-deliverable is both self-evaluated (at submission) and peer-evaluated (by the group receiving it for the next stage).
Balancing Accuracy of Promised Ship Data and IT Costs
Authors: Lee Young M.
Published: February 2011

In an ideal e-business environment, when a customer order is scheduled and a ship date is computed, the availability should immediately be reserved and not be available for future orders. However, in reality the availability data that are used for the scheduling the orders are not real time availability (physical availability), but they are availability information stored in an IT system (system availability). The availability data in the IT system (static view of availability) is typically refreshed (synchronized with real time availability) only periodically since it is very expensive to update the database in real time. Due to this potentially inaccurate view of the availability, some orders cannot be shipped on the promised ship date. Therefore, for certain customer orders, products are shipped later than the promised ship date resulting in customer dissatisfaction. Therefore, one of key decisions in order fulfillment process is to properly balance IT system (e.g., IT expense) and accuracy of promised ship date. In this work, we study how availability fresh rate (IT system) impacts customer service level. The simulation model we develop helps making critical business decision on refresh rate of availability, and avoiding expensive IT investment.