bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Methodology and Software Components for E-Business Development and Implementation
Authors: Vrcek Neven , Magdalenic Ivan
Published: October 2011

Many benefits from implementation of e-business solutions are related to network effects which means that there are many interconnected parties utilizing the same or compatible technologies. The large-scale adoption of e-business practices in public sectors and in small and medium enterprises (SMEs)-prevailing economic environments will be successful if appropriate support in the form of education, adequate legislative, directions, and open source applications is provided. This case study describes the adoption of e-business in public sectors and SMEs by using an integrated open source approach called e-modules. E-module is a model which has process properties, data properties, and requirements on technology. Therefore e-module presents a holistic framework for deployment of e-business solutions and such e-module structure mandates an approach which requires reengineering of business processes and adoption of strong standardization that solves interoperability issues. E-module is based on principles of service-oriented architectures with guidelines for introduction into business processes and integration with ERP systems. Such an open source approach enables the spreading of compatible software solutions across any given country, thus, increasing e-business adoption. This paper presents a methodology for defining and building e-modules.
Inter-Sector Practices Reform for e-Government Integration Efficacy
Authors: Stamati Teta , Karantjias Athanasios
Published: October 2011

Electronic services have become a critical force in service oriented economies introducing new paradigms like connected governance, ubiquitous and ambient public services, knowledge-based administration, and participatory budgeting. The success of e-Government integration requires the modernization of current governmental processes and services under three different perspectives, namely governmental business processes reengineering, legal framework reformation and technical solution effectiveness. The study proposes a knowledge guide for approaching, analyzing and defining government-wide architectural practices when building large scale enterprise governmental frameworks. A set of fundamental design and implementation principles are specified for increasing government organizations’ agility and ensuring that end-users perceive the quality of the provided services.
Adoption of Computer-Based Formative Assessment in a High School Mathematics Classroom
Authors: Warner Zachary B.
Published: October 2011

This case follows a high school mathematics teacher who is new to the classroom and is looking to adopt computer-based formative assessment as a part of his curriculum. Working within the confines of the school environment, this requires navigating a shrinking budget, colleagues that do not share his value of technology, restricted time, student issues, and limited resources. He must examine all aspects of the available computer-based formative assessment systems and weigh the pros and cons to insure the best academic outcomes for his students.
Medical Outcome Prediction for Intensive Care Unit Patients
Authors: Ludwig Simone A. , Roos Stefanie , Frize Monique , Yu Nicole
Published: October 2011

The rate of people dying from medical errors in hospitals each year is very high. Errors that frequently occur during the course of providing health care are adverse drug events and improper transfusions, surgical injuries and wrong-site surgery, suicides, restraint-related injuries or death, falls, burns, pressure ulcers, and mistaken patient identities. Medical decision support systems play an increasingly important role in medical practice. By assisting physicians in making clinical decisions, medical decision support systems improve the quality of medical care. Two approaches have been investigated for the prediction of medical outcomes: “hours of ventilation” and the “mortality rate” in the adult intensive care unit. The first approach is based on neural networks with the weight-elimination algorithm, and the second is based on genetic programming. Both approaches are compared to commonly used machine learning algorithms. Results show that both algorithms developed score well for the outcomes selected.
A Framework for Multidimensional Real-Time Data Analysis
Authors: Catley Christina , Smith Kathy , McGregor Carolyn , James Andrew , Eklund J. Mikael
Published: October 2011

In this paper, the authors present a framework to support multidimensional analysis of real-time physiological data streams and clinical data. The clinical context for the case study demonstration is neonatal intensive care, focusing specifically on the detection of episodes of central apnoea, a clinically significant problem. The model accounts for the multidimensional and real-time nature of apnoea of prematurity and the associated clinical rules. The framework demonstration includes: 1) defining rules that quantify concurrent behaviours between multiple synchronous data streams and asynchronous data values; 2) designing UML models to define present practice event processing for episodes of apnoea; 3) translating the model in SPADE to enable the deployment within the real-time processing layer of the Artemis platform, which utilizes IBM’s InfoSphere Streams; 4) demonstrating knowledge discovery with simple and complex temporal abstractions of the data streams; and 5) presenting results for early detection of episodes of apnoea across multiple physiological data streams.
The Role of Information and Computer Technology for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and the Facial Expression Wonderland (FEW)
Authors: Tseng Rung-Yu , Yi-Luen Do Ellen
Published: October 2011

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is one of the Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDDs). Significant deficits in the children with ASD include lack of social communication skills and cognitive dysfunction. This paper reviews and evaluates the influence of different kinds of Information and Computer Technology (ICT) applications that facilitate intervention and training for children with ASD. This paper also presents a novel design prototype, Facial Expression Wonderland (FEW), to train the children with ASD based on the progressive levels of training under a given background context. This prototype is designed to improve the ability of the ASD children in facial expression recognition.
Customer Relationship Management in Professional Service Organizations
Authors: Shamma Hamed M. , Dyer Robert F. , Liebrenz-Himes Marilyn L.
Published: October 2011

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications have gained primary attention in large service industry sectors, such as the financial, telecommunications and hotel industries. However, relatively few researchers have studied CRM in the context of Professional Service Organizations (PSOs). PSOs are found across a broad spectrum of service offerings and they share several key aspects. Some of these aspects include the following: PSOs are high in people-processing features, have close contact with customers, and are high in credence attributes. Given this critical reliance on the customer, most PSOs would benefit from implementing a CRM system to facilitate their business and sustain customer relationships. This paper compares marketing practices and client management approaches in PSOs between those utilizing and those not utilizing a CRM system. The building industry is used as a case study. The paper introduces the CRM concept, describing its significance to the building industry and presents the methodology and findings from an exploratory research investigation. It also presents a framework for CRM applications in PSOs and highlights a future research agenda tempered by some limitations of the research study.
An Examination of Mediation
Authors: Henrie Kenneth M. , Miller Darryl W.
Published: October 2011

This paper examines the role of psychological mediators on consumers’ responses to persuasive sales tactics. Factor Analysis is used to determine the actual mediators identified by consumers as potential targets by salespeople and find structure in the data. An exploratory examination identifies four categories of potential psychological mediators. Experimental results reveal that consumers recognize sales tactics designed to influence these psychological mediators. These processes, in turn, mediate the influence of persuasive tactics on consumer responses. Overall, the study lends support to Friestad and Wright’s Persuasion Knowledge Model (1994).
Effectiveness of Customer Relationship Management Program in Insurance Companies
Authors: Gautam Vikas
Published: October 2011

Customer relationship management in the insurance industry is in the nascent stage. Firms are framing new strategies to combat stiff competition. Public and private insurance companies are implementing customer relationship programs to attract more customers and retain existing customers. The objectives of this study are (1) to study the customer relationship management program of the Life Insurance Corporation of India, and (2) to assess the effectiveness of this customer relationship management program. The study is based on the opinion scores of 182 policyholders of Life Insurance Corporation of India, who have been with the company for more than the last five years. Based on the average opinion scores before and after the implementation of the Customer Relationship Management program, it was concluded that the program is effective, which was evidenced by the results obtained from statistical analysis (Paired sample t-test).
A Cross-Cultural Study of Relationship Proneness and Its Implications for Relationship Marketing
Authors: Wei Yujie , McIntyre Faye S. , Taplade Salil
Published: October 2011

This paper examines relationship proneness of consumers in a cross-cultural setting; specifically, the relationship proneness between Chinese and U.S. consumers of Generation Y (born from 1976 to 1995) and its effects on relational satisfaction and relationship commitment. Based on previous research (e.g., De Wulf, Odekerken- Schröder, & Iacobucci, 2001) and cultural theories (e.g., Hofstede, 1980, 2001), nine hypotheses were developed involving the effects of relationship building tactics (i.e., direct mail, preferential treatment, communication, and tangible rewards) on relationship proneness, relational satisfaction and store loyalty. This quantitative study used a survey among two samples of consumers in China and the U.S. The final sample size was comprised of 349 student consumers. The findings of the research provide managerial implications for international retailers. Relationship proneness is a meaningful personal characteristic that can be used to describe or predict consumer behavior across cultures. A relationship marketing strategy that works for one culture may also work well in another culture. It is possible and appropriate, at least with generation Y consumers, to employ standardized approaches in relationship marketing across cultures.
Egyptian Electronic Government
Authors: Hassan H. S. , Abdelkader A. A. M.
Published: October 2011

Many developing countries’ governments have invested heavily in increasing the number of e-government projects. However, there is a lack of clear case material, which describes the potentialities and consequence experienced by governments trying to manage with this change. The Ministry of State for Administrative Development (MSAD) is the organization responsible for the e-Government program in Egypt since early 2004. This paper presents the findings of the CRM case study, one of the e-service projects led by MSAD. Semi-structured interviews have been used as primary data collection techniques. The findings of the study reveal that the main driver to the success of the project is changing the organisational culture and thinking. It is noticed there is an influence of the project on citizens’ encouragement for public participation as it was able to increase their satisfaction levels. Also, the findings emphasised the problems that face the overall e-government program in Egypt. They also explain the relationships among those identified problems of governmental e-service development.
The Effect of Information and Communication Technology on Customer Relationship Management
Authors: Al-Khaffaf Maha M. , Abdellatif Hadeel J.
Published: October 2011

The essence of the information technology revolution and in particular, Information Communication Technology (ICT) is the opportunity offered for companies to choose how they interact with their customers. This research paper investigates the influence of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) factors benefiting from information communication technology on (CRM) performance. The results suggest that the three elements have positive relationships with CRM performance. Questionnaires numbered at 330 have been distributed to 110 public shareholding companies (PSCs) in four economic sectors in Jordan; banking, service, industrial, and insurance. The findings further suggest that CRM performance mediates the effects of marketing orientation, IT investment and mass customization on customer network effect.
Online Operation Guidance of Computer System Used in Real-time Distance Education Environment
Authors: He Aiguo
Published: October 2011

Computer system is useful for improving real time and interactive distance education activities. Especially in the case that a large number of students participate in one distance lecture together and every student uses their own computer to share teaching materials or control discussions over the virtual classrooms. The problem is that within this type of education environment the students need to learn the operation of the support system which runs on their own computers. It is important that the system can support the students to learn the system. This paper proposes a support system for the online operation guidance of computer system in real time and the interactive distance education environment, RIDEE-OOG. The features of this system are: (1)a built-in function in the original distance education support system, (2) it is easily used by the teacher in real time distance lectures, and (3) it does not burden the students. This paper reports RIDEE-OOG’s basic design issues and implementation. The effectiveness of this proposal has been confirmed by experiments.
Formalized Informal Learning
Authors: Levinsen Karin Tweddell , Sørensen Birgitte Holm
Published: October 2011

Longitudinal research projects into social practices are both subject to and capture changes in society, meaning that research is conducted in a fluid context and that new research questions appear during the project’s life cycle. In the present study emerging new performances and uses of ICT are examined and the relation between network society competences, learners’ informal learning strategies and ICT in formalized school settings over time is studied. The authors find that aspects of ICT like multimodality, intuitive interaction design and instant feedback invites an informal bricoleur approach. When integrated into certain designs for teaching and learning, this allows for Formalized Informal Learning and support is found for network society competences building.
Reconciling Culture and Digital Literacy in the United Arab Emirates
Authors: Jewels Tony , Albon Rozz
Published: October 2011

For a number of years, there has been a concerted effort by the United Arab Emirates to take a prominent role in introducing e-business initiatives throughout the Gulf region, and this effort has translated into widespread access of internet technology for its own citizens. The country, in setting out to become a hub for foreign and domestic companies, realized that to achieve these goals it must provide appropriate e-business frameworks and infrastructures, which it has successfully done. Although, while not the only means of acquiring digital literacy, regular exposure to the internet does contribute to gaining these necessary 21st century skills. It might be expected that with such widespread access to the internet the population would contribute to becoming digitally competent. Using an ethnographic case study methodology, this paper investigates issues contributing to what might be a new form of digital divide; cultural issues which limit the acquisition of such digital skills.
Service Composition and Interaction in a SOC Middleware Supporting Separation of Concerns with Flows and Views
Authors: Chiu Dickson K.W. , Li Qing , Hung Patrick C. K. , Shan Zhe , Cheung S. C. , Yang Yu , Farwick Matthias
Published: October 2011

Service-Oriented Computing (SOC) has recently gained attention both within industry and academia; however, its characteristics cannot be easily solved using existing distributed computing technologies. Composition and interaction issues have been the central concerns, because SOC applications are composed of heterogeneous and distributed processes. To tackle the complexity of inter-organizational service integration, the authors propose a methodology to decompose complex process requirements into different types of flows, such as control, data, exception, and security. The subset of each type of flow necessary for the interactions with each partner can be determined in each service. These subsets collectively constitute a process view, based on which interactions can be systematically designed and managed for system integration through service composition. The authors illustrate how the proposed SOC middleware, named FlowEngine, implements and manages these flows with contemporary Web services technologies. An experimental case study in an e-governmental environment further demonstrates how the methodology can facilitate the design of complex inter-organizational processes.
Data Management and Data Administration
Authors: Aiken Peter , Gillenson Mark , Zhang Xihui , Rafner David
Published: October 2011

Data management (DM) has existed in conjunction with software development and the management of the full set of information technology (IT)-related components. However, it has been more than two decades since research into DM as it is practiced has been published. In this paper, the authors compare aspects of DM across a quarter-century timeline, obtaining data using comparable sets of subject matter experts. Using this information to observe the profession’s evolution, the authors have updated the understanding of DM as it is practiced, giving additional insight into DM, including its current responsibilities, reporting structures, and perceptions of success, among other factors. The analysis indicates that successfully investing in DM presents current, real challenges to IT and organizations. Although DM is evolving away from purely operational responsibilities toward higher-level responsibilities, perceptions of success have fallen. This paper details the quarter-century comparison of DM practices, analyzes them, and draws conclusions.
Research Review
Authors: Genero Marcela , Fernández-Saez Ana M. , Nelson H. James , Poels Geert , Piattini Mario
Published: October 2011

The quality of conceptual models directly affects the quality of the understanding of the application domain and the quality of the final software products that are ultimately based on them. This paper describes a systematic literature review (SLR) of peer-reviewed conference and journal articles published from 1997 through 2009 on the quality of conceptual models written in UML, undertaken to understand the state-of-the-art, and then identify any gaps in current research. Six digital libraries were searched, and 266 papers dealing specifically with the quality of UML models were identified and classified into five dimensions: type of model quality, type of evidence, type of research result, type of diagram, and research goal. The results indicate that most research focuses on semantic quality, with relatively little on semantic completeness; as such, this research examines new modeling methods vs. quality frameworks and metrics, as well as quality assurance vs. understanding quality issues. The results also indicate that more empirical research is needed to develop a theoretical understanding of conceptual model quality. The classification scheme developed in this paper can serve as a guide for both researchers and practitioners.
EBDMSS
Authors: Wang Fen , Lupton Natalie , Rawlinson David , Zhang Xingguo
Published: October 2011

This paper describes a Web-based intelligent decision making support system (DMSS) to deliver balanced scorecard (BSC) based modelling and analysis in support of strategic E-business management. This framework supports E-business managers during the strategy making process in a comprehensive, integrated, and continuous manner. The paper demonstrates how practitioners can use this system to deliver a wide range of embodied E-business strategy expertise in support of real-time decision making.
Automated Diagnosis Through Ontologies and Logical Descriptions
Authors: Rodríguez-González Alejandro , García-Crespo Ángel , Colomo-Palacios Ricardo , Gayo José Emilio Labra , Gómez-Berbís Juan Miguel , Alor-Hernández Giner
Published: October 2011

The combination of the burgeoning interest in efficient and reliable Health Systems and the advent of the Information Age represent both a challenge and an opportunity for new paradigms and cutting-edge technologies reaching a certain degree of maturity. Hence, the use of Semantic Technologies for Automated Diagnosis could leverage the potential of current solutions by providing inference-based knowledge and support on decision-making. This paper presents the ADONIS approach, which harnesses the use of ontologies and the underlying logical mechanisms to automate diagnosis and provide significant quality results in its evaluation on real-world data scenarios.
Using Social Network Analysis to Support Collective Decision-Making Process
Authors: Shum Simon Buckingham , Cannavacciuolo Lorella , De Liddo Anna , Iandoli Luca , Quinto Ivana
Published: October 2011

Current traditional technologies, while enabling effective knowledge sharing and accumulation, seem to be less supportive of knowledge organization, use and consensus formation, as well as of collaborative decision making process. To address these limitations and thus to better foster collective decision-making around complex and controversial problems, a new family of tools is emerging able to support more structured knowledge representations known as collaborative argument mapping tools. This paper argues that online collaborative argumentation has the rather unique feature of combining knowledge organization with social mapping and that such a combination can provide interesting insights on the social processes activated within a collaborative decision making initiative. In particular, the authors investigate how Social Network Analysis can be used for the analysis of the collective argumentation process to study the structural properties of the concepts and social networks emerging from users’ interaction. Using Cohere, an online platform designed to support collaborative argumentation, some empirical findings obtained from two use cases are presented.
Decision Support for Crisis Incidents
Authors: Power Daniel J. , Roth Roberta M. , Karsten Rex
Published: October 2011

Crisis incidents occur in both business and public domains. This article focuses on non-routine incidents and explores uses of technologies for supporting crisis management tasks. A Crisis Incident Spiral of Decision Support helps identify useful decision support and information technologies. Additionally, a Crisis Incident Process/Decision Support Matrix categorizes processes of crisis planning, response and management with decision support technologies. Ideally, the matrix helps organize and stimulate thinking about novel DSS applications. Not all crises are of equal magnitude and different computerized decision support is needed in different types of crisis incidents.
A Next Generation Technology Victim Location and Low Level Assessment Framework for Occupational Disasters Caused by Natural Hazards
Authors: Bessis Nik , Asimakopoulou Eleana , Norrington Peter , Thomas Suresh , Varaganti Ravi
Published: October 2011

Much work is underway within the broad next generation technologies community on issues associated with the development of services to support interdisciplinary domains. Disaster reduction and emergency management are domains in which utilization of advanced information and communication technologies (ICT) are critical for sustainable development and livelihoods. In this article, the authors aim to use an exemplar occupational disaster scenario in which advanced ICT utilization could present emergency managers with some collective computational intelligence in order to prioritize their decision making. To achieve this, they adapt concepts and practices from various next generation technologies including ad-hoc mobile networks, Web 2.0, wireless sensors, crowd sourcing and situated computing. On the implementation side, the authors developed a data mashup map, which highlights the criticality of victims at a location of interest. With this in mind, the article describes the service architecture in the form of data and process flows, its implementation and some simulation results.
A Meta-Design Model for Creative Distributed Collaborative Design
Authors: Zhu Li , Barricelli Barbara R. , Iacob Claudia
Published: October 2011

As collaboration in creating software systems becomes more complex and frequent among multidisciplinary teams, finding new strategies to support this collaboration becomes crucial. The challenge is to bridge the communication gaps among stakeholders with diverse cultural and professional backgrounds. Moreover, future uses and issues cannot be completely anticipated at design time, and it is necessary to develop open-ended software environments that can be evolved and tailored in opportunistic ways to tackle co-evolution of users and systems. A conceptual meta-design model, the Hive-Mind Space (HMS) model, has been proposed to support multidisciplinary design teams’ collaboration and foster their situated innovation. The model provides localized habitable environments for diverse stakeholders and tools for them to tailor the system, allowing the co-evolution of systems and practices. The authors explore the possibility of utilizing boundary objects within the HMS model to facilitate the communication amongst stakeholders as well as their participation in the creative distributed design process. Two concrete case studies, a factory automation and the Valchiavenna Portal, demonstrate the implementation of the HMS model and provide a possible solution to overcome the complex, evolving and emerging nature of the collaborative design.
Lightweight Editing of Distributed Ubiquitous Environments
Authors: Schirmer Maximilian , Gross Tom
Published: October 2011

Cooperative ubiquitous environments support user interaction and cooperative work by adapting to the prevalent situation of the present users. They are typically complex and have many environment components—interconnected devices and software modules—that realise new interaction techniques and facilitate collaboration. Despite this complexity, users need to be able to easily adapt their environments to the respective needs of the workgroups. In this paper, the authors present the CollaborationBus Aqua editor, a sophisticated, yet lightweight editor for configuring ubiquitous environments in groups. The CollaborationBus Aqua editor simplifies the configuration and offers advanced concepts for sharing and browsing configurations among users.
A Structured Content Analytic Assessment of Business Services Advertisements in the Cloud-Based Web Services Marketplace
Authors: Vannoy Sandra A.
Published: October 2011

The Internet and emerging technologies are facilitating the creation of new marketplaces designed to address a diverse range of business and societal needs. As companies are utilizing technology to manage their business processes, such a marketplace has emerged that is designed to provide third-party availability of business services delivered via Web services technology, particularly in the context of Cloud Computing. The Web Services Marketplace creates a common trading ground wherein buyers and sellers of business services can come together within a centralized marketplace. However, sellers of business services must provide a mechanism by which knowledge and awareness of the service is created for the buyer and a means by which sellers can effectively compete in the marketplace. The most widely accepted method for accomplishing these tasks is advertising. This study investigates the nascent phenomenon of the advertising of business services within the Web services marketplace, develops a theoretically grounded definition and characteristics of business services offered in the Web Services Marketplace, and develops a model for the effective advertisement of business services offered in the Web Services Marketplace.
An Empirical Evaluation of Similarity Coefficients for Binary Valued Data
Authors: Lewis David M. , Janeja Vandana P.
Published: October 2011

In this paper, the authors present an empirical evaluation of similarity coefficients for binary valued data. Similarity coefficients provide a means to measure the similarity or distance between two binary valued objects in a dataset such that the attributes qualifying each object have a 0-1 value. This is useful in several domains, such as similarity of feature vectors in sensor networks, document search, router network mining, and web mining. The authors survey 35 similarity coefficients used in various domains and present conclusions about the efficacy of the similarity computed in (1) labeled data to quantify the accuracy of the similarity coefficients, (2) varying density of the data to evaluate the effect of sparsity of the values, and (3) varying number of attributes to see the effect of high dimensionality in the data on the similarity computed.
Weak Ratio Rules
Authors: Jiang Baoqing , Hu Xiaohua , Wei Qing , Song Jingjing , Han Chong , Liang Meng
Published: October 2011

This paper examines the problem of weak ratio rules between nonnegative real-valued data in a transactional database. The weak ratio rule is a weaker form than Flip Korn’s ratio rule. After analyzing the mathematical model of weak ratio rules problem, the authors conclude that it is a generalization of Boolean association rules problem and every weak ratio rule is supported by a Boolean association rule. Following the properties of weak ratio rules, the authors propose an algorithm for mining an important subset of weak ratio rules and construct a weak ratio rule uncertainty reasoning method. An example is given to show how to apply weak ratio rules to reconstruct lost data, and forecast and detect outliers.
Decision Rule Extraction for Regularized Multiple Criteria Linear Programming Model
Authors: Sun DongHong , Liu Li , Zhang Peng , Zhu Xingquan , Shi Yong
Published: October 2011

Due to the flexibility of multi-criteria optimization, Regularized Multiple Criteria Linear Programming (RMCLP) has received attention in decision support systems. Numerous theoretical and empirical studies have demonstrated that RMCLP is effective and efficient in classifying large scale data sets. However, a possible limitation of RMCLP is poor interpretability and low comprehensibility for end users and experts. This deficiency has limited RMCLP’s use in many real-world applications where both accuracy and transparency of decision making are required, such as in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Credit Card Portfolio Management. In this paper, the authors present a clustering based rule extraction method to extract explainable and understandable rules from the RMCLP model. Experiments on both synthetic and real world data sets demonstrate that this rule extraction method can effectively extract explicit decision rules from RMCLP with only a small compromise in performance.
Incremental Algorithm for Discovering Frequent Subsequences in Multiple Data Streams
Authors: Al-Mulla Reem , Al Aghbari Zaher
Published: October 2011

In recent years, new applications emerged that produce data streams, such as stock data and sensor networks. Therefore, finding frequent subsequences, or clusters of subsequences, in data streams is an essential task in data mining. Data streams are continuous in nature, unbounded in size and have a high arrival rate. Due to these characteristics, traditional clustering algorithms fail to effectively find clusters in data streams. Thus, an efficient incremental algorithm is proposed to find frequent subsequences in multiple data streams. The described approach for finding frequent subsequences is by clustering subsequences of a data stream. The proposed algorithm uses a window model to buffer the continuous data streams. Further, it does not recompute the clustering results for the whole data stream at every window, but rather it builds on clustering results of previous windows. The proposed approach also employs a decay value for each discovered cluster to determine when to remove old clusters and retain recent ones. In addition, the proposed algorithm is efficient as it scans the data streams once and it is considered an Any-time algorithm since the frequent subsequences are ready at the end of every window.
HYBRIDJOIN for Near-Real-Time Data Warehousing
Authors: Naeem M. Asif , Dobbie Gillian , Weber Gerald
Published: October 2011

An important component of near-real-time data warehouses is the near-real-time integration layer. One important element in near-real-time data integration is the join of a continuous input data stream with a disk-based relation. For high-throughput streams, stream-based algorithms, such as Mesh Join (MESHJOIN), can be used. However, in MESHJOIN the performance of the algorithm is inversely proportional to the size of disk-based relation. The Index Nested Loop Join (INLJ) can be set up so that it processes stream input, and can deal with intermittences in the update stream but it has low throughput. This paper introduces a robust stream-based join algorithm called Hybrid Join (HYBRIDJOIN), which combines the two approaches. A theoretical result shows that HYBRIDJOIN is asymptotically as fast as the fastest of both algorithms. The authors present performance measurements of the implementation. In experiments using synthetic data based on a Zipfian distribution, HYBRIDJOIN performs significantly better for typical parameters of the Zipfian distribution, and in general performs in accordance with the theoretical model while the other two algorithms are unacceptably slow under different settings.
Preserving Privacy in Time Series Data Mining
Authors: Zhu Ye , Fu Yongjian , Fu Huirong
Published: October 2011

Time series data mining poses new challenges to privacy. Through extensive experiments, the authors find that existing privacy-preserving techniques such as aggregation and adding random noise are insufficient due to privacy attacks such as data flow separation attack. This paper also presents a general model for publishing and mining time series data and its privacy issues. Based on the model, a spectrum of privacy preserving methods is proposed. For each method, effects on classification accuracy, aggregation error, and privacy leak are studied. Experiments are conducted to evaluate the performance of the methods. The results show that the methods can effectively preserve privacy without losing much classification accuracy and within a specified limit of aggregation error.
A Study on the Role of Open Education Faculty, the Leader of Distance Learning in Turkey, in Higher Education and its Educational-Social Dynamics
Authors: Karatas Togan , Karatas Elif Kartal
Published: October 2011

The distance learning method has changed the conception of classical education and training. In Turkey the distance learning mission has been undertaken by Anadolu University Open Education Faculty (OEF). Therefore, the presence of OEF in higher education has been considered as the need and demand for higher education through “distance learning system”. However, studying the state’s OEF move “a demand” is not sufficient for an integral analysis. The economic and political structure in the period when OEF was integrated into the education system was critical. In this context, there are significant social dynamics underlying the foundation of OEF as well. In this study, the differences between the distance learning experience in Turkey and other countries are analyzed. Besides the role and share of the OEF in higher education in Turkey is discussed and the socioeconomic reasons of the foundation of the OEF, as specified above, are studied within the framework of the background of the state’s educational move. Finally, the positive and negative views of the individuals on the OEF are presented in the study and suggestions are made in this framework.
The Effect of Online Collaboration Environment on Prospective Teachers’ Attitude and the Evaluation of Their Opinions
Authors: Özsoy Nesrin , Ak Serife , Özen Deniz , Yilmaz Yusuf
Published: October 2011

This study examines the use of Moodle assisted online collaboration environment in a Special Teaching Techniques class. In this paper, the authors investigate the effect of Moodle assisted online collaboration on prospective secondary mathematics teachers’ attitudes toward the use of the Internet and evaluate the prospective teachers’ opinions regarding the process. The method of this study is one grouped pre-test post-test model. The 30 participants of secondary mathematics education without thesis program are the study group of this research. The special mathematics teaching techniques class supported lessons with the help of the Moodle environment for 9 weeks. After the process, no significant difference existed in the attitudes of the prospective mathematics teachers toward Internet usage. However, according to the interviews, the teachers said they found the process advantageous and favorable and want further implementations in other classes.
Interactive Self-Assessment Questions within a Virtual Environment
Authors: Evans Chris , Palacios Luis
Published: October 2011

This study considers the impact that different levels of interactivity have on the memory and understanding. In particular, it focuses in the use of interactive self-assessment questions (ISAQs) as a mechanism to help students learn better. An ISAQ is a computer-based multiple-choice or text-entry question that requires input from the learner, and provides feedback based on that input. This study extends some of Mayer’s (1990) multimedia design principles and considers their applicability in this context. The study also takes into account whether the incorporation of ISAQs has a measurable impact on learning as indicated by their performance in tests. The study considers three different types of ISAQs, designed to engage either memory or understanding, in an effort to determine which one is the most effective. It considers the effect of adding interactivity in the form of memory (retention) and understanding (transfer) self-assessment questions in a learning-object content management system used by undergraduate students at Brunel University in West London, UK. It was predicted that both types of ISAQ would increase the performance of learners in tests but with different degrees. The results indicate that transfer tests have a significant impact on retention.
E-Commerce Training with Virtual Commerce Simulation
Authors: Özpinar Alper , Yavuz Erdem
Published: October 2011

Over the last decade, commerce has experienced several major revolutions in size, structure, and competition. The importance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has become more important within this market structure. Electronic Commerce, commonly known as electronic marketing or e-commerce that consists of the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems, is more profitable and affordable than ever before. However, few SMEs have been taking advantage of e-commerce due to the lack of education and training in new technologies. This paper presents the case study of e-commerce training for SME’s with the aid of classical classroom training and “Virtual Commerce,” an online commerce game. In Virtual Commerce, every participant owns a company and a certain amount of digital money. They can act as a consumer that purchase from other participant sites and as a supplier for the others. Market conditions, discount rates, and requirements are set by the system operators. This methodology and training has applied to 30 SME’s from different sectors. The aim of the project is to lower the costs for the SME’s e-commerce training through e-learning and to improve participants’ abilities with online simulation.
Multi-Dimensional Factors Impacting on E-Government Adoption in Botswana, Mozambique and Malawi
Authors: Bwalya Kelvin Joseph , Du Plessis Tanya , Rensleigh Chris
Published: October 2011

With widespread adoption of ICT usage in public service delivery platforms (e-Government) throughout the world, African countries have vowed not to be left behind in this marathon. Robust e-Government adoption depends on the strategy employed to implement it. This paper presents the different initiatives that have been employed to promote e-Government development and development in Botswana, Mozambique and Malawi thereby showing the impact of such initiatives on overall e-Government agenda. Using extensive document and literature reviews, this paper further intends to investigate the status of e-Government implementation in these three countries and understand the multi-dimensional factors that dictate adoption and use of e-Government services. The paper has found that deliberate fiscal ICT policies, trust of e-applications, availability of ICT infrastructures such as appropriate mobile phone and base stations technology, usability of ICT platforms, and relevant ICT skills of ordinary citizens have a lasting positive impact on people’s intention to engage in e-Government.
Interoperability of XBRL Financial Statements in the U.S.
Authors: Zhu Hongwei , Wu Harris
Published: October 2011

In the wake of the global financial crisis, a pressing need exists for improving investor friendliness, especially the transparency and interoperability of the financial statements of public companies. eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) and XBRL taxonomies can accomplish this objective. In the U.S., the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has mandated that all public companies must file their financial statements using XBRL and the U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) taxonomy according to a phased-in schedule. Are the XBRL-based financial statements interoperable? This question is addressed by analyzing all of the annual XBRL financial statements filed to the SEC as of February 26, 2010. On average, 63% of data elements are not comparable between a pair of statements. The incomparability is partly caused by issues related to the GAAP taxonomy and misuse of the taxonomy by companies. The results have practical implications that will help improve the quality of financial data.
XBRL Taxonomy for Estimating the Effects of Greenhouse Gas Emissions on Corporate Financial Positions
Authors: Satoh Fumiko
Published: October 2011

Companies around the world are increasingly expected to report their greenhouse gas emissions. Currently there are various formulas to calculate emissions, and there are different reporting formats. Most of the reporting formats are paper-based or non-readable-by-machine formats. The emissions of companies will influence their accounting results due to ‘cap & trade’ systems or environmental taxes. Analyses of financial impacts are important for management decisions and corporate evaluations by interested third parties. A standardized reporting format for GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions is critical for reliable analysis of the impact of emissions on finances. This paper proposes an XBRL (eXtensible Business Markup Language) format as the foundation for standardizing the emissions reporting formats, and provides a preliminary XBRL taxonomy for emissions reporting. XBRL makes it possible to combine the financial reports and the emissions reports. Evaluations of the emissions impact are easier for both managers of the company and external parties, even if a large number of emissions reports must be analyzed.
The Effect of E-Commerce Websites’ Colors on Customer Trust
Authors: Pelet Jean Éric , Papadopoulou Panagiota
Published: October 2011

Establishing customer trust in an online vendor requires the provision of an environment in which customers can overcome their fear and reluctance about shopping transactions by forming trust and positive perceptions about the online vendor. This paper studies the impact of the colors of e-commerce websites, as an atmospheric variable of the interface, on customer trust. The effect of the colors of e-commerce websites on customer trust has only been indirectly examined in terms of website characteristics, such as website quality and usability, where color is viewed as a key interface attribute. Thus, the relationship between color itself and trust remains largely under investigated. To address this gap, this paper presents an exploratory qualitative study on how customers develop trust in an online vendor, as a result of the colors of the e-commerce website. The empirical findings provide theoretical and practical implications regarding the effect of web stores color on trust.
The Role of Litigation in First-Mover Performance in M-Business
Authors: Usero Belén , Ortiz María
Published: October 2011

In recent years, technological advances and regulatory change have profoundly modified many Internet-related supply and user services. In some cases, although entry barriers for new competitors have been lowered, established companies have been able to reap certain sources of first-mover advantages (FMAs) as a result of their early entry into the market. Here, non-market strategies can be used by rivals and other industry participants to neutralize FMAs. This paper has two main objectives: on the one hand, to reflect on FMAs in an Internet-enabled market environment, specifically, mobile service providers; on the other hand, to study the impact of litigation on first-mover performance in the Spanish mobile services industry between November 2000 and July 2006. The results obtained show that litigation processes initiated against first mover Movistar, do not, on average, have a negative impact on market performance. Similarly, we observed that when legal proceedings do have an impact on a company’s stock market valuation, the negative impact, on average, outweighs the positive. Last, we also observed that the impact of some legal disputes on the first mover’s share price varies depending on who initiates legal actions and on the nature of the lawsuit filed.
Overview of Emerging Web 2.0-Based Business Models and Web 2.0 Applications in Businesses
Authors: Lee In
Published: October 2011

Web 2.0 offers business organizations an array of new ways to interact with customers and partners. Web 2.0 is continuously evolving and offers new business models and support business processes, customer relationship management, and partner relationship management. This study reviews some of the major business applications of Web 2.0, and identifies Web 2.0-based business models. Six emerging Web 2.0-based business models were identified: (1) Broad Online Community, (2) Focused Online Community, (3) Social Shopping, (4) Content Intermediary, (5) Virtual World, and (6) Shared Web 2.0 Services. Along with these new Web 2.0-based business models, this study discusses how Web 2.0 applications are used to support activities of traditional businesses in the areas of customers, value networking, capability, and sustainability. Finally, the interaction dynamics between emerging web 2.0-based businesses, existing businesses, and the Web 2.0 tool and application development industry are analyzed from an ecological viewpoint.