bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cybermedicine, Telemedicine, and Data Protection in the United States
Authors: Mika Karin
Published: May 2011

This chapter provides an overview of law relating to online and Internet medical practice, data protection, and consumer information privacy. It provides a comprehensive overview of federal (HIPAA) and state privacy laws, concluding that both those legal resources leave gaps in consumer protection and provide no real penalties for violating the laws. The authors educate the readers to the legal and data protection problems consumers will encounter in purchasing medical and health services on the Internet. Furthermore, the authors recount some actual case studies and follow those with expert advice for those Internet consumers who wish to be not merely informed, but also safe. The authors not only educate the readers to the lack of protection afforded to them but also advocate throughout the chapter that the United States must enact more federal protection for the consumer in order to deter privacy violations and punish criminal, negligent, and wilful violations of personal consumer privacy.
A Comparison of How Canada, England, and Denmark are Managing their Electronic Health Record Journeys
Authors: Protti Denis
Published: May 2011

Healthcare is one of the world’s most information-intensive industries. Every day, volumes of data are produced which, properly used, can improve clinical practice and outcomes, guide planning and resource allocation, and enhance accountability. Electronic health information is fundamental to better healthcare. There will be no significant increase in healthcare quality and efficiency without high quality, user-friendly health information compiled and delivered electronically. The growing use of information and communication technology (ICT) in the healthcare sector has introduced numerous opportunities and benefits to patients, providers and governments alike. Patients are being provided with tools to help them manage and monitor their healthcare, providers are able to seamlessly access up-to-date patient information, and governments are showing transparency to the public by reporting health data and information on their websites. There is mounting evidence that national, regional, and organizational e-health strategies are being developed and implemented worldwide. This chapter provides an overview of three different national e-health strategies, and identifies the lessons learned from the e-health strategies of Canada, England and Denmark.
Electronic Oral Health Records in Practice and Research
Authors: Chattopadhyay Amit , Coelho de Souza Tiago , Arevalo Oscar
Published: May 2011

Electronic Oral Health Records (EOHRs) contains all personal health information belonging to an individual and is entered and accessed electronically by healthcare providers over the person’s lifetime. This chapter presents a systematic review about EOHRs, describes the current status of availability of EOHR systems, benefits and barriers for implementation and EOHR usage in clinical, public health and research settings to pave the way for their rapid deployment. The chapter draws the scenario of how a fully integrated EOHR system would work and discuss the requirements for computer resources, connectivity issues, data security, legal framework within which a fully integrated EOHR may be accessed for real time data retrieval in service of good patient care practices. This chapter also describes the need for defining required criteria to establish research and routine clinical EOHR and how their differences may impact utilization and research opportunities to establish practice-based research networks.
Patient-Centered E-Health Design
Authors: Mauro Alejandro
Published: May 2011

This chapter introduces a series of techniques and tools useful for developing patient-centered e-health. As information technology (IT) is revolutionizing health care delivery, a wide range of personal health information management tools have become available to the patients. The variety and quality of information delivered by these tools will determine how useful consumers find them. Equally important is how the information is delivered. To create quality e-health, designers must attend to the needs and wants of users by engaging them in the design and testing processes. User-centered design (UCD) is a formal approach to ensuring that new products address the needs, wants, skills, and preferences of the user throughout the tool’s development. UCD is a design and evaluation process which pays special attention to the intended users, what they will do with the product, where they will use it, and what features they consider essential. This iterative approach ensures that users’ needs and wants are met and ultimately increases the likelihood users will accept the final product. This chapter focuses on UCD methods and techniques, giving examples of how to use them and when.
Interpreting Health and Wellness Information
Authors: Mamykina Lena , Mynatt Elizabeth
Published: May 2011

In the last decade, novel sensing technologies enabled development of applications that help individuals with chronic diseases monitor their health and activities. These applications can generate large volumes of data that need to be processed and analyzed. At the same time, many of these applications are designed for non-professional use by individuals of advanced age and low educational level. These users may find the data collected by the applications challenging and overwhelming, rather than helpful, and may require additional assistance in interpreting it. In this chapter, we discuss two different approaches to designing computing applications that not only collect the relevant health and wellness data but also find creative ways to engage individuals in the analysis and assist with interpretation of the data. These approaches include visualization of data using simple real world imagery and metaphors, and social scaffolding mechanisms that help novices learn by observing and imitating experts. We present example applications that utilize both of these approaches and discuss their relative strengths and limitations.
Alerts in Healthcare Applications
Authors: Chiu Dickson K.W. , Kwok Benny W.C. , Wong Ray L.S. , Kafeza Marina , Cheung S.C. , Kafeza Eleanna , Hung Patrick C.K.
Published: May 2011

Urgent requests and critical messages in healthcare applications must be delivered and handled timely instead of in an ad-hoc manner for most current systems. Therefore, we extend a sophisticated alert management system (AMS) to handle process and data integration in healthcare chain workflow management under urgency constraints. Alerts are associated with healthcare tasks to capture the parameters for their routing and urgency requirements in order to match them with the specialties of healthcare personnel or the functionalities of Web Services providers. Monitoring is essential to ensure the timeliness and availability of services as well as to ensure the identification of exceptions. We outline our implementation framework with Web Services for the communications among healthcare service providers together with mobile devices for medical professionals. We demonstrate the applicability of our approach with a prototype medical house-call system (MHCS) and evaluate our approach with medical professionals and various stakeholders.
Capturing Data in Healthcare Using Patient-Centered Mobile Technology
Authors: Pajak Sarah , De Souza Lorraine H. , Gore Justin , Williams Christopher G.
Published: May 2011

This chapter outlines and discusses how an increasingly popular approach of incorporating patient perspectives and experience in research can be used to inform the development of user-centered technology in healthcare, with particular emphasis on hand-held mobile devices. The chapter draws on a program of research and technological developments between an acute hospital trust and the Schools of Health Sciences and Social Care (SHSSC) and Information Systems, Computing and Mathematics (SISCM) at Brunel University in West London. The authors critically review existing literature and discuss the development of a new prototype mobile device for use by healthcare professionals in capturing patient information at the front end of hospital care.
Organizational Factors and Technological Barriers are Determinants for the Intention to Use Wireless Handheld Technology in Healthcare Environment
Authors: Gururajan Raj
Published: May 2011

Traditional technology adoption models identified ‘ease of use’ and ‘usefulness’ as the dominating factors for technology adoption. However, recent studies in healthcare have established that these two factors are not always reliable on their own and other factors may influence technology adoption. To establish the identity of these factors, a mixed method approach was used and data were collected through interviews and a survey. The survey instrument was specifically developed for this study so that it is relevant to the Indian healthcare setting. Authors identified clinical management and technological barriers as the dominant factors influencing the wireless handheld technology adoption in the Indian healthcare environment. The results of this study showed that new technology models will benefit by considering the clinical influences of wireless handheld technology, in addition to known factors. The scope of this study is restricted to wireless handheld devices such as PDAs, smart telephones, and handheld PCs.
Computerised Decision Support for Women’s Health Informatics
Authors: Parry David
Published: May 2011

Decision analysis techniques attempt to utilize mathematical data about outcomes and preferences to help people make optimal decisions. The increasing uses of computerized records and powerful computers have made these techniques much more accessible and usable. The partnership between women and clinicians can be enhanced by sharing information, knowledge, and the decision making process in this way. Other techniques for assisting with decision making, such as learning from data via neural networks or other machine learning approaches may offer increased value. Rules learned from such approaches may allow the development of expert systems that actually take over some of the decision making role, although such systems are not yet in widespread use.
Informatics Application Challenges for Managed Care Organizations
Authors: Kudyba Stephan , Perry Theodore L.
Published: May 2011

Organizations across industry sectors continue to develop data resources and utilize analytic techniques to enhance efficiencies in their operations. One example of this is evident as Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) enhance their care and disease management initiatives through the utilization of population segmentation techniques. This article proposes a classification system for population segmentation techniques for care and disease management and provides an evaluation process for each. The three proposed operational areas for Managed Care Organizations are: 1) Risk Status: early identification of high-risk patients, 2) Treatment Status: compliance with treatment protocols, and 3) Health Status: severity of illness or episodes of care groupings, all of which require particular analytic methodologies to leverage data resources. By applying this classification system an MCO can improve its ability to clarify internal goals for population segmentation, more accurately apply existing analytic methodologies, and produce more appropriate solutions.
Social Impacts of Mobile Virtual Communities on Healthcare
Authors: D’Andrea Alessia , Ferri Fernando , Grifoni Patrizia
Published: May 2011

Mobile technologies, such as PDAs, pocket PCs and cell phones, are transforming interpersonal communications, making them independent from a fixed location and then “situated nowhere”. The widespread diffusion of mobile technologies combined with the popularity of virtual communities is giving rise to the development of mobile virtual community. Mobile virtual community has the great potential to serve information needs. A relevant application’s domain for mobile virtual communities is healthcare, where the need for information is deeply felt and has a longterm nature. Mobile virtual healthcare communities encourage information exchange between patients, between physicians, and between patients and physicians. The exchange of information can be used for detecting patients and physicians that have common objectives in order to establish interaction among them.
Investing Trust Relationships in a Healthcare Network
Authors: Kethers Stefanie , Gans Guenter , Schmitz Dominik , Sier David
Published: May 2011

Public hospitals currently face an ever increasing demand on their resources, and there are many attempts at streamlining processes and patient flows. However, in many cases, optimizing processes is not enough, as ‘soft’ factors such as the relationships between hospital wards influence how efficiently the resources needed to treat patients are utilized. These factors are often ignored when attempting to improve patient flows. In this chapter, the authors describe a case study investigating the relationships between an acute stroke ward and a specialist stroke rehabilitation ward of a large metropolitan health service. The motivation for this study was the hospital management’s interest in improving communication and collaboration across wards as a means to optimize hospital processes, and thus, patient care. To assess the relationships between the two wards, the authors examined the patient handover process that links the wards’ activities and applied the Trust-Confidence-Distrust (TCD) framework of Gans et al. (2003), which was developed to model trust relationships in social networks, to examine the trust relationships between the wards.
Exploring Information Security Risks in Healthcare Systems
Authors: Ray Amy , Newell Sue
Published: May 2011

The volume and severity of information security breaches encountered continues to increase as organizations, including healthcare organizations, struggle to identify more effective security policies and procedures. Publicly available guidelines such as GASSP or ISO17799 that are designed to facilitate development of effective security policies and procedures have been criticized for, among other things, inadequate attention to differences in organizational security needs (Baskerville & Siponen, 2002), and for inadequate attention to the social dimensions of security problems (Dhillon & Backhouse, 2001). In this contribution, we argue that the diversity of organizational security needs, as well as the need to recognize the social dimensions to security problems, will continue to grow as companies move away from employing unique, proprietary approaches to software and network development, in favor of adopting standards-based plug-and-play applications, and related standards-based methods and technologies designed to enable interorganizational as well as local systems interoperability.
Quality and Reliability Aspects in Telehealth Systems
Authors: Kastania Anastasia N. , Zimeras Stelios
Published: May 2011

In this chapter the authors investigate telehealth quality and reliability assurance. Various models and standards can be applied to assess software quality and reliability in telehealth platforms and there are also general principles for total quality management which can be adopted. There are also models to assess the quality of the system and the quality of care which are also presented. The approach based on user satisfaction, considers the expectation measurement as information which is not inextricably linked to quality. A different approach is the one based on expectations as well as on disconfirmation of user expectations. The underlying structural model is based on a modified SERVQUAL approach that consists of five dimensions (Tangibles, Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance and Empathy) which have been consistently ranked by customers to be most important for service quality across all industries. The model can thus be used for evaluation of healthcare services and for planning improvements on services. All these aspects for telehealth systems design are discussed to formulate epistemic criteria for evaluation purposes.
Electronic Medical Records, HIPAA, and Patient Privacy
Authors: Li Jingquan , Shaw Michael J.
Published: May 2011

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

Despite decades of research, healthcare information systems have been characterised by cost over-runs, poor specifications and lack of user uptake. A new approach is required which provides organisations with a reason to invest in this type of software. W Edwards Deming argues that quality is not an entity but derives from using feedback, iteratively to seek improvement to processes, in order to increase productivity and to make better use of resources. The authors propose that supporting this form of quality assurance (QA) using information systems (IS) has the potential to deliver a return on investment. An object-oriented analysis, where healthcare is viewed as the delivery of interdependent processes to which Deming’s form of QA is applied, results in a class model of data types that has some useful characteristics. It is able to store data about medical and nonmedical events; to save descriptions of procedures and to represent the QA process itself. With software based on the model, organisations will have a memory of previous attempts at making improvements as well as data about feedback from patients and staff to drive future change. A critical research in information systems (CRIS) analysis of this model proposes a number of criticisms deriving from theories about rationality; concepts of technology; politics and hidden agendas, as well as the social consequences of technology. The view that QA is a standardised, ongoing conversation about the important characteristics of a process pre-empts many of these counter arguments. The CRIS critique also highlights the need to ensure that development is in harmony with the needs of the many stakeholders in healthcare IS. These concepts lead to new directions in healthcare IS research. The class model needs to be tested against clinical and non-clinical use-cases for its viability not only as support for QA but also as an electronic patient record. A standard terminology is required for processes and for how objects from the model should be used to represent them. The model predicts that user interfaces will have to collect more detailed data than hitherto. Also use of the software should be tested in controlled trials to demonstrate whether the required improvements in quality not only benefit the patient but also the organisations managing their care.
Multicriteria Models for E-Health Service Evaluation
Authors: Buyukozkan Gulcin , Bilsel Ufuk
Published: May 2011

The use of advanced telecommunication and information technologies has been investigated for several decades as an effort in improving healthcare services. Over the last ten years, in particular, efforts have been centered on telemedicine, which has become an increasingly attractive field of research in healthcare service delivery. This chapter discusses multiple criteria evaluation of electronic healthcare (e-health) services, a branch of telemedicine, with both users’ and practitioners’ (service provider) perspectives. The proposed approach integrates several analytical decision making techniques and can be helpful in increasing the flexibility and efficiency of e-health service planning. Several different discrete alternative methods, namely AHP, Borda Count, LINMAP, and PROMETHEE are utilized to prioritize different e-health services and to evaluate preferences of both users and practitioners.
Pediatric Telepsychiatry as Innovation in Healthcare Delivery
Authors: Boydell Katherine M. , Volpe Tiziana , Pignatiello Antonio
Published: May 2011

Although a great deal has been written about the potential for telemedicine to increase access to care, applications in paediatrics are sparse. This chapter details how one paediatric telepsychiatry program has facilitated the creation of integrated healthcare solutions in patient psychiatric care for children and youth in remote and rural communities. It demonstrates how the telepsychiatry model of healthcare service delivery has improved access, enhanced capacity, and promoted knowledge exchange in rural communities. A case study is used to highlight theoretical and empirical research on the value of televideo information technology in mental healthcare and its impact on the healthcare stakeholders who utilize this technology. An overview of the clinical, education, and evaluation components of the program is outlined, with a focus on knowledge translation and exchange as the underpinning foundation to the success of the program.
Transforming Continuing Healthcare Education with E-Learning 2.0
Authors: Sadasivam Rajani S. , Crenshaw Katie M. , Schoen Michael J. , Datla Raju V.
Published: May 2011

The e-learning 2.0 transformation of continuing education of healthcare professionals (CE/CME) will be characterized by a fundamental shift from the delivery of static information online to a seamless, digital operation in which all users have the ability to access, create, and share knowledge in a multidimensional, instantaneous, collaborative, and interactive manner. This transformation will be disruptive, blurring existing boundaries between CE/CME professionals, content experts, and student learners, and modifying the traditional structured learning process to a more informal one. While the opportunities are unlimited, the transformation will present not only technology challenges but also social and educational challenges. Recent experiences with similar disruptive technologies show that a meaningful transformation can be achieved only if the application of technology is accompanied by strategic operational changes. This chapter offers a conceptual framework to guide CE/CME professionals interested in transforming their operations with new e-learning 2.0 technologies. Employing several usage scenarios, a new e-learning 2.0-based model of CE/CME operation is introduced. We also present several examples of approaches adopted by our academic group to address the various challenges discussed in this chapter.
The Application of Social Networking as a Marketing Platform to Young Adults
Authors: Beneke Justin Henley
Published: May 2011

Social networking is often touted as being a prominent application responsible for driving the adoption of residential broadband services. The growth of social networks is phenomenal – in many cases more than doubling in size on an annual basis. This study considers how social networking may be utilized for commercial purposes to spread word-of-mouth communication. The chapter therefore considers the characteristics of young adult social network users, how they behave and interact with other users on such platforms, as well as the manner in which marketers can make the most of this platform without experiencing a consumer backlash. The research suggests that if a symbiotic relationship does indeed exist between broadband proliferation and the adoption of social networking, both have a vested interest in each other’s continued success.
Evolution in Broadband Technology and Future of Wireless Broadband
Authors: Nandi Banani , Subramaniam Ganesh
Published: May 2011

In the last two decades, the availability of worldwide high speed Internet networks together with progressive deployment and adoption of broadband connections to Internet has significantly enhanced the ability to transmit video, audio and voice through the same channel with high performance. In addition to that, since the beginning of this millennium, there has been a rapid growth in diffusion of wireless broadband. In this respect, mobile broadband is gaining popularity lately in both developing as well as developed countries. The main reason for this growth in wireless broadband lies in its ability to serve remote areas at relatively lower cost than landline and its potential to transmit information seamlessly from anywhere in the world. The purpose of this chapter is to examine this changing diffusion behavior of fixed versus mobile broadband technology and highlight the future possible path of adoption for these technologies by users around the world.
Web Services for Bioinformatics
Authors: Shah Abad , Singhera Zafar , Ahsan Syed
Published: May 2011

A large number of tools are available to Bioinformaticians to analyze the rapidly growing databanks of molecular biological data. These databanks represent complex biological systems and in order to understand them, it is often necessary to link many disparate data sets and use more than one analysis tool. However, owing to the lack of standards for data sets and the interfaces of the tools this is not a trivial task. Over the past few years, web services has become a popular way of sharing the data and tools distributed over the web and used by different researchers all over the globe. In this chapter we discuss the interoperability problem of databanks and tools and how web services are being used to try to solve it. These efforts have resulted in the evolution of web services tools from HTML/web form-based tools not suited for automatic workflow generation to advances in Semantic Web and Ontologies that have revolutionized the role of semantics. Also included is a discussion on two extensively used Web Service systems for Life Sciences, myGrid and Semantic-MOBY. In the end we discuss how the state-of-art research and technological development in Semantic Web, Ontology and Database Management can help address these issues.
Information Technology Outsourcing Cost and Policy in Developing Countries
Authors: Shittu Abdul Jaleel Kehinde , Adedokun-Shittu Nafisat Afolake
Published: May 2011

Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO) practices in developing countries have come with numerous problems ranging from organisational setup, absence of mutual trust between IT suppliers and clients, inconsistent policies and lack of deployable ITO model and several others. These and other problems are well pronounced among the developing countries who are tapping from the global outsourcing resource market. Malaysia being one of the leading ITO destinations is not an exception in these problems. Therefore, in this chapter, we took an in-depth look into various challenges facing Malaysia’s ITO industry especially from suppliers’ perspectives. We looked at problems facing ITO practices in the light of government policy and ITO model in this chapter. We also used qualitative research method with special reference to interpretive and exploratory approach for the analysis of relevant issues in the chapter.
APECS
Authors: McLaren I.P.L.
Published: May 2011

In this chapter the author will first give an overview of the ideas behind Adaptively Parameterised Error Correcting Learning (APECS) as introduced in McLaren (1993). It will take a somewhat historical perspective, tracing the development of this approach from its origins as a solution to the sequential learning problem identified by McCloskey and Cohen (1989) in the context of paired associate learning, to its more recent application as a model of human contingency learning.
Modeling Visual Saliency in Images and Videos
Authors: Hu Yiqun , Gopalakrishnan Viswanath , Rajan Deepu
Published: May 2011

Visual saliency, which distinguishes “interesting” visual content from others, plays an important role in multimedia and computer vision applications. This chapter starts with a brief overview of visual saliency as well as the literature of some popular models to detect salient regions. We describe two methods to model visual saliency – one in images and the other in videos. Specifically, we introduce a graph-based method to model salient region in images in a bottom-up manner. For videos, we introduce a factorization based method to model attention object in motion, which utilizes the top-down knowledge of cameraman for model saliency. Finally, future directions for visual saliency modeling and additional reading materials are highlighted to familiarize readers with the research on visual saliency modeling for multimedia applications.
Challenges of Emerging Technologies in Transportation Systems
Authors: Guerrero-Ibáñez Antonio , Damián-Reyes Pedro
Published: May 2011

Nowadays, the number of vehicles and the need for transportation is growing quickly. There are more vehicles on the roads driving more kilometers. The road networks in major cities are not sufficient to cater for the current traffic demands due to the size of roads available. As a result, the modern society is facing more traffic jams, higher fuel bills and the increase of CO2 emissions. It is imperative to improve the safety and efficiency of transportation. Developing a sustainable transportation system requires a better use of existing infrastructure and the application of emerging technologies. This chapter gives the readers a global vision of the traffic and transportation issues and how emerging technologies such as wireless, sensing, cellular and computing technologies contribute to the solution of transportation problems in all cities of the world.
IP Mobility Support in Hybrid Wired-Mobile Ad Hoc Networks
Authors: Villasenor-Gonzalez Luis Armando
Published: May 2011

Mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) make use of a distributed routing mechanism to support connectivity between nodes within the ad hoc network. A wireless ad hoc network can be deployed for multiple applications, such as extending the coverage of wire based networks, where interworking is achieved via wireless access routers. However, the implementation of a hybrid (i.e. wired and wireless) network is not straightforward and several issues must be solved for these types of deployments to become a reality. One concern is related to terminal mobility while preserving ongoing communication sessions over IP networks; as a mobile node moves from one subnetwork to a new subnetwork, a mobility protocol (e.g. Mobile IP) is required for the mobile node to preserve a communication session without having to reestablish the session with a correspondent node. This issue is more complex in a hybrid network where the wireless domain is composed of a mobile ad hoc network (MANET). For instance, MANET routing protocols usually do not account for the connectivity toward a wired network, such as the Internet, via a single or multiple access routers. As a result, there are multiple routing issues that must be taken into consideration to support interconnectivity between nodes located in a hybrid network topology. The main contribution of this work is to present a review on the state of the art of IP mobility support for hybrid wired–MANETs and discuss some of the relevant issues in this area. In addition, two case studies are presented where macromobility (e.g. Mobile IP) and micromobility (Mobile-IP – HAWAII) protocols are implemented to support IP mobility on hybrid networks.
History, Evolution, and Impact of Digital Libraries
Authors: Candela Leonardo , Castelli Donatella , Pagano Pasquale
Published: May 2011

Digital Libraries have achieved a fundamental role in our knowledge society. By making the wealth of material contained in libraries, museum, archives and any knowledge repository worldwide available they are giving citizens in every place of the world the opportunity to appreciate their global cultural heritage and use it for study, work or leisure. They are revolutionising the whole knowledge management lifecycle. In this chapter, the history characterizing these “knowledge enabling technologies” is described. The history starts from the early attempts toward systems supporting knowledge discovery and reaches the current age in which a plethora of different realizations of digital library systems coexist. The evolutionary process conducting to the current, multi-instanced and still evolving status of affairs as well as the motivations governing it are identified and presented. The main initiatives and milestones producing the nowadays instances of these knowledge enabling systems are mentioned. Finally, the impact these systems had and are having on various aspects of our society is discussed.
Music Libraries
Authors: Margounakis Dimitrios , Politis Dionysios
Published: May 2011

Nowadays, there is a great increase in music distribution over the Internet. This phenomenon is common in many countries and therefore involves many issues such as: ways of distribution, music format, organizing music and copyright issues. The revolution in music prototypes (especially the MP3 music format) urged many people to turn to the Internet for free and easy-to-find music. Music files can be downloaded easily from the Internet anywhere in the world and be burned into a CD or DVD or transferred to a friend via usb-sticks. Music is also widely available as streams in Internet trough various services such as MySpace, YouTube and Spotify. Internet also is full of questions what is legal and what is not, because exchange of files is hard to supervise and the laws between countries also differ. All the legal services are constructed around a digital music library, containing millions of songs. Vast music libraries are easily accessed through Internet from users and serve as the ultimate way to find and listen to the music they desire. In this chapter, some representative popular music libraries are presented. Moreover, the interaction between the user and a music repository or a music store (a web site that sells music over the Internet) is another subject presented in this chapter. In section 1, terms and definitions related to digital music libraries are explained. Section 2 presents some popular music libraries, while section 3 presents some popular Internet music stores. Finally, a special version of a digital music library in streaming format (Internet Radio) is presented in section 4.
E-Books in Digital Libraries
Authors: Landoni Monica
Published: May 2011

This chapter will introduce a definition and an analysis of user needs when reading electronic books. The way users interact with e-books is explored in a section on e-reading with an overview of different types of readings and their implications on design. Finally the description of an evaluation initiative aimed at studying e-book usability in context, the Active Reading Track in INEX is provided. Specific attention will be paid to the role e-books play in academia and the studies that look into visibility, popularity and accessibility of electronic titles with students and scholars.
The Issue of ‘Orphan’ Works in Digital Libraries
Authors: Papadopoulou Maria-Daphne
Published: May 2011

A new category of works creates a number of problems in the world of digital libraries, and not only, and that is, the ‘orphan’ works. Those works of an unknown -or untraceable- author create an uncertainty to the perspective users, who, although they need to use the works and they are willing to obtain a license, they are unable to do so, since they do not know from where to ask it. This chapter will analyze the ‘orphan’ works issue of the digital libraries’ perspective. It will explore not only the controversial term of ‘orphan’ works, but most importantly the controversial situation that the ‘orphan’ works has created. Part one will explain the notion of ‘orphan’ works. Part two will explore why, how and when they entered into the modern copyright world. Part three will look through the problems that originate from ‘orphan’ works: economic, cultural, technical problems and the multi-territorial issue. Next, after analyzing the relevant legal framework for ‘orphan’ works in relation to digital libraries in part four, part five will look into the legal solutions that exist or are proposed to confront this problem. Finally, in the last part (part six) it will be analyzed how the ‘orphan’ works are treated at the European level.
The Protection of Digital Libraries as Databases
Authors: Synodinou Tatiani-Eleni
Published: May 2011

This chapter explains the application of EU Directive 96/9 to digital libraries. Digital libraries correspond largely to the broad definition of databases which is established by the Directive 96/9. The application of the database copyright and sui generis regime to digital libraries provides a safe and solid legal protection to digital libraries which fulfill the conditions of originality and investment set by the Directive. The chapter examines in detail the conditions for protection, the subject matter, the content and the extent of the Directive’s 96/9 two-tier legal protection regime as it is applied to digital libraries. While the protection of the structure of a digital library by copyright law has not provoked any reactions both in Europe and in U.S.A., the possibility of protection of the digital library’s contents by the quasi proprietary database sui generis right has been since the adoption of the Directive 96/9 a highly controversial issue. The defendants of the Internet dogma of free and open flow of information consider the sui generis right as an inappropriate and unbalanced legal mechanism which promotes the monopolization of the digital knowledge to the detriment of the public interest. The chapter also demonstrates the conflict between the proprietary interests of the digital library’s maker and the interests of the lawful user of a digital library. Furthermore, a critical overview of the regime of exceptions to database sui generis right is provided. In order to justify and balance the attribution of the proprietary sui generis right, the author argues that the regime of database sui generis exceptions should be enriched and strengthened, especially when the purposes of education, research and information are served by the exceptions.
Personal Data Protection in Digital Libraries
Authors: Iglezakis Ioannis
Published: May 2011

Digital libraries provide many advantages compared with traditional libraries, such as wide and round the clock availability of resources, lack of physical boundaries, etc. However, the disclosure of personally identifiable information in the course of processing activities may lead to an invasion of privacy of library users, without their being aware of it. In fact, privacy threats are increased in the digital environment, in which digital libraries operate. The right to privacy in the library is “the right to open inquiry without having the subject of one’s interest examined or scrutinized by others” (ALA, 2005). Users of digital libraries have similar privacy expectations when making use of their services. The issues concerning the privacy of digital libraries’ patrons are thus addressed in comparative perspective, in this chapter. In more particular, the legal regulations with regard to data protection in digital libraries in the EU and the US are presented. The comparative analysis of the two legal orders shows differences and similarities, but also highlights loopholes of protection.
Introduction to this Volume
Authors: Daniel Ben K.
Published: May 2011

The growth of virtual communities and their continuous impact on social, economic and technological structures of societies has attracted a great deal of interest among researchers, practitioners, system designers and policy makers. All interested in analysing and understanding how these communities form, develop, nurture social interaction, influence various technological design and implementation, enhance information and knowledge sharing, support business and act as catalytic environments to support human learning. This Chapter provides a general overview of virtual communities and introduces the reader to the various themes covered in this volume as well as the geographical distribution and institutional affiliations of contributors to the volume.
Participatory Design Experiment
Authors: Pata Kai
Published: May 2011

This chapter describes a participatory design experiment that is influenced by the swarming activity. The chapter introduces a new approach to writing narratives in virtual learning communities of the social Web 2.0 and contrasts it with traditional storytelling approaches. In the participatory design experiment we developed a hybrid virtual storytelling playground that augments the real world – a hybrid ecosystem of narratives. It consists of social software tools freely available in the Web, such as microblogs, social repositories of images, and blogs, the real locations in the city, and the storytellers who leave their digital contents. The results of writing narratives as a swarm in a hybrid ecosystem are presented. In our experiment, instead of bending old novel formats into the hybrid ecosystem, the evidences of new evolving narrative formats of this hybrid space were explored.
Strategic Information Systems Planning in United Arab Emirates Organizations
Authors: Albadri Fayez , Abdallah Salam
Published: May 2011

This exploratory research focuses on SISP approaches in UAE organizations and their potential impacts on IS&T investment. The study uses a survey and simple model to characterize, classify and examine SISP approaches in 17 UAE organizations. Four typical cases deemed representative of the main SISP categories were examined further to determine specific strengths and weaknesses, and to appraise the suitability and effectiveness of each category considering the organization culture and business environment. The study concludes with emphasis on the importance of SISP to UAE organizations’ ability to achieve their business goals. It also suggests that the proposed SISP classification model can be used by UAE and Arab organizations to identify any inadequacies in their existing SISP approaches, and understand the cultural shift needed to adjust these approaches to guide effective investment in IS&T that is aligned with business strategy and focused on business objectives and goals.
Key Determinants of Successful Implementation of IT in International Commercial Bank
Authors: Hatem Tarek , Metwally Elham
Published: May 2011

This research reports the results of a single case study that covers a successful project of IT implementation in International Commercial Bank (ICB) from the Egyptian banking industry. The case highlights leadership actions, as well as other related factors regarding effectiveness of IT implementation that are linked to strategic competitiveness and value creation. Multiple sources of data were used. Primary sources include in-depth interviews in semi-structured format with industry authorities, IT and retail banking managers, and the bank’s executives in general; whereas, secondary sources of data include annual reports, website information, and financial statements. Findings show that successful implementation was influenced by the interplay of several management practices, which eventually, had an impact on strategic competitiveness through their impact on some in-house attributes; notably, a dominating constructive cultural pattern leading to higher levels of organizational commitment, and the bank’s value chain.
Integrating Information Technology into the Corporate Culture and Processes
Authors: Ahmad Norita , Alhaj Alanoud
Published: May 2011

Most of the Information Systems (IS) literature discusses the importance of managerial problems in the field such as how to evaluate Information Technology (IT) needed for effective intra-organizational communication and how to measure the value of changes influenced by IT. This paper uses a literature review detailing the importance of understanding the components of IS and how they affect one another and on the importance of the selection of IT by managers. This paper builds a case study on a large company in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with approximately 35,000 employees world-wide represented in approximately 100 countries. We analyze the reasons behind the failure of integrating IT with the culture, people, and processes in a Market Research Department of this company. Finally, the case study discusses the consequences of failing to understand IS and provides recommendations for a better integration of IT within the department.
Factors of Culture Affecting ICT Adoption in an Arab Society
Authors: Al-Kinani Ali
Published: May 2011

The world is witnessing vast and rapid developments in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), which can affect all aspects of our daily lives. This chapter aims to investigate cultural factors that influence the Saudis adoption of ICT. A questionnaire was used to gain insight related to business language, communication language, culture and ICT R&D, support of the Saudi Arabia government of production development, consistency of Internet with local culture, openness of the culture of the country to foreign influence, the impact of employees’ culture on their work, and the protection of Saudi culture.
E-Learning Acceptance and Challenges in the Arab Region
Authors: Matar Nasim , Hunaiti Ziad , Halling Shahid , Matar Šadi
Published: May 2011

This chapter discusses the status and quality of e-learning in Arab Universities located in the Middle East. The first objective of the study was to provide an analytical overview of the use of e-learning and its quality in these universities located in the Middle East region. Another objective is to fill the gap in literature in this particular topic regarding the Middle East region. Also draw into different solutions and recommendations in order to make a successful match that will result in a better adoption and serving of the e-learning technology. The study was based on two different approaches that include a survey to navigate the official web sites of universities in the region plus a questionnaire to fetch for the current stand of e-learning quality in the region. The results of each approach have been analyzed, and the outcomes and recommendations have been presented which can be used for future adoption and other related studies.
Social Software and E-Governments in the Arab World
Authors: Abdallah Salam , Khalil Ashraf
Published: May 2011

The emergence of Web 2.0 social software is changing the social life of people and beginning to infiltrate and impact governments in the Western World. There, the emergence of a new government paradigm is challenging the traditional governments and governance. A shift is at this point required for governments to stay in line with their citizens, who are becoming more computer savvy and being raised and fed on the internet and mobile devises. We identify for specific areas in which Web 2.0 applications are being used innovatively in Western governments. The paper then turns its focus to the Arab World and puts forward thoughts on the potential, opportunities and challenges for both citizens and governments for embracing this new wave of web-based services. We conclude that Web 2.0 applications have great potential to leverage the mission of Arab e-governments through connecting and collaborating with businesses, educational institutions, private and non-government initiatives, and of course individual citizens, many of whom are already beginning to embrace social media.