bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Combining Synchronous and Asynchronous Distance Learning for Adult Training inMilitary Environments
Authors: Maglogiannis Ilias , Karpouzis Kostas
Published: May 2011

A major issue problem in military training is the territorial dispersion of military personnel in a wide geographical area. Typically in every military training course, officers are gathered in training camps and attend the lessons. The specific model obliges officers to leave their position, their units to lose their ser-vices and is extremely costly, as the learners have to move and reside near the training camp during their training. The application of distance learning techniques seems in a position to solve such problems. The School of Research and Informatics of University of the Aegean (UoA), for Officers of the Greek Army in cooperation with the academic community in Greece studied the possibility of training military per-sonnel via a computer assisted distance-learning system and then implemented a pilot programme in Op-erational Business Management. The present chapter describes the results of this study, the experience acquired during the implementation and an overall assessment of the pilot program.
The Role of Project Management in Technology Literacy
Authors: Brandon Daniel
Published: May 2011

This chapter discusses the modern discipline of “project management” and the role of this discipline in technology literacy. Professional organizations that foster this literacy area are discussed as well as the coverage of this field in the academic community.
ICT in Medical Education in Trinidad and Tobago
Authors: Lewis Marilyn
Published: May 2011

Information and communication technology (ICT) allows users to access information without taking geographic position into account. These users are also unconstrained by time, volume, or format of the information. ICT applications have enormous potential as a tool for aiding development in countries such as Trinidad and Tobago. Telemedicine, which can provide medical services to persons in isolated places, in emergencies, to the homebound, or the physically challenged, is but one example. Mansell and Wehn de Montalvo (1998) noted that “ICT applications facilitate telemedicine” (p. 85), and that “economic development can be fostered by tele-working and tele-services in some developing countries” (p. 83).
ICT, Education, and Regional Development in Swiss Peripheral Areas
Authors: Giorgi Chiara , Schürch Dieter
Published: May 2011

Since the end of 20th Century, the introduction of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has deeply influenced many aspects of everyday life, leading to the creation of new meanings for the traditional concepts of identity, culture, economy and, above all, communication (Mantovani, 1995; Perriault, 1989; Rullani, 2002). Trends about technological development show how, in the next years, the change will gradually concern all elementary daily actions, due to spreading of the electronic devices in the environment (OCDE, 2002; Saracco, 2003). If ICT will be ever more deeply-rooted in our reality, how fast will they consequently influence our socio-cultural identity? What sort of consequences do we have to imagine at economic level? What variety of scenarios can we draw about our future? And, above all, how will the concept of development change?
Examining Perceptual Barriers to Technology
Authors: Robinson LeAnne K.
Published: May 2011

This study examines educators’ perceived barriers to technology integration and the relationship to education reform. Educators and administrators from four elementary schools in Washington State were interviewed in their classrooms during a three-month period. The schools differed in size, location, and social economic status and reported variances in their Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) scores. While all of the schools reported similar barriers to the use of educational technology, distinct differences appeared between those schools that had done long-range planning during the reform process and those that had not. Specifically, staff in the two schools that coordinated curricula, performance standards, and a variety of assessment tools while simultaneously allowing teachers the flexibility to alter the curricula, were more likely to state personal responsibility for student learning, and they also were more likely to have overcome barriers to the use of technology.
Supporting Creativity in Software Development
Authors: Aurum Aybüke , Handzic Meliha , Gardiner Adian
Published: May 2011

This chapter examines the potential of the application of an individual creativity-enhancing technique (called SoloBrainstorming, or SBS) to improve the level of creativity of Information Technology (IT) students in performing information system (IS) requirements determination. Requirements determination, in the context of software development, involves gaining an understanding of the underlying issues related to a business problem, and also considering potential solutions. The chapter begins with a definition of creativity, followed by an overview of strategies suggested to enhance creativity. The SBS technique is then introduced, followed by a report of empirical results from its application. Finally, we offer advice for IT education in terms of incorporating creativity-enhancing techniques into the IT course curriculum.
Western Governors University and Competency-Based Education
Authors: Johnstone Douglas B.
Published: May 2011

Western Governors University (WGU) was formally established in 1996 by the governors of 19 western states. From its inception it was committed to delivering all of its programs through distance technologies and to graduating its students only on the basis of their demonstrated competency. It is today the only regionally accredited university in the United States to award its degrees exclusively on this basis.
Distance Education in Turkey
Authors: Askar Petek
Published: May 2011

Distance education is the educational process in which the instructor and learner are physically separated, and interaction between them is conducted through technology. Distance education is neither a recent nor a new phenomenon. It has a long tradition. However, the development and adoption of sophisticated communication technologies often creates that impression (McGorry, 2003).
Secure Soap-Based Web Services for Distance Education
Authors: Komathy K. , Vivekanandan P. , Ramachandran V.
Published: May 2011

The objective of this paper is to emphasize the need for an effective security model and its implementation for distributed applications. Online web-based education needs to share the resources dynamically, irrespective of the network and platform on which the services are deployed. A communication protocol called Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) provides a platform for interoperability, which holds the key for the reuse and integration needed for tomorrow’s sophisticated online learning. The requirements of a diverse population of learners can be met with a flexible system such as SOAP that provides education at anytime from anywhere. SOAP protocol does not include the security of the web transactions it carries and so it is the responsibility of any application to take care of the safety of its critical data being transmitted. This paper attempts to bring out a comprehensive security model based on cryptographic techniques for the distributed web services connected through a SOAP-RPC based communication network to safeguard sensitive information over the wire. The adaptive nature of this proposed security model, not only considers the protection of an entire web transaction, but also customizes the safety of any fragment of the transaction. This paper analyzes a possible and an alternate security mechanism to vendor-dependant technologies as applicable to the distributed services.
IT Training as a Strategy for Business Productivity in Developing Countries
Authors: Srivastava Shirish C. , Teo Thompson S.H.
Published: May 2011

Most existing studies on technology training address the operational issues of training process (e.g., training needs assessment, learning, delivery methods, etc.). The strategic concerns of IT training for enhancing business productivity largely are not addressed by the current literature. In this article, we explore the strategic concerns of IT training in hierarchical organizations, which are typically prevalent in developing countries. We synthesize various ideas in the literature on change management, training needs analysis, and IT adoption in order to evolve a strategic IT training framework for hierarchical organizations. The proposed framework recognizes the differences in IT training requirements for different levels of employees and suggests a differentiated training content for different segments of employees. The training framework provides an actionable and comprehensive tool that can be used for systematically planning IT training for enhancing productivity of organizations.
Implementing and Sustaining E-Learning in the Workplace
Authors: Berge Zane L. , Giles Lenora
Published: May 2011

New information and communication technology, specifically computer networked systems, create both a demand and an opportunity for businesses to approach training and knowledge management from new perspectives. These new training perspectives are driven by the need for businesses to provide the right training quickly and efficiently and to support knowledge systems that are current, accessible, and interactive. This article will discuss strategic planning in terms of the organizational elements and the e-learning program requirements that are necessary to build a framework in order to institutionalize and sustain e-learning as a core business process. The elements of the organizational framework include leadership, change management strategies, the technology infrastructure, and the organizational structure. The e-learning program requirements include instructional systems, roles and competencies of key staff people, and budgeting. The building blocks in a framework to sustain e-learning and knowledge building start with a foundation laid out by the strategic plan. The next two building blocks of the framework are the organizational support processes and the e-learning and knowledge management system
Increasing Web Accessibility and Usability in Higher Education
Authors: Frey Barbara A. , Molinero Ashli , Cohn Ellen
Published: May 2011

Just as wheelchair ramps and elevators provide access to wheelchair users, good Web design provides “electronic curb ramps” to the Internet for individuals with visual or other disabilities (Waddell, 1997). Research shows it is easier and less expensive to initially construct accessible Web pages rather than to retrofit the pages with corrections. Most of the technical requirements for accessible Web design can be met if Web designers adhere to the straightforward principles suggested by the World Wide Web Consortium’s Web Accessibility Initiative.
Technology-Mediated Progressive Inquiry in Higher Education
Authors: Muukkonen H.
Published: May 2011

In higher education, students are often asked to demonstrate critical thinking, academic literacy (Geisler, 1994), expert-like use of knowledge, and creation of knowledge artifacts without ever having been guided or scaffolded in learning the relevant skills. Too frequently, universities teach the content, and it is assumed that the metaskills of taking part in expert-like activities are somehow acquired along the way. Several researchers have proposed that in order to facilitate higher level processes of inquiry in education, cultures of education and schooling should more closely correspond to cultures of scientific inquiry (Carey & Smith, 1995; Perkins, Crismond, Simmons & Under, 1995). Points of correspondence include contributing to collaborative processes of asking questions, producing theories and explanations, and using information sources critically to deepen one’s own conceptual understanding. In this way, students can adopt scientific ways of thinking and practices of producing new knowledge, not just exploit and assimilate given knowledge.
Electronic Portfolios and Education
Authors: Hewett S. M.
Published: May 2011

The use of electronic portfolios for students as an assessment tool is explored in this chapter. Portfolios have expanded from use in the arts and humanities to the field of education. Teachers, administrators, and students understand the benefits of portfolio assessment. The age of technology has improved the use of portfolio assessment by allowing the portfolio information to be transmitted and shared worldwide. No longer are portfolios limited to the single assessment of one person. Based on the current literature on electronic portfolios, the simplicity of creating electronic portfolios, the efficiency of collecting and organizing massive amounts of work, the ease of worldwide transmission of portfolio material, and the promotion of candidate-centered (student-, teacher-, professor-centered) assessment through the use of e-portfolios, the author hopes to promote the electronic portfolio as a beneficial way for the student, teacher, and professor to highlight their achievements for assessment.
Preparing African Higher Education Faculty in Technology
Authors: Kinuthia V.
Published: May 2011

One of the most difficult challenges facing African higher education institutions (HEIs) is the successful resolution of the inherent tension that underlines efficient and effective utilization of existing resources on one hand and intensified demand for more and better education on the other (Okuni, 2001; Sawyerr, 2004). Although the potential of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to enhance participation in African HEIs has been widely recognized, its transformational capacity has barely been reached because of limited infrastructure, technological capacity, funding and sustainability of resources, and human resources and expertise. Poor infrastructure and weak regulatory policies and frameworks have resulted in inadequate access to affordable telephones, broadcasting, computers, and the Internet (Johnson, 2002).
Trends and Perspectives in Online Education
Authors: Rollier Bruce , Niederman Fred
Published: May 2011

Although the Internet has been in existence since 1969, it was not widely used for educational purposes in its first two decades. Few students had access to e-mail, and few educators could visualize its value as a teaching tool. Programs to serve students from remote locations, often called “distance education,” became popular; these were generally delivered synchronously through television broadcasts and did not involve the Internet. When the World Wide Web was created in the early 1990s (Berners-Lee, 1999) and the first browsers became available (Waldrop, 2001), the enormous potential for education began to be recognized. New global users came online at a fantastic pace, and the value of all this connectivity was increasing even more rapidly in accordance with Metcalf’s Law (Gilder, 1996). Nearly all students used e-mail regularly, and college professors were putting syllabi and course assignments online and creating Web pages with increasing sophistication. Soon entire programs were offered completely via the Internet, with students from all over the globe taking courses together.
Awareness Design in Online Collaborative Learning
Authors: Bonk Curtis J. , Lee Seung-hee , Lui Xiaojing , Su Bude
Published: May 2011

During the last several years, high expectations have surrounded e-learning initiatives in companies, universities, and schools. Presently, however, this optimism has often given way to disillusionment. In this paper, we will postulate three central theses to help counteract both this process of disillusionment and the problems that were encountered during the initial euphoric phase of e-learning. The theses provide a framework for realizing the potential of e-learning in a beneficial and meaningful way. Firstly, this new technology should be applied to learning only when its use reflects a new culture of learning. Secondly, e-learning has to be integrated into the existing training culture of an organization. Thirdly, the imple-mentation of e-learning should focus on the learner rather than on technology. To substantiate these theses, we will provide examples that illustrate sustainable implementations of e-learning.
A New Taxonomy for Evaluation Studies of Online Collaborative Learning
Authors: Treleaven Lesley
Published: May 2011

In this chapter, the literature of online collaborative learning (OCL) is extensively reviewed for contributions to evaluation. This review presents a new taxonomy for evaluation studies of OCL, identifying studies of students’ experiences, studies of instructional methods and sociocultural studies. Studies that focus on evaluating students’ experiences engage approaches from phenomenology and ethnography to explore students’ perceptions of collaborative learning. Instructional method studies attend to evaluation of the tools, techniques and outcomes. Sociocultural studies emphasize the socially constructed nature of the teaching and learning processes and are concerned, therefore, with evaluation in its social context. The sociocultural studies fall broadly into three clusters: pedagogical studies, linguistic studies and cross-cultural studies. The analysis highlights the need for theory-driven empirical evaluation of OCL. Accordingly, three theoretical frameworks for OCL evaluation are discussed. Emphasis is placed on a Communicative Model of Collaborative Learning, developed from Habermas’ Theory of Communicative Action, for its contribution to evaluating what takes place within the social context of students’ communicative practices that is productive of collaborative learning in an online environment.
Policy Frameworks for Secure Electronic Business
Authors: Mitrakas Andreas
Published: May 2011

Terms conveyed by means of policy in electronic business have become a common way to express permissions and limitations in online transactions. Doctrine and standards have contributed to determining policy frameworks and making them mandatory in certain areas such as electronic signatures. A typical example of limitations conveyed through policy in electronic signatures includes certificate policies that Certification Authorities (CAs) typically make available to subscribers and relying parties. Trade partners might also use policies to convey limitations to the way electronic signatures are accepted within specific business frameworks. Examples of transaction constraints might include limitations in roles undertaken to carry out an action in a given context, which can be introduced by means of attribute certificates. Relying parties might also use signature policies to denote the conditions for the validation and verification of electronic signatures they accept. Furthermore, signature policies might contain additional transaction-specific limitations in validating an electronic signature addressed to end users. Large-scale transactions that involve the processing of electronic signatures in a mass scale within diverse applications rely on policies to convey signature-related information and limitations in a transaction. As legally binding statements, policies are used to convey trust in electronic business. Extending further the use of policy in transaction environments can enhance security, legal safety, and transparency in a transaction. Additional improvements are required, however, in order to render applicable terms that are conveyed through policy and enforce them unambiguously in a transaction. The remainder of this article discusses common concepts of policies and certain applications thereof.
Administering the Semantic Web
Authors: Thuraisingham Bhavani , Tsybulnik Natasha , Alam Ashraful
Published: May 2011

The Semantic Web is essentially a collection of technologies to support machine-understandable Web pages as well as Information Interoperability. There has been much progress made on the Semantic Web, including standards for eXtensible Markup Language, Resource Description Framework, and Ontologies. However, administration policies and techniques for enforcing them have received little attention. These policies include policies for security, privacy, data quality, integrity, trust, and timely information processing. This article discusses administration policies for the Semantic Web as well as techniques for enforcing them. In particular, we will discuss an approach for ensuring confidentiality, privacy, and trust for the Semantic Web. We will also discuss the inference and privacy problems within the context of administration policies.
Ethical Challenges for Information Systems Professionals
Authors: Hoffman Gerald M.
Published: May 2011

This chapter examines the special ethical responsibilities of information systems professionals based on the fundamentals of ethics as commonly understood in the Western world. We start first with principles from religious texts and the codes of ethics included in them. We then examine codes of conduct promulgated by nonreligious institutions. We conclude that ethics is personal, situational and changes over time. Thus, it impossible to formulate codes of conduct that apply to all real life situations. We identify the special ethical responsibilities that information systems professionals face in their roles as custodians of information technology, as custodians of the information systems that use this technology and as custodians of the data and information that surround information systems. The situations we face from day-to-day as we deal with the ethical aspects of information systems will always require us to decide between ethical imperatives that are in conflict with one another.
Check-Off Password System (COPS)
Authors: Warkentin Merrill , Davis Kimberly , Bekkering Ernst
Published: May 2011

The objective of information system security management is information assurance: to maintain confidentiality (privacy), integrity, and availability of information resources for authorized organizational end users. User authentication is a foundation procedure in the overall pursuit of these objectives, and password procedures have historically been the primary method of user authentication. There is an inverse relationship between the level of security provided by a password procedure and ease of recall for users. The longer the password and the more variability in its characters, the higher the level of security provided by such a password (because they are more difficult to violate or “crack”). However, such passwords tend to be more difficult for end users to remember, particularly when the password does not spell a recognizable word (or includes non-alphanumeric characters such as punctuation marks or other symbols). Conversely, when end users select their own more easily remembered passwords, the passwords may also be easier to crack. This study presents a new approach to entering passwords, which combines a high level of security with easy recall for the end user. The Check-Off Password System (COPS) is more secure than self-selected passwords as well as high-protection, assigned-password procedures. The present study investigates trade-offs between using COPS and three traditional password procedures, and provides a preliminary assessment of the efficacy of COPS. The study offers evidence that COPS is a valid alternative to current user authentication systems. End users perceive all password procedures tested to have equal usefulness, but the perceived ease of use of COPS passwords equals that of an established high-security password, and the new interface does not negatively affect user performance compared with that high-security password. Further research will be conducted to investigate long-term benefits.
Digital Morality and Ethics
Authors: Danielson Peter
Published: May 2011

While “digital morality” and “digital ethics” may sound strange, the technologies that drive digital government and democracy operate as well in these less formal areas of social regulation. Information technologies can affect morality and ethics at several levels: facilitating compliance with moral rules, altering the formation of norms and rules, and aiding the ethical assessment of rules. This article sketches an account of ethical decision-making which lets us explore some threats and opportunities of the emerging technologies of digital morality and ethics.
Protecting One's Privacy
Authors: Spiekermann Sarah
Published: May 2011

Using privacy and security technology becomes increasingly important in many application areas, for companies as well as for consumers. However, the market for Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs) is still small, especially in the private consumer segment. Due to the nature of the technology per se, little is known and can be learned about the views and motivation of those who carefully protect their transactions on the Net. Are they a niche group? Or do they hold views and have traits that promise a wider-spread adoption of PETs in the long run? This paper gives an insight into the traits and views of 5037 customers of a popular German anonymity service called JAP (Java Anon Proxy). Due its high service reputation and unchanged questions posted on the service’s website for over 2 ½ years insights could be gained on PET users’ demographic and psychographic traits. Moreover, 482 free-text comments could be analyzed to provide a unique insight into the thoughts, feelings and motivations of PET users.
Digital Rights Management for E-Content and E-Technologies
Authors: Wang Yingge , Cheng Qiang , Cheng Jie , Huang Thomas S.
Published: May 2011

Digital rights management (DRM) provides digital content creators and owners with a range of controls over how their information resources may be used. It is a fairly young discipline yet is becoming increasingly important as digital content can be copied and distributed so easily that the piracy of them is growing critical. In addition, with the rapid adoption of the Internet as an e-content delivery channel, complex DRM systems are required to protect the digital content besides the distribution channel. Risking their intellectual property (IP) rights, many major e-content providers are relying on DRM to not only protect the packaged digital products, but also to promote the e-content market over the Internet. As a multidisciplinary technology, DRM has advanced innovative research and development in various fields such as biometrics, watermarking, security protocols, smart-card technology, forgery detection, and secure collaboration and data sharing. Commercially, DRM provides the e-content market with a significant impetus to grow, where secure e-content distribution is essential. Despite its short history, many DRM tools have already been developed by IBM, Sony, Real Networks, Intertrust, and Thomson. These products need be compatible with existing standards for contents, consumer electronics, and often times, different DRM systems. Standardization efforts in industry are ongoing to ensure the interoperability of DRM products and services. Another important impetus is the legal and regulatory framework. Technical measures provide an effective hurdle for limiting abuse, but legal actions against violators can prevent organized piracy from infringing. With a properly integrated legal, technological, and commercial framework, we expect that the DRM products and services will greatly foster the growth of the e-content market that is eagerly awaited by content providers and consumers. Without proper DRM technologies and laws, the creative industries that create digital products such as DVDs, business software, music recordings, theatrical films, and digital TV programs will suffer from piracy and would be reluctant to support Web-based commerce. The socioeconomic impact of DRM is huge. In this article, DRM techniques using cryptography, data hiding, and biometrics are discussed. Also covered are the standardization issues, emerging trends, and challenges in DRM-related technologies, commerce, and legislative regulations.
Evaluation of Computer Adaptive Testing Systems
Authors: Economides Anastasios A. , Roupas Chrysostomos
Published: May 2011

Many educational organizations are trying to reduce the cost of the exams, the workload and delay of scoring, and the human errors. Also, they try to increase the accuracy and efficiency of the testing. Recently, most examination organizations use computer adaptive testing (CAT) as the method for large scale testing. This article investigates the current state of CAT systems and identifies their strengths and weaknesses. It evaluates 10 CAT systems using an evaluation framework of 15 domains categorized into three dimensions: educational, technical, and economical. The results show that the majority of the CAT systems give priority to security, reliability, and maintainability. However, they do not offer to the examinee any advanced support and functionalities. Also, the feedback to the examinee is limited and the presentation of the items is poor. Recommendations are made in order to enhance the overall quality of a CAT system. For example, alternative multimedia items should be available so that the examinee would choose a preferred media type. Feedback could be improved by providing more information to the examinee or providing information anytime the examinee wished.
Taxonomies of User-Authentication Methods in Computer Networks
Authors: Pulkkis Göran , Grahn Kaj J. , Karlsson Jonny
Published: May 2011

This chapter outlines classifications of user-authentication methods based on five different taxonomies. The outlined taxonomies are: user identification-based taxonomy, authentication methodology-based taxonomy, authentication quality-based taxonomy, authentication complexity-based taxonomy, and authentication scope-based taxonomy. Administration of user authentication is briefly discussed. A technical survey of different user-authentication methods and elements of a user-authentication method is also given. User-identification methods such as passwords, tokens, and biometric methods are described. Proposed and implemented user-authentication protocols to overcome security weaknesses of the basic password authentication are surveyed. New user-authentication protocols such as PANA and SOLA are also included. Protocols and software for user registration as well as centralized user authentication are presented and compared.
Modelling Security and Trust with Secure Tropos
Authors: Giorgini P. , Mouratidis H. , Zannone N.
Published: May 2011

Although the concepts of security and trust play an important issue in the development of information systems, they have been mainly neglected by software engineering methodologies. In this chapter, we present an approach that considers security and trust throughout the software development process. Our approach integrates two prominent software engineering approaches, one that provides a security-oriented process and one that provides a trust management process. The result is the de-velopment of a methodology that considers security and trust issues as part of its development process. Such integration represents an advance over the current state of the art by providing the ?rst effort to consider security and trust issues under a single software engineering methodology. A case study from the health domain is employed to illustrate our approach.
Chinese Wall Security Policy Model
Authors: Lin Tsau Young
Published: May 2011

In 1989, Brewer and Nash (BN) proposed the Chinese Wall Security Policy (CWSP). Intuitively speaking, they want to build a family of impenetrable walls, called Chinese walls, among the datasets of competing companies so that no datasets that are in conflict can be stored in the same side of Chinese walls. Technically, the idea is: (X, Y) Ï CIR (= the binary relation of conflict of interests) if and only if (X, Y) Ï CIF (= the binary relation of information flows). Unfortunately, BN’s original proof has a major flaw (Lin, 1989). In this chapter, we have established and generalized the idea using an emerging technology, granular computing.
IAIS
Authors: Bajaj Akhilesh , Ram Sudha
Published: May 2011

Recently, there has been increased interest in information sharing among government agencies, with a view toward improving security, reducing costs and offering better quality service to users of government services. In this work, the authors complement earlier work by proposing a comprehensive methodology called IAIS (Inter Agency Information Sharing) that uses XML to facilitate the definition of information that needs to be shared, the storage of such information, the access to this information and finally the maintenance of shared information. The authors compare IAIS with two alternate methodologies to share information among agencies, and analyze the pros and cons of each. They also show how IAIS leverages the recently proposed XML (extensible markup language) standard to allow for inclusion of various groups’ viewpoints when determining what information should be shared and how it should be structured.
Deploying Honeynets
Authors: Dodge Jr. Ronald C. , Ragsdale Daniel
Published: May 2011

When competent computer network system administrators are faced with malicious activity on their networks, they think of the problem in terms of four distinct but related activities: detection, prevention, mitigation, and response. The greatest challenge of these four phases is detection. Typically, detection comes in the form of intrusion detection system (IDS) alerts and automated application and log monitors. These however are fraught with mischaracterized alerts that leave administrators looking for a needle in a haystack. One of the most promising emerging security tools is the honeynet Honeynets are designed to divert the malicious user or attacker to non-production systems that are carefully monitored and configured to allow detailed analysis of the attackers’ actions and also protection of other network resources. Honeynets can be configured in many different ways and implemented from a full DMZ to a carefully placed file that is monitored for access.
Peer-to-Peer Security Issues in Nomadic Networks
Authors: Graham Ross Lee
Published: May 2011

The security concerns for a peer-to-peer implementation of nomadic networks are described with special emphasis on taxonomy and on their identification. The underpinning reference question is how to provide a wide scope of secure networking functions in a completely decentralized and unmanaged network (an ad hoc mobile nomadic network). Though many of the identified security concerns apply to any overlay network, the complete selection of concerns is based on their possible importance in an implementation such as the AmIGo Project collaboration for a ubiquitous nomadic network.
Intrusion Detection Using Modern Techniques
Authors: Bhaskar Tarum , Kamath B. Narasimha
Published: May 2011

Intrusion detection system (IDS) is now becoming an integral part of the network security infrastructure. Data mining tools are widely used for developing an IDS. However, this requires an ability to find the mapping from the input space to the output space with the help of available data. Rough sets and neural networks are the best known data mining tools to analyze data and help solve this problem. This chapter proposes a novel hybrid method to integrate rough set theory, genetic algorithm (GA), and artificial neural network. Our method consists of two stages: First, rough set theory is applied to find the reduced dataset. Second, the results are used as inputs for the neural network, where a GA-based learning approach is used to train the intrusion detection system. The method is characterized not only by using attribute reduction as a pre-processing technique of an artificial neural network but also by an improved learning algorithm. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated on the KDD cup data.
Emerging Mobile Technology and Supply Chain Integration
Authors: Schilhavy Richard , Salam A. F.
Published: May 2011

This chapter explores how a mobile tracking technology is able to further streamline the integrated supply chain. Previous technologies which have attempted to integrate suppliers, manufactures, distributors and retailers have lacked the flexibility and efficiency necessary to justify the prohibiting costs. Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology however enables various organizations along the supply chain to share information regarding specific products and easily remotely manage internal inventory levels. These applications are only a sample of what RFID is able to accomplish for the integrated supply chain, and this chapter seeks to explore those applications.
A Case Study of Effectively Implemented Information Systems Security Policy
Authors: Griffy-Brown Charla , Chun Mark W.S.
Published: May 2011

This chapter demonstrates the importance of a well-formulated and articulated information security policy by integrating best practices with a case analysis of a major Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer and the security lessons it learned in the implementation of its Web-based portal. The relationship between information security and business needs and the conflict that often results between the two are highlighted. The case also explores the complexities of balancing business expedience with long-term strategic technical architecture. The chapter provides insight and offers practical tools for effectively developing and implementing information security policies and procedures in contemporary business practice.
A Service-Based Approach for RBAC and MAC Security
Authors: Phillips Jr. Charles E. , Demurjian Steven A. , Doan Thuong , Bessette Keith
Published: May 2011

Middleware security encompasses a wide range of potential considerations, ranging from the ability to utilize the security capabilities of middleware solutions (for example, CORBA, .NET, J2EE, DCE, and so forth) directly out-of-the-box in support of a distributed application to leveraging the middleware itself (paradigm) to realize complex and intricate security solutions (for example, discretionary access control, role-based access control, mandatory access control, and so forth). The objective in this chapter is to address the latter consideration: examining the attainment of advanced security capabilities using the middleware paradigm, namely, role-based access control (RBAC) and mandatory access control (MAC). The resulting security provides a robust collection of services that is versatile and flexible and easily integrates into a distributed application comprised of interacting legacy, COTS, GOTS, databases, servers, clients, and so forth.
Better Securing an Infrastructure for Telework
Authors: Butcher-Powell Loreen Marie
Published: May 2011

The XYZ Hardware Company, Inc. infrastructure features high volumes of sensitive and confi- dential corporate data relevant to internal and external transactions. From 1999 to the middle of 2004, XYZ has utilized the Operationally Critical Threat, Asset, and Vulnerability EvaluationSM (OCTAVESM) Model version 1e to protect its network. The OCTAVESM Model has proven to be helpful for XYZ by identifying over 198 potential security breaches. However, in 2004, when XYZ began to enhance its existing network infrastructure to include telework, 210 security breaches occurred. These breaches cost the company over $350,000 in lost profits between July and December of 2004. To safeguard their network, upper management wanted to invest the money in a series of generalized training including working ethics, virus scanning, and backing up files. However, instead, XYZ’S chief information officer (CIO) invested over $100,000 in research in order to modify their existing protection strategy, to better safeguard their new telework infrastructure by identifying its specific strengths and weakness in an effort to create more concentrated and specialized training at the root of the problem.
Seamlessly Securing Web Services by a Signing Proxy
Authors: Jeckle Mario , Melzer Ingo
Published: May 2011

Web services offer a way for very different systems to collaborate independent of the programming language used or the involved operating systems. Their basis is the XML-based SOAP protocol, which can be used over any protocol that is able to transport a byte stream. Due to the fact that Web services do not depend on any operating system and there is no burden of a underlying paradigm, they are ideal for the integration of even completely inhomogeneous systems. However, SOAP does not (and does not have to) deal with security issues, which is nevertheless important for the involved systems. This article describes an add-on for existing Internet proxies to achieve user and developer transparent security features for Web services. This approach allows corporate firewalls to handle authentication. A first step is to add corporate signatures to all outgoing SOAP messages to enable a corporate trust relationship. A second improvement is to use proxy authentication as defined in RFC 2616 and RFC 2617 to add personal signatures assuming that the proxy has access to some key management system.
Data and Application Secutiry for Distributed Application Hosting Services
Authors: Lin Ping , Candan Selcuk
Published: May 2011

The cost of creating and maintaining software and hardware infrastructures for delivering web services led to a notable trend toward the use of application service providers (ASPs) and, more generally, distributed application hosting services (DAHSs). The emergence of enabling technologies, such as J2EE and .NET, has contributed to the acceleration of this trend. DAHSs rent out Internet presence, computation power, and data storage space to clients with infrastructural needs. Consequently, they are cheap and effective outsourcing solutions for achieving increased service availability and scalability in the face of surges in demand. However, ASPs and DAHSs operate within the complex, multi-tiered, and open Internet environment and, hence, they introduce many security challenges that have to be addressed effectively to convince customers that outsourcing their IT needs is a viable alternative to deploying complex infrastructures locally. In this chapter, we provide an overview of typical security challenges faced by DAHSs, introduce dominant security mechanisms available at the different tiers in the information management hierarchy, and discuss open challenges
Security System for Distributed Business Applications
Authors: Schmidt Thomas , Wippel Gerald , Glanzer Klaus , Furst Karl
Published: May 2011

Internet-focused application components of cooperating enterprises need comprehensive security technologies that go far beyond simple Internet authentication and authorization mechanisms. Basically, authentication is the process of determining the identity of a user or system, whereas authorization is the process of specifying who is allowed to access which resources. XML-based Web services is an upcoming and very promising technology. It enables the communication among Internet application components regardless of their implementation language. A major drawback of existing Web service approaches is the missing security conventions. Therefore, we concentrated all our effort on developing a holistic extended enterprise authentication and authorization system to facilitate agile and secure enterprise-spanning business processes with Web service-enabled application components.
We Cannot Eat Data
Authors: Paterson Barbara
Published: May 2011

Computer ethicists foresee that as information and communication technology (ICT) increasingly pervades more and more aspects of life, ethical issues increasingly will be computer-related. This view is underpinned by the assumption that progress is linear and inevitable. In accordance with this assumption, ICT is promoted as an essential component of development. This notion ignores the cultural origin of computing. Computer technology is a product of the Western worldview, and consequently, the computer revolution is experienced differently by people in different parts of the world. The computer revolution not only threatens to marginalize non-Western cultural traditions, but the Western way of life also has caused large-scale environmental damage. This chapter argues that computer ethics has to critically analyze the links between computing and its effects on cultural diversity and the natural environment and proposes that the Earth Charter can function as a framework for such holistic research.
Privacy and Property in the Global Datasphere
Authors: Burk Dan L.
Published: May 2011

Adoption of information technologies is dependent upon the availability of information to be channeled via such technologies. Although many cultural approaches to information control have been identified, two increasingly ubiquitous regimes are battling for dominance in the international arena. These may be termed the utilitarian and deontological approaches and may be identified roughly with the United States and the continental European tradition. Each approach has been aggressively promulgated by its respective proponent via international treaty regimes in the areas of privacy and intellectual property, to the virtual exclusion of other alternatives. Absent a drastic shift in international treaty dynamics, these dominant conceptions likely will curtail the development of alternate approaches that might otherwise emerge from local culture and tradition.
The Impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act on Information Security
Authors: Mishra Sushma , Dhillon Gurpreet
Published: May 2011

This chapter discusses the impact of Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act on corporate information security governance practices. The resultant regulatory intervention forces a company to revisit its internal control structures and assess the nature and scope of its compliance with the law. This chapter reviews the organizational implications emerging from the mandatory compliance with SOX. Industry internal control assessment frameworks, such as COSO and COBIT, are reviewed and their usefulness in ensuring compliance evaluated. Other emergent issues related to IT governance and the general integrity of the enterprise are identified and discussed.
The Social Contract Revised
Authors: Skovira Robert Joseph
Published: May 2011

This chapter introduces the social contract as a basis for personal and corporate responsibility and obligation. I briefly discuss three perspectives on the nature of the social contract: the Hobbesean, the Lockean, and the Rousseauean. I discuss the idea that information technology and the information society are in the process of revising the social contract. It sees the Internet as a key transformer of the sense of the social contract. It ends with a discussion of three revisionary frames: virtual communitarianism, radical individualism, and social capitalism.
Repeated Use of E-Gov Web Sites
Authors: Chai Sangmi , Herath T. C. , Park I. , Rao H. R.
Published: May 2011

The potential success of e-government depends on its citizens adopting online services and the security of those services. However, despite the development and diffusion of a variety of government services on the Internet, little research has been carried out regarding: (1) the impact of perceived confidentiality of a user’s information on his or her intention to use the service; (2) the relationship between intention towards repeated use and satisfaction derived from service performance of government; and (3) the moderating effect of demographic characteristics (gender and race difference) on the relationship between a user’s satisfaction, confidentiality and repeated use intention. This paper develops an integrated framework of intentions towards repeated use with a level of confidential information shared by a user as one factor and e-government satisfaction derived from service performance as another factor. The results suggest that a user’s intention to continue using government Web sites is related to the user’s satisfaction, perceived performance of the Web site and the requirement for confidential information. This research also confirms that gender difference does moderate the relationship between users’ satisfaction levels and repeated use intention. Race difference has an effect on the strength of the relationship between the user’s perceived confidentiality and repeated use intention.