bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Relationship between the Arab Spring Revolutions and Entrepreneurial Inhibitors, Enablers, and Activity in North Africa
Authors: Shin Henry
Published: May 2015

The purpose of this chapter is to detail the impact of the Arab Spring Revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya in regards to entrepreneurship. This study tests the validity of three hypotheses, which were whether the Arab Spring revolutions had a positive relationship with entrepreneurial inhibitors, a negative relationship with entrepreneurial enablers, and a negative relationship with entrepreneurial activity in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya. This quantitative study utilized data from before, during, and after the Arab Spring Revolutions to evaluate the validity of the hypotheses. Findings determined partial validity in regard to all three relationships; more research is necessary to determine if these hypotheses can be fully validated. With only a short time frame since the end of these revolutions, future data of these factors are required to determine whether it truly was the Arab Spring Revolutions that had an impact on entrepreneurship in these countries.
The Impact of Corruption on Entrepreneurship
Authors: Avnimelech Gil , Zelekha Yaron
Published: May 2015

There is a consensus that corruption may result in high societal costs. A growing body of research reveals the negative effects of corruption on a variety of economic indicators. This chapter presents a literature review on the impact of corruption on entrepreneurship. It allows us to suggest that one of the transition channels through which corruption has impacted growth is entrepreneurship. The main channels in which corruption impacts entrepreneurship is through reduced incentives for entrepreneurial activity and reduced trust within the system. The authors present evidence that the negative impact of an incremental increase in the level of corruption on entrepreneurship is more harmful in developed countries than in developing countries. Thus, they stress the need for more research in this area with the aim of establishing appropriate frameworks for the fight of corruption in both developing and developed countries and suggest significant gains from anti-corruption efforts, especially in developed countries.
Creativity with Institutionalization
Authors: Kemppainen-Koivisto Riitta , Siltavirta Katta , Rusko Rauno , Särkkä Seppo
Published: May 2015

Typically, creativity and institutionalism are not closely related. However, when talking about cooperatives (or co-ops), the authors introduce, in addition to the paradoxical tension between institutionalism and creativity, perspectives and cases in which institutionalism is a channel for creative production. People often associate cooperatives with institutional characteristics because of their collective manifestations in history, such as agricultural or financial cooperatives. Furthermore, co-ops typically consist of several entrepreneurs working under the same “umbrella” organization. However, according to the outcomes of the chapter, cooperatives could also be a source of, or at least a channel for, contemporary creativity. In this chapter, the authors introduce Finnish cases in which the planners and designers of creative industries have established cooperatives successfully. These cooperatives have already created sustainable paths in their business activities to provide younger and youthful entrepreneurs with business possibilities and at least modest profitability. They also consider neo-cooperatives and light cooperatives, which provide services to cooperatives and allow them to focus on their main area of creating and innovating new business. Creativity cannot flow if there is no time or will to secure large investments and financing, or if the marketing and brand-building are problematic and the decision-making slow. Cooperatives could provide a suitable arena for innovative and creative business if there is a will to change and renew the idea of cooperative institutions, law, and practice.
Social e-Entrepreneurship, Employment, and e-Learning
Authors: Tezcan Mediha
Published: May 2015

Social entrepreneurship is the demonstration of entrepreneurial behavior aimed to meet the requirements of the society, rather than generating profit, bearing economic risks, providing innovative opportunities, having a social goal and value and for social benefits, and members are comprised of volunteering individuals and groups. Social entrepreneurs serve in a wide range of areas. Employment is among the most significant of these. The labor market policies implemented to increase employment also include education. Education is the power that allows rearing well-rounded and conscious citizens and building interdependent and participatory societies. The rapid changes in the communications and information technologies sectors today have also influenced the educational sciences. In this chapter, the social and economic benefits provided by the utilization of the e-learning programs in the trainings provided by the social entrepreneur organizations, aimed to generate employment, are discussed.
Discovering the Nexus between Market Orientation and Open Innovation
Authors: Denktas-Sakar Gul , Karatas-Cetin Cimen , Saatcioglu Omur Yasar
Published: May 2015

The global marketplace is characterized by various changes taking place in social, economic, natural, and technological areas. As these changes occur both at the organizational and market levels, innovations act as the main processes that accelerate the adaptation of these changes to the services/products of the organizations. Considering the involvement of many stakeholders and the partners within the dynamic business environment of the organizations, an increasing need for the cooperation and the coordination of such actors in the development of service innovations is observed. As topical research areas of both the marketing and management disciplines, this chapter focuses on discovering the relationship between market orientation and the open innovation by pursuing a grounded theory methodology in combination with a specific case study of a leading container shipping company. The originality of the research lies on the investigation of the unexplored research field of open innovation from the perspective of the grounded theory methodology as well as the generation of an emergent theory by the use of an inductive approach.
The Practice of Open Innovation in Chinese Enterprises
Authors: Chen Jin , Chen Yufen
Published: May 2015

Along with the increasing pace and complexity of technology, the importance of external knowledge exploitation has been acknowledged by many researchers and practitioners. How to manage the innovation efficiently is an important issue for firms to enhance competitiveness. Based on the essentials of open innovation, this chapter describes the conditions of openness in the process of innovation in Chinese enterprises. This chapter summarizes some modes for the organization of open innovation in Chinese enterprises, including all employees participate in the innovation process, users involve in the innovation, suppliers participate in the innovation, collaborations with firms in other industries and competitors, cooperation with universities and research institutes, and also intellectual property licensing. Finally, this chapter introduces a case of open innovation practice in Baosteel, which is a famous manufacturing enterprise in China.
Chaotic Systems and Their Recent Implementations on Improving Intelligent Systems
Authors: Köse Utku , Arslan Ahmet
Published: May 2015

Chaos Theory is a kind of a scientific approach/research effort which is based on examining behaviors of nonlinear dynamical systems which are highly sensitive to their initial conditions. Currently, there are many different scientific studies based on the Chaos Theory and the related solution approaches, methods, or techniques for problems of this theory. Additionally, the theory is used for improving the introduced studies of different fields in order to get more effective, efficient, and accurate results. At this point, this chapter aims to provide a review-based study introducing recent implementations of the Chaos Theory on improving intelligent systems, which can be examined in the context of the Artificial Intelligence field. In this sense, the main research way is directed into the works performed or introduced mostly in years between 2008 and 2013. By providing a review-based study, the readers are enabled to have ideas on Chaos Theory, Artificial Intelligence, and the related works that can be examined within intersection of both fields. At this point, the chapter aims to discuss not only recent works, but also express ideas regarding future directions within the related implementations of chaotic systems to improve intelligent systems. The chapter is generally organized as a reference guide for academics, researchers, and scientists tracking the literature of the related fields: Artificial Intelligence and the Chaos Theory.
Managing Fisheries in Light of Complexity and Chaos Theories
Authors: Ferreira Manuel Alberto Martins , Filipe José António Candeias Bonito , Coelho Manuel Francisco Pacheco , Pedro Maria Isabel
Published: May 2015

Chaos theory - and models related to non-linear dynamic systems - has increased in importance in recent decades. In fact, chaos is one of the concepts that has most rapidly expanded in research topics. Chaos is ordinarily disorder or confusion; scientifically, it represents a disarray connection, but basically, it involves much more than that. Change and time are closely linked, and they are essential when considered together as chaos theory foundations are intended to be understood. Given the large number of applications in several areas, the goal of this work is to present chaos theory - and dynamical systems such as the theories of complexity - in terms of the interpretation of ecological phenomena. The theory of chaos applied in the context of ecological systems, especially in the context of fisheries, has allowed the recognition of the relevance of this kind of theories to explain fishing events. It raised new advances in the study of marine systems, contributing to the preservation of fish stocks.
Universities' Role as Catalysts for Venture Creation
Authors: O'Neal Thomas , Schoen Henriette
Published: May 2015

Universities are being asked to play an increasingly larger role in communities as catalysts for venture creation. Some universities have embraced taking an active role, often filling gaps in the local entrepreneurial environment, to induce venture creation. This chapter discusses the role the University of Central Florida (UCF) in Orlando, USA, has taken when partnering with local economic development entities in academic to practitioner-based activities. Over the last 12 years, UCF's Office of Research and Commercialization (UCF ORC) has continuously worked on improving the process of getting ideas from the university laboratories and the community out to the market to help the community grow and flourish. UCF and a growing number of other universities are creating a suite of Entrepreneurial Support Entities (ESEs) that provide entrepreneurial help in all of a company's development stages. This chapter presents the interactions among the ESEs, with UCF serving as an example to demonstrate the impact a university can have on its surroundings and on the community's development. There are many examples of such interactions across the US at other universities as well.
Mobbing and Chaotic Reflections in International Politics Documents
Authors: Küçüktamer Tuğba
Published: May 2015

Mobbing is a phenomenon which has treatments of personal and economical sequels. This chapter aims to present traditional legal reflections of mobbing and educational responsibilities in this situation. Mobbing, which has been a subject of study in education, organizational treatment, the world of business and management, psychology, nursing and more, found its way in international legal documents especially after the 1990s. Mentioned laws foresee employers to have more responsibilites in terms of work conditions. It is also imperative to mention that national level of interferences has started lately. Some assumptions of Chaos Theory such as loyalty for beginning conditions and turbulance call it ambiguity to mobbing attitude, unpredictability and making a point of small situations are also discussed in this chapter.
Lessons Learned from Chilean Model of Innovation and Development
Authors: Rock T. Juan , Pesakovic Gordana
Published: May 2015

In this chapter, the focus is on the Chilean economy and its development based on the innovation strategies and policies applied in the country in the last 40 years. The country's performance is compared with others countries in the region and the developed economies. The main lesson learned from the Chilean experience for the small developing countries are that a small economy can use to its benefit, competitive advantages achieved by other countries. In order to do this a country needs an open foreign policy and transparent, safe and fair business policies.
Teachers' Improvisation of Instructional Materials for Nigerian Home Economics Curriculum Delivery
Authors: Olibie Eyiuche Ifeoma , Nwabunwanne Chinyere , Ezenwanne Dorothy Nkem
Published: May 2015

This study was designed to ascertain the challenges of improvising instructional materials by Home Economics teachers at the Upper Basic education level in Nigeria, and as a result identify strategies for enhancing improvisation. The study used survey research design based on two research questions. The sample was four hundred and thirty-one Home Economics teachers in Upper Basic schools in Anambra State of Nigeria. A structured questionnaire, designed on a 5-point scale, was used to collect data. Findings indicated that some of the challenges faced by the teachers include how to: improvise materials to arouse and sustain learners' optimism and enthusiasm; access expert assistance and technical support; stay informed of innovative developments; have confidence to share ideas with other teachers; interpret research and statistical data; diplomatically handle students' resistance; align improvised materials with curriculum guidelines and timelines; and develop materials to cater for individual learner's needs in overcrowded classrooms. Some strategies bothering on teachers' self and group professional development, training, and Internet literacy were identified as capable of enhancing improvisation. These strategies if implemented might provide the teachers with opportunities to develop more improvisation insights for engaging young people in the highest quality learning activities.
The Involvement of New Ideas in Products and Services Innovation
Authors: Monteiro José , Santos José Duarte , Almeida Fernando
Published: May 2015

This chapter intends to address the needs and the involvement to support communities of innovation in the process of the generation of new ideas. The relevance of this document focuses on information systems and socio-semantics collaborative networks. The support of collaboration is not a new need to human activities in business. Nevertheless, it has major importance due the temporal limitations of the innovative context. In fact, having an idea is not enough. It is necessary to put it on the ground before the competitors. The authors conclude that technology can facilitate the generation of new ideas, benefit business collaboration, and help increase the rate and efficiency in the generation of new ideas, while reducing the time spent in the negotiation of consensus and decreasing the implicit cost in the overall process. It is expected to contribute to the (re)utilization of the innovation memory and to preserve the organizational knowledge.
Modify and Adapt
Authors: Lane Kenneth E. , Lemoine Pamela A. , Tinney Tina M. , Richardson Michael D.
Published: May 2015

The combinations of global networking and digital delivery have intense repercussions for higher education administrators who confront a magnitude of opportunities and challenges as the result of the digital revolution. Much of the reaction to technological change comes from those with a vested interest in either wholesale change or maintaining the status quo. Taking the resilience metaphor from ecology, the authors propose a framework for analyzing an institution's ability to adapt to digital challenges. To compete in today's economic environment, higher education institutions must become more adaptive, responding more quickly to changing expectations from society, politicians and customers. The non-linear approach to problem-solving evident in higher education and society in general, reflects a need to be more flexible, adaptive to alternative techniques and willing to invest in a new culture designed to acquire knowledge rather than specific solutions. This level of organizational flexibility and responsiveness fuels university performance. In the globally competitive and commercialized start to the 21st Century there has been a considerable increase in the demands for higher education institutions to provide additional global access, and increase opportunities while simultaneously reducing budgets. Globalization and technology have introduced critical alterations to higher education institutions. The context of education has become dynamic, energetic, and economically driven. The emerging technologies have rapidly turned knowledge to power. In this context knowledge is viewed as a commodity that can be managed (bought and sold) while being a vibrant source of social activity and learning.
Risk Due to Wellbore Instability
Authors: Gaurina-Medjimurec Nediljka , Pasic Borivoje
Published: May 2015

Exploration and production as one of the most important parts of the petroleum industry encounters different problems, usually resulting in nonproductive time and additional expenses. The most common and most expensive of them are related to wellbore instability and associated problems. Wellbore instability problems are usually related to drilling operation, but they can also appear during completion, workover, or the production stage of a certain well. The traditional solution for wellbore instability problems is composed from the early recognition of specific wellbore instability problems, the main cause identification and swift response. For more effective solution it is necessary to incorporate wellbore stability and risk assessment in the early phase of well design. This chapter gives one general overview of wellbore instability problems and their causes as well as an overview of actual approaches and methods in wellbore stability and risk assessment.
Employing Traffic Lights as Road Side Units for Road Safety Information Broadcast
Authors: Kumar Navin , Nero Alves Luis , Aguiar Rui L.
Published: May 2015

There is great concern over growing road accidents and associated fatalities. In order to reduce accidents, improve congestion and offer smooth flow of traffic, several measures, such as providing intelligence to transport, providing communication infrastructure along the road, and vehicular communication, are being undertaken. Traffic safety information broadcast from traffic lights using Visible Light Communication (VLC) is a new cost effective technology which assists drivers in taking necessary safety measures. This chapter presents the VLC broadcast system considering LED-based traffic lights. It discusses the integration of traffic light Roadside Units (RSUs) with upcoming Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) architecture. Some of the offered services using this technology in vehicular environment together with future directions and challenges are discussed. A prototype demonstrator of the designed VLC systems is also presented.
Pareto Evolutionary Optimization of Joint Network Design and Pricing Strategies Related to Emissions in Urban Networks
Authors: Dimitriou Loukas , Kaltsounis Antonios , Stathopoulos Antony
Published: May 2015

In the current social, physical, economical and environmental circumstances of scarcity, the design and management of vital lifelines like transportation systems, especially within the metropolitan context, are subject to the implementation of multiple objectives in a unified framework. Thus, one of the most important issues is the identification of optimal trade-offs among crucial objectives both from the designer's as well as from the users' perspective. In the current study a comprehensive framework for estimating optimal interrelations and dilemmas among emissions-related carbon footprint and other (social- and economic-related) features of urban road networks design and operation are presented and analyzed, based on techniques of multi-objective and hierarchical mathematical programming with equilibrium constraints, solved by suitable hybridization of evolutionary algorithms. The results of the proposed optimization methodological approach provide the Pareto Frontier of solutions, which corresponds to optimal trade-offs amongst multiple objectives. The computational experience from the application of the proposed methodological approach on a part of a realistic urban network is presented, providing evidence on the applicability as well as on the computational burden of such transportation design paradigms, but most importantly, on the dilemmas emerging in sustainable design and planning of transportation systems.
Privacy Protection in Vehicular Ad-Hoc Networks
Authors: Yan Gongjun , Rawat Danda B. , Bista Bhed Bahadur , He Wu , Alnusair Awny
Published: May 2015

The first main contribution of this chapter is to take a non-trivial step towards providing a robust and scalable solution to privacy protection in vehicular networks. To promote scalability and robustness the authors employ two strategies. First, they view vehicular networks as consisting of non-overlapping subnetworks, each local to a geographic area referred to as a cell. Each cell has a server that maintains a list of pseudonyms that are valid for use in the cell. Each pseudonym has two components: the cell's ID and a random number as host ID. Instead of issuing pseudonyms to vehicles proactively (as virtually all existing schemes do) the authors issue pseudonyms only to those vehicles that request them. This strategy is suggested by the fact that, in a typical scenario, only a fraction of the vehicles in an area will engage in communication with other vehicles and/or with the infrastructure and, therefore, do not need pseudonyms. The second main contribution is to model analytically the time-varying request for pseudonyms in a given cell. This is important for capacity planning purposes since it allows system managers to predict, by taking into account the time-varying attributes of the traffic, the probability that a given number of pseudonyms will be required at a certain time as well as the expected number of pseudonyms in use in a cell at a certain time. Empirical results obtained by detailed simulation confirm the accuracy of the authors' analytical predictions.
A Real Time Topological Map Matching Methodology for GPS/GIS-Based Travel Behavior Studies
Authors: Blazquez Carola A. , Miranda Pablo A.
Published: May 2015

The map matching problem arises when GPS measurements are incorrectly assigned to the roadway network in a GIS environment. This chapter presents a real-time topological decision rule-based methodology that detects and solves spatial mismatches as GPS measurements are collected. A real-time map matching methodology is required in several applications, such as fleet management, transit control and management, and travel behavior studies, in which decision-making must be performed simultaneously with the movement of vehicles, individuals, or objects. A computational implementation in a real case scenario in Chile indicates that the algorithm successfully resolves over 96% of the spatial mismatches encountered in real time. Various algorithmic parameter values were employed to test the performance of the algorithm for data collected every 5 and 10 seconds. Overall, the algorithm requires larger buffer sizes and speed ranges to obtain better results with lower spatial data qualities.
An Effective Methodology for Road Accident Data Collection in Developing Countries
Authors: Adnan Muhammad , Ali Mir Shabbar
Published: May 2015

Underreporting of road accidents has been widely accepted as a common phenomenon. In many developing countries this remains a critical problem as inappropriate information regarding road accidents does not provide a base to analyse its root causes. Therefore, effectiveness of implemented interventions are always questionable. In Pakistan, responsibility of collecting initial information regarding road accidents lies with the Police Department; however, reported figures are reflecting underestimation of the situation. This chapter reports the effectiveness of prevailing approaches for recording accident information in developing countries like Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, etc. Furthermore, it presents a unique methodology that has been adopted in Karachi for recording road accident information through an institute established on the notions of public-private partnership. Various features of that unique data collection mechanism are presented along with the discussion of some success stories, where the collected data has contributed significantly in improving road safety conditions.
Analysis of Risk and Reliability in Project Delivery Methods
Authors: Schultz Robert , Sarfaraz Ahmad , Jenab Kouroush
Published: May 2015

Risk and reliability are two main factors that must be studied in order to measure the successful rate of a project. As a result, innovative project delivery methods have been proposed to mitigate the risk and improve reliability of a project. The intent of this study is to compare the use of the Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) and fuzzy AHP for decisions surrounding the early stages of construction projects based on risk and reliability measures. Financial risk is especially high during the early design stages of a project due to the unknown obstacles that will follow. The case study uses the selection of a project delivery method as an example, and provides a sample project to highlight the project-specific variability of the multi-criteria decision analysis.
Enhancing DotProject to Support Risk Management Aligned with PMBOK in the Context of SMEs
Authors: Gonçalves Rafael Queiroz , Kühlkamp Elisa de Freitas , Gresse von Wangenheim Christiane
Published: May 2015

Many problems in software development projects are due to risks and could be avoided or minimized if identified and treated pro-actively. In this context, software tools to support risk management could be very helpful. However, it is difficult to find a project management tool, accessible to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) that provides adequate support to risk management in conformance with best practices such as the PMBOK. Therefore, this paper has the objective to review support provided by popular project management tools with respect to risk management and to present enhancements made to the open-source tool – dotProject – in order to systematically support risk management aligned with the PMBOK. An initial evaluation identified benefits in the implementation of risk management processes in software SMEs, and, thus, contributing to their projects' success.
A Pattern-Based and Tool-Supported Risk Analysis Method Compliant to ISO 27001 for Cloud Systems
Authors: Alebrahim Azadeh , Hatebur Denis , Fassbender Stephan , Goeke Ludger , Côté Isabelle
Published: May 2015

To benefit from cloud computing and the advantages it offers, obstacles regarding the usage and acceptance of clouds have to be cleared. For cloud providers, one way to obtain customers' confidence is to establish security mechanisms when using clouds. The ISO 27001 standard provides general concepts for establishing information security in an organization. Risk analysis is an essential part in the ISO 27001 standard for achieving information security. This standard, however, contains ambiguous descriptions. In addition, it does not stipulate any method to identify assets, threats, and vulnerabilities. In this paper, the authors present a method for cloud computing systems to perform risk analysis according to the ISO 27001. The authors' structured method is tailored to SMEs. It relies upon patterns to describe context and structure of a cloud computing system, elicit security requirements, identify threats, and select controls, which ease the effort for these activities. The authors' method guides companies through the process of risk analysis in a structured manner. Furthermore, the authors provide a model-based tool for supporting the ISO 27001 standard certification. The authors' tool consists of various plug-ins for conducting different steps of their method.
Risk Evaluation in the Insurance Company Using REFII Model
Authors: Klepac Goran
Published: May 2015

A business case describes a problem present in all insurance companies: portfolio risk evaluation. Such analysis deals with determining the risk level as well as main risk factors. In the specific case, an insurance company is faced with market share growth and profit decline. Discovered knowledge about the level of risk and main risk factors was not used to increase premium for the riskiest portfolio segments due to a specific market situation, which could lead to loss of clients in the long run. Instead, additional analysis was conducted using data mining methods resulting in a solution, which stopped further profit decline and lowered the risk level for the riskiest portfolio segments. The central role for the unexpected revealed knowledge in the chapter acts as the REFII model. The REFII model is an authorial mathematical model for time series data mining. The main purpose of that model is to automate time series analysis, through a unique transformation model of time series.
Financial Software as a Service
Authors: Ramachandran Muthu , Chang Victor
Published: May 2015

Software as a service as one of the cloud delivery models that supports fine-grained components. Financial applications demand better performance and accuracy in a cloud than the traditional computing platforms. Therefore, designing financial software as a service (FSaaS) requires an engineering and systematic approach. This paper has proposed an integrated service-oriented architecture and a SaaS component model for financial domain that provides the required scalability, flexibility and customisation. It has also demonstrated the design and customisation of service component interfaces to a financial simulation so that it provides automatic prediction models for investors to know accurate results for buy and sale prices. Therefore, large-scaled simulations can be achieved within a matter of 13.5 second for outlier removal and within 9 seconds for high-performance risk computation on the Cloud. This paper shows the holistic and complete approach of illustrating the system design of FSaaS, showing the two major algorithms and the results of experiments of running these two algorithms. It provides plans to integrate new and existing services with FSaaS.
Cloud Computing for Global Software Development
Authors: Al-Rousan Thamer
Published: May 2015

The cloud computing paradigm offers an innovative and promising vision concerning Information and Communications Technology. Actually, it provides the possibility of improving IT systems management and is changing the way in which hardware and software are designed and purchased. This paper introduces challenges in Global Software Development (GSD) and application of cloud computing platforms as a solution to some problems. Even though cloud computing provides compelling benefits and cost-effective options for GSD, new risks and difficulties must be taken into account. Thus, the paper presents a study about the risk issues involved in cloud computing. It highlights the different types of risks and how their existence can affect GSD. It also proposes a new risk management process model. The risk model employs new processes for risk analysis and assessment. Its aim is to analyse cloud risks quantitatively and, consequently, prioritise them according to their impact on different GSD objectives.
Multi-System Integration Scheme for Intelligence Transportation System Applications
Authors: Kuo Chih-Chiang , Lin Jyun-Naih , Wu Syue-Hua , Cho Cheng-Hsuan , Chu Yi-Hong , Da Tsai Frank Chee
Published: May 2015

With more and more devices being introduced into vehicles to provide additional driving functionality, driving experience is seemingly getting more complex and frustrated due to an influx of individual messages. To help manage the information, individuals need a mechanism to orchestrate the operations of the in-vehicle devices so that such frustration can be eased. In this study, the authors propose an in-vehicle communication scheme for multi-system integration, where an effective system service discovery protocol is used. This proposed design also contains mutual communication methods and the data exchange methodologies for system integration. Experimental results with performance evaluation demonstrate the success of the proposed design.
Analysis of Passengers' Perception of Public Transport Quality and Performance
Authors: Tyrinopoulos Yannis , Antoniou Constantinos
Published: May 2015

This research investigates the passengers' level of satisfaction from the use of diverse public transport systems. The aim is to uncover factors that drive their modal choices and to assess the quality implications of the variability of the users' perceived satisfaction through the use of two statistical methods (ordered logit and linear mixed models) and comprehensive diagrammatic techniques. Five transit systems in the two major cities in Greece, Athens and Thessaloniki, have been examined. The analysis demonstrated that the most important satisfaction attributes are service frequency, followed by waiting conditions and network coverage, punctuality and in-vehicle transport conditions. A gender-based market segmentation analysis provided further insight into the differences among groups of the population. According to this analysis, female respondents tend to place their attention on punctuality, waiting conditions and driver behavior, while male respondents on in-vehicle transport conditions and the existence and quality of transfer information.
Using AIS Data for Navigational Risk Assessment in Restricted Waters
Authors: Maimun Adi , Nursyirman Istaz F. , Sian Ang Yit , Samad Rahimuddin , Oladokun Sulaiman
Published: May 2015

The Strait of Malacca is one of the most important shipping lanes in the world. It averages 150 ship passes a day and more than 50,000 ships annually. With a high concentration of vessels in a narrow path, multiple risk situations arise. Analyzing traffic density is made harder by cross traffic and an unknown traffic density at the Strait. In 2009, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), through a collaboration with Kobe University, successfully installed an Automatic Identification System (AIS) receiver. Through the AIS receiver, data of ship movements in the Strait of Malacca and Singapore could be recorded. A program was established by UTM to retrieve the data for the purpose of marine traffic collision risk analysis. In this research, a risk assessment method using AIS data is proposed for restricted waters such as for the Strait of Malacca and Singapore. The Risk Assessment Methodology requires the estimation of collision probabilities. The collision probability of the proposed method considers the Traffic Density, directions of traffic flow (with respect to a subject vessel), and probability of navigational failure. An area in the Strait of Singapore between the latitudes of 1°13'N and 1°07'N and Longitudes of 103°4'E and 103°56'E was selected to illustrate the method. By analysing the AIS data of traffic flow, the probabilities of collision for the area were determined. The effect of vessel parameters of length and speed on the risks of collision are also shown.
A Software Tool to support Risks Analysis about what Should or Should Not go to the Cloud
Authors: Torrealba S. Miguel , Morales P. Mireya , Campos José M. , Meza S. Marina
Published: May 2015

This chapter proposes a software prototype called 2thecloud, programmed in HTML and PHP under free software guidelines, whose main objective is to allow end users to be aware of imminent cloud dangers. To do this, the user must undergo a metacognitive process of basic risk analysis, which suggested result would be to what cloud the object should go. Through the use of this tool is expected that he / she can develop a risk analysis capability, so that in this way he/she is the one who makes the final decision about selecting between different cloud models (public, private, hybrid, and community) where the object will be placed. An important aspect is that the user has to understand that different cloud models provide different levels of security and this will allow him/her to question safety in other settings, given that it is a work that goes beyond simply encrypting and filtering information. It also presented 2thecloud functions and a description of each step that indicate how it operates. Finally, the authors propose four alternatives in risk analysis calculation, which are plausibly adapted to 2thecloud and if they are implemented they will provide different advantages.
Using Indicators to Monitor Security Risk in Systems of Systems
Authors: Ligaarden Olav Skjelkvåle , Refsdal Atle , Stølen Ketil
Published: May 2015

Systems of systems are collections of systems interconnected through the exchange of services. Their often complex service dependencies and very dynamic nature make them hard to analyze and predict with respect to quality in general, and security in particular. In this chapter, the authors put forward a method for the capture and monitoring of impact of service dependencies on the security of provided services. The method is divided into four main steps focusing on documenting the system of systems and IT service dependencies, establishing the impact of service dependencies on risk to security of provided services, identifying measureable indicators for dynamic monitoring, and specifying their design and deployment, respectively. The authors illustrate the method in an example-driven fashion based on a case within power supply.
A Survey of Wireless Backhauling Solutions for ITS
Authors: Cicconetti Claudio , Mambrini Raffaella , Rossi Alessandro
Published: May 2015

The deployment of more sustainable land transportation is a non-debatable global issue. It is generally agreed that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) will play the role of the main enabler to achieve the ambitious objective of improving transportation efficiency, thus reducing pollution, time and resource wastage, and accidents. In this chapter, after briefly introducing the general architecture of the ICT infrastructure for the new generation of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSs), the authors provide a survey of the wireless technologies available for implementing the data network required to transfer information between the peripheral devices, installed roadside and in the vehicles, and the data center where the actual storage and logic resides. Specifically, they consider the following alternatives: IEEE 802.11 in a Wireless Mesh Network (WMN) configuration, IEEE 802.16/WiMAX, Long Term Evolution (LTE), and HiperLAN/2. The latter is investigated in further details by providing results from preliminary laboratory trials carried out in the Italian project IPERMOB.
A Threat Table Based Assessment of Information Security in Telemedicine
Authors: Pendergrass John C. , Heart Karen , Ranganathan C. , Venkatakrishnan V. N.
Published: May 2015

Information security within healthcare is paramount and telemedicine applications present unique security challenges. Technology is giving rise to new and advanced telemedicine applications and understanding the security threats to these applications is needed to ensure, among other things, the privacy of patient information. This paper proposes a threat table approach to assess security threats pertaining to telemedicine applications. The concept and its usefulness are illustrated using a case study. This case study focuses on the capture and representation of salient security threats in telemedicine. To analyze the security threats to an application, it presents a threat modeling framework utilizing a table driven approach. The study reveals that even in a highly controlled environment with static locations, the security risks posed by telemedicine applications are significant, and that using a threat table approach provides an easy-to-use and effective method for managing these threats.
Influence of Vanadium on Cement Properties and Leaching Analysis
Authors: Sinyoung Suthatip , Kajitvichyanukul Puangrat
Published: May 2015

Nowadays, industrial wastes are widely used as an alternative fuel or raw material in the cement industry owing to the advantage of waste removal and gaining economic incomes from preserving non-renewable energy resources. In the present work, the effect of the addition of small amounts of vanadium in the clinkering process of cement mortar was studied. Vanadium was chosen to study as it is present in the coke commonly burned as fuel and in industrial wastes such as used oil which is used as alternative secondary fuel in cement kilns. The study simulated the burning process in a chamber furnace. Raw meal was burned with vanadium oxide (V2O5) in four concentrations from 0.01 to 1% by weight. The resulting clinker was analysed for the content of free lime and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was done. These samples were also analysed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) connected with an energy-dispersive X-ray-spectrometer (EDS) to detect the composition of the clinker phase. The results show that only very high intakes of vanadium oxide higher than 0.5% by weight have measurable effects on the formation and composition of the clinker. Amounts of C3S and C2S were decreased with high intakes of vanadium. To study the leaching behavior, the microwave-assisted leach method 3051A. Result showed that vanadium was likely to be leached from cement that 15-20% of them can be leached to the environment. In case, TCLP (US EPA) test the result showed that raw material doped with vanadium up to 1 wt.%, the cement was not classified as hazardous waste.
Effect of Addition of Microsilica and Nanoalumina on Compressive Strength and Products of High Calcium Fly Ash Geopolymer with Low Concentration NaOH
Authors: Chindaprasirt Prinya , Somna Kiatsuda
Published: May 2015

This research aims to study the effect of addition of microsilica and nanoalumina on compressive strength and products of high calcium fly ash geopolymer with low NaOH concentration. Microsilica and nanoalumina were added in the mixture in order to adjust the Si/Al ratios which resulted in the change of product form of geopolymer pastes. Geopolymer was synthesized using high calcium fly ash and 2 molar sodium hydroxide (NaOH). Microsilica and/or nanoalumina were added as additional sources of silica and alumina in the mixtures. Compressive strengths of pastes were investigated at the age of 7, 28 and 60 days. The products of geopolymer pastes were characterized by FTIR and salicylic acid with methanol (SAM leaching test). The results showed that the mix (2Si10Al0) with additional 10% of microsilica gave the highest compressive strength of 14 MPa at the age of 60 days. The products of geopolymer pastes were CSH gel, CASH gel, NASH gel and zeolite which were characterized by FTIR and SAM leaching test.
Thermal Annealing Effect on Real Time Atomic Relocation of Iron-Cobalt Alloys Prepared by Electro-Deposition
Authors: Wetsuwan Ketwadee , Prachopchok Prathan , Juagwon Theerasak , Limphirat Wanwisa , Tivakornsasithorn Kritsanu , Sinsarp Asawin , Osotchan Tanakorn
Published: May 2015

Atomic structures of fabricated Fe-Co alloys were investigated real time by time resolved x-ray absorption spectroscopy (TRXAS) at annealing temperature of 400° C. The various compositions of Fe-Co alloy thin films were prepared by electro-deposition on indium-tin oxide glass substrate with iron sulfate and cobalt chloride electrolyte solutions. The current density of 80 A/m2was used to deposit Fe-Co thin film with varying the ratio of Fe and Co ion concentrations. The Fe-Co alloys with boron nitride powders were mixed, grinded and pressed in the pallet form in order to insert into environmental controlled sample holder for TRXAS measurement. The samples were annealed under 20% oxygen and 80% nitrogen atmospheric by increasing the temperature up to 400° C and then remaining for an hour. The influence of annealing temperature can modify the atomic structures of Fe-Co alloys as indicated in the variation of extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) peaks. Most of the EXAFS peaks followed the temperature profile i.e. increasing or decreasing during the temperature rising and then maintaining about constant values during holding the temperature at 400° C. By transforming the EXAFS peaks into scattering radius space, the modification of relative scattering amplitude from each nearest neighbor position indicated the atomic relocation during annealing the samples. Some of scattering patterns from Fe and Co oxides can be found and their amounts changed during rising the annealing temperature. In addition, the atomic relocations extracted from the Co absorption edge was very much smaller than those of Fe edge probably due to relative more stable of Co atomic positions for this range of annealing temperature.
Effect of pH and Freezing Condition on Cryogel Encapsulation of Curcumin
Authors: Sowasod Nataporn , Nakagawa Kyuya , Charinpanitkul Tawatchai , Tanthapanichakoon Wiwut
Published: May 2015

The aim of this study was to develop a pH-sensitive ternary system of chitosan, κ-carrageenan, and carboxymethylcellulose sodium salt (CMC) that can serve as a controlled release system. Encapsulation of curcumin in chitosan was achieved by transforming the present colloidal suspension into hydrogels via cryotropic gel formation. The frozen hydrogel specimens (cryogels) were freeze-dried for preservation and investigation. It was reported that, when the ratio of κ-carrageenan to NaCMC was kept constant, the cooling rate was found to determine the type of release between burst type and controlled first-order-rate type [1]. The microstructural morphology of freeze-dried specimens was observed with a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) to be affected by the cooling rate. The faster cooling rate produced specimens with slightly larger pore size and, as a result, higher amount of curcumin released at 2 days. Swelling tests of the hydrogels in buffer solutions of different pH values showed that acidic media had a pronounced effect on swelling compared to the neutral and alkaline media. The faster cooling rate produced specimens that had higher structural strength against swelling despite the fact that the specimens had larger pore size and faster controlled release rate.