bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Palming the Future
Authors: Symonds Judith
Published: February 2011

Trans Training is a tertiary education organisation concerned with the provision of quality driving training for the commercial road transport, logistics, distribution, warehousing, port and stevedoring industry sectors. At present much of their service delivery to agents, clients and trainees is administered manually. This process is slow, inefficient and allows many opportunities for errors to creep into the enrolment process. eGovernment offers the Industry Training Organisation the potential for improved service delivery and client and trainee satisfaction as well as several interesting value-adding opportunities. However, there are several challenges to adopting an eGovernment strategy including security concerns, privacy concerns and acceptance of coordination of technological investments. Many of the challenges for eGovernment strategy occur at the point where theory is applied by individual organisations and this is not covered by the literature. Readers are given the opportunity to explore some of the realities of eGoverment strategy in this case study.
Horizontal Process Integration in E-Government
Authors: Choudrie Jyoti , Weerrakody Vishanth
Published: February 2011

This article examines how horizontal integration between the various departments of a local authority in the United Kingdom (UK) occurs. Following that the aim of this article is to extract the “success factors” in government intervention that support horizontal and vertical integration based on the strategies pursued in the UK in order to render favourable results if applied elsewhere. The research methodology consisted of an in-depth case study that used the research tools of interviews and referring to archival documents. This research is timely as the maturity of e-government increases the issues of integrating processes and systems across various government departments becomes pertinent. The conclusion and lessons that can be learnt from this research is that e-government integration on a horizontal level obtains significant ef- ficiency and effectiveness as more and more public services are being centralized.
E-Government Business Models for Public Service Networks
Authors: Janssen Marijn , Kuk George
Published: February 2011

Whilst the concept of business model has become popular in the networked economy, unexplored is whether it is equally applicable to e-government, which emphasizes cross-agency collaboration in form of public service networks. Drawing upon the literature on resource-based views, dynamic capability, and coordination theory, we develop a framework comprising of six elements: (1) organizations in the public service network, (2) service offerings, (3) network coordination, (4) business processes, (5) shared resources and (6) network capabilities. We use this framework to analyze three case studies in detail. The model is useful for understanding the relation between service offering and the challenges of coordinating public service networks. Overcoming these challenges results in better leveraging the advantages of business models. Our findings indicate business models that facilitate knowledge transfer and understanding of shared resources and network capabilities can further enhance better resource mix in migrating toward citizen-oriented business models.
I-FGM as a Real Time Information Retrieval Tool for E-Governance
Authors: Santos Jr. Eugent , Santos Eunice E. , Nguyen Hien , Pan Long , Korah John , Xia Huadong
Published: February 2011

Homeland security and disaster relief are some of the critical areas of E-governance that have to deal with vast amounts of dynamic heterogeneous data. Providing rapid real-time search capabilities for such applications is a challenge. Intelligent Foraging, Gathering, and Matching (I-FGM) is an established framework developed to assist users to find information quickly and effectively by incrementally collecting, processing and matching information nuggets. This framework has been successfully used to develop a distributed, unstructured text retrieval application. In this paper, we apply the I-FGM framework to image collections by using a concept-based image retrieval method. We approach this by incrementally processing images, extracting low-level features and mapping them to higher level concepts. Our empirical evaluation shows that our approach performs competitively compared to some existing approaches in terms of retrieving relevant images while offering the speed advantages of distributed and incremental process and unified framework between text and images.
How "E" are Arab Municipalities? An Evaluation of Arab Capital Municipal Web Sites
Authors: Al-Nuaim Hana Abdullah
Published: February 2011

Successful e-government requires planning and unrelenting political commitment and should not focus solely on technological solutions. In the Arab world, citizens receive most of their services from government agencies which are highly bureaucratic in nature; wasting work days confronting employees who are rarely trained in customer service or reprimanded for inefficient work. Between the year 2000-2007, Internet usage worldwide has grown 265.6% while in the Middle East, the growth was 920.2 % and its egovernment readiness rose to higher than the world average of 0.4514. Studies on worldwide e-municipal Web sites, most Arab cities have been clearly absent. In this study an evaluation checklist for municipal Web sites was used to evaluate the only six Arab capitals with official municipal Web sites. The study found that these Web sites were not citizen centered, suffered from fundamental problems, lack basic requirements for any municipal Web site with some feature inoperable and limited interactive services.
Factors that Explain the Perceived Effectiveness of E-Government
Authors: Reddick Christopher G.
Published: February 2011

This article examines the perceived effectiveness of e-government through a survey of city government Information Technology (IT) directors in the United States. The existing survey literature on e-government has primarily examined the features of e-government in terms of content and accessibility. This study is different in that it examines the performance of e-government through the lens of IT directors who should have knowledge on how effective e-government is for their city government. This research uses the citizen-initiated contacts with government literature as a way of understanding e-government effectiveness. Exploratory factor analysis reveals that e-government effectiveness is explained by management capacity, security and privacy, and collaboration in city governments. Of the three factors, the regression analysis carried out in this research indicated that management capacity and collaboration influenced e-government effectiveness. There was no evidence that security and privacy had a statistically significant impact on e-government effectiveness. The results of this study confirm much of the existing qualitative research that management capacity and collaboration are critical elements of e-government adoption.
Digital Disempowerment in a Network Society
Authors: Hacker Kenneth L. , Mason Shana M. , Morgan Eric L.
Published: February 2011

The objective of this article is to examine how the inequalities of participation in network society governmental systems affect the extent that individuals are empowered or disempowered within those systems. By using published data in conjunction with theories of communication, a critical secondary data analysis was conducted. This critical analysis argues that the Digital Divide involves issues concerning how democracy and democratization are related to computer-mediated communication (CMC) and its role in political communication. As the roles of CMC/ICT systems expand in political communication, existing Digital Divide gaps are likely to contribute to structural inequalities in political participation. These inequalities work against democracy and political empowerment for some people, while at the same time producing expanded opportunities of political participation for others. This raises concerns about who benefits the most from electronic government in emerging network societies.
Evaluating Public Programs Implementation
Authors: Sorrentino Maddalena , Passerini Katia
Published: February 2011

This paper discusses the importance of evaluating the implementation of public programs as an integral component of organizational actions performed by public administrations. Drawing on contributions from policy studies and organization theory, the authors assign a dual role to evaluation: valuable cognitive resource and accountability tool for the policymakers. This exploratory case study contributes to the literature on implementation evaluation by providing an encompassing theory-grounded perspective on a recent e-government project by the City of Milan. The authors’ preliminary findings confirm the heuristic potential of an evaluation approach where interdisciplinary inputs can enlighten not only the results, but also the process of design, adoption and the use of e-services.
City E-Government
Authors: Mann Hanuv Jit Singh , Grant Gerald , Mann Inder
Published: February 2011

In this paper, the authors identify and explore the optimal scope of a generic city-level e-Government program. In order to corroborate theoretical research, a comprehensive feature comparison of different e-Government elements/services, of select city web sites from various countries in the world is conducted.The research finds that despite the manifest common features, the inherent scope of service provision by the websites studied is unique. This finding gives rise to the understanding that customizing e-Government initiatives is ideally conducive to the local needs of the constituents.
The RFID Technology Adoption in e-Government
Authors: Palanisamy Ramaraj , Mukerji Bhasker
Published: February 2011

The emergence of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology has affected the functions and roles of business organizations. RFID technology provides technical solutions across a variety of industries in the public and private sectors. E-government is being increasingly utilized by governments in different countries to increase the efficiency of services provided to citizens. Although the use of e-Government is allowing timely, effective services online, many challenges must still be overcome to maximize the utility e-Government can provide to citizens. RFID is disseminating in a variety of new areas and movement exists toward the adoption of RFID in e-Government, but several issues and challenges must be addressed. This paper examines both e-Government and RFID from an individual perspective and explores the possible issues and challenges associated with RFID technology adoption in e-Government. Based on a review of literature, a conceptual model has been developed illustrating the various issues and challenges and how they would impact the RFID adoption in e-Government.
Biosensor Based on Giant Magnetoresistance Material
Authors: Djamal Mitra
Published: February 2011

In recent years, giant magnetoresistance (GMR) sensors have shown a great potential as sensing elements for biomolecule detection. The resistance of a GMR sensor changes with the magnetic field applied to the sensor, so that a magnetically labeled biomolecule can induce a signal. Compared with the traditional optical detection that is widely used in biomedicine, GMR sensors are more sensitive, portable, and give a fully electronic readout. In addition, GMR sensors are inexpensive and the fabrication is compatible with the current VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) technology. In this regard, GMR sensors can be easily integrated with electronics and microfluidics to detect many different analytes on a single chip. In this article, the authors demonstrate a comprehensive review on a novel approach in biosensors based on GMR material.
An Improved Olympic Hole-Filling Method for Ultrasound Volume Reconstruction of Human Spine
Authors: Dewi D. E. O. , Mengko T. L. R. , Purnama I. K. E. , Veldhuizen A. G. , Wilkinson M. H. F.
Published: February 2011

Hole-filling in ultrasound volume reconstruction using freehand three-dimensional ultrasound estimates the values for empty voxels from the unallocated voxels in the Bin-filling process due to inadequate sampling in the acquisition process. Olympic operator, as a neighbourhood averaging filter, can be used to estimate the empty voxel. However, this method needs improvement to generate a closer estimation of the empty voxels. In this paper, the authors propose an improved Olympic operator for the Hole-filling algorithm, and apply it to generate the volume in a 3D ultrasound reconstruction of the spine. The conventional Olympic operator defines the empty voxels by sorting the neighbouring voxels, removing the n% of the upper and lower values, and averaging them to attain the value to fill the empty voxels. The empty voxel estimation can be improved by thresholding the range width of its neighbouring voxels and adjusting it to the average values. The method is tested on a hole-manipulated volume derived from a cropped 3D ultrasound volume of a part of the spine. The MAE calculation on the proposed technique shows improved result compared to all tested existing methods.
Patent Issues in eHealth, Especially of North and South Problems on Telemedicine
Authors: Tomioka Yasumitsu
Published: February 2011

This paper intends to specifically verify what patent issues may be encountered in telemedicine, using 2007, 2008, and 2009 International Property Rights Index (IPRI), which is the first international comparative study that measures the significance of both physical and intellectual property rights and their protection for economic well-being. Patent issues acts as a hindrance factor against spreading and promoting telemedicine, and to solve this hindrance factor, i.e., patent issues, and for the purpose of spreading and promoting telemedicine so that the benefit of medicine may reach everybody, including people living in developing countries, it seems extremely important to recognize the presence of “patent issues” in the field of “telemedicine”.
Response Time Estimation of a Web-Based Electronic Health Record (EHR) System using Queuing Model
Authors: Díez Isabel de la Torre , Pernas Francisco Javier Díaz , Coronado Miguel López , Sánchez Roberto Hornero , Gálvez María Isabel López , Rodríguez Miriam Antón
Published: February 2011

Response time measurement of a Web system is critically important to evaluate its performance. This response time is one of the main barriers usually found in the implementation of an effective Electronic Health Records (EHRs) system. The database selected will affect the system performance. This paper presents a comparison of the response times of a EHRs Web system, TeleOftalWeb, using different databases. In order to calculate these times, M/M/1 queuing models is used. Four databases were selected: Oracle 10g, dbXML 2.0, Xindice 1.2, and eXist 1.1.1. The final objective of the comparison is choosing the database system resulting in the lowest response time to TeleOftalWeb.
An Exploratory Case Study of Enterprise Resource Planning Implementation
Authors: Subramanian Girish H. , Hoffer Christopher S.
Published: February 2011

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are a growing area of research in business information systems. The primary purpose of this research was to test the effect of ERP implementation on users. We used the implementation and performance stage model and studied issues related to adaptation, acceptance, and routinization stages. An exploratory case study was conducted to study these research issues. The case study consisted of a survey and interview of 25 employees at one organization. The results provide data analysis findings from the survey and qualitative findings from the interview. The findings of the case study point to a positive user climate during transition to SAP, increased user productivity, and improved job understanding through the use of SAP software.
Identity Theft and E-Fraud as Critical CRM Concerns
Authors: Smith Alan D. , Lias Allen R.
Published: February 2011

Fraud and identity theft have been increasing with the use of e-commerce. In the U.S. alone, it has been estimated that victims may spend on average $1,500 in out-of-pocket expenses and an average of 175 hours in order to resolve the many problems caused by such identity thieves. Organizations that engage in e-commerce as a large part of their business need to protect their customers against these crimes. An empirical study of 75 managerial employees and/or knowledge workers in five large organizations in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, revealed a number of interesting facts about how much information they share with others, what the likelihood is that they will conduct business online, and whether or not they take steps to protect their personal identity and credit. Model construction and implications were generated concerning steps that employees and customers may take to avoid identity theft.
An SME Perspective of Vertical Application Service Providers
Authors: Lockett Nigel J. , Brown David H.
Published: February 2011

Against a background of the low engagement of small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in e-business, this article investigates the impact of e-aggregation applications, provided by emerging vertical application service providers (VSPs), and defined as “an e-business application, promoted by a trusted third party, which engages a significant number of SMEs by addressing an important shared business concern within an aggregation.” By conducting quantitative surveys of four aggregations of SMEs using these applications (users) and comparing these results with similar enterprises who are not (non-users), the research shows that such applications can facilitate the e-business engagement by SMEs.
Methodologies for Evaluating Investment in Electronic Data Interchange
Authors: Truong Dothang
Published: February 2011

Reluctance of organizations to invest in electronic data interchange (EDI, Internet-based EDI, and XML/EDI) is largely due to their inability to assess the return on these investments. We identify prescriptive and evaluative methodologies for analyzing investment in EDI: non-financial methods, purely financial methods, and financial and strategic consideration methods. We also show how computer simulation can be used as a tool for assessing EDI. Evaluating the benefits resulting from EDI implementation was illustrated through the well-known Beer Game. Our analysis and review also identifies difficulties involved in assessing the benefits of EDI in supply chains.
Developing Medium and Small Technological Enterprises in China
Authors: Huang Zhimin , Cai Shuqin
Published: February 2011

The 20-year economic reform in China has bred a new group of medium- or small-sized enterprises whose businesses are largely based on scientific and technological development. After China joined the World Trade Organization, these enterprises have had to seek strategies of informatization to survive and develop when facing challenges of economic globalization and rapid expansion of information technology. This paper attempts to examine in detail the necessity and importance of informatization of these enterprises within the context of China’s national economic system, identify issues crucial to the informatization process, and, by relating to the useful experience of enterprise informatization in the United States, propose some practical strategies of adopting advanced means and procedures through integration of essential information technology into enterprise management and operations.
Intelligent Design Advisor
Authors: Yang Quangang , Reidsema Carl
Published: February 2011

The rapid development of computing technology has facilitated its use in engineering design and manufacturing at an increasing rate. To deliver high quality, low cost products with reduced lead times, companies are focusing their efforts on leveraging this technology through the development of knowledge-based systems such as an IDA. An IDA, which can also be referred to as a design information system, is a part of the overall enterprise information system framework, and plays an important role in improving competitiveness in product development oriented companies. Not only must such a system utilize human expertise and address CE issues in decision making, it must also lead to the preservation and transfer of technical knowledge to minimize the knowledge loss from organizational moves such as personnel retirements and company relocation. The emphasis in CE is to consider downstream aspects of different phases in the product life cycle as early as possible in the design stage. These aspects include production process planning and realization, manufacturing and assembly resources, maintainability, costing and other factors. Both human expertise and downstream aspects predominantly consist of information that is descriptive. This paper discusses the structure and development of a knowledge-based design information system that can convert this descriptive information into forms that are suitable for embedding within decision-making algorithms. Information in such a system is sorted in terms of its nature into three groups: input data information, constraint information, and objective information, all having different representations. Information is also mapped to the relevant design objectives and ranked in importance to facilitate the trade-off analysis.
Using Knowledge-Based Intelligent Reasoning to Support Dynamic Equipment Diagnosis and Maintenance
Authors: Yao Yin-Ho , Lin Gilbert Y.P. Lin , Trappey Amy J.C.
Published: February 2011

This research focuses on the development of a rule-based intelligent equipment trouble-shooting and maintenance platform using JAVA Expert System Shell (JESS) technology. A prototype system is designed and developed combining rule-based knowledge system and inference engine to support real-time collaborative equipment maintenance across geographical boundary. The main modules of the system include diagnosis knowledge management, project (or case) management and system administration. The knowledge management module consists of key functions such as knowledge type definition, knowledge component definition, document definition, mathematical model definition, rule and rule-set management. The project management module has key functions such as project definition, project’s role management, project’s function management and project’s rule-set execution. Further, a Thin-Film Transistor Liquid-Crystal Display (TFT-LCD) production equipment diagnosis and maintenance system is designed and implemented to demonstrate the intelligent maintenance capability. The prototype system enhances agility of TFT-LCD collaborative manufacturing processes with real-time equipment diagnosis and maintenance.
Interoperability Middleware for Federated Business Services in Web-Pilarcos
Authors: Kutvonen Lea , Ruokolainen Toni , Metso Janne
Published: February 2011

Participation in electronic business networks has become necessary for the success of enter¬prises. The strategic business needs for participating in multiple networks simultaneously and for managing changes in these networks are re?ected as new requirements for the supporting computing facilities. The Web-Pilarcos architecture addresses the needs of managed collabo¬ration and interoperability of autonomous business services in an inter-organisational context. The Web-Pilarcos B2B middleware is designed for lowering the cost of collaboration estab¬lishment and to facilitate management and maintenance of electronic business networks. The approach is a federated one: All business services are developed independently and the B2B middleware services are used to ensure that technical, semantic and pragmatic interoperability is maintained in the business network. In the architecture and middleware functionality design, attention has been given to the dynamic aspects and evolution of the network. This article dis¬cusses the concepts provided for application and business network creators and the supporting middleware-level knowledge repositories for interoperability support.
A Negotiation-to-Coordinate (N2C) Mechanism for Modeling Buyer-Supplier Relationship in Dynamic Environment
Authors: Jain Vipul , Wadhwa S. , Deshmukh S. G.
Published: February 2011

In this article, a novel Negotiation-to-Coordinate (N2C) mechanism is proposed to explore the interactive nature of the buyer-supplier relationships for dynamic environments. The proposed N2C mechanism uses prioritized fuzzy constraints to represent trade-offs among the different probable values associated with the negotiation issues and to signify how agents should make concessions. Supervisor agent in the N2C mechanism takes into account the conflicts of interest of buyer’s agent and supplier’s agent and the proposal and plan generated by supervisor agents helps in resolving the true and potential conflicts of interests for buyer’s agent and supplier’s agent. The proposed computational framework based on fuzzy constraints is suited for captur-ing the dynamics by modeling trade-offs between different attributes of a product leading to a fair and equitable deal for both suppliers and buyers. The efficacy of the proposed approach is demonstrated through an illustrative example.
Learning from Model ERP Projects
Authors: Soja Piotr , Put Dariusz
Published: February 2011

The main purpose of this article is to identify the characteristics of enterprise resource plan-ning (ERP) implementations connected with project success. The study combines two statistical methods of clustering analysis employing Ward’s hierarchical and k-means nonhierarchical methodologies. The ERP projects are described by 12 attributes divided into effort, effect, and success indicators. The analysis draws on research conducted among a few dozen companies implementing an ERP system into their organisations. The investigated projects were divided into groups of homogenous elements on the basis of the attribute values. Next, the obtained clusters were ordered using the average value of success achieved. In consequence, the groups with the most desirable attributes were recognised and the clusters with the least desirable char-acteristics were extracted. The thorough examination of these extreme groups containing model and antimodel projects was the basis for drawing conclusions for practitioners and researchers towards ERP projects enhancement.
Defining Information System Success in France
Authors: Agourram Hafid , Robson Bill , Nehari Talet Amine
Published: February 2011

The objective of this study is to explore how IS success is defined and perceived by a group of people in France. The results show that culture does influence IS success perception. The study has many implications for both academic and practice communities. The results are especially important to multinational organizations that standardize IS in different cultures, including France. The research case is a multibillion dollar Canadian multinational organization which decided to standardize an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system in all its worldwide subsidiaries.
An Object-Oriented Abstraction Mechanism for Generic Enterprise Modeling
Authors: Choudhury Islam , de Cesare Sergio , Di Florido Emily
Published: February 2011

A generic object-oriented enterprise modeling process (GOOEMP) is a set of partially ordered steps intended to reach the objective of building a fully integrated, dynamic, object-oriented model of the enterprise. An abstraction mechanism is proposed to enable this process. The process is generic because it applies to most types of enterprises. Enterprise models are the products developed from the process and these can be used by various stakeholders in an organization to: a) give them an understanding of the enterprise; b) design integrated information systems; c) respond to business changes by evolving their enterprise models and information systems in a coordinated and coherent manner; and d) enable the enterprise models built within a particular industry to be reused and applied to many other industries.
An Adaptive E-Commerce Architecture for Enterprise Information Exchange
Authors: Aklouf Youcef , Drias Habiba
Published: February 2011

This article contributes to the design of a generic framework for providing a new way to exchange information between enterprises. This concept is a well addressed in the context of B2B standards. Many organizations are increasingly searching for adopting these standards to automate data exchange. But the limit of such models resides in the fact that the content of exchange is defined in several formats which make their use difficult. To overcome this difficulty, we have explored the possibility to integrate new models for describing content involved in B2B transaction which represent a key issue. Our finding establishes the feasibility of integrating product models described by ontology with e-commerce standards especially at the business process level. This article presents a descriptive model allowing partners to exchange information with other organisations without modifying their Information System. The case study also indicates that our system is developed as a Service Oriented Architecture.
RFID Adoption
Authors: Ngai E.W.T. , Gunasekaran Angappa
Published: February 2011

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is becoming increasingly important and is being used in business, production, manufacturing and logistics industries. However, RFID technology is still not fully development. This article examines the collection of some of the issues and challenges facing the RFID technology adoption in industrial applications and offers an initial roadmap to view the challenging and problems for further research. From this article, we see that the more research effort and development put into RFID study, the more successful RFID adoption we can see.
Factors Influencing Information System Flexibility
Authors: Chen Ruey-Shun , Sun Chia-Ming , Helms Marilyn M. , Jih Wen-Jang (Kenny)
Published: February 2011

Information System (IS) flexibility has been regarded as an important indicator of information technology success. This article provides a model of IS flexibility encompassing all stages of IS implementation and usage. The model considers the cognitive factors from IS staff and users as important leveraging IS flexibility with adaptation activities. A review of constructs extending from the interpretive flexibility perspective in the literature is used to identify these cognitive factors. By hypothesizing the relationships among these cognitive factors, IS flexibility, and adaptation activities several propositions are identified. Empirical testing is then warranted to refute or validate the propositions.
Conflicts, Compromises, and Political Decisions
Authors: Smolander Kari , Rossi Matti
Published: February 2011

This article describes the architecture development process in an international ICT company, which is building a comprehensive e-business system for its customers. The implementation includes the integration of data and legacy systems from independent business units and the construction of a uniform Web-based customer interface. We followed the early process of architecture analysis and definition over a year. The research focuses on the creation of e-business architecture and observes that instead of guided by a prescribed method, the architecture emerges through somewhat non-deliberate actions obliged by the situation and its constraints, conflicts, compromises, and political decisions. The interview-based qualitative data is analyzed using grounded theory and a coherent story explaining the situation and its forces is extracted. Conclusions are drawn from the observations and possibilities and weaknesses of the support that UML and RUP provide for the process are pointed out.
A Proposition for Classification of Business Sectors by ERP Solutions Support
Authors: Jakupovic Alen , Pavlic Mile , Vrcek Neven
Published: February 2011

This paper illustrates the results of an analysis of business sectors covered by ERP solutions. The authors answer questions in regards to business sectors supported by ERP solutions, while presenting a list of supported business sectors. Using a statistical analysis, an answer is given to the question of whether there are any business sectors that are supported by a large number of ERP solutions, and whether it is possible to classify business sectors based on the occurrence of the support. Finally, three classifications are described that stem from different statistical views of covering business sectors by ERP solutions, and a suggestion for a unique classification of business sectors is given.
A Multidimensional Software Cache for Scratchpad-Based Systems
Authors: Azevedo Arnaldo , Juurlink Ben
Published: February 2011

In many kernels of multimedia applications, the working set is predictable, making it possible to schedule the data transfers before the computation. Many other kernels, however, process data that is known just before it is needed or have working sets that do not fit in the scratchpad memory. Furthermore, multimedia kernels often access two or higher dimensional data structures and conventional software caches have difficulties to exploit the data locality exhibited by these kernels. For such kernels, the authors present a Multidimensional Software Cache (MDSC), which stores 1- 4 dimensional blocks to mimic in cache the organization of the data structure. Furthermore, it indexes the cache using the matrix indices rather than linear memory addresses. MDSC also makes use of the lower overhead of Direct Memory Access (DMA) list transfers and allows exploiting known data access patterns to reduce the number of accesses to the cache. The MDSC is evaluated using GLCM, providing an 8% performance improvement compared to the IBM software cache. For MC, several optimizations are presented that reduce the number of accesses to the MDSC.
Self-Service Systems
Authors: Gurau Calin
Published: February 2011

The rapid development of online self-service applications has created the need for empirical studies about consumers’ perceptions and behavior during the adoption and use of such systems. An essential condition for understanding the elements that can enhance the adoption and use of these online systems is to identify the main factors that define the quality of self-service applications from the perspective of online users. After a presentation of the main streams of research focused on the analysis of online self-service systems, the article identifies eight quality dimensions defined by previous studies. The analysis of primary data permits a ranking of these quality dimensions in relation to users’ perceptions. On the other hand, the study investigates the influence of users’ personal characteristics (gender, age, Internet usage frequency and online self-service usage frequency) on the perceived importance of various quality dimensions, providing specific insights about the needs and wants of various categories of customers.
Toward a Better Understanding of the Assimilation of Telehealth Systems
Authors: Jean-Jules Joachim , Villeneuve Alain O.
Published: February 2011

A number of healthcare authorities are considering bringing telehealth systems out of experimental settings into mainstream clinical care. As most literature on telehealth systems to date has focused on their adoption and their evaluation, more work is warranted to understand how telehealth systems can be assimilated and to identify factors that may facilitate or impinge onto this assimilation. Borrowing from institutional, structuration and organizational learning theories, we propose a conceptual model of the determinants relevant for the assimilation of telehealth systems in healthcare organizations. The result is summarized in eight conjectures and a conceptual model. This work not only goes beyond the common methods of analyzing and discussing telehealth systems with user acceptance models, but it also draws a strong link between the assimilation of technological innovations and their institutional context. We hope it will contribute to guide research and managerial actions directed toward integrating telehealth systems in the workplace.
An IT-Architecture to Align E-Recruiting and Retention Processes
Authors: Eckhardt Andreas , Laumer Sven
Published: February 2011

As one of the top issues for CIOs nowadays the recruiting and retention of IT-professionals has received a lot of attention both in practice and research. While companies are in dire need of new strategies and integrated approaches in human resources, research has predominately observed the general attitude of IT-professionals to their work, their individual incentives and consequentially their turnover intention. We aim to relieve these needs in practice by introducing an approach containing an aligned ITarchitecture of e- recruiting and retention processes. For this purpose we use a design science approach to develop an IT-architecture of retention processes and their related subsystems and combine this architecture with the next-generation holistic e-recruiting system invented by In Lee in 2007. This architecture could increase knowledge transfer and thereby improve the adjustment and performance of both processes.
Aligning Six Sigma and ITIL to Improve IT Service Management
Authors: Chan Peter C. , Durant Shauntell R. , Gall Verna Mae , Raisinghani Mahesh S.
Published: February 2011

Organizations are implementing IT Service Management (ITSM) and creating quality standards to design, deliver, and manage IT services to meet or exceed an agreed level of quality. ITSM uses the best practices of IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) that informs IT management what needs to be done and how it will get done from the process perspective. However when undertaking an ITSM a project to implement ITIL, ITIL does not provide a method for measuring quality or identifying and completing process improvement projects. By integrating the Six Sigma quality methodology, IT management will have the methodology and tools for measuring quality and improving processes. Adopting Six Sigma principles also helps IT managers focus on their business strategy and customers, manage proactively based on facts, and reinforce collaboration across the enterprise. The framework in our exploratory experience based research has been built upon a deductive study which has been developed through a literature review and synthesis and an exploratory inductive research which has been developed using a qualitative case study methodology in the e-services and mobile applications field.
E-Services
Authors: Scupola Ada , Henten Anders , Westh Nicolajsen Hanne
Published: February 2011

The concept of e-services has gained increasing use lately. There is, however, no general agreement as to the precise meaning and scope of the term. The research purpose of the present article is, therefore, to discuss the e-service concept, its strengths and scope, and thereby contribute to the general understanding and definition of the term. Furthermore, the article aims at examining one of the primary conditions for the development of e-services, namely the codification of knowledge in connection with knowledge intensive services.
Activity-Based Costing in Public Administrations
Authors: Becker Jörg , Bergener Philipp , Räckers Michael
Published: February 2011

The traditional way of budgeting in public administrations is input-oriented; however, this system does not meet actual methods of efficient budget controlling as a mapping of output parameters. Due to challenges, such as the need for cost reduction because of decreasing tax revenues, pressure for controlling mechanisms is rising. Furthermore, Europe Pan-European directives foster process harmonization and introduction of IT-supported and optimized business processes in the public sector. In this regard, activity-based costing can be a useful instrument for efficiency measurement of public administrations output. Through the introduction of new public management and double-entry accounting public administrations, the opportunity to use cost-centered accounting mechanisms to assess process performance while evaluating their activities in a holistic concept is accomplished. Process modeling can be a useful instrument to help public administrations to capture relevant process knowledge and thus create the data basis for activity-based costing.
Investigating the Landscape in National Interoperability Frameworks
Authors: Charalabidis Yannis , Lampathaki Fenareti , Askounis Dimitris
Published: February 2011

Openness, accountability, and transparency have attracted researchers’ and practitioners’ interest as open data and citizen engagement initiatives try to capitalize the wisdom of crowds for better governance, policy making, or even service provision. In this context, interoperability between public organizations, citizens, and enterprises seems to remain the center of interest in the public sector and national interoperability frameworks are continually revised and expanded across the globe in an effort to support the increasing need for seamless exchange of information. This paper outlines the current landscape in eGovernment interoperability, analyzing and comparing frameworks that have reached a certain degree of maturity. Their strengths and weaknesses at conceptual and implementation level are discussed together with directions for reaching consensus and aligning interoperability guidelines at a country and cross-country level.
E-Service Research Trends in the Domain of E-Government
Authors: Islam M. Sirajul , Scupola Ada
Published: February 2011

Government ‘e-service’ as a subfield of the e-government domain has been gaining attention to practitioners and academicians alike due to the growing use of information and communication technologies at the individual, organizational, and societal levels. This paper conducts a thorough literature review to examine the e-service research trends during the period between 2005 and 2009 mostly in terms of research methods, theoretical models, and frameworks employed as well as type of research questions. The results show that there has been a good amount of papers focusing on ‘e-Service’ within the field of e-government with a good combination of research methods and theories. In particular, findings show that technology acceptance, evaluation and system architecture are the most common themes, which circa half of the studies surveyed focus on the organizational perspective and that the most employed research methods are case studies and surveys, often with a mix of both types of methodologies.
A Bio-Inspired Concept for Information Security Modelling
Authors: Ogundele O. S. , Alese B. K. , Mathew O. O.
Published: February 2011

Bio-inspired models for information security were designed to demonstrate the performances by which biology achieves security. Existing research focuses on borrowing partial ideas from biological systems to resolve some facet of information security in a network environment, such as intrusion detection and fault tolerance. This work uses the bio-inspired concept of the body system to demonstrate an information security model that makes use of the immune system. The white blood cells (leucocytes) produce the antibodies (lymphocyte) that fight against all antigens (foreign materials) and kill them. The skin layer of the body contains keratin that prevents microorganisms from penetrating the body. The authors relate the processes in biological systems to information security using mechanisms of the immune system in molecular biology as the key paradigm. Theory of set and algebra were used to describe the relationship between the immune system and the information security model. A simple simulator was developed to demonstrate the operation of the designed bio-inspired model. Although the simulator was tested with assumed data, the work offered insight into how the immune system of biology can be adapted to design and implement a more secure information security system.
Framework for Constructive Computer Game toward Empowering the Future Generation
Authors: Chiemeke S. C. , Folajimi Y. O.
Published: February 2011

The world of today has undergone a technological revolution that has drastically transformed society. The world is now accessible to every age group. One common application of modern computing among the younger generation is computer games. Although there are some advantages, many researchers have shown that they may be somewhat harmful to the growth and development of children. In this paper, the authors examine computer game use among youth, including the games they play and how constructive games can have positive development implications. One popular learning game is Scrabble (a trademark of the Hasbro Corporation). In this paper, the authors present the architecture of a constructive computer game, NigerScrab. NigerScrab is a version of the computer Scrabble game that is both entertaining and educational and has positive impacts on youth.
Development of a New Blast Vibration Prediction Model Incorporating Burden Variations in Surface Blasting
Authors: Ramulu M.
Published: February 2011

The globally followed common vibration predictor model includes distance from source to vibration monitoring location and quantity of explosive charge per delay without giving much consideration to blast design parameters. Though there are qualitative assertions on the influence of burden on the vibration intensity by many researchers, no work on quantification of influence of burden has been reported. This paper deals with the development of a predictor model incorporating burden deviations in the existing predictor equation. The influence of burden on the vibration was viewed from the angle of detonation and rock fracturing during blasting. The new predictor equation is based on existing models developed by other researchers on the influence of burden on the blasthole pressure and vibration intensity as well as on some logical assumptions. The influence of burden on vibration was examined in two independent phases of blasting, and the net effect was calculated by adding the influence in both the phases. The study provides a quantitative explanation for the common observations of increased vibration levels produced by the blast rounds with excess burden and/or misfired shots.
Using Policy-Based Management for Privacy-Enhancing Data Access and Usage Control in Grid Environments
Authors: Hommel Wolfgang
Published: February 2011

Preventing the misuse of personally identifiable information and preserving user privacy are key issues in the management of IT services, especially when organizational borders are crossed. However, in Grid environments only few of the recent advantages in research areas such as privacy enhancing technologies and federated identity management have been adopted so far. In this article, we first present an analysis of the differences between Grid environments and previous models of inter-organizational collaboration. Based on requirements derived thereof, we demonstrate how existing policy-based privacy management architectures can be extended to provide Grid-specific functionality and integrated into existing infrastructures. Special emphasis is put on privacy policies which can be configured by users themselves, and distinguishing between the initial data access and the later data usage control phases. We also discuss the application of this approach to a XACML-based privacy management system.