bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Web Mining in Thematic Search Engines
Authors: Caramia Massimiliano , Felici Giovanni
Published: May 2011

The recent improvements of search engine technologies have made available to Internet users an enormous amount of knowledge that can be accessed in many different ways. The most popular search engines now provide search facilities for databases containing billions of Web pages, where queries are executed instantly. The focus is switching from quantity (maintaining and indexing large databases of Web pages and quickly selecting pages matching some criterion) to quality (identifying pages with a high quality for the user). Such a trend is motivated by the natural evolution of Internet users who are now more selective in their choice of the search tool and may be willing to pay the price of providing extra feedback to the system and to wait more time for their queries to be better matched. In this framework, several have considered the use of data-mining and optimization techniques, which are often referred to as Web mining (for a recent bibliography on this topic, see, e.g., Getoor, Senator, Domingos & Faloutsos, 2003), and Zaïane, Srivastava, Spiliopoulou, & Masand, 2002). Here, we describe a method for improving standard search results in a thematic search engine, where the documents and the pages made available are restricted to a finite number of topics, and the users are considered to belong to a finite number of user profiles. The method uses clustering techniques to identify, in the set of pages resulting from a simple query, subsets that are homogeneous with respect to a vectorization based on context or profile; then we construct a number of small and potentially good subsets of pages, extracting from each cluster the pages with higher scores. Operating on these subsets with a genetic algorithm, we identify the subset with a good overall score and a high internal dissimilarity. This provides the user with a few nonduplicated pages that represent more correctly the structure of the initial set of pages. Because pages are seen by the algorithms as vectors of fixed dimension, the role of the context- or profile-based vectorization is central and specific to the thematic approach of this method.
Web Usage Mining
Authors: Mobasher Bamshad
Published: May 2011

With the continued growth and proliferation of e-commerce, Web services, and Web-based information systems, the volumes of clickstream and user data collected by Web-based organizations in their daily operations have reached astronomical proportions. Analyzing such data can help these organizations determine the lifetime value of clients, design cross-marketing strategies across products and services, evaluate the effectiveness of promotional campaigns, optimize the functionality of Web-based applications, provide more personalized content to visitors, and find the most effective logical structure for their Web space. This type of analysis involves the automatic discovery of meaningful patterns and relationships from a large collection of primarily semi-structured data often stored in Web and applications server access logs as well as in related operational data sources.
Web Usage Mining Data Preparation
Authors: Mobasher Bamshad
Published: May 2011

Web usage mining refers to the automatic discovery and analysis of patterns in clickstream and associated data collected or generated as a result of user interactions with Web resources on one or more Web sites. The goal of Web usage mining is to capture, model, and analyze the behavioral patterns and profiles of users interacting with a Web site. Analyzing such data can help these organizations determine the lifetime value of clients, design cross marketing strategies across products and services, evaluate the effectiveness of promotional campaigns, optimize the functionality of Web-based applications, provide more personalized content to visitors, and find the most effective logical structure for their Web space.
World Wide Web Usage Mining
Authors: Hu Wen-Chen , Yang Hung-Jen , Lee Chung-wei , Yeh Jyh-haw
Published: May 2011

World Wide Web data mining includes content mining, hyperlink structure mining, and usage mining. All three approaches attempt to extract knowledge from the Web, produce some useful results from the knowledge extracted, and apply the results to certain real-world problems. The first two apply the data mining techniques to Web page contents and hyperlink structures, respectively. The third approach, Web usage mining (the theme of this article), is the application of data mining techniques to the usage logs of large Web data repositories in order to produce results that can be applied to many practical subjects, such as improving Web sites/pages, making additional topic or product recommendations, user/customer behavior studies, and so forth. This article provides a survey and analysis of current Web usage mining technologies and systems. A Web usage mining system must be able to perform five major functions: (i) data gathering, (ii) data preparation, (iii) navigation pattern discovery, (iv) pattern analysis and visualization, and (v) pattern applications. Many Web usage mining technologies have been proposed, and each technology employs a different approach. This article first describes a generalized Web usage mining system, which includes five individual functions. Each system function is then explained and analyzed in detail. Related surveys of Web usage mining techniques also can be found in Hu, et al. (2003) and Kosala and Blockeel (2000).
Active Database Management Systems
Authors: Cilia Mariano A.
Published: May 2011

As it is well known, business requirements are changing faster than applications can be created and/or modified. Most of these requirements are in the form of or are related to business rules. Business rules are precise statements that describe, constrain and control the structure, operations and strategy of a business. They may be thought of as small pieces of knowledge about a business domain. They offer a way of encapsulating business semantics and making them explicit in the same way that databases enable the separation of data from application programs.
Active Federated Database Systems
Authors: Vargas-Solar Genoveva
Published: May 2011

Database management systems (DBMS) are becoming part of environments composed of large-scale distributed heterogeneous and networks of autonomous, loosely coupled components. In particular, federated database management systems (FDBMS) can be seen as networks that integrate a number of pre-existing autonomous DBMS which can be homogeneous or heterogeneous. They can use different underlying data models, data definition and manipulation facilities, transaction management, and concurrency control mechanisms. DBMS in the federation can be integrated by a mediator providing a unified view of data: a global schema, a global query language, a global catalogue, and a global transaction manager. The underlying transaction model considers, in general, a set of transactions synchronized by a global transaction. Synchronization is achieved using protocols such as the Two-Phase Commit protocol. FDBMS applications are built upon this global environment, and they interact with the mediator to execute global database operations (i.e., operations that can concern various DBMS in the federation).
Database Replication Protocols
Authors: Muñoz-Escoí Francesc D. , Irún-Briz Luis , Decker Hendrik
Published: May 2011

Databases are replicated in order to obtain two complementary features: performance improvement and high availability. Performance can be improved when a database is replicated since each replica can serve read-only accesses without requiring any coordination with the rest of replicas. Thus, when most of the application accesses to the data are read-only, they can be served locally without preventing other processes to access the same or other replicas. Moreover, a careful coordination management can ensure that the failure of one or more replicas does not compromise the availability of the database as long as at least one of the replicas is alive.
Deriving Spatial Integrity Constraints from Geographic Application Schemas
Authors: Davis Jr. Clodoveu A. , Borges Karla A.V. , Laender Alberto H.F.
Published: May 2011

Integrity constraints of various kinds must be observed when creating or updating a database in order to preserve the semantics and the quality of stored data (Elmasri & Navathe, 2000). Within the scope of geographic applications, integrity assurance requires special attention from the designer, since most geographic applications use data that depend on spatial relationships (Egenhofer & Franzosa, 1991), thereby requiring the specification of spatial integrity constraints.
Document Versioning in Digital Libraries
Authors: Martínez-González Mercedes
Published: May 2011

Digital libraries are systems that contain organized collections of objects, serving in their most basic functions as a mirror of the traditional library that contains paper documents. Most of the information contained in the collections of a digital library consists of documents, which can evolve with time. That is, a document can be modified to obtain a new document, and digital library users may want access to any of those versions. This introduces in digital libraries the problem of versioning, a problem that has also been considered in a related community, the hypertext community(hypermedia in its most extensive acception).Some domains in which document evolution is very important are the legislative domain (Arnold-Moore, 2000; Martínez-González, 2001; Vitali, 1999), the management of errata made to scientific articles (Poworotznek, 2003) and software construction (Conradi & Westfechtel, 1998).
Free Software and Open Source Databases
Authors: Curti Hugo J.
Published: May 2011

Free software and open source databases have become a serious alternative to commercial databases. This article states common points and differences between the open source and free software movements and briefly describes the most relevant licenses and database projects.
Mathematics of Generic Specifications for Model Management, I
Authors: Diskin Zinovy
Published: May 2011

This article (further referred to as Math-I), and the next one (further referred to as Math-II, see p. 359), form a mathematical companion to the article in this encyclopedia on Generic Model Management (further referred to as GenMMt, see p.258 ). Articles Math-I and II present the basics of the arrow diagram machinery that provides model management with truly generic specifications. Particularly, it allows us to build a generic pattern for heterogeneous data and schema transformation, which is presented in Math-II for the first time in the literature.
Multilevel Databases
Authors: Gabillon Alban
Published: May 2011

In the context of multilevel security, every piece of information is associated with a classification level, and every user is associated with a clearance level. The classification and clearance levels are taken from the same set of security levels. This set is totally or partially ordered and forms a lattice. The ordering relation is called the dominance relation and is denoted by ³. An example of a totally ordered set is {Unclassified, Confidential, Secret} with Secret > Confidential > Unclassified. An example for a partially ordered set is {low, (Secret, NATO), (Secret, Defence), high} with (Secret, NATO) > low, (Secret, Defence) > low, high > (Secret, NATO), high > (Secret, Defence), (Secret, NATO) and (Secret, Defence) are incomparable.
Semantically Modeled Enterprise Databases
Authors: Dunn Cheryl L. , Grabski Severin V.
Published: May 2011

A semantically modeled enterprise database is a reflection of the reality of the activities in which an enterprise engages and the resources and people involved in those activities. Many organizations have invested immense sums of money in enterprise resource planning systems (ERP) and associated “bolt-on” applications such as customer relationship management (CRM) and advanced planning systems (APS). A significant portion of the value of these systems is in the integrated database and associated data warehouse. To maximize value, the database should serve as a semantic representation of the organization. Otherwise, relevant information needed to reflect the organization’s activities may be omitted or may be stored in such a way that the underlying reality is hidden or disguised and is therefore of no use to decision makers.
Text Categorization
Authors: Sebastiani Fabrizio
Published: May 2011

During the last 15 years, the production of documents in digital form has exploded, due to the increased availability of hardware and software tools for generating digital data (e.g., personal computers, digital cameras, word processors) and for digitizing data that had been originated in nondigital form (e.g., scanners, OCR software). This phenomenon has also strongly affected “novel” digital media such as imagery, video, music, and so forth. However, natural language text has been, at least from a quantitative viewpoint, the medium most responsible for this explosion, due to its immediacy and to the ubiquity of word processing and text authoring tools. As a consequence, there is an increased need for hardware and software solutions for storing, organizing, and retrieving the large amounts of digital text that are being produced, with an eye towards its future use.
Text Databases
Authors: Navarro Gonzaloz
Published: May 2011

A text is any sequence of symbols (or characters) drawn from an alphabet. A large portion of the information available worldwide in electronic form is actually in text form (other popular forms are structured and multimedia information). Some examples are natural language text (e.g., books, journals, newspapers, jurisprudence databases, corporate information, the Web), biological sequences (e.g., ADN and protein sequences), continuous signals (e.g., audio and video sequence descriptions, time functions), and so on. Recently, due to the increasing complexity of applications, text and structured data are being merged into so-called semistructured data, which is expressed and manipulated in formats such as XML (out of the scope of this review).
Using Semantic Web Tools for Ontologies Construction
Authors: Zarri Gian Piero
Published: May 2011

The current state of Web technology—the “first generation” or “syntactic” Web—gives rise to well-known serious problems when trying to accomplish, in a nontrivial way, essential tasks like indexing, searching, extracting, maintaining, and generating information. These tasks would, in fact, require some sort of “deep understanding” of the information dealt with. In a “syntactic” Web context, on the contrary, computers are only used as tools for posting and rendering information by brute force. Faced with this situation, Tim Berners-Lee first proposed a sort of “Semantic Web,” where the access to information is based mainly on the processing of the semantic properties of this information: “The Semantic Web is an extension of the current Web in which information is given well-defined meaning [italics added], better enabling computers and people to work in cooperation” (Berners-Lee, Hendler, & Lassila, 2001, p. 35). The Semantic Web’s challenge consists then in being able to access and retrieve information on the Web by “understanding” its proper semantic content (its meaning) and not simply by matching some keywords.
Affective Computing
Authors: Pantic Maja
Published: May 2011

We seem to be entering an era of enhanced digital connectivity. Computers and the Internet have become so embedded in the daily fabric of people’s lives that they simply cannot live without them (Hoffman et al., 2004). We use this technology to work, to communicate, to shop, to seek out new information, and to entertain ourselves. With this ever-increasing diffusion of computers in society, human-computer interaction (HCI) is becoming increasingly essential to our daily lives.
Cost Models for Telecommunication Networks and Their Application to GSM Systems
Authors: Hackbarth Klaus D. , Portilla J. Antonio , Diaz Ing. Carlos
Published: May 2011

Currently mobile networks are one of the key issues in the information society. The use of cellular phones has been broadly extended since the middle 1990s, in Europe mainly with the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) system, and in the United States (U.S.) with the IS-54 system. The technologies on which these systems are based, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) are completely developed, the networks are completely deployed and the business models are almost exhausted1 (Garrese, 2003). Therefore, these systems are in the saturation stage if we consider the network life cycle described by Ward, which is shown in Figure 1.
Dark Optical Fibre as a Modern Solution for Broadband Networked Cities
Authors: Chochliouros Ioannis P. , Spiliopoulou-Chochliourou Anastasia S. , Lalopoulos George K.
Published: May 2011

The world economy is moving in transition from the industrial age to a new set of rules—that of the so-called information society—which is rapidly taking shape in different multiple aspects of everyday life: The exponential growth of the Internet, the explosion of mobile communications, the rapid emergence of electronic commerce, the restructuring of various forms of businesses in all sectors of the modern economy, the contribution of digital industries to growth and employment, and so forth are some amongst the current features of the new global reality. Changes are usually underpinned by technological progress and globalisation, while the combination of global competition and digital technologies is having a crucial sweeping effect. Digital technologies facilitate the transmission and storing of information while providing multiple access facilities, in most cases, without significant costs. As digital information may be easily transformed into economic and social value, it offers huge opportunities for the development of new products, services, and applications. Information becomes the key resource and the engine of the new e-economy. Companies in different sectors have started to adapt to the new economic situation in order to become e-businesses (European Commission, 2001c). The full competitiveness of a state in the current high-tech, digitally converging environment is strongly related to the existence of a modern digital infrastructure of high capacity and high performance that is rationally deployed, properly priced, and capable of providing easy, cost-effective, secure, and uninterrupted access to the international “digital web” of knowledge and commerce without imposing any artificial barriers and/or restrictions.
Digital Watermarking Based on Neural Network Technology for Grayscale Images
Authors: Chen Jeanne , Chen Tung-Shou , Ma Keh-Jian , Wang Pin-Hsin
Published: May 2011

Great advancements made on information and network technologies have brought on much activity on the Internet. Traditional methods of trading and communication are so revolutionized that everything is quasi-online. Amidst the rush to be online emerge the urgent need to protect the massive volumes of data passing through the Internet daily. A highly dependable and secure Internet environment is therefore of utmost importance.
Efficient Method for Image Indexing in Medical Application
Authors: Chbeir Richard
Published: May 2011

In last two decades, image retrieval has seen a growth of interests in several domains. As a result, a lot of work has been done in order to integrate it in the standard data processing environments (Rui, Huang, & Chang, 1999; Smeulders, Gevers, & Kersten, 1998; Yoshitaka & Ichikawa, 1999). To retrieve images, different methods have been proposed in the literature (Chang & Jungert, 1997; Guttman, 1984; Lin, Jagadish, & Faloutsos, 1994). These methods can be grouped into two major approaches: metadata-based and content-based approaches. The metadata-based approach uses alphanumeric attributes and traditional techniques to describe the context and/or the content of the image such as title, author name, date, and so on. The content-based approach uses image processing algorithms to extract low-level features of images such as colors, textures, and shapes. Image retrieval using these features is done by methods of similarity and hence is a non-exact matching.
Evolution of GSM Network Technology
Authors: Olla Phillip
Published: May 2011

The explosive growth of Global System for Mobile (GSM) Communication services over the last two decades has changed mobile communications from a niche market to a fundamental constituent of the global telecommunication markets. GSM is a digital wireless technology standard based on the notion that users want to communicate wirelessly without limitations created by network or national borders. In a short period of time, GSM has become a global phenomenon. The explanation for its success is the cooperation and coordination of technical and operational evolution that has created a virtuous circle of growth built on three principles: interoperability based on open platforms, roaming, and economies of scale (GSM Association, 2004a). GSM standards are now adopted by more than 200 countries and territories. It has become the main global standard for mobile communications; 80% of all new mobile customers are on GSM networks. GSM has motivated wireless adoption to the extent that mobile phones now globally outnumber fixed-line telephones. In February 2004, more than 1 billion people, almost one in six of the world’s population, were using GSM mobile phones.
Information Security Management
Authors: Hentea Mariana
Published: May 2011

Information security management is the framework for ensuring the effectiveness of information security controls over information resources to ensure no repudiation, authenticity, confidentiality, integrity and availability of the information. Organizations need a systematic approach for information security management that addresses security consistently at every level. However, the security infrastructure of most organizations came about through necessity rather than planning, a reactive-based approach as opposed to a proactive approach (Gordon, Loeb & Lucyshyn, 2003). Intrusion detection systems, firewalls, anti-virus software, virtual private networks, encryption and biometrics are security technologies in use today. Many devices and systems generate hundreds of events and report various problems or symptoms. Also, these devices may all come at different times and from different vendors, with different reporting and management capabilities and—perhaps worst of all—different update schedules. The security technologies are not integrated, and each technology provides the information in its own format and meaning. In addition, these systems across versions, product lines and vendors may provide little or no consistent characterization of events that represent the same symptom. Also, the systems are not efficient and scalable because they rely on human expertise to analyze periodically the data collected with all these systems. Network administrators regularly have to query different databases for new vulnerabilities and apply patches to their systems to avoid attacks. Quite often, different security staff is responsible and dedicated for the monitoring and analysis of data provided by a single system. Security staff does not periodically analyze the data and does not timely communicate analysis reports to other staff. The tools employed have very little impact on security prevention, because these systems lack the capability to generalize, learn and adapt in time.
Information Security Threats
Authors: Tassabehji Rana
Published: May 2011

Information security is an old concept where people, businesses, politicians, military leaders, and others have been trying to protect “sensitive” information from unauthorised or accidental loss, destruction, disclosure, modification, misuse, or access. Since antiquity, information security has been a decisive factor in a large number of military and other campaigns (Wolfram 2002)—one of the most notable being the breaking of the German Enigma code in the Second World War.
Intrusion Detection Systems
Authors: Kayacik H. Gunes , Zincir-Heywood A. Nur , Heywood Malcolm I.
Published: May 2011

Along with its numerous benefits, the Internet also created numerous ways to compromise the security and stability of the systems connected to it. In 2003, 137529 incidents were reported to CERT/CC© while in 1999, there were 9859 reported incidents (CERT/CC©, 2003). Operations, which are primarily designed to protect the availability, confidentiality, and integrity of critical network information systems, are considered to be within the scope of security management. Security management operations protect computer networks against denial-of-service attacks, unauthorized disclosure of information, and the modification or destruction of data. Moreover, the automated detection and immediate reporting of these events are required in order to provide the basis for a timely response to attacks (Bass, 2000). Security management plays an important, albeit often neglected, role in network management tasks.
Local Loop Unbundling
Authors: Arbore Alessandro
Published: May 2011

Local loop unbundling (LLU) is one of the most important and controversial policy instruments adopted in many countries since the second half of the 1990s. Its aim is to foster competition within local telecommunication markets.
Multimedia Communication Services on Digital TV Platforms
Authors: Hulicki Zbigniew
Published: May 2011

Digital television (TV)-based communication systems provide cost-effective solutions and, in many cases, offer capabilities difficult to obtain by other technologies (Elbert, 1997). Hence, many books and papers on digital TV have been published in recent years (Burnett, 2004; Collins, 2001; Dreazen, 2002; ETR, 1996; Mauthe, 2004; Scalise, 1999; Seffah, 2004; Whitaker, 2003). None of them, however, provide an exhaustive analysis of the service provision aspects at the application layer. Therefore, this contribution aims to fill that gap, with a comprehensive view on the provision of services on DTV platform.
The N-Dimensional Geometry and Kinaesthetic Space of the Internet
Authors: Murphy Peter
Published: May 2011

What does the space created by the Internet look like? One answer to this question is to say that, because this space exists “virtually”, it cannot be represented. The idea of things that cannot be visually represented has a long history, ranging from the romantic sublime to the Jewish God. A second, more prosaic, answer to the question of what cyberspace looks like is to imagine it as a diagram-like web. This is how it is represented in “maps” of the Internet. It appears as a mix of cross-hatching, lattice-like web figures, and hub-and-spoke patterns of intersecting lines.
Objective Measurement of Perceived QoS for Homogeneous MPEG-4 Video Content
Authors: Koumaras Harilaos , Martakos Drakoulis , Kourtis Anastasios
Published: May 2011

Multimedia applications over 3G and 4G (third and fourth generation) networks will be based on digital encoding techniques (e.g., MPEG-4) that achieve high compression ratios by exploiting the spatial and temporal redundancy in video sequences. However, digital encoding causes image artifacts, which result in perceived-quality degradation. Due to the fact that the parameters with strong influence on the video quality are normally those set at the encoder (most importantly, the bit rate and resolution), the issue of user satisfaction in correlation with the encoding parameters has been raised (MPEG Test, 1999).
Web-Based Learning
Authors: Danenberg James O. , Chen Kuanchin
Published: May 2011

Web-based learning (a major subcomponent of the broader term “distance learning”) is one of the tools with which education is delivered at a distance electronically. There seems to be many definitions, as well as terms, for distance learning, such as “distance education,” “distributed learning,” “remote education,” “online learning” and “Web-based learning,” which all may refer to the similar education deliverables. In the mid-1990s, the U.S. Department of Education defined distance education as “education or training courses delivered to remote off-campus location(s) via audio, video or computer technologies” (Lewis, Farris & Levin, 1999). Later in the 1990s, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) defined distance learning as education in which “the teacher and the student are separated geographically so that face-to-face communication is absent; communication is accomplished instead by one or more technological media, most often electronic” (AAUP, 1999).
Computer Access for Motor-Impaired Users
Authors: Trewin Shari , Keates Simeon
Published: May 2011

Computers can be a source of tremendous benefit for those with motor impairments. Enabling computer access empowers individuals, offering improved quality of life. This is achieved through greater freedom to participate in computer-based activities for education and leisure, as well as increased job potential and satisfaction. Physical impairments can impose barriers to access to information technologies. The most prevalent conditions include rheumatic diseases, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, and spinal injuries or disorders. Cumulative trauma disorders represent a further significant category of injury that may be specifically related to computer use. See Kroemer (2001) for an extensive bibliography of literature in this area. Symptoms relevant to computer operation include joint stiffness, paralysis in one or more limbs, numbness, weakness, bradykinesia (slowness of movement), rigidity, impaired balance and coordination, tremor, pain, and fatigue. These symptoms can be stable or highly variable, both within and between individuals. In a study commissioned by Microsoft, Forrester Research, Inc. (2003) found that one in four working-age adults has some dexterity difficulty or impairment. Jacko and Vitense (2001) and Sears and Young (2003) provide detailed analyses of impairments and their effects on computer access. There are literally thousands of alternative devices and software programs designed to help people with disabilities to access and use computers (Alliance for Technology Access, 2000; Glennen & DeCoste, 1997; Lazzaro, 1995). This article describes access mechanisms typically used by individuals with motor impairments, discusses some of the trade-offs involved in choosing an input mechanism, and includes emerging approaches that may lead to additional alternatives in the future.
Expectations and Their Forgotten Role in HCI
Authors: Noyes Jan
Published: May 2011

Technology with its continuing developments pervades the 21st century world. Consequently, HCI is becoming an everyday activity for an increasing number of people from across the population. Interactions may involve personal computers (PCs), household and domestic appliances, public access technologies, personal digital assistants (PDAs), as well as more complex technologies found in the workplace. Given the increasing use of technology by the general public, HCI assumes an ever-growing importance. User interactions need to be taken into account by designers and engineers; if they fail to do this, the opportunities presented by the new technologies will remain unfulfilled and unrealized. Furthermore, it is likely that those interactions that take place will be marred by frustration and irritation, as users fail to achieve the smooth transactions with the technology that they expect and desire. One aspect of HCI that appears to have been recently overlooked is that of expectations. When confronted with a new device or when using a familiar one, we have expectations about how it will or does work. These expectations are part of the interaction process and are important in the sense that they will influence our immediate and later use of the technology/device. It is suggested that in recent times we have neglected expectations and failed to consider them to any great extent in the design process.
Globalization, Culture, and Usability
Authors: Röse Kerstin
Published: May 2011

Globalization is a trend in the new industrial era. Global economy has seen a huge amount of product and technology exchanges all over the world. With the increase of export and resulting from that, with the increase of world-wide technical product exchange, a product will now be used by several international user groups. As a result, there is an increasing number of user groups with different cultural features and different cultural-based user philosophies. All these user groups and philosophies have to be taken into account by a product developer of human machine systems for a global market. User requirements of product design have become much more valued than before because cultural background is an important influencing variable that represents abilities and qualities of a user (del Galdo & Nielsen, 1996). However, there is a gap in developers’ knowledge when handling product design according to the culture-dependent user requirements of a foreign market (Röse & Zühlke, 2001), so the “user-oriented” product design has not always been fulfilled on the international market.
The Importance of Similarity in Empathic Interaction
Authors: Hall Lynne , Woods Sarah
Published: May 2011

Empathy has been defined as, “An observer reacting emotionally because he perceives that another is experiencing or about to experience an emotion” (Stotland, Mathews, Sherman, Hannson, & Richardson, 1978). Synthetic characters (computer generated semi-autonomous agents corporeally embodied using multimedia and/or robotics, see Figure 1) are becoming increasingly widespread as a way to establish empathic interaction between users and computers. For example, Feelix, a simple humanoid LEGO robot, is able to display different emotions through facial expressions in response to physical contact. Similarly, Kismet was designed to be a sociable robot able to engage and interact with humans using different emotions and facial expressions. Carmen’s Bright Ideas is an interactive multimedia computer program to teach a problem-solving methodology and uses the notion of empathic interactions. Research suggests that synthetic characters have particular relevance to domains with flexible and emergent tasks where empathy is crucial to the goals of the system (Marsella, Johnson, & LaBore, 2003). Using empathic interaction maintains and builds user emotional involvement to create a coherent cognitive and emotional experience. This results in the development of empathic relations between the user and the synthetic character, meaning that the user perceives and models the emotion of the agent experiencing an appropriate emotion as a consequence
Motivation in Component-Based Software Development
Authors: Chroust G.
Published: May 2011

Information systems are designed for the people, by the people. The design of software systems with the help of software systems is another aspect of human-computer interfaces. New methods and their (non-)acceptance play an important role. Motivational factors of systems developers considerably influence the type and quality of the systems they develop (Arbaoui, Lonchamp & Montangero, 1999; Kumar & Bjoern-Andersen, 1990). To some extent, the quality of systems is a result of their developers’ willingness to accept new and (supposedly) better technology (Jones, 1995). A typical example is component-based development methodology (Bachmann et al., 2000; Cheesman & Daniels, 2001). Despite considerable publication effort and public lip service, component-based software development (CBD) appears to be getting a slower start than anticipated and hoped for. One key reason stems from the psychological and motivational attitudes of software developers (Campell, 2001; Lynex & Layzell, 1997). We therefore analyze the attitudes that potentially hamper the adoption of the component-based software development approach. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need (Boeree, 1998; Maslow, 1943) is used for structuring the motives.
Online Learning
Authors: Clayton John F.
Published: May 2011

By looking closely at the term online learning, we could arrive at a simple definition, which could be the use by students of connected (online) computers to participate in educational activities (learning). While this definition is technically correct, it fails to explain the full range and use of connected computers in the classroom. Historically, the term appears to have evolved as new information and communication tools have been developed and deployed. For example, in the early stages of development, Radford, (1997) used the term online learning to denote material that was accessible via a computer using networks or telecommunications rather than material accessed on paper or other non-networked media. Chang and Fisher (1999) described a Web-based learning environment as consisting of digitally formatted content resources and communication devices to allow interaction. Zhu and McKnight (2001) described online instruction as any formal educational process in which the instruction occurs when the learner and the instructor are not in the same place and Internet technology is used to provide a communication link among the instructor and students. Chin and Ng Kon (2003) identified eight dimensions that constructed an e-learning framework. The range of definitions of online learning is not only a reflection of technological advancement but also a reflection of the variety of ways educationalists at all levels use connected computers in learning.
Tool Support for Interactive Prototyping of Safety-Critical Interactive Applications
Authors: Bastide Rémi , Navarre David , Palanque Philippe
Published: May 2011

The complete specification of interactive applications is now increasingly considered a requirement in the field of software for safety-critical systems due to their use as the main control interface for such systems. The reason for putting effort in the use and the deployment of formal description techniques lies in the fact that they are the only means for both modeling in a precise and unambiguous way all the components of an interactive application (presentation, dialogue, and functional core; Pfaff, 1985) and proposing techniques for reasoning about (and also verifying) the models (Palanque & Bastide, 1995). Formal description techniques are usually applied to early phases in the development process (requirements analysis and elicitation) and clearly show their limits when it comes to evaluation (testing). When the emphasis is on validation, iterative design processes (Hix & Hartson, 1993) are generally put forward with the support of prototyping as a critical tool (Rettig, 1994). However, if used in a nonstructured way and without links to the classical phases of the development process, results produced using such iterative processes are usually weak in terms of reliability. They can also be unacceptable when interfaces for safety-critical applications are concerned. If we consider interfaces such as the ones developed in the field of air traffic control (ATC), a new characteristic appears, which is the dynamics of interaction objects in terms of existence, reactivity, and interrelations (Jacob, 1999). In opposition to WIMP (windows, icons, menus, and pointing) interfaces, in which the interaction space is predetermined, these interfaces may include new interactors (for instance, graphical representations of planes) at any time during the use of the application (Beaudouin-Lafon, 2000). Even though this kind of problem is easily mastered by programming languages, it is hard to tackle in terms of modeling. This is why classical description techniques must be improved in order to be able to describe in a complete way highly interactive applications.
Web Credibility
Authors: Danielson David R.
Published: May 2011

Credibility evaluation processes on the World Wide Web are subject to a number of unique selective pressures. The Web’s potential for supplying timely, accurate, and comprehensive information contrasts with its lack of centralized quality control mechanisms, resulting in its simultaneous potential for doing more harm than good to information seekers. Web users must balance the problems and potentials of accepting Web content and do so in an environment for which traditional, familiar ways of evaluating credibility do not always apply. Web credibility research aims to better understand this delicate balance and the resulting evaluation processes employed by Web users. This article reviews credibility conceptualizations utilized in the field, unique characteristics of the Web relevant to credibility, theoretical perspectives on Web credibility evaluation processes, factors influencing Web credibility assessments, and future trends.
Business Advantage of Community Knowledge
Authors: de Vos Henry , Verwijs Carla
Published: May 2011

Many examples are known of companies that have established communities (Siemens, IBM, Shell, Unilever). Mostly, these communities have an internal function: distribution of knowledge throughout the organization. How to build and maintain communities is no longer a question for these companies. At this phase, the companies want to know if and how they can benefit more from their communities. We use the framework of McDermott (2001) to explain how communities mature (see Figure 1). Community activities are the first step. Then, at the next level, its output and value become important. Finally, you can look at how the community adds to business results. The triangle shape of the framework shows that most results can be expected on the level of community activities and least on business results. From what we have seen in company communities until now, we can conclude that most of these communities are on the level of “activities” and “output.” Some have value for teams or individuals (“value” level), but we hardly see communities that have a clear business result. Communities may grow to a higher level, but some companies are looking for ways to catalyze this process. In the next section we generate ideas of how communities can support knowledge-based services. Examples and cases illustrate these.
Examining Social Structure in an Electronic Network of Practice
Authors: Wasko Molly McLure , Tiegland Robin
Published: May 2011

Recent advances in IS have led to the development of electronic networks that enable thousands of geographically dispersed individuals, who are typically strangers from diverse organizational, national, and demographic backgrounds, to interact (Sproull & Faraj, 1995). In these networks, individuals engage in knowledge sharing and problem solving through message postings offering professional advice, storytelling of personal experiences, and debate on relevant issues (Wasko & Faraj, 2000). Individuals benefit from these networks since they gain access to new information and expertise related to their practice that are often not available locally. Based on previous research (Wasko & Teigland, 2004), we define an electronic network of practice (ENOP) as a self-organizing, open activity system focused on a shared practice that exists through computer-mediated communication. Despite the growing interest in online social structures such as electronic networks of practice, we know surprisingly little about how or why these structures support knowledge exchange (Desanctis & Monge, 1999; Lin, 2001). Thus, the goal of this exploratory research is to investigate electronic networks of practice by drawing upon theories of public goods and collective action. Building upon work by Fulk and colleagues (Fulk, Flanagin, Kalman, Monge, & Ryan, 1996), we investigate ENOPs as a form of collective action by examining two fundamental research questions: (1) what is the pattern of interaction underlying knowledge exchange in an ENOP and (2) why do some individuals participate more than others in an ENOP. The article concludes with a discussion and areas for future research.
Groupware and Team Aware
Authors: Daassi Mohamed , Favier Marc
Published: May 2011

A well-known drawback of groupware systems is that they focus on technical aspects and neglect social aspects of technology use. Designers simply implement the functionality they deem useful for cooperation without integrating the seemingly minor and irrelevant aspects of everyday work (Sohlenkamp, 1998). Collective awareness is one of these neglected aspects. Historically, collective awareness is a concept associated with Emile Durkheim (1858–1917), referring to the common norms, values, and beliefs shared by members of a community. It consists of beliefs and ideas that shape the structure and direction of community life, rather than just the personal interactions of individuals. In the last decade, awareness support in multiuser applications becomes an increasingly important and accepted topic both in human-computer interaction and computer-supported cooperative work research (Dourish & Bellotti, 1992; Gutwin & Greenberg, 1996; Sohlenkamp, 1998; Carroll, Neale, Isenhour, Rosson, & McCrickard, 2003). Recently, management information systems researchers focused on human and organizational aspects of collective awareness rather than to the technical aspects. While computer science studies tried to solve technical problems related to providing awareness through the man–machine interfaces, management information systems studies tried to identify the factors affecting the maintenance and the evolution of collective awareness from an organizational viewpoint (Barker, 1991; Daassi & Favier, 2004; Weisband, 2002).
Internet-Mediated Communities
Authors: Porto Bellini Carlo Gabriel , Vargas Lilia Maria
Published: May 2011

Internet-mediated communities (IMCs) emerge when people (their members) share interests and make use for some time of the same class of Internet technologies to exchange information with each other regarding the shared interests. The technological evolution in communications shows that IMCs are not a phenomenon specific to people with certain backgrounds or interests; indeed, the materialization of such communities seems to be limited only by technology, in the sense that a priori no person is put apart from potentially becoming a community member in the future. IMCs inspire academic research in several knowledge fields such as sociology, communications, rhetoric, laws, information management, education, and marketing. Although occurring abundantly in the literature, it is hard to find a satisfactory compilation of concepts for grounding prospective studies on such communities. The industry, in turn, is aware of the business opportunities enabled by IMCs; in fact, business models and investments have flourished in this regard since the first days of the concept (as illustrated in “Are Friends Electric?”, 1997; Hagel & Armstrong, 1997; La Franco, 1999; Machlis, 1998; Sansoni, 1999). A first attempt explicitly proposed in the literature towards rationale building unifying theoretical constructs and business interests seems to be that of Bellini and Vargas (2003); the present article aims to look at its fundamentals and indicate corresponding research lines for future investigation. The article is structured as follows: first, human groups, communities, and the Internet are put together under the concept of IMCs; second, a distinction is made between a community and its place—broadly defined, the realm where the community achieves meaning—and the individuals who shape the community’s identity are grouped in generic profiles found in most communities; third, 12 key factors for studying and implementing IMC Web sites—resultant from extensive literature review and a series of empirical studies—are defined; and last, trends in the IMC field are outlined as they present challenges for several research