bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Information Technology as a Facilitator of Results-Based Management
Authors: Swiss James E.
Published: May 2011

The most widely accepted normative model of good public and nonprofit management is often called results-based management. It encourages planning and target setting to make the organization more proactive, an emphasis on outcomes to make the organization better focused on its mission, quick performance feedback to make the organization more responsive, and continuous process improvements to make the organization better able to serve its clients. These changes are possible only with supporting information technology. This chapter discusses ways that IT, including GIS, dashboards, and data mining, can support the new management model. However, IT can increase management effectiveness only if its role has been carefully designed. Before implementing major IT changes, top public and nonprofit managers must begin by determining what information would best guide upcoming major decisions. They must also decide how they wish to balance system integration vs. costs, disintermediation efficiencies vs. client guidance, internal information accessibility vs. security, and frontline worker empowerment vs. organizational uniformity.
Managing IT Employee Retention
Authors: Armstrong Deborah J. , Reid Margaret F. , Allen Myria W. , Riemenschneider Cynthia K.
Published: May 2011

IT employees are critical to the successful functioning of contemporary governmental agencies. Researchers and practitioners have long sought to identify workplace factors that influence employee retention. In this chapter we review the existing literature on factors that may reduce the voluntary turnover of public-sector IT professionals. Examples are presented that illustrate what states have been doing to improve their ability to retain their technology workforces. We conclude with an in-depth review of two studies addressing workplace factors that may influence state government IT personnel retention. The first is a study from a single state, designed to test factors potentially influencing affective commitment (a precursor of turnover intention) for state IT workforces. The second is a study from two states, designed to examine factors potentially influencing retention of state IT workforces. The message for decision makers is clear: When it comes to the retention of IT personnel, workplace and job characteristics matter. The insights from this chapter should aid public agencies in their ongoing efforts to retain quality IT professionals.
You Have Mail, but Who is Reading It? Issues of E-Mail in the Public Workplace
Authors: Prysby Charles L. , Prysby Nicole D.
Published: May 2011

The increasing use of electronic mail in the workplace has generated important legal questions for public organizations. The legal questions concerning e-mail in public institutions and agencies fall into two basic categories: (1) issues of employee privacy regarding e-mail messages, and (2) public access to e-mail under applicable freedom-of-information legislation. While the employer has broad legal grounds for reading workplace e-mail, at least if there is some legitimate business reason for doing so, employees frequently feel that such monitoring is an excessive invasion of their privacy, and the result sometimes is organizational conflict over these privacy issues. These privacy concerns have generated demands for greater protection of employee privacy in this area, and some states have responded with legislation that covers e-mail in the workplace. Government organizations also must treat at least some of their e-mail as part of the public record, making it open to public access, but this also can lead to conflict between public administrators, who may feel that much of their e-mail represents thoughts that were not intended for public disclosure, and external groups, such as the press, who feel that all such information belongs in the public domain. State laws vary considerably in terms of how they define the types of e-mail messages that are part of the public record, some being far more inclusive than others. Given the uncertainty and confusion that frequently exist regarding these legal questions, it is essential that public organizations develop and publicize an e-mail policy that both clarifies what privacy expectations employees should have regarding their e-mail and specifies what record-keeping requirements for e-mail should be followed to appropriately retain public records.
Configurable Reference Modeling Languages
Authors: Recker Jan , Rosemann Michael , van der Aalst Wil M.P. , Jansen-Vullers Monique , Dreiling Alexander
Published: May 2011

This chapter discusses reference modeling languages for business systems analysis and design. In particular, it reports on reference models in the context of the design-for/by-reuse paradigm, explains how traditional modeling techniques fail to provide adequate conceptual expressiveness to allow for easy model reuse by configuration or adaptation, and elaborates on the need for reference modeling languages to be configurable. We discuss requirements for and the development of reference modeling languages that reflect the need for configurability. Exemplarily we report on the development, definition and configuration of Configurable Event-driven Process Chains. We further outline how configurable reference modeling languages and the corresponding design principles can be used in future scenarios such as process mining and data modeling.
A Reference Model for Industrial Enterprises
Authors: Scheer August-Wilhelm , Jost Wolfram , Gungoz Öner
Published: May 2011

The introduction of the CIM concept approximately 20 years ago paved the way for holistic examination of logistical and engineering processes alongside the integrated support of information technology within the industrial sector. With the advent of new business management ideas and technological developments, CIM has gradually been developed further and become more integrated with complementary and contemporary concepts. Reference models are developed for the aim of using the CIM concept. The Y-CIM reference model is now established and recognised as a standard reference model within the industrial sector. Furthermore other sectors are increasingly having success with the Y-CIM reference model in order to benefit from improved competences acquired in industry during the last few decades. In recent years the Y-CIM reference model has gradually transformed into a comprehensive reference model that can be applied in a number of sectors. This chapter focuses on the development of business process concepts within the industrial sector and critically discusses the changes made to them over time. There is particular emphasis on the development of CIM and its implementation using the Y-CIM reference model. The article also illustrates the features of the Y-CIM reference model and discusses its applicability in service industries.
Evaluation of Selected Enterprise Reference Models
Authors: Van Belle Jean-Paul
Published: May 2011

This chapter describes a comprehensive evaluation of ten enterprise reference models, including the models underlying the two leading ERP systems (SAP and Baan) and a number of prominent data model libraries. The main purpose of the chapter is to explore how well various model evaluation criteria and the associated metrics can be applied to real-life enterprise models. The analysis is structured into syntactic, semantic and pragmatic criteria. Not all criteria can be measured using clear or unambiguous metrics and some novel, exploratory approaches are suggested. The chapter does not only provide an insight how some of the better-known enterprise models compare against each other, but it also highlights the many practical problems and issues encountered with applying evaluation criteria to industrial-strength models.
What Makes a Thinking Machine? Computational Semiotics And Semiotic Computation
Authors: Krieg Peter
Published: May 2011

Semiotics is considered here as a relational and ontogenetic approach to describing cognition and communication in signifying systems. Implementing a semiotic approach to computing thus would require a computable and scalable signifying space where signs can be arbitrarily created, related, interpreted and deliberated. The author argues that although signs are representations, a signifying space cannot be realized under the current representational paradigm of recording and processing static data in a hierarchical data space. A ‘semiotic machine’ instead must implement a genetic epistemology of cognition based on assimilation and pure relations. The ‘Pile’ system introduced in this essay is supposed to meet these requirements and is described as a ‘semiotic computation’ system structurally enabling deductive as well as inductive and abductive processes of self-reflection, deliberation and interpretation, commonly associated with ‘thinking’.
Supporting Early Design Activities for AR Experiences
Authors: Gandy Maribeth , MacIntyre Blair , Dow Steven , Bolter Jay David
Published: May 2011

In this chapter, we describe DART: The Designer’s Augmented Reality Toolkit an authoring environment for rapidly prototyping augmented reality experiences. We summarize the most significant problems faced by designers working with AR in the real world, and use DART as the example to guide a discussion of the AR design process which we have broken down into four stages (idea exploration, population of the virtual world, application development, and evaluation). The focus of our work with DART has been on supporting early design activities, especially a rapid transition from storyboards to working experience, so that the experiential part of a design can be tested early and often.
Evolving Information Ecologies
Authors: Nicolajsen Hanne Westh , Bansler Jørgen P.
Published: May 2011

This chapter examines how people in organizations appropriate new computer-based media, that is, how they adopt, recon?gure, and integrate advanced communication technologies such as groupware or desktop conferencing systems into their work practice. The chapter presents and analyzes ?ndings from an in-depth ?eld study of the adoption and use of a Web-based groupware application—a “virtual workspace”—in a large multinational ?rm. The analysis focuses, in particular, on the fact that people in modern organizations have plenty of media at their disposal and often combine old and new media to accomplish their work tasks. Furthermore, it highlights the crucial role of organizational communication genres in shaping how people adopt and use new media. The authors argue that understanding and facilitating the process of appropriation is the key to the successful introduction of new media in organizations.
Designing Control of Computer-Mediated Gifting in Sharing Networks
Authors: Skågeby Jörgen
Published: May 2011

This chapter suggests that the pro-social provision, or gifting, of goods in multiple user sharing networks is largely determined by the relationship an individual has to the larger group(s) of which he or she is a member. This relationship is often referred to as a social dilemma and can be both a con?ict of interest or a pattern of cooperation re?ecting a predicament in acting in self-interest versus the interest of the collective (or different groups of the collective). In this chapter, the social dilemma is modelled by the relationship model, which operates for end users on a tactical level of control and thus sets a general path of performance. Once a speci?c gifting act is included in such a tactic, ?ve dimensions of control are also suggested, which operates on a situated sociotechnical level. The dynamics of sharing networks makes gifting a continuous re-negotiation between reactive actions and overall tactics. In such an environment, the relationship model is suggested to be a relatively stable determinant of types of gifting acts, while the dimensions of control are tentatively suggested to address sociotechnical control requirements of the speci?c gifting actions.
Spatial Information System Development
Authors: Hilton Brian N. , Burkhard Richard J. , Abhichandani Tarun
Published: May 2011

An approach to an ontology-based information system design theory for spatial information system development is presented. This approach addresses the dynamic nature of information system development at the beginning of the 21st century and addresses the question of how to establish relationships between the various design components of a spatial information system. It should also help to automate and guide the design process while at the same time improve the quality of the process along with its outputs. An example of this approach is presented, along with examples of the various ontologies utilized in the design of this particular spatial information system. Finally, a method to mitigate the issues regarding the organization and management of a growing library of ontologies is discussed.
A Data Visualization and Interpretation System for Sensor Netwroks
Authors: Fan Fengxian
Published: May 2011

With the increase in applications for sensor networks, data manipulation and representation have become a crucial component of sensor networks. This chapter explores an implementation to process and interpret the data gathered by sensor networks. In a project supported by SensIT program at DARPA we have built wireless sensor networks deployed to monitor rare plants or other endangered species. The environmental data, such as temperature, rainfall, and sunlight, around the plants are sent by the wireless sensor networks to a base station. The system presented in this chapter combines database management technology, geographic information system and Web development technology to visualize the data gathered by the wireless sensor networks. The integration of our data visualization tools and the online collaborative discussion environment makes the system useful to different communities of potential users.
Spatial Reasoning for Human-Robot Teams
Authors: Bruemmer David J. , Few Douglas A. , Nielsen Curtis W.
Published: May 2011

This chapter presents research designed to study and improve an operator’s ability to navigate or teleoperate a robot that is distant from the operator through the use of a robot intelligence architecture and a virtual 3D interface. To validate the use of the robot intelligence architecture and the 3D interface, four user-studies are presented that compare intelligence modes and interface designs in navigation and exploration tasks. Results from the user studies suggest that performance is improved when the robot assumes some of the navigational responsibilities or the interface presents spatial information as it relates to the pose of the robot in the remote environment. The authors hope that understanding the roles of intelligence and interface design when operating a remote robot will lead to improved human-robot teams that are useful in a variety of tasks.
Historical Perspective
Authors: Hunter M.
Published: May 2011

This book is about the experiences of contemporary chief information officers (CIO). CIOs in New Zealand, Taiwan, and the United States of America agreed to participate. They also agreed to be identified along with the name of their company. They provided their interpretation of issues that have been dealt with and those they anticipate having to deal with in the foreseeable future. The results of the interviews allowed the identification of emerging themes related to management and technological aspects. Another important result is the identification of an alignment issue. That is, it is important to ensure that the interpretation of the CIO role is clearly and explicitly agreed upon by both the chief executive officer (CEO) and the CIO.
Wendy Bussen, Auckland University of Technology
Authors: Bussen Wendy
Published: May 2011

This book is about the experiences of contemporary chief information officers (CIO). CIOs in New Zealand, Taiwan, and the United States of America agreed to participate. They also agreed to be identified along with the name of their company. They provided their interpretation of issues that have been dealt with and those they anticipate having to deal with in the foreseeable future. The results of the interviews allowed the identification of emerging themes related to management and technological aspects. Another important result is the identification of an alignment issue. That is, it is important to ensure that the interpretation of the CIO role is clearly and explicitly agreed upon by both the chief executive officer (CEO) and the CIO.
James Lin, Taiwan Fixed Network Company
Authors: Lin James
Published: May 2011

This book is about the experiences of contemporary chief information officers (CIO). CIOs in New Zealand, Taiwan, and the United States of America agreed to participate. They also agreed to be identified along with the name of their company. They provided their interpretation of issues that have been dealt with and those they anticipate having to deal with in the foreseeable future. The results of the interviews allowed the identification of emerging themes related to management and technological aspects. Another important result is the identification of an alignment issue. That is, it is important to ensure that the interpretation of the CIO role is clearly and explicitly agreed upon by both the chief executive officer (CEO) and the CIO.
Jonathan Dove, Worthington Industries
Authors: Dove Jonathan
Published: May 2011

This book is about the experiences of contemporary chief information officers (CIO). CIOs in New Zealand, Taiwan, and the United States of America agreed to participate. They also agreed to be identified along with the name of their company. They provided their interpretation of issues that have been dealt with and those they anticipate having to deal with in the foreseeable future. The results of the interviews allowed the identification of emerging themes related to management and technological aspects. Another important result is the identification of an alignment issue. That is, it is important to ensure that the interpretation of the CIO role is clearly and explicitly agreed upon by both the chief executive officer (CEO) and the CIO.
Gary Houk, Online Computer Library Center
Authors: Houk Gary
Published: May 2011

This book is about the experiences of contemporary chief information officers (CIO). CIOs in New Zealand, Taiwan, and the United States of America agreed to participate. They also agreed to be identified along with the name of their company. They provided their interpretation of issues that have been dealt with and those they anticipate having to deal with in the foreseeable future. The results of the interviews allowed the identification of emerging themes related to management and technological aspects. Another important result is the identification of an alignment issue. That is, it is important to ensure that the interpretation of the CIO role is clearly and explicitly agreed upon by both the chief executive officer (CEO) and the CIO.
Final CIO Comments
Authors: Hunter M. Gordon
Published: May 2011

This book is about the experiences of contemporary chief information officers (CIO). CIOs in New Zealand, Taiwan, and the United States of America agreed to participate. They also agreed to be identified along with the name of their company. They provided their interpretation of issues that have been dealt with and those they anticipate having to deal with in the foreseeable future. The results of the interviews allowed the identification of emerging themes related to management and technological aspects. Another important result is the identification of an alignment issue. That is, it is important to ensure that the interpretation of the CIO role is clearly and explicitly agreed upon by both the chief executive officer (CEO) and the CIO.
The Financial Valuation of Intangibles
Authors: Rodríguez-Castellanos A.
Published: May 2011

This chapter proposes a method for the financial valuation of intangibles based on a specific taxonomy that distinguishes between intangible assets and core competencies, while classifying the latter into (tangible or intangible) asset-driven core competencies and non-asset driven core competencies. These are in turn classified according to the intellectual capital categories they drive. The method proposed is based on the assumption that the value of a company’s intangibles is to be found essentially in its core competencies. Financial valuation models based largely on the cash flow generated by the company and on real options valuation are proposed as a means of identifying and quantifying a company’s intangibles in monetary terms, taking the earnings they are capable of generating into account. This method is suitable for valuing the intangibles of large companies and smaller businesses where large databases are not available.
The Impact of RFID Technology on a Firm's Customer Capital
Authors: Joia L.
Published: May 2011

The emergence of radio frequency devices associated with smart tags—in what is called radio frequency identification (RFID) technology—has been widely discussed in the logistics field, mainly with respect to the implications accrued from this technology in the improvement of organizational efficiency and the creation of strategic ecosystems. However, very little research is available regarding the benefits of this technology in leveraging the relationship of firms with their customers, especially in the retailing arena. Hence, the purpose of this chapter is to analyze the potential of RFID technology with respect to the relationship between retailers and their clients, in order to understand how this technology is capable of increasing a firm’s customer capital, in-line with intellectual capital taxonomy. Lastly, from this study, prospective scenarios are elaborated concerning the use of this technology to increase a firm’s customer capital.
Soft Computing Techniques in Probabilistic Seismic Analysis of Structures
Authors: Lagaros Nikos , Tsompanakis Yiannis , Fragiadakis Michalis , Papadrakakis Manolis
Published: May 2011

Earthquake-resistant design of structures using probabilistic analysis is an emerging field in structural engineering. The objective of this chapter is to investigate the efficiency of soft computing methods when incorporated into the solution of computationally intensive earthquake engineering problems. Two methodologies are proposed in this work where limit-state probabilities of exceedance for real world structures are determined. Neural networks based metamodels are used in order to replace a large number of time-consuming structural analyses required for the calculation of a limit-state probability. The Rprop algorithm is employed for the training of the neural networks; using data obtained from appropriately selected structural analyses.
Information-Communications Systems Convergence Paradigm
Authors: Ruzic Fjodor
Published: May 2011

This chapter is on cultural aspects of information-communications systems embedded into new media environment and invisible e-technologies, and on a new age of social responsibility for information technology professionals. Besides the key issues in information technology development that create smart environment and ambient intelligence, the chapter also discusses digital e-culture and the new media role in cultural heritage. From the viewpoint of information technology, the current information-communications systems converge with media. This convergence is about tools-services-content triangle. Thus, we are confronted with a new form of media mostly presented with the term digital, reshaping not only media industry but also a cultural milieu of an entire nation on a regional and global basis. The discussion follows on the World Library idea that is rebuilding with new form of World Memory (World Brain), the shift from visible culture domination to the domination of invisible culture in the world of e-technologies predominance. From this scenario, information technology professionals coping with information systems projects, e-services development, and e-content design have more cultural responsibility than in the past when they worked within closer and inner cultural horizons and when their misuse of technologies had no influence on culture as a whole.
Cultural Impact on Global Knowledge Sharing
Authors: Shea Timothy , Lewis David
Published: May 2011

This chapter introduces how culture impacts global knowledge sharing. Effective knowledge sharing (KS), one of the four interdependent dimensions of knowledge management (KM), is particularly important in today’s global environment in which national cultural differences are negotiated all the time. Knowledge sharing is described along six dimensions and national culture along four dimensions. A model is presented, which provides guidelines for effectively sharing different types of knowledge within different cultural environments. Several examples are presented to illustrate the model’s effectiveness. Using the model as a guide, the authors believe that decision makers will increase the chances that information and knowledge will be shared successfully.
From 9 to 5 to 24/7
Authors: Duxbury Linda , Towers Ian , Higgins Christopher , Thomas John A.
Published: May 2011

This chapter explores the use of work-extension technologies such as e-mail, Black-Berry devices, portable computers, and cell phones. After a review of the literature, the chapter presents the usage patterns of these work extension technologies by Canadian knowledge workers and describes how work is being performed in a variety of nonoffice locations outside normal working hours. Our findings with respect to the impact of work extension technology were contradictory. Some technologies were found to lead to an increase in employee workloads and stress, while others were found to have less of an impact. We also discovered that many respondents reported that technology made them more productive and made their work more interesting. After an analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of these technologies, the chapter concludes with suggestions of ways in which employers and employees can use them more effectively.
A Model for Selecting Techniques in Distributed Requirement Elicitation Processes
Authors: Aranda Gabriela , Vizcaíno Aurora , Cechich Alejandra , Piattini Mario
Published: May 2011

This chapter introduces a model based on techniques from cognitive psychology as a means to improve the requirement elicitation in global software development projects. Since distance negatively affects communication and control, distributed development processes that are crucially based on communication, such as requirements elicitation, have to be specially rethought in order to minimize critical situations. This chapter proposes reducing problems in communication by selecting a suite of appropriate elicitation techniques and groupware tools according to stakeholders’ cognitive styles. It also shows how information about stakeholders’ personalities can be used to make them feel comfortable and to improve their performances when working in a group.
The Influence of the Internet on Relationships Between Consumers and Vendors
Authors: Treiblmaier H.
Published: May 2011

In recent years a plethora of scholarly literature from the marketing and the information systems (IS) domain has dealt with the phenomenon of relationships. While during the pre-computer era relationships always implied a social dimension, modern technology tries to mimic this interaction process by learning about customers’ needs and addressing them individually. Interestingly, the central definition of a relationship remains vague in both marketing and IS. Finding the major constituents, therefore, could shed light on the question of whether technology actually could replace “social interactions.” In this chapter, we show how relationships are defined in scholarly literature. Subsequently, consumers define what they perceive to be the crucial attributes of a relationship in general and with an online organization. The results indicate that the notion of relationship has to be redefined for online communication and interaction and offer practical implications for designing the interaction process with online users.
Social Implications of Managing Project Stakeholders
Authors: Jovanovic P.
Published: May 2011

This chapter considers the social implications of managing project stakeholders with a special account of e-project management (e-PM), architecture and the importance of project management (PM) portals, and the way they are related to e-projects. The authors argue that PM portals are indispensable in project collaboration and coordination and are closely related to e-projects, since theirs is a key role in both the PM implementation and an adequate incorporation and discussion of all project stakeholders, particularly virtual teams. The authors believe that a detailed analysis of project stakeholders and PM portals presented in this chapter allows for a thorough review of the strengths as well as weaknesses of the e-project approach and is a basis for understanding of social aspects and challenges of modern ICT solutions in e-PM.
B2C Failures
Authors: Pandya A. Dholakia
Published: May 2011

Using the product and services innovation failures literature, this chapter develops a framework to help understand why so many Internet-based business-to-consumer (B2C) “dot-com” companies failed to fulfill their initial promise. Viewed collectively, B2C dot.com crashes constitute an initial wave of failure of an entirely new class of technology-driven services. Such services sought to inform, promote, sell and deliver B2C items in radically unfamiliar ways. Besides ignoring basic precepts of sound business practice, unsuccessful B2C firms failed to realize they were marketing innovative services. We place B2C dot-com ventures on a continuum of need-solution context of innovations, in conjunction with the notion that seller/buyer perceptions about the scope of innovations are not necessarily concordant. Matched perceptions between sellers and buyers lead to success. Sellers as well as buyers, however, can misjudge the nature and scope of innovations. Using case evidence, the chapter illustrates the explanatory power of the framework and contributes to e-commerce issues by clarifying why, despite resource availability, many early B2C firms failed due to misjudged perceptions of sellers and/or buyers.
Challenging Digital Inequalities
Authors: Bonney N.
Published: May 2011

There are substantial inequalities in access to and use of the Internet. These inequalities build on enduring social and economic inequalities that have themselves been rooted in previous rounds of the development of electronic technologies and have largely resisted public policies designed to remedy them. Rapid developments in the use of the Internet have great potential for commercialization and democratization, but digital inequality means that this potential is not always exploited to the advantage of the poorer sectors of the community. Recent public policies have attempted to remedy digital disadvantage, but there is little evidence that they are fundamentally transforming them. Constant innovation enables the more advantaged sectors to advance their position, while many are still excluded from compensatory attempts at catch up. An increasing body of experience suggests ideas for new approaches, but the magnitude of the challenge of eroding digital inequality should not be underestimated.
Toward Agent-Oriented Conceptualization and Implementation
Authors: Biswas Pratik K.
Published: May 2011

The desire to flexibly customize software, manage it efficiently, and empower it with intelligence has driven research and development-related efforts toward intelligent agents. The benefits in terms of rapid delivery, reduced costs, and enhanced productivity can be realized in the areas of systems and software engineering with the proliferation of this technology. Intelligent agents represent an alternate approach to distributed software engineering. Agent-oriented conceptualization provides a new paradigm for the design and development of these agent-based systems. This chapter extends and formalizes this agent oriented modeling approach to the conceptualization process. It defines agent models and proposes a high-level methodology for agent-oriented analysis and design. It also looks at the heart of agent-oriented programming and outlines its advantages over traditional approaches to distributed computing and interoperability. The chapter includes analogies with the object-oriented methodologies and other existing agent-oriented methodologies wherever applicable. It reviews the Foundation of Intelligent Physical Agents-compliant infrastructure for building agent-based systems and suggests a multi-agent systems framework that merges this infrastructure with the emerging J2EE technologies. The chapter concludes with a case study and an insight to future challenges.
Component Agent Systems
Authors: Marques Paulo
Published: May 2011

One central problem preventing widespread adoption of mobile agents as a code structuring primitive is that current mainstream middleware implementations do not convey it simply as such. In fact, they force all the development to be centered on mobile agents, which has serious consequences in terms of software structuring and, in fact, technology adoption. This chapter discusses the main limitations of the traditional platform-based approach, proposing an alternative: component-based mobile agent systems. Two case studies are discussed: the JAMES platform, a traditional mobile agent platform specially tailored for network management, and M&M, a component-based system for agent-enabling applications. Finally, a bird’s eye perspective on the last 15 years of mobile agent systems research is presented along with an outlook on the future of the technology. The authors hope that this chapter brings some enlightenment on the pearls and pitfalls surrounding this interesting technology and ways for avoiding them in the future.
Dynamic Scheduling of Multi-Agent in Agent-Based Distributed Network Management
Authors: Junzhou Luo
Published: May 2011

Agent technology has played an important role in distributed network management, and agent scheduling is an inevitable problem in a multi-agent system. This chapter introduces a network management scenario to support dynamic scheduling decisions. Some algorithms are proposed to decompose the whole network management task into several groups of sub-tasks. During the course of decomposition, different priorities are assigned to sub-tasks. Then, based on the priorities of these sub-tasks, a dynamic multi-agent scheduling algorithm based on dependences of sub-tasks is proposed. An experiment has been done with the decomposition algorithms, the results of which demonstrate the advantage of the algorithms. The performance test demonstrates that the competitive ratio of the dynamic scheduling algorithm is always smaller than that of the existing online scheduling algorithm, which indicates that the performance of the dynamic scheduling algorithm is better than the existing online scheduling algorithm. Finally, as an application example, the process of network stream management is presented. The authors hope that this scheduling method can give a new approach or suggestion for studying dynamic agents scheduling technology.
Experiential Group Learning for Developing Competencies in Usability Practice
Authors: Carter Phil
Published: May 2011

This chapter provides an overview of usability and reflects on a number of years of experience in a usability lab. Over this time, an approach to usability testing called situated co-inquiry was developed. Situated co-inquiry also became a very useful way to structure the teaching of usability. This chapter illustrates this teaching and some of the ways an experiential learning approach has been used in a group setting. I hope that some of this will be new and appealing to you and so assist you to generate fresh ideas in your teaching of the different areas of information systems (IS).
Industry-Academic Partnerships in Information Systems Education
Authors: Conway Mark
Published: May 2011

Several thousand universities worldwide participate in industry-academic partnerships as a way to expose their students to “real-world” issues and technologies and to provide them skills that will facilitate their transition from the university to the workplace. This chapter highlights several of the leading IT-focused, industry-academic programs such as Hyperion’s Academic Alliance Program, the Teradata University Network, and SAP’s University Alliance Program; and references similar initiatives from Cisco, SUN, and IBM. The focus of the chapter is from an industry practioner’s perspective; it covers what motivates companies to launch these types of programs, what the programs’ goals are, and what benefits accrue to the participating company and university. Information systems and technology (IS&T) are evolving so quickly that universities are continually challenged to keep abreast of the latest developments to ensure that their curricula and programs are current. On one hand, IT programs are pressured by various stakeholders—deans, incoming students, parents, businesses recruiting on campus, and so forth—to keep their programs current and relevant to these constituents’ needs. On the other hand, faculty and IT programs cannot chase the latest fads and each new innovation, if they are to offer a stable learning environment. The significant costs—in terms of time, training, technical support, curriculum revisions, and so forth—involved in deploying commercial software in an academic setting makes selecting which partnerships to pursue an important and far-reaching decision. The benefits can be significant, but the faculty need to understand up front, the expectations and level of commitment needed to make these kinds of collaborations successful. By gaining a better understanding of how industry views these programs, academics will be better able to assess these alliances and determine which best support and align with their programs’ goals and learning objectives. Developing students who can join companies as new employees and IT leaders and quickly contribute to a firm’s success is something that both universities and businesses strive for. But, it requires a mutual understanding of the skills that will be needed, vehicles for developing those skills within the students, and a buy-in from faculty to develop the necessary curriculum and teaching resources. This chapter contends that successfully managed industry-academic partnerships can be a vehicle for developing these capabilities, while enriching learning opportunities for students.
Tomorrow's Workforce Today
Authors: Lynch Kathy , Fisher Julie
Published: May 2011

Over the last 100 years, technological advances have changed our lives in our homes and society and have continually impacted on the way we work, where we work, how we work, and with whom we work. Our work and workplace is changing through the use and reliance of information systems. It is therefore critical to develop information systems (IS) professionals who can manage the change but also have the skills to adapt to the changes. Within the IS development domain, the changing environment is driven by two key factors; collaboration and technology. An IS professional is one who designs, develops, and implements services and products for an organisation, and for the dissemination of information. Today the design and development of IS not only relies on the technical skills of the individual, but relies heavily on effective teams. The personal and interpersonal skills of people in the team have become just as important (and in some cases, more important) as the development of the IS. These personal and interpersonal skills are what is commonly coined the “nondiscipline skills,” “soft skills,” and in some arenas “emotional intelligence." The research reported in this chapter identified the needs of today’s IS workforce in terms of the nondiscipline skills required to work effectively in collaborative teams. The outcome of the research is a list of collaborative skills, identified from the literature and extended and confirmed by key IT industry professionals. The research identified that there are two sets of skills, individual skills and group skills that are important for our IS graduates to have obtained to work effectively in today’s information technology (IT) workforce. These results suggest that curriculum developers need to carefully consider how such skills can be taught to properly equip our graduates for tomorrow’s workforce.
Open Culture for Education and Research Environment
Authors: Damiani Ernesto , Mezey Paul G. , Pumilia Paolo M. , Tammaro Anna M.
Published: May 2011

Some contemporary theoretical and technological issues that are becoming of paramount importance for building a cross-disciplinary research and knowledge-sharing environment are outlined, pointing out those cultural changes implied by the increasing adoption of the ICT. In the unprecedented abundance of information sources that can be reached through the Internet, the growing need for reliability will not be met without a major change of scholar’s, teacher’s, and learner’s attitudes to foster enhanced trusted relationship. In this chapter, emphasis is placed on the open source organizational model, highlighting some of the key elements of the open culture: knowledge-sharing technologies, interoperability, reusability and quality assurance.
A Social Constructionist Approach to Learning Communities
Authors: Forment Marc A.
Published: May 2011

This chapter will discuss the influence of the main learning paradigms: conductism and constructivism. We will also talk about the need to apply the OSS development model and licences to the creation of open contents, to be also collaboratively created in communities. The social reality of OSS communities that become learning communities is described by the principles of social constructionism; this paradigm has been applied in the creation of Moodle.org, a true learning community built around the OSS learning management system: Moodle.
Benefits of E-Commerce Adoption
Authors: MacGregor Robert , Vrazalic Lejla
Published: May 2011

The key aim of the study presented in this book is to determine how SMEs located in regional areas are going about e-commerce adoption. The study was undertaken over a period of three years in three highly developed nations all belonging to the OECD and with comparable per capita GDPs and levels of Internet penetration. These included Sweden, Australia, and the USA. In each country, one regional area was surveyed—Varmland (Sweden), Illawarra (Australia), and Salt Lake City (USA).
Disadvantages of E-Commerce Adoption
Authors: MacGregor Robert , Vrazalic Lejla
Published: May 2011

The key aim of the study presented in this book is to determine how SMEs located in regional areas are going about e-commerce adoption. The study was undertaken over a period of three years in three highly developed nations all belonging to the OECD and with comparable per capita GDPs and levels of Internet penetration. These included Sweden, Australia, and the USA. In each country, one regional area was surveyed—Varmland (Sweden), Illawarra (Australia), and Salt Lake City (USA).
E-Commerce Adoption in Sweden, Australia, and the USA
Authors: MacGregor Robert , Vrazalic Lejla
Published: May 2011

The key aim of the study presented in this book is to determine how SMEs located in regional areas are going about e-commerce adoption. The study was undertaken over a period of three years in three highly developed nations all belonging to the OECD and with comparable per capita GDPs and levels of Internet penetration. These included Sweden, Australia, and the USA. In each country, one regional area was surveyed—Varmland (Sweden), Illawarra (Australia), and Salt Lake City (USA).
Small Business Clustering Across Disciplines
Authors: Hodgkinson Ann
Published: May 2011

The literature on clusters is vast and growing rapidly. Moreover, it is truly multidisciplinary with researchers from all perspectives borrowing heavily from each other’s works. This chapter summarizes the theoretical approaches that have defined the concepts and relationships used in the applied cluster analyses that follow. The perceived benefits from participating in clusters are now well established at a theoretical level. It is argued that this theoretical basis was developed within regional economics by using the concepts of agglomeration economies, which originated with Marshall (1890); industrial input-output analysis, since developed by Porter (1990), and social networks based on the works of Williamson (1985) and Saxenian (1994). As technological change has become more important, ideas related to regional innovation systems also have been incorporated into cluster analysis. Now the challenge is to put these ideas into practice.
Cluster Development
Authors: Efendioglu Alev M.
Published: May 2011

Over the years, industry clusters have been touted to have economic and strategic advantages and have been used to develop embryonic industries. The cluster development process/methodology generally has taken two distinct approaches: laissez-faire, or economic system-driven; or planned/sponsored, or driven by government policy and intent. This chapter looks at two biotech clusters that are representative of each of these methodologies—the San Francisco Bay Area (California, U.S.) cluster and the Hsinchu (Taiwan) cluster—to identify the evolution and success of these two methodologies. The chapter also identifies and discusses key success factors that impact the development and growth of business clusters.
Clustering, Collaboritive Networks, Collaborative Networks, and Small and Medium Enterprises
Authors: Rowe Michelle , Burn Janice
Published: May 2011

Information technology (IT), which underpins the information society, has brought with it a number of changes that have far-reaching consequences for business, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs). One such change is IT-facilitated collaboration and the sharing of information by organizations, which has implications for the processes within and among those organizations. The focus here is on collaborative networks of SMEs and collaboration around IT. Of particular interest is collaborative commerce (c-commerce). The relationship among collaborative networks, including c-commerce and clustering, is explored, and factors necessary for c-commerce adoption by SMEs are outlined. Finally, an overview of the results of a Delphi study, the first phase in a longitudinal study into the adoption of c-commerce by Australian SMEs, is provided.
Virtual Teams and Creativity in the Mondragón Cooperative Corporation
Authors: Fínez Javier
Published: May 2011

For companies in this age of globalization and innovation, creativity is a core activity in a growing section of the economy. Since virtual teams are a relatively new organizational form, very little research has been carried out on their structure, performance, routines, and of course, on their creative ability. In this chapter, a detailed insight will be provided of three experiences of virtual teams built into Mondragón Cooperative Corporation (MCC) cooperatives, providing an overview of the company’s activity, going into greater depth regarding the needs and opportunities behind the decision to set up a virtual team, detailing the organizational structure adopted in each case, the dynamics incorporated to achieve higher creativity, and suggesting some practices that can put the reader on the path towards common drivers for virtual creativity.