bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Survey of Information Technologies in the User Environment
Authors: Walker Joseph
Published: October 2017

Along with the shift from print to digital formats, information technologies are significantly affecting today's libraries. New technologies and concepts such as mobile devices, social networking sites, communication and interactive tools, and other Internet technologies are changing how libraries serve their patrons as well as how users interact with libraries and each other. Each technology has impacted the library user and the user environment so much so that today's library is said to be everywhere. Wherever the user can go with their mobile device and access the Internet, and therefore the library OPAC, it can functionally be said that they are at the library, for the collection, user services, and library databases is where the library is located, not the brick and mortar structure. This increased access also raises concerns over online information security and privacy, and the conscious Internet user needs to be aware of the dangers and take the necessary steps to mitigate them. The concept of change is another element of these new information technologies—embracing it, for technology is always changing as new ideas spark new revolutions in development and libraries must change along with them. All information institutions must learn to ride these waves of change instead of being pulled along, half drowning, by the undertow. Learning to both integrate and inform patrons on how best to use these technologies becomes an important part of being an information expert. Surveyed in this chapter is a selection of those important and driving technologies and changes.
The Portal to Texas History
Authors: Belden Dreanna , Phillips Mark E. , Carlisle Tara , Hartman Cathy Nelson
Published: October 2017

The Portal to Texas History serves as a gateway to Texas history materials. The Portal consists of collections hosted by the University of North Texas (UNT) Libraries in partnership and collaboration with over 280 Texas libraries, museums, archives, historical societies, genealogical societies, state agencies, corporations, and private family collections. With a continuously growing collection of over half a million digital resources, The Portal to Texas History stands as an example of a highly successful collaborative digital library which relies heavily on partnerships in order to function at the high level. The proposed book chapter will describe all aspects of establishing the collaborations to create the Portal including the background of the project, marketing the initiative to potential partners, partnership roles and agreements, funding issues and development, technical infrastructure to support partnership models, preservation of all digital master files, research studies to understand user groups and partner benefits, and sustainability issues.
Law Library Consortium in Metro Manila
Authors: Jaafar Tadz Majal Ayesha Verdote
Published: October 2017

This chapter gives an overview of special libraries, the management of special libraries, law libraries, and their management and administration. It discusses how the five managerial functions are exercised in law libraries in the Philippines based on the data in the study of the author. It also illustrates the need of the law libraries to collaborate, and discusses the model of a law library consortium proposed by Jaafar (2012). The views of the administrators of the parent institutions of the participant law libraries on their libraries and the propose consortium (based on the said study) are also discussed. At the end of the chapter, some of the recommendations in the aforementioned study were adopted and updated based on the emerging trends and other references for further studies.
Using Social Network Sites for Library Services in Public Libraries
Authors: Kumar Ashok , Thanuskodi S.
Published: October 2017

Social Network sites are one of the innovative technologies contributing libraries the opportunity to reach out to its patrons. Keeping library users up to date is the primary aim of every library, online library services taken the role successfully, and among them Social Network Sites plays the unique role to keep the patrons informative. In this chapter, we provide a study of an attempt to use social media to engage with public libraries. Also this chapter has come out with a testimony on library services and the challenges through FaceBook, Twitter and Weblogs.
Role of Social Networking for Information Seeking in a Digital Library Environment
Authors: Adigun Ganiyu Ojo , Odunola Oluwole Akanmu , Sobalaje Adewale Joel
Published: October 2017

This chapter discusses how to use social networking tools for information seeking in a digital library environment. Social networking is an evolutionary development of online participation, where people of common interest communicate, share and contribute content on the social cyberspace. The role of social networking for information seeking in libraries, most especially digital library is still evolving and cannot be over-emphasized. There is the need for libraries to exploit the advantages presented by these new media in providing better services. Social networking tools enable librarians and other information professionals to communicate, network and share documents with many clients regardless of location, and at little or no expense and viz. The chapter looks at: information seeking / search process; digital libraries; social networking as a concept; relationship between web 2.0, library 2.0, social media and social networking; role of social networking in digital library environment; role of information professionals in using social networking; social media platforms in digital library environment; challenges and prospects of integrating social networking with digital libraries and ways to improve the use of social networking for information seeking and dissemination in the future.
Application of Web 2.0 Tools in Libraries in Africa
Authors: Kwanya Tom , Stilwell Christine
Published: October 2017

The emergence of Web 2.0, the read/write social web, has prompted a momentous change in the way library users seek information, communicate, and collaborate. This trend is affecting the usability and relevance of libraries as the epicentres of information and knowledge. It is essential, therefore, that libraries adopt this technology to fit their services and products as closely as possible to the emerging lifestyles of the users. The application of Web 2.0 tools to conceptualise and deliver library services in developed countries is widely documented. In Africa, however, literature on this subject remains scanty. The authors conducted a reality check of the current status of the application of Web 2.0 tools in libraries, assessed the current impact of Web 2.0 on library services, identified the challenges African libraries face while adopting Web 2.0, and proposed ways to use Web 2.0 tools effectively in libraries in Africa.
The Boston Library Consortium and RapidR
Authors: O'Grady Alison R.
Published: October 2017

This chapter is intended to describe the history of collaboration between the Boston Library Consortium (BLC) and RapidILL in developing new and unmediated resource sharing products: RapidX, RapidX for All, Rapid chapter sharing and RapidR, (Rapid Returnable sharing). This narrative explains the process of testing and piloting these products as part of a consortium that has a long partnership of being forward thinking in improving resource sharing among its partner libraries. Some of this chapter describes Interlibrary Loan and consortiums in detail which is intended to provide historical perspective to the 21st century implementation of RapidR. It is hoped that the story of the BLC and RapidILL may give guidance and provide advice to other libraries and consortiums if they are in search of new ways to share library materials in a more efficient, cost effective and unmediated manner.
Library and Information Science Collaborations in the Philippines and Beyond
Authors: Fresnido Ana Maria B. , Yap Joseph M.
Published: October 2017

The development of library cooperation in the Philippines, particularly among academic, school, and special libraries, started in the early 1930s and was known under different names (Ladlad, 2003), such as resource sharing, partnership, consortium, linkage, library cooperation, and networking. Libraries usually come together in the form of consortia to supplement existing resources by providing access to information available in other libraries. Through cooperation, libraries are able to withstand the skyrocketing prices of information resources as well as budget cuts by means of consortium/cooperative purchasing. Likewise, library cooperation has proven to be an effective way of presenting smart solutions to common library problems/concerns through communities of practice. This chapter provides an overview of major library consortia in the Philippines. The compiled list is as exhaustive as possible. However, due to scarcity of sources, some active consortia may not have been included in the list. The information provided in this chapter was gathered mostly from published Websites. A comparative study, in terms of aims/objectives and activities being carried out by the different consortia, was also included and can be found at the end of this chapter.
Library Resources and Services in Tamilnadu State Central Library (Connemara Public Library)
Authors: ABU K. S.
Published: October 2017

It is a known fact that Chennai city has a well-defined place when talking about landmark buildings, which have gone down the annals of history- Connemara library, certainly a pride of Madras is not only heaven for book lovers and research Scholars, the building by its sheer architectural beauty and marvel acquires a special significance as part of the history of Madras City. Public library is largely regarded as the People's University. It has tremendous developments in India from the early period to till date at various stages. Most of the Indian states now have free public library services to develop the people of India at different levels, which can be stated as below briefly. Majority of the users prefer to search documents directly from the stack room. The main purpose of visiting the library by the users is to prepare for completive examinations and some other purposes are to study in the library and to update their subject knowledge. The general book services provided by the library are highly useful. The Reference services provided by the library are highly useful. The users are satisfied with the information provided in the library. All the services available on the library except latest collections are found to be at satisfactory level. Nearly 7.5 lakhs of collection of books are available in the library. Selection of books is done by book selection committee. Nearly four hundred books are issued daily to the public. The uses can retain the book for a maximum of 14 days. The users can renew the books for another three times either through phone or in person. A minimum amount of Rupees two per week is charged as overdue charge.
Friendly, Flexible, and Fun
Authors: Oehlers Joy , Thomas Annie Keola Kaukahi , Tokuda Joyce
Published: October 2017

This chapter outlines practical examples of library programs developed as a result of Kapi?olani Community College Library's collaborative efforts with campus organizations, clubs, faculty, and students to build community. The library worked with faculty and students to create stronger outcomes for all parties, including student engagement and specific student learning outcomes. The Kapi?olani Community College librarians share their process for implementing interactive programs, detail successes, assessment methods, and areas for improvement. This chapter also provides practical tips on applying for grants, connecting with faculty, marketing, and looking for ideas in your own community. The aim of these library activities is to promote the Library as a desirable collaborative “third place” where students engage in useful and user-friendly learning activities.
Incrementally Building Community and User Engagement in the UC San Diego Library
Authors: Goodson Kymberly
Published: October 2017

The University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Library's inaugural Learning Spaces (LSP) Program was formally established on July 1, 2013 through a library-wide reorganization process spanning 2012-2014. As a new program whose offerings remained in development, 2013-2014 presented the opportunity organizationally to initiate new library services and amenities and to adopt a new path based on the program's initial strategic objectives. This chapter details several of the ways in which the program began during its first year to accomplish its goals of engaging library users, building a sense of community and patron ownership within the library's learning spaces, establishing a culture of assessment among program staff, and developing library spaces where students feel welcomed and supported in their academic life. Activities detailed in the chapter are provided as examples for other libraries working toward similar outcomes. Additionally, a limited literature review of library engagement and community building in libraries is presented, along with research support for many of the Learning Spaces Program's new initiatives.
Library as Campus Main Street
Authors: Ruffin Ingrid J. , Brannen Michelle H. , Venable Megan
Published: October 2017

This chapter illustrates ways that academic libraries can engage with students to build and support campus communities. At the University of Tennessee Libraries, librarians seek opportunities for cultural enhancement of the campus community through creative outlets and activities that meet students in the spaces they frequent, both inside and outside the library. Librarians interact with students informally through contests and games, residence life programming, open houses, and street fairs that showcase the library as the campus main street.
The Library Big Data Research
Authors: Xu Shaochun , Du Wencai , Wang Chunning , Liu Dapeng
Published: October 2017

Libraries are widely used by government, universities, research institutes, and the public since they are storing and managing intellectual assets. The library information directly stored in libraries and about the people interaction with libraries can be transformed into accessible data which then will be used by researchers to help library better serve users. Librarians need to understand how to transform, analyze, and present data in order to facilitate such knowledge creation. For example, the challenges they face include how to make big datasets more useful, visible and accessible. Fortunately, with new and powerful analytics of big data, such as information visualization tools, researchers/users can look at data in new ways and mine it for information they intend to have. Moreover, interaction of users and stored information has been taken into librarian's consideration to improve library service quality. In this work, the authors discuss the characteristics of datasets in library and argue against a popular confusion that data involved in library research is not big enough, conduct a review for the research work on library big data and then summarize the applications and research directions in this field. The status of big data research in library in China is discussed. The challenges associated with it are also discussed and explored.
Marriage After Divorce
Authors: Doherty Brian
Published: October 2017

The Jane Bancroft Cook Library is shared by New College of Florida, a small liberal arts college and the University of South Florida, Sarasota-Manatee (USFSM), a regional campus within a research university system. It has served both institutions since they were merged on the same campus in 1975. The institutions were formally separated in 2001, and USFSM moved to its own campus in 2006. A number of fundamental issues challenge the partnership, including longstanding cultural differences that have impeded communication and planning. Both partners have agreed to develop a new library management agreement and identify new partnerships in student services and other areas. Although the future of this shared library is still uncertain, there is reason for optimism with the possibility that the partnering institutions can set aside past differences and develop a vital shared library while unearthing new collaborations in the process.
Assessment and Evaluation of Academic Libraries in China
Authors: Tang Qiong , Xie Yin , Su Rina
Published: October 2017

The purpose of this chapter is to present a systematic and comprehensive review of the assessment and evaluation efforts of academic libraries in China. Generally, it is believed that theoretical research on academic library assessment and evaluation spurs corresponding practice. Holistic activities related to this include the integration of undergraduate teaching level evaluation and the promulgation of the System of Indicators of Academic Library Evaluation. These activities propel pertinent work in a general way, yet to some extent they lack operability. Specific standards and practice of assessment and evaluation of collections, service quality, and digital libraries, as well as the collection of assessment statistics, indicate that academic library evaluation focuses on the association/consortium, standardization, and the user. Problems in academic library assessment and evaluation in China at this stage include the absence of a standard evaluation system, an unrealistic assessor/evaluator structure, and an inappropriate preponderance of input indicators over output.
Disaster and Digital Libraries in Developing Countries
Authors: Ifijeh Goodluck , Idiegbeyan-Ose Jerome , Isiakpona Chidi D. , Ilogho Julie
Published: October 2017

Digital libraries have become a modern day phenomenon. Their roles in information generation,organization, dissemination and storage cannot be overemphasized. This chapter articulates the importance of digital libraries and the need to preserve them from disasters. It highlights the causes and effects of disasters in digital libraries. Prevention and management of disasters were also discussed. Issues and challenges around information and communication technology (ICT), that has direct bearings on digital libraries and disaster management in developing countries were raised. In addition, recommendations were made on how to improve on disaster prevention and control.
Public Libraries
Authors: Karbach Laura
Published: October 2017

The author, as part of a Master Thesis study, analyzes the impact public library services and programs have in the lives of local Mexican mothers with children attending school in the United States and provides suggestions on ways to improve outreach of services and support. Results related to library use, parental involvement, service and programs, challenges including funding, Spanish-speaking staff, pre-conceived ideas, and awareness issues, as well as the largest issue of outreach are all discussed. In addition, outreach solutions are offered and the overall benefits of the study are assessed.
Barriers to Information Seeking in the Digital Libraries
Authors: Oluwaseun Ajayi Ayo
Published: October 2017

Adequate knowledge about the information needs and seeking behaviour of users is vital for developing digital library collections, services and facilities to meet their information needs effectively. Information seeking as an underlying feature in research cannot be done without an enabling environment where needed resources and services are provided. The available literature reveals that although librarians have made good progress in adapting primary values of librarianship which are to support intellectual freedom and equitable access to information, information seeking process in the Digital Libraries has, however, been found not to be without limitations. Seeking scholarly information in the Digital Libraries is limited by the availability of reliable and affordable information and communication technologies. Information seeking in the Digital Libraries has been found to be limited to those scholars who are affiliated with organisations which have the money and skills to provide access. It has been found limited to those who are literate, information literate and have a command of the major languages of commerce and scholarship (English in particular). Infrastructure, education and skills as well as content were the three spheres identified in this Chapter as preconditions that must be satisfied if broad digital scholarly information is to be sought without restrictions. Provision of effective service in the Digital Libraries as recommended in this Chapter requires sufficient understanding of the real needs of information users and making precise efforts to satisfy them. This can best be achieved through formal in–depth studies of the information needs and seeking behaviour of users. Librarians, especially those involved in bibliographic instruction should be interested in ways individuals approach the library (be it digital or physical) and the methods they use to search for needed information. Strategies intended to improve the provision of library services should be redesigned towards information skills development and information resource awareness.
Philanthropy, Partnerships, and Corporate Social Responsibility in Academic Libraries
Authors: Khoir Safirotu , Priyanto Ida Fajar
Published: October 2017

Philanthropy, partnerships, and corporate social responsibility are not new forms of collaborations between businesses and the broader community. In Indonesia, these schemes have supported both individuals and institutions for more than a decade. This chapter examines a possible role to be played by institutional, corporate, and foundational partnerships in providing additional facilities, resources, and activities within an academic library in Indonesia. Using the “corners” set up in the main library at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) as a case study, the chapter outlines the contributions made to a vibrant academic institution and its broader community at the regional, national, and international levels through these methods. Understanding how philanthropy, foundations, and corporate social responsibility implemented in a mutual and practical way in an academic institution contributes to a new model of support for the public sector using a partnership scheme that involves the interaction of public, private, and civil sectors.
Rural Library Services in African Countries
Authors: Dent Valeda F. , Goodman Geoff , Kevane Michael
Published: October 2017

This chapter provides a very brief overview of the history, development, and characteristics of rural library services in several African countries from both a historical and modern-day perspective. Against the backdrop of public library development during colonialism, the chapter highlights the fact that libraries existed in Africa well before Colonial rule, but later library service development did not adequately meet the needs of the majority of the continent's population. As a result, an alternative way of meeting the information needs of the people began to take shape. This chapter introduces the concept of and rationale for the development of the rural village or community library in Africa and details some particular instances of these establishments.
Information Expertise and the Vision of Future Library Institutions and User Environments
Authors: Walker Joseph
Published: October 2017

This is the Information Age, and that epicenter is information flow and content control. This is the one occupation that is best suited to benefit from this still evolving epoch of human history. In fact, any organization that fundamentally relies on information dissemination as a core resource to their production would seek out information experts as the de facto experts in this field for consultation on how best to handle their large volumes of information. Today, companies are searching for these very professionals and will pay extraordinarily well to have such expertise in their organizations. As long as they change their mindset, evolve from conservative ideologies of what a library professional is, and retain and improve upon the traditional library services while seeking to develop techniques and technologies that effectively handle the workflow of the information dissemination process in a Digital Age—adapting technologies such as the KATIE Index, the MEL System, and the LISA Informationbase for the physical and virtual collection management requirements—most library professionals will be able to focus on becoming information experts and establish their relevance at the very epicenter of business and education. Evolving into the information expert and leveraging new information technologies is where the future of library studies lays in this digital segment of the Information Age. This chapter concludes the first section of the book.
Social Media Application and the Library
Authors: Adekunle P. Adesola , Olla Grace Omolara
Published: October 2017

The chapter discusses the emerging social media and its impact on libraries and information professionals. The chapter reveals that because of the fluidity and convenience of these tools, users all over the world have embraced their usages, gingering libraries and information professionals to adopt them or become irrelevant. The authors highlight how libraries can use these tools, the advantages inherent in using them, and possible challenges that may crop up with their use. The chapter concludes by recommending the inclusion of these tools in library plans, policies, and work schedule of library staff.
Travel for Treatment
Authors: Sharma Bhawna , Sharma J K , Padroo Sudir
Published: October 2017

Medical tourism is growing and diversifying at a high rate. The medical tourism in India is poised to be next success story after software industry. This term is used to refer to travel activity that involves a medical procedure or activities that promote the wellbeing of the patient. The term medical tourism is the act of travelling to other countries to obtain medical, dental and surgical care. (Connell 2006) All the beneficiaries of this industry are putting their best foot forward by providing quality services at affordable cost in order to lure medical tourists. It goes without saying that only those health care organizations will survive and succeed in gaining competitive advantage over others that incorporates quality improvement process on a continuous basis. The results show that there is significant growth of medical tourism in India, which is growing at the rate 30% in 2015 (Saravana 2015) The standards of medical treatment and hospital facilities provided to patients have significantly improved in India with 21 hospitals in India already accredited by JCI. In this study hospital chosen for the present study is the hospital one amongst the list of JCI accredited hospitals in India. The objective of this study is to identify the medical tourist's satisfaction level & also to identify the grey areas for better services. The results show that they were quite satisfied with the services availed & are recommending it to others due to the significant treatment services.
Medical Nomads
Authors: Noguchi Hitoshi
Published: October 2017

Medical tourism is currently a catch-all phrase to describe any form of travel across borders for the purpose of receiving medical treatment. Up to this point in time, there have basically been only two kinds; patients from developing countries seeking advanced medical care unavailable in their homeland and patients from developed countries seeking lower prices or faster attention for their medical care. Although these two groups have been growing exponentially in recent years and pose substantial challenges on their own, little attention has been paid to a third arm of the medical tourism industry which potentially may have greater ramifications for the future. There is an emerging class of on-line entrepreneurs who may take advantage of their choice of lifestyle to enhance the range of choices in their medical treatment, and this group should be recognized. This chapter discusses the demands and challenges this new arm of medical tourism may pose for public policy, medical financing and medical practice.
The Role of Social Media for Knowledge Dissemination in Medical Tourism
Authors: Medhekar Anita
Published: October 2017

The use of social media for information dissemination for education, environmental movement, natural disasters, emergency, election campaign, grass root movements, non-profit organisations, public health communication, and marketing for health promotion, e-governance, and political revolutions is well known. The economic significance of the health and medical tourism sector in the global healthcare business should not be underestimated. Internet is playing a leading role as a platform for the dissemination of medical tourism business information. In this century, more and more actual and potential tourists are accessing the internet and social media applications to find and disseminate factual information regarding medical tourism facilitators, destinations, super-speciality hospitals, specialist doctors and nurses, quality and accreditation, accommodation facility, cost, waiting period for surgery and sharing their positive and negative experiences to inform potential medical tourists. Healthcare providers and medical tourists acquire information, create, collaborate, communicate and disseminate healthcare and medical tourism related information through the Word-of-Social-Media (WoSM) tools such as FaceBook, Flickr, Twitter, Blogs, Forums, YouTube patient testimonials, Google Plus, LinkedIn, Photo and video sharing, Alexa and mobile applications. Therefore social media has a great potential as an information source and a knowledge dissemination tool for tourism industry to network and create clusters locally and globally, to exploit new innovative technologies for interaction and collaboration between the healthcare providers as well as the medical tourists. The main contribution of this chapter is to explore and discuss the role and use of social media applications for knowledge dissemination by hospitals and the medical tourists in the global business of medical tourism in India.
The Impact of Social Influence, Information Quality and Online Forum Features on the Credibility of Doctors and Hospitals for Medical Tourism Services
Authors: Chen Charlie C. , Nakayama Makoto , Ractham Peter
Published: October 2017

Medical tourism, especially cosmetic surgery to South Korea, is increasingly popular amongst Thai youths. Like many other youths around the world, they can obtain the relevant information from a variety of sources, including web discussion forums. These are the most frequently used information sources that people use to explore the feasibility of having cosmetic surgery overseas. However, it is not empirically clear how much influence these forums have on youth, or what impact social influence, the quality of information and the forum's features (e.g., doctor information, before/after surgery pictures, clinic/hospital information, surgery information and chat rooms) have on the credibility of doctors and hospitals. This study conducted a number of field experiments and collected data from 233 discussion threads on top 3 online discussion forums that were ranked by 207 business school students. The results show that the reliability of web information is critical in enhancing the credibility of both doctors and hospitals. In addition, the credibility of doctors depends on the forum that is used to find information about surgery, as well as social influence. The credibility of hospitals, on the other hand, is not influenced by the social influence of a consumer's peers. Instead, their credibility is increased by the forum's use of before/after surgery pictures, clinical information and information about doctors. Future research may investigate further how different forum features and the web media can have an impact on the credibility of doctors and hospitals.
The Medical Tourism Industry in the BRIC Nations
Authors: Dogra Ajay Kumar , Dogra Pooja
Published: October 2017

Despite BRIC's roaring economic growth over the past decade, and its citizens' growing belief that it is finally ready to join the league of global superpowers by the end of 2020. With the progress of the IT revolution, advances in transportation and communication technology, the evolution of financial techniques, and the easing of restrictions on trade and investment, there has been a geometric increase in the international movement of people, products, money and information in the BRIC nations. The economic dynamism has led the emerging economies (BRIC countries) to diversify their business activities from a global perspective, and attempt to create optimal global value chains. Demand for tourism in Brazil, Russia, India and China is expected to grow in tandem with rapid economic growth. These nations are rich in natural and manmade resources and should cope quite well and have tremendous opportunities for the growth of tourism especially medical tourism between these nations. This chapter will explore BRIC member countries, on how they can cooperate to further promote the BRIC Vision and establish a viable healthcare initiative focusing on Indian medical tourism that will serve as a blueprint and model for other economies.
Analyzing and Predicting the QoS of Traffic in WiMAX Network Using Gene Expression Programming
Authors: Sangeetha J. , Nagaraj Keerthiraj , Murthy K. N. Balasubramanya , Rustagi Ram P.
Published: October 2017

The WiMAX network provides an efficient QoS to the large number of users. The real time and non-real time multimedia applications are gaining importance in the WiMAX network. To support such applications, there is a need to propose an efficient QoS of traffic prediction mechanism for the WiMAX networks. To address this, the authors have applied Gene Expression Programming technique for CBR based traffic and file transfer applications in the WiMAX network. The main focus of this chapter is to develop the mathematical expressions for throughput of the network by considering bandwidth, average end-to-end delay and average jitter as inputs for CBR based traffic and file transfer applications. This expression helps to analyze and predict the QoS of traffic of a given network. The simulation results show that the model values and the target values match with better approximation. Experimentally GEP performs better than other existing algorithms. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis has been carried out for both the applications
Protein Motif Comparator Using Bio-Inspired Two-Way K-Means
Authors: Gowri R. , Rathipriya R.
Published: October 2017

In this scientific world, the evolution of the disease is predominantly higher than the medicines. The diagnosis and prognosis of such diseases will differ from patient to patient. In this scenario, the protein motifs are very useful for understanding the functionality and lethality of the disease. Most of the existing techniques are supervised approaches which require prior knowledge of the data. As the protein sequences are unsupervised data, the unsupervised data mining techniques like Clustering and 2-way Clustering are chosen to mine the homologous protein motifs. The quality of the results is refined further using the bio-inspired computing models like Particle Swarm Optimization, Genetic Algorithm and Venus Flytrap Optimization in this research work. The existing approaches can mine homologous patterns with structure similarity of 75 percent which is increased in this proposed approach. The results from these three different approaches show that the bio-inspired based 2-way Clustering approaches can mine more homologous motifs than the clustering approaches.
Metaheuristics in Manufacturing
Authors: Zadshakoyan Mohammad , Pourmostaghimi Vahid
Published: October 2017

The state of a cutting tool is an important factor in any metal cutting process as additional costs in terms of scrapped components, machine tool breakage and unscheduled downtime result from worn tool usage. Therefore, tool wear prediction plays an important role in industry automation for higher productivity and acceptable product quality. Therefore, in order to increase the productivity of turning process, various researches have been made recently for tool wear estimation and classification in turning process. Chip form is one of the most important factors commonly considered in evaluating the performance of machining process. On account of the effect of the progressive tool wear on the shape and geometrical features of produced chip, it is possible to predict some measurable machining outputs such as crater wear. According to experimentally performed researches, cutting speed and cutting time are two extremely effective parameters which contribute to the development of the crater wear on the tool rake face. As a result, these parameters will change the chip radius and geometry. This chapter presents the development of the genetic equation for the tool wear using occurred changes in chip radius in turning process. The development of the equation combines different methods and technologies like evolutionary methods, manufacturing technology, measuring and control technology with the adequate hardware and software support. The results obtained from genetic equation and experiments showed that obtained genetic equations are correlated well with the experimental data. Furthermore, it can be used for tool wear estimation during cutting process and because of its parametric form, genetic equation enables us to analyze the effect of input parameters on the crater wear parameters.
Intelligent Computing in Medical Imaging
Authors: Chakraborty Shouvik , Chatterjee Sankhadeep , Ashour Amira S. , Mali Kalyani , Dey Nilanjan
Published: October 2017

Biomedical imaging is considered main procedure to acquire valuable physical information about the human body and some other biological species. It produces specialized images of different parts of the biological species for clinical analysis. It assimilates various specialized domains including nuclear medicine, radiological imaging, Positron emission tomography (PET), and microscopy. From the early discovery of X-rays, progress in biomedical imaging continued resulting in highly sophisticated medical imaging modalities, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound, Computed Tomography (CT), and lungs monitoring. These biomedical imaging techniques assist physicians for faster and accurate analysis and treatment. The present chapter discussed the impact of intelligent computing methods for biomedical image analysis and healthcare. Different Artificial Intelligence (AI) based automated biomedical image analysis are considered. Different approaches are discussed including the AI ability to resolve various medical imaging problems. It also introduced the popular AI procedures that employed to solve some special problems in medicine. Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and support vector machine (SVM) are active to classify different types of images from various imaging modalities. Different diagnostic analysis, such as mammogram analysis, MRI brain image analysis, CT images, PET images, and bone/retinal analysis using ANN, feed-forward back propagation ANN, probabilistic ANN, and extreme learning machine continuously. Various optimization techniques of ant colony optimization (ACO), genetic algorithm (GA), particle swarm optimization (PSO) and other bio-inspired procedures are also frequently conducted for feature extraction/selection and classification. The advantages and disadvantages of some AI approaches are discussed in the present chapter along with some suggested future research perspectives.
Optimized Crossover JumpX in Genetic Algorithm for General Routing Problems
Authors: El Hassani Hicham , Benkachcha Said , Benhra Jamal
Published: October 2017

Inspired by nature, genetic algorithms (GA) are among the greatest meta-heuristics optimization methods that have proved their effectiveness to conventional NP-hard problems, especially the traveling salesman problem (TSP) which is one of the most studied Supply chain management problems. This paper proposes a new crossover operator called Jump Crossover (JMPX) for solving the travelling salesmen problem using a genetic algorithm (GA) for near-optimal solutions, to conclude on its efficiency compared to solutions quality given by other conventional operators to the same problem, namely, Partially matched crossover (PMX), Edge recombination Crossover (ERX) and r-opt heuristic with consideration of computational overload. We adopt the path representation technique for our chromosome which is the most direct representation and a low mutation rate to isolate the search space exploration ability of each crossover. The experimental results show that in most cases JMPX can remarkably improve the solution quality of the GA compared to the two existing classic crossover approaches and the r-opt heuristic.
Consumer and Producer Theory
Authors: Hildebrand Sean
Published: October 2017

This chapter takes an in-depth look at consumer and producer economic theories. Both theories play a central role in decision making by individuals, businesses, and the government. To help understand how these theories function, the chapter provides an overview of the economic “laws” of supply and demand. The chapter continues with an exploration of government intervention in the marketplace, including the subjects of market failure, regulation, incentives, price controls, taxation, governmental hiring, and the purchase of private sector goods by public sector entities. To conclude, the chapter links government actions to consumer and producer economic theories in its daily operations as a means to enhance efficiency, effectiveness, and equitable service delivery.
Political Economy of Public Administration
Authors: Crosby Andrew , Levine Helisse , Freeman Dawnasia
Published: October 2017

Public administration is fundamentally a discipline closely linked to management. Scholars and practitioners alike have argued that government, nonprofit, and health organizations should use public resources in the most efficient manner possible, and calls to “run government like a business” are frequent. At the same time, scholars and practitioners have also argued that public organizations should also provide an equal opportunity for all, and administrators have faced public pressure and mandates, for example, to ensure that “no child [is] left behind.” This chapter reviews literature regarding efficiency and equity in public administration, and uses examples from both government and healthcare to illustrate the inherent tradeoff between efficiency and equity in practice.
Healthcare in the United States
Authors: Knepper Hillary
Published: October 2017

Healthcare in the United States is a dynamic mix of public and marketplace solutions to the challenge of achieving the maximum public good for the greatest number of people. Indeed, in the U.S. the healthcare industry generates over $3 trillion in the economy. This creates a uniquely American paradox that is examined here. The basic structure of the U.S. public-private healthcare delivery system is explored. The dynamics of public sector involvement in healthcare delivery is reviewed, with particular emphasis on the impact of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Economic impact, employment indicators, and recent cost estimates of public revenue investment will be considered. Finally, a discussion about the future implications of healthcare for public administration in the 21st century is presented. Eight tables and figures present a visual and detailed explanation to accompany the narrative.
Private Prisons and the Shift in Marketplace From the War on Drugs to the War on Terror
Authors: Moreno Karina
Published: October 2017

This paper outlines the emergence of a new marketplace in the United States, immigration detention, especially after September 11th. This phenomenon is not limited to the United States, but is also observable in other countries as the result of the globalized economy. This paper first explains how the private prison industry adapted from shaping harsh drug law sentencing during the War on Drugs to now sponsoring legislative bills that target immigrants, the new “cash crop” for the private prison industry. Because of the securitization of immigration governance, politics of fear are easily used to justify and build public support for a tough stance on immigration. The end result is that immigrant detention is a highly lucrative and record-breaking profitable enterprise for private prison corporations, with little accountability in its treatment of immigrants and with more and more power in sponsoring and shaping legislation beneficial to their bottom line. Implications now that Trump, who ran a very xenophobic presidential campaign especially hostile to Mexicans and Muslims, are discussed.
Causes and Ramifications of Public Pension Fund Underfunding
Authors: Miller Joyce
Published: October 2017

The problem of public pension plan underfunding has grown increasingly acute in recent years for numerous states and cities including Illinois, New Jersey, Connecticut, Charleston, Chicago and Philadelphia. Underfunded pension systems have profound implications for state and local governments' ability to provide basic services to their citizens and calls into question the retirement security of their public employees. The history of the severely underfunded New Jersey pension funds will be examined in order to understand how the current crisis developed. Economic and demographic changes, conditions in the capital markets, political and budgetary priorities and pressures, and actuarial conventions will be examined in order to highlight how the crisis is the result of the complex interaction of social, political and economic forces. The primary focus will be on how the capital markets influence the funding levels of pension systems and the options for government action.
The Inequity of User Fees and the Overreliance by Communities to Generate Revenue
Authors: Fudge Marc
Published: October 2017

One of the largest sources of revenue for local government are user fees and charges. Increased reliance upon user fees and charges by many jurisdictions has coincided with their attempts to deal with the fall out of the Great Recession. This study aims to assess the regressive distributional effects that increased reliance upon user fees and charges have on poorer communities. While it is clear that the United States operates a mixed economy where private sector organizations or firms address many economic activities, and government undertakes other economic activity, the juxtaposition of user fees in this environment is unclear.
Innovation in Public Systems
Authors: Verma Rajeev
Published: October 2017

The purpose of this paper is to establish Customer Relationship Management (CRM) as an effective approach for collecting, analyzing, and translating valuable customer information into managerial action for examining fast track legal systems i.e., Online Public Grievance Redressal System (OPGRS) in the Indian context. This e-government initiative is based on the government's long term strategic policy that aims to innovatively reform the Indian Judicial System. So far, the potential of CRM has been investigated only in the context of existing products/ services. CRM's potential to aid in future New Service Development (NSD) has been under studied. Current research model is based on Resource Advantage (R-A) theory and includes the constructs such as CRM process, CRM technology, New Service Development, system efficiency, performance expectancy and effort expectancy under one umbrella. It measures CRM Process under the dimensions of; innovation management, value management and multiple channel management. This model has been tested based on applications filed at multi source complaint depository consisting of 173 applicants from diverse case backgrounds. The empirical outcome provides the positive significant relationships for all 5 hypotheses established using nine (9) constructs. The results provide evidence that CRM has a positive effect on new service performance.