bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Issues and Aspects of Open Source Software Usage and Adoption in the Public Sector
Authors: Laszlo Gabor
Published: May 2011

This chapter introduces L-PEST model as the proposed tool for better understanding the fi elds are influenced by motivations and adaptation policy on FLOSS of public authorities and governments. Software usage in the public sector is a highly complex topic. In the confines of this chapter the selected case studies will show consideration to the vastly different needs and capacities and the different approaches and motivations towards the utilization of FLOSS by governments and/or local authorities. The primary objective of this chapter is to identify and describe the actors associated to the usage of FLOSS within and by the public sector. This chapter has made an attempt to fill this research gap and place the different actors into one complex model. It is hoped the proposed model assists better clarifying the intricate relationship between relevant factors. Nevertheless, much more research work is needed in the years to come. According to Michel Sapin, French Minister in charge of Public Administration and e-Government (2001), “The next generation e-government has two requirements: interoperability and transparency. These are the two strengths of open source software. Therefore, I am taking little risk when I predict that open source software will take a crucial part in the development of e-Government in the years to come.”
Community Customers
Authors: Hoppenbrouwers Jeroen
Published: May 2011

This chapter discusses the role of the project/product community in the open source product life cycle. It outlines how a community-driven approach affects not only the development process, but also (and more importantly) the marketing/sales process, the deployment, the operation, and in general the resulting software product. Participation in the community is essential for any organization using the product, leading to the concept of a community customer. Specific community participation guidelines are given to organizations and individuals who deploy and use open source software, further develop it, or offer lifetime services on the product.
The Role of Open Source Software in Open Access Publishing
Authors: Solomon David J.
Published: May 2011

This chapter discusses the rapid transition from paper to electronic distribution of scholarly journals and how this has led to open-access journals that make their content freely available over the Internet. It presents the practical and ethical arguments for providing open access to publicly funded research and scholarship and outlines a variety of economic models for operating these journals. There are hundreds of journals that are run on volunteer effort by a few people or even a single person. Journal management software that can streamline the peer-review process as well as other aspects of operating a journal can dramatically reduce the effort of operating these journals and allow them to flourish. The availability of high-quality, open source journal management software is playing an important role in facilitating the success of small volunteer-run, open-access journals.
A Collaborative Editor for Medical Learning Environments
Authors: Boff Elisa , Vicari Rosa Maria
Published: May 2011

This article presents the social agent that acts in the AMPLIA’s collaborative editor in order to improve collaboration. AMPLIA is an intelligent probabilistic multiagent environment to support the diagnostic reasoning development and the diagnostic hypotheses modeling of domains with complex and uncertain knowledge, like the medical area. The social agent supports group formation and it makes a search among students of an ITS/ILE looking for suitable students to join in a workgroup. Hence, students can help others during a common learning task. For such, these agents takes into account some affective and social aspects of the students.
Cultural Influences on Virtual Teamwork Collaboration
Authors: Fernandez Amyris
Published: May 2011

This article discusses culture influence on virtual teamwork collaboration efficiency. We can understand culture as a framework of meanings, which gives a certain group of people the same linguistic framework, collective interpretation of the environment, its ways of self understanding, its customs, traditions, and values. Culture also involves the human spirit, personal expression, principles, and moral commitments. Culture shapes the way people interpret and send messages and the way they think about issues like contractual obligations, work procedures or professional ethics (Lavoire, 2001).
E-Collaboration Through Blogging
Authors: Nagasundaram Murli
Published: May 2011

This article is a brief introduction to blogging with its application to e-collaboration. We learn what blogs are, their history and evolution, how they might be categorized and in what manner they could be used to support e-collaboration. We also discuss some issues and concerns regarding blogs.
E-Collaborative Knowledge Construction
Authors: Ertl Bernhard
Published: May 2011

Knowledge has become an important factor in the success of organizations. Several authors reflect this in their use of terms such as knowledge society (e.g., Nonaka, 1994) or knowledge age (e.g., Bereiter, 2002). The role of knowledge has changed fundamentally with the development of a knowledge society. Knowledge is still an indispensable resource for the individual as well as for an organization, but the emphasis lies on the creation of new knowledge (see Nonaka, 1994). This change also has consequences for the individual acquisition of knowledge and, in turn, for learning. In traditional learning scenarios, knowledge was seen as a commodity that could be transferred directly from one brain to another. This resulted in an interaction between teacher and learner, in which the teacher had an active role and presented parts of his knowledge to the learners, who passively received and memorized them (see Ertl, Winkler, & Mandl, 2007). However, studies have shown that whilst learning by such presentations of explicit knowledge enabled learners to reproduce it in tests, they failed to transfer it to new situations and often failed to apply it in the creation of new knowledge—the knowledge learners acquired remained inert (Renkl, Mandl, & Gruber, 1996).
Enhancing E-Collaboration Through Culturally Appropriate User Interfaces
Authors: Cyr Dianne
Published: May 2011

Prior to the Internet, forms of social expression, communication, and collaborative behavior are known to be sensitive to cultural nuances. According to researcher Geert Hofstede (1991), a widely used definition of culture is proposed where “Every person carries within him or herself patterns of thinking, feeling, and potential acting which were learned through their lifetime” (p. 4). Hofstede referred to such patterns as mental programs or “software of the mind.” It is expected that such mental programming related to cultural differences will affect perceptions of the electronic medium as well (Raman & Watson, 1994). Related to the topic of this volume, culture has a place in the consideration of e-collaboration when individuals come together to work toward a common goal using electronic technologies. This may include various domains including e-business, e-learning, distributed project management, working in virtual teams of various forms, to name a few.
Faculty Preferences for Communications Channels
Authors: Pena-Sanchez Rolando , Hicks Richard C.
Published: May 2011

In higher education, there are two distinctly different means of communication. The first is group communication, which normally takes place in the classroom. Most of the communication in the classroom uses the face-to-face media. Outside of the classroom, however, various communications media may be used. In this article, we examine the preferences for face to face, e-mail, and telephonic communication for a variety of tasks.
Gender Differences and Cultural Orientation in E-Collaboration
Authors: Zhong Yingqin , Wang Zhen , Lim John
Published: May 2011

Electronic collaboration (e-collaboration) is defined as collaboration among individuals engaged in a common task using electronic technologies (Kock & Nosek, 2005). Examples of technologies used in e-collaboration are email, groupware and chat tools, which support communication, information sharing and coordination among team members synchronously or asynchronously. Collaborative learning is regarded as an important information processing activity in e-collaboration. E-collaboration technologies enable affective learning related to interactive communication and teamwork to be achieved. Members learn from one another by actively engaging in exchanging knowledge and information based on their understanding as well as individual experiences (Harasim, Hiltz, Teles, & Turoff, 1995). New information is in this way integrated with existing cognitive structures (Leidner & Jarvenpaa, 1995). Growing interest in supporting the needs of active learning, along with concurrent improvements in e-collaboration technologies, has prompted research on computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL).
Governance Mechanisms for E-Collaboration
Authors: Ghosh Anupam , Fedorowicz Jane
Published: May 2011

E-collaboration, defined as “collaboration among individuals engaged in a common task using electronic technologies” (Kock, Davison, Ocker, & Wazlawick, 2001), is increasingly gaining relevance at the interorganizational level because of the growing practice of working with dispersed project teams across the globe. E-collaboration links together partners on projects and business processes that cross legal boundaries, as is the case, for example, in supply chains and in product lifecycle management (PLM) teams. General purpose computer-based collaboration tools like the Internet, e-mails, instant messaging, discussion boards, groupware, portals, blogs, and wikis are commonly used for e-collaboration (Fichter, 2005), while task-specific tools exist for many interorganizational activities such as PLM or collaborative planning, forecasting, and replenishment (CPFR).
Governing E-Collaboration in E-Lance Networks
Authors: Hooker Robert , Lewis Carmen , Smith Hugh , Wasko Molly , Worrell James , Yoon Tom
Published: May 2011

In this article, we focus on the role of brokers as the essential facilitators of e-collaboration. E-lance brokers are Web-based and serve as online clearinghouses for information about customers and their projects, as well as suppliers of services seeking work, allowing knowledge work to be traded like a commodity. Brokers bring together those seeking services and those who can provide those services to meet the particular needs of the customer. The study of the different ecollaboration tools used by e-lance brokers provides important insights into how loosely coupled, autonomous agents exchange services through e-lance forms of organization. Examining the different e-collaboration mechanisms and how these mechanisms translate into successful transactions, is essential for understanding the future of knowledge work. Since knowledge-based work can be codified and shared electronically, such as software development, consulting, translation, and accounting, e-collaboration tools enabled through ICTs present viable alternatives to traditional models of organizing.
Group Size Effects in Electronic Brainstorming
Authors: Dennis Alan R. , Williams Michael L.
Published: May 2011

The goal of this article is to analyze the effect of group size on idea generation in both verbal and electronic brainstorming (EBS) groups. Group size effects were analyzed by a meta-analysis of 21 previously published articles. Section one reviews how group size impacts the communication process in group idea generation. Section two and three present the methods and results of our meta-analysis. Section four is a discussion of the results and implications for future research and practice.
Human and Technology Leadership Roles in Virtual Teams
Authors: Zigurs Ilze , Schoonover Terrance
Published: May 2011

Effective leadership can make a difference in the success of a team, and virtual teams are no exception. However, virtual teams present special challenges, particularly in the expression of the context-rich and personal influence that is such an important part of leadership (Bell & Kozlowski, 2002). Communication through computer- mediated channels requires a different awareness of leadership roles and how they can be expressed. In fact, the communication system itself has roles to play, some of which might be perceived by team members as leadership roles. We begin with a brief summary of the historical context of leadership and existing research on leadership in computer-supported teams. We then discuss opportunities for research on enhancing leadership in virtual teams, particularly from the perspective of integrating human with technology roles.
Managing Online Discussion Forums for Collaborative Learning
Authors: Lam Wing , Kong Eu-Jin , Chua Alton
Published: May 2011

In recent years, there has been significant growth in online education (Schrum & Hong, 2002; Evans & Haase, 2001). The number of academic journals devoted to online education also suggests that researchers are paying much attention to advancing online educational methods. One promising area of investigation is collaborative learning, which involves students learning as a group (Zhang & Nunamaker, 2003), much of which takes place electronically without face-to-face interaction (Townsend, DeMarie, & Hendrickson, 1998). One popular tool used to support collaborative learning is the online discussion forum (ODF), which allows asynchronous interaction between participants. This paper describes the experiences of using ODFs for collaborative learning at Universitas 21 Global (U21G), a newly established e-university.
Presence-Based Real-Time Communication
Authors: Frößler Frank , Riemer Kai
Published: May 2011

Presence-based real-time communication (RTC) presents itself as a new and emerging technology in the E-collaboration arena with a wide range of new products currently entering the market. Originally created through the integration of instant messaging, with its text chat functionality and presence awareness information, with voice-over IP (VoIP) communication RTC has been maturing over the past three years. Further information and communication channels have been added and RTC technology shows significant potential for integration with other collaborative application as well as general purpose systems like office software. By introducing RTC, its features, potential usage scenarios, and the main players and future trends, this article names several aspects which might inspire future research in this area.
Addressing the Credibility of Mobile Applications
Authors: Kamthan Panjak
Published: May 2011

Mobile access has opened new vistas for various sectors of society including businesses. The ability that anyone using (virtually) any device could be reached anytime and anywhere presents a tremendous commercial potential. Indeed, the number of mobile applications has seen a tremendous growth in the last few years. In retrospect, the fact that almost anyone can set up a mobile application claiming to offer products and services raises the question of credibility from a consumer’s viewpoint. The obligation of establishing credibility is essential for an organization’s reputation (Gibson, 2002) and for building consumers’ trust (Kamthan, 1999). If not addressed, there is a potential for lost consumer confidence, thus significantly reducing the advantages and opportunities the mobile Web as a medium offers. If a mobile application is not seen as credible, we face the inevitable consequence of a product, however functionally superior it might be, rendered socially isolated. The rest of the article is organized as follows. We first provide the motivational background necessary for later discussion. This is followed by introduction of a framework within which different types of credibility in the context of mobile applications can be systematically addressed and thereby improved. Next, challenges and directions for future research are outlined. Finally, concluding remarks are given.
Anycast-Based Mobility
Authors: Dudás I.
Published: May 2011

We have entered the new millennium with two great inventions, the Internet and mobile telecommunication, and a remarkable trend of network evolution toward convergence of these two achievements. It is an evident step to combine the advantages of the Internet and the mobile communication methods together in addition to converge the voice and data into a common packet-based and heterogeneous network infrastructure. To provide interworking, the future systems have to be based on a universal and widespread network protocol, such as Internet protocol (IP) which is capable of connecting the various wired and wireless networks (Macker, Park, & Corson, 2001).However, the current version of IP has problems in mobile wireless networks; the address range is limited, IPv4 is not suitable to efficiently manage mobility, support real-time services, security, and other enhanced features. The next version, IPv6 fixes the problems and also adds many improvements to IPv4, such as extended address space, routing, quality of service, security (IPSec), network autoconfiguration and integrated mobility support (Mobile IPv6).Today’s IP communication is mainly based on unicast (one-to-one) delivery mode. However it is not the only method in use: other delivery possibilities, such as broadcast (one-to-all), multicast (one-to-many) and anycast (one-to-one-of-many) are available. Partridge, Mendez, and Milliken (1993) proposed the host anycasting service for the first time in RFC 1546. The basic idea behind the anycast networking paradigm is to separate the service identifier from the physical host, and enable the service to act as a logical entity of the network. This idea of anycasting can be achieved in different layers (e.g., network and application layers) and they have both strengths and weaknesses as well. We focus on network-layer anycasting in this article, where a node sends a packet to an anycast address and the network will deliver the packet to at least one, and preferably only one of the competent hosts. This approach makes anycasting a kind of group communication in that a group of hosts are specified for a service represented by an anycast address and underlying routing algorithms are supposed to find out the appropriate destination for an anycast destined packet.
Browser-Less Surfing and Mobile Internet Access
Authors: Fleet G. , Reid J.
Published: May 2011

Lately, we have seen the use of a number of new technologies (such as Javascript, XML, and RSS) used to show how Web content can be delivered to users without a traditional browser application (e.g., Microsoft Explorer). In parallel, a growing number of PC applications, whose main job previously was to manage local resources, now are adding Internet connectivity to enhance their role and use (e.g., while iTunes started as a media player for playing and managing compressed audio files, it now includes Web access to download and purchase music, video, podcasts, television shows, and movies).While most attempts at providing Internet access on mobile devices (whether wireless phones or personal digital assistants) have sought to bring the traditional browser, or a mobile version of the browser, to these smaller devices, they have been far from successful (and a far cry from the richer experience provided by browsers on the PC using standard input and control devices of keyboards and a mouse). Next, we will highlight a number of recent trends to show how these physical and use-case constraints can be significantly diminished.
Business Strategies for Mobile Marketing
Authors: Bose I.
Published: May 2011

With the appearance of advanced and mature wireless and mobile technologies, more and more people are embracing mobile “things” as part of their everyday lives. New business opportunities are emerging with the birth of a new type of commerce known as mobile commerce or m-commerce. M-commerce is an extension to electronic commerce (e-commerce) with new capabilities. As a result, marketing activities in m-commerce are different from traditional commerce and e-commerce. This chapter will discuss marketing strategies for m-commerce. First we will give some background knowledge about m-commerce. Then we will discuss the pull, push, and viral models in m-marketing. The third part will be the discussion about the future developments in mobile marketing. The last part will provide a summary of this article.
Context-Aware Mobile Geographic Information Systems
Authors: Djordjevic-Kajan S.
Published: May 2011

A new breed of computing devices is taking more and more ground in the highly dynamic market of computer hardware. We refer to smart phones and PocketPCs, which redefine typical usage procedures we are all familiar with in traditional, desktop information systems. Dimensions of this class of computing devices allow users to keep them at hand virtually at all times. This omnipresence allows development of applications that will truly bring to life the motto: “availability always and everywhere.” Hardware and software characteristics of the aforementioned devices require a somewhat modified approach when developing software for them. Not only technical characteristics should be considered in this process, but also a general set of functionalities such an application should provide. Equally important is the fact that the typical user will be on the move, and his attention will be divided between the application and events occurring in his environment. Fundamentally new and important input to mobile applications is constantly changing the user environment. The term that is used most frequently and describes the user environment is a context, and applications that are able to independently interpret a user’s context and autonomously adapt to it are named context-aware applications.
Dynamic Pricing Based on Net Cost for Mobile Content Services
Authors: Srikhutkhao N.
Published: May 2011

In the past few years, the mobile phone’s performance has increased rapidly. According to IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Phone 2004-2008 Forecast and Analysis, sales of 2.5G mobile phones will drive market growth for the next several years, with sales of 3G mobile phones finally surpassing the 100 million annual unit mark in 2007. Future mobile phones can support more than 20,000 colors. With the advancements in functionality and performance of mobile phones, users will use them for all sorts of activities, and that will increase mobile content service requests. Currently, the pricing of mobile content service is up to each provider; typically they implement a fixed price called a market price because the providers do not have a formula to estimate the price according to the actual cost of their services. This article proposes a dynamic pricing model based on net cost for mobile content services.
Embedded Agents for Mobile Services
Authors: Bradley J.
Published: May 2011

This article will focus on the current state of the art in the deployment of multi-agent systems on mobile devices and smart phones. A number of platforms will be described, along with some practical issues concerning the deployment of agents in mobile applications.
Enabling Multimedia Applications in Memory-Limited Mobile Devices
Authors: Herbster Raul Fernandes , Almeida Hyggo , Perkusich Angelo , Morais Marcos
Published: May 2011

In this article we propose a layered architecture that makes possible the visualization of large videos, and even other multimedia documents, in memory/processing limited devices. Storage of videos is performed at the server side, and the client plays the video without worrying about storage space in the device. Data available in the server is divided into small pieces of readable data for mobile devices, generally JPEG files. For example, when the client requests videos from the server, the videos are sent as JPEG files and shown at an ideal rate for users. The video frames are sent through a wireless connection.
Handheld Computing and J2ME for Internet-Enabled Mobile Handheld Devices
Authors: Hu W. , Yeh J. , Kao I. , Zhong Y.
Published: May 2011

This article gives a study of handheld computing, especially J2ME (Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition) programming, for mobile commerce. Various environments/languages are available for client-side handheld programming. Five of the most popular are (1) BREW, (2) J2ME, (3) Palm OS, (4) Symbian OS, and (v) Windows Mobile. They apply different approaches to accomplishing the development of mobile applications.
Interactive Multimedia File Sharing Using Bluetooth
Authors: Santos D. , Nascimento Jose Luis do , Almeida Hyggo , Perkusich Angelo
Published: May 2011

In the past few years, industry has introduced cellular phones with increasing processing capabilities and powerful wireless communication technologies. These wireless technologies provide the user with mechanisms to easily access services, enabling file sharing among devices with the same technology interfaces (Mallick, 2003). In the context of electronic commerce, which demands new techniques and technologies to attract consumers, these wireless technologies aim to simplify the shopping process and provide up-to-date information about available products.
Location-Based Multimedia Content Delivery System for Monitoring Purposes
Authors: Sotiriou A.
Published: May 2011

This article presents a location-based multimedia content delivery system (LMCDS) for monitoring purposes, which incorporates media processing with a decision support system and positioning techniques for providing the appropriate content to the most suitable users, in respect to user profile and location, for monitoring purposes. This system is based on agent technology (Hagen & Magendanz, 1998) and aims to promote the social welfare, by increasing the overall situation awareness and efficiency in emergency cases and in areas of high importance. Such a system can be exploited in many operational (public or commercial) environments and offers increased security at a low cost.
M-Commerce Technology Perceptions on Technology Adoptions
Authors: Iris R. , Menipaz E.
Published: May 2011

This article presents a tool for assessing the probability of adopting a new technology or product before it is marketed. Specifically, the research offers managers in firms dealing with mobile electronic commerce a way of measuring perceptions of technology usage as an index for assessing the tendency to adopt a given technology. The article is based on an ongoing study dealing with m-commerce in Israel and internationally. It is centered on creating a research tool for predicting the usage of m-commerce in Israel, based on the PCI model. The suggested model is based on a questionnaire presented to the potential consumer, containing questions linking the consumer’s perception of the various aspects of the technological innovation offered, together with his tendency to buy and therefore adopt it. The tool was found to possess high reliability and validity levels. The average score in the questionnaire is used to predict the probability of adoption of the mobile electronic commerce technology. Implications related to m-commerce technology in Israel and worldwide are discussed.
Mobile Agent Protection for M-Commerce
Authors: Guan S.
Published: May 2011

The introduction of the mobile Internet is probably one of the most significant revolutions of the 20th century. With a simple click, one can connect to almost every corner of the world thousands of kilometers away. This presents a great opportunity for m-commerce. Despite its many advantages over traditional commerce, m-commerce has not taken off successfully. One of the major hindrances is security. The focus of this article is secure transport of mobile agents. A mobile agent is useful for handheld devices like a palmtop or PDA. Such m-commerce devices usually have limited computing power. It would be useful if the users of such devices could send an intelligent, mobile agent to remote machines to carry out complex tasks like product brokering, bargain hunting, or information collection.
Mobile File-Sharing over P2P Networks
Authors: Yan L.
Published: May 2011

Currently, most P2P systems work on wired Internet, which depends on application layer connections among peers, forming an application layer overlay network. In MANET, overlay is also formed dynamically via connections among peers, but without requiring any wired infrastructure. So the major differences between P2P and MANET that concern us in this article are: a. P2P is generally referred to the application layer, but MANET is generally referred to the network layer, which is a lower layer concerning network access issues. Thus, the immediate result of this layer partition reflects the difference of the packet transmission methods between P2P and MANET: the P2P overlay is a unicast network with virtual broadcast consisting of numerous single unicast packets, while the MANET overlay always performs physical broadcasting.b. Peers in P2P overlay are usually referred to static node though no priori knowledge of arriving and departing is assumed, but peers in MANET are usually referred to mobile node since connections are usually constrained by physical factors like limited battery energy, band-width, computing power, and so forth.
Mobile Learning
Authors: Parsons D.
Published: May 2011

Mobile learning (variously shortened to M-Learning, M-learning, m-learning, mlearning, M Learning, or mLearning!) describes any form of education or training that is delivered using some kind of mobile device. As the power and sophistication of mobile devices increases, and wireless networks become faster and more ubiquitous, learning with a mobile device will become an integral part of the general spectrum of technology-supported learning. Furthermore, the special characteristics of mobile learning, including ubiquity, convenience, localization, and personalization, give it unique qualities that help it stand out from other forms of learning.
Mobile Medical Image Viewing Using 3G Wireless Network
Authors: Tong C. , Wong E.
Published: May 2011

This article presents the implementation process of a high-quality teleradiology service using the third-generation (3G) wireless network.
Mobile Payment and the Charging of Mobile Services
Authors: Pousttchi K.
Published: May 2011

According to the sweeping enthusiasm that characterized much of the news reporting in the years 1999 and 2000, mobile phones should by now have been firmly established as payment terminals in the most diverse fields. However, reality today is a different matter. Mobile payment as an established payment system seems to be a distant prospect in the case of most countries.
Mobile Serverless Video Communication
Authors: Cycon H.
Published: May 2011

The main new feature, scalability, addresses schemes for delivery of video to diverse clients over heterogeneous networks, particularly in scenarios where the downstream conditions are not known in advance. The basic idea is that one encoded stream can serve networks with varying bandwidths or clients with different display resolutions or systems with different storage resources, which is an obvious advantage in heterogeneous networks prevalent in mobile applications.
Mobile Virtual Communities
Authors: El Morr C.
Published: May 2011

The adoption of mobile phone technology on a large scale in today’s societies turned mobile phones into a universal tool. Phone companies are deploying 3G mobile technology and planning for 4G; nevertheless, the “killer” applications are yet to be developed. Meanwhile, mobile virtual communities (MVCs) are emerging, and their applications are diverse: they range from education, to entertainment and lifestyle. Our vision is that mobile virtual communities will be a major trend and could create a momentum for 3G and 4G mobile phone applications. In this article we analyze the different types of mobile virtual communities, and we draw some research perspectives and applications.
Mutual Biometric Authentication
Authors: El-Said M.
Published: May 2011

This article addresses another severe threat affecting the security of cellular systems, called pilot aliasing attack. This problem occurred due to pilot code reuse among different cellular carriers.
NFC-Capable Mobile Devices for Mobile Payment Services
Authors: Karnouskos S.
Published: May 2011

An old saying coming from the telecom world states that nothing can be really considered as a service unless you are able to charge for it. As we move towards a service-oriented society, the necessity to pay in real time for a variety of services via different channels anywhere, anytime, in any currency increases. According to Gartner (www.gartner.com), worldwide mobile phone sales totaled 816.6 million units in 2005, a 21% increase from 2004. Due to the high penetration rates of the mobile devices, they pose an interesting candidate for the real-time payment scenarios. Several efforts have already been done (Karnouskos, 2004), but as new technology comes aboard, new capabilities are also brought along. Near Field Communication (NFC) is such a technology, which due to the industry support and its low cost (in comparison with similar ones) may become dominant in short-range communication among a variety of devices, including mobile phones. NFC is well equipped in order to facilitate mobile payments with little interference from the user side.
Partial Global Indexing for Location-Dependent Query Processing
Authors: Jayaputera J.
Published: May 2011

The idea of this article is based on the parallel indexing concept (Taniar & Rahayu, 2002) in which an indexed object residing in a BS is either fully, partially, or not replicated to others BSs. Therefore, every server contains either partial or all indexes of other servers. In our proposed approach, whenever the requested results return from neighboring cells, we append the resulting items to the current cell. This implies that when the next user sends a request, the current cell needs to look up its own index first to verify if the data is in its local storage. If the data is not present, the current server sends a request to the neighboring cells on behalf of the client; otherwise, the current server directly sends the requested query to the client. We have evaluated our proposed approach and showed that the access time can be reduced by a factor of two.The next section of this article describes some related work. We then describe our proposed work and the simulation model, and we compare the performance of our proposed technique to other techniques. Finally, we conclude the article and suggest future work.
Provisioning of Multimedia Applications across Heterogeneous All-IP Networks
Authors: Tsagkaropoulos M. , Politis I. , Dagiuklas T.
Published: May 2011

With the opening of the telecommunication market and the emergence of low-cost and heterogeneous wireless access technologies, it is envisaged that next-generation network and service providers will not only vary in the deployed access technology but also in their business models and structures. Such providers will differ from large providers such as the current telecom providers offering multiple services and covering large geographical areas, down to small providers offering certain services such as conferencing or messaging only or covering small geographical areas such as a coffee shop or a shopping mall. Further, while in the current networking environment, a home provider of a user is usually represented by a large telecom provider; in such a heterogeneous environment, any trustworthy entity such as an application provider, a banking entity, or a credit card provider that is capable of authenticating the user and marinating his usage profile can act as a home provider. Towards this vision this article discusses the issues that concern the establishment of multimedia applications across heterogeneous networks.
A QoS Routing Framework on Bluetooth Networking
Authors: Liu C.
Published: May 2011

Bluetooth (2001) is one of the low-bandwidth, energy-efficient wireless technologies designed for mobile devices. As the technology spreads widely in various applications, more and more services and functions are brought to the front, so different types of devices may be equipped with the Bluetooth module and appear in the same area. However, when nodes for different services come together, the need for forming a network comes out.
Semantic Enrichment of Location-Based Services
Authors: Tsetsos Vassileios , Anagnostopoulos Christos , Hadjiefthymiades Stathes
Published: May 2011

In this article, we describe issues related to the development of intelligent and human-centered LBS for indoor environments. We focus on the navigation service. Navigation is probably the most challenging LBS since it involves relatively complex algorithms and many cognitive processes (e.g., combining known paths for reaching unknown destinations, minimizing path length). With the proposed system, we try to incorporate intelligence to navigation services by enriching them with the semantics of users and navigation spaces. Such semantic information is represented and reasoned using state-of-the-art semantic Web technologies (Berners-Lee, Hendler, & Lassila, 2001).
Smartphone Acceptance among Sales Drivers
Authors: Chen J.
Published: May 2011

The objective of this research is to find out the acceptance of sales drivers in logistic industry to use the smartphone in their work. This research uses two methods to collect data: survey and experiment. This research integrates technology acceptance model (TAM) (Davis, 1989), self-efficacy (Bandura, 1982, 1986), and innovation diffusion theory (IDT) (Rogers, 1962) into the research model to find out the factors of sales drivers in logistic industry accepting the smartphone. This experiment is focused on three user groups: the employees of a business that implements smartphone usage, the employees of businesses that do not use smartphone, and the students that are currently studying at a department of transportation and communication management. The results will help us understand whether this technology should be integrated into the traditional logistics system, and get to know the pros and cons of this idea.
Standard-Based Wireless Mesh Networks
Authors: Peng M.
Published: May 2011

This article introduces a functional architecture supporting the wireless mesh networks for the IEEE 802.16 standard. Three essential techniques—collision avoiding, packet scheduling, and wireless routing—are intensively presented. Based on the mesh extension of the IEEE 802.16 medium access control (MAC) layer protocol and the relay-based characteristic of WMNs, the algorithms concerning those three essential techniques are briefly reviewed. The suitable algorithms for collision avoiding and packet scheduling mechanisms are analyzed. Meanwhile, the wireless routing algorithm for the proposal architecture is discussed. The future research work is presented and the research problems are focused.
The "Umbrella" Distributed Hash Table Protocol for Content Distribution
Authors: Sotiriou A.
Published: May 2011

The technical and ethical issues of these systems proved to be their weak point. Systems that have no central point of control and distribute functions among all users seem better fit for sharing and distributing content. A solution has been proposed in the form of distributed hashtables (DHTs). This article proposes an alternative architecture for content distribution based on a new DHT routing scheme. The proposed architecture is well structured and self-organized in such a way as to be fault-tolerant and highly efficient. It provides users with content distribution and discovery capabilities on top of an overlay network. The novelty of our proposed architecture lies in its routing table which is maintained by each node and is of constant size, as opposed to other algorithms that are proportional to the network’s size (usually O(logN)). All operations in our architecture are of O(logbN) steps (entry, publishing, and lookups) and degrade gracefully as up-to-date information of the routing table decreases due to numerous node failures.
Voice Recognition Intelligent Agents Technology
Authors: Gurau C.
Published: May 2011

This article attempts to present the rationale and the advantages of this development, and to analyze the possible problems raised by the introduction of this technology. The article starts with a presentation of the existing mobile phone technology, outlining its main limitations in terms of functionality, which are logically determined by the way and the context in which mobile phones are normally used. Based on the analysis of the contradictions between the present model of interaction with mobile phones and the requirements of users, the article presents possible solutions to this problem. The study argues that the introduction of voice recognition intelligent agents can enhance significantly the functionality of mobile phones, representing a true revolution in mobile computing. Various practical applications of this technology are briefly presented, as well as the main problems related with its development and implementation.
Wireless Access Control System Using Bluetooth
Authors: Rodrigues Fernandes de Oliveira Juliano , Nóbrega Rocha Xavier Rodrigo , de Carvalho Gomes Yuri , Almeida Hyggo , Perkusich Angelo
Published: May 2011

This article presents an access control system that uses Bluetooth technology (Ericsson Bluetooth, 2006) to allow control of the entrance to environments. By using the proposed system, a person with a smart phone can use it to get access to environments, such as buildings, labs, rooms, and so forth.
IS/IT Strategy Work
Authors: Gottschalk Petter
Published: May 2011

Strategy can be defined simply as principles, a broad based formula, applied in order to achieve a purpose. These principles are general guidelines guiding the daily work to reach business goals. Strategy is the pattern of resource allocation decisions made throughout the organization. These encapsulate both desired goals and beliefs about what are acceptable and, most critically, unacceptable means for achieving them. While the business strategy is the broadest pattern of resource allocation decisions, decisions that are more specific are related to information systems and information technology. IS must be seen both in a business and an IT context. IS is in the middle because IS supports the business while using IT. This will be discussed later in this book in terms of IT governance as strategic alignment.
Sourcing Practices
Authors: Gottschalk Petter
Published: May 2011

The rapidly increasing use of outsourcing for IT services, both in the public and private sectors, has attracted much interest from researchers and practitioners alike. While early studies of IT outsourcing were largely qualitative in nature, more recent studies have attempted to analyze the outcomes achieved in quantitative terms. Domberger et al. (2000) are consistent with the latter, but goes further by modeling the price, performance, and contract characteristics that are relevant to IT outsourcing. A two-equation recursive regression model was used to analyze 48 contracts for IT support and maintenance.
Optimal KM/WM Systems in Marketing
Authors: Thierauf Robert , Hoctor James
Published: May 2011

• To contrast conventional wisdom with an enlarged view of wisdom underlying marketing operations • To examine areas that lend themselves to developing an effective marketing model • To explore areas underlying marketing strategy and sales plans within an optimal KM/WM system-operating mode • To set forth an optimal KM/WM system application that has been found to be successful in marketing.
Optimal KM/WM Systems in Finance
Authors: Thierauf Robert , Hoctor James
Published: May 2011

• To contrast conventional wisdom with an enlarged view of wisdom for financial activities • To examine the important factors underlying the development of an effective finance model • To explore the area of financial performance as it relates to an optimal KM/WM system • To examine an optimal KM/WM system application that is evolving over time
Real-World Optimal KM/WM System Applications
Authors: Thierauf Robert , Hoctor James
Published: May 2011

• To take a last look at creative thinking and problem finding that underlies “what needs to be done” in a typical optimal KM/WM system • To tie in new business models with the ability of a company’s decision makers to judge soundly over time • To review computer software that is useful in optimal KM/WM system applications • To set forth real-world optimal KM/WM system applications in the areas of corporate planning, marketing, finance, and manufacturing
Thoughts for the Future
Authors: Colarik Andrew
Published: May 2011

Briefly put the previous information presented into a context for taking action. Ö Understand the relationship between user privacy and data usage. Ö Be aware of the relationship between security design and user features. Ö Present some of the major issues in securing the global information infrastructure. Ö Identify seven solutions for safeguarding the global information infrastructure from cyber criminals and cyber terrorists alike.
Quality-Extended Query Processing for Mediation Systems
Authors: Berti-Equille Laure
Published: May 2011

For non-collaborative distributed data sources, quality-driven query processing is difficult to achieve because the sources generally do not export data quality indicators. This chapter deals with the extension and adaptation of query processing for taking into account constraints on quality of distributed data. This chapter presents a novel framework for adaptive query processing on quality-extended query declarations. It proposes an expressive query language extension combining SQL and QML, the Quality of service Modeling Language proposed by Frølund and Koistinen (1998) for defining in a flexible way dimensions, and metrics on data, sources and services quality. The originality of the approach is to include the negotiation of quality contracts between the distributed data sources competing for answering the query. The principle is to find dynamically the best trade-off between the local query cost and the result quality. The author is convinced that quality of data (QoD) and quality of service (QoS) can be advantageously conciliated for tackling the problems of quality-aware query processing in distributed environments and more generally, that opens innovative research perspectives for quality-aware adaptive query processing.
The Development of a Health Data Quality Programme
Authors: Kerr Karolyn , Norris Tony
Published: May 2011

Data quality requirements are increasing as a wider range of data becomes available and the technology to mine data shows the value of data that is ‘fit for use’. This chapter describes a data quality programme for the New Zealand Ministry of Health that first isolates the criteria that define ‘fitness’ and then develops a framework as the basis of a health sector wide data quality strategy that aligns with the sector’s existing strategies and policies for the use of health information.. The framework development builds on an existing work by the Canadian Institute for Health Information, and takes into account current data quality literature and recognised Total Data Quality Management (TDQM) principles. Strategy development builds upon existing policy and strategy within the New Zealand health sector, a review of customer requirements, current sector maturity and adaptability, and current literature to provide a practical strategy that offers clear guidelines for action. The chapter ends with a summary of key issues that can be employed by health care organisations to develop their own successful data quality improvement programmes