bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Extending Security in Agile Software Development Methods
Authors: Siponen M. , Baskerville R. , Kuivalainen R.
Published: May 2011

Software developers can use agile software development methods to build secure information systems. Current agile methods have few (if any) explicit security fea-tures. While several discrete security methods (such as checklists and management standards) can supplement agile methods, few of these integrate seamlessly into other software development methods. Because of the severe constraints imposed by agile methods, these discrete security techniques integrate very poorly into agile approaches. This chapter demonstrates how the security features can be integrated into an agile method called feature driven development.
Challenges of Designing a Markup Language for Music
Authors: Steyn Jacques
Published: May 2011

XML-based languages for music have constraints not applicable to typical XML applications such as for standard text documents or data sets. Music contains numerous simultaneous events across several dimensions, including time. The Document Model for a piece of music would thus look very different from serialised text documents. Most existing XML-based music markup languages mark music typography, following the print traditions of music scores. A general music markup language should include much more than mere print. Some of the challenges designing an XML-based markup language for music are considered. An SVG-based Music Symbol Design Grid is proposed to meet the challenge of music typology. An XML-based Music Symbol Language is used to design symbols on this grid. Resulting symbols are positioned in 3D Music Space, which is introduced to address the challenge of topography.
Digital Rights Management Technologies and Standards
Authors: Delgado Jaime , Rodríguez Eva
Published: May 2011

This chapter discusses technologies and standards related to digital rights management (DRM). Firstly, it presents DRM systems that are multimedia information management systems that take into account digital rights and protection. These systems enable the controlled distribution and use of multimedia content through the digital value chain. Then, this chapter presents current initiatives, standard and proprietary, that specify a DRM system. It focuses in the MPEG-21 standard initiative, mainly in the parts of this standard that normatively specify the different pieces and formats needed by a complete DRM system. Finally, this chapter presents one of the key components of DRM systems, rights expression languages (RELs) that have been defined to express content usage rules.
Managing E-Relationships in a Supply Network
Authors: Xu Susanna Xin , Nandhakumar Joe
Published: May 2011

This chapter investigates the dynamics of the formation and transformation of electronic supply relationships (e-supply relationships) in the Chinese cultural, technological, and industrial network context. It focuses on a newly formed large Chinese telecom company. The aim is to provide better insights into inter-organisational relationships (IORs) enabled by the application of newer types of Internet technology in different contexts, and to develop a new conceptual framework of e-supply relationships. In this research, the conceptualisation of the transformation process of e-supply relationships represents circuits of interactions between managerial actions and social structures, as well as the particular cultural and technological context within which the interactions take place.
Network Effects and the Evolution of Internet Auctions
Authors: Park S.
Published: May 2011

Based on the weekly data of listings and Web site usage of eBay and Yahoo!Auctions, as well as fee schedules and available auction mechanisms, this chapter provides empirical support of the network effect in Internet auctions: A seller’s expected auction revenue increases with page views per listing on one hand and increased listings raise page views per listing on the other hand. The existence of the network effect between Web site usage and listings explains the first mover’s advantage and the dominance of eBay even with higher fees in the Internet auctions market. Our empirical findings also highlight unique features of Internet auctions, especially in the entry behavior of potential bidders into specific auctions, inviting more theoretical studies of the market microstructure of Internet auctions.
Social Network Mining from the Web
Authors: Matsuo Yutaka , Mori Junichiro , Ishizuka Mitsuru
Published: May 2011

This chapter describes social network mining from the Web. Since the end of the 1990s, several attempts have been made to mine social network information from e-mail messages, message boards, Web linkage structure, and Web content. In this chapter, we specifically examine the social network extraction from the Web using a search engine. The Web is a huge source of information about relations among persons. Therefore, we can build a social network by merging the information distributed on the Web. The growth of information on the Web, in addition to the development of a search engine, opens new possibilities to process the vast amounts of relevant information and mine important structures and knowledge.
Discovery of Latent Patterns with Hierarchical Bayesian Mixed-Membership Models and the Issue of Model Choice
Authors: Joutard Cyrille J. , Airoldi Edoardo M. , Edoardo M. Stephen E. , Love Tanzy M.
Published: May 2011

Statistical models involving a latent structure often support clustering, classification, and other data-mining tasks. Parameterizations, specifications, and constraints of alternative models can be very different, however, and may lead to contrasting conclusions. Thus model choice becomes a fundamental issue in applications, both methodological and substantive. Here, we work from a general formulation of hierarchical Bayesian models of mixed-membership that subsumes many popular models successfully applied to problems in the computing, social and biological sciences. We present both parametric and nonparametric specifications for discovering latent patterns. Context for the discussion is provided by novel analyses of the following two data sets: (1) 5 years of scientific publications from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences; (2) an extract on the functional disability of Americans age 65+ from the National Long Term Care Survey. For both, we elucidate strategies for model choice and our analyses bring new insights compared with earlier published analyses.
The Role of Ambiguity in the Transfer of Knowledge within Organizational Networks
Authors: Priestley Jennifer , Samaddar Subhashish
Published: May 2011

Organizations join multi-organizational networks in part to mitigate environmental uncertainties and to access knowledge. However, the transfer of knowledge cannot be assumed simply as a function of network membership. Researchers in the area of knowledge management have identified several factors that have been found to affect the transfer of knowledge within, between, and among organizations. This chapter investigates specifically how organizational ambiguity impacts the transfer of knowledge within multi-organizational networks. The authors explore the effects of causal ambiguity, defined as the ambiguity related to inputs and factors, in a multi-organizational context, and discuss the existence of a previously undefined ambiguity, the ambiguity related to outcomes or “outcome ambiguity.” The authors provide a discussion on why outcome ambiguity is particularly relevant when multiple organizations are engaged in a network, where the objective is access to knowledge.
Systemic Innovation Capability
Authors: Machado Marcelo A.
Published: May 2011

Targeting at an uncovered intersection of the fields of management of technology (MOT), knowledge management, and strategic alliances, we propose the concept of systemic innovation capability, which is the ability to effectively combine knowledge from a variety of internal and external sources into innovative products, services, efficient business processes, and valuable new combinations of knowledge, holistically taking into consideration business, marketing, operations, and technological aspects. Additionally, we validate the concept by presenting the case of Embraer, a Brazilian commercial aircraft manufacturer successfully competing in the global marketplace. Based on an extensive literature review with support from Embraer’s case, we also propose the knowledge partnership model. In developing the model, we coined the concept of “new product development effectiveness.” Furthermore, we proposed the concept of “knowledge relevance,” which is roughly a mutually attractive force between partners’ knowledge pools. Finally, we made practical considerations about concepts and models proposed in the chapter.
Knowledge Creation and Adaptive Collaboration Based on XML Web Services
Authors: Hori Mayumi , Ohashi Masakazu
Published: May 2011

This chapter introduces the adaptive collaboration (AC) and its potentials in the new paradigm of the 21st century networked society. It is an innovative information technology system for knowledge creation based on the XML Web services, which is essential to promptly meet the increasingly diverse needs and kaleidoscopic changes in economy. The AC is critical in the ubiquitous society, where constant improvement of business processes and cooperation and collaboration with both existing and new systems are required. Today’s knowledge is considered ecological and organic in a way that it is flexible enough to swiftly sense numeral shifts in the environment. The new method that integrates a number of different systems and applications into one system to enable the AC has been generating much attention as it may meet the diverse and growing demands in the future of the ubiquitous society.
Software Agent Technology for Supporting Ad Hoc Virtual Enterprises
Authors: Rykowski Jarogniew
Published: May 2011

This chapter introduces a new idea of using software agents for supporting ad hoc virtual enterprises and similar forms of temporal business-to-business collaboration. It seems that current information and telecommunication technologies, based on information interchange and local data processing, are not flexible enough to deal with modern business requirements, especially dynamic and temporal business relations, heterogeneity of hardware, software and communication means, and data complexity. The proposed approach differs in the distribution of both data and programs for data treatment at-the-place and just-in-time. The distributed and remotely executed programs, software agents, are autonomous entities, targeted on obtaining preprogrammed goals, and working in the name and under the authority of their owners. The authors hope that the proposed techniques for agent preparation, distribution, and execution make the whole system safe and secure, providing an efficient environment for a wide spectrum of temporal and ad hoc business collaboration.
Verifiable Encryption of Digital Signatures Using Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm and its Implementation Issues
Authors: Anitha R. , Sankarasubramanian R. S.
Published: May 2011

This chapter presents a new simple scheme for verifiable encryption of elliptic curve digital signature algorithm (ECDSA). The protocol we present is an adjudicated protocol, that is, the trusted third party (TTP) takes part in the protocol only when there is a dispute. This scheme can be used to build efficient fair exchanges and certified email protocols. In this paper we also present the implementation issues. We present a new algorithm for multiplying two 2n bits palindromic polynomials modulo xp–1 for prime p = 2n + 1 for the concept defined in Blake, Roth, and Seroussi (1998), and it is compared with the Sunar-Koc parallel multiplier given in Sunar and Koc (2001).
Modeling and Specification of Collaborative Business Processes with a MDS Approach and a UML Profile
Authors: Villarreal Pablo David , Salomone Enrique , Chiotti Omar
Published: May 2011

This chapter describes the application of MDA (Model-Driven Architecture) and UML for the modeling and specification of collaborative business processes, with the purpose of enabling enterprises to establish Business-to-Business collaborations. The proposed MDA approach provides the components and techniques required for the development of collaborative processes, from their conceptual modeling to the specifications of these processes and the partners’ interfaces in a B2B standard. As part of this MDA approach, a UML Profile is provided, which extends the semantics of UML 2 to support the analysis and design of collaborative processes. This UML Profile is based on the use of interaction protocols to model collaborative processes. The application of this UML Profile in a case study is presented. Also, an overview is provided about the automatic generation of B2B specifications from conceptual models of collaborative processes. In particular, the generation of B2B specifications based on ebXML is described.
Using GIS to Generate Spatial Datasets for Public Management and Analysis
Authors: Landers Jim
Published: May 2011

This chapter describes the Enterprise Zone (EZ) Fiscal Impact Project conducted in 2003 by the Of?ce of Fiscal and Management Analysis (OFMA), Indiana Legislative Services Agency (LSA). The focus of this project was to better inform policy analysts and policy-makers about the extent and nature of business activity within Indiana’s 29 EZs. The most important outcomes of the project were the generation of digitized maps of the EZs and the geocoding of data from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (also referred to as ES-202 data) to the EZs. The geocoding process yielded a census of business establishments in the EZs, and a dataset reporting employment levels, wage levels, and industry classi?cation information for each business identi?ed in the EZs. The project failed to yield much-needed information on sales receipts, income, and investment expenditures by EZ businesses. Researchers conducted a survey of EZ businesses to obtain this information, but the survey failed to yield suf?cient samples to draw conclusions about EZ businesses. In addition, geocoding of tax return data was considered, but researchers determined the geocoded tax return data would not yield valid and reliable information about EZ businesses. This project has provided valuable descriptive information for EZ administrators and was utilized by OFMA staff to estimate ?scal impacts of proposed EZ tax incentives for the Indiana legislature. The case also demonstrates how analysts can utilize GIS and available data sources to create new demographic and socio-economic databases for localized and idiosyncratic geographic areas. Nevertheless, the case also suggests that widespread geocoding of existing databases containing geographic information may not lead to a GIS that validly re?ects phenomenon in such areas. Thus, researchers must exercise caution in geocoding and utilizing the resulting databases for research and analysis.
Aligning Business Processes with Enterprise Service Computing Infrastructure
Authors: Zhao Wei , Jeng Jun-Jang , An Lianjun , Cao Fei , Bryant Barret R. , Hauser Rainer , Tao Tao
Published: May 2011

Multisourced and federated business operations and IT services are the backbone of today’s enterprise. However, in most companies, there exists a natural gap and disconnection between the decision and evaluation at the business level and the execution and metrics at the IT level. This disconnection can lead to end-user dissatisfaction, diminished profit, and missed business objectives. In this chapter, we study the problem of this disconnection and provide the following frameworks and techniques toward bridging the gap: (a) We provide a model-transformation framework that effectively transforms business-level decisions documented as businessprocess models into IT-level executable representations based on service-oriented infrastructure, (b) a framework is described that is able to monitor and synthesize IT-level performance and metrics to meet service-level agreements between business management and end users, and (c) techniques and experiments are discussed that enable dynamic adaptation of IT infrastructure according to business decision changes.
Web Services vs. ebXML
Authors: Yan Yuhong , Klein Matthias
Published: May 2011

Web services and ebXML are modern integration technologies that represent the latest developments in the line of middleware technologies and business-related integration paradigms, respectively. In this chapter, we discuss relevant aspects of the two technologies and compare their capabilities from an e-business point of view.
A Synergistic Assessment of the Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework against GERAM (ISO15704:2000)
Authors: Saha P
Published: May 2011

The federal enterprise architecture framework (FEAF) is perhaps the most adopted EA framework, especially within the U.S. Government agencies. Either the FEAF has been adopted as-is or other frameworks derived from the FEAF have been used. The FEAF today continues to be the most comprehensive framework available for guidance by agencies. It consists of a full-fledged methodology, several reference models, target architectures, and even a toolkit that facilitates adoption across all agencies. This chapter evaluates the synergies between the comprehensive FEAF against the generalized enterprise reference architecture and methodology (GERAM) framework. The intent of the evaluation is to present the level of completeness in the FEAF based on GERAM requirements and additionally discuss areas where the FEAF goes well beyond ISO15704:2000 requirements leading to improvement opportunities in GERAM.
The Integrated Enterprise Life Cycle
Authors: Armour F. , Emery C. , Houk J. , Kaisler S. , Kirk J.
Published: May 2011

The enterprise architecture provides benefits to the organization that embraces it. However, in many organizations, the enterprise architecture effort is not tightly coupled and integrated with other enterprise level programs such as investment management and system development processes. This chapter will identify the process integration and enterprise architecture touchpoints from the perspective of the investment management process and it outlines an overall integrated enterprise life cycle process flow. Specifically, this chapter explores Why it is important for an organization to follow an architecture-driven integrated enterprise life cycle? What are the processes of an enterprise life cycle and how do they fit together, specifically the enterprise architecture, investment management, and system development processes? What is an organizational structure for managing and executing the integrated enterprise life cycle? What is an approach for implementing an integrated enterprise life cycle?
Federated Enterprise Resource Planning Systems
Authors: Brehm N. , Lübke D. , Gómez J.
Published: May 2011

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems consist of many software components, which provide specific functionality. As ERP systems become more complex, the financial expenditures that are associated with the application of such systems dramatically increase. Furthermore, ERP system development of nowadays is product-oriented and coordinated by only one instance at any one time. Consequently, each product has a separate data model, which is the basis for the integration of various types of business applications. Based on this fact, the selection of the covered functional enterprise sectors as well as the implemented functions is controlled by the respective vendor, too. Thus, enhancements and modifications of the standard software product are incumbent upon the software vendors. A cross-vendor standardization of data models for ERP systems and the establishment of unified architectural model, however, would change this situation. The new idea is to develop a novel ERP system architecture, which facilitates an overall reusability of individual business components (BC) through a shared and non-monolithic architecture based on Web services. The presented approach uses Web services to wrap up ERP components that are provided within a distributed system, which appears as an ERP community and serves as a vendor-independent platform.
Information Systems Architecture for Business Process Modeling
Authors: Spadoni M. , Abdmouleh A.
Published: May 2011

The purpose of this chapter is to present our contribution in business process modeling within the CAS (CIMOSA Application Server) project. In this project, a referential, which helps enterprises to model their internal or collaborative activities within an enterprise chain (i.e., extended enterprise) is proposed. The referential is supported by a meta-model, which consists of a process modeling concept and a methodology as a user modeling guide. Enterprise activities modeling is based on a business process approach CIMOSA-based and that we define into an enterprise system. In this manuscript, the implementation of the referential is detailed within an information system by a component approach and a framework, which integrates the modeling methodology. The referential components are developed with .NET Microsoft technology.
Developing Dynamic Packaging Applications Using Semantic Web-Based Integration
Authors: Cardoso Jorge
Published: May 2011

Dynamic packaging has been introduced as an innovative technology allowing for the automated online configuration and assembling of packaged travel products for individual customers. Dynamic packaging applications require a suitable integration of heterogeneous, autonomous, and distributed tourism information systems. This integration is a complex and difficult issue. The Semantic Web, a relatively new concept, brings a set of emerging technologies and models that need to be explored and evaluated to assert its use for the implementation of more integrated dynamic packaging applications. In this chapter, we analyze dynamic packaging application requirements and present an architecture that enables the integration of tourism data sources and creation of dynamic packages using semantic annotation, semantic rules, ontologies, Web services, and Web processes. We will recognize that the Semantic Web is a good candidate able to supply a solution for overcoming the interoperability problems that (current) dynamic packaging applications face.
A Design Tool for Business Process Design and Representation
Authors: Paiano Roberto , Guido Anna L.
Published: May 2011

In this chapter the focus is on business process design as middle point between requirement elicitation and implementation of a Web information system. We face both the problem of the notation to adopt in order to represent in a simple way the business process and the problem of a formal representation, in a machine-readable format, of the design. We adopt Semantic Web technology to represent process and we explain how this technology has been used to reach our goals.
Automatically Extracting and Tagging Business Information for E-Business Systems Using Linguistic Analysis
Authors: Conlon Sumali , Lukose Susan , Hale Jason G. , Vinjamur Anil
Published: May 2011

The Semantic Web will require semantic representations of information that computers can understand when they process business applications. Most Web content is currently represented in formats such as text, that facilitate human understanding, rather than in the more structured formats, that allow automated processing and computer understanding. This chapter explores how natural language processing (NLP) principles, using linguistic analysis, can be employed to extract information from unstructured Web documents and translate it into extensible markup language (XML)—the enabling currency of today’s e-business applications, and the foundation for the emerging Semantic Web languages of tomorrow. Our prototype system is built and tested with online financial documents.
Why, When, and What to Outsource
Authors: Carpenter Donald A. , Agrawal Vijay K.
Published: May 2011

This chapter presents an overview of the outsourcing phenomenon, focusing on the question of why, when, and what to outsource. It provides an extensive set of guidelines for a business student to understand the nature of outsourcing. Drawing extensively on recent scholarly literature, the chapter presents a wide range of concepts. There are many causes that might lead a company to a decision to outsource. Similarly, there are many factors that contribute to an environment that is conducive to outsourcing. The question of what to outsource is answered by examining core competencies and critical success factors. The chapter also presents trends in outsourcing in specific countries and industries to help the reader understand what is possible.
Establishing Performance Metrics for Managing the Outsourced MIS Project
Authors: Morgan Jeanette Nasem
Published: May 2011

This chapter presents the tactics and metrics an organization applies after having made a decision to use outsource providers. Tactics are used to define the nature and specifics of the outsourcing arrangement, as well as to select the contractual basis of the agreement. Organizations that elect to use providers geographically distant from the client site are cautioned to carefully evaluate capabilities, as well as legal and security issues related to external outsourcers. For these purposes, it is critical to align measures of performance compliance in the form of metrics on each MIS outsourcing relationship. When negotiating and establishing the terms of the outsourcing arrangement, management should ensure that appropriate performance metrics are identified and included, as well as flexibility for change is built in to the contract. This chapter addresses some of the methods, as well as some of the metrics that might be used in such contract agreements. The use of contracts and service level agreements are discussed, as well as in depth techniques for conducting validation and background checks on outsource suppliers. Sample outlines for service level agreement preparation and performance specifications are included for the practitioner.
A Framework for Evaluating Outsourcing Risk
Authors: Warkentin Merrill , Adams April M.
Published: May 2011

This chapter provides a framework for evaluating and mitigating the risks associated with IT outsourcing projects. Outsourcing projects have been met with successes and many failures. The causes of such failures must be systematically investigated in order to provide managers guidance to avoid future risks from outsourcing projects. This chapter discusses the outsourcing relationship, highlighting the primary causes of project successes and failures, then offers a framework for evaluating vendor relationships to avoid contingencies that may lead to failure. The authors hope this framework will serve as a guide for managers of firms seeking to outsource various IT functions, as well as managers of vendor firms who seek success in these relationships.
Is the Business Model Broken? A Model of the Difference Between Now and Pay-Later Contracts in IT Outsourcing
Authors: Walden Eric , Singh Param Vir
Published: May 2011

This chapter seeks to evaluate the dominant IT outsourcing contracts model (pay-later) as compared to an alternative model (pay-now) in light of changing economic conditions. We integrate practitioner observations in the spirit of mathematical transaction cost problems to develop a conceptual economic model to compare these two types of contracts. We uncover three very important facts which suggest that pay-now contracts are always at least as good as pay-later contracts, and pay-now contracts are better than pay-later contracts when economy is volatile. These findings provide a rich insight into the problem of failing IT outsourcing contracts since the prevailing poor state of economy. We further discuss the implications of our findings and suggest that simply shifting the contract from a pay-later to a pay-now will fix the IT outsourcing business model.
E-Governance
Authors: Bhogle Srinivas
Published: May 2011

E-governance uses Internet and communication technologies to automate governance in innovative ways, so that it becomes more efficient, more cost-effective, and empowers the human race even more. E-governance exercises are being attempted for more than a decade now, but have so far achieved only mixed success. The long-term prognosis for e-governance, however, remains extremely positive. The emergence of Web-services technologies, the continually proliferating computer networks, and the irreversible migration towards digital information strongly confirm the view that e-governance is here to stay. The eventual success of any e-governance project is intimately linked to the methodology used, and to that complex mesh between men, machines, and mindsets. We explain the “what,” “why,” and “how” of e-governance. We also talk of e-governance concerns, and discuss a few illustrative case studies.
Ecology and Dynamics of Open Source Communities
Authors: Weiss Michael , Moroiu Gabriella
Published: May 2011

The goal of this chapter is to document the evolution of a portfolio of open source communities. These are communities formed around a set of related projects with common governance, which often produce artifacts shared among all projects. It helps to think of a portfolio of project communities as an ecology, in which the projects are mutually dependent, and there is both cross-project collaboration and competition for resources among the communities. As a case study, we explore the ecology of communities within the Apache project, one of the largest and most visible open source projects. We infer the community structure from developer mailing lists, and study how the communities evolve and interact over time. The analysis lends support to the often-stated hypothesis that open source communities grow by a process of preferential attachment. However, we show that the influx of external developers is not the only factor affecting community growth. The structure and dynamics of a community is also impacted by inter-project information flow, and the migration of developers between projects (including the formation of spin-offs).
Perceptions of F/OSS Community
Authors: Schofield Andrew , Cooper Grahame S.
Published: May 2011

The role of online communities is a key element in free and open source software (F/OSS) and a primary factor in the success of the F/OSS development model. F/OSS communities are inter-networked groups of people who are united by a common interest in F/OSS software. This chapter addresses holistic issues pertaining to member participation in F/OSS communities, specifically considering their reasons and motivation for participating. It collates the relevant literature on F/OSS community participation and presents the results of an empirical study into members’ perceptions of their own participation. We identify primary reasons for participation such as problem solving, support provision, and social interaction and rank their importance by the participants’ preferences. We then separate development and support activities and compare the community members’ perceptions of the two. Finally, we draw conclusions and discuss the potential for future research in this area.
Researching Online Intercultural Dialog in Business
Authors: Brewer P.
Published: May 2011

Within a single business day, technical communicators may be challenged to work with colleagues located in a variety of nations. In such interactions, they use several kinds of communication technologies and must constantly adjust in order to effectively communicate with colleagues from other cultures. This is the realm of online intercultural dialog (OID), or online textual conversation between interlocutors from different cultures. Preparing individuals to work effectively within such contexts, however, is no easy task. This chapter will discuss the importance of doing research on such situations, present a methodology for gathering evidence based on widely accepted practices in technical communication, and show how the results of the research can be applied to business and academic practices worldwide.
Formal Specification and Verification of Design Patterns
Authors: Dong Jing , Alencar Paulo , Cowan Donald
Published: May 2011

This chapter introduces our approaches to formal specification of the structural and behavioral aspects of Design patterns. We investigate the logic-based formalisms in our specification methods and demonstrate the applications of these methods in examples. Our formal specifications methods not only help for rigorous, precise, and unambiguous descriptions of Design patterns, but also allow us to verify the consistencies of Design pattern applications and compositions.
Constraint Allocation on Disks
Authors: Tse Phillip K.C.
Published: May 2011

Most existing storage servers store data stripes on magnetic hard disks. These magnetic hard disks are accessed by moving the disk heads to random disk tracks. A significant amount of overhead is spent in moving the disk heads across the disk tracks. The access time of a request would be significantly reduced if the seek time is reduced. In the normal placement of data stripes on disks being described in the two previous chapters, data stripes can be placed on any tracks with free space. There is not much consideration on the distance among data stripes of concurrent streams. Separation distances between data stripes of an object are not sufficiently constrained. Thus, the only guarantee on the upper bounds of access times is very high. Constraint allocation methods limit the available locations to store the data stripes. This helps to control the access time within media playback requirements. The data stripes are also evenly spread across the surface of the storage media. This reduces the overheads of serving concurrent streams from the same storage device. Therefore, the maximum overheads in accessing data from the storage devices, such as seek time, become lowered. In this chapter, we shall describe two constraint allocation methods that are designed for magnetic hard disks. These methods may also be applicable to other storage media that use the disk format. When many streams access the same hot object, the phase based constraint allocation supports more streams with less seek actions. We shall describe the phase based constraint allocation method in the next section. The region based allocation limits the longest seek distance among requests. After that, we describe the region based allocation method.
Constraint Allocation on Hierarchical Storage Systems
Authors: Tse Phillip K.C.
Published: May 2011

Multimedia objects are stored on hierarchical storage systems (HSS). The objects are large in size but the access latency of HSS is high. It is necessary to provide high throughput in delivering data from the storage system. In addition to the statistical placement and striping methods in the two previous chapters, constraint allocation can also improve the throughput of HSS. Multimedia streams should be displayed with continuity. Depending on the data migration method, the whole object or only partial object is retrieved prior to the beginning of consumption. Thus, it may need to retrieve the parts of the object within guarantee times. The maximum access time depends on the storage locations of the object. If the parts of the object are freely stored on any media units, it may take the longest exchange time to exchange a media unit. If the parts of the object are freely stored on any locations of the media units, it may take the longest reposition time to reposition the media unit. The maximum access time needs to include both the longest exchange time and the longest reposition time. As a result, the guarantee times should not be shorter than the maximum access time in the worst case. The long guarantee time results in a small number of acceptable streams to the hierarchical storage system. The constraint allocation methods limit the freedom to place data on media units so that the worst case would never happen. They reduce the longest exchange time and/or the longest reposition time in accessing the objects. Two approaches to provide constraint allocations have been proposed on different types of media units. The interleaved contiguous placement limits the storage locations of data stripes on optical disks and it is described in the next section. The concurrent striping method that limits the storage locations of data stripes on tapes is described.
E-mail Mining
Authors: Katakis Ioannis , Tsoumakas Grigorios , Vlahavas Ioannis
Published: May 2011

Email has met tremendous popularity over the past few years. People are sending and receiving many messages per day, communicating with partners and friends, or exchanging files and information. Unfortunately, the phenomenon of email overload has grown over the past years becoming a personal headache for users and a financial issue for companies. In this chapter, we will discuss how disciplines like Machine Learning and Data Mining can contribute to the solution of the problem by constructing intelligent techniques which automate email managing tasks and what advantages they hold over other conventional solutions. We will also discuss the particularity of email data and what special treatment it requires. Some interesting email mining applications like mail categorization, summarization, automatic answering and spam filtering will be also presented.
A Process Model of Inter-Organisational SCM Initiatives Adoption
Authors: Ham Yu Ni , Johnston Robert B.
Published: May 2011

While the benefits of adopting interorganisational supply chain management (IOSCM) initiatives, such as efficient consumer response (ECR) and collaborative, planning, forecasting, and replenishment (CPFR), have been widely reported within industry, their adoption has been slow and below industry expectations. There is a lack of theory within the literature to explain this problem in IOSCM initiatives adoption. Employing an inductive case-study approach to theory building, broadly in the tradition of grounded theory, this chapter develops a process model that captures the complexity of intra-industry interactions in the course of IOSCM adoption and argues for a normative path that necessarily has to be taken to achieve the increasing levels of integration envisioned in IOSCM initiatives. The model proposes that three sets of requirements have to be
Smart Integrated Operations for High Risk and Technologically Complex Assets
Authors: Liyanage Jayantha P. , Herbert Mike , Harestad Jan
Published: May 2011

As the oil and gas (O&G) production business on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) stepped into a new development path termed the “3rd efficiency leap” since the year 2003, Smart Integrated eOperations is widely acknowledged as the way forward to deal with this inevitable change. Smart Integrated eOperations appears to be re-engineering the industry structure. Within the next few years, new policies and practices will establish operational networks and collaborative partnerships between O&G producers and the service-support-supply market through active integration for effective and efficient management of offshore production assets. Adaptation of Smart Integrated eOperations is largely stimulated by rapid development in application technology, large-scale information and communication (ICT) platforms, and the foreseen substantial commercial benefits of well-integrated collaborative industry infrastructure. This is a very novel macro-scale program, and the Norwegian O&G Industry has already launched major initiatives in this regard to realize its fully functional status by the year 2010. The sophisticated information and communication platform called Secure Oil Information Link (SOIL) and Onshore support centres (e.g., ODC and OOC of ConocoPhillips, Norway) represents major icons of this digital era. However, as per the existing circumstances on NCS, this long-range development scenario presents itself with a multitude of challenges, particularly those relating to human and organizational interfaces, which have to be overcome to ensure long-term sustained benefits.
The Right of Interpretation
Authors: Bjom Michael
Published: May 2011

This chapter is an empirical research report describing the diffusion of mobile camera phones and picture mail services in Japan between the years 1997 and 2005, based on annual consumer surveys conducted by Ericsson Consumer & Enterprise Lab. A general framework based on sociocultural values and attitudes to telecom for describing the telecom market from a consumer perspective is presented. This framework is then used to put different consumer life stage segments in relation to each other in respect to product diffusion. The change over time of attitudes and behavior is described, and the conclusion is drawn that the product terminology spontaneously created by consumers themselves in order to relate to the product is an important step for mass market diffusion. Furthermore, the group of people who develop this terminology becomes a crucial catalyst for diffusion—and in the Japanese case presented here consists of female students.
Interactive IR in Web Search Engine Environments
Authors: Xie Iris
Published: May 2011

Tim Berners-Lee wrote the initial proposal for the World Wide Web in 1989, and developed it online in 1991 by using a hypertext model (Berners-Lee, 1989, 1996). The World Wide Web was developed to allow people to collaborate on projects; it began at CERN, the European Particle Physics Laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland, and expanded across nations and disciplines. Berners-Lee (1996) defined the components of the Web: the boundless information world, the address system (URI), a network protocol (HTTP), a markup language (HTML), a body of data, and the client-server architecture of the Web. The creation in 1993 of Mosaic, a graphic Web interface that was the precursor of Netscape, enabled millions of people to easily access the Web. Since then, the increase in Web resources has been phenomenal, and Web search engines are the essential tools for navigating those Web resources.
Interactive IR Framework
Authors: Xie Iris
Published: May 2011

Representation and comparison are usually considered the two core processes in traditional IR. Comparison is between two representations: representation of text and representation of user need. Much of the research in IR had concentrated on indexing techniques for representing the contents of documents and retrieval techniques that compare documents to queries (Salton & McGill, 1983; van Rijsbergen, 1979). Two underlying assumptions of the traditional IR view are: (1) the information need is static and can be specified; (2) there is only one form of information-seeking behavior (Belkin, 1993).
An Ontology-Based Intelligent System Model for Semantic Information Processing
Authors: Xu M. , Ong V. , Duan Y.
Published: May 2011

In the context of increasing usage of intelligent agent and ontology technologies in business, this study explores the ways of adopting these technologies to revitalize current executive information systems (EIS) with a focus on semantic information scanning, filtering, and reporting/alerting. Executives’ perceptions on an agent-based EIS are investigated through a focus group study in the UK, and the results are used to inform the design of such a system. A visualization prototype has been developed to demonstrate the main features of the system. This study presents a specific business domain for which ontology and intelligent agent technology could be applied to advance information processing for executives.
The Usability Engineering Behins User-Centered Processes for Web Site Development Lifecycles
Authors: O’Connell Theresa A. , Murphy Elizabeth D.
Published: May 2011

Usability is integral to software quality. Software developers increasingly acknowledge the importance of user-centered Web-site development. The value of usability engineering and the role of the usability engineer (UE) are less well understood. A common assumption is that the UE’s role is only to be a user advocate. To this role, we add the responsibility of addressing concerns of other stakeholders in Web-site design and development. We discuss usability engineering and the processes that it encompasses, such as project planning, requirements-definition, user-centered design and evaluation/testing within the context of traditional software engineering lifecycles. We define the UE’s role throughout a user-centered Web-site development lifecycle. This lifecycle integrates compatible usability engineering processes into software engineering processes, drawing examples from research and experience.
A Qualitative Study in user's Inforamtion-Seeking Behaviors on Web Sites
Authors: Sawasdichai Napawan
Published: May 2011

This chapter introduces a qualitative study of user’s information-seeking tasks on web-based media, by investigating user’s cognitive behaviors when they are searching for particular information on various kinds of web sites. The experiment, which is a major part of the recently completed doctoral research at the Institute of Design-IIT, particularly studies of cognitive factors including user goals and modes of searching. The main objective is to identify the corresponding impact of these factors on their needs and behaviors in relation to web site design. By taking a user-based qualitative approach, the author hopes that this study will open the door to a careful consideration of actual user needs and behaviors in relation to information-seeking tasks on web-based media. The results may compliment the uses of existing quantitative studies by supplying a deeper user understanding and a new qualitative approach to analyze and improve the design of information on web sites.
From Behavior to Design
Authors: Forsman Catherine
Published: May 2011

This chapter explores user-centered design concepts such as personas, scenarios and task analysis. It argues that combining ethnographic research and psychographic data to create personas and scenarios produces powerful quantitative and qualitative evidence for product requirements. The chapter also illustrates ways the resulting interface specifications can be developed with fidelity to those initial requirements. This approach offers a substantive understanding of the nature of designing interfaces for a variety of contexts. Furthermore, the author hopes that by outlining and describing the various tools and techniques available to the user-centered design team, more complex and hybrid models of user research design will be developed for creating and studying information systems, as well as assist in the understanding of the intricate relationships that exist between different ways in producing user-center designed products as a whole.
Applications of Artificial Intelligence in the Process Control of Electro Chemical Discharge Machining (ECDM)
Authors: Mediliyegedara T. K.K.R. , De Silva A. K.M. , Harrison D. K. , McGeough J. A.
Published: May 2011

This chapter presents the applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the process control of Electro Chemical Discharge Machining (ECDM). The performance of the ECDM process depends on the pulse shape of the voltage and current waveforms. However, the type of the pulse and shape of the voltage and current waveforms are highly non linear and complex in nature. Therefore, the intelligent pulse classification systems are required for the achievement of better performance of the ECDM process. The aim of the study is to investigate the most suitable pulse classification architecture which provides the better classification accuracy with the minimum calculation time. A Neural Network Pulse Classification System (NNPCS), a Fuzzy Logic Pulse Classification System (FLPCS) and a Neuro Fuzzy Pulse Classification System (NFPCS) were developed for the pulse classification of the ECDM process. However, the NNPCS was selected as the most suitable pulse classification system for the ECDM process control system as it provides the smallest calculation time and reasonable classification accuracy.