bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
User-Friendly Geoportal Interfaces for Geospatial Resource Discovery
Authors: Ayats Victor Pascual
Published: September 2012

The Spatial Data Infrastructure of Catalonia (IDEC) was launched in 2002. From the beginning, the Metadata Catalog (MC) service has been considered as one of the main pieces of the infrastructure. Building a metadata catalog is important for any Spatial Data Infrastructure to foster resource interoperability and integration. In addition to organizing, classifying, and sorting metadata records, one of the hardest parts in the IDEC was to design web applications that allow users to easily discover and access such geospatial resources. This chapter reviews the different trends in building friendly user interfaces of web applications to search and discovery metadata records through the evolution of user interface of the IDEC Geoportal.
Algorithms for 3D Map Segment Registration
Authors: Men Hao , Pochiraju Kishore
Published: September 2012

Many applications require dimensionally accurate and detailed maps of the environment. Mobile mapping devices with laser ranging devices can generate highly detailed and dimensionally accurate coordinate data in the form of point clouds. Point clouds represent scenes with numerous discrete coordinate samples obtained about a relative reference frame defined by the location and orientation of the sensor. Color information from the environment obtained from cameras can be mapped to the coordinates to generate color point clouds. Point clouds obtained from a single static vantage point are generally incomplete because neither coordinate nor color information exists in occluded areas. Changing the vantage point implies movement of the coordinate frame and the need for sensor position and orientation information. Merging multiple point cloud segments generated from different vantage points using features of the scene enables construction of 3D maps of large areas and filling in gaps left from occlusions. Map registration algorithms identify areas with common features in overlapping point clouds and determine optimal coordinate transformations that can register or merge one point cloud into another point cloud’s coordinate system. Algorithms can also match the attributes other than coordinates, such as optical reflection intensity and color properties, for more efficient common point identification. The extra attributes help resolve ambiguities, reduce the time, and increase precision for point cloud registration. This chapter describes a comprehensive parametric study on the performance of a specialized Iterative Closest Point (ICP) algorithm that uses color information. This Hue-assisted ICP algorithm, a variant developed by the authors, registers point clouds in a 4D (x, y, z, hue) space. A mobile robot with integrated 3D sensor generated color point cloud used for verification and performance measurement of various map registration techniques. The chapter also identifies various algorithms required to accomplish complete map generation using mobile robots.
PDE-Based Image Processing
Authors: Srivastava Rajeev
Published: September 2012

This chapter describes the basic concepts of partial differential equations (PDEs) based image modelling and their applications to image restoration. The general basic concepts of partial differential equation (PDE)-based image modelling and processing techniques are discussed for image restoration problems. These techniques can also be used in the design and development of efficient tools for various image processing and vision related tasks such as restoration, enhancement, segmentation, registration, inpainting, shape from shading, 3D reconstruction of objects from multiple views, and many more. As a case study, the topic in consideration is oriented towards image restoration using PDEs formalism since image restoration is considered to be an important pre-processing task for 3D surface geometry, reconstruction, and many other applications. An image may be subjected to various types of noises during its acquisition leading to degraded quality of the image, and hence, the noise must be reduced. The noise may be additive or multiplicative in nature. Here, the PDE-based models for removal of both types of noises are discussed. As examples, some PDE-based schemes have been implemented and their comparative study with other existing techniques has also been presented.
A New Image Distortion Measure Based on Natural Scene Statistics Modeling
Authors: Abdelouahad Abdelkaher Ait , El Hassouni Mohammed , Cherifi Hocine , Aboutajdine Driss
Published: September 2012

In the field of Image Quality Assessment (IQA), this paper examines a Reduced Reference (RRIQA) measure based on the bi-dimensional empirical mode decomposition. The proposed measure belongs to Natural Scene Statistics (NSS) modeling approaches. First, the reference image is decomposed into Intrinsic Mode Functions (IMF); the authors then use the Generalized Gaussian Density (GGD) to model IMF coefficients distribution. At the receiver side, the same number of IMF is computed on the distorted image, and then the quality assessment is done by fitting error between the IMF coefficients histogram of the distorted image and the GGD estimate of IMF coefficients of the reference image, using the Kullback Leibler Divergence (KLD). In addition, the authors propose a new Support Vector Machine-based classification approach to evaluate the performances of the proposed measure instead of the logistic function-based regression. Experiments were conducted on the LIVE dataset.
Modern Navigation Systems and Related Spatial Query
Authors: Ku Wei-Shinn , Wang Haojun , Zimmermann Roger
Published: September 2012

With the availability and accuracy of satellite-based positioning systems and the growing computational power of mobile devices, recent research and commercial products of navigation systems are focusing on incorporating real-time information for supporting various applications. In addition, for routing purposes, navigation systems implement many algorithms related to path finding (e.g., shortest path search algorithms). This chapter presents the foundation and state-of-the-art development of navigation systems and reviews several spatial query related algorithms.
Managing Schema Evolution in a Federated Spatial Database System
Authors: Wu Xiaoying , Xia Jianhong (Cecilia) , West Geoff , Arnold Lesley , Veenendaal Bert
Published: September 2012

In this chapter, an Automatic Schema Evolution Framework is explored and developed to more effectively manage schema evolution in a FSDBS. This framework provides a Schema Element Dependency Meta-Model, a set of Schema Change Templates, and incorporates view generation, view rewriting, and query rewriting as solutions. These developed methods ensure applications can accommodate schema changes and hence remain valid.
Spatial Modeling of Natural Phenomena and Events with Artificial Neural Networks and GIS
Authors: Noack Silke , Barth Andreas , Irkhin Alexey , Bennewitz Evelyn , Schmidt Frank
Published: September 2012

Artificial neural networks (ANN) are used for statistical modeling of spatial events in geosciences. The advantage of this method is the ability of neural networks to represent complex interrelations and to be “able to learn” from known (spatial) events. The software advangeo® was developed to enable GIS users to apply neural network methods on raster geodata. This statistic modeling can be displayed in a user-friendly way within the ESRI ArcGIS environment. The complete workflow is documented by the software. This paper presents three pilot studies conducted to illustrate the possibilities of spatial predictions with the use of existing raster datasets, which described influencing factors and the selection of known events of the phenomenon to be modeled. These applications included (1) the prognosis of soil erosion patterns, (2) the prediction of mineral resources, and (3) vulnerability analysis for forest pests.
Stereo-Vision-Based Fire Detection and Suppression Robot for Buildings
Authors: Ho Chao-Ching
Published: September 2012

A stereo-vision-based fire detection and suppression robot with an intelligent processing algorithm for use in large spaces is proposed in this chapter. The successive processing steps of our real-time algorithm use the motion segmentation algorithm to register the possible position of a fire flame in a video; the real-time algorithm then analyzes the spectral, spatial, and motion orientation characteristics of the fire flame regions from the image sequences of the video. The characterization of a fire flame was carried out by using a heuristic method to determine the potential fire flame candidate region. The fire-fighting robot uses stereo vision generated by means of two calibrated cameras to acquire images of the fire flame and applies the continuously adaptive mean shift (CAMSHIFT) vision-tracking algorithm to provide feedback on the real-time position of the fire flame with a high frame rate. Experimental results showed that the stereo-vision-based mobile robot was able to successfully complete a fire-extinguishing task.
Estimating Potential Woody Biomass in Communal Savanna Woodlands from Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)
Authors: Paradzayi Charles , Annegarn Harold J.
Published: September 2012

Recent developments in Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) technologies have shown their potential for assessing and quantifying above-ground biomass (AGB) at landscape levels in different biomes. This paper examines the application of full polarimetric data to retrieve information related to potential woody biomass in sparse communal savanna woodlands in southern Africa using the Advanced Land Observation Satellite’s Phased Array L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (ALOS PALSAR). Woody vegetation classes were obtained from the unsupervised entropy/alpha Wishart classification of the full polarimetric ALOS/PALSAR data. A combination of Differential GPS and conventional surveying techniques was used for a field inventory survey to estimate plot-level biomass densities in Welverdiend communal woodlands of South Africa. Regression analysis was used to derive the logarithmic relationship between the sampled plot AGB densities and the mean backscatter intensity of the microwave signal, which is transmitted in the horizontal plane and received in the vertical plane (HV). The AGB density for each woody vegetation class is estimated by solving the logarithmic equation after extracting the mean HV backscatter intensity for the particular vegetation class. The potential woody biomass is estimated from the derived AGB densities and the areal extent of the respective woody vegetation classes.
Cultural Dasymetric Population Mapping with Historical GIS
Authors: Towers George
Published: September 2012

There has been a recent flurry of interest in dasymetric population mapping. However, the ancillary coverages that underlie current dasymetric methods are unconnected to cultural context. The resulting regions may indicate density patterns, but not necessarily the boundaries known to inhabitants. Dasymetric population mapping is capable of capturing the cultural commonality and community interaction that define social spaces. Dasymetric mapping may be improved with methodologies that reflect the ways in which social spaces are established. This research applies a historical GIS methodology for identifying early 20th Century agricultural neighborhoods in southern Appalachia. The case study is intended to encourage discovery of additional methods for mapping population on the scale of lived experience.
GIS Application of Healthcare Data for Advancing Epidemiological Studies
Authors: Woodside Joseph M. , Sikder Iftikhar U.
Published: September 2012

Healthcare practices increasingly rely on advanced technologies to improve analysis capabilities for decision making. In particular, spatial epidemiological approach to healthcare studies provides significant insight in evaluating health intervention and decisions through Geographic Information Systems (GIS) applications. This chapter illustrates a space-time cluster analysis using Kulldorff’s Scan Statistics (1999), local indicators of spatial autocorrelation, and local G-statistics involving routine clinical service data as part of a limited data set collected by a Northeast Ohio healthcare organization over a period 1994 – 2006. The objective is to find excess space and space-time variations of lung cancer and to identify potential monitoring and healthcare management capabilities. The results were compared with earlier research (Tyczynski & Berkel, 2005); similarities were noted in patient demographics for the targeted study area. The findings also provide evidence that diagnosis data collected as a result of rendered health services can be used in detecting potential disease patterns and/or utilization patterns, with the overall objective of improving health outcomes.
Historical GIS as a Platform for Public Memory at Mammoth Cave National Park
Authors: Algeo Katie , Epperson Ann , Brunt Matthew
Published: September 2012

The Mammoth Cave Historical GIS (MCHGIS) fosters new understandings of a national park landscape as a historic farming community and offers a web-based platform for public memory of pre-park inhabitants. It maps the 1920 manuscript census at the household level over a streaming topographic map and georeferences Civilian Conservation Corps photographs of dwellings for visualization and analysis of the area’s population on the eve of creation of Mammoth Cave National Park. A web interface to the MCHGIS permits broader dissemination of archival holdings. Public participation GIS techniques are adapted to initiate a virtual site of public memory to supplement the history presented by institutionally-held materials with those donated from private holdings.
Urban Geospatial Management System
Authors: Todaro Rudj Maria , Cangel Ayça
Published: September 2012

The City of Venice has been a unique tourism destination for decades and has attracted thousands of visitors every year coming for various purposes (leisure, restoration, business, etc.). Particularly important to Venice is its reputation for being the “City of Water,” but this legacy also involves challenges. The city is constantly under the threat of degradation caused by salty lagoon water that flood into the city in certain times of the year. At this point, urban maintenance of city elements is essential to ensure minimum functional levels of city infrastructure. The system introduced in this chapter is an Urban Geospatial Maintenance System designed for Venice that focuses on planning and execution of maintenance work and is based on the logic of integration of classical management concepts and Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) concepts.
Using Geospatial Information Systems for Strategic Planning and Institutional Research
Authors: Valcik Nicolas A.
Published: September 2012

This chapter will address the use of Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) for institutional research and strategic planning departments. Throughout the chapter GIS will be examined for its applied purposes as well as answering basic research questions. This chapter will provide examples on how GIS can be used to answer certain questions and provide analysis to research. By using GIS, institutional research and strategic planning offices can use location as a variable to obtain answers on certain types of questions that can be useful to university administrators and government officials attempting to construct policies and procedures for their institutions. GIS can also be used by institutional research and strategic planning departments for requests from upper administrators in colleges and universities as well as external requests.
E-Planning through the Wisconsin Land Information Program
Authors: Day Patrice , Ghose Rina
Published: September 2012

Through the lenses of Critical GIS and political economy, this paper examines the history of the Wisconsin Land Information Program (WLIP), which was created in 1989 and provides an early US example of the adoption of GIS at the local government level. Using a mixed methods approach and a case study design, the authors focus on the cooperation and conflicts among various actors and networks, at and between scales, during times of plentiful and lean resources. Catalyzed by the 1978 Larsen Report, the WLIP was unique in its inclusiveness of everyone involved in land records management. University academics brought together all the stakeholders to create a thematic and territorial network with political power and a unique funding mechanism. As land use planning and state budget deficits became prominent, the program became a target, leading to conflict and power struggles, particularly with the state Department of Administration (DOA). What began as an egalitarian, grass-roots, socially just, forward-thinking program has shape-shifted, and while the WLIP is still a viable and functioning program, its egalitarian goals have been subverted by economics.
Disaster Management and Virtual Globes
Authors: Zeug Gunter , Brunner Dominik
Published: September 2012

Today, the added value of geoinformation for crisis management is well known and accepted. However, experiences show that disaster management units on local administrative levels in the developing world often lack the use of Geographic Information Systems for analysing spatial interrelations and making their own maps. Various studies mention the shortage of financial resources, human capacity, and adequate knowledge as reasons for that. In recent years publically available virtual globes like Google Earth™, Microsoft® Bing™ Maps 3D or Nasa World Wind enjoy great popularity. The accessibility of worldwide high resolution satellite data, their intuitive user interface, and the ability to integrate own data support this success. In this chapter, the potential of these new geospatial technologies for supporting disaster preparedness and response is demonstrated, using the example of Google Earth™. Possibilities for the integration of data layers from third parties, the digitization of own layers, as well as the analytical capacities are examined. Furthermore, a printing module is presented, which supports the production of paper maps based on data previously collected and edited in Google Earth™. The efficiency of the proposed approach is demonstrated for a disaster management scenario in Legazpi, a Philippine city exposed to several natural hazards due to the vicinity to Mayon volcano and the annually occuring typhoons in the region. With this research, current technological trends in geospatial technologies are taken up and investigated on their potential for professional use. Moreover, it is demonstrated that by using freely available software general constraints for using GIS in developing countries can be overcome. Most importantly, the approach presented guarantees low cost for implementation and reproducibility, which is essential for its application in developing countries.
Qualitative Spatial Reasoning for Applications
Authors: Wolter Diedrich , Wallgrün Jan Oliver
Published: September 2012

This chapter approaches QSTR from an application perspective. Considering the exemplary application domains of robot navigation, GIS, and computer-aided design, the authors conclude that reasoning must be interpreted in a broader sense than the often-considered constraint-based reasoning and that supporting tools must become available. The authors then discuss the newly identified reasoning tasks and how they can be supported by QSTR toolboxes to foster the dissemination of QSTR in applications. Furthermore, the authors explain how they aim to overcome the lack-of-tools dilemma through the development of the QSTR toolbox SparQ.
Applied Geography Education in Focus
Authors: Cameron Nairne , Butterworth Edwin , Cerney Dawna L. , Gribb William J. , Haynes Kingsley E. , Hodge Bill , Honea Robert B. , Vogt Brandon J.
Published: September 2012

A panel session on “Applied Geography and Education” was held at the 2011 Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting. Each panelist presented their observations and suggestions followed by a roundtable discussion. Potential directions for enhancing applied geography education are grouped by student recruitment and retention, professionalism, career familiarization and networking, career listings, research, strategy, and internationalism.
Validation Approaches to Volcanic Explosive Phenomenology
Authors: Dartevelle Sébastien
Published: September 2012

Large-scale volcanic eruptions are inherently hazardous events, hence cannot be described by detailed and accurate in situ measurements. As a result, volcanic explosive phenomenology is poorly understood in terms of its physics and inadequately constrained in terms of initial, boundary, and inflow conditions. Consequently, little to no real-time data exist to validate computer codes developed to model these geophysical events as a whole. However, code validation remains a necessary step, particularly when volcanologists use numerical data for assessment and mitigation of volcanic hazards as more often performed nowadays. We suggest performing the validation task in volcanology in two steps as followed. First, numerical geo-modelers should perform the validation task against simple and well-constrained analog (small-scale) experiments targeting the key physics controlling volcanic cloud phenomenology. This first step would be a validation analysis as classically performed in engineering and in CFD sciences. In this case, geo-modelers emphasize on validating against analog experiments that unambiguously represent the key-driving physics. The second “geo-validation” step is to compare numerical results against geophysical-geological (large-scale) events which are described ?as thoroughly as possible? in terms of boundary, initial, or flow conditions. Although this last step can only be a qualitative comparison against a non-fully closed system event —hence it is not per se a validation analysis—, it nevertheless attempts to rationally use numerical geo-models for large-scale volcanic phenomenology. This last step, named “field validation or geo-validation”, is as important in order to convince policy maker of the adequacy of numerical tools for modeling large-scale explosive volcanism phenomenology.
Distributed Geospatial Data Management for Entomological and Epidemiological Studies
Authors: Martins Hugo , Rocha Jorge G.
Published: September 2012

Since the authors were able to design all the supporting software, all syntactical interoperability was guaranteed by the use of Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) standards. The semantic interoperability was assured by design, by developing a unique data model. Data invariants are guaranteed either by the interface, with validation routines written in Javascript, or by the data constrains included in the database. Integration and interoperability with other BT programs might require some additional effort, but all the necessary semantic translation could be encapsulated into the WFS component.
Spatial Model Approach for Deforestation
Authors: Prasetyo Lilik B. , Wijaya Chandra Irawadi , Setiawan Yudi
Published: September 2012

Java is very densely populated since it is inhabited by more than 60% of the total population of Indonesia. Based on data from the Ministry of Forestry, forest loss between 2000-2005 in Java was about 800,000 hectares. Regardless of the debate on whether the different methodologies of forest inventory applied in 2005 have resulted in an underestimation of the figure of forest loss or not, the decrease of forest cover in Java is obvious and needs immediate response. Spatial modeling of the deforestation will assist the policy makers in understanding this process and in taking it into consideration, when decisions are made on the issue. Moreover, the results can be used as data input to solve environmental problems resulting from deforestation. The authors of this chapter modeled the deforestation in Java by using logistic regression. Percentage of deforested area was considered as the response variable, whilst biophysical and socioeconomic factors, that explain the current spatial pattern in deforestation, were assigned as explanatory variables. Furthermore, the authors predicted the future deforestation process, and then, for the case of Java, it was validated with the actual deforestation derived from MODIS satellite imageries from 2000 to 2008. Results of the study showed that the impacts of population density, road density, and slope are significant. Population density and road density have negative impacts on deforestation, while slope has positive impact. Deforestation on Java Island tends to occur in remote areas with limited access, low density population and relatively steep slopes. Implication of the model is that the government should pay more attention to remote rural areas and develop good access to accelerate and create alternative non agricultural jobs in order to reduce pressure on the forest.
Data Mining Location-Based Social Networks for Geospatial Discovery
Authors: Pultar Edward
Published: September 2012

Modern, Internet-based social networks contain a wealth of information about each member. An integral part of an individual’s online profile is their Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) such as a user’s current geographical location. Social network members in different cities, countries, or continents engage in different activities due to accessibility, economy, culture, or other factors. The work here focuses on data mining separate groups of social network profiles according to their geography in order to discover information about a place. This results in keywords associated with a specific location and provides an automated way to describe a place in an up to date fashion based upon its current local residents. Location-Based Social Network (LBSN) profiles from four different places are analyzed here and the results are presented as they relate to space, time, and activities.
Innovative ICT Applications in Transport and Logistics
Authors: Goh Mark , Fraser Kym
Published: September 2012

This chapter examines the applications of innovative information and communication technology (ICT) applications in transport and logistics in Asia. Specifically, the authors examine two case studies of how a Logistics Service Provider (LSP), and a public sector agency based in Asia who acts as a regulator of ports and maritime services and facilities have effectively used ICT tools and applications to their advantage and how this has shaped the innovation landscape of the supply chain in Asia.
Visual Mobility Analysis using T-Warehouse
Authors: Raffaetà A. , Leonardi L. , Marketos G. , Andrienko G. , Andrienko N. , Frentzos E. , Giatrakos N. , Orlando S. , Pelekis N. , Roncato A. , Silvestri C.
Published: September 2012

Technological advances in sensing technologies and wireless telecommunication devices enable research fields related to the management of trajectory data. The challenge after storing the data is the implementation of appropriate analytics for extracting useful knowledge. However, traditional data warehousing systems and techniques were not designed for analyzing trajectory data. In this paper, the authors demonstrate a framework that transforms the traditional data cube model into a trajectory warehouse. As a proof-of-concept, the authors implement T-Warehouse, a system that incorporates all the required steps for Visual Trajectory Data Warehousing, from trajectory reconstruction and ETL processing to Visual OLAP analysis on mobility data.
Distributed Privacy Preserving Clustering via Homomorphic Secret Sharing and its Application to (Vertically) Partitioned Spatio-Temporal Data
Authors: Yildizli Can Brochmann , Pedersen Thomas , Saygin Yucel , Savas Erkay , Levi Albert
Published: September 2012

Recent concerns about privacy issues have motivated data mining researchers to develop methods for performing data mining while preserving the privacy of individuals. One approach to develop privacy preserving data mining algorithms is secure multiparty computation, which allows for privacy preserving data mining algorithms that do not trade accuracy for privacy. However, earlier methods suffer from very high communication and computational costs, making them infeasible to use in any real world scenario. Moreover, these algorithms have strict assumptions on the involved parties, assuming involved parties will not collude with each other. In this paper, the authors propose a new secure multiparty computation based k-means clustering algorithm that is both secure and efficient enough to be used in a real world scenario. Experiments based on realistic scenarios reveal that this protocol has lower communication costs and significantly lower computational costs.
Query Recommendations for OLAP Discovery-Driven Analysis
Authors: Giacometti Arnaud , Marcel Patrick , Negre Elsa , Soulet Arnaud
Published: September 2012

Recommending database queries is an emerging and promising field of research and is of particular interest in the domain of OLAP systems, where the user is left with the tedious process of navigating large datacubes. In this paper, the authors present a framework for a recommender system for OLAP users that leverages former users’ investigations to enhance discovery-driven analysis. This framework recommends the discoveries detected in former sessions that investigated the same unexpected data as the current session. This task is accomplished by (1) analysing the query log to discover pairs of cells at various levels of detail for which the measure values differ significantly, and (2) analysing a current query to detect if a particular pair of cells for which the measure values differ significantly can be related to what is discovered in the log. This framework is implemented in a system that uses the open source Mondrian server and recommends MDX queries. Preliminary experiments were conducted to assess the quality of the recommendations in terms of precision and recall, as well as the efficiency of their on-line computation.
Data Warehouse Testing
Authors: Golfarelli Matteo , Rizzi Stefano
Published: September 2012

Testing is an essential part of the design life-cycle of a software product. Although most phases of data warehouse design have received considerable attention in the literature, not much research has been conducted concerning data warehouse testing. In this paper, the authors introduce a number of data mart-specific testing activities, classify them in terms of what is tested and how it is tested, and show how they can be framed within a reference design method to devise a comprehensive and scalable approach. Finally, the authors discuss some practical evidences emerging from a real case study.
Weak Ratio Rules
Authors: Jiang Baoqing , Hu Xiaohua , Wei Qing , Song Jingjing , Han Chong , Liang Meng
Published: September 2012

This paper examines the problem of weak ratio rules between nonnegative real-valued data in a transactional database. The weak ratio rule is a weaker form than Flip Korn’s ratio rule. After analyzing the mathematical model of weak ratio rules problem, the authors conclude that it is a generalization of Boolean association rules problem and every weak ratio rule is supported by a Boolean association rule. Following the properties of weak ratio rules, the authors propose an algorithm for mining an important subset of weak ratio rules and construct a weak ratio rule uncertainty reasoning method. An example is given to show how to apply weak ratio rules to reconstruct lost data, and forecast and detect outliers.
HYBRIDJOIN for Near-Real-Time Data Warehousing
Authors: Naeem M. Asif , Dobbie Gillian , Weber Gerald
Published: September 2012

An important component of near-real-time data warehouses is the near-real-time integration layer. One important element in near-real-time data integration is the join of a continuous input data stream with a disk-based relation. For high-throughput streams, stream-based algorithms, such as Mesh Join (MESHJOIN), can be used. However, in MESHJOIN the performance of the algorithm is inversely proportional to the size of disk-based relation. The Index Nested Loop Join (INLJ) can be set up so that it processes stream input, and can deal with intermittences in the update stream but it has low throughput. This paper introduces a robust stream-based join algorithm called Hybrid Join (HYBRIDJOIN), which combines the two approaches. A theoretical result shows that HYBRIDJOIN is asymptotically as fast as the fastest of both algorithms. The authors present performance measurements of the implementation. In experiments using synthetic data based on a Zipfian distribution, HYBRIDJOIN performs significantly better for typical parameters of the Zipfian distribution, and in general performs in accordance with the theoretical model while the other two algorithms are unacceptably slow under different settings.
Developing Organisational Stories through Grounded Theory Data Analysis
Authors: Coakes Elayne , Elliman Anthony
Published: September 2012

This article provides a concrete example of a technique or tool that may improve intensive case research and understanding, especially when considering explanatory case study research. It is argued that researchers must work hard and be creative to provide robust methodological tools so that their work is accepted in the Information Systems field (in particular), as it is traditionally skeptical about qualitative studies. This paper argues that story-telling grounded in the data through the use of the Grounded Theory methodology and its associated methods provide a way of identifying the causal conditions in any case where the underlying dynamics for any type of organisational change are unknown. Although this research and method of presentation is relevant to the IS field, it has applications in any social science research where it is necessary to present the causal conditions for the phenomena under study.
Towards a Conceptual Knowledge Management System Based on Systems Thinking and Sociotechnical Thinking
Authors: Sajeva Svetlana
Published: September 2012

This paper contributes to the field of knowledge management arguing that knowledge management research should be grounded in both systems thinking and sociotechnical thinking. Systems thinking enables the treating of knowledge management broadly, as a complex system, not limited to knowledge management processes, but encompassing other essential elements related to managing knowledge at an organization. Sociotechnical thinking considers both social elements and technology equally important in managing knowledge. The two above mentioned approaches are used to support the idea that, in order to successfully manage knowledge, a balanced sociotechnical knowledge management system should be designed at an organization. The article seeks to investigate the main elements of such a system and to show how these elements relate to each other demonstrating that a strong correlation exists between the knowledge management process and strategic leadership.
Telemedicine and Development
Authors: Miscione Gianluca
Published: September 2012

This study is based on an ethnographic study of a telemedicine system implemented in Northeastern Peru. This system connects a hospital in the Upper Amazon with health care facilities scattered throughout that area of the jungle. Patients’ transport through the physical nodes of the public health care system relied on rivers and wooden boats, but voice and data can now flow directly through channels apart from the existing health care organization. The time required to reach a doctor might previously have been the travel distance for different medicines served as a justification for people not to follow new ways to recovery. After the implementation of telemedicine, the effectiveness of medical talks depends on the ability to understand each other. Locally there is no single health care practice that is believed to be the right one: patients follow different paths for recovery through traditional and biomedical treatments. Thus, the diverse social environment affects both directly and indirectly the use of the telemedicine system, which evolves accordingly with how public healthcare service is perceived and used.
The Battle Within
Authors: Steen Håkon Ursin
Published: September 2012

This paper addresses the concept of internal standards fragmentation in networked technologies - occurring when two or more products remain non-interoperable for an intended service, even though being perfectly compliant to the same core interface compatibility standard. Two main sources of internal fragmentation are identified (“configurational” and “competitive”). A case study is done on the historically observed internal fragmentation within the DVB-H and T-DMB mobile digital multimedia broadcasting standards. It is argued that internal standards fragmentation has important consequences hitherto unaddressed in the literature, including potentially undermining the effects of interoperability and economies of scale expected to follow from the adoption of a single standard. Implications for research, policy and practice are discussed, and advice for further research is provided.
The Role of Standards in Engineering Education
Authors: Cooklev Todor
Published: September 2012

The role of standards is increasing, and as a result the role of education about standards should also increase. At the same time, there are a set of requirements—accreditation criteria—toward engineering programs. The close relationships between the accreditation criteria and standards education is not fully recognized, even by accreditation bodies and educators. The goal of this paper is to uncover these relationships. Furthermore, the paper establishes connections between other components of engineering education such as ethics, engineering design, labs, and integrated courses, on one hand and standards education on another. The conclusion from these relationships is that standards education is more important than previously realized. The paper also discusses how standards education can be incorporated in engineering and technical curricula.
The INTERNORM Project
Authors: Graz Jean-Christophe , Hauert Christophe
Published: September 2012

This paper presents a pilot project to reinforce participatory practices in standardization. The INTERNORM project creates an interactive knowledge center based on the sharing of academic skills and experiences accumulated by the civil society, especially consumer associations, environmental associations and trade unions to strengthen the participatory process of standardization. The first objective of the project is action-oriented: INTERNORM provides a common knowledge pool supporting the participation of civil society actors to international standard-setting activities by bringing them together with academic experts in working groups and providing logistic and financial support to their participation in meetings of national and international technical committees. The second objective is analytical: the standardization action provides a research field for a better understanding of the participatory dynamics underpinning international standardization. This paper presents three incentives that explain civil society (non-)involvement in standardization that overcome conventional resource-based hypotheses: an operational incentive related to the use of standards in the selective goods provided by associations to their membership; a thematic incentive provided by the setting of priorities by strategic committees created in some standardization organization; and a rhetorical incentive related to the discursive resource that civil society concerns offers to the different stakeholders.
An Exploratory Analysis of the Relationship between Organizational and Institutional Factors Shaping the Assimilation of Vertical Standards
Authors: Mendoza Rubén A. , Ravichandran T.
Published: September 2012

Vertical standards describe products and services, define data formats and structures, and formalize and encode business processes for specific industries. Vertical standards enable end-to-end computing, provide greater visibility of the organization’s supply chain, and enable transactional efficiencies by automating routine tasks, reducing errors, and formally defining all parameters used to describe a product, service, or transaction. Research on standards diffusion has explored either firm-level and institutional variables, without integration of the two areas. This study develops scales for 11 constructs based on concepts culled from diffusion of innovations theory, organizational learning theories of technology adoption, institutional theory and network effects theory. The scales are validated with data collected from the membership of OASIS, a leading international standards-developing organization for electronic commerce technologies. Using data cluster analysis, relationship patterns between the 11 constructs are investigated. Results show that low fit between vertical standards and existing organizational business processes and data formats, low levels of anticipated benefits, and inadequate momentum with critical business partners contribute to slower vertical standards assimilation. However, organizational involvement with influential standards-development organizations, and the right set of technologies, skills, and structures to readily benefit from vertical standards spur their assimilation.
Improving Effectiveness of Intrusion Detection by Correlation Feature Selection
Authors: Nguyen Hai Thanh , Franke Katrin , Petrovic Slobodan
Published: September 2012

In this paper, the authors propose a new feature selection procedure for intrusion detection, which is based on filter method used in machine learning. They focus on Correlation Feature Selection (CFS) and transform the problem of feature selection by means of CFS measure into a mixed 0-1 linear programming problem with a number of constraints and variables that is linear in the number of full set features. The mixed 0-1 linear programming problem can then be solved by using branch-and-bound algorithm. This feature selection algorithm was compared experimentally with the best-first-CFS and the genetic-algorithm-CFS methods regarding the feature selection capabilities. Classification accuracies obtained after the feature selection by means of the C4.5 and the BayesNet over the KDD CUP’99 dataset were also tested. Experiments show that the authors’ method outperforms the best-first-CFS and the genetic-algorithm-CFS methods by removing much more redundant features while keeping the classification accuracies or getting better performances.
Establishing a Personalized Information Security Culture
Authors: Talib Shuhaili , Clarke Nathan L. , Furnell Steven M.
Published: September 2012

Good security cannot be achieved through technical means alone and a solid understanding of the issues and how to protect one’s self is required from users. Whilst many initiatives, programs and strategies have been proposed to improve the level of information security awareness, most have been directed at organizations. Given people’s use of technology is primarily focused between the workplace and home; this paper seeks to understand the knowledge and practice relationship between these environments. Through a developed survey, it was identified that the majority of the learning about information security occurred in the workplace, where clear motivations, such as legislation and regulation, existed. Results found that users were more than willing to engage with such awareness raising initiatives. From a comparison of practice between work and home environments, it was found that this knowledge and practice obtained at the workplace was transferred to the home environment. Given this positive transferability of knowledge and the willingness to learn about how to remain secure, an opportunity exists to move away from specific organizational awareness programs and to move towards awareness raising strategies that will develop an all-round individual security culture for users independent of the environment they are operating in.
Online Authentication Using Smart Card Technology in Mobile Phone Infrastructure
Authors: Mantoro Teddy , Milišic Admir , Ayu Media
Published: September 2012

The widespread of Internet usage has resulted in a greater number and variety of applications involving different types of private information. In order to diminish privacy concerns and strengthen user trust, security improvements in terms of authentication are necessary. The solutions need to be convenient, entailing ease of use and higher mobility. The suggested approach is to make use of the already popular mobile phone and to involve the mobile network, benefiting from Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card’s tamper resistance to become trusted entities guarding personal information and identifying users. Mobile phone’s SIM card is convenient for safely storing security parameters essential for secured communication. It becomes secure entity compulsory for getting access to privacy sensitive Internet applications, like those involving money transfers. Utilizing the NFC interface passes the personal user keys only when needed, giving additional strength to the traditional public key cryptography approach in terms of security and portability.
Systems Development Methodology for Mobile Commerce Applications
Authors: Binsaleh Muazzan , Hassan Shahizan
Published: September 2012

There are several methodologies, including traditional and agile methodologies, being utilized in current systems development. However, it could be argued that existing development methodologies may not be suitable for mobile commerce applications, as these applications are utilized in different contexts from fixed e-commerce applications. This study proposes a system development methodology for mobile commerce applications. In order to achieve this aim, four objectives are proposed: investigating existing systems development methodologies used to develop mobile commence applications, identifying strengths and weaknesses of existing development methodologies, construction of a suitable methodology for mobile commerce applications, and testing for its applicability and practicality. The research methodology used in the study is the design research, which includes the steps of awareness of problems, suggestion, development, evaluation and conclusion. However, this paper only focuses on the first two phases of the whole study, which are awareness of the problem and making suggestions, while the evaluation and conclusion will be conducted as future works.
FlexRFID Middleware in the Supply Chain
Authors: El Khaddar Mehdia Ajana. , Harroud Hamid , Boulmalf Mohammed , El Koutbi Mohammed
Published: September 2012

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) has been used since the Second World War to identify “friend or foe” aircrafts. It has become an enabling wireless technology that is widely used in a number of application areas, such as product tracking through manufacturing and assembly, inventory control, and supply chain management (SCM). By 2006, Wal-Mart used RFID for all of its suppliers. The use of RFID in supply chain networks has allowed Wal-Mart to create value through greater visibility in its networks, higher product velocity, reduce human error and labor cost, and more efficient inventory management, which led to the achievement of Quick Response (QR) and improved Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in the supply chain. However, RFID system challenges and uncertain Return-On-Investment (ROI) must be overcome to fully achieve these objectives. This paper introduces RFID technology and its key components and concepts, and presents an RFID middleware solution called FlexRFID that achieves the maximum benefits of RFID technology independently of the interested backend applications. This paper illustrates how RFID technology is used to solve the main problems in SCM, the advantages and key issues when implementing RFID in SCM networks, and the relationship between RFID and the main SCM processes.