bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
La réforme des services de renseignement civils français
Authors: Martin Daniel
Published: October 2016

Les services de renseignement du ministère de l’Intérieur, RG (créés en 1911) et DST (créée en 1944), n’ont pas fait l’objet de réformes de structure profondes malgré les bouleversements géopolitiques survenus depuis la fin de la Guerre froide. Pourtant, leur fusion a été fréquemment évoquée. Au début des années 1990, plusieurs ministres de l’Intérieur successifs ont tenté de rapprocher RG et DST au sein d’une Direction générale de la sécurité intérieure (DGSI), mais sans succès. L’arrivée de Nicolas Sarkozy à la tête de l’État a permis d’engager la mise en œuvre de cette réforme. Le président de la République avait en effet ce projet en tête dès son premier passage au ministère de l’Intérieur, en 2002. La création de la Direction centrale du renseignement intérieur (DCRI) permettra d’aligner des moyens plus puissants et donc plus efficaces, avec une unité de commandement qui devrait réduire les délais de réaction et permettre une information plus exhaustive des autorités. Toutefois, cette réforme présente certaines lacunes. Le Service de coopération technique international de police (SCTIP) et l’Unité de coordination de la lutte antiterroriste (UCLAT) n’ont pas été pris en compte. La France est encore loin d’avoir réussi une réforme profonde de ses services de renseignement. Toutefois, cette première étape, qui ne touche que le renseignement civil, est symbolique. C’est le signe d’une prise de conscience qu’il faut adapter nos agences aux nouvelles menaces émergentes et que nos structures ne sont plus adaptées.
Sécurité économique globale et risques immatériels
Authors: Revel Claude
Published: October 2016

En quelques années de mondialisation économique, de nouveaux risques sont apparus, plus immatériels que les risques classiques. Ils sont notamment liés à la méconnaissance ou à la mauvaise pratique des trois stades de l’intelligence économique : l’information, la sécurité et l’influence. Ces risques sont divers, ténus, diffus mais néanmoins très importants. Ils concernent les entreprises comme les États. L’information par exemple est souvent restreinte à la connaissance d’un marché ou de concurrents, mais les facteurs culturels et sociologiques sont négligés. Un autre écueil est de se reposer sur des outils techniques et d’oublier l’interprétation fondée sur la compétence, l’expérience et l’intuition humaines. Ce risque techniciste existe aussi dans le management de la sécurité. Il consiste à faire confiance à des procédures et des normes internes pour détecter la menace ou le dysfonctionnement. Cela ne fait que reporter le risque sur d’autres, cela plaît aux agences de notation mais ne protège en aucune manière des vraies menaces, comme en attestent des exemples récents. La permanence du recours à ces techniques qui ont montré leurs limites découle d’une véritable idéologie doublée d’un « business » florissant. Il faut aussi prendre en compte le risque juridique, présent au niveau du contrat mais aussi de la règle et de la norme, le risque d’image, de gouvernance... Enfin, l’absence de stratégie d’influence ou une mauvaise pratique de celle-ci expose à subir un environnement extérieur formaté par d’autres et plus difficile à maîtriser. Un exemple de ces problématiques immatérielles est celui très actuel des bio ou agrocarburants. La sécurité globale impose à tous les acteurs d’être actifs dans les trois phases de la démarche d’intelligence du monde extérieur.
Contrefaçon en Europe : le vent en poupe
Authors: Roudaut Mickaël R.
Published: October 2016

La montée en puissance de la contrefaçon et du piratage met en lumière l’ampleur d’un trafic qu’il ne faut pas considérer comme en marge de l’activité du crime organisé. Bien au contraire, la contrefaçon est un vecteur pleinement intégré au sein de stratégies criminelles au même titre que le trafic illicite de stupéfiants ou d’armes. Il mérite donc que l’on s’en inquiète. Loin de ne concerner que les produits de luxe, la contrefaçon touche avant tout les produits de consommation courante comme les cigarettes, les médicaments ou les pièces détachées de véhicules. Changeant de nature, elle s’est mondialisée, industrialisée et criminalisée. Des enjeux de sécurité publique conséquents, un préjudice économique et fiscal avéré et des liens parfois étroits avec le crime organisé et le terrorisme font probablement des atteintes aux droits de propriété intellectuelle la principale menace criminelle du XXI e siècle.
The Critical Role of the Continuing Education Specialist
Authors: Dickerson Pamela S.
Published: October 2016

Continuing education departments are charged with the responsibility of developing, implementing, and evaluating education that improves the practice of nursing and enhances the professional development of the nurse. This article addresses the importance of the continuing education (CE) Specialist in supporting this work.

J Contin Educ Nurs.
2016;47(11):482–483.
A Critical “P” in Patient-Centered Care: Palliative Care for All of Us
Authors: Jones-Schenk Jan
Published: October 2016

Palliative care, an important interdisciplinary care modality, is not just for the terminally ill. The Institute of Medicine calls the improvement of end-of-life care a national priority. Developing a culture of ongoing integration of topics such as palliative care into a patient-focused care curriculum would be a lasting and important contribution from professional development educators.

J Contin Educ Nurs
. 2016;47(11):487–489.
TeamSTEPPS in Long-Term Care—An Academic Partnership: Part I
Authors: Roman Tammy C. , Abraham Kylene , Dever Kathleen
Published: October 2016

In 2015, the Academy for Leadership in Long-Term Care received a grant to provide interprofessional training on the strategies and techniques of TeamSTEPPS
®
. The results indicated significant changes in the participants' teamwork and communication strategies to improve resident safety. In part one of this article, the discussion includes the background, literature review, and design of this TeamSTEPPS academic partnership.

J Contin Educ Nurs.
2016;47(11):490–492.
Comparison of Complications Following Revision of Metal-on-Metal Versus Metal-on-Polyethylene Total Hip Arthroplasty
Authors: Nishio Shoji , Fukunishi Shigeo , Yoshiya Shinichi , Sing David C. , Hansen Erik N. , Vail Thomas P.
Published: October 2016

The aim of this study was to examine the clinical characteristics of patients who required revision and the rate of early complications after revision for metal-on-metal total hip arthroplasty (MOM THA) and metal-on-polyethylene total hip arthroplasty (MOP THA). Matched cohorts were selected by retrospective review from a single-center database of revision THAs for failed MOM and MOP THAs from 2010 to 2014. A total of 140 hips in 140 patients comprised the study population; 39 revisions were performed for failed MOM THAs (MOM group), and 101 revisions were performed for failed MOP THAs (MOP group). Data included patient demographics, reason for revision, type of revision procedure, any complication within 90 days after surgery, admission type, and discharge disposition. Primary diagnosis, time from primary THA to revision, operative time, blood loss, and length of stay were reviewed. The analysis showed the time from the index primary procedure to first revision was earlier (
P
=.01) in the MOM group despite no significant intergroup differences in age, gender, primary diagnosis, or body mass index. Surgical morbidity, as indicated by operative time, blood loss, and length of stay, was lower in the MOM group. The stem was retained more often in the MOM group. There was no significant difference between the groups in overall complication rate. These findings indicate that when performed at an earlier time period before extensive soft tissue reaction to metal ions, revision following MOM THA is not associated with an increased complication rate compared with revision following MOP THA. [
Orthopedics.
2017; 40(1):e164–e169.]
Intraoperative Hypothermia in Total Hip and Knee Arthroplasty
Authors: Frisch Nicholas B. , Pepper Andrew M. , Rooney Edward , Silverton Craig
Published: October 2016

Total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA) are common and successful orthopedic procedures, and as their frequency continues to increase substantially, the focus on limiting perioperative complications heightens. Intraoperative normothermia is recommended to minimize additional complications, but limited evidence exists regarding the effect of hypothermia on orthopedic patients. The purpose of this retrospective study was to determine the incidence of perioperative hypothermia in the setting of TKA and THA, and to evaluate its impact on complications and outcomes. The clinical records of 2580 consecutive patients who underwent TKA or THA at a single institution between January 1, 2011, and December 31, 2013 were reviewed. After excluding patients with complex or revision procedures, a total of 2397 patients comprised the study population. Patient demographic data, surgery-specific data, postoperative complications, length of hospital stay, and 30-day readmission were recorded. Patients with a mean intraoperative temperature less than 36°C were identified as hypothermic. Statistical analysis evaluated associations with hypothermia and the effect on complications and outcomes. The incidence of mean intraoperative hypothermia was 37%, 43.9%, and 32.6% for arthroplasty, THA, and TKA, respectively. General anesthesia was significantly associated with hypothermia (
P
<.001). Women and THA patients were at higher risk for hypothermia. In the arthroplasty and THA cohorts, longer operating room time and re-warmer use were associated with hypothermia (
P
=.010). Overall, hypothermia was associated with increased estimated blood loss, but no increase in associated transfusion was demonstrated (
P
=.006). Hypothermia was not associated with postoperative complications. [
Orthopedics.
2017; 40(1):56–63.]
Short-term Versus Long-term Outcomes After Open or Percutaneous Release for Trigger Thumb
Authors: Huang Hui-Kuang , Wang Jung-Pan , Lin Chin-Jung , Huang Yi-Chao , Huang Tung-Fu , Chang Ming-Chau
Published: October 2016

Good outcomes have been reported after both open and percutaneous surgery to release trigger thumb. This study evaluated short-term and long-term outcomes after treatment of trigger thumb with open or percutaneous release. A total of 126 trigger thumbs in 107 patients were reviewed from 2009 to 2012. Short-term (3 months) and long-term results (2 years) and complications of open release (58 digits) and percutaneous release (68 digits) were recorded and compared. Short-term complications included pain occurring in 9 digits (15.5%) in the open release group and in 2 digits (2.9%) in the percutaneous release group and scarring in 4 digits (6.9%) only in the open release group. Long-term complications included pain in 13 digits (19.1%) in the percutaneous release group and in 4 digits (6.9%) in the open release group; in addition, recurrent triggering occurred in 6 digits (8.8%) in the percutaneous release group and in 2 digits (3.4%) in the open release group. Pain and patient satisfaction were significantly better in the percutaneous release group in the short term, but they were better in the open release group in the long term. Although percutaneous release for trigger thumb is a safe and quick procedure, with good short-term outcomes, open release may provide better long-term outcomes. [
Orthopedics.
2017; 40(1):e131–e135.]
Analysis of University Postgraduate Nursing Education in Spain
Authors: Estrada-Masllorens Joan Maria , Guix-Comellas Eva Maria , Cabrera-Jaime Sandra , Galimany-Masclans Jordi , Roldán-Merino Juan , Lluch-Canut Teresa
Published: October 2016

Background:

The nursing education program framework in Spain has recently been adapted and modified. This study aimed to analyze university postgraduate master'slevel nursing education during the past 21 years in Spain in terms of educational supply and demand.

Method:

A retrospective, longitudinal, descriptive, and observational design was used. The educational offerings at 15 university nursing schools in Spain were examined. The target population was 7,871 registered and licensed nurses who had completed postgraduate education.

Results:

Among the 211 programs offered, public universities' educational offerings focused on two areas—public health and emergency care—whereas most courses in private universities were in surgery. Regarding demand, 1,235 nurses were enrolled. The most frequently requested educational areas were surgery, emergency and urgent care, and public health.

Conclusion:

Although the postgraduate nursing education situation has changed, supply and demand for this type of education in Spain are well balanced at both public and private universities. [J Nurs Educ.2016;55(11):615–622.]
An Exploratory Study of Undergraduate Nursing Students' Perceptions of Digital Badges
Authors: Foli Karen J. , Karagory Pamela , Kirby Kristen
Published: October 2016

Background:

Digital badges are virtual and visual representations of achievement by an individual learner. Student motivation to attain competencies in quality and safety may be increased through earning badges; however, empirical research in the literature is scarce.

Method:

Approximately 100 nursing students' perceptions of digital badges were assessed after completing online safety and quality of care modules. The attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction (ARCS) model of motivation was used as a theoretical framework.

Results:

Quantitative findings revealed a range of neutral to positive perceptions of digital badges. Content analysis described polarized opinions of the badges' effect on motivation toward learning; however, the majority of students found digital badges to be meaningful and motivating.

Conclusion:

Although most nursing students reported that digital badges motivated them in the learning activity, perceptions are contingent on factors that require further exploration: internal versus external motivation, previous exposure to badges, and future uses of digital badges in their professional lives. [
J Nurs Educ.
2016;55(11):640–644.]
The Incidence of Reoperation and Related Risk Factors Among Patients With Infantile Exotropia
Authors: Rajavi Zhale , Lashgari Ali , Sabbaghi Hamideh , Behradfar Narges , Yaseri Mehdi
Published: October 2016

Purpose:

To determine the incidence and related risk factors of reoperation among patients with infantile exotropia who were operated on at Imam Hossein Medical Center, Tehran, Iran, from 2001 to 2015.

Methods:

In this study, 82 children (55 girls and 27 boys) with infantile exotropia were divided into two groups 3 months after their first operation: children with horizontal deviation of 10 prism diopters (PD) or less (n = 64; success group) and those with horizontal deviation greater than 10 PD (n = 18; failure group). Patients with deviation of 20 PD or greater were indicated for reoperation. Factors including age at the first operation, preoperative angle of deviation, inferior oblique muscle overaction, dissociated vertical deviation, and A- or V-pattern in relation to reoperation were studied. Sensory status of children older than 5 years was also evaluated using Worth 4-dot and Titmus tests.

Results:

Reoperation was indicated in 18.3% (n = 15) of patients after 11.5 ± 19 months of follow-up. Preoperative angle of deviation (
P
< .001) and surgical approach (
P
= .017) were statistically different between the failure and success groups. The majority of patients (71%) achieved fusion and gross stereopsis (< 3,000 seconds of arc) after surgery.

Conclusions:

According to the results, 18.3% of patients with infantile exotropia, especially those with more preoperative exotropia, needed reoperation to achieve good alignment. Although the recession-resection method had better motor results, the authors could not recommend it as a first operation for all patients with infantile exotropia because it was only performed on patients with amblyopia. Gross stereopsis and binocular fusion were seen in the majority of patients.

[
J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus
. 2017;54(1):22–30.]
Performance Analysis of IEEE802.11ac DCF Enhancement for VHT with Frame Aggregation
Authors: Machrouh Zineb , Najid Abdellah
Published: October 2016

IEEE 802.11ac standard has brought several significant improvements compared to its predecessor IEEE 802.11n. It managed to break the Gigabits barrier with a combination of both refining older techniques and presenting new ones. The new enhancements such as channel bonding, beamforming, frames aggregation and finer modulation allow Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN) the use of Very High Throughput (VHT). The physical layer (PHY) data rates are in the range of Gbps in the 5 GHz band. But the variety of releases and options available for this standard has left many ambiguities regarding its real capabilities. The Medium Access Control layer (MAC) throughput is influenced by several factors, causing the MAC efficiency to decrease. In this paper we present a performance analysis in the VHT with frame aggregation for different access mechanisms, different channels and different modulation schemes.
Custom Fusion Methode Based on Borda
Authors: Abdelbaki Issam , Benlahmar El habib , Labriji El Houssine
Published: October 2016

Searching for information on the Internet is not only an activity newly rediscovered, but also a strategic tool to achieve a wide variety of information. Indeed, it’s extremely important to know how to find the information quickly and efficiently. Unfortunately, the Web is so huge and so little structured, that gathering precise, fair and useful information becomes an expensive task. In order to define an information retrieval tool (meta search engine) that brings together multiple sources of information search, interest must be credited to the merger phase of search engines results. On the other hand, information search systems tend primarily to model the user with a profile and then to integrate it into the information access chain, to better meet its specific needs.

This paper presents a custom fusion method based on Borda method and values retrieved from the user profile. We evaluated our approach on multiple domains and we present some experimental results.
Development of Portable Medical Electronic Device for Infant Cry Recognition
Authors: Sriraam Natarajan , Tejaswini S. , Chavan Ankita Arun
Published: October 2016

Infant cry is considered as the first biological signal communicated by the newborns to the mother and the outside world. In NICU, there is a huge need to monitor the physiological conditions of the premature and full term infants. In such environment, the cry signal conveys significant information in terms of the distress of the infant and thereby needs of the infants can be well attended. Establishment of the portable device is thus essential for such scenario. This work enumerates a primitive experimental study on developing portable electronic medical device for infant cry recognition. The setup comprises of a voice recorder, NI My RIO processor with a Lab view followed by the LCD Tablet for display. The cry signals were recorded by placing the voice recorder in the incubator and were qualitatively assessed by the clinician and confirm its suitability for the experimental study. A threshold based classification was employed which sends the voice based alarm to the tablet. The continuous monitoring of such facility in NICU provides the behavioral status of the infant
Digital and Traditional Tools for Communicating Corporate Social Responsibility
Authors: Tomaselli Gianpaolo , Melia Monia , Garg Lalit , Gupta Vipul , Xuereb Peter , Buttigieg Sandra
Published: October 2016

This paper reviews the literature to understand the current state of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) communication. The authors analyze not only the importance of CSR communication for businesses but also review the literature that deals with both digital and traditional tools adopted for CSR communication. This is followed by a discussion on how today's businesses are more aware of the importance of communicating CSR to their stakeholders. Furthermore, the literature review attempts to investigate how businesses are implementing both digital and traditional tools in a complementary way for their CSR communication strategy.
Towards a Real-Time Fall Detection System using Kinect Sensor
Authors: Baha Nadia , Beloudah Eden , Ousmer Mehdi
Published: October 2016

Falls are the major health problem among older people who live alone in their home. In the past few years, several studies have been proposed to solve the dilemma especially those which exploit video surveillance. In this paper, in order to allow older adult to safely continue living in home environments, the authors propose a method which combines two different configurations of the Microsoft Kinect: The first one is based on the person's depth information and his velocity (Ceiling mounted Kinect). The second one is based on the variation of bounding box parameters and its velocity (Frontal Kinect). Experimental results on real datasets are conducted and a comparative evaluation of the obtained results relative to the state-of-art methods is presented. The results show that the authors' method is able to accurately detect several types of falls in real-time as well as achieving a significant reduction in false alarms and improves detection rates.
Contrasting Correlation Coefficient with Distance Measure in Interval Valued Intuitionistic Trapezoidal Fuzzy MAGDM Problems
Authors: Robinson John P.
Published: October 2016

In this paper, Multiple Attribute Group Decision Making (MAGDM) problems in which the data is of the form of Interval Valued Intuitionistic Trapezoidal Fuzzy Numbers (IVITzFNs) is presented. Some operational laws of IVITzFNs are introduced. Then some new aggregation operators including interval valued Intuitionistic Trapezoidal Fuzzy Weighted Averaging (IVITzFWA) operator, interval valued Intuitionistic Trapezoidal Fuzzy Ordered Weighted Averaging (IVITzFOWA) operator and Interval Intuitionistic Trapezoidal Fuzzy Hybrid Averaging (IVITzFHA) operator, are proposed and some desirable properties of these operators are studied, such as Commutativity, Idempotency and Monotonicity. A new distance function and correlation coefficient are proposed for IVITzFNs which will be utilized for ranking the alternatives in MAGDM problems. Finally, numerical illustrations are given to verify the developed approach and to demonstrate its practicality and effectiveness.
Dynamic Tasks Scheduling Algorithm for Distributed Computing Systems under Fuzzy Environment
Authors: Kumar Harendra , Chauhan Nutan Kumari , Yadav Pradeep Kumar
Published: October 2016

Distributed computing systems [DCS] offer the potential for allocating a number of tasks to different processors for execution. It is desired to assign the tasks dynamically to that processor whose characteristics are most appropriate for the execution in order to make the best use of the computational power available. This paper proposes a new mathematical model for allocating the tasks of distributed program to multiple processors in order to achieve optimal cost and optimal reliability of the system. Phase-wise execution cost, residence cost of each task on different processors, inter task communication cost and relocation cost for each task have been considered as a fuzzy number which is more realistic and general in nature. The fuzzy problem has been transformed into crisp one by using the defuzzification method. The present algorithm is formulated and applied to numerical examples to demonstrate its effectiveness. The present model is suitable for arbitrary number of phases and processors with random program structure.
Mobile Technology in Training Micro Businesses
Authors: Gomera William , Oreku George
Published: October 2016

This paper establishes users' requirements and develops architectural design for mobile training platform between Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) and Micro Businesses (MBs). Users' requirements and architectural design for mobile training platform will set a base for the development of application mobile technology in training MBs. This finding responds to the existing challenges facing trainings Micro business vendors which are learning coverage and ubiquitouness, caused by physical contact as model of delivering. Subsequently this study create base for development of mobile training application for MFIs and MBs. The study was conducted through literature review, in-depth interview, focused groups, observation and tasks analysis. User requirement and architecture design was established and presented to match specifications, characteristics and working environment of both MBs and MFIs.
Supporting Customizable Business Process Models Using Graph Transformation Rules
Authors: Geist Verena , Illibauer Christa , Natschläger Christine , Hutter Robert
Published: October 2016

Business Process customization is an active research area in the process management field, dealing with variations/commonalities among processes of a given process family and runtime adaptations of single process instances. Many theoretical approaches have been suggested in the last years; however, practical implementations are rare and limited in their functionality. In this article, a new approach is proposed for capturing customizable process models based on well-known graph transformation techniques and with focus on practical aspects like definition of variation points, linking and propagation of changes, visual highlighting of differences in process variants, and dynamically selecting a specific variant at runtime. The suggested concepts are discussed within case studies, comprising different graph transformation systems for generating process variants supporting (a) variability by restriction, (b) variability by restriction and by extension, and (c) runtime adaptations due to the executing actor. The overall approach is being implemented in the FireStart BPM suite.
Round-trip Engineering UML Class Models and Java Models
Authors: Greiner Sandra , Buchmann Thomas
Published: October 2016

Model transformations constitute the key technology for model-driven software development, a software engineering discipline which became more and more important during the last decade. While tool support for unidirectional batch transformations is rather mature, bidirectional and incremental transformations are only weakly investigated. Nevertheless, several usage scenarios demand for incremental and bidirectional transformations, like round-trip engineering between UML class models and Java source code. This paper presents a bidirectional transformation between UML class models and a Java model which is obtained from Java source code. The transformation is written in QVT Relations, a declarative model transformation language provided by the OMG. While the case study demonstrates that it is possible to specify bidirectional transformations between heterogeneous metamodels in a single relational specification, it also reveals some inherent limitations of the language and the corresponding tool support.
Semantic Mediation in MedPeer
Authors: Ougouti Naïma Souâd , Belbachir Haféda , Amghar Youssef
Published: October 2016

Peer-to-Peer (P2P) infrastructure is an emerging paradigm that offers new opportunities for the development of large-scale distributed systems. This architecture combined with the new techniques introduced by semantic web as ontologies encouraged the emergence of new multi-source data integration possibilities for sharing information. A challenging problem in such systems is to find correspondences between concepts of their different ontologies. This is a necessary step before locating peers that are relevant with respect to a given query. In this paper, the authors propose a new ontology alignment method which deals with both linguistic and semantic characteristics of concepts and uses graph structure to explore multiple depth levels of neighborhood in calculation of semantic similarity which is the most important part of their global similarity measure. This function is implemented into their new P2P heterogeneous and distributed data integration system MedPeer.
A Novel Approach to Construct Semantic Mashup using Patterns
Authors: Bencherif Khayra , Bensaber Djamel Amar , Malki Mimoun
Published: October 2016

With the coming of Web 2.0, several technologies are developed to facilitate creating, sharing and reusing of web resources. In this context, the mashup is a novel approach that allows the user to aggregate multiples services to create a single one with a new user interface. However, a key limitation of existing mashups applications is the need to compute semantic and syntactic similarities between data in different services and create or modify workflows in applications mashups without enlisting the talents of the original developers or vendor. In fact, automatic matching tools help users to facilitate automatic integration of both data and APIs without knowing their structure and semantics. In this paper, the authors suggest a novel approach which consists in building a semantic mashup using a matching tool, domain ontology and a set of patterns to facilitate and automate services and data integration. As a study use case, they develop a semantic mashup application for a travel agency that provides a single interface to users.
Semantic / Fuzzy Information Retrieval System
Authors: Chkiwa Mounira , Jedidi Anis , Gargouri Faiez
Published: October 2016

In this paper, the authors present an overall description of their information retrieval system which makes a practical collaboration between Semantic Web and Fuzzy logic in order to have profit from their advantages in the information retrieval domain. Their system is dedicated for kids, for this reason the semantic/fuzzy collaboration materialized must be in the background of the information retrieval process because such category of users cannot certainly control semantic web technologies neither fuzzy logic commands. In this paper, the authors present the different services proposed by their system and how they use Semantic Web and Fuzzy logic to develop it. Evaluation tests of the system using universal measures show clearly its efficiency.
Opportunities and Challenges for Civic Engagement
Authors: Hartmann Sarah , Mainka Agnes , Stock Wolfgang G.
Published: October 2016

The population in many cities all over the world is continuously growing and with this growing number of people infrastructural, health and location-related problems increase. It is assumed that these problems could be addressed by means of open government data which many governments publish on their web portals so that it can be further processed and transformed. Since the citizens themselves know best what they need, governments encourage them to participate in open data innovation competitions and to create value added services for their city. The reuse of open urban government data during hackathons or app competitions is a new trend in knowledge societies of how governments and citizens work together. But have these events still become practice in local governments and are they helpful means to foster government-to-citizen communication and collaboration? The authors analyze innovation competitions in 24 world cities to see how they are applied and whether they have the potential to make the city “smart”.
PMOMM
Authors: Stroe Ana , Spruit Marco R. , Beltman Bastiaan , Koelemeijer Steven Johannes
Published: October 2016

The Project Management Office (PMO) is a relatively new type of organizational unit, responsible for supervising internal projects. However, PMOs do not always create and deliver the necessary knowledge for the decisional process. This paper proposes a solution to this problem through the literature-based Project Management Office Maturity Model (PMOMM) that evaluates whether if PMO related processes are implemented and supported by technology. PMOMM consists of 30 main project management processes, organized into 7 capability areas. In order to assess the maturity level of a PMO, a maturity assessment questionnaire was developed. Then, 10 case studies were conducted in which the PMOs of the corresponding organizations were evaluated against PMOMM. The results of the analysis were tested for validity and confirmed by the case study respondents. PMOMM received positive feedback from these experts. stating that the PMOMM represents an easy, yet detailed checklist for organizations to determine the current situation of their PMO.
Comprehensive Study on Keyword Search on Semi Structured Data
Authors: Dayananda P.  , Sowmyarani C. N.
Published: October 2016

Keyword search is a user-friendly approach that enables inexperienced users to easily retrieve information from XML data with no specific knowledge of complex structured query language. Since an XML document can have a large size and contain a lot of information, an XML keyword search result should be a fragment of an XML document dynamically constructed at query time, which is achievable due to the structuredness of XML. Processing keyword searches on XML has several challenges, e.g., what are the elements in the XML document that are relevant to the query? How to generate the results efficiently and rank the results meaningfully? How to present the results to the user in a way such that the user can quickly find the desired information? In this survey, the authors review the papers in the literature that attempted to address these problems. The authors divide the existing approaches into several classes based on the problem they tackled, and perform a comprehensive analysis of these works.
Improving Collaborative Filtering Algorithms
Authors: Ben Kharrat Firas , Elkhleifi Aymen , Faiz Rim
Published: October 2016

This paper puts forward a new recommendation algorithm based on semantic analysis as well as new measurements. Like Facebook, Social network is considered as one of the most well-prominent Web 2.0 applications and relevant services elaborating into functional ways for sharing opinions. Thereupon, social network web sites have since become valuable data sources for opinion mining. This paper proposes to introduce an external resource a sentiment from comments posted by users in order to anticipate recommendation and also to lessen the cold-start problem. The originality of the suggested approach means that posts are not merely characterized by an opinion score, but receive an opinion grade notion in the post instead. In general, the authors' approach has been implemented with Java and Lenskit framework. The study resulted in two real data sets, namely MovieLens and TripAdvisor, in which the authors have shown positive results. They compared their algorithm to SVD and Slope One algorithms. They have fulfilled an amelioration of 10% in precision and recall along with an improvement of 12% in RMSE and nDCG.
Discovering News Frames
Authors: Cheeks Loretta H. , Stepien Tracy L. , Wald Dara M. , Gaffar Ashraf
Published: October 2016

The Internet is a major source of online news content. Current efforts to evaluate online news content including text, storyline, and sources is limited by the use of small-scale manual techniques that are time consuming and dependent on human judgments. This article explores the use of machine learning algorithms and mathematical techniques for Internet-scale data mining and semantic discovery of news content that will enable researchers to mine, analyze, and visualize large-scale datasets. This research has the potential to inform the integration and application of data mining to address real-world socio-environmental issues, including water insecurity in the Southwestern United States. This paper establishes a formal definition of framing and proposes an approach for the discovery of distinct patterns that characterize prominent frames. The authors' experimental evaluation shows the proposed process is an effective approach for advancing semi-supervised machine learning and may assist in advancing tools for making sense of unstructured text.
Two Level Empirical Study of Logging Statements in Open Source Java Projects
Authors: Lal Sangeeta , Sardana Neetu , Sureka Ashish
Published: October 2016

Log statements present in source code provide important information to the software developers because they are useful in various software development activities. Most of the previous studies on logging analysis and prediction provide insights and results after analyzing only a few code constructs. In this paper, the authors perform an in-depth and large-scale analysis of logging code constructs at two levels. They answer nine research questions related to statistical and content analysis. Statistical analysis at file level reveals that fewer files consist of log statements but logged files have a greater complexity than that of non-logged files. Results show that a positive correlation exists between size and logging count of the logged files. Statistical analysis on catch-blocks show that try-blocks associated with logged catch-blocks have greater complexity than non-logged catch-blocks and the logging ratio of an exception type is project specific. Content-based analysis of catch-blocks reveals the presence of different topics in try-blocks associated with logged and non-logged catch-blocks.
The Relation of Knowledge Intensity to Productivity Assessment Preferences and Cultural Differences
Authors: Nembhard David , Xiao Min
Published: October 2016

The authors investigate commonalities and differences in productivity assessment preferences among managers from two different cultural settings, one in the US and the other in China. They also investigate these differences for two knowledge intensity levels to inform how the type of work being assessed affects these preferences. The results illustrate significant differences among the two organizations, among the knowledge intensity levels, and that these results are generally dependent on the specific measures of performance being evaluated. The US organization's managers tended to view quality as the most important metric for the high knowledge intensity work, and customer satisfaction as the most important metric for the low knowledge intensity work. The Chinese managers viewed innovation as the most important metric for the high knowledge intensity level jobs, and quality as the most important metric for the low knowledge intensity level jobs. These results indicate that utility-based work productivity model can be used as an evaluation tool to measure knowledge work productivity.
Making Use of Oral History as a Method to Study Effective Measures to Eradicate Schistosomiasis Japonica
Authors: Hasegawa Mitsuko
Published: October 2016

According to the WHO, at least 258 million people required preventive treatment for schistosomiasis in 2014. In addition to the major strategy of mass drug administration, other measures are necessary. In the past, Japan had endemic areas of schistosomiasis but it was eradicated. The purpose of this study is to introduce new information about the successful case in Chikugo river basin in Kyûshû to the researchers and policy-makers who discuss the most suitable measures in the disease-endemic areas in developing countries. To collect historical evidence, literature was reviewed and to corroborate that with more focused oral history, interviews with local people were performed. Qualitative data was analyzed by creating a fishbone diagram. As a result, new information was acquired on such issues as education methods and active community participation. Furthermore, there was a correspondence with the key elements of the global strategic framework of Integrated Vector Management by the WHO. Some measures could be adapted to the conditions in the current disease-endemic areas.
Land and Soil in the Religious Culture of Kôyasan in Medieval and Early Modern Japan
Authors: Ôkawa Eiji
Published: October 2016

In traditional worldviews, the natural environment was replete with sacred powers. With a holistic worldview, people interacted with nature and sacred manifestations through ritual practices, and organized their lives in spaces suffused with supranormal beings. Nowhere is this more evident than in the religious cultures that developed at sacred mountains. Yet due partly to the sway of the normative analytical model that privileges doctrinal and ideological dimensions of religious phenomena, little attempt has been made to explore the rich relationships between nature and the sacred in the religious cultures of sacred mountains. By examining legendary narratives, rituals, and the landscape of Kôyasan Buddhist monastery in Japan, the paper investigates how elements of nature, in particular land and soil, were infused with symbolic meanings, and played vital roles in the production of a local political space and trans-local religious culture in medieval and early modern periods.
Consumer Co-operatives and Perceptions of Food Safety
Authors: Burns Catherine , Katayama Kumiko , Roberts Robin E
Published: October 2016

This paper examines consumer co-operatives and members' perceptions of food safety. Japan is an ideal place to study given it is undoubtedly the ‘best example of a successful consumer co-operative sector in the postwar period' (Birchall, 2002, p. 79). While some co-operatives have evolved into a considerable political force, not all consumer co-operatives are as large or as politically active. This study qualitatively explores the views of the members of two small, less politically active co-operatives in Tokushima. Of particular relevance are the types of produce being consumed by members, and why (and how) purchasing behaviour has been shaped by food safety concerns, post-Fukushima.
The Cultural Roots of Risk
Authors: Korstanje Maximiliano Emanuel
Published: October 2016

This paper discusses the story of Mary and Roger an elderly couple who opted to buy a car, but later were pressed to sell it because they were unable to absorb the costs of insurance. The world of risks does not work in the same lines in North than South. This pieces invites the discussion to what extent risk perception is not an instrument for controlling workforce in under-developing nations. The mythologies of mobility have been formulated around life in the First World. They work as ideological devices to activate certain circuits of the economy, which in other times were relegated to peripheral positions. The industries of tourism and air travel transport millions travelers who enjoy the benefits of being mobile in a world where others do not share the same luck.
Developing Risk Management as New Concept to Manage Risks in Higher Educational Institutions
Authors: Wu MingChang , Nurhadi Didik , Zahro Siti
Published: October 2016

Generally, higher educational institutions and students have been significantly increased year after year, which is instrumental in meeting the needs of global labor and making the national economy of the country better, stronger, and more stable. Meanwhile, these institutions also carry out teaching, research, community service, and commercial activities. Such varied activities create more diverse and complex risks as well as a wealth of good chances for the institutions. A considered solution is implementing the risk management as a new concept to understand and manage the risks associated with those activities and grab new opportunities. This is very challenging and critical to preserving and protecting the resources and reputation of institutions. This article discusses the importance of the role of risk management and its implementation in higher education institutions that have high expectations as a world-class educational institution. Also, the implementation will be more optimal if supported by a good communication between all leaders of an organization and their staffs.
Feasibility Approaches to Reduce the Unreliability of Gas, Nuclear, Coal, Solar and Wind Electricity Production
Authors: Nersesian Roy L. , Strang Kenneth David
Published: October 2016

This paper examines the feasibility of three scenarios for reducing the unreliability inherent in traditional and clean energy creation. One scenario uses pumped hydro to store non-peak energy from solar or wind plants. Another scenario investigates the use of pumped hydro for storing non-peak energy from gas and coal fired plants. Another scenario explores the possibility of selling stored energy as well as meeting peak demand for all types of energy creation methods. The authors used the action research technique with a case study in USA. They applied parametric and simulation techniques to develop several models. The models include variables representing base loads at plants serving a utility, the buying and selling of electricity contracts at appropriate times, and the possibility of diverting a stream to feed the upper reservoir of a pumped storage plant.
Value Engineering-Based Method for Implementing the ISO14001 System in the Green Supply Chains
Authors: Leu Jun-Der , Lee Larry Jung-Hsing , Krischke André
Published: October 2016

Numerous green regulations currently require companies to be responsible for their effect on the natural environment, in addition to achieving their economic goals. In view of this, many companies have implemented the ISO14001 system in their supply chain to comply with green regulations. However, implementing such a system involves technical and communication efforts; hence, an effective method is needed to support the implementation. In this paper, the authors propose a value engineering (VE)-based model with quality tools to support the implementation of the ISO14001 system in the Green Supply Chains. In it, they applied the framework of VE with the quality engineering tools Fishbone Analysis and Failure Mode Effect Analysis for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of green issues in supply chains to cover quality, risk, and value of the system. The proposed method was applied to a global electronics manufacturing company in Taiwan, and the application results showed positive outputs in terms of CO2 emission, power consumption, water consumption, and waste water recovery. Based on the evidence, academic and industrial implications are discussed.
Strategic Perspectives on the Genuine Progress Indicator and Gross Domestic Product
Authors: Tolksdorf Alexander M. , Howard Terry L. , Ulferts Gregory W.
Published: October 2016

Traditionally, the status of an economy has been measured regarding its real output. The most popular yardstick for this figure is the gross domestic product. Gross Domestic Product, however, does not take into account many more complex elements of economic welfare. Efficient and accurate measurement of the status of an economy is central to furthering economic sustainability. This paper seeks to investigate the advantages and disadvantages of one such well-being measure, the Genuine Progress Indicator, compared to the use of traditional Gross Domestic Product as a measure of economic activity.
Factors Affecting the Adoption of Entertainment Mobile Applications in Iran
Authors: Baghbaniyazdi Sina , Ekhlassi Amir , Sakhdari Kamal
Published: October 2016

While previous research on application adoption has partly advanced our understanding of factors affecting the adoption of mobile applications, less attention has been given to the whole process of application development, from idea characteristics to the supportive activities after launch. In particular, less is known about these factors in the context of developing countries, where mobile applications are gaining increasing popularity. In this vein, this paper, adopting a grounded theory approach, aims to identify factors influencing the adoption of entertainment mobile application from the developer's points of view focusing on different phases of application development in the novel context of Iran. The authors' in-depth semi-structured interviews with experts in mobile application development firms indicate 15 factors classified within four categories based on the application development process, entailing idea characteristics, design, marketing communications and supportive activities. The implications of these findings provides valuable insight into why some mobile applications are more successful than others.