bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Organizational Culture for Knowledge Management Systems
Authors: Ciganek Andrew P. , Mao En , Srite Mark
Published: May 2011

Knowledge is increasingly being viewed as a critical component for organizations. It is largely people-based and the characteristics of groups of individuals, in the form of organizational cultures, may play a key role in the factors that lead to either the acceptance or rejection of knowledge management systems (KMS). The primary objective of this research is to explore how dimensions of organizational culture influence factors that lead to the acceptance of KMS. While researchers have agreed that culture plays an important role in KMS, the literature has only recently begun to examine organizational culture within this context. We examined the effects of three dimensions of organizational culture through a research model that was tested and analyzed utilizing a field survey of corporate knowledge management users. Our results indicated that both process-oriented and open communication system organizational cultures significantly influenced the factors that led to the acceptance of KMS.
Strategic Alliance Capability
Authors: Prange Christiane
Published: May 2011

Internationalization has accelerated the speed of knowledge generation and innovation. Thus, companies increasingly need to pool and create new resources by engaging in alliances with various partners. However, high failure rates of strategic alliances imply that the degree of a company’s collaboration success is related to the level of its alliance capability. While ”alliance capability” has largely been conceptualized from within the resource based and the dynamic capability view, one of the major drawbacks is the lack of microfoundations, i.e. an explanation of individual knowledge and actions, which drive the development of alliance capability. A modified approach to the capability life-cycle is introduced, which aims at filling this gap. Finally, some implications for managerial practice and for future research are addressed.
IT Infrastructure Capabilities and Business Process Improvements
Authors: Law Chuck C.H. , Ngai Eric W.T.
Published: May 2011

It has been widely discussed in the management information systems (MIS) literature that the outcomes of information technologies (IT) and systems may be subject to the influence of the characteristics of the organization, including those of the IT and business leadership. This study was conducted to examine the relationships that may exist between IT infrastructure capabilities (ITC), business process improvements (BPI), and such IT governance-related constructs as the reporting relationship between the chief executive officer (CEO) and chief information officer (CIO), and senior management support of IT and BPI projects. Using a sample of 243 multinational and Hong Kong-listed firms operating in Greater China, this study yielded empirical support for the perceived achievement of capabilities in some dimensions of the IT infrastructure in the companies under study. It was found that the BPI construct was related to the reporting relationship between the CEO and CIO (CEO-CIO distance), and to the levels of senior management support. The dimensions of the ITC construct were also investigated and identified by an exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Associations were found between the selected organizational constructs and the ITC dimensions, except in two hypothesized relationships. Those between CEO-CIO distance and the ITC dimensions of data integration and training were not supported at the significance level of 0.05.
The Contingent Role of Innovation between IT Management Sophistication and Strategic Alignment
Authors: Huang Leelien Ken
Published: May 2011

To provide deeper insight into IT managerial adaptive processes considered in strategic alignment mechanisms, we propose, using contingency theory, that the degree to which IT management sophistication contributes to a company’s success is contingent upon its adaptive innovated behavior. Results suggested that Taiwanese companies could succeed when IT management sophistication is appropriate for a certain innovation. Our research model was generic for foreign companies’ strategic behavior because, based on contingency theory, these companies make dynamic adaptations toward their particular environment for a competitive IT-based innovation. Implications of results are discussed. [Article copies are available for purchase from InfoSci-on-Demand.com]
Quality Assurance View of a Management Information System
Authors: Kettunen Juha , Kantola Ismo
Published: May 2011

Strategic management has been widely applied in public and private organizations. Strategic management adapts educational institutions to their environment, which includes the educational policy, local demand for labour and other circumstances. The increased autonomy of educational institutions has emphasised the role of strategic management. Quality assurance has also gained more attention in recent years when plans have been made to establish the European Higher Education Area (Berlin Communiqué, 2003). European countries develop their own national solutions for evaluating and demonstrating the quality of degrees (FINHEEC, 2006). There are no European or national agreements that provide any specific approaches or tools for the management of higher education institutions (HEIs) (Maassen & Stensaker, 2003). Each HEI is responsible for defining its management and quality assurance systems. Strategic management is a strong candidate for the management system for Finnish HEIs, but there is more variation in the quality assurance systems. Quality assurance refers to quality management and improvement. Quality is understood as the ability of an institution to fulfill its mission or a study programme to fulfill its aims (Harvey, 2007; Harvey & Green, 1993).
Integrated Product Life Cycle Management for Software
Authors: Malzahn Dirk
Published: May 2011

This chapter describes how models for software development and service delivery can be integrated into a common approach to reach an integrated product life cycle for software. The models covered by this chapter are the capability maturity model integration (CMMI), SPICE (software process improvement and capability determination, ISO 15504) and ISO 20000 (service management). Whilst the CMMI constellation approach delivers an integration perspective defined in three models (development, acquisition and services), SPICE and ISO 20000 need additional alignment to be usable in an integrated approach.
Mission-Critical Group Decision-Making
Authors: Shen Huizhang , Zhao Jidi , Huang Wayne W.
Published: May 2011

Review on group decision support systems (GDSS) indicates that traditional GDSS are not specifically designed to support mission-critical group decision-making tasks that require group decision-making to be made effectively within short time. In addition, prior studies in the research literature have not considered group decision preference adjustment as a continuous process and neglected its impact on group decision-making. In reality, group members may dynamically change their decision preferences during group decision-making process. This dynamic adjustment of decision preferences may continue until a group reaches consensus on final decision. This article intends to address this neglected group decision-making research issue in the literature by proposing a new approach based on the Markov chain model. Furthermore, a new group decision weight allocation approach is also suggested. A real case example of New Orleans Hurricane Katrina is used to illustrate the usefulness and effectiveness of the proposed approaches. Finally, the article concludes with the discussion on the proposed approaches and presents directions for future research.
Rewarding End-Users for Participating in Organizational KM
Authors: Ravishankar Mayasandra N.
Published: May 2011

Organizations position their formal knowledge management (KM) initiatives as a continuous process of deriving strategic benefits from the knowledge resources dispersed in the various internal constituencies. While most organizations implement a rewards program attached to their KM initiative, the influence exerted by such programs on employees’ responses to organizational KM is less well understood. In this context, this article focuses on the KM initiative of Rexon,1 a leading Indian software services and products company recognised globally as a successful KM exponent. Adopting the case study methodology, we conducted intensive fieldwork for 6 months over a 2 year period at Rexon. Evidence from the case highlights how a KM-related rewards program was used to build awareness about organizational KMS and how employees responded to the rewards program. The theoretical and managerial contributions of the study are discussed.
Thinking Outside of the Ballot Box
Authors: Lippert Susan K. , Ojumu Ekundayo B.
Published: May 2011

Electronic voting, or e-voting, is a relatively closed process that contains inherent risks associated with the potential for voting irregularities, translation errors, and inappropriate manipulation (Oravec, 2005). To develop a greater understanding of trust issues surrounding the use of e-voting, an investigation into the public trust and the relationship between trust and electronic voting technology were assessed. Men and women of various ethnicities, ages, educational backgrounds, technological experiences, political affiliations, and prior experience with e-voting participated in this study. Rogers’ (1995) taxonomy of adopters—innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards—was used to classify individuals based on their willingness to participate in e-voting. A principle-components factor analysis (PCFA) with separate tests for discriminant validity and multiple-regression analyses were used to confirm the hypotheses. The findings suggest that innovators and early adopters are more likely to trust technology and express an intention to use an e-voting system.
Bridging the Digital Divide in Australia
Authors: Burns Jane , Blanchard Michelle , Metcalf Atari
Published: May 2011

The rapid uptake of technology offers potentially innovative approaches to promoting mental health amongst young people, addressing a significant public health challenge. The advent of Web 2.0 has seen a shift from text heavy content to the development of communities that foster connectivity. This area of research, its potential to engage young people at risk of isolation, and the mental health benefits it may have, has received little attention. This chapter considers evidence regarding technology’s role in mental health promotion, particularly for marginalized young people. Results are presented from an Australian study, “Bridging the Digital Divide,” which investigated technology access and utilization by young people experiencing marginalization. Finally, Australian policy regarding the digital divide and Internet safety is reviewed. The authors conclude that policy responses should move beyond just access and safety and explore innovative ways of ensuring safe and supportive online communities accessible for all young people.
The Power of Sampling and Stacking for the PAKDD-2007 Cross-Selling Problem
Authors: Adeodato Paulo J.L. , Vasconcelos Germano C. , Arnaud Adrian L. , Cunha Rodrigo C.L.V. , Monteiro Domingos S.M.P. , Oliveira Neto Rosalvo F.
Published: May 2011

This article presents an efficient solution for the PAKDD-2007 Competition cross-selling problem. The solution is based on a thorough approach which involves the creation of new input variables, efficient data preparation and transformation, adequate data sampling strategy and a combination of two of the most robust modeling techniques. Due to the complexity imposed by the very small amount of examples in the target class, the approach for model robustness was to produce the median score of the 11 models developed with an adapted version of the 11-fold cross-validation process and the use of a combination of two robust techniques via stacking, the MLP neural network and the n-tuple classifier. Despite the problem complexity, the performance on the prediction data set (unlabeled samples), measured through KS2 and ROC curves was shown to be very effective and finished as the first runner-up solution of the competition.
A New Framework for Intelligent Semantic Web Services Based on GAIVAs
Authors: Andrés Iglesias
Published: May 2011

The Semantic Web has been recently developed to provide end users with suitable tools and strategies to process information from their Web pages. The Intelligent Semantic Web Services is a new approach aimed at extending Semantic Web capabilities for Services by applying Artificial Intelligence techniques while maintaining the good properties of the standard Semantic Web schemes. However, many current Web services neither consider this approach nor include a powerful user-interface and, consequently, are very limited and difficult to use. This paper introduces a new framework for Intelligent Semantic Web Services that overcomes these drawbacks. Our approach is based on the Graphical Autonomous Intelligent Virtual Agents (GAIVAs), virtual agents that exhibit a human-like appearance and behaviour and are able to take intelligent decisions and perform actions without human intervention. To this purpose, the framework comprises a collection of powerful Artificial Intelligence techniques along with a natural and intuitive Graphical User Interface.
Localized User Interface for Improving Cell Phone Users' Device Competency
Authors: Lucia D. Krisnawati , Restyandito
Published: May 2011

This study tried to examine how cell phone users who undergo a technology leap acquire their procedural knowledge of operating a cell phone and to find out which factors can improve their device competency. Using interviews, usability tests, and a questionnaire, this study found out that many respondents use unstructured means such as asking other cell phone users or rote learning in gaining their procedural knowledge. Some factors influencing users’ device competencies that were found in this study are classified into three categories: user interface design, culture, and the users themselves. In order to improve users’ device competency, elements in those three categories must be integrated. One realization of such integration is the attempt of localizing user interface through the user’s culture, not the culture where the cell phone is designed and manufactured.
Gender and Diversity in Collaborative Virtual Teams
Authors: Michailidou Anna , Economides Anastasios
Published: May 2011

Computer supported collaborative learning environments (CSCLEs) is one of the innovative technologies that support online education. Successful design and implementation of such environments demand thorough analysis of many parameters. This chapter studies the impact of diversity in learner-learner interactions in collaborative virtual teams through a social and cultural perspective. Social differences include gender, race, class, or age. Cultural differences refer to matters like how an individual’s cognition, values, beliefs, and study behaviors are influenced by culture. Instructors must take into consideration the factors that influence individuals’ diversity, and invent new ways to implement successful collaboration. This is crucial, especially regarding teams scattered on different countries or even continents. Social and cultural differences influence an individual’s performance in a learning environment. Such differences must be adequately studied by both the educational organization and the instructors in such a way that the learning procedure will become a positive experience for all the members involved.
Real-Time in Cyberspace
Authors: Hai-Jew Shalin
Published: May 2011

Using live, synchronous time effectively in an instructor-led e-learning course requires a clear understanding of the dynamics of real-time, live interactivity. Synchronous interactivity enables live learning, demonstrations, collaborations, lab simulations, human-driven simulations, desktop simulations, live multi-data-stream events, and plenty of valuable learning and training. These may include webinars, online conventions, chat sessions, interactive television, and interactive lectures in CTE. These synchronous events may be non-human-facilitated or human-facilitated. To maximize synchronous time requires pedagogical preparation and the training of participants, setting the pace, troubleshooting technological challenges, and striving to create accessibility pre-, during- and post-event. This chapter will address some strategies for using live sessions in career and technical education to optimize the synergies of real-time.
Trends and Lessons from the History of Contemporary Distance Learning
Authors: King Kathleen P.
Published: May 2011

This chapter provides an overview of the history of the rapidly changing field of distance learning with a focus on trends and lessons for contemporary developments. Beginning with central concepts of distance learning, the chapter traverses the span of developments and technologies on a high level. At a time when it is no longer a matter of whether learners should engage in distance learning, but when, it is vital to address selected issues, controversies, and problems facing the field. The chapter presents topics of solutions, recommendations and future trends, problem based learning, delivery models, and assessment.
Barriers to Adult Learning
Authors: Witte Maria Martinez , Witte James E. , Saltiel Iris M.
Published: May 2011

There is a growing need for an educated, skilled workforce that is able to learn and adapt to new challenges. Expecting this need to be met by those graduating from high school is not realistic as the current educational system has not adequately served the non-traditional student. This chapter reaffirms that Career Technical Education programs are excellent ways to meet adult learning and workforce development needs. The challenge, as described in the chapter, is to engage adults in becoming lifelong learners. This will require removing barriers to adult learning that relate to cost, accessibility, and interest. State and federal leaders also have a stake in addressing this need as it affects the nation’s ability to compete on a regional and international level.
Conducting Survey Research in Education
Authors: Brewer Ernest W.
Published: May 2011

Survey research is prevalent among many professional fields. Both cost effective and time efficient, this method of research provides insight into the attitudes, thoughts, and opinions of populations. Because there are several types of survey research designs and data collection instruments, the researcher has the flexibility to determine which methods will work best for his or her particular study. Regardless of the method, the researcher must carefully select an existing instrument or construct the data collection instrument, as this is the key to a successful survey research study. This chapter discusses and defines survey research, provides the basic structure for conducting such research, describes the challenges surrounding survey research, provides recommendations when developing survey research studies, and presents information regarding future trends associated with survey research.
Information Technology/Systems Offshore Outsourcing
Authors: Raisinghani Mahesh , Starr Brandi , Hickerson Blake , Morrison Marshelle , Howard Michael
Published: May 2011

The offshore outsourcing of information technology and information systems (IT/IS) is being increasingly practiced among firms that are focusing on core competencies and cost-effectiveness. With the increase in offshore IT/IS operations, a growing number of companies are encountering negative experiences and unpredicted results. The analysis performed in this chapter reveals the possible risks and perceived success factors of companies outsourcing IT/IS operations offshore. The major points of interest are operational and strategic risks; legal contracts; cultural, security, and financial issues; and noted success factors by companies that participate in offshore outsourcing. The research indicates the importance of risk identification and the formulation of strategic plans that include preventive, detective, and corrective control methods of implementation and evaluation. Effective methods and metrics for measuring the success or failure of IT/IS offshore outsourcing operations is expected to be a continuing development with the increasing growth of this phenomenon.
Outsourcing and Multi-Party Business Collaborations Modeling
Authors: Xu Lai
Published: May 2011

To remain competitive, enterprises have to integrate their business processes with their customers, suppliers, and business partners. Increasing collaboration includes not only a global multi-national enterprise, but also an organization with its relationship to and business processes with its business partners. Standards and technologies permit business partners to exchange information, collaborate, and carry out business transactions in a pervasive Web environment. There is however still very limited research activity on modeling multi-party business collaboration underlying semantics. In this chapter, we demonstrate that an in-house business process has been gradually outsourced to third parties and analyze how task delegations cause commitments between multiple business parties. Finally, we provide process semantics for modeling multi-party collaborations.
Web Services and Service-Oriented Architectures
Authors: Neubauer Bruce J.
Published: May 2011

There is little debate in either corporate or academic circles that Web services comprise a large part of the next technological wave. Clearly, Web services will be instrumental in building service-oriented architectures that integrate disparate systems, both within organizations and across business partners’ firewalls. The question is not if, or even when, to implement Web services—it is how.
Strategic Outsourcing
Authors: Sridhar Varadharajan
Published: May 2011

Telecom operators have a wide variety of functions to perform including marketing of telecom products and services, managing their networks, providing after-sales customer service, and innovating new products and services in tune with fast changing technologies. Though until recently the telcos have kept their core network management functions in-house, there are recent announcements of large scale outsourcing of network management functions. As operators, especially those providing mobile services, have evolved from offering voice services to advanced data and video services, the Information Technology (IT) services required for appropriate management of these vale added service offerings have also become complex. Some carriers have also outsourced their IT functions to large IT services vendors. In this chapter we deliberate the reasons for strategic outsourcing such as core competency, production economies, and transaction costs as presented in the literature and analyze these in the context of outsourcing model pioneered by an Indian mobile operator. We also explain vulnerabilities and risks associated with these outsourcing contracts and measures to be taken by the firm to mitigate their effects.
Managing IT Outsourcing for Digital Government
Authors: Chen Yu-Che
Published: May 2011

IT outsourcing has become an increasingly important strategy in meeting the demand for digital government services in many developed countries. In the United States, government IT outsourcing is expected to become the fastest-growing segment of the overall federal IT market.1 In 2002, the federal government spent US$55 billion on IT service contracts (Harris, 2003). The European Union also witnessed mega government IT outsourcing deals. One of the most visible deals is the British government’s National Health Service modernization plan, which features a host of multi-year IT outsourcing contracts whose total exceeds £5 billion (Collins, 2004). Government interest in IT outsourcing will likely be sustained by growing interest in creating value for citizens (Accenture, 2002). The confluence of many factors has made IT outsourcing an appealing option for governments around the world. Governments around the world are facing the challenge of delivering more services with fewer resources to meet the demands of their citizens and businesses. Information technology is able to increase efficiency in service production and delivery. However, alone, governments find it difficult to provide the financial resources and competitive wages which attract needed IT talent to deploy e-government services (National Academy of Public Administration, 2001). Against this background, outsourcing becomes a value proposition for government. With outsourcing, government can gain access to IT expertise while gaining efficiency derived from private-sector economies of scale. Nevertheless, good management is needed to realize IT outsourcing’s potential for creating value. This article focuses on IT outsourcing in the public sector, analyzing management issues, and offering practical solutions. The background section defines IT outsourcing as well as its associated benefits and risks. The next section offers a process-oriented practical methodology as a tool for public managers to navigate the entire life cycle of IT outsourcing projects. More importantly, this process provides a structured way to maximize benefits and minimize costs associated with IT outsourcing. Then, a discussion of future trends examines IT outsourcing issues on the horizon. This article concludes with a general set of recommendations.
An Overview of Digital Media and Advertising
Authors: Dickey Irene J. , Lewis William F.
Published: May 2011

In an astonishingly short period of time, the Internet and mobile commerce have profoundly shaped the way consumers live their lives as well as the way organizations do business with them—and with each other. With these electronic technologies and tools, businesses have remarkable new opportunities to connect with their customers and to build their brands as never before. Consequently, this chapter provides a broad overview of digital media and its effects on marketing and advertising. In doing so, we identify and define the most important digital media and advertising tactics as well as explain how they can be introduced into traditional marketing and advertising programs. The innovations presented here will help the reader understand how digital technology can improve marketing and advertising strategy formulation and execution. With so many online changes and innovations happening daily, this is a challenging—and exciting—time to practice marketing and advertising. As such, it is imperative that organizations have a presence in the Internet spaces that their customers and potential customers are exploring on a daily basis. In essence, organizations need to provide online listening posts for customers so that they can communicate what they think, as well as what they want or don’t want.
The Influence of Immersion on Product Placement Effectiveness
Authors: Ansons Tamara L. , Wan Fang , Leboe Jason P.
Published: May 2011

With a focus on the factors that determine the effectiveness of product placements, we compare the use of product placements in traditional and digital media. Despite the enthusiastic use of product placements in both forms of media, research has not provided conclusive results as to the effectiveness of this form of marketing. After reviewing the factors that alter product placement outcomes, we present a conceptual model designed to highlight the processes that we perceive as altering the consequences of product placements. We presume that whether or not a product placement results in positive consequences for an embedded brand depends on a combination of influences that stem primarily from the degree of a consumer’s immersion within the media experience. The highly stimulating and self-directed nature of digital media is predicted to produce profitable consequences for embedded brands, making it a prosperous venue for marketers to utilize to feature their brands.
Expectancy-Value
Authors: Daugherty Terry , Eastin Matthew S. , Bright Laura F. , Chu Shu-Chuan
Published: May 2011

Consumers today have more control over media consumption than ever before, with interactive media helping to transform the industry away from a traditional publisher-centric focus towards a new dynamic user-centric model. Examples of prominent Web 2.0 media environments that support the creation, distribution and consumption of user-generated content (UGC) include YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, Wikipedia, StupidVideos, Flickr, Blogger, and personal Web pages, among others. In addition, recent media research involving Social Cognitive Theory has emerged to offer explanatory power for Internet use and could provide a better understanding of the UGC phenomenon. Therefore, a theoretical model grounded in Social Cognitive Theory was tested examining the relationships between media experience, desirability of control, attitude and the consumption of UGC. A survey was administered to an opt-in online panel (N=325) recruited for Web-based research with the findings confirming the hypothesized model.
Consumer Reviews on Retail Websites
Authors: Park Sung-Yeon , Yun Gi Woong
Published: May 2011

Consumer reviews on retail websites are now established as a common type of user-generated marketing communication online. To provide a comprehensive and well-defined framework for researchers and marketers who are interested in its implementation and evaluation, a synthetic review of existing studies on the consumer reviews are conducted here. More specifically, the prevalence and popularity of consumer reviews of retail websites, the motivations behind the review activities, and the effects are examined in detail. Three important message characteristics of the reviews - volume, valence, and value - are also identified and discussed. After this assessment of the current status is completed, the focus is shifted to a more existential question about the consumer reviews: Whether the reviews posted by consumers are essentially “commons,” an entity created by members of a wide open community and amendable to exploitation by consumers and marketers alike, or “intellectual properties” of the online retailers who collect and manage them. Subsequently, a view that regards the consumer reviews as social capital is presented, followed by a discussion concerning moderation and reputation systems as quality control mechanisms.
Electronic Word of Mouth and Consumer Generated Content
Authors: Rodgers Shelly , Wang Ye
Published: May 2011

With the Internet, even ordinary Web users can conveniently create and disseminate media content. The notion of User-Generated Content (UGC) or Consumer-Generated Content (CGC) captures the user-as-producer feature and refers to content that is not generated or published by professionals on the Internet, unlike traditional media. An important type of online advertising that makes use of CGC is eWOM (electronic word-of-mouth) advertising. Defined in terms of situations where consumers refer products or services to other consumers on the Internet, eWOM is closely related to CGC and can be applied to many online forums for UGC and CGC. With this in mind, this chapter seeks to define and categorize eWOM based on different online platforms of CGC, review existing research in eWOM, and, finally, extend the use of eWOM to health promotion by examining characteristics of eWOM in an online breast cancer bulletin board.
The Development of an Organic Agriculture Model
Authors: Rozman Crtomir , Škraba Andrej , Kljajic Miroljub , Pažek Karmen , Bavec Martina , Bavec Franci
Published: May 2011

This article describes the problem state of organic farming development and procedures for modeling by the means of system dynamics, with emphasis on the organic products market. The modeling principles are described in the following steps: problem state formulation, development of causal loop diagrams, model development, scenario analysis and formulation of acceptable strategies. Basic structures developed by the system dynamics principle are presented. The concept of archetypes in the field of organic agriculture modeling is described. The simulation scenarios are formulated as a case study for the Slovenian organic agriculture. [Article copies are available for purchase from InfoSci-on-Demand.com]
A Cognitive Approach to the Mechanism of Intelligence
Authors: Zhong Yi X.
Published: May 2011

An attempt was made in the article to propose a new approach to the intelligence research, namely the cognitive approach that tries to explore in depth the core mechanism of intelligence formation of intelligent systems from the cognitive viewpoint. It is discovered, as result, that the mechanism of intelligence formation in general case is implemented by a sequence of transformations conversing the information to knowledge and further to intelligence (i.e., the intelligent strategy, the embodiment of intelligence in a narrower sense). It is also discovered that the three major approaches to AI that exist, the structural simulation approach, the functional simulation approach, and the behavior simulation approach, can all be harmoniously unified within the framework of the cognitive approach. These two discoveries, as well as the related background, will be reported here in the article.
RTPA
Authors: Wang Yingxu
Published: May 2011

Real-time process algebra (RTPA) is a denotational mathematical structure for denoting and manipulating system behavioral processes. RTPA is designed as a coherent algebraic system for intelligent and software system modeling, specification, refinement, and implementation. RTPA encompasses 17 metaprocesses and 17 relational process operations. RTPA can be used to describe both logical and physical models of software and intelligent systems. Logic views of system architectures and their physical platforms can be described using the same set of notations. When a system architecture is formally modeled, the static and dynamic behaviors performed on the architectural model can be specified by a three-level refinement scheme at the system, class, and object levels in a top-down approach. RTPA has been successfully applied in real-world system modeling and code generation for software systems, human cognitive processes, and intelligent systems.
3D Object Classification Based on Volumetric Parts
Authors: Xing Weiwei , Liu Weibin , Yuan Baozong
Published: May 2011

This article proposes a 3D object classification approach based on volumetric parts, where Superquadricbased Geon (SBG) description is implemented for representing the volumetric constituents of 3D object. In the approach, 3D object classification is decomposed into the constrained search on interpretation tree and the similarity measure computation. First, a set of integrated features and corresponding constraints are presented, which are used for defining efficient interpretation tree search rules and evaluating the model similarity. Then a similarity measure computation algorithm is developed to evaluate the shape similarity of unknown object data and the stored models. By this classification approach, both whole and partial matching results with model shape similarity ranks can be obtained; especially, focus match can be achieved, in which different key parts can be labeled and all the matched models with corresponding key parts can be obtained. Some experiments are carried out to demonstrate the validity and efficiency of the approach for 3D object classification.
A Multiple-Bits Watermark for Relational Data
Authors: Li Yingjiu , Guo Huiping , Wang Shuhong
Published: May 2011

At the heart of the information economy, commercially and publicly useful databases must be sufficiently protected from pirated copying. Complementary to the Database Protection Act, database watermarking techniques are designed to thwart pirated copying by embedding owner-specific information into databases so that the ownership of pirated copies of protected databases can be claimed if the embedded information is detected. This article presents a robust watermarking scheme for embedding a multiplebits watermark to numerical attributes in database relations. The scheme is robust in the sense that it provides an upper bound for the probability that a valid watermark is detected from unmarked data, or a fictitious secret key is discovered from pirated data. This upper bound is independent of the size of the data. The scheme is extended to database relations without primary-key attributes to thwart attributerelated attacks. The scheme is also extended to multiple watermarks for defending additive attacks and for proving joint ownership.
A Variable Precision Fuzzy Rough Group Decision-Making Model for IT Offshore Outsourcing Risk Evaluation
Authors: Cong Guodong , Zhang Jinlong , Chen Tao , Lai Kin-Keung
Published: May 2011

Risks evaluation is critical for the success of IT offshore outsourcing. Based on fuzzy group decisionmaking (FGDM) and variable precision fuzzy rough set (VPFRS), this article proposes a new integrated model, variable precision fuzzy rough group decision-making (VPFRGDM), to evaluate the risk in IT offshore outsourcing. This model can improve the capability to handle potential errors fairness and efficiency of risk evaluation, and is verified by a numerical case.
Project Quality of Off-Shore Virtual Teams Engaged in Software Requirements Analysis
Authors: Nath Dhruv , Sridhar Varadharajan , Adya Monica , Malik Amit
Published: May 2011

The off-shore software development companies in countries such as India use a global delivery model in which initial requirement analysis phase of software projects get executed at client locations to leverage frequent and deep interaction between user and developer teams. Subsequent phases such as design, coding and testing are completed at off-shore locations. Emerging trends indicate an increasing interest in off-shoring even requirements analysis phase using computer mediated communication. We conducted an exploratory research study involving students from Management Development Institute (MDI), India and Marquette University (MU), USA to determine quality of such off-shored requirements analysis projects. Our findings suggest that project quality of teams engaged in pure off-shore mode is comparable to that of teams engaged in collocated mode. However, the effect of controls such as user project monitoring on the quality of off-shored projects needs to be studied further.
A Computer-Assisted Approach to Conducting Cooperative Learning Process
Authors: Pei-Jin Tsai , Gwo-Jen Hwang , Judy C.R. Tseng , Gwo-Haur Hwang
Published: May 2011

Cooperative learning has been proven to be helpful in enhancing the learning performance of students. The goal of a cooperative learning group is to maximize all members’ learning, which is accomplished via promoting each other’s success, through assisting, sharing, mentoring, explaining, and encouragement. To achieve the goal of cooperative learning, it is very important to organize well-structured cooperative learning groups, in which all group members have the ability to help each other during the learning process. In this article, a concept-based approach is proposed to organize cooperative learning groups, such that, for a given course each concept is precisely understood by at least one of the students in each group. An experiment on a computer science course has been conducted in order to evaluate the efficacy of this new approach. From the experimental results, we conclude that the novel approach is helpful in enhancing student learning efficacy.
EVAWEB V2
Authors: González-Tablas A.I. , Orfila A. , Ramos B. , Ribagorda A.
Published: May 2011

Security is one of the main problems in Web-based assessment systems, particularly in guaranteeing the non-repudiation of test submissions. The authors have developed EVAWEB, a Web-based assessment sys tem that addresses this issue by using digital signatures. Moreover, the use of this technology in EVAWEB provides a real context to students for learning how digital signatures work. This article focuses on the enhancements that have been incorporated into EVAWEB in order to develop an improved second version of the system.
RFID Technologies and Applications
Authors: Kaspar Christian , Melski Adam , Lietke Britta , Boslau Madlen , Hagenhoff Svenja
Published: May 2011

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a radiosupported identification technology that typically operates by saving a serial number on a radio transponder that contains a microchip for data storage. Via radio waves, the coded information is communicated to a reading device (Jones et al., 2005). RFID does not represent a new development; it was devised by the American military in the 1940s. Since the technology’s clearance for civil use in 1977, RFID has been successfully used for the identification of productive livestock, for electronic immobilizer systems in vehicles, or for the surveillance of building entrances (Srivastava, 2005). Due to decreasing unit costs (especially for passive transponders), RFID technologies now seem increasingly applicable for the labeling of goods and semi-finished products. By this, manual or semi-automatic data entry, for instance through the use of barcodes, can be avoided. This closes the technical gap between the real world (characterized by the lack of distribution transparency of its objects) and the digital world (characterized by logically and physically unambiguous and therefore distribution-transparent objects). In addition, RFID facilitates fully automated simultaneous recognition of more than one transponder without direct line of sight between reader and transponders.
Ubiquitous Risk Analysis of Physiological Data
Authors: Apiletti Daniele , Baralis Elena , Bruno Giulia , Cerquitelli Tania
Published: May 2011

Current advances in sensing devices and wireless technologies are providing a high opportunity for improving care quality and reducing the medical costs. This chapter presents the architecture of a mobile healthcare system and provides an overview of mobile health applications. Furthermore, it proposes a framework for patient monitoring that performs real-time stream analysis of data collected by means of non-invasive body sensors. It evaluates a patient’s health conditions by analyzing different physiological signals to identify anomalies and activate alarms in risk situations.
RFID in Healthcare
Authors: Buyurgan Nebil , Hardgrave Bill C. , Lo Janice , Walker Ronald T.
Published: May 2011

A risk function for identifying the instantaneous risk of each physiological parameter has been defined. The performance of the proposed system has been evaluated on public physiological data and promising experimental results are presented. By understanding the challenges and the current solutions of informatics appliances described in this chapter, new research areas can be further investigated to improve mobile healthcare services and design innovative medical applications.
Cultural Dimension in the Future of Pervasive Computing
Authors: Mangaraj B.K. , Aparajita Upali
Published: May 2011

Microorganisms are ubiquitous in their presence. They are present in air, soil, water, and all kinds of living creatures. Varieties of microbes have been linked to diseases of humans, animals, and plants. Advances in molecular biology, electronics, nanotechnology, computer sciences, and information technology have made it possible to hybridize these to create ubiquitous devices and biosensors that would indicate presence of microbial agents in water, foods, air, hospitals, animal farms, and other environments. Analyses of microbial genomes and phylogenies have become increasingly important in the tracking and investigation of events leading to spread of microbial diseases and biocrimes. The capability of microorganisms to communicate with similar as well as different microorganisms, the ability to react to the environmental changes, and most of all, the intelligence to manage themselves without the need for supervision during deployment and operation; makes them attractive agents for use in Biosensors. Biosensors such as genetically engineered bacteria have been proven useful. It appears possible to develop biosensors that could detect the presence of biocrime/bioterror agents in diverse environments. Ubiquitous computing technology has the potential to develop integrated small devices which could detect bioterrorism agents. Similarly, pervasive computing could be a tool to monitor the microbial pollution in water, milk, and other edible commodities. Microbial forensics has become an important field for research and development due to increased threats of biocrimes. Microbial forensics requires utilization of diverse data that are acquired through standard processes in distributed locations. Technologies for data production are evolving rapidly, especially with respect to instrumentation and techniques that produce high-resolution data about the molecular constituents of living cells (DNA, mRNA, proteins, and metabolites) that are used as microbial signatures/fingerprints. Both bioinformatics and computational biology have grown over the last 20 years, and diverse database systems and analytical tools have been developed and deployed. Some public domain resources, such as GenBank, have become very important resources of research on a global scale. Effective responses to natural, accidental, or intentional outbreaks of infectious diseases in humans, livestock, and agricultural crops, will require that the information be easily accessed in real-time or near real-time. Flexible, decentralized, modular information system architectures, able to adapt to evolving requirements and available on the Internet, are needed.
Adapting to the User
Authors: Jöst Matthias
Published: May 2011

Pervasive computers cover many areas of both our working and personal lives. This chapter investigates this phenomenon through the human factors impacts, particularly in aviation. This chapter gives a brief introduction to pervasive computers and how they interact with aviation human factors research. Further, it follows the discussion on how pervasive computers have permeated into an integral part of the aviation industry by reviewing the specific issues of cockpit automation and the human-machine interface in the aircraft cockpit.
Using Mobile and Pervasive Technologies to Engage Formal and Informal Learners in Scientific Debate
Authors: Woodgate Dawn , Fraser Danaë Stanton , Gower Amanda , Glancy Maxine , Gower Andrew , Chamberlain Alan , Dillon Teresa , Crellin David
Published: May 2011

This chapter investigates how mobile games can be used for an efficient transfer of knowledge in learning processes that connect between the real world and the virtual world. In this chapter, the pervasive game concept is implemented on mobile phones as a means of enabling interaction and communication to support learning activities. The chapter presents the design of a new pervasive learning game, which was compared with a conventional pedagogical approach in terms of long-term learning results and learning efficiency. The empirical results revealed that the pervasive game led to higher energetic activation, more positive emotions and attitudes towards learning activities, and more efficient knowledge transfer than the conventional case-study approach.