bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Theory U and Team Performance
Authors: Hays Jay
Published: November 2013

This chapter applies Scharmer’s Theory U to team performance, productivity, and learning. Key topics covered include counterproductive thought patterns, or habits, and how they can be overcome; the complementary notions of collective presence and authenticity; and the critical contributions of shared reflection and dialogue to team learning and evolution. These and other elements of Scharmer’s Theory U enable extraordinary collaborative effort and confer team advantages in terms of innovation, competitiveness, and sustainability. Strategies presented for promoting team evolution help readers to see how Theory U might be put into practice in their respective organisations and communities.
GreenPM®
Authors: Mochal Tom , Krasnoff Andrea
Published: November 2013

The world is going green and we are collectively realizing that we do not have an unlimited amount of natural resources to utilize as we have done in the past. Material Handling Industry of America (2007) notes, “Not only do we have climate problems but we are also dealing with a resource depletion issue.” However, the project management profession seems to be in its infancy in applying green standards. How can we apply these “green” concepts to our project management discipline? One obvious way is that we can manage green projects more efficiently. For example, if you are the project manager on a project that will result in using less packaging in your products, it would be good if your project completed on time. The sooner that project ends, the sooner the green benefits will be achieved. On the other hand, if you are dealing with projects such as installing a new software package or upgrading network infrastructure, how can these projects become more environmentally friendly? The answer is Green Project Management (GreenPM®). Green project management is a model that allows project managers to think green throughout a project and make decisions that take into account the impact on the environment—if any. It is a way to ingrain “greenthink” (or green thinking) into every project management process. Greenthink connects the environment with the decisions that are made, whether project-related, professional, or in our everyday lives.
Resource Conservation
Authors: Iojă Cristian , Niţă Mihai Răzvan , Stupariu Ileana Georgeta
Published: November 2013

Rural areas represent key spaces at European level from the perspective of the society’s sustainability. They represent spaces for the re-equilibration of strongly human modified societies and need to be prioritised by future political programs. Rural areas have an essential role in maintaining the integrity of natural and semi-natural ecosystems, in the preservation of key natural resources, the conservation of genetic resources, supplying a reserve of healthy areas, maintaining traditions and habits, assuring the demographical equilibrium or the alimentary security of Europe. The detailed knowledge of the processes and phenomenon specific to rural areas represent a priority of European and national sustainable development strategies. For this purpose, databases such as Corine Land Cover, EUNIS, EEA, IRENA, Eurostat, and IUCN become essential tools for the spatial implementation of this concept. They present an important background for the numerous instruments of sustaining the durability of European rural environments, such as the Natura 2000 network, Landscape European Convention, Common Agricultural Policy, different financing instruments (Interreg, Leader, Life Nature), and the green economy concept.
EU—GCC Clean Energy Cooperation
Authors: Doukas Haris , Makarouni Ioanna , Karakosta Charikleia , Marinakis Vangelis , Psarras John
Published: November 2013

The level of development of renewable energy and energy efficiency is low until now in the Arab States of the Gulf. However, the situation is changing rapidly, as their governments now put climate change on the top of their priorities’ list towards sustainable development. The European Union (EU) is engaged in a process of strengthening energy cooperation with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and supports them in addressing and successfully tackling clean energy issues. To respond to this common interest and provide a supportive instrument for the development of cooperation activities, this Chapter presents a methodological framework for the identification and comparative evaluation of appropriate renewable and energy efficiency solutions towards EU-GCC “clean” energy cooperation. The adopted procedure uses an existing Multi Criteria Decision Making method, giving emphasis on the formulation of a collective interactive process, comprising different rationales for intervention, to elaborate more realistic and transparent outcomes.
A Comparative Study on a Built Sun Tracker and Fixed Converter Panels
Authors: Shama Farzin , Roshani Gholam Hossein , Roshani Sobhan , Ahmadi Arash , Karami Saber
Published: November 2013

Producing non-polluting renewable energy in large scale is essential for sustainability of future developments in industry and human society. Among renewable energy resources, solar energy takes a special place because of its free accessibility and affordability. However, the optimization of its production and consumption processes poses important concerns, essentially in the affordability issue. This paper investigates several optimization and performance issues regarding solar panel converters using two-axis controlled solar tracer that has been practically implemented in comparison with fixed converter panels. Results shown in tables and graphs demonstrate clearly the advantages and disadvantages of the methods. Based on these results, large scale solar power plants are being suggested to be equipped with similar devices.
Issues and Technologies of Effective Energy Management
Authors: Chen Edward T.
Published: November 2013

The purpose of this chapter is to discuss critical issues and the role technology plays in today’s energy sectors. Specific emphasis is placed on security, mobile dispatch solutions, and the so-called “Smart Grid.” The industry continues to grow in both size and complexity, creating a multitude of challenges for companies as they struggle to keep the lights on. The utility business has traditionally lagged behind other sectors in the adoption and implementation of new technologies. However, mounting economic, environmental, social, and political pressures have thrust this once lumbering dinosaur out into the spotlight. Energy companies must look to innovative technology solutions to help them keep pace with our growing society. The chapter also touches upon how these issues create meaningful educational and employment opportunities.
Energy-Efficient Optical Interconnects in Cloud Computing Infrastructures
Authors: Kachris Christoforos , Tomkos Ioannis
Published: November 2013

This chapter discusses the rise of optical interconnection networks in cloud computing infrastructures as a novel alternative to current networks based on commodity switches. Optical interconnects can significantly reduce the power consumption and meet the future network traffic requirements. Additionally, this chapter presents some of the most recent and promising optical interconnects architectures for high performance data centers that have appeared recently in the research literature. Furthermore, it presents a qualitative categorization of these schemes based on their main features such as performance, connectivity, and scalability, and discusses how these architectures could provide green cloud infrastructures with reduced power consumption. Finally, the chapter presents a case study of an optical interconnection network that is based on high-bandwidth optical OFDM links and shows the reduction of the energy consumption that it can achieve in a typical data center.
Display Energy Management based on Eye Tracking
Authors: Moshnyaga Vasily G.
Published: November 2013

With the explosive use of personal computers or PCs, reducing computer energy consumption is paramount for sustainability. The display is the largest energy consumer in a personal computer. Current display energy management technologies ignore the attention of the PC user and therefore may either switch the display off when the user looks at the screen or lose energy by keeping the display on when nobody looks at it. This chapter discusses a new display energy management technology and outlines its implementation in a personal computer system. Unlike existing technologies, which “sense” a PC user through keyboard and/or mouse or the other sensors, this technology “watches” the user through a single camera or CMOS vision sensor. The technology tracks the user’s eyes, keeping display active only if the user looks at its screen. Otherwise, it dims the display down or even switches it off to save energy. The authors implemented the technology in software and hardware and present the results of their experimental evaluation.
Urban Environmental Applications of GIScience
Authors: Ozbakir Buket Ayşegul
Published: November 2013

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are computer-based systems used to store and manipulate geographical data, and perform spatial analysis. These systems serve to reveal the patterns, relationships, and anomalies, or sometimes invisible characteristics of the geographical data in various applications. While the term “GIS” indicates an object or tool, GIScience, the acronym for Geographic Information Science, covers a broader context of methodologies behind spatial data analysis. Among different application areas of GIS, “environmental monitoring and modeling” plays a significant role in the development of the very first GIS in the world-The Canada Geographic Information Systems (CGIS) in the mid-1960s. After almost 40 years of history, significant changes and challenges took place in the geographic information research agenda. This chapter will point out some of the vital tools and methods used in GIScience (including GIS, remote sensing and 3D modeling) to grasp issues of our urban environments. With recent technological advances that facilitate our understanding of the environment; it is more evident that the vision of more “livable” cities is not too far but not easy as well.
Use of Policy Instruments to Promote Sustainable Energy Practices and Implications for the Environment
Authors: Hin Leo Tan Wee , Subramaniam R.
Published: November 2013

The use of policy instruments in the environmental framework to promote sustainable energy practices in Singapore, a country in the South East Asian region, is explored in this chapter. Four areas are specifically identified for coverage: waste production, water consumption, transportation and atmospheric emission, owing to their highly entrenched nexus with the environment. The presence of these policy instruments has been a major factor why sustainable energy practices are well ensconced in Singapore and the rate of increase of the carbon footprint on the environment has been lessened significantly. It is suggested that there are useful lessons to be drawn from the Singapore experience for other countries. Several recommendations are provided in this context.
Renewable Energy Scenario of Pakistan for Sustainable Development
Authors: Shah Asif A. , Bhutto Arabella , Qureshi S. M. , Shah Ambreen , Shah A. A. , Shah Wajiha
Published: November 2013

In Pakistan, sustainable development through Renewable Energy (RE) is considered an unrealistic idea. This chapter sheds light on this scenario by finding the root causes responsible for creating such assumptions. Therefore, in order to identify the root causes, the emphasis has been given to analyzing Pakistan’s current status of sustainable development through RE on theoretical as well as on practical grounds. For achieving the said task, a framework was developed in which the theoretical background covered on the basis of policy documents was integrated with the real life scenario responsible for the diffusion of Renewable Energy Technologies (RETs) in Pakistan. This integration was performed on the basis of a pilot field study conducted in a local community. Further, a survey has been performed to identify the major groups of stakeholders and their corresponding awareness level towards simple RETs. Throughout this chapter, attempts have been made to provide a mirror view for Pakistan in achieving sustainable development through RE.
Sustainability and the UK’s Major Food Retailers
Authors: Jones Peter , Comfort Daphne , Hillier David
Published: November 2013

This chapter reviews how the UK’s leading food retailers are incorporating sustainability into their corporate identities and marketing strategies. The chapter begins with an outline of the characteristics of sustainability, a discussion of the relationships between marketing and sustainability, and a brief description of the structure of food retailing within the UK. The chapter draws its empirical information from the sustainability material on the top ten UK’s food retailers’ corporate websites and an observational survey conducted in these retailers’ stores in the town of Cheltenham in the UK. The findings reveal that while the top ten UK food retailers claimed strong corporate commitments to sustainability, such commitments are poorly reflected at the point of sale within stores where the dominant marketing messages were designed to entice customers to consume rather than to encourage them to develop more sustainable patterns of shopping behaviour. This leads the authors to offer some critical reflections on the sustainability agendas being pursued by the UK’s leading food retailers. More critically, the authors argue that the UK’s leading food retailers have constructed sustainability agendas which are driven largely, though not necessarily exclusively, by their own commercial interests rather than by commitments to sustainability. As such, these retailers can be seen to be looking to accommodate both strategic long-term commitments to sustainability as well short-term operational decisions to offer customers competitive prices within what they see as genuinely consumer concentric marketing strategies.
Social Networking Technologies as a Strategic Tool for the Development of Sustainable Production and Consumption
Authors: Kidd Paul T.
Published: November 2013

Addressed in this conceptual contribution is the use of Social Networking Technologies in the context of support for development of sustainable business practices, specifically the use of these technologies in a radical way to create information flows within the business and from external bodies, that effectively call into question the purpose, values, products, technologies, et cetera of the enterprise. This radical application is needed as part of a process of developing agility. Agility will be required in the future when businesses need to make significant adaptations to the way that they operate. Such fundamental changes in operation will be driven by the complexities of the structural changes in the business environment directly linked with climate change and other problems (e.g. security of energy supplies). Some of the complexities of these structural changes are discussed, along with key issues relating to paradigms, the social shaping of technology, agility, and the proposed application.
Diffusion of Renewable Energy Technologies in Rural Communities
Authors: Platonova Inna
Published: November 2013

Worldwide, over 1.3 billion people lack access to energy. Lack of electricity undermines the provision of basic social services, including education and health, and impedes development of income generating opportunities. Renewable energy technologies provide a viable option to rural electrification and are increasingly recognized for their contribution to rural development, energy security, and climate change mitigation. International non-governmental organizations (NGOs), working in partnerships with local actors, play an important role in the diffusion of renewable energy technologies in developing countries. Based on the exploratory case study of the international NGO Practical Action, this chapter explores the nature and effectiveness of development partnerships for the provision of sustainable energy services in remote off-grid rural communities in Cajamarca, Peru. It emphasizes the importance of building effective partnerships with communities and local government; facilitating community participation and ownership; building capacities for sustainable provision of energy services; and providing affordable and appropriate technological solutions that meet people’s needs.
Government Policies to Promote Production and Consumption of Renewable Electricity in the US
Authors: Kim Eun-Hee
Published: November 2013

Various types of renewable electricity policies exist both at the federal and state levels. They are designed to directly or indirectly incentivize producers and consumers of renewable electricity. The existence of renewable electricity policies can be explained by the market failure theory. Without proper government intervention, renewable electricity would be underprovided due to positive externalities associated with environmental pollution and energy independence. Also, in terms of pollution control, encouraging green renewable electricity is more politically palatable than discouraging brown electricity generated from fossil fuels, such as coal and oil. This chapter reviews the primary functions of various policy instruments at the federal and state levels and discusses their effectiveness to the extent possible.
Urban Environment Quality in the Italian Spatial Data Infrastructure
Authors: Congedo L. , Baiocco F. , Brini S. , Liberti L. , Munafò M.
Published: November 2013

Public access to environmental information is granted by international law. The European Community has established an Infrastructure for Spatial Information (INSPIRE) in order to provide data and information to effected environmental policies. ISPRA coordinates the Italian Environmental Information and Monitoring System (SINA) and represents the national Inspire coordination structure. Moreover, ISPRA disseminates environmental information through reports, on-line services, and WebGis. Recently, a new WebGis has been developed to provide public access to environmental indicators data contained in the annual report on urban environment quality. Soil, water and air quality, waste, industrial risk, transport and mobility, acoustic and electromagnetic pollution, nature and biodiversity, tourism, and energy were analysed in 34 urban areas. The WebGis provides simple and powerful tools to analyze environmental dynamics of urban areas promoting participatory planning. It was designed to easily access and select the indicators data and to represent their spatial and temporal distribution.
The Heifer International Model of Sustainable Adult Education
Authors: McGill Carrie J. Boden , Merritt Lauren
Published: November 2013

Heifer International, an organization devoted to ending hunger and poverty through sustainable development, has worked throughout the world by giving “living loans” of gifts of livestock and training while empowering individuals and communities to turn lives of hunger and poverty into self-reliance and hope. To train a country’s population is to increase that country’s “human capital,” and educating the population while expanding the human capital is a necessity in order for developing countries to benefit from globalization. The Heifer model of adult sustainable education demonstrates the importance of education and training for people of the developing world, and not only can this model be adopted in developing countries for emerging “learning societies,” but it may be used to inform policies and practices in the developed world as well.
Conceptualization of the Base for Sustainable Rural Development Policy Implementation
Authors: Zoran Njegovan , Bošković Olgica
Published: November 2013

Looking in wider perspective, the problems of inequality have emerged relatively early even from the period of establishment of economy as a scientific discipline. However, those problems are also the subject of different socio-humanistic scientific research. That process lasts up to date, and it could be said that nowadays it is much more important than before. The main reason for that is that current inequalities are significant and radicalised nowadays as a cause of non-adequate development process.
Improving the Sustainability of Road Freight Transport by Relaxing Truck Size and Weight Restrictions
Authors: McKinnon Alan
Published: November 2013

Increasing legal limits on the size and weight of trucks allows companies to achieve a higher degree of load consolidation. This reduces the total number of vehicle-kilometres required to distribute a given quantity of goods, saving money and reducing environmental impacts. Proposals to legalise longer and heavier vehicles, (LHVs) have, nevertheless, generated intense debate, particularly in Europe where they are strongly resisted by railway and environmental organisations. This chapter reviews recent studies on this subject, presents an analytical framework and focuses on three critical issues: the extent to which loads can be consolidated in LHVs, their effect on the freight modal split and the possibility that the resulting reduction in road freight costs will stimulate additional traffic growth. Most of the recent studies support the development of LHVs, particularly those based on actual experience of their use in countries such as Australia, Sweden and the United States.
The Role of Urban Consolidation Centres in Sustainable Freight Transport
Authors: Allen Julian , Browne Michael , Leonardi Jacques , Woodburn Allan
Published: November 2013

The chapter considers the role that urban consolidation centres (UCCs) can play in helping to reduce goods vehicle traffic and its environmental impacts in urban areas. A UCC is a logistics facility that is situated in relatively close proximity to the area that it serves. Goods destined for this area are dropped off at the UCC, and are sorted and consolidated onto goods vehicles for delivery to their final destinations, often using environmentally friendly vehicles such as electric and gas-powered goods vehicles, and electrically-assisted cycles. The development of UCCs since their first appearance in the 1970s is reviewed and the various types of UCC categorised. The freight transport and logistics advantages offered by UCCs are discussed. Case studies of four recent UCC trials are included. The objectives, operational and financial aspects and impacts of these UCCs are compared and their critical success factors identified.
Evaluating Sustainability on Projects Using Indicators
Authors: Talbot Jude , Venkataraman Ray
Published: November 2013

The concept of balancing people, planet, and profit to maximize the absolute value of an enterprise is known as sustainability. It is concerned with the economic, social, and environmental effects of an enterprise in the long term. However, in practice, this definition does not provide companies with a meaningful framework to integrate sustainability into their projects, which by definition are one-off endeavors. Given this divide between the long-term nature of sustainability and the temporary nature of projects, companies have found it difficult to incorporate relevant sustainability indicators into project baselines. In this chapter, the authors examine a methodology for integrating sustainability into project baselines for consultants in the industrial and resource extraction fields. The methodology is comprised of an indicator set and a procedure for using the indicator set. This chapter’s goal is to help standardize the sustainability process, making it easier to implement and more mainstream. The objectives of this chapter are: (1) identify different sustainability indicator sets and their strengths and weaknesses; (2) explain what a multi-level analytical hierarchy project is and why it is important to integrating sustainability into such projects; and (3) state the steps in a procedure to integrate sustainability into project baselines.
Supporting Sustainability Education and Leadership
Authors: Cassidy Alice , Sipos Yona , Nyrose Sarah
Published: November 2013

The authors describe a workshop, called the Sustainability Education Intensive (SEI), and related programs at a major research university in Canada that served to support educators to introduce or enhance aspects of sustainability into their courses, programs, and initiatives. They present their pilot work in the context of sustainability education and leadership, both in terms of degree programs and programs for educators worldwide. The authors present the key components, steps, and associated timelines of their planning and delivery. They give examples of participant feedback and how the workshop has “stayed alive,” thus representing the sustainability of this form of educational development. They provide templates that can be used or adapted at any post-secondary institution. The authors conclude with a checklist to help practitioners get started in supporting educators and leaders in the important area of sustainability education.
International Development Partnerships and Diffusion of Renewable Energy Powered Lighting Technologies in Off-Grid Communities in Developing Countries
Authors: Platonova Inna
Published: November 2013

Worldwide, 1.4 billion people virtually live in darkness after sunset. New lighting technologies, such as light emitting diodes (LED), powered by renewable energy allow non-electrified communities to access for the first time in their lives clean, durable, affordable, and higher quality lighting service. The international NGOs play an important intermediary role in diffusion of these technologies to off-grid communities and commonly operate via development partnerships. With the goal of providing insights into the nature of these partnerships and factors that influence their effectiveness, the exploratory case study was conducted which examined and compared development partnerships promoting renewable energy powered lighting technologies in off-grid indigenous communities in Talamanca, Costa Rica. The study acknowledged the catalytic role of the international NGOs and emphasized the centrality of locally embedded organizations and their capacities in successful implementation of development interventions. A set of factors was identified that contribute to the effectiveness of the development partnership in renewable energy in off-grid communities.
Demand-Side Response Smart Grid Technique for Optimized Energy Use
Authors: Kamel Fouad , Marwan Marwan
Published: November 2013

The chapter describes a dynamic smart grid concept that enables electricity end-users to be acting on controlling, shifting, or curtailing own demand to avoid peak-demand conditions according to information received about electricity market conditions over the Internet. Computer-controlled switches are used to give users the ability to control and curtail demand on a user’s premises as necessary, following a preset user's preferences. The computerized switching provides the ability to accommodate local renewable energy sources as available. The concept offers further the ability to integrate charging electrical vehicles during off-peak periods, helping thus substantially improving the utilization of the whole electricity system. The approach is pursuing improved use of electrical energy associated with improved energy management, reduced electricity prices and reduced pollution caused by excessive use of combustion engine in transport. The technique is inherently restricted to take effect in frame of energy tariff regimes based on real-time price made to encourage and reward conscious users being proactively participating in holistic energy management strategies.
The Sustainable Waterfront
Authors: Bradbury Matthew
Published: November 2013

This chapter discusses how a methodology for the development of a sustainable waterfront might be shaped through an understanding and consideration of environmental remediation technologies. The chapter begins by considering the history of waterfront development in Europe and America and how this model has become codified into a generic real estate process. The author develops a critique of this model from an environmental perspective. The use of sustainability as an ideology to provide a framework for critique but also strategies and techniques for moving towards a new model of waterfront development are explored. The development of a possible hypothesis for the design of a sustainable waterfront is developed, followed by a speculative case study of a waterfront project that explores how the design hypotheses might be tested. The chapter concludes by speculating on the ways in which a study of urban ecology, in particular urban biodiversity, could enhance the finding of the case study towards the development of a waterfront design process that could contribute to the ecological health of the 21st century city.
Sustainable Urbanism Revisited
Authors: Oktay Derya
Published: November 2013

At a time of uncontrolled globalization in which serious environmental problems are threatening cities and their inhabitants, as cultural integrity is constantly under attack and many cities lack socially inclusive and responsive environments, there is an urgent need for a radical shift towards a holistic strategy for sustainable urbanism combining ecological sustainability and socio-cultural sustainability. This calls for sensitivity to the traditional urbanism and impact of global ideas, practices, and technologies on local social and cultural practices. In line with these, this chapter aims to establish an environmentally sound and human friendly framework for sustainable urbanism. In this context, the study firstly provides a conceptual understanding of sustainable urbanism and a critical review of its philosophical and practical framework; secondly, it provides an assessment of contemporary approaches to sustainable urbanism; thirdly, the chapter analyses the traditional Turkish (Ottoman) city which provides valuable clues for sustainable development, and discusses possible research directions that could help promote the concept of sustainable urbanism.
Performance Evaluation of Online Backup Cloud Storage
Authors: Zhang Xiao , Feng WenXiong , Qin Xiao
Published: November 2013

Cloud storage provides storage services to users via Internet. They provide lavish interfaces for different applications. Online backup is the most developed application based on cloud storage. Most past studies focus on functional characters and price per GB. But there is not much consideration about performance evaluation. In this paper, the authors present a method to evaluate the performance of different online backup services with clients. Because these clients do not prompt when the download/upload process starts and finishes, the authors capture the packets transferred between clients and the cloud storage provider. The authors evaluate the performance from the view of the end-user, comparing the upload and download speeds of different services. This method can help users find the best provider to accommodate their situation. The authors evaluate the performance of several cloud storage providers by analyzing the performance of different vendors in different times and different file type and size. From the performance results, the authors can expose which technologies are used in the cloud storage system to reduce the storage and network cost.
Overcoming the Barriers to Uptake
Authors: Brown Damian
Published: November 2013

Serious gaming for health benefits is moving out of the realm of being potentially interesting, and the authors are starting to see a growing maturity in the field. This study of six serious gaming projects based either wholly or partly in Denmark investigates the changes taking place in the healthcare area based on experiences with serious gaming projects, the likely development of the field, and the lessons which have been learned in the area of designing to overcome barriers which exist at various levels and throughout the delivery chain. This is done from the perspective of developers and service providers, primarily using interview and game analysis techniques. The results indicate a growing maturity amongst service providers in a number of key areas, such as understanding of the most appropriate uses of games, designing for usability, and a better understanding of the process of making a successful game for health. There is a clear expectation that games will continue to diversify and penetrate the health space, while at the same time many are looking to developments in the United States as a primary driver for uptake in Europe. There are high hopes for the mobile/app area, and a number of interesting cross-disciplinary initiatives are identified.
A Spatial Analysis of Male and Female Unemployment in the USA
Authors: Zolnik Edmund J.
Published: November 2013

An analysis of male and female unemployment in the U.S. explores how gender affects spatial variation in unemployment. The effects of spatially-unlagged and spatially-lagged unemployment rates on the likelihood that individual men and women are unemployed are also explored. Using a recent tabulation of microdata from the American Community Survey, multilevel models of male and female unemployment are fit. Results indicate that age and occupation at the individual-level and a right-to-work dummy at the PUMA-level are the variables that best distinguish unemployed men and women. Results also indicate that unemployment for men is more clustered in space than unemployment for women. Finally, results indicate that the vast majority of the variation in unemployment for individuals in the U.S. is attributable to the personal characteristics of unemployed men and women, not the locational characteristics of high-unemployment places. The paper concludes with a discussion of the policy implications of the latter result.
Recommendation of Counteractions for Prevention of Critical Events in Sub-Surface Drilling Environments
Authors: Winter Martin , Riedel Felix , Lee Felix , Fruhwirth Rudolf K. , Kronsteiner Florian , Zeiner Herwig , Vallant Heribert
Published: November 2013

Sub-Surface Drilling is the process of making boreholes into the Earth, which can reach depths of many kilometers. One of the major purposes of such boreholes is the exploration of oil or gas bearing formations with the goal to recover the content of such reservoirs. Problems in drilling operations pose serious risks for the crew and the environment and can cause significant financial losses. Critical events usually do not arise abruptly, but develop over time before they escalate. In this work, the authors present a system that integrates sensor data and machine learning algorithms into a decision support system (DSS), thus helping to avoid critical events by monitoring and recommending preventive measures. The authors describe how the DSS is implemented as a distributed system and how data-driven decision support processes are implemented and integrated into the system. The DSS detects drilling operations by recognizing temporal patterns in the sensor data and uses a combination of detected operational rig-states and sensor data to predict and recommend preventive measures for the stuck pipe problem. The sensor data, detection results and predictions are distributed to all stakeholders and displayed in appropriate user interfaces.
A Novel Path Planning to Provide Real-Time Backup Paths for Vehicle Navigation Systems
Authors: Wu Shih-Lin , Jhou Jhe-yu , Lin Yi-Chun
Published: November 2013

The rapid progress of wireless technologies has made the information of real-time traffic available to vehicles. In this paper, the authors propose a dynamic path planning algorithm for vehicle navigation system which can adapt to changeable traffic and replan a better path with good travelling time for drivers within a reasonable computation time for large-scale road networks. Based on the hierarchical model of road networks, we use source-directed A* to save the path planning time, to create a good travelling time path, and to construct a backup path tree. When a traffic condition of a link in the driving path becomes worse, the replanning of a new partial path for a certain part of the backup path tree reflected by the link is calculated. The system has been tested on Taiwan road network. Through experiment results, the system presents a good efficiency for planning/replanning a path in terms of planning time and travelling time.
Calibration-Free Localizations and Applications on U-Care Cloud
Authors: Wu Shih-Lin , Yeh Yu-Liang , Lin Chia-Feng
Published: November 2013

The key technique of the location-based service (LBS) is localization which is a kind of techniques for determining the location of mobile users (MU). One of the most common techniques for the location estimation of mobile users (MU) is the radio frequency (RF) site survey. The main idea of the technique is to build a signal strength model, called a radio map, in the off-line phase and to estimate the location of an MU by finding the best match from the radio map in the on-line phase. However, when signal strength values vary frequently due to the characteristics of environmental dynamics, the radio map will quickly become outdated, and recalibration requires considerable manual effort. A good positioning technique should be able to adapt to a dynamically changing environment. In this paper, the authors describe the design and implementation of a positioning system which can provide low-cost, but highly adaptable and precise positioning in the context of changeable radio environments. Instead of constructing a radio map, the authors use reference points (RP) installed in the localization area to continuously monitor changes in the environment. The authors then employ the minimum mean square error (MMSE) method to estimate the location of the MU. Experimental results show that the average error distance is about 3 meters. The positioning system has been implemented as a subsystem of the U-care project in the Chang Gung Health and Culture Village. From the results of questionnaire made by residents, the authors find that the most satisfaction system in the U-care project is the positioning and rescuing system because it can locate the exact position of a resident in need of emergency.
A More Secure Image Hiding Scheme Using Pixel Adjustment and Genetic Algorithm
Authors: Banimelhem Omar , Tawalbeh Lo’ai , Mowafi Moad , Al-Batati Mohammed
Published: November 2013

This paper proposes a more secure image hiding scheme using Optimal Pixel Adjustment Process (OPAP) and Genetic Algorithm (GA). The security issues of key selection that is used in image hiding are addressed. Thus, a more secure scheme is proposed in order to improve the security as well as the quality of the stego-image. Since GA is a semi-blind algorithm, it may select a key that affects the security. Therefore, the authores improve the security by applying image transformation not only using the GA key, but also using a user key. The user key is used to disarrange the pixel locations of the secret image. Then, the GA, using OPAP, selects the key that maximizes the quality as well as the security of the stego-image. From implementation point of view, the scheme uses a simple and fast transformation method that increases the difference between the secret image and its transformed version. The results showed that the resultant disarranged image cannot be detected, and at the same time the stego-image quality is still high.
Holistic and Law Compatible IT Security Evaluation
Authors: Simić-Draws Daniela , Neumann Stephan , Kahlert Anna , Richter Philipp , Grimm Rüdiger , Volkamer Melanie , Roßnagel Alexander
Published: November 2013

Common Criteria and ISO 27001/IT-Grundschutz are well acknowledged evaluation standards for the security of IT systems and the organisation they are embedded in. These standards take a technical point of view. In legally sensitive areas, such as processing of personal information or online voting, compliance with the legal specifications is of high importance, however, for the users’ trust in an IT system and thus for the success of this system. This article shows how standards for the evaluation of IT security may be integrated with the KORA approach for law compatible technology design to the benefit of both – increasing confidence IT systems and their conformity with the law on one hand and a concrete possibility for legal requirements to be integrated into technology design from the start. The soundness of this interdisciplinary work will be presented in an exemplary application to online voting.
dDelega
Authors: Tomaiuolo Michele
Published: November 2013

In the context of Web services, access control presents some interesting challenges, especially when services are exposed to a global audience, with users accessing them from different systems and under different security settings. A decentralized approach to access control, which can be applied to such open environments, is represented by Trust Management. In fact, it is based on the peer-to-peer delegation of access rights among users, also across organizational boundaries, without supposing a-priori the existence of trusted third parties in the system. This article presents dDelega, a Trust Management framework for SOAP-style and REST-style Web services, available as open source software and usable in different application scenarios. The framework allows users to create multiple levels of delegation of access rights for protected resources. It defines various certificates, for binding names, permissions and oblivious attributes to users, adhering to relevant standards, such as WS-Security, SAML and XACML.
A Survey of Visual Traffic Surveillance Using Spatio-Temporal Analysis and Mining
Authors: Zhang Chengcui
Published: November 2013

The focus of this survey is on spatio-temporal data mining and database retrieval for visual traffic surveillance systems. In many traffic surveillance applications, such as incident detection, abnormal events detection, vehicle speed estimation, and traffic volume estimation, the data used for reasoning is really in the form of spatio-temporal data (e.g. vehicle trajectories). How to effectively analyze these spatio-temporal data to automatically find its inherent characteristics for different visual traffic surveillance applications has been of great interest. Examples of spatio-temporal patterns extracted from traffic surveillance videos include, but are not limited to, sudden stops, harsh turns, speeding, and collisions. To meet the different needs of various traffic surveillance applications, several application- or event- specific models have been proposed in the literature. This paper provides a survey of different models and data mining algorithms to cover state of the art in spatio-temporal modelling, spatio-temporal data mining, and spatio-temporal retrieval for traffic surveillance video databases. In addition, the database model issues and challenges for traffic surveillance videos are also discussed in this survey.
Digital Dome Versus Desktop Display
Authors: Jacobson Jeffery
Published: November 2013

In previous publications, the author reported that students learned about Egyptian architecture and society by playing an educational game based on a virtual representation of a temple. Students played the game in a digital dome or on a standard desktop computer, and (each) then recorded a video tour of the temple. Those who had used the dome recited more facts in their videos (P < 0.05). In this study, the author reports reanalysis of the video tours by two expert Egyptologists, who found an even stronger main effect for conceptual learning (P = 0.000) and better integration between the abstract concepts and the visuals (P < 0.002). The author describes the experiment in the context of digital domes for education, surveying the field and discussing relevant theory.
Revision of theHesperempisgenus group (Diptera: Empidoidea: Empididae)
Authors: Cumming Jeffrey M. , Brooks Scott E. , Saigusa Toyohei
Published: November 2013

TheHesperempisgenus group is revised. The group includesDryodromiaRondani andHesperempisMelander, withMelanderalusÖzdikem and Başar andToreusMelander newly synonymised withHesperempis,newsynonymy.DryodromiaincludesD. testaceaRondani from the western Palaearctic andD. yunnanicaCumming and Saigusanew speciesfrom southwestern China.HesperempisincludesH. anatolicaCumming and Brooksnew species,H. mabelae(Melander),H. neomexicana(Melander)newcombination,H. sanducaMelander, andH. vesperaCumming and Brooksnew speciesfrom the Nearctic Region, as well asH. melinaCumming and Saigusanew species,H. nipponicaCumming and Saigusanew species, andH. sibiricaShamshev from the Palaearctic Region. A key to the two genera and 10 species is provided, and a cladistic analysis is presented. A new interpretation of the homologies of the male terminalia is proposed for this lineage, and the phylogenetic relationships and zoogeographic history of the group are discussed.
Computational Assessment of Wind Tunnel Flow in Closed and Open Section Model Rotor Tests
Authors: Biava M. , Vigevano L.
Published: November 2013

A qualitative analysis of the flow inside the closed and open test sections of the Politecnico di Milano large wind tunnel in the presence of rotor effects has been carried out with the ROSITA (ROtorcraft Software ITAly) Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes solver. The rotor
is represented as an actuator disk. The simulations in the closed section help determine the flow breakdown boundaries in terms of tunnel-operating parameters. In the open section, no flow breakdown may be identified, but the operating conditions in which the rotor wake is escaping from the
tunnel circuit can be defined. Recommendations are provided for experimental measurements to enable online detection of the flow breakdown in the closed section and the wake deflection in the open section.
On the evaluation of rock reference materials
Authors: Abbey S
Published: November 2013

The concentrations of numerous constituents must be evaluated in rock samples if they are to be used as reference materials. Because of varying degrees of specialized skills in earth science laboratories, the collaboration of many laboratories is required in
order to establish reliable values. Analytical data reported in such operations are highly variable. The number of constituents reported per sample varies from one laboratory to another. The number of values reported varies from one constituent to another. The reported values for each
constituent are generally incoherent, often displaying skewed distributions. The problem, then, is how to deduce the most probably "true" concentration for each constituent. Various computation schemes, based on medians, means and related measures, will be discussed. A new scheme, involving a
combination of modes, will be proposed.