bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hiding Message in Map Along Pre-Hamiltonian Path
Authors: Muttoo Sunil Kumar , Kumar Vinay
Published: February 2011

In this paper, an algorithm to embed information in a map along Hamiltonian path is presented. A file based data structure in which a graph is treated as a composition of three components, node, segment and intermediate points that constitute a segment, is used to store a graph. In a map with N nodes, each node can represent ?log2N? bits from message bit strings. Any bits (= 0) from message between bit strings represented by adjacent nodes are embedded in a segment. In the case of a multi graph, a segment is selected based on the last two bits in the nodes. A pre Hamiltonian path is determined in the map starting from node represented by the first ?log2N? bits from message string to the last bit string ?log2N?. The method is tested on different maps and messages of different sizes and robust results have been observed. Retrieval is based on the key (S, |m|, ?) and traversing along the pre Hamiltonian path starting from node S.
Verification of a Rational Combination Approach for Agricultural Drought Assessment
Authors: Subash N. , Mohan H. S. Ram
Published: February 2011

Agricultural Drought is characterized by a deficient supply of moisture, resulting either from sub-normal rainfall, erratic rainfall distribution, or higher water with respect to a crop. In spite of technological developments in providing improved crop varieties and better management practices, in India, agriculture has been considered a gamble due to higher spatial and temporal variability. The Rice-Wheat (RW) system is the major cropping system of the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) in India and occupies 10 million hectares. In this paper, the authors have examined the possibility of rationally combining the rainfall anomaly index, a weather based index and an agriculture index based on the Crop Growth Simulation Model for a rice-wheat productivity assessment in selected sites of IGP in India. The district average yields of rice varied from 0.9 t/ha at Samastipur to 3.8 t/ha at Ludhiana. Rice yields decreased from the west to east IGP, and farmers in the western IGP harvested more rice-wheat than those in the eastern regions. The productivity gap showed that all the sites were produced only 50% of the potential in RW system productivity during the triennium ending period 2005. This paper may help researchers and planners to take appropriate measures for improving productivity.
National Game Management Database of Hungary
Authors: Csányi Sándor , Lehoczki Róbert , Sonkoly Krisztina
Published: February 2011

Advances in ecological science and increasing public environmental awareness have resulted in changes in the management of renewable natural resources. To achieve sustainable use of wildlife, managers need reliable data on populations, habitats, and the complexities of ecological interactions. The National Game Management Database (NGMD) was first mandated by the Hungarian Game Management and Hunting Law in 1996. In this paper, the authors summarize the origins, characteristics, development, and results leading to the final establishment of and uses for the NGMD. Goals of the NGMD are to store data on game populations and game management, provide input to spatial analyses and mapping, and to facilitate decision-making and planning efforts of game management administration. It contains information on the populations of game species, data from annual game management reports, trophy-scoring data, maximum allowed and minimum huntable population size, and maps and long-term game management plans for each GMU and the 24 game management regions. In Hungary, the NGMD was the first operating database in wildlife management and nature conservation providing full GIS capabilities, supporting geographical analyses.
Rough-Cut Cost Estimation in a Capacitated Environment
Authors: Eklin Mark , Arzi Yohanan , Shtub Avraham
Published: February 2011

This article presents a deterministic model for rough-cut cost estimation in a capacitated madeto- order environment. We assume that a firm can execute each job either at its own shop or by outsourcing it. The model calculates the unit cost of each product while taking into account the shop floor rough-cut capacity planning, and by determining what to produce in the firm’s shop and what to outsource. In order to reduce run times, a greedy heuristic algorithm was developed. Comparison of the proposed model with a model that takes into account precedence between operations and with a traditional costing approach was conducted. The article gives insight on the affect of shop workload, machine loading, and outsourcing decisions on the product unit cost estimation.
Strategic Management of International Subcontracting
Authors: Wang Yue
Published: February 2011

Research on international subcontracting has been policy-oriented and industry-focused. There is a lack of understanding of the phenomenon from strategic management and international business perspectives. This article conceptualizes international subcontracting as a type of relational contract formed by buyers and suppliers from different countries, aiming to facilitate the sourcing of products or components with buyer-specific requirements. It builds a transaction cost model for studying the strategic choice of international subcontracting as an intermediate governance structure, sitting between arm’s length outsourcing arrangement and vertically integrated multinational enterprises (MNEs). A set of propositions are developed to aid future empirical research and to provide managers with some guidelines for organizing supply chain across borders. The model also allows managers to examine the complex nature of a range of subcontracting relationships and identify the specific mechanisms that can be used to preserve and manage the dyadic principal-subcontractor exchanges.
A Nelder and Mead Methodology for Solving Small Fixed-Charge Transportation Problems
Authors: Kannan G. , Senthil P. , Sasikumar P. , Vinay V.P.
Published: February 2011

The term ‘supply chain management’ has become common in the business world, which can be understood from the positive results of research in the area, particularly in supply chain optimization. Transportation is a frontier in achieving the objectives of the supply chain. Thrust is also given to optimization problems in transportation. The fixed-charge transportation problem is an extension of the transportation problem that includes a fixed cost, along with a variable cost that is proportional to the amount shipped. This article approaches the problem with another meta-heuristics known as the Nelder and Mead methodology to save the computational time with little iteration and obtain better results with the help of a program in C++.
Analyzing the Impact of Coordinated Decisions within a Three-Echelon Supply Chain
Authors: Núñez-Muñoz Mauricio , Montoya-Torres Jairo R.
Published: February 2011

Supply chain performance is highly influenced by the coordination level between its members, which needs information sharing. In this article we consider a three-echelon direct sell supply chain model and focus on the problem of coordinated decision-making between its members. Our contribution is a first approach that measures the impact of the degree of coordination between the members. Demand behavior is modeled using a geometric Brownian process. Simulation models are run in order to analyze various cooperation scenarios. Our results show a direct relation between the degree of coordination within the supply chain and the total system cost. Although this result is intuitive, our simulations allowed us to quantify such a relation and in which measure these costs are whether or not associated to imperfect coordination
A Stochastic Perturbation Algorithm for Inventory Optimization in Supply Chains
Authors: Wang Liya , Prabhu Vittal
Published: February 2011

In recent years, simulation optimization has attracted a great deal of attention because simulation can model the real systems in fidelity and capture complex dynamics. Among numerous simulation optimization algorithms, Simultaneous Perturbation Stochastic Approximation (SPSA) algorithm is an attractive approach because of its simplicity and efficiency. Although SPSA has been applied in several problems, it does not converge for some. This research proposes Augmented Simultaneous Perturbation Stochastic Approximation (ASPSA) algorithm in which SPSA is augmented to include research, ordinal optimization, non-uniform gain, and line search. Performances of ASPSA are tested on complex discrete supply chain inventory optimization problems. The tests results show that ASPSA not only achieves speed up, but also improves solution quality and converges faster than SPSA. Experiments also show that ASPSA is comparable to Genetic Algorithms in solution quality (6% to 15% worse) but is much more efficient computationally (over 12x faster).
Trust-Based Information Risk Management in a Supply Chain Network
Authors: Zuo Yanjun , Hu Wen-Chen
Published: February 2011

Information risk management is crucial for an organization operating in an increasingly integrated and intensively communicated environment to mitigate risks and ensure core business functions. Given the open and dynamic nature of a supply chain network, information risk management is challenging and various factors must be considered. This article introduces a trust-based approach to facilitate supply chain participants to perform effective risk management. The major components of the proposed framework include supply chain member trust evaluation, data classification, and trust-based decision making. The major purpose of the framework is to control and mitigate information risks that a participant faces in a supply chain network (e.g., risks to information confidentiality, privacy, and integrity). We apply the principle of transitive trust for trust evaluation and use several decision tools for risk analysis and mitigation.
A Stochastic Model for Improving Information Security in Supply Chain Systems
Authors: Al Kattan Ibrahim , Al Nunu Ahmed , Saleh Kassem
Published: February 2011

This article presents a probabilistic security model for supply chain management systems (SCM) in which the basic goals of security (including confidentiality, integrity, availability and accountability, CIAA) are modeled and analyzed. Consequently, the weak points in system security are identified. A stochastic model using measurable values to describe the information system security of a SCM is introduced. Information security is a crucial and integral part of the network of supply chains. Each chain or driver requires a different security level according to the services it contributes to the overall SCM system. Different probabilistic weights are assigned to the four goals CIAA of security depending on the SCM driver’s mission. A Semi-Markov chain model is used to describe the probabilistic nature of different security levels for each driver in the system. A comparison of the steady-state security for a multi-driver model with different levels of attack is performed, and the results analyzed. Enhanced supply chain security could be achieved by identifying the effects of attacks on the security goals of an organization. The use of this model helps to identify weak points in supply chain system security, and offers hints on how to strengthen them. The model is tested by considering intrusion scenarios representing different levels of attack on the SCM system. An analysis of the results is performed using an interactive application.
Information Sharing and Supply Chain Performance
Authors: Posey Clay , Bari Abdullahel
Published: February 2011

Practically all supply chains operate under conditions of uncertainty. To mitigate this uncertainty and increase performance, organizations within chains exchange information to achieve operational cohesion. However, as some researchers have noted, some supply chains benefit more from increased levels of information sharing than others (e.g. Cachon & Fisher, 2000). To assist in explaining the performance differences experienced by supply chains engaged in information-sharing activities, we introduce a new perspective of information sharing within supply chains based on organizational information processing theory (Galbraith, 1973). More specifically, our work and derived conceptual model posit that individual supply chains may be examined as single information processors and that their characteristics can induce complexities in the shared information which subsequently influence how supply chains process this information. Furthermore, the degree to which supply-chain members’ information systems are compatible with each other is posited to also play a significant role in information-processing capabilities.
Determining Optimal Price and Order Quantity Under the Uncertainty in Demand and Supplier’s Wholesale Price
Authors: Nam Seong-Hyun , Kurata Hisashi , Vitton John , Park Jaesun
Published: February 2011

Manufacturers in a high-tech durable product industry may have to make operational decisions in the presence of uncertainties associated with product demand and supplier’s wholesale price. In this paper, the authors investigate the impact of such uncertainties on the activities of a manufacturer and its supplier and develop an optimization model that describes how the manufacturers should reflect the uncertainty issues in their pricing and order quantity policy to achieve a desirable profit. In the modeling process, three important managerial problems are discussed, i.e., the effect of coordination between a manufacturer and its supplier in dealing with uncertainties on product demand and supplier’s wholesale price, strategies for mitigating both errors in demand forecasting and supply risk, and modeling frameworks to determine the optimal solution for price and order quantity based on the varying levels of coordination. To identify best operational decisions under market uncertainty, the authors use the stochastic optimal control theory.
Dynamic Price and Quantity Postponement Strategies
Authors: Kristianto Yohanes
Published: February 2011

This paper studies duopolistic competition under dynamic price and production quantity postponement for two differentiable products, which share common components from one supplier at a certain degree of substitution. Both price and quantity postponement is benchmarked according to the Bertrand and Cournot Stackelberg game. In addition, system dynamic is applied to show the long term effect of both strategic decisions (price and production quantity) on profit and against demand uncertainty. The results show that price postponement is appropriate for high modular products (make-to-stock) and production quantity postponement for special orders (make-to-order). The final part of the paper concludes with results and outlines future research directions.
Comparative Analysis of International Education Systems
Authors: Wang John , Xia Jun , Hollister Kimberly , Wang Yawei
Published: February 2011

International comparisons of educational systems are commonly practiced using subjective methods available in literature. The use of subjective methods can lead to non-standard ranking; each individual investigator inputs his or her own subjective judgment when assigning weights to measurements in each class. The complied results differ with large variations. A mathematical evaluation method based on concept of Paretooptimal organization is proposed for this study. This method is easy to apply and uses linear programming model. The weights for various measurements are determined through an objective method. We illustrate our methodology in a comparison of the educational systems of twenty-one industrialized countries.
Adoption Factors of Mobile Services
Authors: Kargin Banu , Basoglu Nuri , Daim Tugrul
Published: February 2011

As more and more mobile services become available everyday, consumers are choosing different services based on their preferences. Exploring and understanding this phenomenon is critical. This paper presents a framework for defining the adoption factors of mobile services. The framework builds upon current approaches to explain adoption factors. A survey instrument was utilized for data collection. Two different types of service were compared through the study. The findings were confirming the literature for an already adopted service and indicating that usefulness and attitude are direct factors influencing consumer satisfaction. On the other hand, usefulness and external influence were found to be direct; and personalization, image, content, mobility, enjoyment as indirect determinants of consumer’s attitude towards using new mobile services.
The Grid as a Virtual Enterprise Enabler
Authors: Vassiliadis Bill
Published: February 2011

Modern information systems are extending the traditional boundaries of organizations incorporating external recourses in the form of data and services. The need to support increasing client demands has led to dynamic and more complex business processes. Complex workflows in networked organizations are much more difficult to manage since traditional approaches are not suited for distributed environments. Service-Oriented approaches in the form of Web or Grid services bear the potential of increased performance and flexibility. In this work, we discuss the use of a relatively new computing paradigm that leverages distributed service-oriented business models: the Grid. We discuss how the Grid can facilitate efficient intra-business processes in highly dynamic virtual enterprises and present a high level architecture for managing complexity of business functions using Grid services.
A Value-Satisfaction Taxonomy of IS Effectiveness (VSTISE)
Authors: Levy Yair , Murphy Kenneth E. , Zanakis Stelios H.
Published: February 2011

Information Systems (IS) effectiveness has been studied over the past three decades, with user satisfaction utilized as a key measure. However, very little attention has been given to the role of user-perceived cognitive value of IS in measuring the effectiveness of such systems. Therefore, this article defines and articulates user-perceived value of IS as an important construct for IS research, not from the financial or ‘net benefit’ perspective to the organization, rather from the cognitive perspective. Following literature review, a new taxonomy of IS effectiveness, Value-Satisfaction Taxonomy of IS Effectiveness (VSTISE), is presented. The VSTISE posits four quadrants to indicate level of user-perceived IS effectiveness: improvement, effective, misleading, and ineffective. A case study using the proposed VSTISE is discussed. Results based on the 192 responses identify several problematic system characteristics that warrant additional investigation for their limited IS effectiveness. Finally, recommendations for research and practice are provided.
Information Technology Service Management and Opportunities for Information Systems Curricula
Authors: Conger Sue
Published: February 2011

Historically, information systems (IS) programs have taught two of the three areas of information technology (IT) management: strategy and management, and applications development. Academic programs have ignored the third area, IT operations. IT operations management is becoming increasingly important as it is recognized as consuming as much as 90% of the IT budget and as acquisition of software becomes more prevalent than development of custom applications. Along with the shift of management focus to IT operations, standards such as the IT infrastructure library (ITIL) have been adopted by businesses to guide the development of processes for IT operations that facilitate evolution to IT service management. This shift to servitizing IT management, creates an opportunity for IS programs to align with business practices by innovating in the teaching of IT service management. Several methods of incorporating ITSM material into educational programs are explored.
IT Service Departments Struggle to Adopt a Service-Oriented Philosophy
Authors: Cater-Steel Aileen
Published: February 2011

Many IT service departments are adopting IT service management best practice frameworks such as the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) to improve the quality of service to customers. This study reports on recent surveys and case studies of organizations which have embarked on IT service management improvement. It highlights specific difficulties experienced by organizations. Six factors were found to be critical in achieving an effective service-oriented philosophy. The factors are support from senior management; the threat or opportunity to outsource IT services; integration of processes to provide end-to-end service; involvement of business stakeholders; culture change of IT staff to service excellence; and the redesign of processes prior to investing in tools. Emergent IT service frameworks such as ISO/IEC 20000, and the CMMI® for Service Delivery are discussed.
Service Science, Management, Engineering, and Design (SSMED)
Authors: Spohrer Jim , Kwan Stephen K.
Published: February 2011

The growth of the global service economy has led to a dramatic increase in our daily interactions with highly specialized service systems. Service (or value-cocreation) interactions are both frequent and diverse, and may include retail, financial, healthcare, education, on-line, communications, technical support, entertainment, transportation, legal, professional, government, or many other types of specialized interactions. And yet surprisingly few students graduating from universities have studied anything about service or service systems. Service Science, Management, Engineering, and Design (SSMED), or service science for short, is an emerging discipline aimed at understanding service and innovating service systems. This article sketches an outline and provides an extensive, yet preliminary, set of references to provoke discussions about the interdisciplinary nature of SSMED. One difficult challenge remaining is to integrate multiple disciplines to create a new and unique service science.
Using Usage Control to Access XML Databases
Authors: Sun Lili , Li Yan
Published: February 2011

XML documents usually contain private information that cannot be shared by every user communities. It is widely used in web environment. XML database is becoming increasingly important since it consists of XML documents. Several applications for supporting selective access to data are available over the web. Usage control has been considered as the next generation access control model with distinguishing properties of decision continuity. It has been proven efficient to improve security administration with flexible authorization management. Object-oriented database systems represent complex data structure and XML databases may be stored in the objects-oriented database system. Therefore authorization models for XML databases could be used the same the models as object-oriented databases. In this paper, we propose usage control models to access XML databases and compare with an authorization model designed for object-oriented databases. We have analyzed the characteristics of various access authorizations and presented detailed models for different kinds of authorizations. Finally, comparisons with related works are analyzed.
Operational Performance Analysis of a Public Hospital Laboratory
Authors: Ahsan Kamrul , Azeem Abdullahil
Published: February 2011

Efficient utilization of scarce resources is an issue for any healthcare system. In developing countries, proper tools, techniques, and resources must be widely used in healthcare operational planning. Considering the necessity of effective resource planning, this study focuses on the rural healthcare system of Bangladesh and concentrates on the sub-district government hospital laboratory. The authors’ determine possible ways to improve operations of laboratory facilities. To analyze existing system efficiency, sample laboratory data is fed into a simulation model. This paper identifies several possible ways for future expansion and suggests using simulation for better planning and analysis.
Performance and Complexity Evaluation of OTR-UWB Receiver
Authors: Gharaee Hossein , Nabavi Abdolreza , Etminan Jalil ("Joe")
Published: February 2011

This article presents a new transmitted reference UWB receiver, which utilizes the orthogonal property of even and odd order derivatives of Gaussian pulses in neighboring chips for synchronization. This system, referred to as orthogonal TR-UWB (OTR-UWB), employs only a single spreading code, which results in much lower mean detection time compared to DS-UWB systems. The hardware complexity for OTR-UWB receiver is significantly reduced against conventional TR-UWB systems. In addition, simulation results show that BER performance is improved, while the new system is capable of supporting higher data rates. Also, this article presents the FPGA implementation of OTR-UWB, with a bit-rate of 25Mb/s without using equalizer. In addition, we present the DSP algorithm of baseband. Hardware of this system is implemented on two different FPGAs from ALTERA and XILINX, CycloneII (EP2C35F672C6) and Spartan 3 (3s4000fg676-5). Gate estimation and power analysis are performed by Quartus II 7.2 (ALTERA) and ISE 8.1 (XILINX) softwares.
Fractional Reuse Partitioning Schemes for Overlay Cellular Architectures
Authors: Aki Hazar Cenk , Erturk M. , Arslan Huseyin
Published: February 2011

In this paper, the authors propose three partitioning schemes for adaptive clustering with fractional frequency reuse namely maximal fractional frequency reuse partitioning (MFRP), optimal fractional reuse partitioning (OFRP), and GoS-oriented frequency reuse partitioning. The authors propose that an overlaid cellular clustering scheme, which uses adaptive fractional frequency reuse factors, would provide a better capacity by exploiting the high level of signal to interference ratio (SIR). The proposed methods are studied via simulations and the results show that the adaptive clustering with different partitioning methods provide better capacity and grade of service (GoS) comparing to the conventional cellular architectures.
Second Life
Authors: Grimes Galen , Bartolacci Michael
Published: February 2011

Virtual worlds have become increasingly popular with the growth of high speed Internet access worldwide and online gaming. The popularity of massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPG), such as World of Warcraft, and virtual worlds, such as Second Life, has created an opportunity for educators to build a learning platform that students can readily relate to. This paper explores some of the possibilities of utilizing one particular virtual world (Second Life) as a platform for network and information security training with a focus on the profiling of online behavior. In particular it describes the initial attempts of its use at one of the Pennsylvania State University’s campuses.
Establishing Preconditions for Spanning the Boundaries in Public Private IT Megaprojects
Authors: Beck Roman , Marschollek Oliver , Gregory Robert Wayne
Published: February 2011

Inter-organizational cooperations between public and private partners, called public private partnerships (PPP), are increasingly gaining more importance concerning renewal, standardization, and optimization of the information technology (IT) infrastructure of public sector organizations. Reasons for this trend include the search for partners with necessary technological and innovative knowledge of sourcing IT and the identification of cost-saving potentials. Unfortunately, IT-PPP-cooperations are particularly susceptible to failure due to the clash of different cultures. Divergent understandings, expectations, and pressure from the relevant stakeholders hinder a working partnership. Therefore, in this exploratory, qualitative single-case study from the German TollCollect IT megaproject, the authors draw on findings from boundary spanning literature to explain how establishing preconditions for boundary spanning and actively bridging the gap between the partners, moderated by external stakeholder support, affects the formation of mutual trust and success of an IT-PPP-megaproject.
Using Realist Social Theory to Explain Project Outcomes
Authors: Cuellar Michael J.
Published: February 2011

In researching IS phenomena, many different theoretical lenses have been advanced. This paper proposes the use of Margaret Archer’s Morphogenetic Approach to Analytical Dualism (MAAD) as a social theoretic approach to explain why social phenomena may occur in a case study. This paper provides a brief overview to MAAD, providing a description of its tenets and methodology for use in an empirical study. As an example, the author applies MAAD to the implementation of Lotus Notes in the Alpha consulting organization as reported by Orlikowski (2000). This approach shows that the differential success of the implementation efforts in the different organizations was due to the diverse cultures and possible experiences with technology found in those organizations. This example shows that the use of this social theory can provide explanatory purchase where social phenomena are involved. For practitioners, it suggests that structural analysis at the beginning of a project may provide direction as to how to make the project more successful.
Software Engineering Productivity
Authors: Hernández-López Adrián , Colomo-Palacios Ricardo , García-Crespo Ángel , Cabezas-Isla Fernando
Published: February 2011

Software engineering productivity has been widely studied, but there are many issues that remain unsolved. Interesting works related to new metrics and more replications of past productivity analysis have emerged, however, in order to fulfill these unsolved issues, a consensus about influencing factors and well recognized and useful sets of inputs and outputs for using in measurements must be reached. In this regard, a clear state of the art may shed light on further research in software engineering productivity, which remains a promising research area. In this paper, general concepts of software engineering productivity along with general issues and recent challenges that need further attention from the research community are presented.
Outsourcing Non-Core Business Processes
Authors: Romaniello Adriana , Medlin B. Dawn
Published: February 2011

This study examines corporate performance effects when banks outsource noncore business processes. Additionally, the article proposes that knowledge management process plays a significant role in determining the outcomes of outsourcing. Drawing from resource theory and knowledge management literature, the authors develop the concept of managerial outsourcing competence and then propose a conceptual model. Also presented is an exploratory study of members of the North Carolina Bankers Association to assist in identifying the business processes they are currently outsourcing and their principal reasons for outsourcing.
Voice-Based Approach for Surmounting Spatial and Temporal Separations
Authors: O’Toole Kate , Subramanian Srividhya , Denny Nathan
Published: February 2011

This article describes a new voice-based tool for global collaboration. This tool, called EchoEdit, attempts to provide multimedia capabilities to program source code editing for the purpose of eliciting in situ vocal commentary from active developers.
Social Interaction with a Conversational Agent
Authors: Chang Yun-Ke. , Morales-Arroyo Miguel A. , Chavez Mark , Jimenez-Guzman Jaime
Published: February 2011

Conversational agents that display many human qualities have become a valuable method business uses to communicate with online users to supply services or products, to help in online order process or to search the Web. The gaming industry and education may benefit from this type of interface. In this type of chats, users could have different alternatives: text display, photo of a real person, or a cartoon drawing and others. This is an exploratory study that reviews five randomly chosen conversations that an animated chatbot has with Web users. The character simulates human gestures, but they are stylized to reproduce animation standards. The goal of this exploratory study is to provide feedback that will help designers to improve the functionality of the conversational agent, identify user’s needs, define future research, and learn from previous errors. The methodology used was qualitative content analysis
On Bias-Variance Analysis for Probabilistic Logic Models
Authors: Lodhi Huma
Published: February 2011

The article introduces bias-variance decomposition in probabilistic logic learning. We use Stochastic Logic Programs for probabilistic logic representation. In order to learn probabilistic logic models we use Failure Adjusted Maximization (FAM) that is an instance of the Expectation Maximization (EM) algorithm for first order logic. Experiments are carried out by concentrating on one kind of application: quantitative modelling of metabolic pathways that is a complex and challenging task in computational systems biology. We apply bias-variance definitions to analyze quantitative modelling of amino acid pathways of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast). The results show the phenomenon of bias-variance trade-off in probabilistic logic learning.
Artificial Intelligence Heuristic for Combinatorial Routing Problem
Authors: Dhanalakshmi R. , Arunkumar T. , Parthiban P. , Ganesh K.
Published: February 2011

The banking industry has initiated an assortment of new customer services and products using Information Technology (IT) systems. The banking industry has gone through many modifications as a consequence of the introduction of IT. In fact, the configuration of the industry is incessantly altering because of speedy expansion of IT. The sustained accomplishment of IT applications means that the boundaries of existing IT computer systems in banks have to be re-developed to meet future necessities. Some banks were at the cutting edge of IT and have a clear vision of how IT could be furthered applied successfully in increasing the operational efficiency of banks. This paper is concerned with the combinatorial routing problem arisen for banking industry. An artificial intelligence (AI) heuristic is developed to solve the combinatorial routing problem and it is compared with the complete enumerated data set. AI heuristic yielded better solution in reasonable computing time.
An Evaluation of Multiple Approaches for Federating Biological Data
Authors: Wang Zhiming , Gao Xin , He Congzhou , Miller John A. , Kissinger Jessica C. , Heiges Mark , Aurrecoechea Cristina , Kraemer Eileen T. , Pennington C.
Published: February 2011

Between technological breakthroughs and new computational approaches, the quantity of biological data is increasing explosively. As of 2007, there were 1078 biological databases. Providing biologists with central and uniform access to all types of data stored in biological databases is becoming critical. To minimize disruption of current operations, maintain local autonomy and handle heterogeneities, federated databases and Web services have been proposed as viable solutions. This paper explores these issues and reports on our experience with testing multiple approaches for biological database integration. It discusses the trade-offs among performance, support for heterogeneity, robustness and scalability. A significant result of our study is that the most flexible approach, Web Services, performs very competitively.
A New Theory of Cognition and Software Implementations in Information Technology
Authors: Adi Tom , Ewell O. K. , Adi Patricia , Vogel Tim
Published: February 2011

The Scientific Method means that theories are developed to explain observed phenomena— similar to the task of text analysis—or to search for unobserved phenomena—similar to text retrieval. Theory development means testing a large number of proposed theories (hypotheses) until one is corroborated. To make theory development efficient, a method is needed to construct promising theories—ones more likely to succeed. Such a method is part of a new theory of cognition that is introduced. The theory is implemented in the software Readware. Readware uses theory development methods for text analysis and retrieval. Readware’s development, features and large-scale performance are reviewed. This includes a fast ontology-building system, the cross-lingual word-root theory base, a language to code theories, algorithms and ontology implementations, and software applications and servers that perform text analysis and retrieval using Readware API functions.
A Methodology to Extract a New Set of Core Indicators of the Information Society
Authors: Hanafizadeh P. , Khodabakhshi M. , Hanafizadeh M. R.
Published: February 2011

Most contributions that have analyzed the information society complain about the lack of a more standardized and elaborated operationalization. In this article, a methodology is presented to extract the indicators that attempt to appropriately measure the information society and serve as the basis and standard for internationally comparable information society statistics. These indicators, which are called core indicators of the information society, are extracted by studying and analyzing 39 reputable information society and digital divide models and using content analysis, entropy method, Scree test, and Pareto analysis. The proposed methodology is developed as a reaction against the limitation of the non-existence of numerical values for some indicators in the majority of countries. Finally, comparing the global core indicators of the information society and the proposed ones, it reveals that the global core indicators of the information society have ignored two important dimensions: e-learning and networked world enablers.
The Four Paradigms of Archival History
Authors: Székely Iván
Published: February 2011

With an information-centered approach, four successive paradigms can be distinguished in the multi-millennial history of archives. Alongside enduring elements of continuity, new key features, functions and impacts appear, which fundamentally change the role and ideology of archives. In the archival systems designated as entitlement-attestation, national, public, and global, their primary and new objectives, key institutions, specialists and target audience as well as applied information technologies and characteristic problems show significant differences. This study includes the most important characteristics of these respective archival paradigms in one coherent system, with brief reference to the evolution of two major memory-preserving institutions: the library and the museum.
The Role of Systems Engineering in the Development of Information Systems
Authors: Kljajic Miroljub , Farr John V.
Published: February 2011

In this article, the inter-relationship between information systems (IS), systems engineering (SE), and information system development (ISD) is discussed from past, present, and future perspectives. While SE is relatively a well-established discipline based upon an interdisciplinary approach to enable the realization of successful systems, ISD has evolved to a variant of SE applied mainly for the development of IS. Given the growth in complexity and cost and schedule over-runs associated with software centric systems, well-established methodologies are needed for the development of good IS. Similarities and differences of methodology as well as their evolution and perspectives are also presented herein. We found a positive trend in the evolution of research methodology in SE and its use in IS towards a system’s approach as a holistic methodology.
Information Systems, Software Engineering, and Systems Thinking
Authors: Petkov Doncho , Edgar-Nevill Denis , Madachy Raymond , O’Connor Rory
Published: February 2011

This article traces past research on the application of the systems approach to information systems development within the disciplines of information systems and software engineering. Their origins historically are related to a number of areas, including general systems theory. While potential improvement of software development practices is linked by some leading experts to the application of more systemic methods, the current state of the practice in software engineering and information systems development shows this is some way from being achieved. The authors propose possible directions for future research and practical work on bringing together both fields with systems thinking.
Capacity for Engineering Systems Thinking (CEST)
Authors: Frank Moti
Published: February 2011

To successfully perform systems engineering and/or designing IT architecture roles, the systems engineers and IT architects need a systems view or a high capacity for engineering system thinking (CEST). This paper discusses the essence of this capacity, presents principles for developing a tool for assessing the CEST and presents a tool developed for use in selecting engineers for jobs that require CEST. A tool for CEST assessment may be useful for several purposes, one of which is the effective selection of candidates for engineering positions that require high CEST. The tool was tested and implemented in a pilot study aimed at examining its reliability and validity. Two types of reliability and four types of validity were checked. Then, a second study aimed at strengthening the results of the pilot study was conducted. The findings of the two studies indicate that the tool may prove to be a validated instrument.
An Open and Service-Oriented Architecture to Support the Automation of Learning Scenarios
Authors: Rius Ângels , Santanach Francesc , Conesa Jordi , Almirall Magí , García-Barriocanal Elena
Published: February 2011

The specifications of automated learning scenarios can lead to advantages for virtual learning environments and important benefits for organizations, although research in this e-learning area has not addressed this issue. To achieve this goal, one requirement is to have an infrastructure able to support the execution of specifications of learning scenarios. This paper presents an open service-oriented architecture based on the Open Services Interface Definition (OSID) specifications proposed by the Open Knowledge Initiative (OKI) and other normative specifications. The architecture is used as a technological infrastructure in a virtual learning environment with more than 40,000 students enrolled and has been tested as the infrastructure of a tool to automate specifications of learning scenarios. A case study has been used to test the suitability of the architecture and describe such a tool for the future.
Analysis of Click Stream Patterns using Soft Biclustering Approaches
Authors: Banu P. K. Nizar , Inbarani H.
Published: February 2011

As websites increase in complexity, locating needed information becomes a difficult task. Such difficulty is often related to the websites’ design but also ineffective and inefficient navigation processes. Research in web mining addresses this problem by applying techniques from data mining and machine learning to web data and documents. In this study, the authors examine web usage mining, applying data mining techniques to web server logs. Web usage mining has gained much attention as a potential approach to fulfill the requirement of web personalization. In this paper, the authors propose K-means biclustering, rough biclustering and fuzzy biclustering approaches to disclose the duality between users and pages by grouping them in both dimensions simultaneously. The simultaneous clustering of users and pages discovers biclusters that correspond to groups of users that exhibit highly correlated ratings on groups of pages. The results indicate that the fuzzy C-means biclustering algorithm best and is able to detect partial matching of preferences.
Business Innovation and Service Oriented Architecture
Authors: Bygstad Bendik , Grønli Tor-Morten , Bergh Helge , Ghinea Gheorghita
Published: February 2011

Recent research suggests that a strong link exists between business innovation and service oriented IT architectures: modern IT architecture enables business to quickly create new services. However, the relationship between IT capabilities and business performance is not always straightforward. How does SOA support fast innovation in practice, and under which conditions is it effective? In this paper, the authors investigate these issues and ask: How can a SOA architecture like the Enterprise Service Bus support business innovation? This paper investigates this question through a case study at an airline company. Analyzing the relationship between innovation and IT architecture in the company over time, the authors offer the following conclusion: ESB gives strong support to business innovation, under two conditions. First, the implementation of ESB has to be comprehensive, that is, it should include the core processes of the business. Second, the top management (and partners) need to understand the principles of ESB.
Should Buyers Try to Shape IT Markets Through Non-Market (Collective) Action? Antecedents of a Transaction Cost Theory of Network Effects
Authors: Reimers Kai , Li Mingzhi
Published: February 2011

This paper develops a transaction cost theoretic model of network effects and applies it to assessing the chances of users to influence the range of technological choices available on IT markets through collective action. The theoretical basis of the model is formulated by a number of empirically refutable propositions which overcome a number of conceptual and empirical difficulties encountered by the traditional interpretation of network effects as (positive) network externalities. The main difference between our model and modeling network effects as network externalities is that network effects are seen as caused by the costs of purchasing/marketing new technology, that is, transaction costs, rather than by the benefits of using new technology. A preliminary application of the model suggests that users can significantly improve the chances of replacing an established technology by a new, potentially superior one if they set up an organizational structure that serves as a conduit of information exchange and knowledge sharing. This, however, would call for a rather different type of collective user action than exists today in the form of user groups.
Roadmap for E-Commerce Standardization in Korea
Authors: Shim Junho
Published: February 2011

ECIF (Integrated Forum on Electronic Commerce) is a Korean organization streamlining domestic private sector e-commerce standardization facilitation and promoting domestic/international discourse for the enhancement of Korea’s e-commerce competitiveness. Herein is presented a summary of the Roadmap for E-Commerce Standardization, a major Forum project since early 2000. First, we overview the background and the motivation of the roadmap project. The roadmap contains an e-commerce and e-commerce standardization overview, e-commerce technology classifications, an e-commerce core technology standardization status analysis, and a core technology classification standardization timetable. The roadmap project implementation scheme is introduced. Most of the material within the paper is based on the Roadmap version 2.0 and version 3.0, the second- and third-year artifacts. Also incorporated are some features of the ongoing fourth-year development.
Modularity of the Software Industry
Authors: Hahn Heiko , Turowski Klaus
Published: February 2011

The purpose of this paper is to develop a research model for the driver and inhibitors to a modular software industry. A modular software industry is characterized by specialized software component producers instead of highly integrated firms that offer monolithic software systems. The research model we present is a synthesis of different and sometimes competing research traditions (e.g., system theory, transaction cost theory, and the resource-based view). Besides the theoretical foundation, the research model also incorporates insights from the analysis of 11 in-depth interviews that were conducted with experts from the automotive, IT, finance, and insurance industries.