bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Impacts of Intranet on PDO
Authors: Al-Gharbi Khamis , Khalfan Abdulwahed Mohammed
Published: May 2011

In developing countries such as Oman, the introduction of information technologies is very recent and their use and effect have not been systematically assessed or evaluated. Despite the importance of this subject to researchers and practitioners, the issue of evaluating and assessing the benefits of intranet is still an area that requires further and vigorous research (Blanning & King, 1998). The main aim of this chapter is to evaluate and assess the impact of intranet on one large Omani organisation. The findings are based on an in-depth case study looking at the evolution and the progress of the use of an intranet. The case study basically examines the impact that the use of an intranet has had to date and is likely to have in the next few years on one of the earliest organisations to adopt it in Oman. The impact model presented is a theoretical contribution that can guide other Omani organisations in benefiting from an intranet. Furthermore, the impact model prescribes the factors that need to be considered when implementing an intranet system.
Impediments for Knowledge Sharing in Professional Service Firms
Authors: Disterer Georg
Published: May 2011

Professional service firms (PSFs), where professionals (consultants, lawyers, accountants, tax advisors, etc.) work, are interested in knowledge management, because their businesses are heavily dependent on the knowledge of their employees. A core asset is their ability to solve complex problems through creative and innovative solutions, and the basis for this is their employees’ knowledge. The “product” that PSFs offer their clients is knowledge (Kay, 2002; Ofek & Sarvary, 2001; Chait, 1999).
Inexperienced and Global Software Teams
Authors: Lui Kim Man , Chan Keith C.C.
Published: May 2011

We dream of a way in which software can be quickly or even automatically produced. In the past, we achieved some success in some areas; however, we continue to face an excess of software demand over supply in general. The reason is obvious: Software is needed by not only home and commercial computers, but by almost every kind of electronic device, such as mobile phones, digital diaries, digital cameras, TVs, cars, and so on (Rischpater, 2001; Sapaty, 1999).
Information Systems and Systems Theory
Authors: Gelman Ovsei , Mora Manuel , Forgionne Guisseppi , Cervantes Francisco
Published: May 2011

The information systems (IS) field has been recognized as a scientific discipline since the 80’s, as indicated by: (i) the existence of an intellectual community related with doctoral programs and research centers around the world that generates scientific knowledge and solves practical problems using standard scientific procedures accepted and regulated by this community, and (ii) the diffusion of scientific knowledge related with IS through research outlets and research conferences under a rigorous peer-based review process.
Information Technology Usage in Nigeria
Authors: Ajiferuke Isola , Olatokun Wole
Published: May 2011

The term information technology (IT) came into common use in the late 1980s, supplanting earlier terms such as electronic data processing systems (EDP), management information systems (MIS), and office systems (IS). Oliver, E. C., Chapman, R. J. and French, C. S. (1990) defined IT as the technology which supports activities involving the creation, storage, manipulation and communication of information (principally computing, electronics and electronic communications) together with their related methods, management and applications. Such an all-embracing term is clearly open to a number of interpretations depending on in which context it is used. In some contexts, the term “information technology” means computers, ancillary equipment, software and firmware (hardware) and similar procedures, services (including support services) and related resources. Also, it includes any equipment or interconnected system or subsystem of equipment that is used in the automatic acquisition, storage, manipulation, management, movement, control, display, switching, interchange, transmission or reception of data or information.
Integrating Requirements Engineering Techniques and Formal Methods
Authors: Mauco María Virginia , Riesco Daniel
Published: May 2011

Formal methods help to develop more reliable and secure software systems, and they are increasingly being accepted by industry. The RAISE1 Method (George et al., 1995), for example, is intended for use on real developments, not just toy examples. This method includes a large number of techniques and strategies for formal development and proofs, as well as a formal specification language, the RAISE Specification Language (RSL) (George et al., 1992), and a set of tools (George et al., 2001).
Integrating Security in the Development Process with UML
Authors: den Braber Folker , Lund Mass Soldal , Stolen Kentil , Vraalsen Fredrik
Published: May 2011

Today, most business processes and communications as well as a lot of everyday life situations involve IT technology. Apart from requirements on functionality, this development of IT systems has increased the need for security. Security issues are reaching the main headlines in the media on a regular basis. Virus, worms, misconfiguration and program bugs are common problems in a world where new releases and updates are almost as frequently announced as spam e-mail pop-ups in our inboxes.
Integrative Document and Content Management Solutions
Authors: Asprey Len , Middleton Michael
Published: May 2011

Developments in office automation, which provided multiple end-user authoring applications at the computer desktop, heralded a rapid growth in the production of digital documents and introduced the requirement to manage capture and organization of digital documents, including images. The process of capturing digital documents in managed repositories included metadata to support access and retrieval subsequent to document production (D’Alleyrand, 1989; Ricks, Swafford & Gow, 1992).
Intelligent Software Agents in E-Commerce
Authors: Raisinghani Mahesh S. , Klassen Cristpoher , Schkade Lawrence L.
Published: May 2011

Agent technology is one of the most widely discussed topics in information systems and computer science literature. New software products are being introduced each day. A growing number of computer information professionals recognize that there are definite issues surrounding intelligent agent terminology. These must be resolved if agent technology is to continue to develop and establish.
Interactivity and Amusement in Electronic Commerce
Authors: Gao Yuan
Published: May 2011

The use of structural features such as text size, font, graphics, color, animation, video and audio has been widely explored in the traditional media. Similar uses of such features have also been found in the online environment (Rodgers & Thorson, 2000). Factors related to consumer’s behavior, attitude, and perceptions regarding Web sites have been examined in academic literature (Chen & Wells, 1999; Coyle & Thorson, 2001; Ducoffe, 1996; Eighmey, 1997; Koufaris, 2002; Koufaris, Kambil, & Labarbera, 2001; Vijayasarathy, 2003). They include the investigation of effects of interactive features on Web site appeal (Ghose & Dou, 1998), and e-store characteristics on site traffic and sales (Lohse & Spiller, 1998). Some experimental studies examined the effects of animation and image maps on perceived telepresence and consumer attitude (e.g., Coyle & Thorson, 2001), and the use of pop-up windows on consumer decision-making processes (Xia & Sudharshan, 2000).
Intranet Use and the Emergence of Networks of Practice
Authors: Vaast Emmanuelle
Published: May 2011

Communities of practice (CoPs) are key to today’s knowledge management (Schultze & Leidner, 2002; Von Krogh, 2002). Moreover, the capability of exchanging professional knowledge beyond distance has become a strategic asset for innovative firms. How can members of local CoPs exchange knowledge with remote colleagues and create networks of practice (NoPs)? This article contends that the use of information technology (IT), and more specifically, of intranet systems, is especially suited to link local CoPs to an overall network of practice.
Issues and Challenges for IT in Small Business
Authors: Burgess Stephen
Published: May 2011

This article examines the main issues and challenges facing small business owners and managers in the manner in which they use information technology and Internet technologies within their businesses. The first part of the article concentrates upon the issues. The “Challenges” section examines some of the areas that small business researchers are targeting in their recommendations for how the use of IT in small businesses can be improved. These are areas that small businesses often neglect or, even worse, know nothing about.
Issues of E-Learning in Third World Countries
Authors: Fernando Shantha
Published: May 2011

Around the world, e-learning is becoming popular, especially among higher education institutes (universities). Many highly ranked universities have either already deployed an e-learning system and are fully operational, or they are in a process of deployment where e-learning-based and non e-learning-based educational environments co-exist. It is also possible to find a few virtual universities. The amount of money and effort that has to be spent on e-learning is high. In addition to the initial e-learning system installation costs, there are ongoing maintenance, management and content development costs. Due to the rapid growth in the field of e-learning and the role it plays in today’s education systems, those working in the field have begun to introduce standards for different aspects of e-learning. The Open Knowledge Initiative (OKI) which is described as “a collaboration among leading universities and specification and standards organizations to support innovative learning technology in higher education” is an example (OKI, 2003).
IT Implementation in Small Business
Authors: Winston Elaine R. , Dologite Dorothy G.
Published: May 2011

The small business owner’s dominating role in any information technology (IT) implementation is well documented (Cragg & King, 1993; Doukidis, Smithson, & Lybereas, 1994; Thong & Yap, 1995). A survey of the IT implementation process in small businesses indicates that both the owner’s attitude towards IT and management style influence the implementation process and have a direct impact on outcomes (Winston & Dologite, 1999). These characteristics, attitude and style play a key role in directing the small business owner’s decisions regarding the technology to implement, the personnel that will manage the implementation, and the supporting managerial polices (Winston & Dologite, 2003).
Journalism Online in Peru
Authors: Diaz-Andrade Antonio
Published: May 2011

Online journalism dates back to the end of the 1970s, when Knight-Ridder launched an initiative to develop a videotext service in the United States, which it later dropped, in 1986, after realizing enormous losses. In 1988, Knight-Ridder bought Dialog Information Services, Inc.; only a year later, the first signs of success appeared. By the end of the 1980s, Gannet launched a daily news piece in text format. In 1992, The Chicago Tribune became the world’s first daily to launch an electronic version of its newspaper. In 1993, Knight-Ridder started publishing what would eventually become one of the paradigms of electronic journalism, the San Jose Mercury Center. By 1994, the major newspapers in the United States offered readers an online version (Díaz & Meso, 1998). Now, Internet users can read newspapers, listen to the radio, and watch TV from anywhere, anytime (McClung, 2001).
Knowledge, IT, and the Firm
Authors: Gelepithis Petros A.M.
Published: May 2011

Knowledge management is a set of systematic actions that organizations can take to obtain the greatest value from the knowledge available to it (Davenport & Prusak, 1998). Systematic means that knowledge management is made up of intentional actions in an organizational context. Value means that knowledge management is measured according to how knowledge management projects contribute to increased organizational ability (see for example Prieto & Gutiérrez, 2001; see Goldkuhl & Braf, 2002, on the subject of organizational ability). The motivation for knowledge management is that the key to competitive advantage for organizations in today’s business world is organizations’ ability to manage knowledge (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995; Davenport & Prusak, 1998). Knowledge management as an intentional and value-adding action is not easy to accomplish in practice (Scarbrough & Swan, 1999). Scarbrough and Swan (1999) present several case studies in knowledge management, successful and unsuccessful in their respective knowledge management projects. A major point and lessons learned from the case studies is that prevalent approaches in knowledge management overstate technology and understate how technology is implemented and applied.
Learning Portals as New Academic Spaces
Authors: Campbell Katy
Published: May 2011

Many functional definitions emphasize a portal as an integrated system providing a gateway to organized data (c.f., Batson, 2000; Copeland, 2001; Eisler, 2001; Looney & Lyman, 2000). However, a learning portal may go beyond the information management function to provide important mechanisms for reaching out to new populations of learners and engaging them in new ways to facilitate learning and development. Beyond serving as a gateway and an organizer, a portal can provide access to a broader range of contemporary information and learning resources (experts, teachers, researchers, mentors), encourage enriched interaction with those resources and with other learners anywhere in the world, and support new models of teaching, learning and research. Ultimately, a collaborative, community-based process of designing and implementing a portal may support institutions in reorienting towards a user-centered learning community.
Liability for System and Data Quality
Authors: Sprague Robert D.
Published: May 2011

Accompanying the proliferation of computers in almost every facet of life is an underlying risk to financial well-being related to computer system and data quality. The viability of a business often depends upon the continual and reliable operation of its computer system. The consequences of low-quality computer hardware and software are not infrequent or insubstantial. A recent report from the U.S. Department of Commerce states that total U.S. software sales in 2000 were approximately $180 billion (RTI, 2002). The report estimated that the lack of an adequate software testing infrastructure costs U.S. software users over $38 billion per year, principally through error avoidance and mitigation activities.
Managing Hierarchies and Taxonomies in Relational Databases
Authors: Millet Ido
Published: May 2011

The need to maintain classification and retrieval mechanisms that rely on concept hierarchies is as old as language itself. Familiar examples include the Dewey decimal classification system used in libraries and the system for classifying life forms developed in the 1700s by Carolus Linnaeus. A more recent example is Yahoo’s subject taxonomy.
Market of Resources for Agile/Virtual Enterprise Integration
Authors: Cunha Maria Manuela , Putnik Goran D.
Published: May 2011

Fast change, uncertainty, and strong competition are challenges of the actual worldwide economic context. Competitiveness is a main requirement of enterprises, whose satisfaction requires the definition of new organisational concepts, with extremely high performances that are strongly time-oriented while highly focused on cost and quality. Several factors appear as supreme factors of competitiveness: (1) the organisations’ capability to achieve and explore competitive advantages in synergy, by using or integrating the optimal available resources for the functions that the organisation undertakes; (2) the capability of fast adaptability to the market; together with (3) the capability of managing all business processes independently of distance, to be achieved through the recent virtual enterprise (VE) organisational models (Cunha & Putnik, 2002; Cunha, Putnik, & Ávila, 2000).
Marketplace Architecture for Enterprise Integration
Authors: Ghenniwa Hamada H. , Huhns Michael N.
Published: May 2011

Businesses today must be fast and flexible, responsive to customers, and cost effective in their operations. They must collaborate more frequently with partners to build virtual organizations and supply-chains that reduce times-to-market and costs. E-business is the use of the Internet along with other electronic means and technologies to conduct within-business, business-to-consumer, business-to-business, and business-to-government interactions. A basic model of an e-business is the e-shop model, which is based on providing a self-service storefront to a customer by displaying the company catalogs and product offers on a Web site. An e-procurement model focuses on the buying aspect of the business. A typical architecture for e-procurement consists of a browser-based self-service front-end to the corporate purchasing system or its ERP. The supplier catalogs are presented to end-users through a single unified catalog, thereby facilitating a corporate-wide standard procurement process. Online auction models have also received much attention for automating dynamic trading. Other models are based on creating value-chain businesses, such as service provisioning of specific functions for the value-chain, and electronic payments or logistics.
Metrics for the Evaluation of Test-Delivery Systems
Authors: Valenti Salvatore
Published: May 2011

Most solutions to the problem of delivering course content supporting both student learning and assessment nowadays imply the use of computers, thanks to the continuous advances of information technology. According to Bull (1999), using computers to perform assessment is more contentious than using them to deliver content and to support student learning. In many papers, the terms computer-assisted assessment (CAA) and computer-based assessment (CBA) are often used interchangeably and somewhat inconsistently. The former refers to the use of computers in assessment. The term encompasses the uses of computers to deliver, mark, and analyze assignments or examinations. It also includes the collation and analysis of data gathered from optical mark readers. The latter (that will be used in this paper) addresses the use of computers for the entire process, including assessment delivery and feedback provision (Charman & Elmes, 1998).
Mobile Agent Authentication and Authorization in E-Commerce
Authors: Guan Sheng-Uei
Published: May 2011

With the increasing worldwide usage of the Internet, electronic commerce (e-commerce) has been catching on fast in a lot of businesses. As e-commerce booms, there comes a demand for a better system to manage and carry out transactions. This has led to the development of agent-based e-commerce. In this new approach, agents are employed on behalf of users to carry out various e-commerce activities.
Modeling for E-Learning Systems
Authors: Rentroia-Bonito Maria Alexandra , Pires Jorge Joaquim Armando
Published: May 2011

Computer-based instruction is touted as an effective tool to support knowledge dissemination within predefined learning environments. Indeed, many see it as a way to overcome geographical or social barriers to knowledge transmission and educational institutions. However, its domain of application has traditionally been restricted to basic skills and educational contexts. Recently, dynamic and complex business environments shaped by technological changes and the downsizing trend of the ’90s placed new constraints on the underlying assumptions (Fuglseth, 2003). Organizations are now pushing for skill flexibility, demanding specialized knowledge and requiring faster learning curves from employees. Many advocate Internet-based education materials as one way to meet those challenges (Bernardes & O’Donoghue, 2003; Karoulis et al., 2004; Storey et al., 2002; Strazzo & Wentling, 2001). However, this raises important questions concerning both effectiveness and efficiency of such tools and materials. Indeed, developing interactive multimedia-based courseware remains pretty much a black art, consuming enormous resources. So far, there is a lack of established models to predict the performance and evaluate how adequately courseware can meet user needs. In fact, developing courseware should take into account the target constituency requirements, organizational context, and the stated educational or training goals. Developing the wrong training materials can lead to costly investments in creating and maintaining content to match the increasing expectations on e-learning. Perhaps this can explain the recent rash of failed e-learning projects—current results do not measure up to business and individual expectations yet.
Monitoring Strategies for Internet Technologies
Authors: Urbaczewski Andrew
Published: May 2011

Most large organizations that provide Internet access to employees also employ some means to monitor and/or control that usage (Reuters, 2002). This article provides a classification and description of various control mechanisms that an organization can use to curb or control personal Internet usage. Some of these solutions are technical, while others rely instead on interpersonal skills to curb cyberslacking.
Multicast Routing Protocols, Algorithms and its QOS Extensions
Authors: Chakraborty D. , Chakraborty G. , Shiratori N.
Published: May 2011

The advancement in optical fiber and switching technologies has resulted in a new generation of high-speed networks that can achieve speeds of up to a few gigabits per second. Also, the progress in audio, video and data storage technologies has given rise to new distributed real-time applications. These applications may involve multimedia, which require low end-to-end delay. The applications’ requirements, such as the end-to-end delay, delay jitter, and loss rate, are expressed as QoS parameters, which must be guaranteed. In addition, many of these new applications involve multiple users, and hence the importance of multicast communication. Multimedia applications are becoming increasingly important, as networks are now capable of carrying continuous media traffic, such as voice and video, to the end user. When there is a lot of information to transmit to a subset of hosts, then multicast is the best possible way to facilitate it. This article addresses different multicast routing algorithms and protocols. We have also discussed about the QoS multicast routing and conclude this article with mobile multicasting.
Multimedia Evaluations Based on Cognitive Science Findings
Authors: Alkhalifa Eshaa M.
Published: May 2011

Multi-media systems waltzed into the lives of students and educators without allowing for the time required for the development of suitable evaluation techniques. Although everyone in the field is aware that judging this type of teaching software can only come through evaluations, the work done in this regard is scarce and ill organized. Unfortunately, in many of the cases the evaluation forms were just filled in by instructors who pretended they were students when they went through the tutorial systems (Reiser et al., 1994).
Natural Computing
Authors: de Castro Leandro Nunes
Published: May 2011

There are several artifacts developed by taking inspiration from natural organisms and phenomena. For instance, Velcro was inspired by a plant burr, bullet- proof vests were inspired by spider silk, sonars were inspired by bats, airplanes were motivated by the flying of birds, and the list goes on. The observation of nature has also allowed the development of several laws and theories that describe how parts of nature work; the laws of physics are a great example – laws of thermodynamics (conservation, entropy, and absolute zero); laws of movement (Newton’s laws); laws of electromagnetism (Maxwell’s laws); and others. They are used to explain the trajectories, attraction and other aspects of objects.
Object Database Benchmarks
Authors: Darmont Jerômé
Published: May 2011

The need for performance measurement tools appeared soon after the emergence of the first Object-Oriented Database Management Systems (OODBMSs), and proved important for both designers and users (Atkinson & Maier, 1990). Performance evaluation is useful to designers to determine elements of architecture and more generally to validate or refute hypotheses regarding the actual behavior of an OODBMS. Thus, performance evaluation is an essential component in the development process of well-designed and efficient systems. Users may also employ performance evaluation, either to compare the efficiency of different technologies before selecting an OODBMS or to tune a system.
Offshore Software Development Outsourcing
Authors: Hawk Stephen , Kaiser Kate
Published: May 2011

Until the global economic downturn of the new millennium, demand for information technology (IT) professionals exceeded supply mostly due to specific skill sets such as integrating legacy applications with Web development, project management, telecommunications, mobile commerce, and enterprise resource planning. More firms are turning externally not only to local vendors but also to services across the globe (Carmel, 1999). Staff supplementation from domestic contractors has evolved to a sophisticated model of partnering with offshore/nearshore software development firms. Many of these relationships evolved from a short-term project need for select skills to a long-term commitment of resources, cultural diversity efforts, and dependencies that integrate vendors as partners.
Online Academic Libraries and Distance Learning
Authors: Burke Merilyn , Levin Bruce Lubotsky , Hanson Ardis
Published: May 2011

Historically, distance learning or distance education began as little more than “correspondence courses,” which promised an education in one’s own home as early as 1728 (Distance Learning, 2002). By the 1800s the concept of distance education could be found in England, Germany and Japan (ASHE Reader on Distance Education, 2002).
Packet Inter-Arrival Distributions in Computer Network Workloads
Authors: Guster Dennis , Robinson David , Safonov Paul
Published: May 2011

The past decade could be classified as the “decade of connectivity”; in fact it is commonplace for computers to be connected to a LAN, which in turn is connected to a WAN, which provides an Internet connection. On an application level this connectivity allows access to data that even 5 years earlier were unavailable to the general population.
Programmed Instruction, Programmed Branching, and Learning Outcomes
Authors: Owen Robert S. , Aworuwa Bosede
Published: May 2011

This chapter discusses the principles of two qualitatively different and somewhat competing instructional designs from the 1950s and ’60s, linear programmed instruction and programmed branching. Our hope is that an understanding of these ideas could have a positive influence on current and future instructional designers who might adapt these techniques to new technologies and want to use these techniques effectively. Although these older ideas do still see occasional study and debate (e.g., Dihoff, Brosvic & Epstein, 2003, 2004), many current instructional designers are probably unaware of the learning principles associated with these (cf., Fernald & Jordan, 1991; Kritch & Bostow, 1998).
Project Management and Graduate Education
Authors: Brandon Daniel
Published: May 2011

Project Management is “the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to the project activities in order to meet or exceed stakeholder needs and expectations from a project” (Duncan, 1996). A project is defined as “a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service” (Duncan, 1996). This article provides an overview of the coverage of the project management discipline in academic graduate education.
Real Options Analysis in Strategic Information Technology Adoption
Authors: Li Xiaotong
Published: May 2011

Many information resource managers have learned to be proactive in today’s highly competitive business environment. However, limited financial resources and many uncertainties require them to maximize their shareholders’ equity while controlling the risks incurred at an acceptable level. As the unprecedented development in information technology continuously produces great opportunities that are usually associated with significant uncertainties, technology adoption and planning become more and more crucial to companies in the information era. In this study, we attempt to evaluate IT investment opportunities from a new perspective, namely, the real options theory. Its advantage over other capital budgeting methods like static discounted cash flow analysis has been widely recognized in analyzing the strategic investment decision under uncertainties (Amram & Kulatilaka, 1999; Luehrman, 1998a, 1998b). Smith and McCardle (1998, 1999) further show that option pricing approach can be integrated into standard decision analysis framework to get the best of the both worlds. In fact, some previous IS researches have recognized the fact that many IT investment projects in the uncertain world possess some option-like characteristics (Clemsons, 1991; Dos Santos, 1991; Kumar, 1996). Recently, Benaroth and Kauffman (1999) and Taudes, Feurstein and Mild (2000) have applied the real options theory to real-world business cases and evaluated this approach’s merits as a tool for IT investment planning.
Recursive Nature of the Market for Enterprise Applications
Authors: Carton Fergal , Adam Frédéric
Published: May 2011

The paper explores the recursive elements of the market for enterprise systems by examining the evolution of the sales discourse from vendors of enterprise applications. Enterprise systems are continually sold and implemented, on the basis that greater integration of the modules supporting business functions is a good thing. In this paper we question this assumption, principally based on the redundancy of much of the information that is produced.
Rotating Banner Advertisements on the World Wide Web
Authors: Dasgupta Subhasish , Chandrashekaran Rajesh
Published: May 2011

Advertising spending on the Internet has soared. Indeed, by some accounts, Internet advertising is projected to reach $23.5 billion by 2005 (eMarketer, 2002). Although there are several ways of advertising on the Internet, for example, buttons, banners, paid links, superstitials, and so forth, banner advertising is the most common form of advertising on the Internet (Meland, 2000). Advertising using banners (usually placed near the top of a page) is currently the most popular form of online advertising. Banners may be static (stationary) or dynamic (rotating). In the case of static banners, all visitors to a particular site are exposed to the same banner. In contrast, dynamic banners describe cases where ad servers to a particular site deliver different banners to different clients/visitors. This approach presents the possibility of time/space sharing among different advertisers.
Small Business Transformation Through Knowledge Management
Authors: Jones Nory B. , Gupta Jatinder N.D.
Published: May 2011

In the last decade, the importance of knowledge as a source of sustainable competitive advantage has gained widespread acceptance. Business practitioners and academics alike recognize that what is “between the ears” (Tiwana, 2000) of their employees represents the source of creativity and innovation that nourishes and sustains the organization. Furthermore, the ability to harness the intellectual capital in an organization probably represents the most important aspect relating to the creation of an intelligent enterprise.
Spatial Modeling of Risk Factors for Gender-Specific Child Mortality
Authors: Ali Mohammad , Ashley Christine , Haq M. Zahirul , Streatfield Peter Kim
Published: May 2011

The global reduction of child mortality has been a priority of international and national organizations for the last few decades. Despite widespread global efforts to improve child survival, the latest UNICEF report on the State of the World’s Children 2000 (UNICEF, 2000) indicates that child mortality rates continue to remain higher in lesser developed countries (LDCs), and in some areas, girls continue to die at a greater rate than boys.
Standards for Web-Based Integration Adapters
Authors: Karakostas Bill
Published: May 2011

EAI (enterprise application integration) refers to the plans, methods, and tools aimed at modernizing, consolidating, and coordinating the computer applications in an enterprise. Typically, an enterprise has existing legacy applications and databases and wants to continue to use them while adding or migrating to a new set of applications that exploit the Web, e-commerce, extranet, business-to-business (B2B) commerce, and other new technologies. Enterprise application integration is difficult mainly because there is no standard infrastructure for communication between heterogeneous systems. The four types of B2B and A2A integration challenges that most organizations encounter today are user-interface integration, application integration, business-to-business integration, and data integration.
Storage and Access Control Policies for XML Documents
Authors: Pallis George , Stoupa Konstantina , Vakali Athena
Published: May 2011

The Internet (and networks overall) are currently the core media for data and knowledge exchange. XML is currently the most popular standardization for Web document representation and is rapidly becoming a standard for data representation and exchange over the Internet. One of the main issues is XML documents and in particular, storage and accessing. Among data management issues, storage and security techniques have a particular importance, since the performance of the overall XML-based Web information system relies on them. Storage issues mainly rely on the usage of typical database management systems (DBMSs), whereas XML documents can also be stored in other storage environments (such as file systems and LDAP directories) (Amer-Yahia & Fernandez, 2002; Kanne & Moerkotte, 2000; Silberschatz, Korth & Sudarshan, 2002). Additionally, in order to guarantee the security of the XML data, which are located in a variety of the above storage topologies, the majority of implementations also provide an appropriate access control. Most storage systems cooperate with access control modules implementing various models (Joshi, Aref, Ghafoor & Spafford, 2001), whereas there are few commercial access control products available. However, there are some standardized XML-based access control languages that can be adopted by most tools.
Strategic Utilization of Data Mining
Authors: Amaravadi Chandra S.
Published: May 2011

In the past decade, a new and exciting technology has unfolded on the shores of the information systems area. Based on a combination of statistical and artificial intelligence techniques, data mining has emerged from relational databases and Online Analytical Processing as a powerful tool for organizational decision support (Shim et al., 2002).
Structure- and Content-Based Retrieval for XML Documents
Authors: Chang Jae-Woo
Published: May 2011

The XML was proposed as a standard markup language to make Web documents in 1996 (Extensible Markup Language, 2000). It has as good an expressive power as SGML and is easy to use like HTML. Recently, it has been common for users to acquire through the Web a variety of multimedia documents written by XML. Meanwhile, because the number of XML documents is dramatically increasing, it is difficult to reach a specific XML document required by users. Moreover, an XML document not only has a logical and hierarchical structure in common, but also contains its multimedia data, such as image and video. Thus, it is necessary to retrieve XML documents based on both document structure and image content. For supporting the structure-based retrieval, it is necessary to design four efficient index structures, that is, keyword, structure, element, and attribute index, by indexing XML documents using a basic element unit. For supporting the content-based retrieval, it is necessary to design a high-dimensional index structure so as to store and retrieve both color and shape feature vectors efficiently.
Successful Health Information System Implementation
Authors: Hayrinen Kristiina , Saranto Kaija
Published: May 2011

A Standish Group (1994) study showed that only 16% of all information technology projects come in on time and within budget. The situation is not better concerning health information systems. Many health information system implementations are less than completely successful (Berg, 2001; Giuse & Kuhn, 2003; Lorenzi & Riley, 2003). In this article, the health information system means “a system, whether automated or manual, that comprises people, machines and /or methods organized to collect, process, transmit, and disseminate” data that represent user information in healthcare (Kuhn & Giuse, 2001, pp. 275). What is successful implementation and whose success is measured? Successes can be measured in many ways. Delone and McLean have been finding out the success factors of management information system which are also applicable to health information system. The success factors are: system qualities, e.g., the ease of use or time savings, information quality, e.g., completeness or data accuracy, usage, e.g., the frequency of use or the number of entries, user satisfaction, e.g., user-friendliness or overall satisfaction, individual impact, e.g., changed work practices or direct benefits and organizational impact, e.g., communication and collaboration or impact on patient care. Furthermore, user involvement during system development, implementation and organizational culture have been identified as possible factors measuring the success. However, the need for further research to determine which attributes are the most useful ones in measuring success has also been revealed. (van der Meijden, Tange, Troost & Hashman, 2003).
Tertiary Education and the Internet
Authors: Darbyshire Paul , Burgess Stephen
Published: May 2011

For many years, information technology (IT) has been used to find ways to add value for customers to entice them to purchase the products and services of a business. Many educators use the Internet to supplement existing modes of delivery. Importantly, the Internet is providing a number of added value supplemental benefits for subjects and courses delivered using this new, hybrid teaching mode. There are two aspects to subject delivery to where added value benefits may be applied, and that is in the administrative tasks associated with a subject and the educational tasks. In both instances, IT solutions can be employed to either fully or partially process some of these tasks. Given the complex and often fluid nature of the education process, it is rare that a fully integrated solution can be found to adequately service both aspects of subject delivery. Most solutions are partial in that key components are targeted by IT solutions to assist the subject coordinator in the process. If we examine closely the underlying benefits gained in the application of IT to these tasks, there is a strong parallel to the benefits to be gained by business organizations with similar applications of IT. While the actual benefits actually sought by academics depend on the motivation for the IT solution, the perceived benefits can be classified using standard categories used to gauge similar commercial applications. This article examines the possibility of translating the benefits of added value to the use of the Internet by tertiary educators for subject and course delivery. A brief discussion will occur on aspects of course and subject delivery in tertiary education and the use of information technology for added value. These concepts are drawn together to indicate how the Internet may be used for added value in tertiary education. Finally, these concepts were tested with a survey of members of the IS World list serve.
The Changing Library Education Curriculum
Authors: Gergory Vicki L.
Published: May 2011

Libraries of the 21st century are very different places from those that existed at the beginning of the 20th century, and very different as well from the libraries of only 25 years ago. Library education has striven to keep pace with all the myriads of changes. Within the last 100 years, fortunately and necessarily in order to retain its relevance, professional library education and practice has evolved from the centrality of teaching and writing the “library hand” to providing modern curricula such as services for distance learners and Web-based instruction using course management systems such as Blackboard, WebCT, and so forth. Along the way, the library profession has often been first not only to accept but also to adopt and apply the technological innovations now common to modern civilization. Throughout, library educators have paved the way to the acceptance of innovation in libraries by instructing students to use and apply new technologies.
Using Geographic Information Systems to Solve Community Problems
Authors: Garb Jane L. , Wait Richard B.
Published: May 2011

This article describes how the technology of geographic information systems (GIS) can be used as a tool to integrate various types of community-level data to address local problems. The purpose of the article is to present an approach that can be replicated by others. This approach is based on community-wide collaborative sharing of resources, data, and research applications with an aim to enhance the health and well-being of the local area population. Although the example used relates to health, the approach can be used to deal with any “event” or series of events in the community.
Video Content-Based Retrieval Techniques
Authors: Farag Waleed E.
Published: May 2011

Recently, multimedia applications are undergoing explosive growth due to the monotonic increase in the available processing power and bandwidth. This incurs the generation of large amounts of media data that need to be effectively and efficiently organized and stored. While these applications generate and use vast amounts of multimedia data, the technologies for organizing and searching them are still in their infancy. These data are usually stored in multimedia archives utilizing search engines to enable users to retrieve the required information.
Virtual Communities of Practice
Authors: Kimble Chris , Hildreth Paul
Published: May 2011

When knowledge management (KM) began to emerge in the 1990s it was seen as an innovative solution to the problems of managing knowledge in a competitive and increasingly internationalised business environment. However, in practice it was often little more than information management re-badged (Wilson, 2002). More recently, there has been recognition of the importance of more subtle, softer types of knowledge that need to be shared. This raises the question as to how this sort of knowledge might be managed. Communities of practice (CoPs) have been identified as means by which this type of knowledge can be nurtured, shared and sustained (Hildreth & Kimble, 2002). Do CoPs offer a means of managing the softer aspects of knowledge and, if they do, are they applicable to today’s increasingly “virtual” world?
Virtual Teams as Sociotechnical Systems
Authors: Cuevas Haydee M. , Fiore Stephen M. , Salas Eduardo , Bowers Clint A.
Published: May 2011

A virtual team can be described as an organizational unit unconstrained by geographical, temporal, organizational, and/or national boundaries (Townsend, DeMarie & Hendrickson, 1998). Despite their rising popularity, numerous issues exist surrounding how virtual teams can productively coordinate their resources, activities, and information, often in dynamic and uncertain task environments (Fiore, Salas, Cuevas & Bowers, 2003; Townsend et al., 1998). With organizational structure increasing in complexity to include both co-located and virtual team members, explicit linkages between theory and practice are critically needed to mitigate the negative effects that technology-mediated interaction may have on virtual team productivity. Our goal here is to demonstrate how classic and current theories and principles from organizational psychology can be effectively integrated within a sociotechnical systems framework to address the unique challenges faced by this subset of teams. Specifically, we analyze the effects that collaborative information technology and lack of co-location may have on virtual team members. We conclude with suggested interventions for organizational practice.
Virtual Work Research Agenda
Authors: Belanger France
Published: May 2011

The paper by Bélanger, Watson-Manheim, and Jordan (2002) addresses the gap between research conducted and practitioner concerns in virtual work. One of the key difficulties in conducting research in this area is the overlap between terms used (McCloskey & Igbaria, 1998; Pinsonneault & Boisvert, 2001). While there are other distributed work arrangements such as hotelling, neighborhood work centers and flextime, most of the previous literature has focused on telecommuting (telework) and virtual teams/organizations. In this article, the term virtual work represents work environments where individuals spend some time working in a non-face-to-face (FTF) mode, using information and communication technologies to perform work activities.
Virtualization and Its Role in Business
Authors: Kisielnicki Jerzy
Published: May 2011

A new management trend of the global information technology (IT) application—virtualization—has appeared in contemporary management. Virtualization is a process of enterprise transformation (using IT) that allows breaking through various limitations of organizational constrains. Virtualization changes dramatically the image of business, especially of small and medium enterprises (SMEs); by adopting the concept of virtualization, they can become fully competitive and may effectively operate in the global market. Barriers of scale between SMEs and large organizations disappear. This new type of organization is often called in the literature a modern organization or virtual organization. Organizations of this type have an effective decision-making process and function based on economic criteria. Consequently, their opportunities to grow and compete in the global market are greater than for traditional SMEs. Hence, the thesis: virtualization allows individual organizations to enter strategic cooperative alliances with other similar businesses. Such virtual organizations have a competitive position in the global market.
Adaptive Web-Based Learning Framework
Authors: Wu Man-Hua , Chen Herng-Yow
Published: May 2011

With the rapid growth of the Internet and the increasing popularity of the World Wide Web, web-based learning systems have become more and more popular. However, in general Web-based learning systems, learners may often get lost in the enormous educational materials (Eirinaki & Vazirgiannis, 2003; Murray, 2002). This kind of situation refers to a disorientation problem. In addition to the disorientation problem, general Web-based learning systems provide every learner with uniform course content and presentation without considering the different knowledge level of learners. Therefore, the course content may be insufficient or unnecessary for learners with different knowledge level. This kind of situation was referred to as cognitive-overhead problem by Murray (2002).