bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Shifting from Classroom to Online Delivery
Authors: McGee Patricia , Diaz Veronica
Published: May 2011

The rapid proliferation of e-learning tools that offer low or no cost investment and are not housed on institutional servers, has made it very attractive for faculty to move learning experiences online. Yet institutions are often unaware of the technology practices of instructors or learners, thereby investing time, effort, and funding into tools and infrastructure than may not be the best support for learning outcomes. This chapter describes shifts in the use of learning technologies, illustrates a high level overview for assessing current use and practice, and provides a framework for selecting delivery solutions and tools that can best support instructional goals.
From Change Mining to Relevance Feedback
Authors: Boettcher Mirko , Ruß Georg , Nauck Detlef , Kruse Rudolf
Published: May 2011

Association rule mining typically produces large numbers of rules, thereby creating a second-order data mining problem: which of the generated rules are the most interesting? And: should interestingness be measured objectively or subjectively? To tackle the amount of rules that are created during the mining step, the authors propose the combination of two novel ideas: first, there is rule change mining, which is a novel extension to standard association rule mining which generates potentially interesting time-dependent features for an association rule. It does not require changes in the existing rule mining algorithms and can therefore be applied during post-mining of association rules. Second, the authors make use of the existing textual description of a rule and those newly derived objective features and combine them with a novel approach towards subjective interestingness by using relevance feedback methods from information retrieval. The combination of these two new approaches yields a powerful, intuitive way of exploring the typically vast set of association rules. It is able to combine objective and subjective measures of interestingness and will incorporate user feedback. Hence, it increases the probability of finding the most interesting rules given a large set of association rules.
Continuous Post-Mining of Association Rules in a Data Stream Management System
Authors: Thakkar Hetal , Mozafari Barzan , Zaniolo Carlo
Published: May 2011

The real-time (or just-on-time) requirement associated with online association rule mining implies the need to expedite the analysis and validation of the many candidate rules, which are typically created from the discovered frequent patterns. Moreover, the mining process, from data cleaning to post-mining, can no longer be structured as a sequence of steps performed by the analyst, but must be streamlined into a workflow supported by an efficient system providing quality of service guarantees that are expected from modern Data Stream Management Systems (DSMSs). This chapter describes the architecture and techniques used to achieve this advanced functionality in the Stream Mill Miner (SMM) prototype, an SQL-based DSMS designed to support continuous mining queries.
A Framework for the Adoption of the Internet in Local Sporting Bodies
Authors: Bingley Scott , Burgess Stephen
Published: May 2011

Sport plays a major part in the Australian psyche with millions of people participating every year. However organised sport at the local or social level in Australia relies on volunteers to support the needs of associations and their participating clubs. There is evidence that Internet applications are being adopted within associations and clubs for administration purposes (such as committee members using email to communicate with each other, or use of the Internet to record match results and calculate player performance statistics online). However, how are these being adopted, what are they being used for and what is the effect of the adoption on the associations and their volunteers? Using the Rogers’ (2005) innovation-decision process as a basis, this chapter describes the development of a framework that traces the adoption of an Internet application from initial knowledge of the application, through the decision to adopt and eventual confirmation of the usefulness of the application by continuance or discontinuance of its use. As local sporting clubs and associations are part of a larger group known as community based organisations and are predominantly run by volunteers, literature related to Internet application use by these groups is used to inform the framework. Lastly, an actual example of the adoption of an online statistics program in a local sporting association is mapped onto the framework, to show it may be applied in a practical situation.
Online Questionnaires and Interviews as a Successful Tool to Explore Foreign Sports Fandom
Authors: Kerr Anthony K.
Published: May 2011

Globalisation and advances in communications technology have greatly expanded the potential marketplace for professional teams, especially for those sports internationally popular. As a result, many team brands profit from millions of satellite fans, or supporters, worldwide. However, the reasons satellite supporters identify with their team remain largely unexplored. Therefore, this chapter describes three studies designed to examine the team identification of these supporters and highlights how mixed methods can be successfully employed online to engage with distant sports fans.
E-Commerce Diffusion
Authors: Shareef Mahmud Akhter , Dwivedi Yogesh K. , Williams Michael D. , Singh Nitish
Published: May 2011

As we have already mentioned in the Preface of this book, mentioning EC in this chapter will signify and mean B2C EC unless it is mentioned otherwise. This chapter has primarily addressed, discussed, and conceptualized paradigms of three issues of diffusion of EC. First, we investigated the impacts of EC diffusion on overall social, political, cultural, technological, organizational, and economic relations. In this connection, we revealed seven types of prime relational changes on the effects of EC diffusion in a country context. Consequently, government-private organizations, consumers, and intermediaries (viz., the comprehensive relation of market characteristics) are reshaped. Then we traced the diffusion of EC and the role of different actors associated with this new economical and technological innovation, viz. EC, and their functional characteristics in the diffusion process. Based on the association of those stakeholders with the market economy, and the role and functions of those stakeholders in the diffusion process of EC, we conceptualized the theoretical framework for diffusion of EC. From this framework, we revealed that the government role, capability, and globalization policy; consumer preferences; private organization’s capabilities; the global E-organizations mission; and the infrastructure and market mechanism factors with a set of associated variables create the ability for EC to be diffused in any country. Therefore, the diffusion of EC is not a unidimensional issue, but has multi-dimensional aspects.
FLOSSmole
Authors: Howison James , Conklin Megan , Crowston Kevin
Published: May 2011

This paper introduces and expands on previous work on a collaborative project, called FLOSSmole (formerly OSSmole), designed to gather, share and store comparable data and analyses of free, libre, and open source software (FLOSS) development for academic research. The project draws on the ongoing collection and analysis efforts of many research groups, reducing duplication, and promoting compatibility both across sources of FLOSS data and across research groups and analyses. The paper outlines current difficulties with the current typical quantitative FLOSS research process and uses these to develop requirements and presents the design of the system.
An Empirical Study on the Migration to OpenOffice.org in a Public Administration
Authors: B. Rossi B. , Scotto M. , Sillitti A. , Succi G.
Published: May 2011

The aim of the paper is to report the results of a migration to Open Source Software (OSS) in one Public Administration. The migration focuses on the office automation field and, in particular, on the OpenOf- fice.org suite. We have analysed the transition to OSS considering qualitative and quantitative data collected with the aid of different tools. All the data have been always considered from the point of view of the different stakeholders involved, IT managers, IT technicians, and users. The results of the project have been largely satisfactory. However the results cannot be generalised due to some constraints, like the environment considered and the parallel use of the old solution. Nevertheless, we think that the data collected can be of valuable aid to managers wishing to evaluate a possible transition to OSS.
Secure Online DNS Dynamic Updates
Authors: Wang Xunhua , Rine David
Published: May 2011

Domain Name System (DNS) is the system for the mapping between easily memorizable host names and their IP addresses. Due to its criticality, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has defined a DNS Security Extension (DNSSEC) to provide data-origin authentication. In this paper, we point out two drawbacks of the DNSSEC standard in its handling of DNS dynamic updates: 1) the on-line storage of a zone security key, creating a single point of attack for both inside and outside attackers, and 2) the violation of the role separation principle, which in the context of DNSSEC requires the separation of the roles of zone security managers from DNS name server administrators. To address these issues, we propose an alternative secure DNS architecture based on threshold cryptography. Unlike DNSSEC, this architecture adheres to the role separation principle without presenting any single point of attack. To show the feasibility of the proposed architecture, we developed a threshold cryptography toolkit based on the Java Cryptography Architecture (JCA) and built a proof-of-concept prototype with the toolkit. Our running results of the prototype on a representative platform show that the performance of our proposed architecture ranges from one to four times of DNSSEC’s performance. Thus, through small performance overhead, our proposed architecture could achieve very high level of security.
FSR Evaluation Using the Suboptimal Operational Values
Authors: Khader Osama H.S.
Published: May 2011

In mobile ad hoc networks, routing protocols are becoming more complicated and problematic. Routing in mobile ad hoc networks is multi-hop because of the limited communication range of wireless radios. Since nodes in the network can move freely and randomly, an efficient routing protocol is needed in order for such networks to be able to perform well in such an environment. In this environment the routing strategy is applied such that it is flexible enough to handle large populations and mobility and be able to minimize the use of the battery. Also it should be designed to achieve maximum packet delivery ratio. Further more, the routing protocol must perform well in terms of fast convergence, low routing delay, and low control overhead traffic. In this paper an improved implementation of the Fisheye State Routing (FSR) protocols is presented, where a new selection routing criteria that utilizes a minimum number of hops is a selection metric. The results obtained from simulation indicate that the fewer number of hops used the better and more efficient the output for packet delivery ratio was generated.
E-Technology
Authors: Koh S.C. Lenny , Maguire Stuart
Published: May 2011

Globalisation, modernisation and streamlining paradigms have driven many enterprises to use various e-Technologies in order to improve the performance of existing operations, and compete globally and strategically to enhance manufacturing enterprise competitiveness, which in today’s digital economy, is often networked and interconnected via the Internet, Intranet, and Extranet. Examples of the e-Technology include e-Commerce, e-Business, e-Procurement and e-Logistics. These technologies are in place to support the notion of establishing a value-added e-Supply chain and e-Demand chain. The support of back-office systems, e.g. Supply Chain Management (SCM), Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRPII), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) are crucial to enable seamless information flow in the supply chain, whilst support from front-office systems, e.g. Customer Relationships Management (CRM), is important to coordinate the demand chain. Appropriate alignment of the e-Technology with the systems is expected to create further competitive advantages. Hence, e-Technology is a core competence in contributing to competitiveness in the digital economy. It is not merely a facilitating enabler, but a critical enabler towards globalization. (Ketikidis et al, 2006).
Web Services Automation
Authors: Koumakis L. , Moustakis V. , Potamias G.
Published: May 2011

Web services revolutionize use of information systems and to some extent academic research. Put it simply, web services come in small pieces of software, which can be put together to address complex tasks over heterogeneous and distribute data sources. In doing so, services represent an effective solution to isolated software integration. Web services are based on standards; HTML is used as communication protocol layer and XML is used as basic language. Web service composition and orchestration is not trivial. Representation of a human inquiry to an efficient orchestra of services must pass from a translation step, made possible via the use of metadata, which carry real world semantics. To this end, semantic web services denote intention to provide additional information about, and to facilitate, individual service integration and automatic composition. The chapter presents a concrete methodology to support the use of automatic composition of complex semantic web services with natural language. Web service semantics are linked with natural language processing capabilities to empower users to write descriptions in their own language and in the sequel to have these descriptions mapped automatically into a well tuned web service orchestra.
Semantic Discovery of Services in Democratized Grids
Authors: Vouros George A. , Papasalouros Andreas , Kotis Konstantinos , Valarakos Alexandros , Tzonas Konstantinos , Retalis Symeon
Published: May 2011

This chapter aims at discussing issues concerning the advertisement and semantic discovery of Web services in a democratized Grid environment: an environment in which users are agnostic of the low-level details for managing the services offered and requested. This type of environment poses new requirements, and thus, it affects the functionality of a service advertisement/discovery system. In the context of this aim, the chapter presents the motivation and the technologies developed towards a semantic information system in the Grid4All environment. The chapter emphasizes on bridging the gap between Semantic Web and conventional Web service technologies, supporting developers and ordinary users to perform resources’ and services’ manipulation tasks, towards a democratized Grid.
Enabling Distributed Cognitive Collaborations on the Semantic Web
Authors: Basharat Amna , Spinelli Gabriella
Published: May 2011

To date research on improving the state of multi-agent collaboration has only focused on the provision of grounding tools, technologies, protocols, standards and infrastructures that drive the Semantic Web and agent architectures. The basic cognitive and interactional requirements of agents have been neglected leading to the current state-of-the-art development of the Semantic Web whereby its full potential is constrained by the rigid state of multi-agent collaboration. This chapter illustrates and discusses an alternative approach to the development of the agent mediated Semantic Web. The fundamental premise of our approach is that enhancing agents cognitive and interactional abilities is the key to make the digital world of agents more flexible and adaptive in its role to facilitate distributed collaboration. The novelty of this research is that it adapts cognitive models from HCI to develop a heuristic framework called Cognitive Modelling of Multi-Agent Action (COMMAA) for modeling agents’ actions in an attempt to provide an architecture that improves the flexibility of Multi-agent interaction by promoting cognitive awareness. The results of the evaluation show an improved flexibility, interoperability and reusability of agents’ collective behaviours and goals.
Cross-Language Information Retrieval on the Web
Authors: Olvera-Lobo María-Dolores
Published: May 2011

The Web stands today as the world´s largest source of public information. Its magnitude can also be perceived as a drawback in a certain sense, however: nowadays there is a generalized problem in retrieving documents that may be written in any language, but through queries expressed in a single source language. And although Information Retrieval (IR) depends on the availability of digital collections, this key aspect is no longer the only concern. It is time for the multicultural society of Internet to make use of new technologies such as Cross-Language Information Retrieval (CLIR). Whereas classical IR is a field that embraces retrieval models, evaluation, query languages and document indexing involving “small” collections of documents, modern IR tends to focus on Internet search engines, mark-up languages, multimedia contents, the distribution of collections, user interaction and multilingual systems. Thus, CLIR may border on work in the following fields: information retrieval, natural language processing, machine translation and abstracting, speech processing, the interpretation of document images, and human-computer interaction. “Given a query in any medium and any language, select relevant items from a multilingual multimedia collection which can be in any medium and any language, and present them in the style or order most likely to be useful to the querier, with identical or near identical objects in different media or languages appropriately identified” (Hull & Oard, 1997). This sentence sums up the main objective of CLIR, acknowledged as an independent research subfield roughly a decade ago, so that at present a number of international CLIR conferences take place in the world. The most importantof these are TREC (Text REtrieval Conference) in the US; NTCIR (NII-NACSIS Test Collection for IR Systems) in Asia; and CLEF (Cross-Language Evaluation Forum) in Europe. This chapter attempts to characterize the scenario of Cross-Language Information Retrieval as a domain, with special attention to the Web as a resource for multilingual research. The authors also manifest their point of view about some major directions for CLIR research in the future.
Social Informatics Framework for Sustaining Virtual Communities of Practice
Authors: Ruhi Umar
Published: May 2011

Reminiscent of the present-day Web vogue and the emergence of a myriad of e-enabled business models, virtual communities of practice are fast emerging as the next logical extension of traditional communities of practice. Virtual communities of practice exemplify the components of most contemporary communities of practice, which incorporate elements of physical social interactions, in combination with distributed virtual connections. These communities utilize technology applications to better manage their routine pursuits. More specifically, information and communication technologies (ICTs) are being used to facilitate the operations of a community of practice by providing tools for managing content (explicit knowledge) and a means for sharing expertise (tacit knowledge) through cooperation, coordination, and collaboration. The enabling technologies for institutionalizing a virtual community of practice range from simple user tools such as e-mail, teleconferencing, and groupware, to the more complex software applications, including group decision support systems (GDSSs) and corporate portals.
A Case Study of Web-Based Collaborative Decision Support at NASA
Authors: Becerra-Fernandez Irma , Del Alto Martha , Stewart Helen
Published: May 2011

Today, organizations rely on decision makers to produce “mission critical” decisions that are based on inputs from multiple domains. The ideal decision maker has a profound understanding of specific domains, coupled with the experience that allows them to act quickly and decisively on the information. Daily they face problems and failures that are too difficult for any individual person to solve; therefore, teams are now required to share their knowledge in spontaneous collaborations. Since requisite expertise may not all reside in the same organization, nor be geographically colocated, virtual networked teams are needed. This paper presents a case study describing the development and use of Postdoc, NASA’s Web-based collaborative and knowledge management platform.
Collaboration Intricacies of Web 2.0 for Training Human Resource Managers
Authors: Gilbert Jacqueline A.
Published: May 2011

The World Wide Web (WWW) was initially written as a “point and click hypertext editor” (Berners-Lee, 1998, para. 2). Used as a search device by academia and industry, it has over the years experienced both rapid and explosive growth. Earlier incarnations of the World Wide Web were known as “Web 1.0.” Since its inception however the internet has undergone a rapid transformation into what is now considered a sense of community, a reciprocal sharing among users, and a sense of “cognitive presence” (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000), which has been facilitated by a plethora of software tools that allowed users to widely share their work, in thought (e.g., blogs), in creative endeavors, and in collaborative projects. Siemens’ (2005) theory of “connectivism” encompasses the feeling that sharing promotes and encourages a sense of community that is continually being recreated by its audience. The newest forms of interaction are in the form of virtual worlds, in which avatars can attend class, build their own edifices, sell objects, and meet with other individuals in a global virtual exchange. What was once considered static computing has been transformed into a rich, dynamic environment that is defined by the people who peruse it, as evidenced in the following quotation: “The breaking down of barriers has led to many of the movements and issues we see on today’s internet. File-sharing, for example, evolves not of a sudden criminality among today’s youth, but rather in their pervasive belief that information is something meant to be shared” (Downes, 2006, para. 15). As of 2006, the Web had a billion users worldwide (Williams, 2007). Today’s Web users for the most part are not simply information seekers, but co-creators who wish to collaborate and share information in an electronic environment.
E-Collaboration-Based Knowledge Refinement as a Key Success Factor for Knowledge Repository Systems
Authors: Chung T. Rachel , Cho Kwangsu
Published: May 2011

Electronic knowledge repository systems are fundamental tools for supporting knowledge management (KM) initiatives (Alavi, 2000; King, Marks, & McCoy, 2002). The KPMG Consulting Knowledge Management Research Report 2000 (KPMG, 2000) shows 61% of 423 firms surveyed in the United States and Europe have either implemented or expected to implement repository systems. A follow-up KPMG survey (KPMG, 2003) shows that more than 70% of the firms have either implemented knowledge repositories in the last 2 years or planned to implement them in the next 2 years. Compared to other IT systems for KM, repositories are one of the most widely implemented and used KM tools (KPMG, 2000).
The Support of E-Collaboration Technologies for a Blood Bank
Authors: Kumar P. Sasi , Senthil P. , Kannan G. , Noorul Haq A.
Published: May 2011

E-collaboration technologies are broadly defined as electronic technologies that enable collaboration among individuals engaged in a common task (Kock, Davison, Ocker, & Wazlawick, 2001; Kock & Davison, 2003; Kock 2004, 2005). The reasons to enter inside the Internet are huge market value and effective data transactions (Perkins, 2000). The developments of electronic collaborations turn out the hard task into a soft one. This technology development allows the whole sectors to leverage the powers of the Internet and communication network to coordinate their efforts and the e-business models have provided the workable infrastructure for group communication and information processing (Jian Cai, 2004). Many published studies have also shown that, besides technologies the social aspects are essential for the success of collaboration (Briggs, 2003; Easley, 2003). The social aspects that lie behind this article are the speedy and effective services provided by the collaboration technologies for the patients. This article mainly speaks on how the deficiency of the blood can be solved by the blood banks. For this purpose a standard model has been created, in which the blood donors can be connected electronically with patients under the network assistance provided by the blood banks and the hospitals.
Contribution of Psychopedagogy to the Inclusion of ICT in the Pedagogical Environment
Authors: Mamede-Neves Maria A.
Published: May 2011

This chapter aims at critically analyzing distance education and the interactions between ICT, teaching, and knowledge structures based on the contributions of psychopedagogy. The first section examines the innovations currently taking place in the field of psychopedagogy, in which the concept of the physical classroom is being replaced by that of the virtual classroom. The second and third sections analyze, respectively, the learning through ICT and the incorporation of the Web in the pedagogical practices, their possibilities, and limitations. A fourth segment regards the use of the Web by the youngsters and analyses the possible reasons for its great significance and use among youngsters. The conclusion of this chapter stresses the need to acknowledge the value of the interrelationship between the culture of physical presence and cyberculture in the teaching environment, as well as the need for teachers to change their mentality and to become effectively enabled to add ICT to their pedagogical practice.
Managing E-Collaboration Risks in Business Process Outsourcing
Authors: Rouse Anne C.
Published: May 2011

A marked development in the last decade has been the growth of “virtual organizations” (or “extended enterprises”), where a network of service supplier and vendor firms cooperates to create customer value. One form of cooperation is described as business process outsourcing (BPO). A business process involves several interrelated activities performed with the goal of generating customer value. Because of the growth in e-collaboration tools, it is now possible for firms to outsource even core business processes to external vendors. Examples of processes typically outsourced include logistics, customer support, human resources, and back-office accounting functions. BPO and the value networks created by vendors and purchasers hold the promise of substantial business benefits associated with specialization and scale. These include reduced costs, greater business flexibility, and higher service quality. According to the Gartner Group, the world market for BPO services is likely to increase from $100 billion in 2002 to $173 billion by 2007(Gartner, 2004).
The Functions of Negotiation of Meaning in Text-Based CMC
Authors: Akayoglu Sedat , Altun Arif
Published: May 2011

This chapter aims at describing the patterns of negotiation of meaning functions in text-based synchronous computer-mediated communication by using computer-mediated discourse analysis. Two research questions were sought in this study: (a) what types of negotiation of meaning emerge in text-based synchronous CMC environments, and (b) is there any difference between native speakers (NSs) and nonnative speakers (NNSs) of English in terms of negotiations of meaning functions in this environment. The emerged functions of meaning negotiation were presented, and when comparing the NS with NNSs, the most frequently used negotiation of meaning functions were found to be different, but the least frequently used ones were found to be similar. The findings of this study might give insights to researchers, educators, and teachers of English Language when designing instruction in terms of patterns of negotiation of meaning functions in text-based synchronous computer-mediated communication.
Media and Familiarity Effects on Assessing Trustworthiness
Authors: Fuller Mark A. , Mayer Roger C. , Pike Ronald E
Published: May 2011

This chapter explores the role media effects and familiarity play in the development of trust in CMC environments. As team members interact with one another via technology, each team member assesses information and makes assessments about the trustworthiness of their teammates. Such trustworthiness assessments are known to influence trust, a factor which has been established to have significant effects on the functioning of teams. This research uses media synchronicity theory and the concept of interpersonal familiarity to examine virtual team interactions and the formation of trust. Implications are drawn for researchers and managers as they seek to understand how teams operate in virtual environments.
Bridging the Gap Between Web 2.0 and Higher Education
Authors: Weller Martin , Dalziel James
Published: May 2011

This chapter looks at some of the areas of tension between the new social networking, Web 2.0 communities and the values of higher education. It argues that both the granularity of formal education and the manner in which the authors formalise learning are subject to change with the advent of digital technologies and user generated content. The gap between higher education and Web 2.0 could be bridged by, amongst other approaches, a sort of flickr for learning design, which allows users to share activities and sequences, thus meeting the diverse needs of learners and utilising the best of social networking approaches.
IT-Enabled Strategies for Mental Modeling in E-Learning
Authors: Hai-Jew Shalin
Published: May 2011

This chapter examines some ways information technologies (IT) are deployed in higher education courses to help learners create robust mental models. In e-learning, mental models are created through the following: digitally mediated (1) information visualization work; (2) virtual immersion, and (3) human interactivity. For (1) information visualization work, information technologies afford multi-sensory learning channels: texts, visuals, slideshows, screen casts and animations, audio, video, interactivity, immersiveness, and simulations. IT supports the archiving of digital learning artifacts through eportfolios, digital gallery shows, and informational multimedia databases. (2) Virtual immersion has been enabled in 3-D interactive spaces where learners may experience multi-faceted learning. More complex simulations have also been created with animations and long-term continuous learning. To promote (3) human interactivity, IT reifies human intellects and perceptions, and social software uses “swarm intelligence” to support consensus-driven realities. IT creates contexts for co-learning and intercommunications. Collaborative pedagogical strategies—online teaching case studies, mock trials, facilitated games, and various assignments and assessments—highlight the multiple-views, multiple-realities of constructivist learning.
Facilitating Students-Driven Learning of Computer Programming with Technology
Authors: Gaspar Alessio , Langevin Sarah , Boyer Naomi
Published: May 2011

This chapter discusses a case study of the application of technology to facilitate undergraduate students’ learning of computer programming in an Information Technology department. The authors review the evolution of the didactic of introductory programming courses along with the learning barriers traditionally encountered by novice programmers. The growing interest of the computing education research community in a transition from instructivist to constructivist strategies is then illustrated by several recent approaches. The authors discuss how these have been enabled through the use of appropriate technologies in introductory and intermediate programming courses, delivered both online and face to face. They conclude by discussing how the integration of technology, and the switch to online environments, has the potential to enable authentic student-driven programming pedagogies as well as facilitate formal computing education research or action research in this field.
Designing Asynchronous Discussions to Teach Critical Thinking
Authors: Miller John
Published: May 2011

A central component of constructivist pedagogy at the college level is the modeling and practicing of critical thinking, and since Socrates, discussion has been the basic vehicle for accomplishing this. Advocates of online teaching have argued that the written and asynchronous nature of online discussions enhance its ability to teach critical thinking. Unless online discussions are properly designed, however, these apparent advantages may in fact have the opposite effect. This chapter sets forth six basic principles for designing online discussions that model and shape critical thinking experiences for students, and illustrates them with examples from two different online college literature classes.
"To Be in Occasional Touch"
Authors: Schulman Mark H.
Published: May 2011

The challenges for Goddard College posed by 21st Century information technologies are their incorporation into, and reflection of, the foundational principles of the College’s low residency delivery model. This learning model is complex; the many aspects of this complexity forces the College (and other progressive institutions) to insist on a values base that helps determine attitudes to and uses of technology. If administrative staff and faculty have a deep commitment to those values, when done well, information technology can enhance the progressive model.
Using Blogs to Foster Inquiry, Collaboration, and Feedback in Pre-Service Teacher Education
Authors: Rinke Carol R. , Stebick Divonna M. , Schaefer Lauren , Gaffney M. Evan
Published: May 2011

This chapter presents a critical case study on the use of information technology in a pre-service teacher education program. The authors integrated Weblogs (blogs) into two constructivist-oriented teacher preparation courses with the goal of helping students learn to think like a teacher through enhanced inquiry, collaboration, and feedback. The authors found that, through the use of blogs, pre-service teaching candidates grew in their abilities to reflect on their own teaching and to provide constructive comments to peers. The authors’ experience also indicated that while instructor and peer feedback via blogs was valuable, it functioned best when paired with face-to-face meetings between the instructors and students. They discussed design principles for combining online and face-to-face environments and offer possibilities for the expanded use of blogs in pre-service teacher education.
Energy Efficient Communication with Random Node Cooperation
Authors: Zhou Zhong , Cui Jun-Hong , Zhou Shengli , Cui Shuguang
Published: May 2011

In this chapter, we focus on the energy efficient cooperative communication with random node cooperation for wireless networks. By “random,” we mean that the cooperative nodes for each communication event are randomly selected based on the network and channel conditions. Different from the conventional deterministic cooperative communication where cooperative nodes are determined prior to the communication, here the number of cooperative nodes and the cooperation pattern may be random, which is more practical given the random nature of the channels among the source nodes, relay nodes, and destination nodes. In addition, it is more robust to the dynamic wireless network environment. Starting with a thorough literature survey, we then discuss the challenges for random cooperative communication systems. Afterwards, two examples are presented to illustrate the design methodologies. In the first example, we analyze a simple scheme for clustered wireless networks, where cooperative communication is deployed in the long-haul inter-cluster transmissions to improve the energy efficiency. We quantify the energy performance and emphasize its difference from the conventional deterministic ones. In the second example, we consider the cross-layer design between the physical layer and the medium access control (MAC) layer for the one-hop random single-relay networks. We unify the power control and the relay selection at the physical layer into the MAC signaling in a distributed fashion. This example clearly shows the strength of cross-layer design for energy-efficient cooperative systems with random node collaboration. Finally, we conclude with discussions over possible future research directions.
Workshops and E-Portfolios as Transformational Assessment
Authors: Brammer Charlotte , Parker Rhonda
Published: May 2011

In 2002, Samford University began working on a long-term learning assessment plan designed to evaluate its undergraduates’ competencies in written and oral communication as well as information and quantitative literacy (these areas were labeled Transformational Learning Abilities or TLAs). Departments were encouraged to measure student learning in ways that made sense for their particular disciplines, with an eye toward creating sustainable assessment plans that would inform program review. The Department of Communication Studies created an innovative senior capstone program that incorporates student-driven communication workshops and electronic portfolios and uses qualitative and quantitativemethods to assess the TLAs and gather valuable data for departmental review. This chapter provides a description of the program and how it serves as a catalyst for student engagement, faculty development, and departmental transformation.
A Domain Specific Strategy for Complex Dynamic Processes
Authors: Cetin Semih , Altintas N. Ilker , Tufekci Ozgur
Published: May 2011

This chapter identifies the issues that might create orthogonal complexities for process dynamism, and decouples the components implementing them in a “domain specific” way. Authors believe that traditional process management techniques for modeling and executing the processes still fall short to improve the dynamism of an enterprise. Some of the reasons are: using too “generic” techniques and tools for process management that are not scalable enough for typical business cases, having lack of architectural coverage to manage the tradeoffs between dynamism and other business quality issues, insufficient support for integrating legacy business processes, and unbalanced guidance between “primary” and “supportive” processes. In order to improve the business agility particularly with dynamic processes, effective abstraction and composition techniques are needed for the systematic design of primary and supportive processes in an organization. Authors bring in the “Domain Specific Kit” abstraction as a way to improve the dynamism of complex processes.
The Nature of Strategic Intelligence, Current Practice and Solutions
Authors: Xu Mark , Kaye Roland
Published: May 2011

This chapter discusses the nature of strategic intelligence and the challenges of systematically scanning and processing strategic information. It reveals that strategic intelligence practice concentrates on competitive intelligence gathering, non-competitive related intelligence have not yet been systematically scanned and processed. Much of the intelligence is collected through informal and manual based systems. Turning data into analyzed, meaningful intelligence for action is limited to a few industry leaders. The chapter proposed a corporate intelligence solution, which comprises of three key intelligence functions, namely organizational-wide intelligence scanning, knowledge enriched intelligent refining, and specialist support. A corporate radar system (CRS) for external environment scanning, which is a part of the organizational-wide intelligence scanning process is explored in light of latest technology development. Implementation issues are discussed. The chapter develops insight of strategic intelligence, and the solution could significantly enhance a manager’s and a company’s sensibility and capability in dealing with external opportunities and threats.
Strategic Alliances of Information Technology Among Channel Members
Authors: Hsu H.Y. Sonya , Shih Stephen C.
Published: May 2011

This chapter explores novel ways of improving flexibility, responsiveness, and competitiveness via strategic information technology (IT) alliances among channel members in a supply chain network. To gain competitiveness, firms have to constantly update their operational strategies and information technologies through collaborative efforts of a “network” of supply chain members rather than the efforts of an individual firm. In sum, the foci of this chapter are: (1) an overview of supply chain management (SCM) issues and problems, (2) supply chain coordination and integration, (3) the latest IT applications for improved supply chain performance and coordination, and (4) strategic IT alliances. This chapter concludes with a discussion of business implications and recommendations of future research.
The Integrated Enterprise Life Cycle
Authors: Armour Frank J. , Emery Chris , Houk Jonathan , Kaisler Stephen H. , Kirk John S.
Published: May 2011

The enterprise architecture provides benefits to the organization that embraces it. However, in many organizations, the enterprise architecture effort is not tightly coupled and integrated with other enterprise level programs such as investment management and system development processes. This chapter will identify the process integration and enterprise architecture touchpoints from the perspective of the investment management process and it outlines an overall integrated enterprise life cycle process flow. Specifically, this chapter explores Why it is important for an organization to follow an architecture-driven integrated enterprise life cycle? What are the processes of an enterprise life cycle and how do they fit together, specifically the enterprise architecture, investment management, and system development processes? What is an organizational structure for managing and executing the integrated enterprise life cycle? What is an approach for implementing an integrated enterprise life cycle?
Design Science
Authors: Valverde Raul , Toleman Mark , Cater-Steel Aileen
Published: May 2011

Recently, many organisations have become aware of the limitations of their legacy systems to adapt to new technical requirements. Trends towards e-commerce applications, platform independence, reusability of prebuilt components, capacity for reconfiguration, and higher reliability have contributed to the need to update current systems. Consequently, legacy systems need to be re-engineered into new component-based systems. This chapter shows the use of the design science approach in information systems re-engineering research. In this study, design science and the Bunge-Wand-Weber (BWW) model are used as the main research frameworks to build and evaluate conceptual models generated by the component-based and traditional approaches in re-engineering a legacy system into a component-based information system. The objective of this evaluation is to verify that the re-engineered component-based model is capable of representing the same business requirements as the legacy system.
Decision Making and Support Tools for Design of Machining Systems
Authors: Dolgui A. , Guschinskaya O. , Guschinsky N. , Levin G.
Published: May 2011

The design of manufacturing systems is a wide open area for development and application of decision making and decision support technologies. This domain is characterized by the necessity to combine the standard decision making methods, sophisticated operational research techniques, and some specific rules based on expert knowledge to take into account principal technological constraints and criteria. A promising trend in this area deals with the development of integrated software tools (Brown, 2004; Grieves, 2005; Stark, 2005). Their main idea consists in integrating product and manufacturing data into a common database. This enables product designers to consider the manufacturing processes constraints at the early product design stage. At the same time, all data of product design should be used directly for optimizing the corresponding manufacturing system. That is why the core of these software tools is a powerful extendable database, supported by a user friendly software environment. This database normally contains digital models of product and processes. In order to find an optimal manufacturing system configuration, a set of advanced decision making and decision support methods are used for data processing.
Integration of Global Supply Chain Management with Small to Mid-Size Suppliers
Authors: Sabbaghi Asghar , Vaidyanathan Ganesh
Published: May 2011

The purpose of this chapter is to develop a conceptual insight and an integrated framework to global supply chain management through strategic aspects of business philosophy as it pertains to the small- to mid-sized supplier. Primary consideration is given to characteristics of the integrated supply chain and the necessity of adaptation in managing the supply chain in order to attain competitive advantage. A review of the current literature and an analysis of the supply chain in changing global markets emphasize the relative importance of strategically managing the supply chain process given the limited resources of the small- to mid-sized firm.
Integrating Mobile Technologies in Enterprise Architecture with a Focus on Global Supply Chain Management Systems
Authors: Unhelkar Bhuvan , Wu Ming-Chien , Ghanbary Abbass
Published: May 2011

This chapter investigates opportunities to integrate mobile technologies within an organization’s enterprise architecture (EA), with an emphasis on supply chain management (SCM) systems. These SCM systems exist within the overall EA of the business. SCM systems are further influenced by the increasing modern-day need for information and communications technologies (ICTs) within a business, to bring together all of its disparate applications. The resultant enterprise application integration (EAI) also stands to benefit immensely from the incorporation of mobile technologies within it. Traditionally, supply chain management systems have involved management of the flows of material, information, and finances in a complex web of networks that include suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and customers. Thus, these traditional supply chain management systems have a great need for integration under the umbrella of EAI. Mobile technologies can provide time and location independence to these EAIs in terms of information in the supply chain systems, creating the possibility of multiple business processes that traverse diverse geographical regions. This chapter, based on the research conducted by the authors at the University of Western Sydney, discusses the opportunities that arise in supply chain management systems due to the time and location independence offered by mobility, and the resultant advantages and limitations of such integration to the business.
A Knowledge Integration Approach for Organizational Decision Support
Authors: Kwahk Kee-Young , Kim Hee-Woong , Chan Hock Chuan
Published: May 2011

This study proposes a new methodology that facilitates organizational decision support through knowledge integration across organizational units. For this purpose, this study develops a decision support loop and explains how to organize individual knowledge related to a specific business problem and formulate and test the organized knowledge using cognitive modeling techniques for decision support. This study discusses the proposed approach in the context of an application case involving a beverage company. The application case shows the validity and usefulness of the proposed approach.