bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Demand Side for Development of E-Government Services and Gateway in Turkey
Authors: Medeni D. Tunç , Çetin Yasemin , Balci Asim , Özkan Sevgi
Published: February 2013

Representing the co-authors’ academic and practitioner background, this chapter provides the most-up-to-date information for an ongoing work on citizen-oriented e-government initiatives. The purpose of this work follows the importance, priority, and necessity of paying attention to citizen side, and aims to improve understanding and better address the citizen demands and expectations towards e-government public transformation. The research aims to question and understand better what citizens think regarding the currently available e-government services in Turkey. In response to this purpose and question, this work-in-progress chapter presents secondary information from literature review and context of the ongoing practical and academic works, and primary findings from both a preliminary and a recent study. These presented information and findings mostly represent practitioners’ viewpoint that is mostly based on the authors’ professional, academic, and personal involvement in the various aspects of the Turkey case, and in return are expected to provide certain input for the on-going practical affairs. As the research is a work-in-progress that traces long-lasting development and ongoing operations of e-government in practice, at this point, providing some suggestions and directions rather than concrete practical and theoretical implications is considered to have the most value. As a result, security, trust, ease of use, service, and information quality are determined to be significant for citizens’ perceptions and suggestions as factors that affect their usage of e-government services in Turkey. The resulting chapter first provides a relevant literature review then information about the history and latest developments in e-government from the perspective of citizen side. Following this background information, the preliminary descriptive study on citizen perceptions of demands and expectations conducted last year is reminded. Build upon these ongoing researches on the academic and practical side, latest research findings as a result of analysing citizens suggestions for E-Government Gateway (EGG) in Turkey are also shared. Finally, suggestions for future based on latest work are given.
Social Media and Web 2.0 for Rethinking E-Government Maturity Models
Authors: Kim B. Joon , Robinson Savannah
Published: February 2013

In this chapter, the authors argue that social media and Web 2.0 technologies have the potential to enhance government responsiveness, representation, citizen participation, and overall satisfaction with the public policy-making process. To do that, this chapter suggests the dialectical approach of a new E-government maturity model through both New Public Service and Social Construction of Public Administration views. Then, they provide guidance to practitioners who are responsible for developing social media and Web 2.0 strategies for public service organizations. Finally, to provide guidelines for public administrators, this chapter argues that the “public sphere” should be redefined by citizen’s online social networking activities with public administrators and capacity building activities among practitioners in public service agencies through their use of social media and Web 2.0 tools.
Overlooking Organizational Culture
Authors: Wachira David
Published: February 2013

The growth of the information communication technologies (ICTs) has fostered the adoption of e-government across the globe. E-government offers many benefits to developing countries. However, these countries are often plagued with problems that inhibit the implementation of e-government initiatives. As a result, research in e-government has attempted to offer solutions by listing the factors that influence the success and failures of e-government initiatives. The argument is made here, however, that by failing to consider the internal complexities unique to developing countries, these factors only offer palliative solutions to problem. Furthermore, these factors overlook the role that organizational culture plays in influencing the success or failure of e-government initiatives. Following existing literature in e-government, this research will highlight some the major factors listed for e-government successes and failures in developing countries. It will also show how influential organizational culture is in understanding the organizational changes proposed by e-government programs as well as how it has been overlooked in much of the existing literature.
A Systems Theory Approach to Electronic Voting Complexity
Authors: Zissis Dimitrios , Lekkas Dimitrios , Arnellos Argyris
Published: February 2013

Information and Communication Technologies are being evaluated as an efficient and effective way to modernize the electoral process. These initiatives have initially been met with skepticism, as a number of affecting fields operate in concert, to structure what is perceived as the dimensions of electronic voting. This chapter adds to the existing body of knowledge on e-voting, while attempting to exorcise complexity and reevaluate under a perspicacious vision, the conflictual issues, by adopting a methodology with the ability to tackle highly unstructured problem settings. For this, systems theory is employed to provide a framework for perceiving and analyzing highly complex systems in an interdisciplinary method, as well as for designing within and for them. In this context, electronic voting is identified as a ’soft’ ill-structured human activity system, and soft systems thinking is applied to bring about improvement by resolving complex issues and providing a clearer perspective of related interdependencies.
Social Media and Voter Participation
Authors: Kraner Mariah
Published: February 2013

This chapter looks at the political trends associated with using social media sources as a way to enhance participation in national elections. It is hypothesized that participation has declined across groups and through time, regardless of the new uses of social media in political campaigning. The historical significance of voter participation is examined using Alexis De Tocqueville’s and Robert Putnam’s frameworks. The path is paved to examine both the importance of new media in the election process and its drawbacks. A national empirical test is presented that examines the correlation between race categories, genders, and age ranges, with the percentage of voter turnout in each presidential election year from 1964 to 2008. Regression analysis is also conducted to examine the predictive nature of increased time on national voter participation. The correlation and regression results are presented, indicating that, in general, participation has continued to decline among most groups, regardless of the perceived access and connection provided by social media outlets. However, a slight change after 1996 may indicate an effect from social media presence. The data presents a starting point for future evaluation of e-government effects on national voter participation in the election process, providing a benchmark for later empirical tests.
Issues of Digital Disempowerment and New Media Networking (NMN) in Relation to E-Government
Authors: Hacker Kenneth L. , Morgan Eric L.
Published: February 2013

Emerging media technologies are increasingly reconfiguring the public sphere by creating new spaces for political dialogue. E-democracy (digital democracy) and e-government can be usefully served by these emerging technologies; however, their existence does not automatically equate to increased political participation. There is still a need to develop specific and theoretically-oriented approaches to a newly reconfigured public sphere. Employing a structurational perspective, this essay addresses the relationship between political participation, emerging media, new media networking, and e-democracy. While new media networking increases the potential for political participation, depending on various factors such as access, usage and skills, the potential exists for increasing disempowerment as well. The chapter concludes with recommendations for the use of new media networking in ways that enhance e-democracy.
Social Equity, the Digital Divide and E-Governance
Authors: Chary Meena
Published: February 2013

This chapter critically assesses how e-government initiatives in India are attempting to contend with social equity issues posed by the deepening digital divide and draws conclusions regarding the value and reach of e-government initiatives. The chapter summarizes current understandings of the digital divide, and uses those understandings to develop a characterization of those constituents who are not reached by e-government initiatives and services. The chapter asserts that those who do not have the ability to access and use ICT are excluded from using e-government initiatives and services, and discusses examples of actions that begin to mitigate the social equity effects of the digital divide.
The Global Digital Divide and Its Impact on E-Governance
Authors: Howell-Moroney Michael
Published: February 2013

As technology has continued to advance, a disparity in the diffusion, adoption, and utilization of technology has become apparent. This chapter explores the digital divide and the scholarly research investigating the factors which have been found to influence it. The major finding from extant research is that the digital divide is largely explained by variations in national wealth. These same variations also explain differing levels of e-government readiness and e-participation. The chapter concludes with a discussion of policy choices and dilemmas posed by the digital divide.
Transparency Issues in E-Governance and Civic Engagement
Authors: Greenberg Sherri , Newell Angela
Published: February 2013

Today, people regularly debate the meaning of the term transparency relative to government. President Obama has made transparency a prominent issue in the federal government with his directive to use online resources to promote transparency. However, transparency is important at all levels of government, particularly transitioning from e-government to e-governance. This chapter discusses the definition of transparency related to e-governance and the implementation of transparency initiatives. The mission is to set the standards for government transparency and citizen engagement with an online presence. The standards and roadmap for achieving transparency in e-governance involve politics, policy, and technology. This chapter outlines the necessary political, policy, technology, and transparency issues in e-governance. The discussion and recommendations covers issues such as political will, insufficient knowledge, and fear. Also, recommendations address best practices in policy development and implementation. The current applications and data recommendations cover technology developments.
New Technology Communication in American State Governments
Authors: Yun Hyun Jung , Opheim Cynthia
Published: February 2013

This study examines the effects of states’ e-government efforts, more specifically the progress of e-service and e-democracy, on citizens’ general political engagement and electoral participation. Utilizing the combined data with the state level of West’s e-Government measures (2008) and the individual level of the 2008 American Election Study, this study finds a strong link between state sponsored efforts at e-Government and traditional forms of the public’s political participation. State sponsored digital services and outreach increase general political participation more than campaign activities, and the implementation of e-democracy has a greater effect on mobilization than e-service. The results imply that e-government has potential to ameliorate political exclusion by letting the politically disadvantaged access a higher quality of information with an equalized accessibility through state governments’ electronic systems.
The Challenges of Implementing e-Government Interoperability in Thailand
Authors: Saekow Apitep , Boonmee Choompol
Published: February 2013

In November 2006, Thai Government announced Thailand electronic government interoperability framework (TH e-GIF) as a collection of technical standards, methodologies, guidelines and policies to enable electronic data exchange across government agencies. The first challenging project was to implement the semantic interoperability for exchanging official electronic letters across 29 government agencies using 15 heterogeneous software systems developed by different vendors. To achieve the project goal, a holistic approach was designed in which many policy-makers and practitioners had to involve in collaborative activities. This chapter explores the approach in details. It includes the process of data harmonization, modeling and standardizations using a number of UN/CEFACT specifications, UMM, CCTS and XML NDR, and other international standards. From this project the first national XML schema standard was produced. This chapter also introduces a methodology of extending the interoperability to legacy systems based on web services technology. Finally, it describes risk managements with the key success factors for the electronic interoperability development in Thailand.
Efficient Mining Frequent Closed Discriminative Biclusters by Sample-Growth
Authors: Wang Miao , Shang Xuequn , Zhang Shaohua , Li Zhanhuai
Published: February 2013

DNA microarray technology has generated a large number of gene expression data. Biclustering is a methodology allowing for condition set and gene set points clustering simultaneously. It finds clusters of genes possessing similar characteristics together with biological conditions creating these similarities. Almost all the current biclustering algorithms find bicluster in one microarray dataset. In order to reduce the noise influence and find more biological biclusters, the authors propose the FDCluster algorithm in order to mine frequent closed discriminative bicluster in multiple microarray datasets. FDCluster uses Apriori property and several novel techniques for pruning to mine biclusters efficiently. To increase the space usage, FDCluster also utilizes several techniques to generate frequent closed bicluster without candidate maintenance in memory. The experimental results show that FDCluster is more effective than traditional methods in either single micorarray dataset or multiple microarray datasets. This paper tests the biological significance using GO to show the proposed method is able to produce biologically relevant biclusters.
Wave-SOM
Authors: Blanchard Andrew , Wolter Christopher , McNabb David S. , Gross Eitan
Published: February 2013

In this paper, the authors present a wavelet-based algorithm (Wave-SOM) to help visualize and cluster oscillatory time-series data in two-dimensional gene expression micro-arrays. Using various wavelet transformations, raw data are first de-noised by decomposing the time-series into low and high frequency wavelet coefficients. Following thresholding, the coefficients are fed as an input vector into a two-dimensional Self-Organizing-Map clustering algorithm. Transformed data are then clustered by minimizing the Euclidean (L2) distance between their corresponding fluctuation patterns. A multi-resolution analysis by Wave-SOM of expression data from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, exposed to oxidative stress and glucose-limited growth, identified 29 genes with correlated expression patterns that were mapped into 5 different nodes. The ordered clustering of yeast genes by Wave-SOM illustrates that the same set of genes (encoding ribosomal proteins) can be regulated by two different environmental stresses, oxidative stress and starvation. The algorithm provides heuristic information regarding the similarity of different genes. Using previously studied expression patterns of yeast cell-cycle and functional genes as test data sets, the authors’ algorithm outperformed five other competing programs.
Bioinformatics Methods for Studying MicroRNA and ARE-Mediated Regulation of Post-Transcriptional Gene Expression
Authors: Bindra Richipal Singh , Wang Jason T. L. , Bagga Paramjeet Singh
Published: February 2013

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short single-stranded RNA molecules with 21-22 nucleotides known to regulate post-transcriptional expression of protein-coding genes involved in most of the cellular processes. Prediction of miRNA targets is a challenging bioinformatics problem. AU-rich elements (AREs) are regulatory RNA motifs found in the 3’ untranslated regions (UTRs) of mRNAs, and they play dominant roles in the regulated decay of short-lived human mRNAs via specific interactions with proteins. In this paper, the authors review several miRNA target prediction tools and data sources, as well as computational methods used for the prediction of AREs. The authors discuss the connection between miRNA and ARE-mediated post-transcriptional gene regulation. Finally, a data mining method for identifying the co-occurrences of miRNA target sites in ARE containing genes is presented.
Mining Protein Interactome Networks to Measure Interaction Reliability and Select Hub Proteins
Authors: Cho Young-Rae , Zhang Aidong
Published: February 2013

High-throughput techniques involve large-scale detection of protein-protein interactions. This interaction data set from the genome-scale perspective is structured into an interactome network. Since the interaction evidence represents functional linkage, various graph-theoretic computational approaches have been applied to the interactome networks for functional characterization. However, this data is generally unreliable, and the typical genome-wide interactome networks have a complex connectivity. In this paper, the authors explore systematic analysis of protein interactome networks, and propose a $k$-round signal flow simulation algorithm to measure interaction reliability from connection patterns of the interactome networks. This algorithm quantitatively characterizes functional links between proteins by simulating the propagation of information signals through complex connections. In this regard, the algorithm efficiently estimates the strength of alternative paths for each interaction. The authors also present an algorithm for mining the complex interactome network structure. The algorithm restructures the network by hierarchical ordering of nodes, and this structure re-formatting process reveals hub proteins in the interactome networks. This paper demonstrates that two rounds of simulation accurately scores interaction reliability in terms of ontological correlation and functional consistency. Finally, the authors validate that the selected structural hubs represent functional core proteins.
Finding Minimum Reaction Cuts of Metabolic Networks Under a Boolean Model
Authors: Tamura Takeyuki , Takemoto Kazuhiro , Akutsu Tatsuya
Published: February 2013

In this paper, the authors consider the problem of, given a metabolic network, a set of source compounds and a set of target compounds, finding a minimum size reaction cut, where a Boolean model is used as a model of metabolic networks. The problem has potential applications to measurement of structural robustness of metabolic networks and detection of drug targets. They develop an integer programming-based method for this optimization problem. In order to cope with cycles and reversible reactions, they further develop a novel integer programming (IP) formalization method using a feedback vertex set (FVS). When applied to an E. coli metabolic network consisting of Glycolysis/Glyconeogenesis, Citrate cycle and Pentose phosphate pathway obtained from KEGG database, the FVS-based method can find an optimal set of reactions to be inactivated much faster than a naive IP-based method and several times faster than a flux balance-based method. The authors also confirm that our proposed method works even for large networks and discuss the biological meaning of our results.
New Trends in Graph Mining
Authors: Bruno Francesco , Palopoli Luigi , Rombo Simona E.
Published: February 2013

Open challenges and directions for future research are finally discussed.
Revealing the Origin and Nature of Drug Resistance of Dynamic Tumour Systems
Authors: Santiago-Mozos Ricardo , Khan Imtiaz A. , Madden Michael G.
Published: February 2013

In this paper, the authors identify the strategies that resistant subpopulations of cancer cells undertake to overcome the effect of the anticancer drug Topotecan. For the analyses of cell lineage data encoded from timelapse microscopy, data mining tools are chosen that generate interpretable models of the data, addressing their statistical significance. By interpreting the short-term and long-term cytotoxic effect of Topotecan through these data models, the authors reveal the strategies that resistant subpopulations of cells undertake to maximize their clonal expansion potential. In this context, this paper identifies a pattern of cell death independent of cytotoxic effect. Finally, it is observed that cells exposed to Topotecan have higher movement over time, indicating a putative relationship between cytotoxic effect and cell motility.
Improving Energy-Efficiency of Scientific Computing Clusters
Authors: Niemi Tapio , Kommeri Jukka , Hameri Ari-Pekka
Published: February 2013

The authors applied operations management principles on scheduling and allocation to scientific computing clusters to decrease energy consumption and to increase throughput. They challenged the traditional one job per one processor core scheduling method commonly used in scientific computing with parallel processing and bottleneck management. The authors tested the effect of increased parallelism by using different test applications related to high-energy physics computing. The test results showed that at best their methods both decreased energy consumption down to 40% and increased throughput up to 100%, compared to the standard one task per CPU core method. The trade-off is that processing times of individual tasks get longer, but in scientific computing, the overall throughput and energy-efficiency are often more important.
Energy-Aware Scheduling for Parallel Applications on Multicore Systems
Authors: Mair Jason , Huang Zhiyi , Zhang Haibo
Published: February 2013

This chapter discusses energy-aware scheduling techniques for parallel applications on multicore computers. Key techniques for developing an energy-aware scheduler, such as estimation of power usage and performance features per application, are analyzed and evaluated. The authors first discuss the runtime profiling techniques for collecting detailed application-specific information to be used by the scheduler. Then they focus on the techniques that estimate power usage and performance features. Performance features such as speedup and CPU-intensiveness enable the scheduler to make the tradeoffs between power consumption and the performance of the application. Preliminary experimental results show that energy-aware scheduling could save a significant amount of energy by adopting novel scheduling policies based on the knowledge of performance features collected from the applications.
Green Communications
Authors: Volos Haris I. , Datla Dinesh , Chen Xuetao , He An , Amanna Ashwin , Newman Timothy R. , Hasan S. M. Shajedul , Reed Jeffery H. , Bose Tamal
Published: February 2013

The exponential growth of wireless systems makes their carbon footprint hard to ignore. This chapter presents statistics related to the energy consumption of cellular networks’ infrastructure in order to motivate the need for more efficient and environmentally friendly communications. A definition of the term “Green Communications” is provided along with different metrics that can be used to quantify energy efficiency for the various aspects of wireless infrastructure. In addition to topics related to cellular infrastructure, the chapter presents a brief review of key techniques that can be potentially used for improving energy efficiency. Furthermore, since improving energy efficiency is not by itself sufficient for low-carbon systems, possible ways of using and managing energy harvested from renewable sources such as solar and ambient RF signals are discussed. Moreover, the concept of Wireless Distributed Computing is introduced to illustrate how a group of wireless devices can share their resources for achieving a set of common goals. Finally, resource allocation is examined for managing the trade-offs involved when simultaneously minimizing the carbon footprint and performing the necessary communication and computation tasks in mobile devices.
Intelligent Systems for Energy Management in Wireless Sensor-Based Smart Environments
Authors: Qela Blerim , Mouftah Hussein T.
Published: February 2013

The purpose of this chapter is to explore and address the issues that are applicable to Smart Environments by encouraging and providing new insights towards the “Sustainable Green Computing” initiatives for “energy aware” applicable solutions. The topics covered in this chapter provide an introduction to future wireless sensor-based smart environments for energy management systems. Introduction to the topic, motivation, and objective are covered in Section 1. A review of the state-of-the-art technological achievements, theory, and applications, related to the energy management systems (wireless sensors and intelligent systems) are covered in Section 2. Whilst, Section 3 covers in detail the authors’ proposed methodological approach and main ideas leading towards the “Intelligent Systems for Energy Management in Wireless Sensor-Based Smart Environments.” Case studies of real-world applications, following the principles of “Green Computing” in intelligent systems are introduced. The authors present the simulation results of an “energy conservation perspective” in smart homes, demonstrating the potential improvements with respect to energy conservation. Moreover, they present examples of large Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) simulations (impact of topology control in network survivability) and hybrid intelligent techniques for energy efficient solutions, i.e. finding optimal solution in a predefined interval. The conclusions and future research directions are provided in Sections 4 and 5, respectively.
Temperature-Power Consumption Relationship and Hot-Spot Migration for FPGA-Based Systems
Authors: Zhang Xun , Leray Pierre , Palicot Jacques
Published: February 2013

Heat emission and temperature control in an electronic device are highly correlated with power consumption as well as to equipment’s reliability. Within this context, this chapter discusses a possible solution to restrict the processing component’s heat emission in FPGA-based systems (e.g., Cognitive Radio [CR] equipment). It also describes the implementation, on reconfigurable FPGA based circuit, of a digital thermal sensor, analyzes the applicability of local heat estimations, and empirically describes the temperature-power consumption relationship in a dynamically reconfigurable FPGA platform. Finally, discussions are conducted on the decision making issues related to the use of such sensors to enable “hot-spot” migration in CR equipment.
Transmission Line Theories for the Analysis of Electromagnetic Transients in Coil Windings
Authors: Ametani Akihiro , Ohno Teruo
Published: February 2013

The chapter contains the basic theory of a distributed-parameter circuit for a single overhead conductor and for a multi-conductor system, which corresponds to a three-phase transmission line and a transformer winding. Starting from a partial differential equation of a single conductor, solutions of a voltage and a current on the conductor are derived as a function of the distance from the sending end. The characteristics of the voltage and the current are explained, and the propagation constant (attenuation and propagation velocity) and the characteristic impedance are described. For a multi-conductor system, a modal theory is introduced, and it is shown that the multi-conductor system is handled as a combination of independent single conductors. Finally, a modeling method of a coil is explained by applying the theories described in the chapter.
Transformer Modelling for Impulse Voltage Distribution and Terminal Transient Analysis
Authors: Popov Marjan , Gustavsen Bjørn , Martinez-Velasco Juan A.
Published: February 2013

Voltage surges arising from transient events, such as switching operations or lightning discharges, are one of the main causes of transformer winding failure. The voltage distribution along a transformer winding depends greatly on the waveshape of the voltage applied to the winding. This distribution is not uniform in the case of steep-fronted transients since a large portion of the applied voltage is usually concentrated on the first few turns of the winding. High frequency electromagnetic transients in transformers can be studied using internal models (i.e., models for analyzing the propagation and distribution of the incident impulse along the transformer windings), and black-box models (i.e., models for analyzing the response of the transformer from its terminals and for calculating voltage transfer). This chapter presents a summary of the most common models developed for analyzing the behaviour of transformers subjected to steep-fronted waves and a description of procedures for determining the parameters to be specified in those models. The main section details some test studies based on actual transformers in which models are validated by comparing simulation results to laboratory measurements.
Transformer Model for TRV at Transformer Limited Fault Current Interruption
Authors: Hikita Masayuki , Toda Hiroaki , Thein Myo Min , Ikeda Hisatoshi , Haginomori Eiichi , Koshiduka Tadashi
Published: February 2013

This chapter deals with the transient recovery voltage (TRV) of the transformer limited fault (TLF) current interrupting condition using capacitor current injection. The current generated by a discharging capacitor is injected to the transformer, and it is interrupted at its zero point by a diode. A transformer model for the TLF condition is constructed from leakage impedance and a stray capacitance with an ideal transformer in an EMTP computation. By using the frequency response analysis (FRA) measurement, the transformer constants are evaluated in high-frequency regions. The FRA measurement graphs show that the inductance value of the test transformer gradually decreases as the frequency increases. Based on this fact, a frequency-dependent transformer model is constructed. The frequency response of the model gives good agreement with the measured values. The experimental TRV and simulation results using the frequency-dependent transformer model are described.
Z-Transform Models for the Analysis of Electromagnetic Transients in Transformers and Rotating Machines Windings
Authors: Su Charles
Published: February 2013

High voltage power equipment with winding structures such as transformers, HV motors, and generators are important for the analysis of high frequency electromagnetic transients in electrical power systems. Conventional models of such equipment, for example the leakage inductance model, are only suitable for low frequency transients. A Z-transform model has been developed to simulate transformer, HV motor, and generator stator windings at higher frequencies. The new model covers a wide frequency range, which is more accurate and meaningful. It has many applications such as lightning protection and insulation coordination of substations and the circuit design of impulse voltage generator for transformer tests. The model can easily be implemented in EMTP programs.
Detection of Transformer Faults Using Frequency Response Analysis with Case Studies
Authors: Abeywickrama Nilanga
Published: February 2013

Power transformers encounter mechanical deformations and displacements that can originate from mechanical forces generated by electrical short-circuit faults, lapse during transportation or installation and material aging accompanied by weakened clamping force. These types of mechanical faults are usually hard to detect by other diagnostic methods. Frequency response analysis, better known as FRA, came about in 1960s (Lech & Tyminski 1966) as a byproduct of low voltage (LV) impulse test, and since then has thrived as an advanced non-destructive test for detecting mechanical faults of transformer windings by comparing two frequency responses one of which serves as the reference from the same transformer or a similar design. This chapter provides a background to the FRA, a brief description about frequency response measuring methods, the art of diagnosing mechanical faults by FRA, and some case studies showing typical faults that can be detected.
Nonlinear Structural Control Using Magnetorheological Damper
Authors: Ali Shaikh Faruque , Ramaswamy Ananth
Published: February 2013

This chapter provides an introduction to semi active control of base isolated buildings using magnetorheological (MR) dampers. Recently developed nonlinear control algorithms are discussed. First a fuzzy logic control (FLC) is designed to decide how much voltage is required to be supplied to the MR damper for a desired structural response. The FLC is optimized using micro genetic algorithm. A novel geometric approach is developed to optimize the FLC rule base. Experiments are undertaken to access the efficacy of the optimal FLC. Secondly the chapter develops two model based control algorithms based on dynamic inversion and integrator backstepping approaches. A three storey base isolated building is used for experimental and numerical studies. A numerical comparison is shown with clipped optimal control.
eCommerce Trust Beliefs
Authors: Connolly Regina
Published: February 2013

Many studies have raised awareness of the importance of trust in the online commercial environment, and it is widely acknowledged. Due to the international nature of eCommerce, it is likely that the influence of culture may extend to online consumers’ trust responses. In this chapter, a trust measurement instrument that had been previously validated in Hong Kong was applied in both the United States and in Ireland—countries that differ in terms of individualism, uncertainty avoidance, and power-distance. Survey methodology was used to collect data. The results provide a refined understanding as to the influence of national culture on the generation of online consumers’ trust beliefs. In doing so, they advance the understanding of information systems and diffusion researchers as well as contributing to the understanding of online vendors who seek to gain insight into the factors that can engender consumer trust in their websites.
Subject Recommended Samples
Authors: Isaías Pedro , Pífano Sara , Miranda Paula
Published: February 2013

In a research project, the selection of the sample method is crucial, since it has repercussions throughout the entirety of the study. It determines how the population under scrutiny will be represented and with what accuracy. Hence, it has an important impact in terms of the reliability and validity of the research in general, and consequently, its conclusions. This chapter aims to explore snowball sampling as a chain-referral sampling method. An introductory review of the relevant literature highlights its main characteristics, benefits, and shortcomings, and provides a broader insight to circumstances where it can be successfully applied. This theoretical prologue is followed by the analysis of its employment in an online questionnaire and the presentation of the lessons learned from this sampling decision.
Online Ethnographies
Authors: Isomäki Hannakaisa , Silvennoinen Johanna
Published: February 2013

Various new approaches of ethnographic research have been developed for inquiries in online settings. However, it is not clear whether these approaches are similar, different from each other, and if they can be used to study the same phenomena. In this chapter, the authors compare different suggested methodological approaches for conducting ethnographic research in online environments. Based on a literature review, 16 approaches, such as netnography, Webnography, network ethnography, cyber-ethnography, and digital ethnography, are analysed and compared to each other. The analysis of the online ethnography proposals is conducted through a case comparison method by a data-driven framework. The framework provides structures for the analysis in terms of relations between Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), research object, researcher position, and research procedures. The results suggest that these approaches disclose fundamental differences in relation to each other and in relation to the basic idea of traditional ethnography. Finally, the authors discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the analysed approaches.
The Role of Case-Based Research in Information Technology and Systems
Authors: Blake Roger , Gordon Steven , Shankaranarayanan G.
Published: February 2013

Increasingly, academic research in Information Technologies and Systems (ITS) is emphasizing the application of research models and theories to practice. In this chapter, the authors posit that case-based research has a significant role to play in the future of research in ITS because of its ability to generate knowledge from practice and to study a problem in context. Understanding context—social, organizational, political, and cultural—is mandatory to learning and effectively adopting best practices. The authors describe some examples of case-based research to highlight this point of view. They further identify key topics and themes based on examining the abstracts from prominent case-based research over the past decade, analyzing their trends, and hypothesizing what the role of case-based research will be in the coming decades.
Design of Cellular Manufacturing System Using Non-Traditional Optimization Algorithms
Authors: P.Venkumar  , Sekar K.Chandra
Published: February 2013

For the last many years a lot of study has been done on design of Cellular Manufacturing System (CMS). Cellular Manufacturing is an application of Group Technology (GT) philosophy in which similar parts are identified and grouped together to take advantage of their similarities in design and manufacturing. The design of CMS involves three stages i) grouping of parts and production equipments into cells (Cell Formation), ii) allocation of the machine cells to the areas within the shop floor and iii) layout of the machines within each cell. In recent years non-traditional optimization algorithms/techniques have fascinated scientists and engineers all over the world. Particularly in complex dynamic environments, these algorithms/techniques are needed to explore beyond the vicinity of existing knowledge. These algorithms have the ability to think and learn from own experience. They are called Meta heuristics because they perform considerable search before terminating to provide a good solution to the problem. Popular Meta heuristics are Genetic Algorithms (GA), Simulated Annealing (SA), Tabu Search (TS), Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), Artificial Immune System (AIS), and Sheep Flock Heredity Algorithm (SFHA). In this chapter the implementation of Meta heuristics for the design of Cell Formation problem in CMS is discussed.
Cell Loading and Family Scheduling for Jobs with Individual Due Dates
Authors: Süer Gürsel A. , Mese Emre M.
Published: February 2013

In this chapter, cell loading and family scheduling in a cellular manufacturing environment is studied. What separates this study from others is the presence of individual due dates for every job in a family. The performance measure is to minimize the number of tardy jobs. Family splitting among cells is allowed but job splitting is not. Even though family splitting increases number of setups, it increases the possibility of meeting individual job due dates. Two methods are employed in order to solve this problem, namely Mathematical Modeling and Genetic Algorithms. The results showed that Genetic Algorithm found the optimal solution for all problems tested. Furthermore, GA is efficient compared to the Mathematical Modeling especially for larger problems in terms of execution times. The results of experimentation showed that family splitting was observed in all multi-cell solutions, and therefore, it can be concluded that family splitting is a good strategy.
Production Planning Models using Max-Plus Algebra
Authors: Nambiar Arun N. , Imaev Aleksey , Judd Robert P. , Carlo Hector J.
Published: February 2013

The chapter presents a novel building block approach to developing models of manufacturing systems. The approach is based on max-plus algebra. Within this algebra, manufacturing schedules are modeled as a set of coupled linear equations. These equations are solved to find performance metrics such as the make span. The chapter develops a generic modeling block with three inputs and three outputs. It is shown that this structure can model any manufacturing system. It is also shown that the structure is hierarchical, that is, a set of blocks can be reduced to a single block with the same three inputs and three output structure. Basic building blocks, like machining operations, assembly, and buffering are derived. Job shop, flow shop, and cellular system applications are given. Extensions of the theory to buffer allocation and stochastic systems are also outlined. Finally, several numerical examples are given throughout the development of the theory.
Planning Process Families with PROGRES
Authors: Zhang Linda L
Published: February 2013

Process family planning has been well recognized as an effective means of maintaining production efficiency by exploiting process reuse and near mass production efficiency underlying product families. To support process family planning automation, this study develops a PROGRES-based approach to modeling planning data, knowledge and reasoning. The PROGRES-based process family planning models are hierarchically organized. At the top level, a meta model is defined to conceptualize process family planning in general. Based on this meta model, generic models are defined for planning process families for specific product families (i.e., specific process family planning). Finally, instance models are obtained by instantiating the generic models, representing production processes for given product family members. The proposed approach is illustrated with planning processes for a textile spindle family.
Lean Thinking Based Investment Planning at Design Stage of Cellular/Hybrid Manufacturing Systems
Authors: Durmusoglu M. Bulent , Kaya Goksu
Published: February 2013

This chapter focuses on providing a methodology for lean thinking based investment planning from the perspective of cellular or hybrid manufacturing systems. The chapter has been divided into three parts. First part provides a general explanation of why lean thinking is so beneficial for managing manufacturing processes and obtaining sustained improvement. This part then moves to the aim of cell formation, and then uses value stream mapping to map current state for visualizing material-information flow and to design a desired future state for examining economic aspects of new machine investment decisions aligned with lean manufacturing principles. The purpose of second part is to explore axiomatic design approach; it provides an overall view of what to do. The third part presents the actual use of the methodology with implementation of hybrid system at a furniture factory; it helps to see application results of this methodology as part of a lean manufacturing program.
Petri Net Model Based Design and Control of Robotic Manufacturing Cells
Authors: Yasuda Gen’ichi
Published: February 2013

The methods of modeling and control of discrete event robotic manufacturing cells using Petri nets are considered, and a methodology of decomposition and coordination is presented for hierarchical and distributed control. Based on task specification, a conceptual Petri net model is transformed into the detailed Petri net model, and then decomposed into constituent local Petri net based controller tasks. The local controllers are coordinated by the coordinator through communication between the coordinator and the controllers. Simulation and implementation of the control system for a robotic workcell are described. By the proposed method, modeling, simulation, and control of large and complex manufacturing systems can be performed consistently using Petri nets.
Equipment Replacement Decisions Models with the Context of Flexible Manufacturing Cells
Authors: Dima Ioan Constantin , Grabara Janusz , Nowicka-Skowron Mária
Published: February 2013

The main problem of establishing equipment replacement decisions rules under specific conditions is to find decision variables that minimize total incurred costs over a planning horizon. Basically, the rules differ depending on what type of production type is used. For a batch production organization the suitable criterion is built on the principle of economies of scale. Proposed econometric models in this chapter are focused on a multiple machine replacement problem in flexible manufacturing cells with several machines for parts’ processing, and industrial robots for manipulation and transportation of manufactured objects. Firstly, models for a simple case multiple machine replacement problems are presented. Subsequently, the more complicated case is considered where technological improvement is taken into account.
E-Government for Transparency in Mexico
Authors: Galíndez-Hernández Cristina , Velasco-Sánchez Ernesto
Published: February 2013

In the last decade, Mexico’s developments regarding the recognition and protection of the right to access the government’s information has been considerable. The use of internet has been a key factor to make information available and to make citizen-government interactions easier. However, institutional, structural and behavioral factors continue to be obstacles to the effective realization of the right to information. The chapter provides a brief background to the development of e-government at the federal level and of the transparency legislation. The use of IT in the implementation of the LFTAIPG is explained and main strengths and weaknesses are identified. The main structural, institutional, and cultural limits to the use of ICTs for making the right to information effective are presented. Finally, some concluding remarks are offered in relation to the interaction between internet technologies and institutional behaviors that can thwart the efficacy of e-government as means to foster citizen engagement.
Global Digital Divide
Authors: Baasanjav Undrahbuyan
Published: February 2013

This chapter explores several factors of the global digital divide in the former socialist country of Mongolia. By analyzing manifest media content on the Internet, as well as by interviewing people involved in Internet development, this chapter goes beyond the question of access to the Internet and asks how language factors exacerbate the digital divide in an impoverished country. Initiating non-Western alphabet domain names and setting culturally inclusive non-Western alphabet standards have been important steps in achieving linguistic diversity on the Internet and overcoming the global digital divide in countries like Mongolia. Furthermore, this chapter explores how a post-communist political setting, aid dependency, and international organizations influence Internet development. The analysis of in-depth interviews provides nuanced explanation of the socialist legacy that is traced in institutional routines, people’s attitudes, and social practices.