bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Towards Structured Flexibility in Information Systems Development
Authors: Karlsson Fredrik , Ågerfalk Pär J.
Published: May 2011

Method configuration is a specific type of Method Engineering (ME) that takes an existing organization-wide Information Systems Development Method (ISDM) as its point of departure. Existing assembly-based ME approaches are not well suited to this task. As an alternative, this paper suggests a metamethod approach to tailoring organization-wide ISDMs. We refer to this approach as the Method for Method Configuration (MMC). MMC takes into account the need to combine structure, which is one reason for choosing an organization-wide ISDM in the first place, with flexibility, which is essential for making the chosen ISDM fit actual projects. The metamethod is built using a three-layered reuse model comprising method components, configuration packages, and configuration templates. These concepts are combined efficiently to produce a situational method and thereby to facilitate the work of method engineers.
On Efficient Evaluation of XML Queries
Authors: Sakr Sherif
Published: May 2011

Recently, the use of XML continues to grow in popularity, large repositories of XML documents are going to emerge, and users are likely to pose increasingly more complex queries on these data sets. In 2001 XQuery is decided by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) as the standard XML query language. In this article, we describe the design and implementation of an efficient and scalable purely relational XQuery processor which translates expressions of the XQuery language into their equivalent SQL evaluation scripts. The experiments of this article demonstrated the efficiency and scalability of our purely relational approach in comparison to the native XML/XQuery functionality supported by conventional RDBMSs and has shown that our purely relational approach for implementing XQuery processor deserves to be pursued further.
Viticulture zoning by an experimental wsn
Authors: Mariño P. , Fontán F.P. , Domínguez M.A. , Otero S.
Published: May 2011

Biological research in agriculture needs a lot of specialized electronic sensors in order to fulfill different goals, like as: climate monitoring, soil and fruit assessment, control of insects and diseases, chemical pollutants, identification and control of weeds, crop tracking, and so on. That research must be supported by consistent biological models able to simulate diverse environmental conditions, in order to predict the right human actions before risky biological damage could be irreversible. In this paper an experimental distributed network based on climatic and biological wireless sensors is described, for providing real measurements in order to validate different biological models used for viticulture applications. Firstly is introduced the rationale of zoning in Galicia’s territory. Then the experimental network for field automatic data acquisition is presented, as a system based in a distributed process. Following, the design of the wireless network is explained in detail, with a previous discussion about the state-of-the-art, and some measurements for viticulture research are pointed out. Finally future developments and conclusions are stated.
A Linked Neighboring Leaves N-Tree to Support Distance Range Search
Authors: Najjar Faïza , Slimani Hassenet
Published: May 2011

Mobile query processing is, actually, a very active research field. Range and nearest neighbor queries are common types of queries in spatial databases and location based services (LBS). In this paper, we focus on finding nearest neighbors of a query point within a certain distance range. An example of query, frequently met in LBS, is “Find all the nearest gas stations within 2 miles neighborhood of his/her current location”. We propose two approaches for answering such queries. Both are based on a recent indexing technique called N-tree. The first one is a branch and bound approach, whereas the second, called ‘neighborhoods scanning’, is based on a variant of N-tree, Leaves-Linked N-tree (LLN-tree). LLN-tree is an index tree structure that avoids visiting multiple paths during range search. Both techniques are presented, illustrated and evaluated. Experiments show that the latter approach outperforms the former in response time and disk access as well.
Context-Aware Recommender Systems in Vehicular Networks and Other Mobile Domains
Authors: Woerndl Wolfgang , Brocco Michele , Eigner Robert
Published: May 2011

We give an overview of ideas for integrating context in recommender systems in general and specifically in various mobile application domains. Our main case study is an approach for vehicular ad-hoc networks (VANETs). The system recommends gas stations based on driver preferences, ratings of other users and context information such as the current location and fuel level of a car. We explain the main design issues behind our recommender. Our approach first filters items based on preferences and context, and then takes ratings of other users and additional information into account, which can be relayed from car to car in a VANET. We also outline other mobile scenarios for contextualized recommender systems: a system for recommending mobile applications based on user context, an approach to find relevant resources in mobile semantic personal information management, and a decentralized recommender system for personal digital assistants (PDAs) that has been successfully applied in a real world mobile city guide.
Adaptability and Adaptivity in The Generation of Web Applications
Authors: Ben Djemaa Raoudha , Amous Ikram , Ben Hamadou Abdelmajid
Published: May 2011

This article proposes a generator for adaptive Web applications called GIWA. GIWA‘s objective is to facilitate the automatic execution of the design and the generation of Adaptable Web Applications (AWA). Characteristically, the effort in this work has to be pursued with special attention to both issues applied to AWA: adaptability and adaptivity. The architecture of GIWA is based on three levels: the semantic level, the conceptual level and the generation one. Using GIWA, designers specifies, at the semantic level the features of Web application. The conceptual level focuses on the creation of diagrams in WA-UML language; the extended UML by our new concepts and new design elements for adaptation. At the generation level, GIWA acquires all information about users’ preferences and their access condition. Consequently, the generated pages are adaptable to all these information. An evaluation and a validation of GIWA are given in this article to prove our adaptation.
Analyzing the Traffic Characteristics for Evaluating the Performance of Web Caching
Authors: Sajeev G.P. , Sebastian M.P.
Published: May 2011

Web cache systems enhance Web services by reducing the client side latency. To deploy an effective Web cache, study about traffic characteristics is indispensable. Various reported results show the evidences of long range dependence (LRD) in the data stream and rank distribution of the documents in Web traffic. This chapter analyzes Web cache traffic properties such as LRD and rank distribution based on the traces collected from NLANR (National Laboratory of Applied Network Research) cache servers. Traces are processed to investigate the performance of Web cache servers and traffic patterns. Statistical tools are utilized to measure the strengths of the LRD and popularity. The Hurst parameter, which is a measure of the LRD is estimated using various statistical methods. It is observed that presence of LRD in the trace is feeble and has practically no influence on the Web cache performance.
A Framework for Early Usability Integration in Web Applications Development Process
Authors: Andrei Daniela M. , Guran Adriana M.
Published: May 2011

Developing usable products becomes more and more important for software developers. Developing web applications it’s more challenging than developing desktop applications due to the various users that will interact with the final product. Satisfying users’ expectations becomes a very difficult task, as usability proves to be a very complex goal to achieve in the context of increased productivity targets in software engineering process. The present chapter focuses on the idea of rethinking the concept of usability moving from the traditional view of usability expressed in the internal characteristics of the product towards usability understood as deriving from the quality of interactions between humans, their work and the web design product. Usability is not only an add-on or a final result in the design process but it is embedded as a main concern within the design process itself. In order to build usable products, a great attention should be oriented to users and their needs, and this can be a very challenging task for software developer teams. In this chapter we will describe an interdisciplinary approach, based on applying social sciences techniques and methods that can be helpful in overcoming the difficulties in understanding the users. We will provide a short description of the proposed methods, a guide in applying these methods and a framework that integrates each of the proposed methods into the corresponding step of the web product development life cycle. The chapter ends with the presentation of two case studies showing the applicability of the proposed solution in real design contexts.
Towards the Transition to a Post-Carbon Society
Authors: Galharret Sophie , Wang Laurent Beduneau
Published: May 2011

Traditional strategic approaches based on competitive market environment analysis are increasingly challenged. In particular, the political momentum around global environmental issue (such as climate change) aspires to transform the traditional fossil-fuel based-economy into a low-carbon and sustainable world. Taking this into consideration, the authors of this chapter explore how existing businesses are envisioning the prospect of a low-carbon future into the elaboration of their strategies. This chapter provides a diagnosis of internal and external factors that will trigger incentives to reshape business models incorporating green considerations, on a basis of three sectors analysis (oil, car and outdoor sportswear industries). The authors are aiming at enlightening the way they conceive the transition and the challenges that remain for business transformations.
Environmental Standardization for Sustainability
Authors: Bagby John W.
Published: May 2011

It is axiomatic that environmental controls are expressed as environmental standards, a traditional driver of investment in pollution control. Environmental standards spur investment in green technologies that promise to stimulate sustainable business models. The institutional framework of environmental standardization is complex; a widely misunderstood political process. A variety of standardization activities have impacted environmental protection historically and are now poised for further growth as green market discipline proliferates. Environmental standardization is a unique fusion of technology design and public policy development involving various constituencies: environmentalists, technologists, legislatures, regulators, standards-setting bodies, upstream suppliers, downstream users, and society’s affected communities. This chapter reviews the role of standardization activities in setting environmental constraints, in the development of green technologies, and in establishing metrics for environmental certification and monitoring. The implications of managing environmental standardization to attract financing for sustainable business models are so significant that disregarding the risks of environmental standardization imperils competitiveness.
Greener Data Centres in the Netherlands
Authors: Thiadens Theo , Dorenbos Marko , Kasper Andries , Counoutte-Potman Anda
Published: May 2011

The conclusion of this chapter is that in the year 2009, the norms in this field are not yet fully present; that by making use of these norms in procurement, buyers will be able to arrive at more sustainable ICT; that from the current situation, consolidation alone could without any problem, enable achievement of the long-term agreement between the Dutch ICT trade organization and the Dutch government, an agreement in which over a period of 25 years starting in 2005, 2% less energy should be used every year; that every data centre needs to map its energy consumption and sustainability systematically, and that in 2009, over 50% over the annually installed ICT equipment in the Netherlands is recycled.
An Environmentally Integrated Manufacturing Analysis Combined with Waste Management in a Car Battery Manufacturing Plant
Authors: Kasap Suat , Demirer Sibel Uludag , Ergün Sedef
Published: May 2011

This chapter presents an environmentally integrated manufacturing system analysis for companies looking for the benefits of environmental management in achieving high productivity levels. When the relationship between environmental costs and manufacturing decisions is examined, it can be seen that the productivity of the company can be increased by using an environmentally integrated manufacturing system analysis methodology. Therefore, such a methodology is presented and the roadmap for generating environmentally friendly and economically favorable alternative waste management solutions is elaborated. The methodology combines data collection, operational analysis of the manufacturing processes, identification of wastes, and evaluation of waste reduction alternatives. The presented methodology is examined in a car battery manufacturing plant, which generates hazardous wastes composed of lead. It is aimed to decrease the wastes derived from the production so that the efficiency in raw materials usage is increased and the need for recycling the hazardous wastes is decreased.
Building a Sustainable Regional Eco System for Green Technologies
Authors: Greenlee Bob , Daim Tugrul
Published: May 2011

This chapter begins with a brief overview of the environmental and policy drivers for cellulosic ethanol, and a description of the basic technology behind it. It then outlines a simple methodology for selecting the three primary components of a sustainable supply chain in the Pacific Northwest: feedstock, process, and distribution method. Using a weighted rating scale, the authors evaluate the alternatives for feedstocks, conversion processes, and distribution methods, and make some recommendations for an Oregon-based facility. These results are compared with the approach chosen by a new cellulosic ethanol startup, Pacific Ethanol, currently under construction in Boardman, Oregon. Although Pacific Ethanol’s choices help confirm the model, the model also provides valuable information for other potential ethanol production companies based in the Pacific Northwest.
The Evolution of Collaborative Work
Authors: Rahschulte Tim
Published: May 2011

Organizational designs and the organization of work have evolved over time, but the essence of collaboration has always been paramount, especially for organizations seeking efficiency, effectiveness, and survivability. Starting with a biblical reference, then reviewing animal pack mentality, and thoroughly detailing the innovativeness of human interaction, this chapter explores the evolution of collaborative work.
Trust in Distributed Teams
Authors: Rylander Stephen
Published: May 2011

Creating and maintaining trust amongst distributed team members is required for an organization to benefit from a distributed team model. Where face-to-face interactions were once the only model to gradually create trust, different models are required for a team that is not co-located. This chapter examines the basic need for trust, how the individual comes before the team, barriers to trust, and prepares the reader to examine his or her own situation to improve or create a new team based on trusting professional relationships.
A Complex Systems Theory and Model of Distributed Team Development
Authors: Bond Peter L.
Published: May 2011

Confidence in distributed or virtual team working is running high. However, some concern is evident that practice is leaping ahead of theories to guide its implementation. There are calls for new and improved theories to specifically embrace distributed team working. This chapter is a response to such calls, offering a complex-systems-based model of organization development. This model was originally designed to improve performance of the management of technology and innovation, but also underpins a methodology of community of practice and team development known as the KALiF System. The theory and model described here is mainly a synthesis of established team and community of practice theory, Dunbar’s Social Brain Hypothesis, and elements of complexity science based on the work of the biologists and systems thinkers Humberto Maturana & Francisco Varela, and also Stuart Kaufmann on attenuated supracritical systems.
Inter-Organization Partnership and Collaborative Work Tools
Authors: Larson Deanne
Published: May 2011

When virtual organizations collaborate, many barriers exist that have the potential to block the integration and efficiencies of the partnership. Barriers can stem from the organizations having different cultural values or technical infrastructures. Analyzing two collaborating virtual organizations provides insight into success factors, lessons learned, management implications, and the role of collaborative work tools. This analysis focused on the critical success factors of the partnership and lessons learned after the implementation as well as how the role of management changed as a result of this inter-organizational partnership. The case was based on first hand observation of the author who had a role as a project manager who oversaw an inter-organizational project partnership between a high-tech company located in the United States and an offshore company located in India.
Creating the Environment for High Performing Distributed Teams
Authors: Rahschulte Tim , Steele Jim
Published: May 2011

The organizational workforce has always been a complex landscape. The varying personalities, demographics, and needs have challenged organizations to be legal, fair, and just, while simultaneously competing for market share and profit margins. Although these conditions are not mutually exclusive, due to the global reach for market share and use of supporting technologies, workforces have grown increasingly diverse over the past three decades. Organizations have looked to their Human Resource (HR) division to support business strategy, growth, and development. While a few have stepped up to accommodate, many HR divisions have struggled to support business needs in perhaps the greatest time of flux in modern day business. This is creating a serious issue for most organizations who recognize the competitive way forward is through effective Human Resource Development (HRD). Business success has always been about the people and it will continue to be so. Therefore, organizations struggling to develop their workforce to perform in complex, highly distributed situations will continue to lag (often far behind) the effective workforces of their competitors. This chapter offers best and next practices from HRD leaders accommodating the needs of their businesses.
Selection
Authors: Moore Jo Ellen , Williams Clay K.
Published: May 2011

When studying job analysis, recruitment, training, and even retention in IT HR management, an oft-overlooked element of the picture is selection. This chapter acknowledges and models the interplay among these components and then focuses on selection. The general steps in designing an effective selection process are reviewed, and a particularly interesting and useful selection technique is examined: critical incidents (or CI). Data from a CI analysis of the job of IT project manager are used to illustrate how a CI study is conducted and how the output from CI can be used to improve a selection process, as well as inform job analysis and training. The chapter concludes by identifying ways that the examination of selection can extend IT HR research and, ultimately, improve the effectiveness of IT HR management.
The Critical Five People Practices of IT Leaders
Authors: Oglesby John N.
Published: May 2011

The key to an effective IT organization is to hire good people and nurture them. While recognizing that individual people require individual considerations, the five important management practices elaborated in this chapter are fundamental. They are to provide employees (1) interesting and challenging work, (2) the freedom to do it their way, (3) things they can own, (4) an environment in which they can excel, and (5) recognition for their efforts and accomplishments.
Considerations for Organizations and Personnel
Authors: Meisenbacher Lisa K.
Published: May 2011

This recent perspective on IT HR trends discusses the changes in skills required for a successful IT career, while recognizing the dynamics of the changes in demand for IT talent. Fundamental is the need to build and maintain a strong network.
Temporal Data Warehousing
Authors: Golfarelli Matteo , Rizzi Stefano
Published: May 2011

Data warehouses are information repositories specialized in supporting decision making. Since the decisional process typically requires an analysis of historical trends, time and its management acquire a huge importance. In this paper we consider the variety of issues, often grouped under term temporal data warehousing, implied by the need for accurately describing how information changes over time in data warehousing systems. We recognize that, with reference to a three-levels architecture, these issues can be classified into some topics, namely: handling data/schema changes in the data warehouse, handling data/schema changes in the data mart, querying temporal data, and designing temporal data warehouses. After introducing the main concepts and terminology of temporal databases, we separately survey these topics. Finally, we discuss the open research issues also in connection with their implementation on commercial tools.
A Hybrid Method for High-Utility Itemsets Mining in Large High-Dimensional Data
Authors: Guangzhu Yu Guangzhu , Shao Shihuang , Luo Bin , Zeng Xianhui
Published: May 2011

Existing algorithms for high-utility itemsets mining are column enumeration based, adopting an Apriorilike candidate set generation-and-test approach, and thus are inadequate in datasets with high dimensions or long patterns. To solve the problem, this paper proposed a hybrid model and a row enumerationbased algorithm, i.e., Inter-transaction, to discover high-utility itemsets from two directions: an existing algorithm can be used to seek short high-utility itemsets from the bottom, while Inter-transaction can be used to seek long high-utility itemsets from the top. Inter-transaction makes full use of the characteristic that there are few common items between or among long transactions. By intersecting relevant transactions, the new algorithm can identify long high-utility itemsets, without extending short itemsets step by step. In addition, we also developed new pruning strategies and an optimization technique to improve the performance of Inter-transaction.
On Handling the Evolution of External Data Sources in a Data Warehouse Architecture
Authors: Wrembel Robert
Published: May 2011

A data warehouse architecture (DWA) has been developed for the purpose of integrating data from multiple heterogeneous, distributed, and autonomous external data sources (EDSs) as well as for providing means for advanced analysis of integrated data. The major components of this architecture include: an external data source (EDS) layer, and extraction-transformation-loading (ETL) layer, a data warehouse (DW) layer, and an on-line analytical processing (OLAP) layer. Methods of designing a DWA, research developments, and most of the commercially available DW technologies tacitly assumed that a DWA is static. In practice, however, a DWA requires changes among others as the result of the evolution of EDSs, changes of the real world represented in a DW, and new user requirements. Changes in the structures of EDSs impact the ETL, DW, and OLAP layers. Since such changes are frequent, developing a technology for handling them automatically or semi-automatically in a DWA is of high practical importance. This chapter discusses challenges in designing, building, and managing a DWA that supports the evolution of structures of EDSs, evolution of an ETL layer, and evolution of a DW. The challenges and their solutions presented here are based on an experience of building a prototype Evolving-ETL and a prototype Multiversion Data Warehouse (MVDW). In details, this chapter presents the following issues: the concept of the MVDW, an approach to querying the MVDW, an approach to handling the evolution of an ETL layer, a technique for sharing data between multiple DW versions, and two index structures for the MVDW.
A Dynamic and Semantically-Aware Technique for Document Clustering in Biomedical Literature
Authors: Song Min , Hu Xiaohua , Yoo Illhoi , Koppel Eric
Published: May 2011

As an unsupervised learning process, document clustering has been used to improve information retrieval performance by grouping similar documents and to help text mining approaches by providing a high-quality input for them. In this paper, the authors propose a novel hybrid clustering technique that incorporates semantic smoothing of document models into a neural network framework. Recently, it has been reported that the semantic smoothing model enhances the retrieval quality in Information Retrieval (IR). Inspired by that, the authors developed and applied a context-sensitive semantic smoothing model to boost accuracy of clustering that is generated by a dynamic growing cell structure algorithm, a variation of the neural network technique. They evaluated the proposed technique on biomedical article sets from MEDLINE, the largest biomedical digital library in the world. Their experimental evaluations show that the proposed algorithm significantly improves the clustering quality over the traditional clustering techniques including k-means and self-organizing map (SOM).
The Effects of Communicative Genres on Intra-Group Conflict in Virtual Student Teams
Authors: Hsu Jung-Lung , Chou Huey-Wen
Published: May 2011

With increasing convenience and prevalence, the distant communication application has become a promising way for individuals who are eager to cooperate and interact virtually. This study explored the question of whether the collaborative interaction of the virtual teams has any effect on the conflict and network structure of virtual groups. A total of 150 participants were invited and randomly assigned to thirty groups with each group of five subjects. To function like real virtual groups, they were asked to communicate with their members through e-mail. Through genre analysis and social network analysis, nine communicative genres most frequently used in the collaborative groups were identified. Results of correlation analysis suggested that it was the communicative genres, not the network structure, that were associated with intra-group conflict of virtual group. Accordingly, whether the network structure of the virtual group is centralized or decentralized may not be instructors’ or developers’ major concern. Instead, they may wish to focus on a well-designed interface providing needed supports of communicative procedure for coordinating with distant members.
E-Learning Practice and Experience at Waseda E-School
Authors: Nishimura Shoji , Scott Douglass J. , Kato Shogo
Published: May 2011

In 2003, the School of Human Sciences, Waseda University (Japan), established the e-School, Japan’s first complete undergraduate program enabling students to earn their bachelor degrees solely through e-learning. Supported by the widespread availability of high-speed Internet connections, it has become possible to economically transmit videotaped lectures with an image quality close to that of television across Japan and throughout the world. In addition, lecture contents are transmitted with an image quality that allows students to easily read what is written on the blackboard. Waseda’s e-School has many features that contribute to its success, among these are the coupling of online and on-campus courses enhancing students educational experiences. In addition, online classes are relatively small—most are capped at 30 students—and new classes are created to respond to students’ needs and interests. This chapter outlines the e-School’s history, curriculum, administration, and management learning system. Various data are presented for the first four years of the e-School’s operation (2003-2006), when the newly-created program was under the Ministry of Education’s mandatory supervision period.
Linking MUVE Education and Best Educational Practices
Authors: DeMers Michael N.
Published: May 2011

A major impediment to the adoption of multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) is a misperception that their use is more a function of their exotic nature than their ability to deliver a quality learning experience. The linkage between best educational practices and the use of MUVEs as educational venues shows a mix of strong and weaker linkages parallels that of traditional education. MUVEs are extremely adept at providing active learning experiences, providing scenarios for students to examine their preconceptions, creating real-world settings for learning, and for developing collaborative environments and student-faculty interactions. There is evidence that, when well designed, educational environments support different learning styles, although this is poorly studied. The remaining best educational practices demonstrate either loose associations, or lack demonstrable examples for their support. These practices revolve around feedback both to students and to the instructor, and course assessment. Despite substantial research on these practices there seems ample opportunity for virtual worlds to provide not only comparable, but often-superior examples of best practices when applied properly. This inference should encourage others to experiment at both teaching in virtual worlds and researching the educational outcomes from them.
Mapping Current Teaching and Learning Practices to Multi-User Virtual Environments
Authors: Capanni Niccolo , Doolan Daniel C.
Published: May 2011

During the course of this chapter, the authors will examine the current methods of pedagogical teaching in higher education and explore the possible mapping into a multi-user virtual environment. The authors consider the process of construction and delivery for a module of student education. They examine the transition of delivery methods from the established, slow changing traditional media, to the modern flexibly of community based, open source driven methods which are the foundation of virtual environments.
Constructing an Experience in a Virtual Green Home
Authors: Mengel Mary Ann
Published: May 2011

Undergraduate students in an environmental science course learned to make environmentally-conscious decisions by visiting a virtual green home in Second Life (SL). One group of learners was immersed in a virtual field trip experience where they viewed evidence of green decisions in a virtual home. Another group studied the same content through a static website. Pre-test and post-test results for both groups demonstrate significant differences in scores after instruction. Results suggest a virtual world can provide an instructionally effective medium if instructors allow ample time and training for students to become familiar with the environment. Feedback from SL participants suggests that learners felt they had participated in an “experience.” Instructional design considerations which focus on creating an educational experience involving active tasks and social interactions might best maximize the educational usage of a virtual world.
Virtual Team Role Playing
Authors: Jaeger Bjoern , Helgheim Berit
Published: May 2011

Working in a virtual world creates new opportunities for both students and teachers. In particular, virtual team role play provides excellent support for collaborative learning approaches in a cost efficient manner. The purpose of this chapter is to describe experiences developing a virtual team role play learning environment in Second Life® over a period of three years. Theoretical justification for bringing role playing into a virtual world is provided. The chapter outlines the role play, its setup in both real and virtual world, and describes how it has evolved from a setup at one university, to a distributed case involving several locations. Experiences from role playing sessions are presented for each year.
Continuing Professional Development
Authors: Murphy Mr. Gerald A. , Calway Prof. Bruce A.
Published: May 2011

Organisations promote their services by stressing that their professional staff are members of the relevant professional association and by listing the certifications/credentials they hold. Practice alone is generally insufficient to ensure knowledge is effective and up to date. Continuing professional development (CPD) is a requirement for professionals to develop knowledge to enable them to competently and adequately provide services to clients or employers. Professionals work in environments where technical, legal, conceptual and/or social change mandates that processes, practices, knowledge and understanding need to evolve. Individual professionals, professional associations, and the employers of professionals may have differing objectives for CPD and have vested interests to ensure that CPD is designed to, and meets actual objectives. Integrating work with learning is fundamental, i.e. if learning is not seen as having practical application, it is not valued. The knowledge development of professionals can be enhanced through Work-Integrated Learning which takes into account that they: hold a body of knowledge, are adults, and operate in positions in which learning and work can be related. Informal learning, in particular communities of practice, is significant in the transfer of learning to professionals.
APOSDLE – learn@work
Authors: Lindstaedt Stefanie , Christl Conny
Published: May 2011

This chapter presents a domain-independent computational environment which supports work-integrated learning at the professional workplace. The Advanced Process-Oriented Self-Directed Learning Environment (APOSDLE) provides learning support during the execution of work tasks (instead of beforehand), within the work environment of the user (instead of within a separate learning system), and repurposes content which was not originally intended for learning (instead of relying on the expensive manual creation of learning material). Since this definition of work-integrated learning might differ from other definitions employed within this book, a short summary of the theoretical background is provided. Along the example of the company Innovation Service Network (ISN), a network of SME’s, a rich and practical description of the deployment and usage of APOSDLE is given. The chapter provides the reader with firsthand experiences and discusses efforts and lessons learned, backed up with experiences gained in two other application settings, namely EADS in France and a Chamber of Commerce and industry in Germany.
Work-Integrated Learning for Engineers in Coordination with Industries
Authors: Nuninger Walter , Châtelet Jean Marie
Published: May 2011

This chapter presents the curriculum and training process applied in the IESP department, standing for “Ingénieur d’Exploitation des Systèmes de Production” of the Ecole Polytechnique Universitaire de Lille (Polytech’Lille, F59 Villeneuve d’Ascq, France), with an emphasis upon the WIL training process for Exploitation Engineers of Production Systems. The IESP department is dedicated to lifelong learning and apprenticeship leading to a Master’s degree in Engineering (French Engineer level) in the production field. It is an accredited program. This practice relies upon a background experience of 18 years with close partnerships with industry from many sectors, such as; energy, metallurgy, food industry, automotive, chemical engineering, and aeronautics. The graduates from Continuing Vocational Education and Training (CVT) that are already employed in the company improve their position. Younger graduates from Initial Vocational education and Training (IVT) that also validated their abilities are much more employable. They can work in any industrial sector dealing with engineering production having a strong technical and managerial skill base. In this chapter, the historical setting up and evolution is elaborated in the legal French education framework. The training model based on the IESP professional profile is presented. This model presents an academic curriculum with WBL that integrates a real formative work situation in the industry. The tools and methods developed all along the training process are also focused within a sustainable development policy. Finally, success and difficulties or challenges with mobility due to the globalization of the economy and innovation with respect to the economical crisis are also discussed.
A Self-Paced Flexible ‘Learning While Earning’ Process
Authors: Clark P Kaye
Published: May 2011

Three of the professions directly related to the construction industries by which Central Queensland University’s undergraduate Built Environment programs are accredited, form the foci of this chapter. The students enrolled in those programs are working in the relevant industries during their part-time external studies. Although learning while working ’on the building site’ has been known since human beings first began constructing shelter, relevant background theories of philosophy and psychology have been introduced here and utilised to provide substantive support for a debate regarding the mixture of formal and informal opportunities for work-integrated learning to which these students are introduced. The strengths and weaknesses of flexible external studies, as well as the nature of their workplace-based learning in these programs, are discussed at length. Greater emphasis is placed on the need to capitalise on the many opportunities for reinforcement of, and reflection about principles and practices introduced in either or both their employment and/or undergraduate studies, than merely on the advantages or disadvantages of flexible external studies. These students’ truly work-integrated learning experience may be considered to be a ’self-paced flexible learning while earning’ process.
Life in the Pocket - The Ambient Life Project
Authors: Hemmert Fabian
Published: May 2011

The work reported in this article is concerned with the relationship of the user to his mobile phone, especially with the habit of checking the mobile phone for missed events. We present two qualitative studies that have been conducted with mobile phones, symbolizing their status through life-like movements - breath and pulse. It was to be determined whether a continuous, rythmic and life-like signal would be eligible to ambiently express the phone’s state. The results of the studies were mixed, as some users were simply annoyed by the permanent actuation, while others appreciated the functionality. The response times to occured events seem to be appropriate for an ambient display. The studies raised further questions, regarding the psychological and physiological consequences of such technology.
Staged Façades
Authors: Wally Bernhard , Ferscha Alois
Published: May 2011

Media façades, realized through projection systems, could be a promising technology for scalable public displays in urban spaces. With low requirements regarding the infrastructure and virtually no influence on the buildings’ fabric, projected façades offer exceptional flexibility and extensibility as well as easy maintenance. As cities are increasingly confronted with digital signage products besides other public display systems, a projector-based system offers the possibility to be switched off and restore the screen to its previous state in the blink of an eye. We present the prototypical implementation of a “Staged Façades Framework” leveraging a façade’s structure and ornamentation for dynamically adapting pieces of multimedia content.
Ambient Displays in Academic Settings
Authors: Rashid Umar , Quigley Aaron
Published: May 2011

This work reports on the findings of a case study examining the use of ambient information displays in an indoor academic setting. Using a questionnaire-based survey, we collect experiences and expectations of the viewers who are based on different floors of the same building. Based on the survey feedback, we offer some design principles to avoid the underutilization of peripheral displays and make the most of their potential in indoor environments.
Issues for the Evaluation of Ambient Displays
Authors: Shen Xiaobin , Vande Moere Andrew , Eades Peter , Hong Seok-Hee
Published: May 2011

This article is motivated by two evaluation case studies of ambient information displays. Firstly, an intrusive evaluation of a display called MoneyColor concentrates on the relationship between “distraction” and “comprehension”. This revealed that the comprehension is in direct proportion to display-distraction, but there is no clear relationship between comprehension and self-interruption. Secondly, a non-intrusive evaluation of a display called Fisherman described a quantitative measurement of user “interest” and applied this measurement to investigate “evaluation time” issue. These experiments give some insight into number of issues in evaluation of ambient displays.
Smart Home Research
Authors: Poland Michael P. , Nugent Chris D. , Wang Hui , Chen Liming
Published: May 2011

Smart Homes are environments facilitated with technology that act in a protective and proactive function to assist an inhabitant in managing their daily lives specific to their individual needs. A typical Smart Home implementation would include sensors and actuators to detect changes in status and to initiate beneficial interventions. This paper aims to introduce the diversity of recent Smart Home research and to present the challenges that are faced not only by engineers and potential inhabitants, but also by policy makers and healthcare professionals
An Exposition of Uncertain Reasoning Based Analysis
Authors: Beynon Malcolm J. , Holt Cathy , Whatling Gemma
Published: May 2011

Uncertain reasoning is closely associated with the pertinent analysis of data where there may be imprecision, inexactness, and uncertainty in its information content. In computer modelling, this should move any analysis to be inclusive of such potential uncertainty, away from the presumption of perfect data to be worked with. The nascent Classification and Ranking Belief Simplex (CaRBS) technique employed in this chapter enables analysis in the spirit of uncertain reasoning. The operational rudiments of the CaRBS technique are based on the Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence, affording the presence of ignorance in any analysis undertaken. An investigation of Total Hip Arthraplasty (THA), concerned with hip replacements, forms the applied problem around which the uncertain reasoning based analysis using CaRBS is exposited. The presented findings include the levels of fit in constructed models, and the contribution of features within the models. Where appropriate, numerical calculations are shown, to illustrate this novel form of analysis.
Knowledge Representation as a Tool for Intelligence Augmentation
Authors: van Breemen Auke J.J. , Farkas Jozsef I. , Sarbo Janos J.
Published: May 2011

The goal of Intelligence Augmentation (IA) is the development of tools that improve the efficiency of human intelligence. To this end, the authors of this chapter introduce a model of human conceptualization on the basis of a cognitive theory of information processing and a Peircean theory of signs. An account of two experiments is provided. The first concerns conceptualization by individuals, and the second describes how problem elicitation was approached by a team of participants. A preliminary analysis of the results shows that the proposed model is congruent with multi channel and multi purpose human information processing. This implies that the cognitive model can be used as a model for knowledge representation in various fields of human-computer interfacing such as computer aided problem solving and problem elicitation.
MLVQ
Authors: Ang Kai Keng , Quek Chai
Published: May 2011

The Learning Vector Quantization (LVQ) algorithm and its variants have been employed in some fuzzy neural networks to automatically derive membership functions from training data. Although several improvements to the LVQ algorithm have been proposed, problematic areas of the LVQ algorithm include: the selection of number of clusters, initial weights, proper training parameters, and forced termination. These problematic areas in the derivation of centroids of one-dimensional data are illustrated with an artificially generated experimental data set on LVQ, GLVQ, and FCM. A Modified Learning Vector Quantization (MLVQ) algorithm is presented in this chapter to address these problematic areas for one-dimensional data. MLVQ models the development of the nervous system in two stages: a first stage where the basic architecture and coarse connections patterns are laid out, and a second stage where the initial architecture is refined in activity-dependent ways. MLVQ determines the learning constant parameter and modifies the terminating condition of the LVQ algorithm so that convergence can be achieved and easily detected. Experiments on the MLVQ algorithm are performed and contrasted against LVQ, GLVQ, and FCM. Results show that MLVQ determines the number of clusters and converges to the centroids. Results also show that MLVQ is insensitive to the sequence of the training data, able to identify centroids of overlapping clusters, and able to ignore outliners without identifying them as separate clusters. Results using MLVQ algorithm and Gaussian membership functions with Pseudo Outer-Product Fuzzy Neural Network using Compositional Rule of Inference and Singleton fuzzifier (POPFNN-CRI(S)) on pattern classification and time series prediction are also provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the fuzzy membership functions derived using MLVQ.
Artificial Intelligence Techniques for Unbalanced Datasets in Real World Classification Tasks
Authors: Vannucci Marco , Colla Valentina , Cateni Silvia , Sgarbi Mirko
Published: May 2011

In this chapter a survey on the problem of classification tasks in unbalanced datasets is presented. The effect of the imbalance of the distribution of target classes in databases is analyzed with respect to the performance of standard classifiers such as decision trees and support vector machines, and the main approaches to improve the generally not satisfactory results obtained by such methods are described. Finally, two typical applications coming from real world frameworks are introduced, and the uses of the techniques employed for the related classification tasks are shown in practice.
Autonomic Agent Systems
Authors: Vinh Phan Cong
Published: May 2011

A new computing paradigm is currently on the spot: interaction based on series of actions. Most of autonomic agent systems (AASs) exploit this type of interaction to self-adjust their autonomous behaviors as a fundamental operational paradigm. At an interaction interface, actions evolve over time, hence series of actions occurs as a royal candidate for modeling, specifying, programming, and verifying AASs. For considering AASs, series of actions and adaptation relations; our formal approach consists, in particular, of categorical models and behaviors such that, firstly , AASs, series of actions and adaptation relations will categorically be modeled to provide algebraic frameworks for development of reasoning on their behaviors and, secondly, categorical behaviors of AASs, series of action and adaptation relations will be investigated and developed taking advantage of their categorical models.