bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Information Needs and Information Seeking Behavior of Physically Challenged Students and Faculty of the University of Delhi
Authors: Singh Ramneek , Kaur Amrit
Published: November 2012

Information seeking is a fluid and situation dependent activity where a seeker’s actions are influenced by access to information, perceived quality, and trust in the information source. The situation is more intense if the information seeker is a physically disabled person. This demands a call for a regular study and development of information system and management of information services for persons with disability The University of Delhi has more than 1200 students and teachers with disabilities in its various colleges and departments. Very little is known about the techniques employed by them when looking for information, what kinds of source formats they prefer to use and how these sources are used, what barriers they confront, how they feel about the process, and how they can be helped to better exploit the information resources available to them. This chapter investigates and finds the answers to the above questions by using survey methods of research. It also incorporates the use of information and assistive technology for information sought by the physically challenged students and teachers.
Information Literacy
Authors: Choudhury Subhajit , Kumar Sudhir , Kala Chitresh
Published: November 2012

The chapter defines Information Literacy with its scope, such as Visual Literacy, Media Literacy, Computer Literacy, Network Literacy, Health Literacy, Business Literacy, and Library Literacy. It establishes the relation between Literacy and Information Literacy as a modified definition of literacy. Further, it states that the root cause of digital divide in countries like India, Nepal, and Bangladesh is information illiteracy. The data collected on various e-initiatives in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh have been discussed. Information Literacy depends on various factors, and it should start from the National level so, after taking due consideration of socio-economic, geographic, and political condition, Information Literacy Plans have been formulated for these countries. First, at a national level, then at the educational level, and then community level. Further, the curriculum for IL courses at various levels have been formulated. It is suggested that the government should set up a national level apex body such as Indian Information Literacy Forum, Nepal Information Literacy Programme, Bangladesh Information Literacy Programme, or an Autonomous Information Literacy Council under the Ministry of Information Technology and in collaboration with Ministry of Human Resource Development and Ministry of Telecommunication in India, Ministry of Information and Communication in Nepal, and Ministry of Science and Information and Communication Technology in Bangladesh. It also suggests various other measures to make IL programmes to transform these countries into developed nations.
ICT in Libraries
Authors: Paul Shampa , Singh Shashi P.
Published: November 2012

Recent developments in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have characterized new ways of information generation, managing, and dissemination. The advancements in ICT with breakthrough in transient and permanent information storage technology have not only reduced the cost of infrastructure required for hosting digital libraries, but also demonstrated success in a wide variety of projects across the world. This chapter addresses and documents the emergence of digital technologies, the purpose and characteristics of digital libraries, and digitization policy. It also elaborates the process of digitization including the hardware and software requirements. This chapter also focuses on major digitization initiatives and the challenges of digitization.
A Dynamic Approach to Introduce Competency Frameworks
Authors: Echavarren Alfonso Urquiza
Published: November 2012

Although a wide consensus exists about potential business benefits derived from Competency based HR management practices, reality shows that in practice, Competency Management deployment cases are scarce and difficult to implement. This HR business related problem directly affects IT Software industries, both in HRMS applications development and consultancy related services. Market indicators reflect ‘unbalance’ between potential organizational benefits and actual applications deployment. In this context, defining useful, business-oriented Competency Frameworks has become an important challenge for many organizations willing to progress along through continuous HRM improvement processes. This paper addresses the major issues underlying this Competency Management unbalance. A new business-oriented approach proposing an alternative, scope extended methodology is outlined in this publication, after field validation and wide acceptance from experts in functional HR management and IT Systems professionals from various large size organizations. Therefore, the findings resulting from this research work have both theoretical and practical implications in helping IT management in defining efficient HRMS Competency based applications and deployment strategies.
Facades of Attractive Employer in Indian IT Industry
Authors: Saraswathy R. , Thamaraiselvan N. , Senthilarasu B. , Sivagnanasundaram M.
Published: November 2012

Despite advances in technology and major shifts in economy, people remain an organizations most valuable resource. Human capital and intellectual assets make a difference to the competitive advantage of the firm in a knowledge based industry. Employer Attractiveness (EA) is the prerequisite to attract and retain superior quality talent. Employer attractiveness can be defined as the envisioned benefits that a potential employee sees in working for a specific organization. This study empirically examines the elements of employer attractiveness in Information Technology (IT) industry from the perspective of current employees and determines the most attractive employer in the Indian IT industry. Results show that Indian IT employees valued economic factors, global opportunities, development factors, and application factors. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) was the most attractive employer, followed by Infosys, Wipro, Polaris Software Lab and Hexaware.
Work Practices to Curb Attrition in the Indian Hi-Tech Software Development Industry
Authors: Mathrani Anuradha , Mathrani Sanjay
Published: November 2012

Whilst collaborative knowledge work is gaining momentum across national borders, there are a number of issues associated with management of human resources creating this knowledge. This is especially relevant where IT professionals learn to apply present and prior work contexts together over ICT tools. But the tenure of IT professionals is often limited, leading to loss of specialist skills and continuity of knowledge flow. Indian firms have recognised the importance of human capital as a vital knowledge resource and are making efforts to reduce attrition. This paper sheds light on how hi-tech software firms overcome the challenges associated with the high attrition of IT professionals, and provides new insights on emerging practices for retaining and motivating the agents. Findings reveal that agents have the power to bring about transformation in organisational practices. New organisational routines for retaining professionals have been implemented to motivate professionals and capture contextual knowledge into project repositories. This reduces dependency of IT firms on individuals. The study illustrates empirically the dualism between IT professionals and organisational work structures for enabling each other in knowledge industries.
Using People-CMM for Diminishing Resistance to ITIL
Authors: Gama Nelson , Nunes da Silva Raúl , Mira da Silva Miguel
Published: November 2012

Information Technology (IT) now plays a fundamental role in most organizations. This increased responsibility and consequent impact in business performance leads to a higher demand and tighter control on IT Departments. To respond to these requirements, IT Departments have been implementing Service Management frameworks, with ITIL currently being the most popular. However, many ITIL projects fail, and the most commonly documented cause is organizational resistance. The main goal of this research work is to test the hypothesis that using best practices described in the People Capability Maturity Model (People-CMM) framework for improving organizational maturity has impact on achieving a greater ITIL maturity as well. This hypothesis was evaluated in three real-world case studies, and based on the results; the conclusion reached was that the hypothesis cannot be rejected. However, more research is needed to prove a cause-effect relation between People-CMM and ITIL.
A Multidisciplinary Problem Based Learning Experience for Telecommunications Students
Authors: Figuera Carlos , Morgado Eduardo , Gutiérrez-Pérez David , Alonso-Atienza Felipe , del Arco-Fernández-Cano Eduardo , Caamaño Antonio J. , Ramos-López Javier , Ramiro-Bargueño Julio , Requena-Carrión Jesús
Published: November 2012

The Telecommunications Engineering degree contains the study and understanding of a wide range of knowledge areas, like signal theory and communications, computer networks, and radio propagation. This diversity makes it hard for students to integrate different concepts, which is essential to tackle real and practical problems that involve different subjects. As a response to this need of integration, a group of professors at Rey Juan Carlos University carried out an educational project based on Problem Based Learning (PBL), called the Wireles4x4 Project. In this project, groups of students build a complete system to autonomously drive a radio controlled car, involving different technologies such as wireless communications, positioning systems, power management, and system integration. The results show that the participating students improve not only their specific knowledge on the involved issues, but also their capability of integrating different subjects of the degree and the skills for autonomous learning.
Engaging the Students in Activity Based Learning for Future Employability
Authors: Ross Margaret , Staples Geoff , Udall Mark
Published: November 2012

The paper discusses the introduction of Activity Based Learning for professional issues for undergraduate students in the School of Computing and Communications at Southampton Solent University. Its aim is to assist the students with their final year project and future employability. The use of the university’s learning environment, based on the Moodle open source software as a key component of the Activity Based Learning, the preparation by the students prior to the tutorials, and the group work within the tutorials are described. The views of the students on this approach are discussed. The paper describes how the students become more self reliant and self motivated in their learning approach. This will be of direct benefit to them in maintaining lifelong learning in their future profession.
Trust as an Aspect of Organisational Culture
Authors: Usoro Abel , Khan Imran U.
Published: November 2012

Knowledge sharing is of much interest to both practitioners and researchers because of its potential to quicken learning, enhance innovation, reduce costs, and place organisations on a competitive edge. A principal tool for knowledge sharing has been identified by researchers to be virtual communities in which research collaboration and other knowledge sharing activities easily take place. Some key factors examined in literature as influencing knowledge sharing are technological, economic, and cultural. This paper concentrates on organisation culture with specific focus on trust as its component. While trust has been researched in other contexts, it has not been researched as an organisational cultural component that could affect knowledge sharing in virtual communities. This gap in knowledge is what this paper aims to fill. A conceptual framework is developed to express the relationship between trust components and knowledge sharing in virtual communities. The framework will be verified in future empirical research; however, possible implications of the research to research and practice are presented.
Leading Techies
Authors: Westlund Steven
Published: November 2012

The leadership behavior of the immediate supervisor is found to contribute to subordinate job satisfaction and organizational commitment. The purpose of this study is to assess leadership styles that are significantly correlated with software developer job satisfaction. The participants were software developers from 24 organizations in higher education, consulting, defense contracting, and local government. Correlations were assessed through multiple linear regressions. The results indicate a significant predicting relationship between project manager leadership styles and software developer job satisfaction. Contingent-reward, active management-by-exception, and laissez-faire leadership styles are found to be significantly related to overall job satisfaction when controlling the effects of the other independent variables. Implications of these findings are discussed along with recommendations for IT professionals and researchers.
A Vertical Approach to Knowledge Management
Authors: Jahn Karsten , Nielsen Peter Axel
Published: November 2012

Software process improvement is a practical concern in software companies today and it has been addressed in research. Part of this research has applied a knowledge management perspective. Researchers point out that two different strategies exist where a mixture is difficult to maintain: Personalization (focus on people and their collaboration) and codification (focus on documents and their accessibility). This paper addresses different knowledge management problems of a software company and how they can be alleviated. A prototype, which distinguishes between different organizational levels (e.g., software managers and software developers) and applies different knowledge management strategies, was built. It consists of a wiki and an enterprise system. This article shows how each part of the system focuses on one of the strategies and describes the differences for tool support. This combination could be beneficial because the connection between the two different parts of the prototype works. Further implications for practitioners are explained.
Knowledge Base Development in Virtual Enterprise Network as Support for Workplace Risk Assessment
Authors: Dragoi George , Draghici Anca , Rosu Sebastian Marius , Radovici Alexandru , Cotet Costel Emil
Published: November 2012

The article presents research results based on the concept of collaborative infrastructure (as the virtual enterprise network PREMINV e-platform from “Politehnica” University of Bucharest, Romania), in order to unify existing standards for supply chain management and to provide support in various decision making processes in manufacturing supply networks. The intent is to facilitate and enhance the required knowledge management processes linked with the business process management. The virtual enterprise network expects to reduce small and medium-sized enterprises involvement in networking efforts, enable better and faster decision processes and promote the development of the business services. In addition, the new product development paradigm requires software tools for risk estimation and assessment. For this purpose, the authors describe a knowledge bases method build and use for the professional risk assessment as part of risk management process. The risk level is established based on the probability and severity of its consequences.
Designing Small Spaces
Authors: Lauren Ben
Published: November 2012

This case is useful as a model for institutions creating media labs in small spaces with a limited budget and advances a discussion of effective design among scholars, K-12 educators, a range of industries, and the corporate sector. By addressing how small spaces can function effectively for users, the author encourages representatives from these areas to design media labs in usable ways. The study begins by arguing for a user-centered approach to designing digital media labs in order to engage stakeholders in the design process. Then, the chapter explains the process of how the author engaged users while piloting several iterations of the Florida International University Digital Writing Studio, reporting what was learned about designing the space. Finally, the study investigates the usability of the Digital Writing Studio through a usability test meant to investigate the functionality of the space for collaboration among users. This case demonstrates a challenge that many must take on at a time when budgets are being cut and space is difficult to secure. Usability methods of inquiry can help create a space designed in part by stakeholders—a method that this case argues can be built into annual program assessment.
Challenges of Teaching with Technology in HE
Authors: Bond Emma , Goodchild Tim
Published: November 2012

This chapter examines current debates and theoretical approaches to studying new media technology and learning in a Higher Education (HE) context. The authors interrogate the relationship between HE spaces, technological advantages, and engaging pedagogy to emphasize the importance of understanding complex interrelationships between technology and learning. The findings of the multi-method ethnographic research with 30 lecturers reveal how shifting globalized paradigms have led to paradoxical perceptions which further impact perceptions of professionalism. The chapter draws on Latour’s (1993) Actor Network Theory (ANT) approach to modernity, which, as a form of belonging, endorses democracy (Strathern, 1999). This ANT-inspired case study argues that we need to critically re-evaluate the hybridity of HE spaces and that the traditional distinctions between the social spheres of learning have become blurred, and that an ANT approach enables us to gain greater understanding of a new hybrid world.
Going Out on a Limb
Authors: Violette Jayne L. , Daniel Christopher S. , Meiners Eric B. , Fairchild Jennifer L.
Published: November 2012

Faculty and professional staff members engaged in the development, implementation, and practice of the L.E.A.F. Model of Teaching and Learning at Eastern Kentucky University in the campus’ Incubator Classroom are working to define the qualities of “the ideal classroom” with the goal of addressing optimum and innovative student learning experiences. The L.E.A.F. Model, an acronym coined by Sweet & Blythe (2010), represents what is theoretically the “Learning Environment for Academia’s Future,” weaving together current research from education, instructional design, instructional communication, technology, and pedagogy to challenge outdated compartmentalized thinking about what it means to be a teacher in the 21st century. This case therefore represents a unique cross-disciplinary approach to the invention and use of “space” to accommodate this collaborative model while recognizing the complexities of teaching and learning in a fast-changing academic environment.
Beyond Physical Space
Authors: Elsayed Heba , Guevara Carlos , Hoda-Kearse Rebecca , Li Isabel , Lyons Kate , Rosa George , Sehgal Varun
Published: November 2012

The administration, faculty, and staff at Hostos Community College strive to improve students’ computer and information literacy skills while meeting the distinct needs of Millennials. In 2007, Hostos initiated a project to reconfigure physical spaces throughout the campus (areas in the Library, Academic Learning Center, Educational Technology Office, and Academic Computing Center) and establish a unified virtual space, creating a cross-divisional entity: the Information Learning Commons (ILC). This case discusses the formation of the ILC Committee, the group that envisions and manages physical ILC spaces’ renovation and also develops virtual spaces; the planning and implementation of physical learning commons spaces; the web applications that unify the ILC; the benefits of reducing duplication and optimizing resource utilization; Hostos current challenges with the ILC concept; and finally, the imminent expansion of virtual commons spaces. Hostos is an exemplar in how collaboration can creatively maximize resources through technology to meet students’ needs.
Re-Envisioning the Millersville University Library
Authors: McKinley Parrish Marilyn , Szczyrbak Greg
Published: November 2012

A scheduled infrastructure upgrade to an academic library building offered the opportunity for library faculty and staff at Millersville University to consider and implement a vision of a re-imagined library for the 21st century. With dramatic changes in learning spaces in higher education facilities since the building was designed and built in the 1960s, education, advocacy, and collaboration became central components of the planning process. This case study examines the design process of a library renovation project at a mid-sized regional comprehensive master’s-granting institution in south central Pennsylvania. The building of new partnerships, positive and persistent communication, and interdisciplinary collaboration strengthened the design process and set the stage for innovative uses of the new facility.
The Case of a Curriculum-Driven Experiential Learning Lab for Business Students
Authors: Kleine Susan Schultz
Published: November 2012

The chapter presents the case of collaborating to create a 21st-century learning space in the College of Business at a mid-sized comprehensive university in the Midwest (U.S.). The space is an experiential learning lab, designed for collaborative, hands-on learning to develop business acumen, innovative and integrative thinking, and communication skills. The space supports key elements of a new curriculum for business students as well as a learning space for entrepreneurship classes. The combination of the learning goals, pedagogy, and physical environment give the space its distinctiveness. This case highlights guidelines applicable to other educators considering the creation or adaptation of spaces intended for creative collaboration and experiential learning. Future directions include identifying best practices for space use, improving formative and summative assessment tools, and evaluating the extent to which the unique space enhances learning.
Connected
Authors: Lemley Lauren
Published: November 2012

Following the launch of their mobile learning initiative in the fall of 2008, administrators and faculty at Abilene Christian University (ACU) began working together to conceptualize how the campus should move forward to strengthen and diversify what students would learn from and about technology, and the skills they would take with them into their chosen careers. One result of these cross-campus conversations was the Learning Studio, an interdisciplinary, technologically focused, collaborative space, located within ACU’s Margaret and Herman Brown Library. This chapter explores how ACU constructed this facility to respond to the technologically sophisticated needs of 21st-century higher education and how the creation of this type of collaborative space both offers solutions to current issues and opens the door to solving future problems educators must take on if they hope to truly prepare their students for 21st-century careers.
Optimal Reactive Power Dispatch Using Quasi-Oppositional Biogeography-Based Optimization
Authors: Roy Provas Kumar , Mandal Dharmadas
Published: November 2012

In this paper, quasi-oppositional biogeography based-optimization (QOBBO) for optimal reactive power dispatch (ORPD) is presented. The proposed methodology determines control variable settings such as generator terminal voltages, tap positions of the regulating transformer and the Var injection of the shunts compensator, for real power loss minimization in the transmission system. The algorithm’s performance is studied with comparisons of canonical genetic algorithm (CGA), five versions of particle swarm optimization (PSO), local search based self-adaptive differential evolution (L-SADE), seeker optimization algorithm (SOA), biogeography based optimization (BBO) on the IEEE 30-bus and IEEE 57-bus power systems. The simulation results show that the proposed QOBBO approach performed better than the other listed algorithms and can be efficiently used for the ORPD problem.
Formal Framework of XML Document Schema Design
Authors: Zainol Zurinahni , Wang Bing
Published: November 2012

Designing “good” XML documents is a very difficult task for a database designer. Although many theories for XML database design have proposed, none of commercial design tool for XML document design has been developed to assist the XML document designer. In this paper, the authors present a formal framework of XML document design by incorporating a conceptual model of XML schema called Graph-Document Type Definition (G-DTD) with a theory of database normalization. This framework is designed as a blueprint to help the XML database designers to perform the XML document schema design quickly and accurately. The G-DTD is used to describe the structure of XML documents at the schema level. A set of normal forms for G-DTD on the basis of rules proposed by Arenas and Libkin and Lv. et al is used to provide a guideline to a well-designed schema for XML documents. They develop a prototype of XML document schema design using a Z formal specification language. Finally, using a case study, this formal specification is validated to check for correctness and consistency of the specification. Thus, this gives a confidence that the authors’ prototype can be implemented successfully to generate an automatic XML document design.
A Reconfiguration Method to Improve the Yield of Bandwidth-Limited Pipelined ADCs
Authors: Camarero David , Lagziri Manal , Suenaga Kay , Picos Rodrigo , Garcia-Moreno Eugeni
Published: November 2012

An off-line reconfiguration method is proposed for pipelined ADCs to improve their fabrication yield. Some nonlinearities generated by op amps in pipelined ADC stages depend on their bandwidth, while their equivalent input-referred errors depend on the stage position. From these premises, the method is conceived as a two steps process. During the first step, an alternate-test based technique determines the best stage, from the bandwidth point of view, as the front-end stage. In the second step, analog residue path interconnections and a stage scaling are configured according to the results from the first step. This method has been verified for a 10-bits ADC, designed in a 65 nm CMOS technology, by means of Monte Carlo simulations, with promising results.
A System for Detection of Three-Dimensional Precordial Vibrations
Authors: Paukkunen Mikko , Linnavuo Matti , Haukilehto Helena , Sepponen Raimo
Published: November 2012

Accelerometer-based seismocardiography and sternal acceleration ballistocardiography are promising approaches to the noninvasive detection of precordial vibrations. However, in order to be widely accepted as diagnostic or even prognostic tools, clinical validation and standardization of these methods are necessary. In precordial vibration studies, using all three axes instead of one in cardiac vibration analysis is anticipated to enable more accurate cardiac event detection. Simultaneously acquired electrocardiography, photoplethysmography, and respiration information are considered as promising ways to enhance seismocardiogram analysis. In this article, an easy-to-use system that combines three-dimensional seismocardiography, electrocardiography, photoplethysmography, and respiration measurements is described, and its performance is demonstrated. In the test measurements, the system demonstrated its capability to capture accurate cardiovascular data.
Falsifying an Enzyme Induction Mechanism within a Validated, Multiscale Liver Model
Authors: Ropella Glen E. P. , Kennedy Ryan C. , Hunt C. Anthony
Published: November 2012

The focus is an In Silico Liver (ISL) model family and an evolving suite of mechanistic hypotheses about (rat) liver-drug interactions. ISLs are multiscale and hierarchical. A medium grain Enzyme Induction mechanism was implemented. Validation (falsification) of complicated, knowledge-based models requires integrating distinct aspects and methods for multi-aspect validation. For ISLs, such integration has not been straightforward. Falsification is crucial for formulating, testing, and iteratively evolving hypotheses about liver mechanisms. During multi-aspect falsification, the authors can falsify a hypothesis in one aspect while simultaneously validating it in another aspect. The authors demonstrate a multi-scalar validation/falsification event in which they validate the mechanism against coarse grain measures of liver perfusate drug levels and falsify it against a medium grained measure of hepatic zonation. The authors also discuss how falsification is guiding mechanism (hypothesis) refinement. The ability to scale validation efforts is necessary for effective scientific use models such as ISLs.
A Case Study to Assess Implementation of Electronic Health Records at Central Flacq Hospital, Mauritius
Authors: Arora Mohit , Joshi Ashish
Published: November 2012

The challenges of implementing electronic health records (EHRs) have received some attention, but little is known about the process of transitioning from paper-based to electronic files. In this paper, a mixed approach using combined qualitative and quantitative methods is utilized. The authors enrolled nine administrative managers and 87 employees from different backgrounds, all part of a regional hospital at Flacq in Mauritius, from April to May 2011. Employees responded to a survey on various aspects pertaining to their eagerness to accept the shift to electronic health records and their views on the probability of success. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the quantitative results and content analysis was performed on the qualitative data. Nurses performing at middle level agreed that a shift to EHR is positive but felt that it might take a long time to effect the change. With its implementation, they agreed that advantages like up to date information, diminished workload, and cost effectiveness would be easily attained. In contrast, focus groups confirmed that without the collaboration and support of management, implementation of EHR would prove arduous.
Understanding Human-Computer Interactions in Intensive Care Unit Clinical Communication
Authors: Khairat Saif , Craven Catherine K. , Gong Yang
Published: November 2012

Clinical communication failures are considered the leading cause of medical errors (Bates et al., 1997). The complexity of the clinical culture and the significant variance in training and education levels form a challenge to enhancing communication within the clinical team. In order to improve communication, a comprehensive understanding of the overall communication process in health care is required. In an attempt to further understand clinical communication, the authors conducted a thorough methodology literature review to identify strengths and limitations of previous approaches. Their research proposes a new data collection method to study the clinical communication activities among Intensive Care Unit (ICU) clinical teams with a primary focus on the attending physician. In this paper, the authors present the first ICU communication instrument, they introduce the use of database management system to aid in discovering patterns and associations within our ICU communications data repository, and they present the authors’ Human-Computer Interaction observational study results. The authors have identified and analyzed key Human-Interaction behaviors and tools in the ICU in addition to refining the clinical communication model they previously proposed (Khairat & Gong, 2010b). their goal is to build an exhaustive knowledge representation of the clinical communication process through utilizing an ontological approach.
A Methodology for Clustering Transient Biomedical Signals by Variable
Authors: Chaovalit Pimwadee
Published: November 2012

Biomedical signals which help monitor patients’ physical conditions are a crucial part of the healthcare industry. The healthcare professionals’ ability to monitor patients and detect early signs of conditions such as blocked arteries and abnormal heart rhythms can be accomplished by performing data clustering on biomedical signals. More importantly, clustering on streams of biomedical signals make it possible to look for patterns that may indicate developing conditions. While there are a number of clustering algorithms that perform data streams clustering by example, few algorithms exist that perform clustering by variable. This paper presents POD-Clus, a clustering method which uses a model-based clustering principle and, in addition to clustering by example, also cluster data streams by variable. The clustering result from POD-Clus was superior to the result from ODAC, a baseline algorithm, for both with and without cluster evolutions.
A Comparative Survey on Cryptology-Based Methodologies
Authors: Rwabutaza Allan , Yang Ming , Bourbakis Nikolaos
Published: November 2012

Security is an important issue related to the storage and communication of data and information. In data and information security, cryptography and steganography are two of the most common security techniques. On one hand, there is cryptography, which is the secret communication between two parties by message scrambling on the sender’s side and message unscrambling on the receiver’s side so that only the intended receiver gets the secret message. Cryptography and cryptanalysis constitute cryptology (or crypto) while steganography and steganalysis make up steganology (or stegano). This paper presents a comparative survey of various cryptology and steganology techniques by analyzing and comparing different methodologies using a set of predefined parameters. It also offers to the reader valuable knowledge on the state of the art techniques used on cryptanalysis.
Critical Evaluation of RFID Security Protocols
Authors: Zavvari Azam , Patel Ahmed
Published: November 2012

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) system is a low-cost contactless automatic identification technology; and barcode as a traditional technology is now broadly replaced by RFID systems to make objects more manageable in supply chains and other enterprises. This technology is operational in open wireless communication spaces whereby its transmission signals can be easily accessed resulting in security problems. Consequently, it becomes an absolute necessity to develop efficient security protocols to protect the data against various attacks. This paper outlines a critical evaluation of the RFID systems, the security and privacy issues in the RFID security protocols, the EPCglobal Class-1 Generation-2 standard as it is an international standard, its lower cost of implementation, and high speed data transmission and operation.
A Practical Approach of Fairness in E-Procurement
Authors: Konar Debajyoti , Mazumdar Chandan
Published: November 2012

In this paper the authors present a practical approach of fairness in E-procurement. A generalized model of E-procurement is also presented here, which includes both E-contracting and E-trading. The model also proposes the generalized methodologies to develop E-procurement protocols that ensure fairness in true sense without using an additional trusted third party. They conclude this paper by indicating the area of applicability for their model.
Success Factors for ICT Shared Services in the Higher Education Sector
Authors: Miskon Suraya , Bandara Wasana , Gable Guy G. , Fielt Erwin
Published: November 2012

Shared services is a prominent organizational arrangement for organizations, in particular for support functions. The success (or failure) of shared services is a critical concern as the move to shared services can entail large scale investment and involve fundamental organizational change. The Higher Education (HE) sector is particularly well poised to benefit from shared services as there is a need to improve organizational performance and strong potential from sharing. Through a multiple case study of shared services experiences in HE, this study identifies ten important antecedents of shared services success: (1) Understanding of shared services; (2) Organizational environment; (3) Top management support; (4) IT environment; (5) Governance; (6) Process centric view; (7) Implementation strategy; (8) Project management; (9) Change management; and (10) Communication. The study then develops a preliminary model of shared services success that addresses the interdependencies between the success factors. As the first empirical success model for shared services, it provides valuable guidance to practice and future research.
Adaptive Robot Soccer Defence Strategy via Behavioural Trail
Authors: Hendrianto-Pratomo Awang , Prabuwono Anton Satria , Abdullah Siti Norul Huda Sheikh , Nasrudin Mohammad Faidzul , Shohaimi Muhamad Syafiq , Mantoro Teddy
Published: November 2012

Robot soccer is a challenging platform for multi-agent research, involving topics such as real-time image processing and control. A team of robots must work together to put the ball in the opponent’s goal while at the same time defending their own goal. A good strategy for the robot defenders can determine who wins the robotic soccer game. Therefore, the goal of this study is to propose a strategy for the defenders using a production rule based on state diagrams. The rule can facilitate easy and rapid comprehension of certain behaviors with respect to two indicators, such as condition and action. The authors determine five key aspects as conditions, including the positions of two defender robots, the position of the goalkeeper and the ball, and coordination between two defender robots and the goalkeeper robot. Each robot has been set its own defence area and specific actions. They conducted three experiments namely simulator testing, real time testing, and ping pong testing to evaluate their proposed defence strategy. The experimental results show that the authors’ proposed strategy versus three state of the art strategies can defeat up to 92% of all types of attack modes. Meanwhile, in the ping pong testing, their proposed strategy can still protect any goal entering from different attacking modes even though only one or two robots are active in the defence area.
License Plate Detection and Segmentation Using Cluster Run Length Smoothing Algorithm
Authors: Abdullah Siti Norul Huda Sheikh , Sudin Muhammad Nuruddin , Prabuwono Anton Satria , Mantoro Teddy
Published: November 2012

For the different types of license plates being used, the requirement of an automatic license plate recognition system is different for each country. In this paper, an automatic license plate detection system is proposed for Malaysian vehicles with standard license plates based on image processing and clustering. Detecting the location of license plate is a vital issue when dealing with uncontrolled environments and illumination difficulty. Therefore, a proposed algorithm called Cluster Run Length Smoothing Algorithm (CRLSA) was applied to locate the license plates at the right position. CRLSA consisted of two separate proposed algorithms which applied run length edge detector algorithm using kernel masks and 128 grayscale offset plus a three-dimensional way to calculate run length smoothing algorithm, which can improve clustering techniques in segmentation phase. Six separate experiments were performed; Morphology, CRLSA, Clustering, Square/Contour Detection, Hough, and Radon Transform. From those experiments, analysis based on segmentation errors was constructed. The prototyped system has accuracy more than 96%.
Cardiac Motion Estimation with Coronary Angiographic Image Sequences
Authors: Sun Zheng , Bai Hua
Published: November 2012

An approach for estimating cardiac dynamics with X-ray coronary artery angiographic image sequences covering one or several cardiac cycles is proposed. According to a priori knowledge about cardiac anatomy and dynamics, complex cardiac dynamic performances are decomposed into global rigid motion, global deformation and local motion and deformation. Parameters of all components are quantitatively estimated in a manner of global-to-local and coarse-to-fine to obtain quantitative description of cardiac motion. Experimental results with clinical data demonstrated the validity.
Integrated Instrument Based on SOPC
Authors: Ma Zheng , Liu Ming Liu , Yang A Hui , Liu You Yang
Published: November 2012

This instrument based on SOPC technology is embedded with a NIOS soft-core in Cyclone III as a control center that integrates digital oscilloscope, DDS signal generator and a simple digital multi-meter. It can measure AC signal of 200 Hz-5MHz and 10mVpp-10Vpp, display and store the wave, and can also manually and automatically adjust the amplitude and frequency. This instrument can generate sine wave of 10Hz to 1.5MHz, square wave of 10Hz to 200 KHz, triangle wave, and saw-tooth wave vary from 150mVpp to 10Vpp. Also, it can measure AC and DC voltage of 20mV to 200V, the AC and DC current of 2mA to 1A, resistance of 20Ω to 2MΩ, maintaining 5% accuracy. It is simple, easy to use, can fulfill the general experiment requirements with good performance and strong practicability.
A Research on the DC-Link Current and Capacitance of the Static Excitation Regulator on a 12/3-Phase Dual Stator-Winding Induction Generator
Authors: Zhang Bo Tao , Wang Dong
Published: November 2012

By proper simplifications, the static excitation regulator on the 12/3 phase dual stator winding induction generator is described by the switch-function model. On this basis, the switch-function expression of the DC-link capacitor current is obtained and the physical meanings are discussed, and the detailed exchange procedures between the generator and capacitor are analyzed. Considering the voltage endurance capability of the capacitor and IGBT, and the current endurance capability of the capacitor, the limitation capacitance equation of the DC-link capacitor is proposed.
Application of Rigid-Flexible Coupling in Stiffness Calculation of Double Wishbone Suspension
Authors: Wang H.N. , Hou X.W. , Su X.P.
Published: November 2012

Based on multi-body Dynamics theory, the 1/4 multi-rigid model of double wishbone suspension of automobile in ADAMS/View is created, and use ANSYS software to analyze torsion beam flexibility. Furthermore, the rigid-flexibility model has been created and the rigid change of suspension line along with the tire dynamics change is simulated. The result shows that the rigid-flexible coupling model is more accuracy than the multi-rigid one and fits the practical situation even better. This paper proposes an efficient method for analyzing the rigid of double-wishbone suspension vertical line.
Granulation Technology Experiments of Novel Mesoporous Composite Water Purification Material
Authors: Li Tian Xin , Zou Yong Cun , Jiang Shan Xue
Published: November 2012

A novel mesoporous composite water purification material was synthesized from natural zeolite to possess certain water purification properties as well as in proper particle size range for optimal fluid flow, particle retention and mass transfer in fixed bed applications. The meerschaum was used as the framework material in the experimental manufacturing procedure, polyethylene alcohol with carboxylic methylic cellulose was used as cohesive reagent, and H2O2 as bubble-forming agent. And the resulted granular product has good abrasion resistance ability with the measured impact breaking time reaching 12 hours. In addition, its decoloring rate is only 4.4% lower and its CODcr removing is only 13.2% lower than those of the original powder product, respectively. As a whole, the granulation potential and significantly expands the zeolite wastewater treatment application range with (only is not necessary) minor reduction of its treatment efficiency.
Research of Multi-Channel Hygrothermoscope Acquiring System
Authors: Wu Xiao Bing
Published: November 2012

The paper introduces a multipoint remote Hygrothermoscope monitoring system based on the MAX485 bus. The system of remote multipoint temperature control is composed of the host machine and slave machine; the host system for display and control, the slave system is responsible for collecting temperature data. Between master machine and slave machine communicate through the RS-485 bus, can realize the distant control room of the scene monitoring. The STC89C54 MCU is used as the controller and DHT11 is used as the temperate and humidity transducer. The hardware and software of the system are outlined. The system has realized multiple measuring points, easy expansion, and high reliability, anti-interference. The whole system has the advantages of simple circuit, reliable, and can be used for measuring temperature, humidity, temperature of building air conditioning control temperature and humidity monitoring and other fields.
Generation of High Intensity Sound by Random Vibrations
Authors: Shi Li Ming
Published: November 2012

Random wave difference is, there is no continuity and no column coupled harmonic wavelet. Singapore non-coherent wave stack can be the result of linear increase. We studied a cross wall at supersonic vibration wave phase speed driving most of the radiation. While recognizing that the ultimate strength of the sound waves from the total input power source was implemented in the beginning, we point out that the first phase increase in random vibration energy stored in the random structure of sound radiation is of great significance.
Multiple Targets Passive Localization Technology Based on a Tolerant High Resolution Algorithm
Authors: Ling Qing , Sheng Xue Li , Lu Jia , Jiang Mei Ren , Guo Yong
Published: November 2012

The underwater target’s bearing resolution capability of conventional beam forming method is strictly limited by Rayleigh limit and influenced by media’s inhomogeneity heavily. Minimum variance distortionless response (MVDR) algorithms have broken through the Rayleigh limit restrictions and make higher resolutions possible. For the complexity of the marine environment and multi-path affection, time reversal mirror (TRM) is a new technology which can self-adaptively correct distortion caused by variety of multi-path effects. The concept of TR-MVDR based on vertical array is introduced and the high resolutions of TR-MVDR are studied theoretically, which can realize the focus on original position of multiple objectives with higher spatial resolution and focus gain than conventional methods. Due to the poor robustness of TR-MVDR, robustness algorithm based on fixed diagonal loading and RCB have been studied, which can improve the robustness of high-resolution location. Simulations and experiments in freshwater and the sea proved it is feasible and practical
Research of Sound Transmission Loss of Aircraft Sidewall with the Resonators
Authors: Shi Li Ming
Published: November 2012

This paper suggesting a method that improving T.L. at low frequencies of general aviation aircraft side wall configuration by installing resonators between double panel.In this paper, through the theory and experiment results, explains the proposed view is correct.
Based on Image Procession to Measure Flame Emission Characteristic and Radioactive Properties
Authors: Yao Jie
Published: November 2012

radioactive properties are hard to be given exactly by the existing methods. In this paper, multiple color image detectors were used to capture approximately red, green, and blue monochromatic radioactive intensity images in the visible wavelength region, and the flame emissive and the radioactive properties of the particulate media in three pulverized-coal-fired boiler furnaces were got from the flame images.