bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Information Agents, Social Web and Intellectual Property
Authors: Anguera de Sojo Áurea , Serradilla Francisco
Published: May 2011

Due to the development of the information society, there has been a substantial change in regulating certain legal aspects in the field of intellectual property. Focusing on the Internet, there is the need to protect, on the one hand, user interests in use and private access to information in order to ensure security and protection of the data exchanged on the Web and, on the other hand, to ensure respect and protection of copyright of the work as well as the sui generis right of database makers. The picture is extremely complicated as interests and rights that may collide with each other must be combined. In the case of Internet access to different content that is offered on the Web, there is also another problem. In many cases we are not only faced with the problem of determining who owns the rights or who is the author, but a new way of creating content through collaboration or automated software agents is spreading that is radically different from the traditional model which makes it even more complicated to establish the intellectual property regime and the rights derived thereof, as we will understand in the second chapter.
Legal Ontologies in ICT and Law
Authors: Abramowicz Witold , Stolarski Piotr , Tomaszewski Tadeusz
Published: May 2011

As discussed in the fouth chapter, re-usability is frequently declared as sine qua non feature of modern ontology engineering. Although thoroughly examined in general theory of knowledge management models the re-usability issue is still barely a declaration in the domain of legal ontologies. The similar situation also applies to statute-specific ontologies. Those knowledge modeling entities are well described especially as an opposition to the general application legal ontologies. Yet it is trivial to say that most of the developed legal ontologies so far are those generic ones. And this sole fact should not surprise as the very specialized knowledge models – usually harder to develop – are at the same time narrowed with their utility. Of course in terms of re-usability this simply means that this feature may be largely disabled in this kind of knowledge models. In this chapter the authors face both challenges, i.e. as an excuse for presentation of the most interesting in their opinion trends and works in the field the authors demonstrate the practical approach to modeling copyright law case by re-using statute-specific ontologies.
Taxation of Virtual Worlds
Authors: Gonçalves Daniel Torres
Published: May 2011

The novelty of “new realities”, such Virtual Worlds, presents a challenge to the law. Many transactions are made every day on Virtual Worlds, but no taxation is applied to them. Chapter 7 argues, firstly, that the object of such transactions is subject to the right of property and secondly that the electronic currency used to buy such property is electronic money. For both conclusions, one important issue considered will be the legal strength of the EULA. The issues of property and electronic money form the basis of this approach to VW taxation. It is argued that virtual transactions should be taxed, and that is possible to create a legal solution that does not endanger the principal of taxing only profit, and does not tax mere entertainment. Tax law must be applied to these transactions. The author considers these two issues, which allow us to view VW as an electronic commerce marketplace.
Hardware Secure Access to Servers and Applications
Authors: Álvarez Bermejo José Antonio , López Ramos Juan Antonio , Gálvez Sánchez Francisco Javier
Published: May 2011

In chapter 20 the authors propose a powerful yet inexpensive method for protecting and discriminating unauthorized accesses to sensible digital information (or even to the entire system) via common and conventional tools such as USB devices. The result of this work allows that the access to servers or the execution and access to specific data, take place only under a controlled and defined scenario.
The Project of the Ancient Spanish Cartography E-Library
Authors: Chías P. , Abad T. , Rivera E.
Published: May 2011

The Council of the European Union is developing some strategies about the European Digital Libraries considered as a common multilingual access point to Europe’s digital cultural heritage. The project introduced in chapter 23, of a digital cartographic database accessed through GIS looks for the integration of digital technologies with the cartographic heritage providing new approaches to, and new audiences for the history of cartography. The online presence of this cartographic material will be a rich source of raw material to be re-used in different sectors and for different purposes and technological developments; but we must also afford some legal challenges because digitisation presupposes making a copy, which can be problematic in view of intellectual property rights (IPR). As the transparency and clarification of the copyright status of works is very relevant to us, those legal challenges and their solutions will be the main subjects of this chapter.
Social Media (Web 2.0) and Crisis Information
Authors: Dandoulaki Miranda , Halkia Matina
Published: May 2011

Social media technologies such as blogs, social networking sites, microblogs, instant messaging, wikis, widgets, social bookmarking, image/video sharing, virtual worlds, and internet forums, have been identified to have played a role in crises. This chapter examines how social media technologies interact with formal and informal crises communication and information management. We first review the background and history of social media (Web 2.0) in crisis contexts. We then focus on the use of social media in the recent Gaza humanitarian crisis (12.2008-1.2009) in an effort to detect signs of a paradigm shift in crisis information management. Finally, we point to directions in the future development of collaborative intelligence systems for crisis management.
Utilizing Web 2.0 for Decision Support in Disaster Mitigation
Authors: Rajan Kumaresh , Chen Rui , Rao Hejamadi Raghav , Lee JinKyu
Published: May 2011

The principles of Web 2.0 such as transparency, security, community, usability, and availability are well suited to help effectively manage the effects of a disaster. Many Web 2.0 technologies rely on social collaboration, and as a result these technologies are built with robust communication channels. Utilizing this existing framework will help to create software systems that can efficiently manage disasters. This chapter will examine differing Web 2.0 innovations through the use of Activity Theory, and the benefits and drawbacks of each technology will be analyzed. From this analysis, recommendations and conclusions will be presented to the reader.
Nanotechnology, Firm Innovation and University-Industry Networks
Authors: Martinez-Fernandez Cristina
Published: May 2011

Nanotechnology is becoming a transformative element for the manufacturing sector into the knowledge economy. Access to relevant knowledge is a critical factor in this transformation as manufacturing firms cluster in peripheral suburbs away from the knowledge intensive ring of central business districts. Results from a project conducted in South-West Sydney shows that informal university-industry networks raise the awareness of firms to the potential of nanotechnology applications, their willingness to invest in nanotechnology R&D and the number of university-industry cooperation initiatives and business-to-business partnerships. Results from the project also suggest that, despite the importance for firms of being involved in global networks, access to local knowledge and local networks is significant for the innovation process of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Programming Languages as Mathematical Theories
Authors: Turner Ray
Published: May 2011

That computer science is somehow a mathematical activity was a view held by many of the pioneers of the subject, especially those who were concerned with its foundations. At face value it might mean that the actual activity of programming is a mathematical one. Indeed, at least in some form, this has been held. But here we explore a different gloss on it. We explore the claim that programming languages are (semantically) mathematical theories. This will force us to discuss the normative nature of semantics, the nature of mathematical theories, the role of theoretical computer science and the relationship between semantic theory and language design.
Applying Lakatos-Style Reasoning to AI Domains
Authors: Pease Alison , Ireland Andrew , Colton Simon , Ramezani Ramin , Smaill Alan , Llano Maria Teresa , Grov Gudmund , Guhe Markus
Published: May 2011

One current direction in AI research is to focus on combining different reasoning styles such as deduction, induction, abduction, analogical reasoning, non-monotonic reasoning, vague and uncertain reasoning. The philosopher Imre Lakatos produced one such theory of how people with different reasoning styles collaborate to develop mathematical ideas. Lakatos argued that mathematics is a quasi-empirical, flexible, fallible, human endeavour, involving negotiations, mistakes, vague concept definitions and disagreements, and he outlined a heuristic approach towards the subject. In this chapter we apply these heuristics to the AI domains of evolving requirement specifications, planning and constraint satisfaction problems. In drawing analogies between Lakatos’s theory and these three domains we identify areas of work which correspond to each heuristic, and suggest extensions and further ways in which Lakatos’s philosophy can inform AI problem solving. Thus, we show how we might begin to produce a philosophically-inspired AI theory of combined reasoning.
Virtual Center for Entrepreneurship Development
Authors: Draghici Anca , Izvercianu Monica , Draghici George
Published: May 2011

This chapter shows a preliminary approach for building a virtual center for entrepreneurship development that will be implemented in a university research network in Romania. The authors argue the most relevant aspects that conduct us to an organizational information system design, implementation and management with double role: education/training (entrepreneurial skills development for students) and research (about the entrepreneurship phenomena at regional and national level but in relation of the global economy). The following items are presented: (1) the training needs for business creation - based on a preliminary market research developed with subjects with technical and economical background and that allow the identification of the entrepreneurial knowledge; (2) the university entrepreneurial education as a process of knowledge transfer; (3) preliminary design and architecture of the virtual center for entrepreneurship. Finally, some relevant conclusions and the future researches directions are presented.
Modelling Urban Public Transit Users' Route Choice Behaviour
Authors: Lee Yulin , Bunker Jonathan , Ferreira Luis
Published: May 2011

Public transport is one of the key promoters of sustainable urban transport. To encourage and increase public transport patronage it is important to investigate the route choice behaviours of urban public transit users. This chapter reviews the main developments of modelling urban public transit users’ route choice behaviours in a historical perspective, from the 1960s to the present time. The approaches reviewed for this study include the early heuristic studies on finding the least-cost transit route and all-or-nothing transit assignment, the bus common lines problem, the disaggregate discrete choice models, the deterministic and stochastic user equilibrium transit assignment models, and the recent dynamic transit assignment models. This chapter also provides an outlook for the future directions of modelling transit users’ route choice behaviours. Through the comparison with the development of models for motorists’ route choice and traffic assignment problems, this chapter advocates that transit route choice research should draw inspiration from the research outcomes from the road area, and that the modelling practice of transit users’ route choice should further explore the behavioural complexities.
Structural Health Monitoring
Authors: Wang Liang , Chan Tommy , Thambiratnam David , Tan Andy
Published: May 2011

Structural health is a vital aspect of infrastructure sustainability. As a part of a vital infrastructure and transportation network, bridge structures must function safely at all times. However, due to heavier and faster moving vehicular loads and function adjustment, such as Busway accommodation, many bridges are now operating at an overload beyond their design capacity. Additionally, the huge renovation and replacement costs are a difficult burden for infrastructure owners. The structural health monitoring (SHM) systems proposed recently are incorporated with vibration-based damage detection techniques, statistical methods and signal processing techniques and have been regarded as efficient and economical ways to assess bridge condition and foresee probable costly failures. In this chapter, the recent developments in damage detection and condition assessment techniques based on vibration-based damage detection and statistical methods are reviewed. The vibration-based damage detection methods based on changes in natural frequencies, curvature or strain modes, modal strain energy, dynamic flexibility, artificial neural networks, before and after damage, and other signal processing methods such as Wavelet techniques, empirical mode decomposition and Hilbert spectrum methods are discussed in this chapter.   
Knowledge Redundancy, Environmental Shocks, and Agents’ Opportunism
Authors: Biggiero Lucio
Published: May 2011

Notwithstanding the warning of myopic view, when giving too much emphasis to the short run and stable environments, efficiency is usually claimed by standard economics as the main goal of competitive firms. This is challenged by management and organization scholars, who argue that, in presence of strong uncertainty due to environmental turbulence, slack resources can be a competitive advantage. In order to put some sound block in this debate through, this paper tests four groups of hypotheses on an agent-based model of industry competitiveness based on suppliers’ quality. It innovates current literature in two ways: first, it considers redundancy in terms of organizational knowledge, and not in terms of personnel or financial assets or other types of resources, which are usually taken as object of study. Secondly, it compares the effects of two forms of perturbations: environmental shock and opportunism. The results show that these two forms impact differently on industry profitability and that knowledge redundancy can (limitedly) compensate the effects of environmental shocks but not of opportunism. Moreover, it demonstrates that, as agents exchange (and accumulate) more information, knowledge efficiency declines, but less than proportionally to the increase of knowledge exchange.
Nonlinear Adaptive Ship Control Synthesis In The Case Of Model Uncertainty
Authors: Zwierzewicz Zenon
Published: May 2011

This chapter covers the concerns with a problem of adaptive ship control synthesis in the case of substantially limited knowledge of the plant model. In fact we have at our disposal only its highly general structure in the form of Norrbin’s-like representation with unknown nonlinearities. Two tasks of ship control are considered. The first task is concerning the ship course-keeping system design while the second refers to the path-following system. Two different approaches to the control synthesis problem are considered. One is based on an adaptive feedback linearization technique, while the second refers to the backstepping method where the tuning of unknown parameters is also taken into account. It has been demonstrated that the controllers thereby obtained enable on-line learning of unknown model characteristics, having at the same time the performance comparable to the case of fully known model parameters. The system’s performance assessment for the each case has been tested via Matlab/Simulink simulations.
2-D Scalable Multiple Description Coding for Robust H.264/SVC Video Communications
Authors: Xiang Wei , Zhu Ce , Siew Chee Kheong , Xu Yuanyuan , Liu Minglei
Published: May 2011

In this chapter, we investigate two popular techniques for error-resilient H.264/SVC video transmission over packet erasure networks, i.e., layered video coding (LVC) and scalable multiple description coding (SMDC). We compare the respective advantages and disadvantages of these two coding techniques. A comprehensive literature review on latest advancement on SMDC is provided. Furthermore, we report new simulation results for the novel two-dimensional scalable multiple description coding (2-D SMDC) scheme proposed in our previous work (Xiang et al., 2009). The 2-D SMDC scheme allocates multiple description sub-bitstreams of a two-dimensionally scalable bitstream to two network paths with unequal loss rates. We formulate the two-dimensional scalable rate-distortion problem and derive the expected distortion for the proposed scheme. To minimize the end-to-end distortion given the total rate budget and packet loss probabilities, we need to optimally allocate source and channel rates for each hierarchical sub-layer of the scalable bitstream. We consider the use of the Genetic Algorithm to solve the rate-distortion optimization problem. The simulation results verify that the proposed method is able to achieve significant performance gain as opposed to the conventional equal rate allocation method.
Epidemic Live Streaming
Authors: Perino Diego , Mathieu Fabien
Published: May 2011

Epidemic algorithms have emerged as a simple, yet effective solution for disseminating live streaming contents to a large audience. Typically, the use of epidemic algorithms is motivated by the fact that they do not rely on a specific underlying structure to work, so they are very robust against network dynamics and volatility. However, the performance of these algorithms is still little understood. This chapter is intended as an introduction to epidemic live streaming. We propose some simple metrics to understand the behavior of a diffusion algorithm, and we use elementary diffusion schemes to understand the basics of the diffusion process, for both homogeneous and heterogeneous systems. The approach that we propose mixes theoretical results, when available, with empirical observations in order to give the best possible insights.
Perspectives of the Application of Video Streaming to Education
Authors: Ronchetti Marco
Published: May 2011

The field of e-learning has been a precursor in using the video streaming over the Internet. Both the synchronous and the asynchronous options have been explored over the last decade, with the asynchronous one becoming the dominant paradigm in recent years. Pedagogical research lecture reported evidence that video-streaming is an effective way of teaching, provided certain conditions are met. Technological research has attempted to investigate various ways to better produce or deploy video lectures: video segmentation, summarization, multimodal extraction of text and metadata, semantic search and gesture analysis are among the research areas that were involved. The present paper reviews the main technological research achievements and trends, and suggests directions in which we may be seeing the streaming of lectures to venture in near future.
Encoding Models for Scholarly Literature
Authors: Holmes Martin , Romary Laurent
Published: May 2011

In this chapter, the authors examine the issue of digital formats for document encoding, archiving and publishing, through the specific example of “born-digital” scholarly journal articles. This small area of electronic publishing represents a microcosm of the state of the art, and provides a good basis for this discussion. The authors will begin by looking at the traditional workflow of journal editing and publication, and how these practices have made the transition into the online domain. They will examine the range of different file formats in which electronic articles are currently stored and published. They will argue strongly that, despite the prevalence of binary and proprietary formats such as PDF and MS Word, XML is a far superior encoding choice for journal articles. Next, the authors look at the range of XML document structures (DTDs, Schemas) which are in common use for encoding journal articles, and consider some of their strengths and weaknesses. The authors will suggest that, despite the existence of specialized schemas intended specifically for journal articles (such as NLM), and more broadly-used publication-oriented schemas such as DocBook, there are strong arguments in favour of developing a subset or customization of the Text Encoding Initiative (TEI) schema for the purpose of journal-article encoding; TEI is already in use in a number of journal publication projects, and the scale and precision of the TEI tagset makes it particularly appropriate for encoding scholarly articles. They will outline the document structure of a TEI-encoded journal article, and look in detail at suggested markup patterns for specific features of journal articles. Next, they will look briefly at how XML-based publication systems work, and what advantages they bring over electronic publication methods based on other digital formats.
Sustainable Business Value
Authors: Younessi Daniel
Published: May 2011

Green ICT and environmental responsibility in business is not merely a ‘nice to have‘ or ‘feel good‘ concept; neither is it an issue of reluctant compliance by businesses to ever-growing legislation in the carbon economy. There are substantial fundamental business advantages and values to be derived by taking up environmental responsibility. These advantages and values provide a business with an economic as well as a social edge over its competitors. This is particularly true when astute business leaders are able to correlate their understanding of economic growth with environmental responsibility. Incorporating green ICT in the long-term strategic business approach has much more to offer in terms of market standing, legal compliance, good corporate citizenry, and ability to trade and prosper in the carbon economy. This chapter investigates into such strategic advantages resulting from embracing green ICT, and describes and discusses such strategic views from an economic stand-point.
Exploring Enterprise Information Systems
Authors: Tabatabaie Malihe , Paige Richard , Kimble Chris
Published: May 2011

The concept of an Enterprise Information System (EIS) has arisen from the need to deal with the increasingly volatile requirements of modern large-scale organisations. An EIS is a platform capable of supporting and integrating a wide range of activities across an organisation. In principle, the concept is useful and applicable to any large and SMEs, international or national business organisation. However, the range of applications for EIS is growing and they are now being used to support e-government, health care, and non-profit / non-governmental organisations. This chapter reviews research and development efforts related to EIS, and as a result attempts to precisely define the boundaries for the concept of EIS, i.e., identifying what is and what is not an EIS. Based on this domain analysis, a proposal for using goal-oriented modelling techniques for building EIS is constructed; the proposal is made more concrete through illustration via an example.
Enterprise Tomography
Authors: Aalmink Jan , Gómez Jorge Marx
Published: May 2011

Enterprise tomography is an interdisciplinary approach for an efficient application lifecycle management of enterprise platforms and very large business applications (VLBA). Enterprise tomography semiautomatically identifies and localizes semantic integration concepts and visualizes integration ontologies in semantic genres. Especially delta determination of integration concepts is performed in dimension space and time. Enterprise tomography supports software and data comprehension. SMEs, large scaled development organizations and maintenance organizations can benefit from this new approach. This methodology is useful for tracking database changes of business processes or coding changes within a specific domain. In this way root cause analysis is supported.
Migrating Legacy Systems to Web Services Architecture
Authors: Li Shing-Han , Huang Shi-Ming , Yen David C. , Chang Cheng-Chun
Published: May 2011

The lifecycle of information system (IS) became relatively shorter compared with earlier days as a result of information technology (IT) revolution and advancement. It is tremendous difficult for an old architecture to catch up with the dynamic changes occurred in the market. To match with the fast pace of challenges, enterprises have to use the technology/concept of information system reengineering (ISR) to preserve the value of their legacy systems. Consequently, web services-based systems with Service- Oriented Architecture (SOA) are widely accepted as one of the possible solutions for an enterprise information system to retain/keep its old legacy systems. Using this aforementioned architecture, enterprise information systems tend to be more flexible and agile to fit into the capricious business environment, and thus, be easier to integrate with additional applications. In other words, it is indeed an essential requirement for an enterprise to establish such a system to further improve corporation’s productivity and operational efficiency. In specific, the requirement is simply to migrate the legacy systems to be SOA architecture. However, it is a trade-off between the value of legacy systems and the compatibility with SOA to decide whether this alternative is a feasible one. The purpose of this manuscript is to propose a migrating solution to convert the architecture of the legacy system into SOA with a systematic approach. This proposed methodology is different from the traditional object-oriented approaches, which migrates the system to have a services-oriented focus without incorporating general objected-oriented (OO) or functional oriented feature. In this study, a case study and information capacity theory were employed to verify/validate that this approach is indeed an effective and a practicable one.
In-House vs. Off-the-Shelf e-HRM Applications
Authors: Al-Ibraheem Nawaf , Ruël Huub
Published: May 2011

Companies new to the e-HRM technologies are overwhelmed by the dilemma of choosing either the ready-made, off-the-shelf e-HRM systems, or develop their own e-HRM systems in house in order to implement the e-HR transformation. Therefore, this research was done to shed some light on the differences and similarities between off-the-shelf e-HRM systems and in-house developed ones, with regards to some elements developed in a preliminary framework, such as the implementation and development approaches, e-HRM activities they facilitated, application types and characteristics, and e-HRM outcome and benefits. This comparison provided insightful information that could help companies make the most effective choice between the two systems. It was found through this research that factors such as continuous user involvement, effective communication, and strong change management are most considered by companies that develop e-HRM in house, while advocates of off-the-shelf e-HRM systems are most affected by success factors such as business process reengineering, planning and vision, and project management. Another finding was that increasing efficiency, providing customer-oriented service excellence, and improving self services were top goals accomplished by companies developing their e-HRM system in house. These findings, beside many other ones discovered in this research, would help companies decide which system best fits their needs and accomplish high levels of effectiveness gained from the transformation of their HR function to e-HR.
Enterprise System in the German Manufacturing Mittelstand
Authors: Schoenherr Tobias , Hilpert Ditmar , Soni Ashok K. , Venkataramanan M.A. , Mabert Vincent A.
Published: May 2011

Although the research on integrated enterprise systems (ES) is proliferating, the knowledge base about ES implementations, usage and experiences outside the United States is still small. This is also true for Germany, despite the crucial importance of ES in the country, and the potential uniqueness of its ES environment. Most ES research to date has also been focusing on larger corporations, neglecting the challenges and issues that small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) have been experiencing. Collectively often referred to as the Mittelstand, German SMEs form the backbone of the German economy. This chapter brings attention to these areas by describing observations obtained from eight SMEs in the German manufacturing sector. These findings about ES implementation, usage, and experiences are reported and summarized along nine points of interest.
Control Model for Intelligent and Demand-Driven Supply Chains
Authors: Strandhagen Jan , Dreyer Heidi C. , Romsdal Anita
Published: May 2011

Orchestrating supply chains is challenging. This chapter describes how to control a supply chain to make it truly demand-driven – based on the assumption that all relevant information is made available to all partners in real time. The chapter explores the elements of a framework for intelligent and demand-driven supply chain control, with regards to the overall concept and associated principles, and demonstrates these in a case example. Challenges to the realization of the proposed control model include trust and power, supply chain dynamicity and uncertainty, and required investments in competence, standardization, and information and communication technology. Some of these can be met through initial small-scale implementations of the proposed model, to demonstrate effects, and by exploiting facilities for information sharing and collaboration, like supply chain dashboards and control studios. Future research within operations management, technology and information and communications technology (ICT) will support broader realization of the proposed control model.
Effect of Customer Power on Supply Chain Integration and Performance
Authors: Zhao Xiande , Huo Baofeng , Flynn Barbara , Yeung Jeff
Published: May 2011

Supply chain integration (SCI) has received increasing attention from academic researchers and practitioners in recent years, however, our knowledge of what influences SCI, and how SCI influences the performance of supply chains and manufacturers within the supply chain is still very limited. Although researchers in marketing and management have investigated power and relationship commitment issues within and between organizations, few have examined their impact on SCI. This chapter studies the relationship between power, relationship commitment and integration between manufacturers and their customers within a supply chain. The impact of customers’ SCI on the customer service and financial performance of manufacturers is also investigated. The authors propose and empirically test a model using data collected from 617 manufacturing companies in China. The results show that customers’ use of different types of power has different impacts on manufacturers’ relationship commitment. Expert power, referent power and reward power are very important in improving manufacturers’ normative relationship commitment, while reward power and coercive power enhance instrumental relationship commitment. The authors also find that normative relationship commitment have a greater impact on customer integration and customer service by manufacturers than instrumental relationship commitment. Customer integration significantly enhanced manufacturers’ customer service and financial performance. The improvement in customer service of manufacturers positively influenced their financial performance.
Concentration and Dynamics of the Brazilian Agriculture
Authors: Garagorry Fernando , Filho Homero
Published: May 2011

This chapter examines the measurement of motion in agriculture. Not only in Brazil, but in several Latin-American countries, important changes have been observed in the geographical distribution of the agricultural activity. They may take different forms, such as occupation of new areas or reallocation of particular products to areas that were already under some form of agriculture. Besides, in any year, for a given level of geographical subdivision, the distribution of a product shows spatial concentration; but the places which concentrate a substantial portion of the total production may change from year to year, and different subsets of the total territory occupied by a product may move at different speeds. Three distance measures will be introduced in order to assess the motion of individual products; two of them correspond to mathematical concepts, while the third one gives the terrestrial distance between national centers of gravity of the products.
Computational Techniques for Biologic Species Distribution Modeling
Authors: Corrêa Pedro , Carvalhaes Mariana , Saraiva Antonio , Rodrigues Fabrício , Rodrigues Elisângela , Luis de Azevedo da Rocha Ricardo
Published: May 2011

Computational modeling techniques for species geographic distribution are critical to support the task of identifying areas with high risk of loss of Biodiversity. These tools can assist in the conservation of Biodiversity, in planning the use of non-inhabited regions, in estimating the risk of invasive species, in the proposed reintroduction programs for species and even in planning the protecting endangered species. Furthermore, such techniques can help to understand the effects of climate change and other changes in the geographical distribution of species. This chapter presents concepts related to the species distribution modeling and algorithms based on Neural Networks and Maximum Entropy as alternatives for modeling of species distribution. The algorithms were integrated into the open source tool called openModeller used by biologists and other researchers in this area. A case study of modeling the distribution of babaçu (Orbignya phalerata) in the Piauí State – Brazil is presented, evaluating the potential distribution of this species used to produce bioenergy. Fifty models were generated and merged the ten models with best accuracy for each algorithm. The results show that the models obtained by both are consistent. The models obtained with Maximum Entropy seem to reflect best the reality, considering the occurrence pattern of babaçu as a secondary species.
Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing
Authors: Stein Richard A.
Published: May 2011

The 1953 discovery of the DNA double-helical structure by James Watson, Francis Crick, Maurice Wilkins, and Rosalind Franklin, represented one of the most significant advances in the biomedical world (Watson and Crick 1953; Maddox 2003). Almost half a century after this landmark event, in February 2001, the initial draft sequences of the human genome were published (Lander et al., 2001; Venter et al., 2001) and, in April 2003, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported the completion of the Human Genome Project, a massive international collaborative endeavor that started in 1990 and is thought to represent the most ambitious undertaking in the history of biology (Collins et al., 2003; Thangadurai, 2004; National Human Genome Research Institute). The Human Genome Project provided a plethora of genetic and genomic information that significantly changed our perspectives on biomedical and social sciences. The sequencing of the first human genome was a 13-year, 2.7-billion-dollar effort that relied on the automated Sanger (dideoxy or chain termination) method, which was developed in 1977, around the same time as the Maxam-Gilbert (chemical) sequencing, and subsequently became the most frequently used approach for several decades (Sanger et al., 1975; Maxam & Gilbert, 1977; Sanger et al., 1977). The new generations of DNA sequencing technologies, known as next-generation (second generation) and next-next-generation (third generation) sequencing, which started to be commercialized in 2005, enabled the cost-effective sequencing of large chromosomal regions during progressively shorter time frames, and opened the possibility for new applications, such as the sequencing of single-cell genomes (Service, 2006; Blow, 2008; Morozova and Marra, 2008; Metzker, 2010).
Property, Personality Rights and Data Protection with Regard to Biobanks
Authors: Simon Jürgen , Robienski Jürgen
Published: May 2011

This chapter is a discussion and analysis of the concept of property in the context of genetic research and biobanking. The authors are proposing a novel way of conceptualizing the concept of property, one which could unravel many difficulties that beset bioethical and legal debates on this issue. Once a certain part of the body is taken out, to what extent could the person from whom the tissue has been separated claim property right over the tissue? If the tissue is completely anonymized, then the person loses her right to claim the tissue to be her property. The linking could then be done by way of pseudonymization. Furthermore, the trustee model where the tissue is safeguarded and pseudonymized by a trustee could act as the middle path between complete retention of personal and property rights of the alienated tissue on the one hand, and complete disregard of the property or ownership rights to the tissue on the other
Emotional Axes
Authors: Gökçay Didem
Published: May 2011

The dimensional account of emotions has gained impetus over the last decade. The quantitative representation provided by the dimensional view of emotions is very valuable for applications in affective computing. The two principal axes, valence and arousal, obtained from semantic maps through factor analysis differentially modulate the psychophysiology measures and event related potentials. In addition, there exists distict localizations for valence/arousal-related emotional evaluation processes. Our current knowledge regarding these differences are reviewed in this chapter. Two different models (circumplex, PANA) have been coined to account for the distribution of data clustered within emotional categories. In this chapter, these models are also discussed comparatively in detail.
A Computational Basis for the Emotions
Authors: Korsten N , Taylor JG
Published: May 2011

In order to achieve ‘affective computing’ it is necessary to know what is being computed. That is, in order to compute with what would pass for human emotions, it is necessary to have a computational basis for the emotions themselves. What does it mean quantitatively if a human is sad or angry? How is this affective state computed in their brain? It is this question, on the very core of the computational nature of the human emotions, which is addressed in this chapter. A proposal will be made as to this computational basis based on the well established approach to emotions as arising from an appraisal of a given situation or event by a specific human being.
For a ‘Cognitive Anatomy’ of Human Emotions and a Mind-Reading Based Affective Interaction
Authors: Castelfranchi Cristiano
Published: May 2011

Human emotions are based on typical configurations of beliefs, goals, expectations etc. In order to understand the complexity of affective processing in humans, reactions to stimuli, perception of our bodily reaction to events or just the feeling related to something should be considered but this is not adequate. Besides, our body does not respond just to external stimuli (events); it reacts to our interpretation of the stimulus, to the meaning of the event as well. In order to build affective architectures we also have to model the body, and its perception. In this chapter, with the help of these facts, the author will analyze the cognitive anatomies of simple anticipation-based emotions in addition to some complex social emotions.
Facial Expression Synthesis and Animation
Authors: Buciu Ioan , Nafornita Ioan , Gordan Cornelia
Published: May 2011

Living in a computer era, the synergy between man and machine is a must, as the computers are integrated into our everyday life. The computers are surrounding us but their interfaces are far from being friendly. One possible approach to create a friendlier human-computer interface is to build an emotion-sensitive machine that should be able to recognize a human facial expression with a satisfactory classification rate and, eventually, to synthesize an artificial facial expression onto embodied conversational agents (ECAs), defined as friendly and intelligent user interfaces built to mimic human gestures, speech or facial expressions. Computer scientists working in computer interfaces (HCI) put up impressive efforts to create a fully automatic system capable to identifying and generating photo - realistic human facial expressions through animation. This chapter aims at presenting current state-of-the-art techniques and approaches developed over time to deal with facial expression synthesis and animation. The topic’s importance will be further highlighted through modern applications including multimedia applications. The chapter ends up with discussions and open problems.
The Influence of Intimacy and Gender on Emotions in Mobile Phone Email
Authors: Kato Yuuki , Scott Douglass J. , Kato Shogo
Published: May 2011

This chapter focuses on the roles of interpersonal closeness and gender on the interpretation and sending of emotions in mobile phone email messages1. 91 Japanese college students were shown scenarios involving either a friend or an acquaintance describing situations intended to evoke one of four emotions: Happiness, sadness, anger, or guilt. The participants’ rated their emotions and composed replies for each scenario. Analysis revealed that in the happy and guilt scenarios, emotions experienced by the participants were conveyed to their partners almost without change. However, in the sad and angry scenarios, the emotions sent to the partners were weaker than the actual emotions experienced. Gender analysis showed that men were more likely to experience and express anger in the anger scenario, while women were more likely to experience and express sadness in the anger scenario. In addition, more women’s replies contained emotional expressions than did the men’s messages.
Affective Games
Authors: Sykes Jonathan
Published: May 2011

Video-games, like movies, music and storybooks are emotional artifacts. We buy media to alter our affective state. Through consumption they impact our physiology and thus alter our affective world. In this chapter the authors review the ways in which playing games can elicit emotion. This chapter will discuss the increased power of video-game technology to elicit affect, and show how the mash-up of traditional and interactive techniques have delivered a richness of emotion that competes with film and television. They then conclude by looking forward to a time when video-games become the dominant medium, and the preferred choice when seeking that emotional fix.
AMERIREAL Corporation
Authors: Mahmood Mo Adam , Mann Gary J. , Dubrow Mark
Published: May 2011

This instructional case, based on an actual firm’s experience (name changed) is intended to challenge student thinking with regard to the extent to which information technology (IT) can demonstrably contribute to organizational performance and productivity, and to which users of IT can relate their investment decisions to measurable outcomes. Relationships between an organization’s investment in IT and the effect of such investments on the organization’s performance and productivity have long been the subject of discussion and research. Managers, interested in knowing the “payoff” of such investments, are continually seeking answers to this question. A failure to understand the benefits of IT investment, or an over- or under-estimation of the benefits of a planned investment in IT relative to the costs, will likely result in less than optimal investment decisions.
Using DSS for Crisis Management
Authors: Kamel Sherif
Published: May 2011

This case focuses on the use of crisis management support systems in Egypt in leveraging the decision-making process in the government and the public sector for socioeconomic development. It describes the experience of the Egyptian public sector in socioeconomic decision-making and the related emergence of an information-based support organization for the government “Information and Decision Support Center”. The case reflects on the type of decision-making and the crisis management mode of operation at the top policy level and the needs and requirements in terms of resources and infrastructure to support the decision-making process. The case addresses the basics and concepts of crisis management support systems in the context of a developing country, Egypt, stemming from the experience of the Information and Decision Support Center from 1985 to date, the growing implications of the information and communication technology evolution and the lessons learned in responding to crisis management situations in supporting decision and strategic issues at the government and the public sector. The essence of the case is to address the use of advanced information systems in responding to socioeconomic development needs. The case demonstrates the use of management and decision support systems in a crisis mode that has had a number of successes over the last decade that implied concrete results within the developmental process that Egypt, a developing country, is realizing.