bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Collaborative Synergy and Leadership in E-Business
Authors: Strang Kenneth David
Published: October 2011

Logically, it makes sense that organizations can be successful if their employees collaborate effectively, in a synergistic manner. Economically, e-businesses around the world leverage the Internet for efficient collaboration while in parallel many companies now use enterprise applications for process automation and knowledge sharing. From a human resource perspective, it is argued professionals must inspire and influence their e-business teams to virtually collaborate and synergize across physical organization boundaries using transformational leadership principles. Rationally, investors in e-business need proof that applying knowledge sharing and transformational leadership theories will facilitate team collaboration and synergy and therefore improve organizational performance. Empirically, this e-business industry study develops a statistically significant path model using multivariate linear regression (n=3995), revealing transformational leadership and knowledge sharing factors are mediated by a latent construct of collaborative synergy, which predicts project performance and stakeholder satisfaction. Rival theories are evaluated to stimulate future research.
The Impact of Labour Flexibility and HRM on Innovation
Authors: Zhou Haibo , Dekker Ronald , Kleinknecht Alfred
Published: October 2011

We investigate the impact of labour relations (including use of flexible labour and certain HRM practices) on a firm’s innovative output. Using firm-level data for the Netherlands, we find that active HRM practices such as job rotation, performance pay, high qualification levels of personnel, as well as making use of employees with long-term temporary contracts contribute positively to innovative output, the latter being measured by the log of new product sales per employee. Furthermore, firms that retain high levels of highly qualified personnel are more likely to introduce products that are new to the market (other than only’new to the firm’). Our findings contribute to the growing literature on determinants of innovative performance.
Performance Management in Software Engineering
Authors: Ilg Markus , Baumeister Alexander
Published: October 2011

Performance measurement in software engineering has to meet a multiplicity of challenges. Oftentimes, traditional metrics focus on sequential development instead of using incremental and iterative development. Output is measured on a pure quantitative (e.g., SLOC), quality-disregarding basis. A project’s input is hard to assign properly using enterprise-unspecific forecasting tools which have to be calibrated at first and which do not account for time preferences. Requirements necessary for behaviourally adjusted project management and control are rarely discussed. Focusing on these shortcomings, this paper proposes an enterprise-specific approach which combines lifecycle and activity based costing techniques for software development following the incremental and iterative Unified Process model. Key advantages are calibration effort can be avoided, project management decisions are supported by a clear managerial accounting emphasis, precise milestone-depending cost objectives can be determined as the basis for personnel management and control of development teams, and cost and time variance analysis can be supported in a sophisticated way.
Strategy and Structure in a Virtual Organization
Authors: Ahmed Nazim U. , Montagno Ray , Sharma Sushil
Published: October 2011

The business environment of the 21st century require organizations to respond quickly to market demands and thus traditional organization structures and strategy are no longer capable of sustaining the needs of this relentless pace. New forms of organizations in the form of virtual organization (VO) hold promise in the network world. Several organizations worldwide have already been experimenting virtual organizations’ structures and processes. These new virtual structures and processes, however, will require newer strategies to succeed. This paper attempts to highlight some strategy and structural issues of a VO. The study is conceptual in nature and inferences have been drawn from existing literature and practices.
Managerial Succession and E-Business
Authors: Adeniji Anthonia Adenike
Published: October 2011

There have been several studies on managerial succession otherwise known as succession planning but greater percentage of them focused on succession planning as related to family owned small to medium sized enterprises (SME’s), government establishments, effects of succession planning on performance and profitability of a business organization, CEOs perspectives on planning for succession, family business and succession planning to mention just a few (Motwani,et al 2006,Brown 2007, Dunemann & Barreff, 2004).
Cross-Cultural Challenges for Information Resources Management
Authors: Law Wai K.
Published: October 2011

Western organizations have led the globalization of business operations, especially in the deployment of multi-domestic strategy. The decentralized organizational control and customized operations support the fast penetration of huge global markets. Western management theory considers information the lifeblood of organization. The sharing of information lubricates the interlocking divisions within the organization, promoting the effective achievement of organizational goals with external business partners. However, in many regions of the world, information represents power, and managers often try to accumulate as much of it as they can while denying access to others (Oz, 2002). For others, the disclosure of information is considered a threat to the span of management control (Rocheleau, 1999). In some cases, administrators could be more interested in the scale of the information system and its associated budget, than the capability and functionality of the system (Kalpic & Boyd, 2000). These are examples of conflicting cultural values in a cross-cultural environment. The introduction of Western management approaches conflicts with regional administrative styles, diminishing the effectiveness of information systems (Raman & Watson, 1997; Shea & Lewis, 1996). Sensitivity to cultural differences has been recognized as an important factor in the successful global deployment of information systems. Minor information management issues potentially resolvable through improved communication in the west often manifest as major challenges in a crosscultural environment.
Advancing Women in the Digital Economy
Authors: Braun Patrice
Published: October 2011

In view of the fact that women are playing an increasingly important role in the global economy, this chapter examines business skilling in the digital economy for women in general and women-led small businesses in Australia, in particular. With employability and entrepreneurial capacity of women increasing, so too is their need for a comprehensive skill set is increasing. It is proposed that business courses currently offered do not necessarily consider their target audience or include new economy considerations. This chapter discusses the need for meta-competencies that will allow women in both developed and emerging economies to operate more effectively in a changing work environment and an increasingly digital business environment. For meta-competency efficacy, it is further proposed that evidence-based learning models, gender-sensitive approaches to business learning, and collaborative uses of technology underpin content and (e-)business learning designs.
Ethical Issues Arising from the Usage of Electronic Communications in the Workplace
Authors: Lagraña Fernando A.A.
Published: October 2011

E-mail has become the most popular communication tool in the professional environment. Electronic communications, because of their specific nature, raise a number of ethical issues: e-mail communications are distance, asynchronous, text-based, and interactive computer-mediated communications and allow for storage, retrieval, broadcast and manipulation of messages. These specificities give rise to misunderstanding, misconduct in the absence of the interlocutors, information and mail overload, as well as privacy infringement and misuse of shared computing resources. Inexperience explains some users’ unethical behavior. Other forms of unethical behavior find their roots in corporate culture, internal competition and management styles. E-businesses, as early adopters of information and communication technologies, are being particularly exposed to such behaviors, since they rely heavily on electronic communications. They should therefore assess their internal situation and develop and enforce e-mail policies accordingly.
Ethics in E-Marketing
Authors: Özdemir Erkan
Published: October 2011

Some of the ethical issues experienced in traditional marketing practices are encountered in those of e-marketing as well. However, e-marketing practices raise specific new and different ethical issues as well. For instance, new forms of dynamic pricing, spam email advertising, and the use of tracking cookies for commercial purposes have all raised ethical issues. These issues can be examined from the perspective of such components of the traditional marketing mix as product, price, place and promotion, which are under the control of marketing executives. As such, an awareness of the ethical issues in e-marketing under the control of marketing executives is central to the realization of an ethical climate in e-businesses. The aim of this chapter is to present a critical analysis of ethical issues in e-commerce in relation to the marketing mix. The topics discussed within this framework will be enlightening for the ethical decision making process and practices of e-marketing.
Emerging Trends of E-Business
Authors: Li Pengtao
Published: October 2011

E-business has grown dramatically in the last ten years. Its only constant is change. Awareness of these changes can help both business and customers better utilize and take advantage of e-business. This chapter presents the emerging trends of e-business in various areas, including Web services, Web 2.0, Mobile Commerce (M-Commerce), and corresponding ethical and social issues.
The Global Telecommunications Industry Facing the IP Revolution
Authors: Gruber Harald
Published: October 2011

Technological innovation in the telecommunications sector is a key contributor to the rapid diffusion of e-business. The steady drive towards semiconductor miniaturisation leads to a continuous decline in the price of telecommunications equipment and increase in performance. Technological change therefore continues to transform the way telecommunications services are provided and used. Telecommunication networks are subject to a technological switch from so called circuit switched technology to packet switched technology. In fact, digitalisation of audio and video signals has led to the convergence of telecommunications, data processing and broadcasting technologies into a single service platform based on Internet Protocol (IP). This has strong implications on legacy networks of existing operators, because they need to support during a transition period both technologies in the network, but this duplication is inefficient. This is more so as the incumbent telecommunications operators are subject to sector specific regulation. This regulation was motivated by the externalities that telecommunications generate and the concern that operators would exploit market power to the detriment of users. This appears to be less the case when there is a multiplicity of telecommunications networks.
Tailor-Made Distance Education as a Retention Strategy
Authors: Hongsranagon Prathurng
Published: October 2011

In rural areas of Thailand, health center personnel are responsible for primary health care. The opportunity for continuing education is imperative in the attraction and retention of these workers at their primary locations. The provision of continuing education also increases the quality and spectrum of health care available for the local people leading to better health outcomes for the Thai population. Distance education is one promising form of continuing education involving the use of advanced communication technologies to allow health center staff to continue to work and study off-campus. This chapter describes a tailor-made “Learning at the Workplace” distance education program provided to Thai rural health center personnel through the College of Public Health Sciences at Chulalongkorn University. Focus group discussions and selected quantitative research methods are recommended to evaluate the effectiveness of this learning model and determine the educational needs of health workers. Learning at the Workplace is expected to make a new contribution to the local needs of continuing education among the health care workforce in Thailand. This chapter emphasizes the potential that distance education offers to attract and retain health care personnel as well as the importance of providing a tailor-made curriculum in response to different regional and epidemiological factors.
A New Similarity Measure for Automatic Construction of the Unknown Word Lexical Dictionary
Authors: Hwang Myunggwon , Kim Pankoo
Published: October 2011

This paper deals with research that automatically constructs a lexical dictionary of unknown words as an automatic lexical dictionary expansion. The lexical dictionary has been usefully applied to various fields for semantic information processing. It has limitations in which it only processes terms defined in the dictionary. Under this circumstance, the concept of “Unknown Word (UW)” is defined. UW is considered a word, not defined in WordNet, that is an existing representative lexical dictionary. Here is where a new method to construct UW lexical dictionary through inputting various document collections that are scattered on the WebWeb is proposed. The authors grasp related terms of UW and measure semantic relatedness (similarity) between an UW and a related term(s). The relatedness is obtained by calculating both probabilistic relationship and semantic relationship. This research can extend UW lexical dictionary with an abundant number of UW. It is also possible to prepare a foundation for semantic retrieval by simultaneously using the UW lexical dictionary and WordNet.
Searching Linked Objects with Falcons
Authors: Cheng Gong , Qu Yuzhong
Published: October 2011

The rapid development of the data Web is accompanied by increasing information needs from ordinary Web users for searching objects and their relations. To meet the challenge, this chapter presents Falcons Object Search, a keyword-based search engine for linked objects. To support various user needs expressed via keyword queries, for each object an extensive virtual document is indexed, which consists of not only associated literals but also the textual descriptions of associated links and linked objects. The resulting objects are ranked according to a combination of their relevance to the query and their popularity. For each resulting object, a query-relevant structured snippet is provided to show the associated literals and linked objects matched with the query for reflecting query relevance and even directly answering the question behind the query. To exploit ontological semantics for more precise search results, the type information of objects is leveraged to support class-based query refinement, and Web-scale class-inclusion reasoning is performed to discover implicit type information. Further, a subclass recommendation technique is proposed to allow users navigate class hierarchies for incremental results filtering. A task-based experiment demonstrates the promising features of the system.
Semiotic Evaluation of Product Ontologies
Authors: Leukel Joerg , Sugumaran Vijayan
Published: October 2011

Product-related information can be integrated with the help of a product ontology, which can provide consensual definitions of concepts and inter-relationships relevant in a product domain of interest. A product ontology is either given by a third party or results from ontology engineering. In both cases, the problem is how to assess its quality, and then select the “right” ontology. This chapter: (1) proposes a metrics suite for product ontology evaluation based on semiotic theory, and (2) demonstrates the feasibility and usefulness of the metrics suite using a supply chain model. The contribution of this research is the comprehensive metrics suite that takes into account the various quality dimensions of product ontology.
Organizational Semiotics Complements Knowledge Management
Authors: Schiffel Jeffrey A.
Published: October 2011

Inserting the human element into an Information System leads to interpreting the Information System as an information field. Organizational semiotics provides a means to analyze this alternate interpretation. The semantic normal forms of organizational semiotics extract structures from natural language texts that may be stored electronically. In themselves, the SNFs are only canonic descriptions of the patterns of behavior observed in a culture. Conceptual graphs and dataflow graphs, their dynamic variety, provide means to reason over propositions in first order logics. Conceptual graphs, however, do not of themselves capture the ontological entities needed for such reasoning. The culture of an organization contains natural language entities that can be extracted for use in knowledge representation and reasoning. Together in a rigorous, two-step process, ontology charting from organizational semiotics and dataflow graphs from knowledge engineering provide a means to extract entities of interest from a subject domain such as the culture of organizations and then to represent these entities in formal logic reasoning. This chapter presents this process, and concludes with an example of how process improvement in an IT organization may be measured in this two-step process.
negotiation behaviors in agent-based negotiation support systems
Authors: Agrawal Manish , Chari Kaushal
Published: October 2011

Prior research on negotiation support systems (NSS) has paid limited attention to the information content in the observed bid sequences of negotiators as well as on the cognitive limitations of individual negotiators and their impacts on negotiation performance. In this paper, we assess the performance of human subjects in the context of agent-based NSS, and the accuracy of an exponential functional form in representing observed human bid sequences. We then predict the reservation values of negotiators based on their observed bids. Finally, we study the impact of negotiation support systems in helping users realize superior negotiation outcomes. Results indicate that an exponential function is a good model for observed bids. Based on the negotiation behaviors of human subjects, we find that accurate estimates of opponent reservation values for the negotiation issue that is most important to subjects, improves negotiation outcomes when an agreement is reached. Results also show that bids are correlated with reservation values, and that automated negotiations using NSS can lead to superior negotiation outcomes compared to human subjects.
Traffic Responsive Signal Timing Plan Generation based on Neural Network
Authors: Azzam-ul-Asar  , Ullah M. Sadeeq , Wyne Mudasser F. , Ahmed Jamal , Riaz-ul-Hasnain
Published: October 2011

This paper proposes a neural network based traffic signal controller, which eliminates most of the problems associated with the Traffic Responsive Plan Selection (TRPS) mode of the closed loop system. Instead of storing timing plans for different traffic scenarios, which requires clustering and threshold calculations, the proposed approach uses an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model that produces optimal plans based on optimized weights obtained through its learning phase. Clustering in a closed loop system is root of the problems and therefore has been eliminated in the proposed approach. The Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) technique has been used both in the learning rule of ANN as well as generating training cases for ANN in terms of optimized timing plans, based on Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) delay for all traffic demands found in historical data. The ANN generates optimal plans online to address real time traffic demands and thus is more responsive to varying traffic conditions.
Virtual Organisational Trust Requirements
Authors: French Tim
Published: October 2011

It is suggested that the use of the semiotic ladder, together with a supportive trust agent can be used together to better explicate “soft” trust issues in the context of Grid services. The contribution offered here is intended to fill a gap in current understanding and modelling of such issues and to support Grid service designers to better conceptualise, hence manage trust issues. The semiotic paradigm is intended to offer an integrative viewpoint within which to explicate “soft” trust issues throughout the Grid life-cycle. A computationally lightweight trust agent is described that can be used to verify high level trust of a Virtual Organisation. The potential benefits of the approach that is advocated here include the reduction of risk and potential improvements in the quality and reliability of Grid service partnerships. For these benefits to accrue, explicit “soft” as well as “hard” trust management is essential as is an integrative viewpoint.
Quantifying Factors Influencing the Adoption of Internet Banking Services in Greece
Authors: Makris M. , Koumaras V. , Koumaras H. , Konstantopoulou A. , Konidis S. , Kostakis S.
Published: October 2011

A growing phenomenon in the Internet is the rising exploitation of sophisticated security means (e.g. cryptography, digital signatures etc.) toward the development of novel commerce services for providing electronic transactions, collaborating with business partners or serving customers, regardless of geographical and time limitations. This paper discusses, presents and elaborates on the various factors that affect the adaption of Internet banking services in Greece. In particular, it deals with the factors that have been developed within the framework of providing e-banking services over an insecure shared medium like the Internet and affect the Internet Banking customer acceptance. A factor analysis is performed based on the gathered results provided by customer-questionnaires of ALPHA Bank branch in Greece in order to quantify the various parameters that affect the use of an Internet Banking System. The findings of the analysis show that despite the fact that Internet Banking in Greece is steadily increasing its penetration, factors like security, ease of use and perceived usefulness of a system play a major role on the final decision of the customer to adopt an Internet Banking System.
Information Systems Innovations Adoption and Diffusion Among SMEs
Authors: Ramdani Boumediene , Lorenzo Oswaldo , Kawalek Peter
Published: October 2011

The attention of software vendors has moved recently to Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) offering them a vast range of Information Systems’ (IS) innovations including enterprise systems (ES), which were formerly adopted by large firms only. Although the number of SMEs adopting new IS innovations has increased over time, strong empirical evidence is still lacking. This paper aims to fill this gap by reporting the findings of a survey on SMEs located in the Northwest of England. The survey results reveal that even more complex IS innovations are increasingly adopted by SMEs. Also, nearly half of the surveyed SMEs are willing to adopt ES in the next three years. These findings suggest that there is a considerable opportunity and a need for further research in the adoption and diffusion of new IS innovations among SMEs.
eBusiness among Ethnic Minority Businesses
Authors: Beckinsale Martin
Published: October 2011

A small but growing body of evidence (SBS, 2004; Beckinsale & Ram, 2006) has indicated that Ethnic Minority Businesses (EMBs) have not adopted Information Communication Technology (ICT) at comparable rates to their non-EMB counterparts, predominantly Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs). With EMBs accounting for almost 10% of businesses in the UK, the economic impact as ICT adoption continues to further develop across mainstream markets could be highly significant. Existing UK ICT policies also failed to engage with EMBs until the NW ICT Adoption Pilot in 2004. The current, limited body of research is fragmented, provides limited understanding and coherence on reasons of low ICT adoption, and lacks exemplars upon which policy considerations may be made. Firstly, the chapter will examine and review the existing body of literature. Secondly, EMB cases that have developed ICT to a degree where they are engaging in e-business activity are statically and dynamically analysed and discussed. The findings provide a number of options and guidance for EMB owners. Finally, the recommendations point to the need for improved ICT awareness, better business support provision nationally, and the importance of generation and education as key drivers.
Web Site Localization Practices
Authors: Singh Nitish , Spillan John E. , Little Joseph P.
Published: October 2011

The e-commerce industry has experienced spectacular growth, change and development. This situation has initiated an enormous business revolution that has affected the process of globalization tremendously. The goal of this study was to analyze the Web sites of localization companies that provide localization and translation services to other companies and see if they themselves are practicing what they are preaching. The results suggest that localization companies are indeed not practicing what they are preaching. Analysis shows that localization company Web sites are less localized than the Web sites of their clients, the multinational companies. The findings provide some implications to domestic and international marketers who currently operate in or are planning to enter into the global markets in the near future. [Article copies are available for purchase from InfoSci-on-Demand.com]
Evolution, Development and Growth of Electronic Money
Authors: Seetharaman A. , Raj John Rudolph
Published: October 2011

Traditional cash has long been envisioned to be replaced with ‘virtual’ or electronic cash. Electronic money and electronic payment systems for retail transactions are commanding widespread attention. Undeniably, electronic payment cites advantages such as efficiency and convenience to the consumers. However, with the rapid change and advances in technology, has posed significant risks, related to ensuring security and integrity of electronic payment systems in today’s cyber world. Therefore, this study attempts to understand the role of electronic payments for consumers, and to identify the problems and solutions in the emergence of electronic payments. This study also explores the challenges of electronic payments from a security perspective, in particular, and provides preliminary security countermeasures for each of the issues discussed. Beside that, the study also discusses further on the prospects of electronic payment systems. It is essential to put in place an integrated, overall risk-management approach to security, including independent security assessments as one of the components in the use of electronic payment products.
Perusing E-Readiness and Digital Divide
Authors: Hanafizadeh Mohammad Reza , Hanafizadeh Payam , Saghaei Abbas
Published: October 2011

With the advent and evolution of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in general, the Internet, in particular, throughout the world, new terms such as “information society,” “digital divide,” and “e-readiness” were added to terminologies. Due to the rapid diffusion of the Internet in different aspects of human life, these concepts have attracted many scholars, practitioners, and policy-makers. In addition to much academic research done in these fields, nearly all countries have assessed their e-readiness and compared their digital divide with that of other countries, at least once. Consequently, there have been numerous e-readiness and digital divide models oriented towards certain objectives in recent years. The findings show (1) tremendous importance of the digital divide and e-readiness and (2) their complex and multi-faceted natures. Thus, effective examination and development of digital divide and e-readiness research requires a foundation in several rich literatures. Examining the e-readiness and digital divide literature in terms of their definitions and methodologies, in the current chapter, their strengths and weaknesses were recognized. Moreover, after an extensive literature survey, an integrated model was proposed for assessing e-readiness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that can be used as the basis and standard for developing comprehensive models and frameworks in these enterprises. Finally, this chapter contributes to scarce literature on e-readiness/digital divide at micro level and creates additional pool of resources that practitioners and theorists could use to further enrich and extend their analysis of this construct.
Grid-Enabling Applications with JGRIM
Authors: Mateos Cristian , Zunino Alejandro , Campo Marcelo
Published: October 2011

The development of massively distributed applications with enormous demands for computing power, memory, storage and bandwidth is now possible with the Grid. Despite these advances, building Grid applications is still very difficult. We present JGRIM, an approach to easily gridify Java applications by separating functional and Grid concerns in the application code, and report evaluations of its benefits with respect to related approaches. The results indicate that JGRIM simplifies the process of porting applications to the Grid, and the Grid code obtained from this process performs in a very competitive way compared to the code resulting from using similar tools.
Adaptive Control of Redundant Task Execution for Dependable Volunteer Computing
Authors: Wang Hong , Murata Yoshitomo , Takizawa Hiroyuki , Kobayashi Hiroaki
Published: October 2011

On the volunteer computing platforms, inter-task dependency leads to serious performance degradation for failed task re-execution because of volatile peers. This paper discusses a performance-oriented task dispatch policy based on the failure probability estimation. The tasks with the highest failure probabilities are selected for dispatch when multiple task enquiries come to the dispatcher. The estimated failure probability is used to find the optimized task assignment that minimizes the overall failure probability of these tasks. This performance-oriented task dispatch policy is evaluated with two real world trace data sets on a simulator. Evaluation results demonstrate the effectiveness of this policy.
Trusted Data Management for Grid-Based Medical Applications
Authors: van ’t Noordende Guido J. , Olabarriaga Silvia D. , Koot Matthijs R. , de Laat Cees Th. A.M.
Published: October 2011

Existing Grid technology has been foremost designed with performance and scalability in mind. When using Grid infrastructure for medical applications, privacy and security considerations become paramount. Privacy aspects require a re-thinking of the design and implementation of common Grid middleware components. This chapter describes a novel security framework for handling privacy sensitive information on the Grid, and describes the privacy and security considerations which impacted its design.
Persistence and Communication State Transfer in an Asynchronous Pipe Mechanism
Authors: Chan Philip , Abramson David
Published: October 2011

Wide-area distributed systems offer new opportunities for executing large-scale scientific applications. On these systems, communication mechanisms have to deal with dynamic resource availability and the potential for resource and network failures. Connectivity losses can affect the execution of workflow applications, which require reliable data transport between components. We present the design and implementation of p-channels, an asynchronous and fault-tolerant pipe mechanism suitable for coupling workflow components. Fault-tolerant communication is made possible by persistence, through adaptive caching of pipe segments while providing direct data streaming. We present the distributed algorithm for implementing: (a) caching of pipe data segments; (b) asynchronous read operation; and (c) communication state transfer to handle dynamic process joins and leaves.
Distributed Dynamic Load Balancing in P2P Grid Systems
Authors: Yu You-Fu , Huang Po-Jung , Lai Kuan-Chou
Published: October 2011

P2P Grids could solve large-scale scientific problems by using geographically distributed heterogeneous resources. However, a number of major technical obstacles must be overcome before this potential can be realized. One critical problem to improve the effective utilization of P2P Grids is the efficient load balancing. This chapter addresses the above-mentioned problem by using a distributed load balancing policy. In this chapter, we propose a P2P communication mechanism, which is built to deliver varied information across heterogeneous Grid systems. Basing on this P2P communication mechanism, we develop a load balancing policy for improving the utilization of distributed computing resources. We also develop a P2P resource monitoring system to capture the dynamic resource information for the decision making of load balancing. Moreover, experimental results show that the proposed load balancing policy indeed improves the utilization and achieves effective load balancing.
Factors Influencing SME Compliance with Government Regulation on Use of IT
Authors: Kyobe Michael
Published: October 2011

The author hopes that this research-based evidence will provide better understanding of SME compliance behaviors and guide the development of appropriate solutions to compliance challenges in these organizations.
Key Challenges for Delivering Web-Based IT Support Services
Authors: Cooper Vanessa , Lichtenstein Sharman , Smith Ross
Published: October 2011

This chapter explores the key challenges faced by IT service providers offering after-sales support services to enterprise customers via the Web. The chapter is based on insights provided by representatives of six multi-national IT service organizations. It considers how IT service providers use knowledge-based approaches to offer such services. The chapter highlights the trend towards the employment of networks of business partners to assist with the processes of support delivery. By exploring the perceived needs of the different stakeholders involved in IT support provision, and the transfer of knowledge across these organizations and individuals, the key challenges in IT support provision are identified. The chapter proposes a range of solutions to address the key challenges.
Sponsored Search as a Strategic E-service
Authors: Vragov Roumen
Published: October 2011

In addition to helping consumers navigate the web search engines offer a new kind of e-service known as sponsored search. A search engine provides an auction interface to advertisers that allows them to be included in a list of sponsored links. Consumers then search the list to find the best deal. This paper uses a version of traditional consumer price search models from economic theory to evaluate the extent to which consumers and advertisers can rely on sponsored search as an effective strategic infomediary. The article also describes steps that the manager of the search engine can take to improve the sponsored search service. The findings are relevant to web advertising as well as to mobile advertising.
The Impact of Online Product Presentation on Consumers’ Perceptions
Authors: Flavián Carlos , Gurrea Raquel , Orús Carlos
Published: October 2011

The website design and specifically the visual aspects have been revealed as key factors for achieving a successfully e-service website. This research examines the effects of the visual product presentation on online users’ perceptions. We carried out an experiment to analyze the impact of the size, the quality and the movement of the product picture on the perceived usability, satisfaction and purchase intention of users. We also analyzed the moderating role of user experience and product familiarity. The results suggest the importance of visual aspects, emphasizing the quality of the picture as the most salient factor. This study also indicates that users’ satisfaction is influenced to a great extent by these attributes.
Location-Based Services (LBS) in Micro-Scale Navigation
Authors: Almasri Suleiman , Alnabhan Muhammad , Hunaiti Ziad , Sedoyeka Eliamani
Published: October 2011

Pedestrians LBS are accessible by hand-held devices and become a large field of energetic research since the recent developments in wireless communication, mobile technologies and positioning techniques. LBS applications provide services like finding the neighboring facility within a certain area such as the closest restaurants, hospital, or public telephone. With the increased demand for richer mobile services, LBS propose a promising add-on to the current services offered by network operators and third-party service providers such as multimedia contents. The performance of LBS systems is directly affected by each component forming its architecture. Firstly, the end-user mobile device is still experiencing a lack of enough storage, limitations in CPU capabilities and short battery lifetime. Secondly, the mobile wireless network is still having problems with the size of bandwidth, packet loss, congestions and delay. Additionally, in spite of the fact that GPS is the most accurate navigation system, there are still some issues in micro scale navigation, mainly availability and accuracy. Finally, LBS server which hosts geographical and users information is experiencing difficulties in managing the huge size of data which causes a long query processing time. This paper presents a technical investigation and analysis of the performance of each component of LBS system for pedestrian navigation, through conducting several experimental tests in different locations. The results of this investigation have pinpointed the weaknesses of the system in micro-scale environments. In addition, this paper proposes a group of solutions and recommendations for most of these shortcomings.
Embodied Conversational Virtual Patients
Authors: Kenny Patrick G. , Parsons Thomas D.
Published: October 2011

Recent research has established the potential for computer generated virtual characters to act as virtual patients (VP) for the assessment and training of novice clinicians in interpersonal skills, interviewing, and diagnosis. These VPs are embodied interactive conversational agents who are designed to simulate a particular clinical presentation of a patient’s illness with a high degree of consistency and realism. In this chapter we describe the architecture developed for virtual patients, and the application of the system to subject testing with virtual patients that exhibit a set of clinical conditions called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The primary goal of these conversational agents was evaluative: can a VP generate responses that elicit user questions relevant for PTSD categorization? The results of the interactions of clinical students with the VP will be discussed. This chapter also highlights a set of design goals for increasing the visual, physical and cognitive realism when building VP systems including the design of the language, scenarios and artwork that is important when developing these characters. Finally, future research directions and challenges will be discussed for conversational virtual patients.
A Companionable Agent
Authors: Catizone Roberta , Wilks Yorick
Published: October 2011

Companions are agents devised to accompany users day by day building long-term relationships with them. They do not only assist users for particular tasks in sporadic times, but they provide more support and have more information to adapt themselves to each users’ needs. Currently, these agents and their possibilities are being researched as a part of an EU project, which is described in this chapter.
Humanizing Conversational Agents
Authors: Amores J. Gabriel , Manchón Pilar , Pérez Guillermo
Published: October 2011

This chapter describes an eHealth human-like conversational agent called Maria embedded in the Web page of the Health Department of the Junta de Andalucía in Spain. Although this implementation is based on a strong theoretical background, a more practical approach has been preferred for the real-world case hereby described. Maria has been designed to perform several major tasks: she can arrange a doctor’s appointment, reply to queries pertaining to many varied subdomains, and navigate through the Web page. One of Maria’s most remarkable features is the successful application of advanced design and humanizing techniques which endow her with unusual skills and an enticing personality. Maria has been developed by Intelligent Dialogue Systems (Indisys) within a larger scale Web development project conducted by Sadiel SA.
Future Trends for Conversational Agents
Authors: Pérez-Marín Diana , Pascual-Nieto Ismael
Published: October 2011

In the last decades, there has been a great evolution in the field of Conversational Agents. Currently, there are agents to assist the navigation in Web pages, support elder users when interacting with some computer application to remind them which medicines they should take during the day, or to enhance the learning process by allowing students to review with systems that adapt themselves to their previous knowledge and rhythm of study. In this chapter, the goal is to provide a summary of the future trends that can be envisaged for the future of the field. It is our insight that the future of Conversational Agents are to become pervasive and natural in our daily lives.
ICT Adoption in Farm Management, as a Mean of Implementing Agricultural Governance
Authors: Vassiliadou Sophia , Boutakidis Dimosthenis
Published: October 2011

The rapid development and global spread of modern information and communication technology (ICT) led to the implementation of its applications to agriculture. Information management is becoming an increasingly challenging task for farmers, but also for public bodies since for some years now, governments have entered an era of cogitation regarding the future of public service provision. Provision in agricultural governance can be implemented through ICT focusing on informing, directing, managing, and monitoring agricultural activities toward the achievement of sustainable agriculture. Dissemination of knowledge to extension agencies and then on to farmers via appropriate information models can be fed back to the international agricultural community on research or policy making level.
Participatory GIS for Integrating Local and Expert Knowledge in Landscape Planning
Authors: Torquati Biancamaria , Vizzari Marco , Sportolaro Carlo
Published: October 2011

This chapter describes the development and implementation of an operational method for integrating expert and local knowledge with new technologies for geographic mapping and communications, to enhance cultural landscape analysis and planning. Topics include the following aspects: a) analysis of type(s) of information required to construct a geographic information system (GIS), with the landscape as a common objective; b) method of implementing and integrating various types of expert knowledge in the GIS; c) method of collecting, organizing, and structuring local knowledge in the GIS; d) method of integrating expert with local knowledge; e) exploration of GIS functions. The main aim of this work is to examine the possibility of using participatory mapping methods and GIS for comparison and integration of multidisciplinary scientific expertise, local knowledge, and landscape project proposals. In particular, it involves specific methods for enhancing local features of vineyard landscapes through a participatory process developed with both vineyard entrepreneurs and the local population. The case study concerns the wine-growing area of Umbria, a region of central Italy.
Development of an Integrated Methodology for the Management and Assessment of the Impact of Agricultural Policies at a Territorial Level
Authors: Sali Guido , Bulgheroni Claudia
Published: October 2011

As a case study, the methodology analyses the impact of the CAP, together with water and nitrogen policies, on the agricultural system of the Lombardy irrigated lowland (Northern Italy). Results show that the introduction of the single payment makes farmers’ more influenced by market trends. Environmental constraints seem to have a larger impact than changes in prices: irrigation constraints stimulate the land allocation to extensive crops, while nitrogen constraints are very sensitive to the number of livestock. The case study illustrates that the methodology proposed can provide a set of scenarios that closely account for the peculiarities of local agricultural systems within a target area. The resulting construction of a geo-referred database is also a useful tool to gather in-depth knowledge of the area.
Birds, Bands and Beyond
Authors: Russell Jill , Glum Karen , Licata Jennifer , Russell David , Wohlfarth Jenny
Published: October 2011

This case study describes a partnership between the Avian Research and Education Institute (AREI), College of Mount St. Joseph (MSJ), University of Cincinnati (UC), and science teachers at The Seven Hills Middle School. This partnership enabled the teachers to implement a Bird Studies program and empowered the students to become citizen scientists. The partners used various technologies to establish and maintain an ongoing relationship between the field and classroom, so that students interacted with field ornithologists face-to-face and virtually via the Internet. In the classroom, students assisted researchers as they color-banded birds that visited the school’s wild bird garden. The students then monitored the banded birds, communicated with the researchers, posted updates on the class wiki, conducted biweekly bird counts and submitted data to eBird, created eField Guides, completed inquiry projects, and presented their data at a school event and a community bird festival.
Engaging STEM
Authors: Griffin Meghan , Saitta Erin , Bowdon Melody , Walters Linda J.
Published: October 2011

To stimulate student interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines, the University of Central Florida (UCF) partnered with the Crooms Academy of Information Technology (CAIT), a public magnet high school that emphasizes technology education for a diverse student population. Using digital tools and a service-learning model, UCF chemistry and biology students partnered with CAIT students to debunk science myths, perform laboratory experiments, and engage in an experiential oyster reef restoration project. This chapter provides an overview of project activities, implementation and the value of using technology. Challenges are detailed to offer a model for future community partnerships. The chapter concludes with a set of best practices for future projects.
Hybridizing F2F and Virtual Collaboration between a Government Agency and Service-Learning Technical Writing Students
Authors: Henry Jim
Published: October 2011

This case study reviews a hybrid face-to-face (F2F) and virtual collaboration between the State of Hawaii’s Division of Forestry and Wildlife and a team of university technical writing students to indicate specific features of the hybridity as it shaped the collaboration. In a course focused on organizational authorship, students were tasked with learning about the organization’s workplace culture to successfully represent its ethos in a report on the history of forestry in Hawai‘i. Moments and modes of collaboration are discussed chronologically as they enabled successful report writing, featuring key components: clearly stipulating terms of collaboration through service-learning, assessing fit between the course and the organization, emphasizing the need for onsite visits by students to ascertain the workplace culture, conducting swift follow-up on challenges in meshing the virtual with the face-to-face, and leveraging each mode of collaboration synergistically rather than discretely.