bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Usability Evaluation of Online Learning Programs
Authors: Blandin Bernard
Published: May 2011

“Usability” addresses the relationship between tools and their users. Such a relationship is generally considered as independent of any contextual, social or cultural aspects: Usability criteria relate to “human factors” taken as universal. But users do not live or act in an abstract world in which they are alone with the tool they are using. Users, as human beings, live and act in a world which is at the same time social and material. This paper provides some clues on how teacher’s or trainer’s epistemological stance, learner’s motivation, organisational learning culture and environmental factors interact to produce conditions determining the use of online learning programs. As a consequence, usability has to take into account the user’s social and material environment. This is why, according to the author, usability has to be “situated.”
The ABCs of Designing Campus Portals
Authors: Jafari Ali
Published: May 2011

This chapter discusses the fundamental design requirements for building Internet portals, in particular building portals for educational institutions or so-called “campus portals.” The focus of the chapter is on understanding portals and their design requirements from both functional and technical perspectives for educational applications. It is meant to offer understanding and to share know-how and experience with those who are involved in various aspects of the design, development or implementation of portal projects.
Portal Technology and Architecture
Authors: Etesse Chrsitopher
Published: May 2011

When you arrive on a college campus, you often get an immediate sense of the institution’s history and priorities. You may pass a football stadium and residential facilities prior to arriving at the academic core of the university. Frequently referred to as “the quad,” this core area physically links the academic buildings, library, administrative offices and student activity center. All campus pathways lead to this physical center of campus. As college campuses have become more electronically connected, the campus Internet portal can easily be seen as a virtual quad. From the campus portal each member of the university community may be linked to all campus services and information, instantly. Each individual’s view of the portal can easily be tailored to unique as well as common needs and interests. This online campus portal is an extension of the brick and mortar of the university. As such, it provides not only the feel and look of the university, but also a common communication tool for off-campus and distance learning participants in the college community. One of the primary challenges in learning, especially online learning, is interaction, specifically communication. Most, if not all, higher education learning is geared toward communities of communication. As we’ve seen in other chapters, portals can provide a cornerstone in creating a sense of community on a campus. This chapter explores the origins of online portals. It outlines the technical history of portals including the first portals, the technology underpinnings of today’s portals and the ways in which portals will evolve in the future. Portals can be defined in two ways. One is by the data that reside within the portal and are aggregated for access by the end user of the portal. The second definition is as a framework for accessing, manipulating and interpreting data. This chapter will discuss both definitions. It will also discuss why the portal’s data offerings are integral to the balance of these two definitions and how portal framework(s) will become essential in higher education. This chapter will focus on the educational benefits of the past, present and future of portals.
Important CIO Features for Successfully Managing IS Sub-fuctions
Authors: Tagliavini M. , Moro J. , Ravarini A. , Guimaraes T.
Published: May 2011

The importance of and the fast changes in the CIO’s role in organizations are widely recognized. So is the need for CIOs to acquire the appropriate set of knowledge and managerial skills to lead the organization’s effort in effectively using information technology. This study is based on an extensive survey of the literature addressing the desirable features of modern CIOs, and the impact of such features on the management performance of the IS department main activities or sub-functions. To empirically test the importance of the CIO features, a questionnaire was mailed to the CEO of 2,000 companies in Northern Italy providing a usable sample of 158 respondents. The direct relationships between the CIO features identified in this study and their managerial performance in the areas of IS department human resources, operational management, strategic management, relationship management, and organizational management were corroborated. The results provide some insights on the desirable features for modern CIOs, which in turn can be useful for CIO recruiting and professional development.
Globalization, Citizenship and New Information Technologies
Authors: Smith Peter J. , Smythe Elizabeth
Published: May 2011

This chapter examines how information technologies have been used by non-governmental organizations to contest economic globalization. The chapter uses as case studies the failed attempt to negotiate the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (1995-1998) and the failed effort to launch a new round of trade negotiations at the World Trade Organization ministerial meetings in Seattle 1999. We do not take the simplistic view that non-governmental organizations were solely responsible for defeating the MAI, or stopping further trade negotiations, but rather use these cases to examine how Internet technology contributed to the capacity of groups to communicate, to quickly mobilize and widely disseminate critical information, outside the control of national elites.
The Tools of the Trade
Authors: Porter Lynnette R.
Published: May 2011

Once a curriculum has been established and new or existing courses modified to reflect any curricular changes, the courses making up the curriculum must be successfully implemented. The effectiveness of the technical tools in presenting materials is important to the success of a course. Each segment of the curriculum should work as well as planned. The pedagogical design and its implementation are of primary interest to teachers and administrators.
Developing Support Networks
Authors: Porter Lynnette R.
Published: May 2011

Teaching online, as you have read in other chapters, is a collaborative effort, even though when you are teaching, you may feel “home alone” when you work online. When you are sitting in front of a computer screen, intellectually you may realize that you are connected to networks of learners, administrators, other teachers, and members of other support networks. However, those people often seem remote when you are working at home around midnight. You and your institution need to develop a series of support networks so that any learner or teacher working online at any time knows that she or he is not alone.
Teaching Any Time, Any Place, Any Pace
Authors: Johnston Sharon
Published: May 2011

With the launch of six courses in January 1997, Florida Virtual School (FLVS) became a new resource for all students in Florida. FLVS teachers, developers of the online curriculum, experimented with innovative ways of encouraging students to be responsible learners. In the virtual classroom, teachers soon discovered that frequent communication with students and parents reaped tremendous rewards. In this chapter, the reader will see inside the teaching process at Florida Virtual School as the following essential characteristics of online teaching are highlighted: communication, teamwork, flexibility, student-centered learning, and love of students. Using technology as a tool to design and deliver curriculum and instruction, the virtual learning environment mirrors the technological world that students live in today and will work in tomorrow. Virtual education changes the way teachers teach and interact with each other, with students and with parents. Virtual educators are reshaping the routine learning modes of the traditional school day to a dynamic, interactive real-world learning environment that presents choices to parents and students and requires students to take ownership of the learning process.
Object-Based Techniques for Image Retrieval
Authors: Zhang Y.J. , Gao Y.Y. , Luo Y.
Published: May 2011

To overcome the drawback of using only low-level features for the description of image content and to fill the gap between the perceptual property and semantic meaning, this chapter presents an object-based scheme and some object level techniques for image retrieval. According to a multi-layer description model, images are analyzed in different levels for progressive understanding, and this procedure helps to gain comprehensive representations of the objects in images. The main propulsion of the chapter includes a multi-layer description model that describes the image content with a hierarchical structure; an efficient region-based scheme for meaningful information extraction; a combined feature set to represent the image at a visual perception level; an iterative training-and-testing procedure for object region recognition; a decision function for reflecting common contents in object description and a combined feature and object matching process, as well as a self-adaptive relevance feedback that could work with or without memory. With the proposed techniques, a prototype retrieval system has been implemented. Real retrieval experiments have been conducted; results show that the object-based scheme is quite efficient and the performance of object level techniques have been confirmed.
Trust in the Digital Era
Authors: Nandhakumar Joe , Panteli Niki , Powell Philip , Vidgen Richard
Published: May 2011

In the digital era, trust is a key concern. This chapter introduces a digital era interaction (DEI) matrix to explore trust relationships at multiple levels: between individuals, individuals and organizations, and between organizations. It considers each of these interaction aspects in turn; it draws on recent research projects as examples, and develops a common set of themes. The chapter concludes by identifying areas for further research that will help to advance our understanding of the role of trust in inter-organizational and interpersonal virtual interactions. It argues that such research is necessary if organizations and individuals are to benefit fully from the potential and the promise of virtually enabled interactions.
Key Determinants of Consumer Acceptance of Virtual Stores
Authors: Chen Lei-Da , Tan Justin
Published: May 2011

One of the most significant phenomena of e-commerce is the emergence of a new form of business—the virtual store. Virtual stores provide great efficiency in the retail value chain and their existence has paved the way for the diffusion of electronic commerce. Understanding the determinants of consumer acceptance, virtual stores will provide important theoretical contributions to the area of business-to-consumer (B-to-C) electronic commerce and lead to the development of more effective and meaningful strategies for virtual stores. This chapter presents a study of 253 online consumers. The study resulted in a theoretical model that explains a large portion of the factors that lead to a user’s intention to use and actual use of a virtual store. In addition to providing new theoretical grounds for studying the virtual store phenomena, this chapter also supplies virtual stores with a number of operative critical success factors to remain competitive in the volatile electronic marketplace. These success factors, namely, product offerings, information richness, usability of storefront, perceived trust and perceived service quality, are discussed in detail in the chapter.
A Virtual Team in Action
Authors: Wong Ian K. , Staples D. Sandy
Published: May 2011

Examined in this chapter are the characteristics of a project-based virtual team. Although there is some empirical research on virtual teams, little research has focused on describing the practical application of a virtual team in the organizational environment. Described in the chapter are the task and goals of the team, how it handled virtual challenges and used information technology to bridge distance, and how it functioned within its organization. Specifically, the task of the team, team composition, team beliefs, team processes, organizational context, and the effectiveness of the team are described. The chapter is concluded with a summary of characteristics of successful virtual teams.
Global Perspectives on the Information Society
Authors: McIver Jr. William J.
Published: May 2011

This chapter surveys issues and priorities being raised internationally by governments, civil society and the private sector in conceptualizing a global information society. Examinations of social, ethical and policy implications of information and communication technologies are often limited in scope, by region, constituency, issue, or other social dimensions. It is critically important, given growing global interdependencies in terms of labor, trade, communications resources and other factors, that social informatics and community informatics research begin to include more international perspectives and analyses. Efforts initiated within the United Nations sphere and other international bodies in recent years are offering unique opportunities to develop such perspectives. This chapter examines the body of issues being raised through these processes. This chapter seeks to show the diversity of perspectives that exist globally on these issues. Global perspectives on social, ethical and policy implications of information systems introduce the consideration of both the common and the diverse needs of the world’s many cultures, regions and nations. Information and communication technologies are seen in this context as both enabling solutions to the world’s many social problems and as potential sources of threats to labor, environment, culture, and other facets of society.
Ethics and Morality
Authors: Stahl Bernd Carsten
Published: May 2011

Academic texts have to conform to certain standards, and one of these is to define the concepts they use. Texts dealing with ethics or morality therefore have to define what these concepts mean. In the case of English text about computer ethics, the definitions are usually done by contrasting the teleological and the deontological tradition. Another possibility is to talk about absolutist versus relativist ethical theories. Frequently, the terms ethics and morality are treated as equal. Arguably, texts on computer ethics are not meant to be expertises in ethics and many readers of these texts tend to be practically oriented. It is often argued that an introduction into the depth of ethical theory will do more to confuse these readers than help them. However, such arguments can be used to blend out problematic aspects of ethics and pretend that there are clear solutions to these problems when these are in fact contentious. This book chooses another route and will spend some time giving an introduction to normative terms that may be unfamiliar to many native English speakers. Furthermore, it will emphasise that the complexity of the problems warrants a more fine-grained use of the terms, and that it is useful to distinguish between ethics and morality.
Forecasting Short-Term Exchange Rates
Authors: Li Leong-Kwan , Pang Wan-Kai , Yu Wing-Tong , Troutt Marvin D.
Published: May 2011

Movements in foreign exchange rates are the results of collective human decisions, which are the results of the dynamics of their neurons. In this chapter, we demonstrate how to model these types of market behaviors by recurrent neural networks (RNN). The RNN approach can help us to forecast the short-term trend of foreign exchange rates. The application of forecasting techniques in the foreign exchange markets has become an important task in financial strategy. Our empirical results show that a discrete-time RNN performs better than the traditional methods in forecasting short-term foreign exchange rates.
Rule-Based Parsing for Web Data Extraction
Authors: Camacho David , Aler Ricardo , Cuadrado Juan
Published: May 2011

How to build intelligent robust applications that work with the information stored in the Web is a difficult problem for several reasons which arise from the essential nature of the Web: the information is highly distributed, it is dynamic (both in content and format), it is not usually correctly structured, and the web sources will be unreachable at some times. To build robust and adaptable web systems, it is necessary to provide a standard representation for the information (i.e., using languages such as XML and ontologies to represent the semantics of the stored knowledge). However, this is actually a research field and usually most web sources do not provide their information in a structured way. This chapter analyzes a new approach that allows us to build robust and adaptable web systems by using a multi-agent approach. Several problems, including how to retrieve, extract, and manage the stored information from web sources, are analyzed from an agent perspective. Two difficult problems will be addressed in this chapter: designing a general architecture to deal with the problem of managing web information sources; and how these agents could work semiautomatically, adapting their behaviors to the dynamic conditions of the electronic sources. To achieve the first goal, a generic web-based multi-agent system (MAS) will be proposed, and will be applied in a specific problem to retrieve and manage information from electronic newspapers. To partially solve the problem of retrieving and extracting web information, a semiautomatic web parser will be designed and deployed like a reusable software component. This parser uses two sets of rules to adapt the behavior of the web agent to possible changes in the web sources. The first one is used to define the knowledge to be extracted from the HTML pages; the second one represents the final structure to store the retrieved knowledge. Using this parser, a specific web-based multi-agent system will be implemented.
Multilingual Web Content Mining
Authors: Chau Rowena , Yeh Chung-Hsing
Published: May 2011

This chapter presents a novel user-oriented, concept-based approach to multilingual web content mining using self-organizing maps. The multilingual linguistic knowledge required for multilingual web content mining is made available by encoding all multilingual concept-term relationships using a multilingual concept space. With this linguistic knowledge base, a concept-based multilingual text classifier is developed. It reveals the conceptual content of multilingual web documents and forms concept categories of multilingual web documents on a concept-based browsing interface. To personalize multilingual web content mining, a concept-based user profile is generated from a user’s bookmark file to highlight the user’s topics of information interest on the browsing interface. As such, both explorative browsing and user-oriented, concept-focused information filtering in multilingual web are facilitated.
Bridging B2B E-Commerce Gaps for Taiwanese SMEs
Authors: Wang Yu Chung William , Heng Michael S.H.
Published: May 2011

Many Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have been under pressures from large firms to implement Business-to-Business e-commerce (B2B e-commerce) information systems. However, these SMEs have faced various challenges to do so in the supply chain. This chapter explains the role of Taiwanese government in supporting SMEs in implementing e-commerce by analysing the interactions of government teams with current projects, and challenges of Taiwanese SMEs. Discussions and analyses focus on the government help in setting up infrastructure, B2B e-commerce implementation, and interfirm interactions among SMEs and larger firms. The Taiwanese government has been promoting its global logistic strategy for economic development which stresses supply chain integration by bridging information flows among overseas enterprises, domestic large firms, and local SMEs. Government projects related to this strategy are intended to anchor SMEs’ growing needs in linking B2B e-commerce with large firms. Our analyses and proposal dwell on how government can further bridge the gaps between the intrinsic barriers of SMEs and the interactions with larger firms in B2B e-commerce implementation.
Structural Media Types in the Development of Data-Intensive Web Information Systems
Authors: Schewe Klaus-Dieter , Thalheim Bernhard
Published: May 2011

In this chapter, a conceptual modeling approach to the design of web information systems (WIS) will be outlined. The notion of media type is central to this approach. Basically, a media type is defined by a view on an underlying database schema, which allows us to transform the data content of a database into a collection of media objects that represent the data content presented at the web interface. The view is extended by operations and an adaptivity mechanism, which permits the splitting of media objects into several smaller units in order to adapt the WIS to different user preferences, technical environments and communication channels. The information entering the design of media types is extracted from a previous story boarding phase. In consecutive phases, media types have to be extended by style patterns as the next step toward implementation.
Toward a Model of the Migration of Communication Between Media Devices
Authors: Hall Richard
Published: May 2011

The ever-increasing volume of information generated by humanity has been supported by our ability to invent devices that record, store, retrieve and communicate this information in a variety of media, presented by a variety of devices. Since new media devices are continually emerging, and each device has different utility, it is possible that a great deal of information will need to be migrated between media devices in order to take advantage of their utility. While computer programs that perform migration automatically would help to process the potential volume of information being migrated, such programs will require a model of the migration of communication between media devices. In this chapter, we propose such a model that is based on ideas from information theory and media modeling. The model represents a number of interacting components including: the dimensions and utility of the media device; the media of and structure of communication; and conversion functions between media devices. We evaluate it by applying it theoretically to one of the important tasks in digital libraries: the digitisation (migration) of a set of highly structured textbooks to hypertext. We argue that emerging web-technologies could assist the automatic migration of communication between media devices as long as specific components of the migration model are present in the information. Applications of this model lie in the preservation of digital libraries, which must be able to migrate between media devices in order to be immune to degradation and technological obsolescence.
Storage and Access Control Issues for XML Documents
Authors: Pallis George , Stoupa Konstantina , Vakali Athena
Published: May 2011

XML documents management is becoming an area of great research value and interest since XML has become a popular standard for data communication and knowledge exchange over the Internet. Therefore, new issues have emerged in terms of storage and access control policies for XML documents. Concerning the storage issues, the majority of proposals rely on the usage of typical database management systems (DBMSs), whereas XML documents can also be stored in other storage environments (such as file systems and LDAP directories). It is important to consider storage and access control together since these issues are essential in implementations for XML documents management. Moreover, the chapter focuses on the recent access control models which guarantee the security of the XML-based data, which are located in a variety of storage topologies. This chapter’s goal is to survey and classify existing approaches for XML documents storage and access control, and, at the same time, highlight the main differences between them. The most popular XML database software tools are outlined in terms of their storage and access control policies.
Online Shopping for Positive and Negative Reinforcement Products
Authors: Sorce Patricia , Perotti Victor , Widrick Stanley
Published: May 2011

The present research applies operant conditioning theory to the question of what products and services consumers will shop for and buy online. Operant conditioning theory explains differences between products that are used to alleviate uncomfortable experiences (negative reinforcement) and those providing enjoyable experiences (positive reinforcement). The preliminary results described in this study confirmed the importance of operant conditioning as a factor in the behavior of online shoppers. For example, when asked to provide an open-ended list of products that they had shopped for, our respondents mentioned products that produce positive reinforcement 476 times versus only four mentions for those that create negative reinforcement. Furthermore, for a list of seventeen common product categories, the results showed that respondents were not only less likely to shop for negative reinforcement products but also even less likely to purchase negative products online than positive products. The results of this exploratory study lay the groundwork for future research by introducing negative and positive reinforcement as a predictor of Internet shopping behavior.
Seamless Multiparty Videoconference
Authors: Lertrusdachakul T. , Taguchi A. , Aoki T. , Yasuda H.
Published: May 2011

This chapter introduces the seamless multiparty videoconferencing system focusing on the realistic sensation domain. It argues that gaze and gesture are the important mechanisms to enable visual channel and social presence in human-human communication. The authors hope that the aspect of establishing eye contact and synchronous finger pointing through a multiple-camera calibration approach and transparent based division will contribute to the advanced telecommunication and have significant effect to the improvement of future interpersonal communication.
Re-Engineering of Logistics Activities for Electronic Commerce
Authors: Marcoux Nathalie , Riopel Diane , Langevin André
Published: May 2011

In order to achieve a successful implementation of electronic commerce (EC), it is necessary to “re-engineer” the logistics activities of the enterprise. This chapter first presents and analyses the features of EC, i.e., the typical content of Web sites and technological and operational requirements, for the implementation of each of the four stages of EC (Brochureware, e-commerce, e-business, and e-enterprise). Then the concepts, techniques, and tools that may contribute to the successful implementation of EC are surveyed. Finally, a self-diagnosis tool is presented to initiate the re-engineering process. The self-diagnosis tool details the company’s profile in view of an EC implementation and identifies the operational activities that need to be reviewed, upgraded, integrated or outsourced.
Particle Swarms
Authors: Kennedy James
Published: May 2011

Particle swarm optimization is a computer paradigm that is based on human social influence and cognition. Candidate problem solutions are randomly initialized, and improvements are found through interactions among them. Social-psychological aspects of the algorithm are described, followed by implementation details. The particle swarm operates in three kinds of spaces, namely a topological space comprising the “social network” structure of the population, a parameter space of problem variables, and a one-dimensional evaluative space. Variations in the algorithm are described, and finally it is compared to evolutionary computation models.
Web Design and E-Commerce
Authors: Zhang Xiaoni , Myers Margaret
Published: May 2011

Computers and the Internet are now pervasive and essential parts of our lives: we use them at work and at home to gather information, for entertainment, and, increasingly, to do business. The Internet allows people to chat with others from all over the world, to follow the news from every continent, and conveniently to shop online at home or at the office. This book chapter covers two important and related concepts: Web design and e-commerce. The section on Web design starts with the overall picture of the Internet, history, Web authoring tools, design rules as well as introducing some research findings on Web design. E-commerce is introduced with definitions, technological acceptance model, online payment methods, online marketing and future developments.
From "Industrial Symbiosis" to "Sustainability Networks"
Authors: Posch Alfred
Published: May 2011

Industrial recycling networks are very effective in minimizing impact on the environment by building up closed loops of material and energy use within the industrial system. These interorganizational recycling activities among various industries can be a starting point for “sustainability networks,” that is, systems of voluntary, but organized cooperation among different stakeholders with the common target of the sustainable development of society within a certain region. To work well, an overall vision of the sustainability network needs to be clearly defined and then translated into strategies and strategic objectives. These in turn need to be transformed into operational targets that can be measured by a comprehensive set of environmental, social and economic indicators. This procedure is quite similar to the balanced scorecard approach of Kaplan/Norton, which is considered as an appropriate management information system not only for industry but also for sustainability networks. As part of inter- and transdisciplinary research and educational projects at the University of Graz the concept of sustainability networks is being implemented for the first time in the Eisenerz region, an abandoned iron-ore mining area in Austria.
The Paradigm of E-Commerce in E-Government and E-Democracy
Authors: Stahl Bernd Carsten
Published: May 2011

During its relatively short history, e-commerce, the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in business, has been more successful and glamorous than e-government or e-democracy, the comparable use of ICT in governments and administration. This may be the reason why many government initiatives try to emulate the success of e-commerce by using concepts, processes, technologies, and approaches pioneered by businesses. This chapter analyses the relevance and limits of this use of e-commerce as a paradigm in government. For this purpose it starts out by distinguishing between e-government and e-democracy. In the following step the chapter discusses which factors have led to the success of e-commerce and might therefore be applicable as parts of the paradigm. It then discusses the strengths and the weaknesses of e-commerce as applied to government. The conclusion will be that there are good reasons to use the commercial paradigm in e-government and e-democracy. However, this may lead to an unintended shift towards e-government. E-democracy may even be weakened by the paradigm, which might turn out to be detrimental to the democratic legitimacy of e-government and e-democracy.
Community of Practice Software Management Tools
Authors: Orange Graham , Onions Patrick , Burke Alan , Colledge Barbara
Published: May 2011

This chapter describes an action research project, Building a High Value Construction Environment (B-Hive), involving: two major construction clients, a privatised utility company (Thames Water), and a major leisure services provider (Whitbread Hotels); a large construction company (Taylor Woodrow); two leading construction consultancy firms; and Leeds Metropolitan University and London School of Economics. The research method, action research, was particularly appropriate for this project because it promoted learning and understanding through action and reflection, culminating in the production of a workshop-based approach that facilitates externalisation of knowledge and organisational learning. The approach facilitated the sharing of knowledge amongst construction project partners that would traditionally be very protective, and even adversarial, towards each other.
Business Oriented Systems Maintenance Management
Authors: Nordstrom Malin , Welander Tommy
Published: May 2011

In the introduction to this chapter, we discuss some of the common problems in maintenance. In order to solve these problems, we find it necessary to think in a new way, including the relationship of businesses to the system maintenance. The world outside organisations changes continuously, and the business processes and functions must change with it. However, if we only maintain information technology (IT) and do not co-manage the business changes accordingly, IT will not change at the same pace as the business changes. It would result a gap between the business needs and services provided by the IT product. In that case, IT systems would not be able to provide sufficient business value. The main part of this chapter contains a management model for solving these problems, based on theoretical research and practical experience. The central theme of the model is the connection between the business needs and systems maintenance. This is achieved by maintaining maintenance objects rather than the systems, establishing micro-organisations for each maintenance object where business processes as well as the system are represented. Our proposed model is widely used in more than 50 organisations in Sweden. In conclusion, some future trends and central concepts of the model are discussed.
Participatory Development of Enterprise Process Models
Authors: Gjersvik Reidar , Krogstie John , Folstad Asbjørn
Published: May 2011

In this chapter we present practical experience from using a technique we call Modeling Conferences, a method for participatory construction and development of enterprise process models. Process models are an important way to support communication, coordination, and knowledge development within an organization. The Modeling Conference method focuses on broad participation from all actors in the organization, is grounded in a social constructivist perspective, and has its theoretical basis in the method of search conferences and process modeling. In an engineering consultancy firm, the Modeling Conference method has been used to develop process models for main common work tasks that have been implemented on an intranet. Independent evaluations show that participation through the Modeling Conferences led to significantly more ownership to the process models, and that the actors have developed new collective knowledge.
New Challenges for Smart Organizations
Authors: Mezgar István
Published: May 2011

The chapter introduces the different types of wireless technologies that can be applied in smart organizations. Smart organization (SO) is an outstanding representative of networked organizations, as its organization structure, communication, and knowledge-based applications are coordinated and all networked. The chapter describes the communication demands of SO, taking care on wired and especially wireless networks that offer mobility for users. Access at anytime from anywhere to enterprise information for registered users guarantees mobility that is a basic demand for a dynamic organization today. Security, trust, and interoperability aspects are also discussed as important characteristics ofthe up-to-date infocom systems. Finally, the main impacts of wireless technologies on smart organizations are summarized. Through the survey of the structure and operation of wireless technologies and their impacts, it is easy to understand that wireless communication technology has a strategic role in the effective, competitive operation of networked organizations.
Grid Technology for Smart Organizations
Authors: Sipos Gergely , Kacsuk Péter
Published: May 2011

This chapter summarizes the most relevant results that grid research achieved in the last decade, it presents the actual issues of the topic, and it outlines how current and future results from this area can contribute to smart organizations. At the first place the basic goal of the Grid is presented and its state-of-the-art, service-based realization is discussed. This global infrastructure will one day connect together diverse types of hardware and software elements, abstracting them out as intelligent autonomous agents that can discover and collaborate with each other on demand. The middle part of the chapter introduces two potential middleware technologies that service grids can be built on. They are the Web services-based open grid services architecture (OGSA) and Jini. The final part of the chapter presents the future of service grids and the important role these flexible infrastructures will probably have in the life of smart organizations.
An Embedded Collaborative Systems Model for Implementing ICT-based Multimedia Cartography Teaching and Learning
Authors: Balram Shivanand , Dragicevic Suzana
Published: May 2011

Information and communication technologies (ICT) have created many new opportunities for teaching, learning and administration. This study elaborates a new embedded collaborative systems (ECS) model to structure and manage the implementation of ICT-based pedagogies in a blended learning environment. Constructivist learning, systems theory, and multimedia concepts are used in the model design and development. The model was applied to a third-year undergraduate multimedia cartography course. The findings show that regardless of student background, implementing effective ICT-based learning pedagogies can be managed using the ECS model.
GIS and Decision-Making in Business
Authors: Huerta Esperanza , Navarrete Celene , Ryan Terry
Published: May 2011

This chapter synthesizes empirical research from multiple disciplines about the use of GIS for decision-making in business settings. Todd & Benbasat’s model (2000) was used as a theoretical framework to identify the variables that have been studied on decision-making at the individual and collaborative level. An extensive literature review in the fields of Information Science, GIS and Decision Science from 1990 to 2002 was conducted with a total of nine studies identified in six journals and two conferences. The scarcity of published research suggests that the impact of GIS on the decision-making process has not been extensively investigated. Moreover, researchers have paid more attention to the study of GIS to support individual decision makers. The effects of variables like desired effort and decision strategy remain unexplored. More empirical work is needed to understand the impact of DSS capabilities, decision maker, task, and decision strategy on decision performance.
A Java Technology Based Distributed Software Architecture for Web Usage Mining
Authors: Hernansaez Juan M.
Published: May 2011

In this chapter we focus on the three approaches that seem to be the most successful ones in the Web usage mining area: clustering, association rules and sequential patterns. We will discuss some techniques from each one of these approaches, and then we will show the benefits of using METALA (a META-Learning Architecture) as an integrating tool not only for the discussed Web usage mining techniques, but also for inductive learning algorithms. As we will show, this architecture can also be used to generate new theories and models that can be useful to provide new generic applications for several supervised and non-supervised learning paradigms. As a particular example of a Web usage mining application, we will report our work for a medium-sized commercial company, and we will discuss some interesting properties and conclusions that we have obtained from our reporting.
Information Systems Success Theoretical Framework
Authors: Michel-Verkerke Margreet B. , Spil Ton A.M.
Published: May 2011

The primary objective of the study presented in this chapter is to understand the dynamics of implementing an integrated information technology (IT) system designed to support the treatment of breast cancer. Preliminary findings permitted the identification of adoption and resistance factors at individual, professional, and organizational levels. These findings provided insight into the potential challenges to be faced in redesigning work processes in an inter-organizational setting. Significant adoption factors included individual participation in the project and a positive assessment of benefits of the system by both individuals and professional groups. Alternatively, the absence of a multidisciplinary committee, coupled with the complexity of the environment, the tasks, and the technology were among factors identified as troublesome. In terms of the dynamics of the process itself, our observations revealed that promoters adopted a contingent and political approach. While this strategy is usually considered appropriate in healthcare organizations, information generated by this study will allow for a better understanding of important factors and mechanisms to consider and address in subsequent phases of implementation.
Managing and Practicing OD in an IT Environment
Authors: Logan Joseph
Published: May 2011

This chapter introduces a framework for improving success in information technology (IT) projects by leveraging the organization development (OD) practitioner’s expertise in fostering cooperation and learning in teams. It argues that IT project failure can be addressed and prevented by building teams that anticipate and recover from issues of communication, goal clarity, and internal support. The author intends this framework to provide a foundation for OD practitioners and IT project teams to engage the domain knowledge of each in order to successfully execute projects that are cooperative, focused on improvement through learning, and ultimately dedicated to more productive outcomes for the organizations they serve.
Dynamic Metadata Management System for Digital Archives
Authors: Yu Shien-chiang , Chen Hsueh-hua , Chen Chao-chen
Published: May 2011

This chapter describes metalogy, an XML/metadata framework that can handle several different metadata formats. Metalogy was developed under the Digital Museum Project funded by the National Science Council of Taiwan. It is common to have different data types and catalog formats even within one organization. In order to accommodate a variety of objects, it is often necessary to adopt several metadata formats. Thus, when designing a metadata management system, one needs to be able to handle heterogeneous metadata formats. XML, being a standard gaining increasing popularity, is also often used as data format so that exchange between data can be done in a uniform way.
KEA
Authors: Witten Ian H. , Paynter Gordon W. , Frank Eibe , Gutwin Carl , Nevill-Manning Craig G.
Published: May 2011

Keyphrases provide semantic metadata that summarize and characterize documents. This chapter describes Kea, an algorithm for automatically extracting keyphrases from text. Kea identifies candidate keyphrases using lexical methods, calculates feature values for each candidate, and uses a machine-learning algorithm to predict which candidates are good keyphrases. The machine-learning scheme first builds a prediction model using training documents with known keyphrases, and then uses the model to find keyphrases in new documents. We use a large test corpus to evaluate Kea’s effectiveness in terms of how many author-assigned keyphrases are correctly identified. The system is simple, robust, and available under the GNU General Public License; the chapter gives instructions for use.
Multimedia Digital Library as Intellectual Property
Authors: Sasaki Hideyasu , Kiyoki Yasushi
Published: May 2011

The principal concern of this chapter is to provide those in the digital library community with the fundamental knowledge on the intellectual property rights and copyrights regarding multimedia digital libraries. The main objects of our discussion are the multimedia digital libraries with content-based retrieval mechanisms. Intellectual property rights are the only means for database designers to acquire their incentive of content collection and system implementation in database assembling. We outline the legal issues on multimedia digital libraries and retrieval mechanisms. As the protection of intellectual property rights is a critical issue in the digital library community, the authors present legal schemes for protecting multimedia digital libraries and retrieval mechanisms in a systematic, engineering manner.
Cross-Cultural Design and Usability of a Digital Library Supporting Access to Maori Cultural Heritage Resources
Authors: Liew Chern L.
Published: May 2011

Part of the worldwide appeal for digital libraries (DLs) lies in their potential to preserve cultural heritage resources, to expand access to indigenous resources, and to promote deeper understanding among user communities. As cultural heritage resources are being made into a shared worldwide collection of information resources, cross-cultural design and usability issues of DLs supporting access to such resources become critical concerns. This chapter looks specifically at issues concerning supporting access to Mâori heritage materials available in New Zealand through DL technologies. The chapter commences with an examination of the Mâori culture, the nature and forms of Mâori heritage resources and their specific requirements for representation, organisation and retrieval. It then proceeds to identify a set of critical research issues crucial to the success of such DLs. For these research issues, challenges are identified and potential strategies to meet these challenges are proposed.
Managing Complexity and Institutionalization
Authors: Corbitt Brian , Peszynski Konrad , Boon Olaf
Published: May 2011

This chapter reports a case study of ERP implementation in an institution of higher education. The ERP is one based on integration of administrative tasks based on Oracle® systems and is successful both in terms of its embeddedness in institutionalized practice and in supporting that university’s operations. The key issue that emerged from the study showed that understanding complexity, institutionalized practice, and the power relations in existence enable the implementation to be more effective, as it can be managed when understood. The chapter argues that organizations reproduce practice and that an ERP challenges that. To deal with that challenge, social dramas emerge wherever power exists, and the resulting conflicts challenge the effectiveness of the systems put in place. In this case study, the key role of the project champion in resolving the social dramas became evident.
The Political Economy of Information Management
Authors: Homburg Vincent
Published: May 2011

Information system development is often seen as a rational process of consecutive design activities aimed at integrated information systems. Especially in settings where actors with varying interests operate, like in the development and use of so-called interorganizational information systems, these rational approaches rarely result in satisfying outcomes. In this chapter, the development of a Research Information System is analyzed in terms of alternative, political views on information management. It is concluded that integration of data schemes should not be an aim for information system development, especially for situations in which interests and objectives vary considerably. Furthermore, in such situations, information system development should be managed as a process in which various stakeholders enter and leave arenas, rather than as a project.