bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Best Practices in Leveraging E-Business Technologies to Achieve Business Agility
Authors: Sabri Ehap H.
Published: May 2011

This chapter explains the best practice in implementing e-business Technologies to achieve business cost reduction and business agility. Many companies started to realize that gaining competitive advantage is no longer feasible by only managing their own organizations; it also requires getting involved in the management of all upstream supply organizations as well as the downstream network. E-business technologies present huge opportunities that are already being tapped by several companies and supply chains. Although the benefits of implementing e-business technologies are clear, enterprises struggle in integrating e-business technologies into supply- chain operations. The author illustrates the strategic and operational impact of e-business technologies on supply chains and explains the performance benefits and challenges firms should expect in implementing these technologies. Also, the author provides the best-practice framework in leveraging e-business applications to support process improvements in order to eliminate nonvalue- added activities and provide real-time visibility and velocity for the supply chain. Finally, this chapter presents the future trends of using e-business in transformation programs.
Business Cases for Privacy-Enhancing Technologies
Authors: Clarke Roger
Published: May 2011

Many categories of e-business continue to underachieve. Their full value cannot be unlocked while key parties distrust the technology or other parties, particularly the scheme’s sponsors. Meanwhile, the explosion in privacy-intrusive technologies has resulted in privacy threats looming ever larger as a key impediment to adoption. Technology can be applied in privacy-enhancing ways, variously to counter invasive technologies, to enable untraceable anonymity, and to offer strong, but more qualified pseudonymity. After their first decade, it is clear that privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) are technically effective, but that their adoption lags far behind their potential. As a result, they have not delivered the antidote to distrust in e-business. If individuals are not spontaneously adopting PETs, then the opportunity exists for corporations and government agencies to harness PETs as a core element of their privacy strategies. The financial investment required is not all that large. On the other hand, it is challenging to attract the attention of executives to an initiative of this nature, and then to adapt corporate culture to ensure that the strategy is successfully carried through. This chapter examines PETs, their application to business needs, and the preparation of a business case for investment in PETs.
Decision Factors for the Adoption of an Online Payment System by Customers
Authors: He Fang , Mykytyn Peter P.
Published: May 2011

Along with the exponential increase in online business transactions, the online payment system has gained in popularity because vendors and creditors realize its growing importance as a foundation to improve their information infrastructure and to achieve “paperless” operating efficiency. However, due to per se different characteristics among customers and Web-systems, both sides’ perspectives and technology factors could cause a significant level of variation in customers’ acceptance of online payment methods. Our research involving 148 subjects who participated in a field survey examined the impact of a series of possible decision factors including perceived risk, perceived benefits, vendor’s system features, and customers’ characteristics on the intention to use an online payment system by customers. Some significant associations are observed and their implications are discussed.
Challenging Digital Inequalities
Authors: Bonney Norman , Komolafe Olufemi , Tait Elizabeth
Published: May 2011

There are substantial inequalities in access to and use of the Internet. These inequalities build on enduring social and economic inequalities that have themselves been rooted in previous rounds of the development of electronic technologies and have largely resisted public policies designed to remedy them. Rapid developments in the use of the Internet have great potential for commercialization and democratization, but digital inequality means that this potential is not always exploited to the advantage of the poorer sectors of the community. Recent public policies have attempted to remedy digital disadvantage, but there is little evidence that they are fundamentally transforming them. Constant innovation enables the more advantaged sectors to advance their position, while many are still excluded from compensatory attempts at catch up. An increasing body of experience suggests ideas for new approaches, but the magnitude of the challenge of eroding digital inequality should not be underestimated.
OLAP with a Database Cluster
Authors: Röhm Uwe
Published: May 2011

This chapter presents a new approach to online decision support systems that is scalable, fast, and capable of analysing up-to-date data. It is based on a database cluster: a cluster of commercial off-the-shelf computers as hardware infrastructure and off-the-shelf database management systems as transactional storage managers. We focus on central architectural issues and on the performance implications of such a cluster-based decision support system. In the first half, we present a scalable infrastructure and discuss physical data design alternatives for cluster-based online decision support systems. In the second half of the chapter, we discuss query routing algorithms and freshness-aware scheduling. This protocol enables users to seamlessly decide how fresh the data analysed should be by allowing for different degrees of freshness of the online analytical processing (OLAP) nodes. In particular it becomes then possible to trade freshness of data for query performance.
Visual Query Languages, Representation Techniques, and Data Models
Authors: Chiara Caschera Maria , D’Ulizia Arianna , Tininini Leonardo
Published: May 2011

An easy, efficient, and effective way to retrieve stored data is obviously one of the key issues of any information system. In the last few years, considerable effort has been devoted to the definition of more intuitive, visual-based querying paradigms, attempting to offer a good trade-off between expressiveness and intuitiveness. In this chapter, we analyze the main characteristics of visual languages specifically designed for querying information systems, concentrating on conventional relational databases, but also considering information systems with a less rigid structure such as Web resources storing XML documents. We consider two fundamental aspects of visual query languages: the adopted visual representation technique and the underlying data model, possibly specialized to specific application contexts.
A Case Study of an Integrated University Portal
Authors: Stewart Tracy R. , Baker Jason D.
Published: May 2011

The increasing complexity and interdependence of campus technology systems poses a significant challenge to universities. Such efforts cannot be solely the domain of a university technology department but requires participation across the institution in order to ensure success. As Irvine (2003) noted, “a decision about course management platforms or portals and their interoperability with other campus systems is a critical institution-wide issue that involves the whole university community” (p. 5). This case study considers the development of an Oracle-powered database-driven student and faculty information single-sign-on portal at Regent University called myRegent. This recently developed portal integrates with our existing student information and learning management systems, SCT Banner, and Blackboard Learning System respectively.
Assessment of Students by a Teacher with a Handheld Device and a Networkable Database
Authors: Newhouse C. Paul
Published: May 2011

For more than a decade, Australian educational systems have been trying to implement curriculum based on an outcomes approach to teaching and learning. A major difficulty in this process has been in applying the approach to the assessment of students’ learning. It has been recognized that teachers require considerably more support in access to information, collection of data, and analysis of data. Much of this support will need to be provided through appropriate computer systems, more than likely using networkable portable devices. Unfortunately research and development into the implementation of such support is in its infancy although the technology is widely available. This chapter describes a pilot project that tested the use of personal digital assistant to collect and analyze assessment data at the point of demonstration of the learning outcome by the student and then provides a background and rationale for continuing research in the area.
Image Mining
Authors: Sun Wei , Taniar David , Torabi Torab
Published: May 2011

Advances in image acquisition and storage technology have led to tremendous growth in very large and detailed image databases. These images, once analysed, can reveal useful information to our uses. The focus for image mining in this article is clustering of shoe prints. This study leads to the work in forensic data mining. In this article, we cluster selected shoe prints using k-means and expectation maximisation (EM). We analyse and compare the results of these two algorithms.
From Databases to Ontologies
Authors: Barzdins Guntis , Barzdins Janis , Cerans Karlis
Published: May 2011

This chapter introduces the UML profile for OWL as an essential instrument for bridging the gap between the legacy relational databases and OWL ontologies. We address one of the long-standing relational database design problems where initial conceptual model (a semantically clear domain conceptualization ontology) gets “lost” during conversion into the normalized database schema. The problem is that such “loss” makes database inaccessible for direct query by domain experts familiar with the conceptual model only. This problem can be avoided by exporting the database into RDF according to the original conceptual model (OWL ontology) and formulating semantically clear queries in SPARQL over the RDF database. Through a detailed example we show how UML/OWL profile is facilitating this new and promising approach.
A Measurement Ontology Generalizable for Emerging Domain Applications on the Semantic Web
Authors: Kim Henry M. , Sengupta Arijit , Fox Mark S. , Dalkilic Mehmet
Published: May 2011

This article introduces a measurement ontology for applications to Semantic Web applications, specifically for emerging domains such as microarray analysis. The Semantic Web is thenext-generation Web of structured data that are automatically shared by software agents, which apply definitions and constraints organized in ontologies to correctly process data from disparate sources. One facet needed to develop Semantic Web ontologies of emerging domains is creating ontologies of concepts that are common to these domains. These general “common-sense” ontologies can be used as building blocks to develop more domain-specific ontologies. However most measurement ontologies concentrate on representing units of measurement and quantities, and not on other measurement concepts such as sampling, mean values, and evaluations of quality based on measurements. In this article, we elaborate on a measurement ontology that represents all these concepts. We present the generality of the ontology, and describe how it is developed, used for analysis and validated.
Open Source Survey Software
Authors: Baker Jason D.
Published: May 2011

One of the significant advances in software design afforded by the Internet has been the open source movement, an effort to collaboratively create software and make it widely and freely available to the online community. Although the open source movement started with Unix-like computer operating systems, it has expanded to include a wide variety of software programs, including tools to publish and analyze online surveys. This chapter introduces the open source movement, and then profiles three leading open source survey programs: php Easy Survey Package (phpESP), PHP Surveyor, and the Moodle course management system.
Multimodal Modeling, Analysis, and Validation of Open Source Software Development Processes
Authors: Scacchi Walt , Jensen Chris , Noll John , Elliott Margaret
Published: May 2011

Understanding the context, structure, activities, and content of software development processes found in practice has been and remains a challenging problem. In the world of free/open source software development (F/OSSD), discovering and understanding what processes are used in particular projects is important in determining how they are similar to or different from those advocated by the software engineering community. Prior studies have revealed that development processes in F/OSSD projects are different in a number of ways. In this article, we describe how a variety of modeling perspectives and techniques are used to elicit, analyze, and validate software development processes found in F/OSSD projects, with examples drawn from studies of the software requirements process found in the NetBeans.org project.
Building an LMS with Ubiquitous Software
Authors: Rees Michael , Herring Charles
Published: May 2011

Teaching institutions around the world are using large, unwieldy, and expensive learning management system (LMS) packages that are beginning to have profound effects on their whole organizations. Such LMS packages in turn go to great lengths to interoperate with the desktop information productivity software that almost all institutions use, Microsoft Office System. Since a very large part of the instructional content is generated in Office, it seems sensible to investigate whether straightforward extensions of the Office System could become an LMS in their own right. This chapter describes research and development that integrated Microsoft Office System, Share- Point Windows Services, and SharePoint Portal server (SPS) as the heart of an off-the-shelf LMS. Already designed to work closely with Office, SPS features are compared against the list of features expected of an ideal LMS. Where gaps in the LMS features were discovered in SPS, a number of small extensions of standard Office applications were proposed to fill these gaps and create a credible LMS. These Microsoft tools and custom extensions were put to use in teaching and administration during a 2-semester (8-month) trial at Bond University. The SPS installation was hosted in partnership with G-Netech Pty Ltd. This Bond University/G-Netech SharePoint Alliance project (BUGSA or SharePoint Alliance) was able to call upon combined research, development, and teaching expertise provided by the partners. The outcomes of the short trial support the concept of the Office System as a viable LMS.
Educational Theory Into Practice Software (ETIPS)
Authors: Dexter Sara
Published: May 2011

The ETIPS software is a Web-based learning environment that delivers cases that allow educators to practice instructional decision making. Here I recount its development but mainly emphasize the two key concepts that were central to our design process. The first was the Conceptual Assessment Framework, an evidentiary reasoning and design perspective that helped us to focus on which key attributes to build into the software and cases. The second concept is described as extreme programming, which is an iterative approach to software programming based upon user stories and rapid prototyping. The story of developing the ETIPS cases illustrates the need to know very clearly what the point is of the educational experience you are creating and to design software where form follows function.
Assisting Learners to Dynamically Adjust Learning Processes Through Software Agents
Authors: Pan Weidong , Hawrysiewycz Igor
Published: May 2011

To make online learning more productive, software agent technology has been applied to provide services for learners in order to assist them to construct knowledge in constructivist ways. This paper is focused on the application of software agents in assisting learners to dynamically adjust learning processes. Unlike pedagogical agents, the agents in this application do not hold domain knowledge but simply assist learners to get through learning processes by a variety of supportive services. They assist learners to develop personalized preferred learning plans and to guide them to dynamically adjust learning toward their goals. In this article, the online learning process is first investigated, and an approach to assisting learners to dynamically adjust learning is outlined. Then, the structure of the UOL (unit of learning) database that provides links between a practical learning scenario and the required services is explored. A multi-agent architecture for realizing the services is configured, and the roles of the involved agents are described. After that, the related agent algorithms for guiding learners to dynamically adjust learning are described.
Patchwork Prototyping with Open Source Software
Authors: Jones M. Cameron , Floyd Ingbert R. , Twidale Michael B.
Published: May 2011

This chapter explores the concept of patchwork prototyping: the combining of open source software applications to rapidly create a rudimentary but fully functional prototype that can be used and hence evaluated in real-life situations. The use of a working prototype enables the capture of more realistic and informed requirements than traditional methods that rely on users trying to imagine how they might use the envisaged system in their work, and even more problematic, how that system in use may change how they work. Experiences with the use of the method in the development of two different collaborative applications are described. Patchwork prototyping is compared and contrasted with other prototyping methods including paper prototyping and the use of commercial off-the-shelf software.
Evaluation of a Migration to Open Source Software
Authors: Rossi Bruno , Russo Barbara , Succi Giancarlo
Published: May 2011

The chapter discusses the adoption and assimilation process of open source software as a new form of information technology. Specifically, the case reports a general positive attitude towards the widely used technology, the OpenOffice. org suite for office automation. Nevertheless, it shows the difficulties of the first early adopters to lead the innovation process and push other users. Different usage patterns, interoperability issues, and, in general, the reduction in personal productivity typical of the early phases of adoption are also remarked. The aim of this chapter is to give the reader an overview of the adoption process by means of the analysis of quantitative and qualitative data gathered during real world experimentation, and to shed some light on how empirical data can corroborate or challenge the existing literature about open source software and technology adoption.
A Denotational Mathematics for Manipulating Intelligent and Computational Behaviors
Authors: Wang Yingxu
Published: May 2011

Real-time process algebra (RTPA) is a denotational mathematical structure for denoting and manipulating system behavioral processes. RTPA is designed as a coherent algebraic system for intelligent and software system modeling, specification, refinement, and implementation. RTPA encompasses 17 metaprocesses and 17 relational process operations. RTPA can be used to describe both logical and physical models of software and intelligent systems. Logic views of system architectures and their physical platforms can be described using the same set of notations. When a system architecture is formally modeled, the static and dynamic behaviors performed on the architectural model can be specified by a three-level refinement scheme at the system, class, and object levels in a top-down approach. RTPA has been successfully applied in real-world system modeling and code generation for software systems, human cognitive processes, and intelligent systems.
Agile SPI
Authors: Hurtado Julio A. , Pino Francisco J. , Vidal Juan C. , Pardo César , Fernández Luís Eduardo
Published: May 2011

This chapter presents Agile SPI, a framework in which the main goal is to motivate small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) towards improving and certifying their software development processes. This framework was born in the SIMEPSW project where a software process improvement model for supporting process improvement in the Colombian software industry context was built. We present Agile SPI, its origin, development, principles, architecture, main components, and the initial experiences.
Tools for Supporting Knowledge Management
Authors: Sanchis Raquel
Published: May 2011

This chapter presents a general overview of the relationships between information and communications technologies (ITCs) and the process of Knowledge Management (KM). ITCs through KM tools support the processes to obtain, use and exploit, create and discover, capture, organize and classify, and share and disseminate knowledge. In literature, many classifications of KM tools are defined but problems like bad structures and lacks of understanding have caused the definition of a structured and integrated classification of KM tools. The importance of obtaining knowledge is the reason to analyze KM tools classification in order to obtain profitable information to select the most appropriate one. E-learning techniques have been chosen as the most excellent method to turn explicit knowledge into tacit knowledge (internalization process), therefore a description of this technique will be developed. But the process of selecting the most suitable e-learning platform is difficult; hence a classification of the most relevant characteristics that will guide users will be defined.
Dengue Fever
Authors: Derouich Mohamed
Published: May 2011

Dengue fever is a re-emergent disease affecting more than 100 countries. Its incidence rate has increased fourfold since 1970 with nearly half the world’s population now at risk. In the chapter, a mathematical model with immunization is proposed to simulate the succession of 2 epidemics with variable human populations. Stability of the equilibrium points is carried out and simulation is given for different parameters settings.
Giving and Taking Offence in a Global Context
Authors: Weckert John
Published: May 2011

This article examines the concept of offence, both its giving and taking, and argues that such an examination can shed some light on global ethical issues. It examines the nature of offence, what, if anything, is wrong in giving offence, the obligations on the offended, whether or not offence is objective, and offence in a global setting. It argues for the view that choice and context provide some way of distinguishing between offence which is a serious moral issue and that which is not. It is morally worse to offend those who have no choice in the area of the offence, for example race, than in areas where there is choice. Intermediate cases such as religious belief, choice depends largely on education and exposure to alternatives. Context is important in that offending the vulnerable is morally worse than offending those in more powerful, or privileged groups.
Empirical Prediction of Computer-Network Evolution
Authors: Habib Sami J.
Published: May 2011

This article presents a computer-aided integration tool, iCAD, that can predict a network evolution. We have used the term a network evolution to mean predicting changes within the physical network topology as time evolves. iCAD is connected to four device libraries, each of which contains a distinct set of network-technology devices, such as Ethernet hubs, ATM switches, IP routers, and gateways. As a network technology changes, each device library is updated. Then, we have plotted the cost and performance changes between the old and recent network technologies, enabling us to predict future changes to a first order. This article presents empirical results from 1999 until 2005 recording the network evolution progress, where the lower and upper bounds of network evolution came out to be 10% to 25% and 57% to 74% respectively in terms of network-design cost reduction.
Electronic Commerce and the State Sales Tax System
Authors: Reddick Christopher G.
Published: May 2011

This article examines the relationship between electronic commerce and the U.S. state sales and use tax system. A framework of a high-quality tax system is used in this study, and it is applied to taxing electronic commerce sales. The first part of this article analyzes nine principles of an effective tax system and divides these principles into the categories of adequacy of revenue, fairness of revenue, and management of revenue. In the second part of this article, these principles are tested to determine what impact electronic commerce taxation has on an effective revenue system. The results of these initial tests suggest that taxation of electronic commerce was associated with fairness in the tax system. In particular, the results suggested that states that had fairer tax systems were more likely to rely less on a sales tax and more on taxing Internet access. Management and adequacy of the revenue systems of states were not found to have a significant bearing on taxing electronic commerce. These results reinforce the existing public finance and legal theories that argue that the sales tax is not a fair revenue stream and that it should be reevaluated, especially in light of the contentious issue of taxing electronic commerce.
Evaluating E-Commerce Trust Using Fuzzy Logic
Authors: Meziane Farid
Published: May 2011

Trust is widely recognized as an essential factor for the continual development of business to customer electronic commerce (B2C EC). Many trust models have been developed, however, most are subjective and do not take into account the vagueness and ambiguity of EC trust and the customers’ intuitions and experience when conducting online transactions. In this article, we develop a fuzzy trust model using fuzzy reasoning to evaluate EC trust. This trust model is based on the information customers expect to find on an EC Website and is shown to increase customers trust towards online merchants. We argue that fuzzy logic is suitable for trust evaluation as it takes into account the uncertainties within ecommerce data and like human relationships; it is often expressed by linguistics terms rather then numerical values. The evaluation of the proposed model will be illustrated using two case studies and a comparison with two evaluation models was conducted to emphasise the importance of using fuzzy logic.
Improving M-Commerce Services Effectiveness with the Use of User-Centric Content Delivery
Authors: Germanakos Panagiotis , Tsianos Nikos , Lekkas Zacharias , Mourlas Constantinos
Published: May 2011

Advances in wireless communications and information technology have made the Mobile Web a reality. The Mobile Web is the response to the need for anytime, anywhere access to information and services. Many wireless applications have already been deployed and are available to customers via their mobile phones and wirelesslyconnected PDAs. However, as communications and other IT usage becomes an integral part of many people’s lives and the available products and services become more varied and capable, users expect to be able to personalize a service to meet their individual needs and preferences. The involved sectors have to meet these challenges by reengineering their front-end and back-end office. This article will examine the interaction requirements regarding a friendlier, personalized and more effective multi-channel services environment. It will present the mobility challenges and constraints implemented into the business sector, investigating the current m-commerce situation and the extended user characteristics presenting a high level user-centric m-commerce architecture.
Speaking of Software
Authors: Brady Ann
Published: May 2011

We describe our recent efforts to generate and use case studies to teach communication skills in software development. We believe our work is innovative in several respects. The case studies touch on rhetorical issues that are crucial to software development yet not commonly associated with the field of software engineering. Moreover, they present students with complex, problematic situations, rather than sanitized post hoc interpretations often associated with case study assignments. The case study project is an interdisciplinary collaboration that interweaves the expertise of software engineers and technical communicators. Our software engineering and technical communication curricula have been enhanced through this cross-fertilization.
Modeling the Model for Distributed Learning
Authors: Li Qing
Published: May 2011

Increasingly, educators in a range of venues and institutions (e.g., K-12 schools, post secondary institutions, training facilities) are being called upon to teach online. Because it is relatively new, there appears to be no commonly held pedagogy specific to online teaching and learning. Further, these educators have little or no previous experiences to draw on, and they often feel there are no best practices to guide them in their work. This study proposes to investigate an innovative approach to online learning. It explores the impact this approach has on graduate student learning and their subsequent professional practice. This research is a qualitative case study of an instructional design model. Students enrolled in two graduate courses using this model were recruited to this study. They were given an open-ended survey and artifacts from their course work and online discussion forums were reviewed.
Cultural Effects on Technology Performance and Utilization
Authors: Lippert Susan K. , Volkmar John A.
Published: May 2011

Research to date on information technology (IT) adoption has focused primarily on homogeneous single country samples. This study integrates the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with Hofstede’s (1980, 1983) Masculinity/Femininity (MAS-FEM) work value dimension to focus instead on post adoption attitudes and behaviors among a mixed gender sample of 366 United States and Canadian users of a specialized supply chain IT. We test 11 hypotheses about attitudes towards IT within and between subgroups of users classified by nationality and gender. Consistent with the national MAS-FEM scores and contrary to the conventional consideration of the U.S. and Canada as a unitary homogenous cultural unit, we found significant differences between U.S. men and women, but not between Canadian men and women. These results support the importance of the MAS-FEM dimension—independent of gender—on user attitudes and help to clarify the relationship between culture and gender effects. Implications for managers responsible for technology implementation and management are discussed and directions for future research are offered.
A Structured Method for Evaluating the Management of a Knowledge Management System Implementation
Authors: Chen Charlie C. , Shang Rong-An , Harris Albert L. , Chen Zhi-Kai
Published: May 2011

A knowledge management system (KMS) project transcends functional departments and business partners. The success of KMS implementation is highly contingent upon a well-orchestrated integration of multiple systemic contexts, such as communication channels, user involvement, power structure among stakeholders, corporate culture, project champion, interorganizational networks, etc. These organizational factors are embedded throughout the life cycle of a KMS project and within an organization. Understanding the influences of these organizational factors to the success of KMS projects can provide lessons for systems developers and management to increase the success rate of system implementation. The study is based around AMC, a major Taiwanese motor company faced with the challenge of deploying a knowledge management system. Over a period of 3 years (1999-2002) structured interviews were conducted to examine organizational factors contributing to the success of KMS efforts in AMC. The major emphasis of this chapter is to apply the concepts of structuration theory to assess the interaction of corporate management with users of a knowledge management system. Our findings suggest that management and users must be engaged in a sustained and reciprocal communication method when implementing a KMS. The pattern of communication, power structure, sanction power, and degree of cooperation are dynamically changed during the interaction process. Therefore, it is important to maneuver these factors into a win-win situation for management and users to successfully implement a KMS. Practical implications resulting from this research provide feasible real solutions to improve the relationship between users and management during a KMS implementation. Theoretically, this chapter contributes to the growing body of knowledge management (KM) literature from the structurational theory perspective.
An Evaluation of Factors that Influence the Success of Knowledge Management Practices in U.S. Federal Agencies
Authors: Rhoads Elsa , O'Sullivan Kevin J. , Stankosky Michael
Published: May 2011

This research chapter investigates the status of knowledge management (KM) practices implemented across federal agencies of the U.S. government. It analyzes the extent to which this status is influenced by the size of the agency, whether or not the agency type is a cabinet-level department or independent agency, the longevity of KM practices implemented in the agency, whether or not the agency has adopted a written KM policy or strategy, and whether the primary responsibility for KM practices in the agency is directed by a chief knowledge officer (CKO) or KM unit versus other functional locations in the agency. The research also tests for possible KM practitioner bias, since the survey was directed to members of the Knowledge Management Working Group (KMWG) of the Federal Chief Information Officers (CIO) Council who are KM practitioners in federal agencies.
Improving KMS Acceptance
Authors: Vitari Claudio , Moro Jennifer , Ravarini Aurelio , Bourdon Isabelle
Published: May 2011

The purpose of this chapter is to contribute to the improvement of the acceptance of information systems (IS) devoted to the codification and sharing of knowledge (a type of knowledge management systems [KMS]). A research model was developed through a multi-staged, multi-method research process and its test supports the hypotheses that the acceptance of KMS is determined, in addition to the classical constructs of the technology acceptance model (TAM), by a few organizational factors, and by the influence exerted on the user by individuals close to her/him.
From Beliefs to Success
Authors: Bax Samantha , McGill Tanya
Published: May 2011

The technology acceptance model (TAM) is a popular model for the prediction of information systems acceptance behaviors, defining a causal linkage between beliefs, attitudes, intentions, and the usage of information technologies. Since its inception, numerous studies have utilized the TAM, providing empirical support for the model in both traditional and Internet-based computing settings. This chapter describes a research study that utilizes an adaptation of the TAM to predict successful Web page development, as an introduction of the TAM to a new domain, and the testing of a new dependent variable within the model. The study found some evidence to support the use of the TAM as a starting point for the prediction of Web development success, finding causal linkages between the belief constructs and the attitude constructs, and the intent construct and the successful development of Web pages. However, additional research is required to further study the expanded model introduced within this chapter.
Intelligent Contracting
Authors: Gasmelseid Tagelsir Mohamed
Published: May 2011

The unprecedented advancements witnessed in the field of information and communication technology over the last couple of years are significantly affecting the nature and magnitude of B2B interactions, as well as their operational effectiveness and efficiency. However, interaction and contracting among global enterprises continued to be challenged by the difference of laws, authentication requirements, and endorsement constrains. With the rapidly increasing proliferation of mobile devices, wireless communication systems, and advanced computer networking protocols, the deployment of electronic contracting platforms and applications has provided many opportunities to enterprises; dictated new axioms for doing business; and gave rise to new paradigms. Together with the increasing institutional transformations, technological advancements motivated businesses to engage in an interactive process of contract formulation and negotiation.
Assessing the Future of Location-Based Services
Authors: Harmon Robert , Daim Tugrul
Published: May 2011

Location-based services (LBS) are approaching an inflection point. The continued rollout of the technological infrastructure, the availability of LBS applications, and the market’s increasing awareness of their potential value should lead to increasing business opportunities. However, there is still a high degree of uncertainty in the LBS space. Challenges are emerging to the cellular network operator-centric LBS model. Hardware companies, application providers, competing infrastructure technologies (such as Wi-Fi, WiMAX, and satellite networks), and new competitors from the computer and Internet industries are all vying for market position. Customers are becoming interested in location services, but the uptake has been slow. New LBS business models and new strategies need to be considered. This chapter evaluates the future of location-based services through a critical assessment of the technology, service applications, market trends, and strategic issues.
Mobile Applications Development Methodology
Authors: Rupnik Rok
Published: May 2011

The chapter introduces mobile applications development methodology. Mobile applications represent a new application model being introduced to information systems in the recent time. For that reason it represents a good challenge to expand research area of information systems development methodologies with research on mobile applications development methodology. The first part of the chapter introduces classical and a context-aware mobile application model. Based on that, the second part explores the role of mobile applications in information systems with the emphasis on showing the semantic contribution of the use of mobile applications in information systems. The core part of the chapter introduces mobile applications development methodology. The methodology is introduced through development phases and tasks which have to be performed within phases. The emphasis of methodology introduction is on phases of strategy and analysis.
Extending Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) with Mobile and Web Services Technologies
Authors: Ghanbary Abbass , Unhelkar Bhuvan
Published: May 2011

Web Services (WS) technologies, generally built around the ubiquitous Extensible Markup Language (XML), have provided many opportunities for integrating enterprise applications. However, XML/Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP), together with Web Services Definition Language (WSDL) and Universal Description Discovery and Integration (UDDI), form a comprehensive suite of WS technologies that have the potential to transcend beyond mere application integration within an organization, and to provide capabilities of integrating processes across multiple organizations. Currently, the WS paradigm is driven through parameters however; the paradigm shift that can result in true collaborative business requires us to consider the business paradigm in terms of policiesprocesses- standards. This chapter, based on experimental research carried out by the authors, demonstrates how the technologies of WS open up the doors to collaborative Enterprise Architecture Integration (EAI) and Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) resulting in Business Integration (BI). The chapter also provide a quantitative investigation based on organization’s adaptation to mobile and Web Services technologies.
How Literacy Emerges from Living Books in the Digital Era
Authors: Verhallen Marian J.A.J.
Published: May 2011

Advanced digital storybooks offer, in addition to an oral rendition of text, the possibility of enhancing story content through the use of video. In three experiments, effects of added video with accompanying music and sound on language comprehension and language acquisition were tested in a group of second language learners from low educated families. Three questions were posed. Do video additions positively influence young children’s story understanding over and above still images when listening to a storybook? How does video add to language acquisition; through added information or through the appraisal of helpfulness of the added information? Do these extra information sources benefit all young children to the same extent or especially children with insufficient prior knowledge?
The Cognitive Processes of Formal Inferences
Authors: Wang Yingxu
Published: May 2011

Theoretical research is predominately an inductive process, while applied research is mainly a deductive process. Both inference processes are based on the cognitive process and means of abstraction. This chapter describes the cognitive processes of formal inferences such as deduction, induction, abduction, and analogy. Conventional propositional arguments adopt static causal inference. This chapter introduces more rigorous and dynamic inference methodologies, which are modeled and described as a set of cognitive processes encompassing a series of basic inference steps. A set of mathematical models of formal inference methodologies is developed. Formal descriptions of the 4 forms of cognitive processes of inferences are presented using Real-Time Process Algebra (RTPA). The cognitive processes and mental mechanisms of inferences are systematically explored and rigorously modeled. Applications of abstraction and formal inferences in both the revilement of the fundamental mechanisms of the brain and the investigation of next generation cognitive computers are explored.
Content-Based Retrieval for Mammograms
Authors: Wei Chia-Hung , Li Chang-Tsun , Li Yue
Published: May 2011

As distributed mammogram databases at hospitals and breast screening centers are connected together through PACS, a mammogram retrieval system is needed to help medical professionals locate the mammograms they want to aid in medical diagnosis. This chapter presents a complete content-based mammogram retrieval system, seeking images that are pathologically similar to a given example. In the mammogram retrieval system, the pathological characteristics that have been defined in Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADSTM) are used as criteria to measure the similarity of the mammograms. A detailed description of those mammographic features is provided in this chapter. Since the user’s subjective perception should be taken into account in the image retrieval task, a relevance feedback function is also developed to learn individual users’ knowledge to improve the system performance.
Developing a Corporate Knowledge Management Platform in a Multibusiness Company
Authors: Juntunen Arla
Published: May 2011

This chapter focuses on the development of the Knowledge Management (KM) platform, and, more generally, the knowledge- and resource based view (RBV) of the firm. The knowledge is seen as a source of a competitive advantage. In high-velocity markets, like the ICT-sector, the knowledge is crucial in creating a long-term competitive advantage over the competitors. The study claims that corporate performance was improved when the case company simultaneously exploited a balanced set of related knowledge resources of the corporate KM Platfrom across its business areas.
Culture as a Dynamic Capability
Authors: Bowan Cliff , Gleadle Pauline
Published: May 2011

The chapter addresses a central dilemma from the viewpoint of dynamic capabilities and the resource based view of the firm: how to manage creativity within New Product Development without sacrificing financial control. The empirical evidence examined concerns 3M’s NPD activity in the United Kingdom from a holistically viewed management control perspective at the organizational level, and a study of the development and launch of a highly successful and radically new product, Genesis. It is concluded that NPD processes within 3M in the United Kingdom display a large measure of coherence juxtaposed with flexibility through the manner in which controls, holistically viewed, are embedded within organizational routines. Using case evidence clear distinctions can be made between dynamic capabilities, resources and product outcomes, and the elements of 3M’s capability can be discerned. The authors conclude that a dynamic capability can consist of both replicable elements, and elements embedded in the culture and routines of the firm that are difficult to imitate.
Hidden Markov Model Based Visemes Recognition, Part I
Authors: Foo Say Wei , Donga Liang
Published: May 2011

Visual speech recognition is able to supplement the information of speech sound to improve the accuracy of speech recognition. A viseme, which describes the facial and oral movements that occur alongside the voicing of a particular phoneme, is a supposed basic unit of speech in the visual domain. As in phonemes, there are variations for the same viseme expressed by different persons or even by the same person. A classifier must be robust to this kind of variation. In this chapter, the author’s describe the Adaptively Boosted (AdaBoost) Hidden Markov Model (HMM) technique (Foo, 2004; Foo, 2003; Dong, 2002). By applying the AdaBoost technique to HMM modeling, a multi-HMM classifier that improves the robustness of HMM is obtained. The method is applied to identify context-independent and contextdependent visual speech units. Experimental results indicate that higher recognition accuracy can be attained using the AdaBoost HMM than that using conventional HMM.
Active Learning for Relevance Feedback in Image Retrieval
Authors: Cheng Jian , Wang Kongqiao , Lu Hanqing
Published: May 2011

Relevance feedback is an effective approach to boost the performance of image retrieval. Labeling data is indispensable for relevance feedback, but it is also very tedious and time-consuming. How to alleviate users’ burden of labeling has been a crucial problem in relevance feedback. In recent years, active learning approaches have attracted more and more attention, such as query learning, selective sampling, multi-view learning, and so forth. The well-known examples include Co-training, Co-testing, SVMactive, etc. In this literature, the authors will introduce some representative active learning methods in relevance feedback. Especially, they will present a new active learning algorithm based on multi-view learning, named Co-SVM. In Co-SVM algorithm, color and texture are naturally considered as sufficient and uncorrelated views of an image. SVM classifier is learned in color and texture feature subspaces, respectively. Then the two classifiers are used to classify the unlabeled data. These unlabeled samples that disagree in the two classifiers are chose to label. The extensive experiments show that the proposed algorithm is beneficial to image retrieval.
Content-Based Video Semantic Analysis
Authors: Jiang Shuqiang , Tian Yonghong , Huang Qingming , Huang Tiejun , Gao Wen
Published: May 2011

With the explosive growth in the amount of video data and rapid advance in computing power, extensive research efforts have been devoted to content-based video analysis. In this chapter, the authors will give a broad discussion on this research area by covering different topics such as video structure analysis, object detection and tracking, event detection, visual attention analysis, and so forth. In the meantime, different video representation and indexing models are also presented.