bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Channel Characterization and Modelling for Mobile Communications
Authors: Papazafeiropoulos Anastasios
Published: May 2011

As a consequence of the growing interest in wireless communications systems, much effort is being devoted to the channel characterization and modelling. This is obvious since the performance depends fundamentally on the channels under consideration, so a communication system design must be preceded by the study of channel characteristics. This chapter considers the propagation environment in which a wireless system operates. In other words, we are primarily interested in the characterization of radio links between the transmitter and the receiver antenna that will be modelled by randomly time-variant linear systems. Wireless communication channels are usually described by considering three separable phenomena, namely, path loss, shadowing, and multipath fading. In the following, we briefly overview various efforts to characterize such aspects of wireless communication channels. Firstly, in this chapter we address the estimation of signal decay due to propagation loss which is very important in the determination of the necessary transmission power and the coverage area. Although propagation loss models are sometimes quite accurate, they generally fail to predict signal fluctuations due to the effect of the terrain near the antenna. Such a phenomenon of signal fluctuations is usually called shadowing. However, the effect of multipath fading is generally more complex because it does not only change in time but also varies over frequency. As a result, this topic will also be presented in enough depth and a number of statistical models will be studied. Moreover, the various categories of fading will be discussed. Finally, a novel small-scale model derived by the author is presented in order to give a recent application of the theory.
Innovation and E-Government
Authors: Kitsios Fotis C. , Angelopoulos Spyros P. , Zannetopoulos John
Published: May 2011

There is no doubt that e-government is a phenomenon of our era. E-business is becoming vital on the private sector as well as in the governmental institutions. The use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in order to change the structures and processes of government organizations in an attempt to allow the exchange of information with citizens, businesses and other arms of government, results to improved efficiency, convenience as well as better accessibility of public services. The three segments of e-government services are Governmentto- Citizen (G2C), Government-to-Business (G2B) and Government-to-Government (G2G) in a correspondence to the business model segments. As many others aspects of science in their very beginning, e-government suffers from a definitional vagueness of its concept due to the fact that there is not a widely accepted definition among researchers. So, what exactly is e-government? Has anyone tried or managed to define its exact concept and meaning? Is it just an Internet-based government or are there any other non-internet technologies used in this context? How can next-generation heterogeneous networks, enhance its abilities on interconnectivity? These are all questions seeking for an answer in this paper. This study does not try to stand out either as a review or as a synthetic summary of the literature concerning e-government, rather, its main objective will be an in depth overview of the current status of e-government phenomenon. Future works need to give an answer to the dilemma whether e-government is really a tool for decentralization and democratization or the result of a sociotechnical process towards a new model of public administration. Finally, in an attempt to focus on the changes in business process that are needed inside governmental institutions in order e-government to be successfully implemented, a second recommendation for future work resides on the need for a holistic model which can embrace the back-office, the front-office as well as the real citizens’ needs.
The Expansion of E-Marketplace to M-Marketplace by Integrating Mobility and Auctions in a Location-Sensitive Environment
Authors: Emiris D. M.
Published: May 2011

Auctioning over Wireless Networks, constitutes an attractive emerging class for m-commerce applications and formulates a procurement negotiation tool supporting the announcement and execution of geographically focused auctions. This is feasible by using the Location-Based Services (LBS), which resulted from the unification of automatic position sensing (GPS) and wireless connectivity. The present article aims to analyse and match the properties of heterogeneous wireless networks (mobile, GPS) and to set a framework for the development of Reverse M-Auction based Marketplaces operating in a location sensitive context with application in freight services procurement. A location-sensitive, reverse, M-auction application in the freight transport market where potential suppliers (carriers) are able to place bids for Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) shipments or during empty trips while on the move aiming to gain from economies of scope, is the application examined in this chapter.
Deploying Ubiquitous Computing Applications on Heterogeneous Next Generation Networks
Authors: Kameas Achilles D.
Published: May 2011

This chapter describes a human centric approach for designing and deploying ubiquitous computing applications. These are considered as activity spheres consisting of tasks which must be executed using the resources available in an Ambient Intelligence space. Such resources include objects augmented with embedded ICT components and software modules. An architectural approach and a corresponding middleware are described, which enable the management of activity spheres. Then, the communication requirements are presented and the role of heterogeneous next generation networks in supporting this architecture is discussed.
Vive la Différence
Authors: Gefen David , Geri Nitza , Paravastu Narasimha
Published: May 2011

The differences among peoples and how their respective culture and history may affect their adoption of information and communication technologies (ICT), as well as their preferred usage patterns, are often discussed in the literature. But do we really need to look that far to find such cross-cultural differences? Considering language is one of the major defining attributes of culture, this chapter takes a sociolinguistic approach to argue that there is a cross-cultural aspect to ICT adoption also within the same culture. Sociolinguists have claimed for years that to a large extent, communication between men and women, even within the supposedly same culture, has such characteristics due to their different underlying social objectives which affect their communication patterns. This chapter examines this sociolinguistic perspective in the context of online courses, where students are often requested to collaborate with their classmates in online threaded discussions. Although the stage is set in online courses to smother cultural and gender differences if participants wish to do so, a key finding is that gender based cultural patterns still emerge. These differences were strong enough to allow significant identification of the student gender, despite the gender neutral context of the course discussions. Implications for ICT in general in view of this Vive la Différence are discussed.
System Dynamics Modeling for Strategic Management of Green Supply Chain
Authors: Su Ying Su , Jin Zhanming , Yang Lei
Published: May 2011

Environmental issues are rapidly emerging as one of the most important topics in strategic manufacturing decisions. Perusal of the literature has shown many models to support executives in the assessment of a company’s environmental performance. Unfortunately, none of these identifies operating guidelines on how the systems should be adapted to support the deployment of different types of green supplychain strategies. This chapter seeks to investigate how system dynamics modeling can be supportive for management of feasible green supply-chain strategies. Besides conceptual considerations, we base our arguments on the development of efficient performance measurement systems for remanufacturing facilities in reverse supply chains, taking into account not only economic but also environmental issues. The behavior of the green supply-chain management under study is analyzed through a simulation model based on the principles of the system dynamics methodology. The simulation model can be helpful for green strategic management as an experimental tool, which can be used to evaluate alternative longterm strategies (“what-if” analysis) using total supply chain profit as measure of strategy effectiveness. Validation and numerical experimentation further illustrate the applicability of the developed methodology, while providing additional intuitively sound insights.
ICT Based Learning
Authors: Rahman Hakikur
Published: May 2011

ICT mediated learning provides utilities for achieving the goal of education for all, and in turn acts as an enabler in reducing the digital divide, reducing poverty, and promoting social inclusion. However, the integration of ICTs in education deserves considerable investment in time and resources. Consequently, during planning to integrate ICTs in evidence-based information for making sound decisions by the end users incorporate extensive research and sharing of critical information along different phases of planning. Furthermore, implementation of ICT based learning demands in depth analysis and intelligent feedback of the processes. Technology does not improve learning in a straight way and the fundamental question remains always unanswered, in assessing the effectiveness of ICTs or assessing the effectiveness of instructional treatments that were initially (and effectively) less than perfect. This chapter has tried to critically analyze the effective role of ICT methods in learning and put forwards several success cases of learning mechanisms that assisted in socioeconomic empowerment and at the same time, provided a few futuristic recommendations in establishing similar endeavors in promising economies.
Indigenous Knowledges and Worldview
Authors: Iseke-Barnes Judy , Danard Deborah
Published: May 2011

This chapter explores how representations of indigenous peoples on the Internet and other media are contextualized according to an outsider worldview, and that much of the information about indigenous peoples accessed through virtual media lack the original context in which to position the information. This means that the information is completely distanced from the indigenous peoples whom the information is purported to represent. This is problematic when representations of indigenous peoples are defined by dominant discourses which promote bias and reinforce stereotypes. With the increase of technology and the race to globalization, symbols are being reconstructed and redefined to connect and create a global identity for indigenous peoples. The consequences of this further the current practices of erasing and reconstructing indigenous history, language, culture and tradition through control and commodification of representations and symbols. This removal from history and community ensures continued silencing of indigenous voices. Although these misrepresentations continue to frame the discourse for indigenous peoples in Canada, it is time for indigenous peoples to reclaim and resist these representations and for outsiders to stop creating social narratives for indigenous peoples which support western hegemony.
A Digital Rights Management System for Educational Content Distribution
Authors: Chan Tom S.
Published: May 2011

While delivering content via the Internet can be efficient and economical, content owners risk losing control of their intellectual property. Any business that wishes to control access to, and use of its intellectual property, is a potential user of Digital Rights Management (DRM) technologies. Traditional DRM has a passive one-way downstream consumption of content from producer to consumer focus primarily concerns digital rights enforcement. This model does not translate well to the education environment where openness, informal decision making, sharing of ideas, and decentralization are valued. Collaboration and multiple authorships are common in the educational environment, as is the repurposing and modification of digital content used for teaching and learning. A DRM system for educational content distribution must be substantially more sophisticated and flexible than what is available right now to gain support in the educational community.
The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Competence of the Young
Authors: Ilomäki Liisa , Kankaanranta Marja
Published: May 2011

This chapter discusses the information and communication technology (ICT) competence of the young. The discussion focuses on students at lower and upper secondary school, especially young people aged 10-18. It explores how the strategic initiatives and implementation efforts of ICY have reached out to the level of young citizens. The aim is to consider their ICT competence as well as their use of ICT in school and during the leisure time. The authors also consider the significance and role of gaming, the gender differences regarding ICT skills and use, and the differences between the young and adults in their skills and use of ICT.
Effective Characteristics of Learning Multimedia
Authors: Luik Piret
Published: May 2011

Developing effective educational software requires an understanding of the complexity of multimedia components. The relationship between the characteristics of learning multimedia and learning outcomes of students is explored in two studies carried out in Estonia with multimedia textbooks and multimedia drills. Included are those characteristics likely to be effective for all students, boys, girls, high-achieving students, and low achieving students. Concluding recommendations based on the results of these studies should be useful for teachers and for developers of multimedia software.
Using Technology in Pedagogically Responsive Ways to Support Literacy Learners
Authors: Kervin Lisa , Mantei Jessica , Herrington Jan
Published: May 2011

In this chapter the authors discuss two central themes: the changing nature of literate activity brought about by Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), and suggestions for how educators could respond to this guided by principles of authentic learning. The access many young people have to ICT has resulted in new forms of literacy as they manipulate technology, using this new knowledge to assist the process of meaning making. Each new technology brings with it navigational concepts, space to negotiate, new genres and a range of modalities, all of which need to be interpreted. ICTs have the potential to reshape literate practices in classrooms as students create, collect, store and use knowledge as they connect and collaborate with people and resources across the world. What is crucial though, is that the nexus between technology and literacy within classrooms is conceptualised through meaningful, relevant and authentic connections with curricula.
The Factors Affecting Multimedia-Based Inquiry
Authors: Pedaste Margus , Sarapuu Tago
Published: May 2011

The general aim of the present chapter is to focus on the factors influencing simulation-based computersupported inquiry learning in small groups. The authors will give an overview of research that describes different factors influencing inquiry learning and problem solving and will add a dimension of collaborative web-based inquiry from their studies. The evidence from relevant scientific literature as well as the empirical results collected by the authors form the basis for discussion about designing an effective learning environment through a viewpoint of different end-users of our results – especially teachers and software designers. As a result, three additional main factors have been found that should be taken into account in designing support systems for problem solving: i) the level of difficulty of problems, ii) the appropriate sequence of problems, and iii) the characteristics of learners’ groups.
Using Talking Books to Support Early Reading Development
Authors: Wood Clare , Littleton Karen , Chera Pav
Published: May 2011

This chapter explores the question of how interactive multimedia talking books can promote young children’s literacy development. Whilst commercially available talking books can motivate young children to read, there is little evidence that they are linked to the development of skills known to promote reading itself. The ‘Bangers and Mash’ talking books (Chera, 2000), were designed to address this issue, and we review studies that evaluated their effectiveness as classroom resources that could promote reading-related skills and abilities. We then consider the various barriers to collaborative learning in Early Years classrooms, and describe how resources like talking books could address some of those issues. The chapter concludes with a research agenda that emphasises the need for software designers to take into account the interpersonal aspects of classroom learning, as well as individual differences in children’s knowledge.
Web 2.0 Technologies as Cognitive Tools of the New Media Age
Authors: Hsu Yu-Chang , Ching Yu-Hui , Grabowski Barbara
Published: May 2011

Web 2.0 affordances have changed the landscape of technology use for learning, knowledge construction, and collaboration important for K-12 learner literacy. This chapter introduces web 2.0 technologies, including folksonomy, collaborative writing tools such as wikis, and weblogging, as cognitive tools that can support learning of content, metacognitive activity, and self-regulation (SR) at the K-12 level. Recent conceptual and empirical research is reviewed to support the use of these technologies. Application scenarios are provided to elaborate on how the technologies can be incorporated into teaching. Design and implementation implications, and a discussion of issues and challenges are included throughout for teachers, practitioners, and researchers interested in adopting these new media in the school setting.
Developing Digital Literacy Skills with WebQuests and Web Inquiry Projects
Authors: Gibson Susan
Published: May 2011

This article identifies digital literacy as an important aspect of new media literacy at the K-12 level. Digital literacy includes developing the skills of information location and application as well understanding how to use available evidence to assist in problem solving and decision making about important questions and issues that have no clear answers. Two web-based examples of instructional strategies – WebQuests and Web Inquiry Projects—are suggested as ways to develop these and other important 21st century learning skills.
Towards Safer Internet for Students with the Aid of a Hypermedia Filtering Tool
Authors: Lazarinis Fotis
Published: May 2011

Internet as a new medium offers unlimited opportunities to education and knowledge sharing but it can also shape specific improper attitudes and cultivate erroneous and potentially dangerous ideas. As more kids go online worldwide so do the concern increases about the safeness of the websites they visit. In this chapter a list of potential online risks is presented. Then, the safeness of the favorite Web sites of 270 Greek high school students is assessed in connection with these online risks. Inappropriate content was found in more than 30% of the evaluated Web pages, although specific security policies apply to computer labs of Greek schools. Last, a filtering tool for analyzing and restricting the access to improper Web sites is presented and evaluated.
Managing E-Mail Systems
Authors: Duane Aidan , Finnegan Patrick
Published: May 2011

An email system is a critical business tool and an essential part of organisational communication. Many organisations have experienced negative impacts from email and have responded by electronically monitoring and restricting email system use. However, electronic monitoring of email can be contentious. Staff can react to these controls by dissent, protest and potentially transformative action. This chapter presents the results of a single case study investigation of staff reactions to electronic monitoring and control of an email system in a company based in Ireland. The findings highlight the variations in staff reactions through multiple time frames of electronic monitoring and control, and the chapter identifies the key concerns of staff which need to be addressed by management and consultants advocating the implementation of email system monitoring and control.
A Meta-Analysis Comparing the Sunk Cost Effect for IT and Non-IT Projects
Authors: Wang Jijie
Published: May 2011

Escalation is a serious management problem, and sunk costs are believed to be a key factor in promoting escalation behavior. While many laboratory experiments have been conducted to examine the effect of sunk costs on escalation, there has been no effort to examine these studies as a group in order to determine the effect size associated with the so-called “sunk cost effect.” Using meta-analysis, we analyzed the results of 20 sunk cost experiments and found: (1) a large effect size associated with sunk costs, and (2) stronger effects in experiments involving information technology (IT) projects as opposed to non-IT projects. Implications of the results and future research directions are discussed.
E-Risk Insurance Product Design
Authors: Mukhopadhyay Arunabha , Chatterjee Samir , Saha Debashis , Mahanti Ambuj , Sadhukhan Samir K.
Published: May 2011

An online business organization spends millions of dollars on firewalls, anti-virus, intrusion detection systems, digital signature, and encryption, to ensure minimal security breach. Nonetheless, a new virus or a clever hacker can easily compromise these deterrents, resulting in losses to the tune of millions of dollars annually. To minimize the financial loss, we propose that online businesses should invest in e-risk insurance products as a complementary alternative, above the network security appliances. In this work, we develop a Copula aided Bayesian Belief Network (CBBN) model, to assist insurance companies to design e-insurance products. The CBBN model does an e-vulnerability assessment (e-VA) and e-risk quantification (e-RQ). We first draw a casual diagram (BBN) stating the probable reason for security failure in an organization. We assume the marginal distributions for each of the nodes of the diagram. Using the CBBN model we compute the joint probability of the constituent nodes of the BBN. Next the conditional probability of each of the occurrences of the malicious event is arrived at. We then assume a loss distribution, and using the principles of collective risk modeling, we arrive at the expected severity of the attack. The e-risk insurance companies compute the premium, by charging an extra (i.e., overloading and contingency loading), over the expected severity of attack.
Avoiding Pitfalls in Policy-Based Privacy Management
Authors: Yee George O.M.
Published: May 2011

The growth of the Internet is increasing the deployment of e-services in such areas as e-commerce, e-learning, and e-health. In parallel, the providers and consumers of such services are realizing the need for privacy. The use of P3P privacy policies on Web sites is an example of this growing concern for privacy. Managing privacy using privacy policies is a promising approach. In this approach, an e-service provider and an e-service consumer each have separate privacy policies. Before an e-service is engaged, the provider’s policy must be “compatible” with the consumer’s policy. However, beyond compatibility, the policies may face pitfalls arising from improper specification, misapplication, and improper maintenance (e.g. failing to keep a personal privacy policy up-to-date). This can result in the lost of privacy and even lead to serious safety issues in certain cases. This chapter gives examples of how such pitfalls can arise and suggests ways to avoid these pitfalls.
Theories Used in Information Security Research
Authors: Ada Serkan
Published: May 2011

This chapter discusses the recent theories used in information security research studies. The chapter initially introduces the importance of the information security research and why it became so important recently. Following this introduction, “theory” is defined and the importance of the theories in information security research is mentioned. After this discussion, recently used theories (socio-technical systems theory, activity theory, distributed cognition theory, general deterrence theory, grounded theory, social cognitive theory) are listed and basic information about these theories as well as applications from the literature are given. Other recently used theories are also summarized in a table in the next section. The chapter finally ends with concluding remarks on the theories and recommendations to the researchers in the information security area.
Creating a Security Education, Training, and Awareness Program
Authors: Pullman Nick , Streff Kevin
Published: May 2011

Security training and awareness is often overlooked or not given sufficient focus in many organizations despite being a critical component of a layered defense. Organizations often purchase expensive hardware and software to help secure their organization, but fail to allocate resources to train employees who will install and configure the product. Similarly, organizations will devote many hours developing polices and procedures to protect sensitive information, but fail to allocate the appropriate resources to ensure awareness of those policies and procedures. This chapter discusses how to design, create, and implement a formal security education, training, and awareness (SETA) program as a component of a layered defense strategy.
The Human Attack in Linguistic Steganography
Authors: Orgun C. Orhan
Published: May 2011

This chapter develops a linguistically robust encryption system, LunabeL, which converts a message into syntactically and semantically innocuous text. Drawing upon linguistic criteria, LunabeL uses word replacement, with substitution classes based on traditional linguistic features (syntactic categories and subcategories), as well as features under-exploited in earlier works: semantic criteria, graphotactic structure, and inflectional class. The original message is further hidden through the use of cover texts—within these, LunabeL retains all function words and targets specific classes of content words for replacement, creating text which preserves the syntactic structure and semantic context of the original cover text. LunabeL takes advantage of cover text styles which are not expected to be necessarily comprehensible to the general public, making any semantic anomalies more opaque. This line of work has the promise of creating encrypted texts which are less detectable to human readers than earlier steganographic efforts.
Identity and Marketing of Cities
Authors: Muñiz-Martínez Norberto , Cervantes-Blanco Miguel
Published: May 2011

Cities are acquiring a key geopolitical importance in the shaping of world-wide flows and exchanges, playing a key part in modern socio-economic relations within the framework of the world order termed globalization. Urban areas are the nodes where networks of various types of interchange come together: economic, social, cultural, communications and interpersonal. While having a leading role in these major relations of world-wide exchanges, cities in addition shape their own interchanges between what they can offer and the demands from the various groups within them. These are principally their citizens, but also investors, tourists, and administrative and civil institutions. Strategic marketing and management approaches have been implemented into the field of countries, regions, and especially cities, which are adopting these approaches to sell what they have to offer; to better manage and compete more effectively. Marketing provides a conceptual framework, and tools for managing these exchange relationshipsbetween what cities supply and demand. This chapter explores these issues, and examines the evolution of city marketing, from emphasizing infrastructures and urban regeneration towards stressing intangible values, such as multicultural integration, urban quality of life, appreciating aesthetics, the design and beauty of a city, a marketing of cities by means of intangible and emotional elements.
Walled City to Wireless City
Authors: Moffett Sandra , McGinnity T. M. , Callaghan M. , Harkin J. , Woods D. N.
Published: May 2011

This chapter outlines the journey that the city of Londonderry (Derry), Northern Ireland, undertook when converting a traditional walled city to a technology-enhanced wireless city. The chapter presents an overview of the three project strands, namely wireless city (civic aspect), wireless walls (tourism aspect), and wireless campus (educational aspect), along with the contribution made by each partner organization. A detailed case study of the educational element is presented, employing a dual qualitative/ quantitative research approach. The case study focuses on the experience of one academic member of staff in using the wireless initiative via Tablet PC and SMART classroom. Quantitative analysis to gain insight into usability of wireless networking services and wireless technologies is presented from both a staff and student viewpoint and finally conclusions are drawn on the overall project experience. The project successfully, completed in December 2006, has received a number of awards for its innovative approach.
Misaligned Market
Authors: Hsiao Ruey-Lin
Published: May 2011

This article examines e-marketplace adoption difficulties from a contextualist perspective. The analysis of industrial characteristics will unearth the adopter’s supply chain practices and the contextual features which are unfavorable for e-marketplace deployment. To gain a deeper understanding, this research examines an unsuccessful e-marketplace adoption for agricultural industry in China. The tension created by the these two incongruent contexts results in a misaligned market, as a free-market principle (assumed to be an integral part of the e-marketplace) is imposed on an agricultural market exchange which is characterized by a regulated business environment and a monopolistic market, and which emphasizes variances in product quality, tacit product specification, exclusive suppliers, and spotty purchasing. Practical and theoretical implications of the findings are discussed with reference to technology adoption and technology-organization alignment literature.
Toward a Consensus Knowledge Management Success Definition
Authors: Jennex Murray E. , Smolnik Stefan , Croasdell David T.
Published: May 2011

This chapter explores knowledge management, KM, and knowledge management system, KMS, success. The inspiration for this chapter is the KM Success and Measurement minitrack held at the Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences in January of 2007 and 2008. KM and KMS success are issues needing to be explored. The Knowledge Management Foundations workshop held at the Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS-39) in January 2006 discussed this issue and reached agreement that it is important for the credibility of the KM discipline that we be able to define KM success. Additionally, from the perspective of KM academics and practitioners, identifying the factors, constructs, and variables that define KM success is crucial to understanding how these initiatives and systems should be designed and implemented. This chapter presents results of a survey looking at how KM practitioners, researchers, KM students, and others interested in KM view what constitutes KM success. The chapter presents some background on KM success and then a series of perspectives on KM/KMS success. These perspectives were derived by looking at responses to questions asking academics and practitioners how they defined KM/KMS success. The chapter concludes by presenting the results of an exploratory survey on KM/KMS success beliefs and attitudes.
Adopting the Grid Computing & Semantic Web Hybrid for Global Knowledge Sharing
Authors: Mohamed Mirghani , Stankosky Michael , Ribière Vincent
Published: May 2011

The purpose of this chapter is to examine the requirements of Knowledge Management (KM) services deployment in a Semantic Grid environment. A wide range of literature on Grid Computing, Semantic Web, and KM have been reviewed, related, and interpreted. The benefits of the Semantic Web and the Grid Computing convergence have been investigated, enumerated and related to KM principles in a complete service model. Although the Grid Computing model significantly contributed to the shared resources, most of KM tools obstacles within the grid are to be resolved at the semantic and cultural levels more than at the physical or logical grid levels. The early results from academia, where grid computing still in testing phase, show a synergy and the potentiality of leveraging knowledge, especially from voluminous data, at a wider scale. However, the plethora of information produced in this environment will result in a serious information overload, unless proper standardization, automated relations, syndication, and validation techniques are developed.
Assessing a Spanish Translation of the End-User Computing Satisfaction Instrument
Authors: Heilman George E. , Brusa Jorge
Published: May 2011

This study assesses the psychometric properties of a Spanish translation of Doll and Torkzadeh’s End- User Computing Satisfaction (EUCS) survey instrument. The results show that the EUCS Spanish version is a valid and reliable measure of computing satisfaction among computer users in Mexico and adds support to the usefulness of the instrument in countries other than the United States and in languages other than English.
Understanding the Impact of Culture on Mobile Phone Usage on Public Places
Authors: Khattab Ishraga , Love Steve
Published: May 2011

Over the last several years, the ubiquitous use of mobile phones by people from different cultures has grown enormously. For example, mobile phones are used to perform both private and business conversations. In many cases, mobile phone conversations take place in public places. In this chapter, the authors attempt to understand if cultural differences influence the way people use their mobile phones in public places. The material considered here draws on the existing literature of mobile phones, and quantitative and qualitative work carried out in the UK (as a mature mobile phone market) and the Sudan (that is part of Africa and the Middle East culture with its emerging mobile phone market). The results presented in the chapter indicate that people in the Sudan are less likely to use their mobile phones on public transport or whilst walking down the street, in comparison to their UK counterparts. In addition, the Sudanese are more willing to switch off their mobile phones in places of worship, classes, and meetings. Implications are drawn from the study for the design of mobile phones for different cultures.
Exploring "Events" as an Information Systems Research Methodology
Authors: Greenhill Anita , Fletcher Gordon
Published: May 2011

In this article we build upon existing research and commentary from a variety of disciplinary sources, including information systems, organisational and management studies, and the social sciences that focus upon the meaning, significance and impact of “events” in the information technology, organisational and social context. Our aim is to define how the examination of the event is an appropriate, viable and useful information systems methodology. The line of argument we pursue is that by focusing on the “event” the researcher is able to more clearly observe and capture the complexity, multiplicity and mundaneity of everyday lived experience. An inherent danger of existing traditional “event” focused studies and “virtual” ethnographic approaches is the micromanagement of the research process. Using the notion of “event” has the potential to reduce methodological dilemmas such as this without effacing context (Peterson, 1998, p. 19). Similarly, in this chapter we address the overemphasis upon managerialist, structured and time-fixated praxis that is currently symptomatic of information systems research. All of these concerns are pivotal points of critique found within event-oriented literature regarding organisations (Gergen & Thatchenkery, 2004; Peterson, 1998).
Is Information Ethics Culture-Relative?
Authors: Brey Philip
Published: May 2011

In this chapter, I examine whether information ethics is culture relative. If it is, different approaches to information ethics are required in different cultures and societies. This would have major implications for the current, predominantly Western approach to information ethics. If it is not, there must be concepts and principles of information ethics that have universal validity. What would they be? The descriptive evidence is for the cultural relativity of information ethics will be studied by examining cultural differences between ethical attitudes towards privacy, freedom of information, and intellectual property rights in Western and non-Western cultures. I then analyze what the implications of these findings are for the metaethical question of whether moral claims must be justified differently in different cultures. Finally, I evaluate what the implications are for the practice of information ethics in a cross-cultural context.
Improving E-Trade Auction Volume by Consortium
Authors: Hong Sungchul
Published: May 2011

In this chapter, we present a two-tier supply chain composed of multiple buyers and multiple suppliers. We have studied the mechanism to match trading parameter, specifically volume in this study, between buyers and suppliers. The chapter discusses the architecture of the agent and the agent community when there is cooperative matching of volume. We present a Dynamic Programming algorithm to describe the agent’s decision process and heuristic algorithms as the practical solution methodology. The results of extensive experiments show the improvement achieved by the cooperation.
Extending Loosely Coupled Federated Information Systems Using Agent Technology
Authors: Thomas Manoj A. , Yoon Victoria Y. , Redmond Richard
Published: May 2011

Different FIPA-compliant agent development platforms are available for developing multiagent systems. FIPA compliance ensures interoperability among agents across different platforms. Although most agent implementation platforms provide some form of white- and yellow-page functionalities to advertise and identify agent roles and descriptions, there are no clear architectural standards that define how an agent community can effortlessly adapt to operate in a federated information system (FIS) where new content sources are constantly added or changes are made to existing content sources. This chapter presents a framework based on the semantic Web vision to address extensibility in a loosely coupled FIS.
Improving Mobile Web Navigation Using N-Grams Prediction Models
Authors: Fu Yongjian
Published: May 2011

In this chapter, we propose to use N-gram models for improving Web navigation for mobile users. Ngram models are built from Web server logs to learn navigation patterns of mobile users. They are used as prediction models in an existing algorithm which improves mobile Web navigation by recommending shortcuts. Our experiments on two real data sets show that N-gram models are as effective as other more complex models in improving mobile Web navigation.
Forecasting Supply Chain Demand Using Machine Learning Algorithms
Authors: Carbonneau Réal , Vahidov Rustam , Laframboise Kevin
Published: May 2011

Managing supply chains in today’s complex, dynamic, and uncertain environment is one of the key challenges affecting the success of the businesses. One of the crucial determinants of effective supply chain management is the ability to recognize customer demand patterns and react accordingly to the changes in face of intense competition. Thus the ability to adequately predict demand by the participants in a supply chain is vital to the survival of businesses. Demand prediction is aggravated by the fact that communication patterns between participants that emerge in a supply chain tend to distort the original consumer’s demand and create high levels of noise. Distortion and noise negatively impact forecast quality of the participants. This work investigates the applicability of machine learning (ML) techniques and compares their performances with the more traditional methods in order to improve demand forecast accuracy in supply chains. To this end we used two data sets from particular companies (chocolate manufacturer and toner cartridge manufacturer), as well as data from the Statistics Canada manufacturing survey. A representative set of traditional and ML-based forecasting techniques have been applied to the demand data and the accuracy of the methods was compared. As a group, Machine Learning techniques outperformed traditional techniques in terms of overall average, but not in terms of overall ranking. We also found that a support vector machine (SVM) trained on multiple demand series produced the most accurate forecasts.
Examining the Factors Affecting Project and Business Success of ERP Implementation
Authors: Kamhawi Emad M.
Published: May 2011

Responding to the need for a better understanding of the factors that explain ERP systems implementation success, this chapter used a field study to collect data from managers working in Bahraini enterprises that use ERP systems to examine the influence of some selected factors on two perspectives: project and business success of such systems. Results support previous research findings in this area concerning the impact of factors such as project planning, organizational resistance, and ease of use on ERP project success metrics. Also the study results show that project planning; business process reengineering; and organizational fit have significant influence on business success metrics. However, no significant impact was found for some classical success factors such as top management support, technical fit, training, competitive pressure, and strategic fit on both project and business success. The chapter ends with implications for these findings and possible extensions for the study.
The Impact of Culture on the Perception of Information System Success
Authors: Agourram Hafid
Published: May 2011

Research has showed that social and socio-technical concepts are influenced by culture. The objective of this chapter is to explore how the socio-technical concept of information system success is defined and perceived by a group of French managers. The results show that culture does influence IS success perception. The study has many implications for both academic and practice communities. The results are especially important to multinational organizations that standardize IS in different cultures including France. The research case is a multibillion dollar Canadian multinational organization which decided to standardize an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system in all its worldwide subsidiaries.
Media and Women in Technology
Authors: Washburn Mara H.
Published: May 2011

Many Western nations face a critical shortage of skilled professionals in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). However, despite abundant opportunities, few women prepare themselves for careers in these fields. Several of those concerned with the problem have proposed that new media programming, such as television dramas with women engineers, computer professionals, and/or engineers in leading roles, might help attract more women to STEM fields. This paper identifies a theoretical rationale for a media centered strategy, and describes a pilot study whose data suggest that a media-centered approach might have some success in producing greater interest among women in pursuing STEM careers, particularly information technology careers.
The Impact of PowerPoint Presentations on Student Achievement and Student Attitudes
Authors: Fedisson Michael , Braidic Silvia
Published: May 2011

Seventh grade students were tested on their knowledge of sentences and nouns in a language arts classroom. This study was conducted over a two-year time frame. In the first year, classes consisted of twenty-eight (28) males and thirty-one (31) females. All students are Caucasians with the exception of two African American males. In year two, the classes consisted of thirty-two (32) females and thirtytwo (32) males. All students are Caucasians with the exception of one African American female and one Nicaraguan-American female. Students are predominantly from middle class families. All three classes are grouped heterogeneously. During instruction for two units, classes were taught with the following approaches: 1) using traditional methods of book work and handouts for one unit, and 2) using technological aids such as Microsoft PowerPoint for a second unit. Test results from three classes during both units were compared. The data indicates that when using technological aids as teaching tools, student test grades increased in year one, especially for low-achieving students or for those with learning disabilities. In year two, those same results were not achieved. A technology survey was also used to establish each student’s comfort level with technology and their attitudes towards the use of technological aids in the classroom
TexTales
Authors: Ananny Mike , Strohecker Carol
Published: May 2011

In this paper, we describe the design and installation of a new kind of public opinion forum—TexTales, a public, large-scale interactive projection screen—to demonstrate how public city spaces can become sites for collective expression and public opinions can be considered social constructions. Each TexTales installation involved different groups of European young people taking photographs of everyday city events and controversial public issues, and then using custom software to invite general public passers-by in urban spaces to annotate the photos with SMS text messages. We analyze the design and implementation of these installations and identify a number of interaction design elements critical for designing expressive urban spaces: starting “intermodal” conversations; authoring for nomadic, unfamiliar audiences; distributing public discourse across mediated and physical space; and editing and censoring dialog to ensure that it reflects the norms and values of forum designers. TexTales is essentially an experiment in understanding how city spaces can be more than venues in which to take public opinion snapshots; instead they might be places that nurture and reveal collaborative, public expression.
Fostering Communities in Urban Multi-Cultural Neighbourhoods
Authors: Veith Michael , Schubert Kai , Wulf Volker
Published: May 2011

Societies face serious challenges when trying to integrate migrant communities. One-sided solutions do not pay tribute to the complexity of this subject and a single academic discipline provides no proper methodological approaches to the field. An inter-cultural computer club in an urban multi-cultural neighbourhood illustrates these phenomena: appropriate argumentations and models can only be found in a theoretical net of scientific disciplines. Categories in a complex socio-cultural field have to be uncovered. These categories can be explained with the help of the theoretical net. We develop a three-dimensional model combining empirical tools with the research strategy of participatory action research and grounded theory as a guide to theorizing the field. This model is introduced here as a means of socio-technical design and development.