bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Understanding pathogens in the era of next generation sequencing
Authors: Méthot Pierre-Olivier
Published: September 2012

What is a pathogen? Medical textbooks usually define a pathogen as any microorganism that causes disease. However, this widespread definition is problematic on a number of counts [1, 11]. Moreover, a generally accepted definition is not forthcoming among medical microbiologists, immunologists, and physicians. Here it is argued that there is another, and more pressing question to be asked, namely: what makes some organisms pathogenic and others not? Asking these questions instead allows for distinguishing pathogens from non-pathogens in a more flexible way, while at the same time emphasizing the roles of ecological and evolutionary processes in determining pathogenicity in infectious diseases.
Qui gouverne l'économie ?
Authors: Surel Yves
Published: September 2012

Résumé La question du gouvernement ou de la régulation de l’économie et du système financier se pose avec une réelle acuité depuis que les crises bancaires, financières et celle des dettes souveraines ont débuté. La remise en perspective historique et comparative permet de montrer que l’économie, longtemps pilotée de façon principale par les États, est désormais gouvernée par un ensemble toujours plus nombreux d’acteurs publics et privés placés à différents niveaux de gouvernement. Administrations, firmes, groupes d’intérêt, think tanks élaborent ainsi des régulations complexes et évolutives dans un cadre faiblement institutionnalisé, qui donne parfois le sentiment d’un auto-gouvernement chaotique et dépolitisé. La question de la régulation de l’économie est de ce point de vue aussi celle, plus générale, de la place de l’État et du gouvernement des sociétés contemporaines.
Les conséquences internes de la crise économique
Authors: Vilanova Pere
Published: September 2012

Résumé La crise économique et financière internationale s’est installée dans le temps, sa durée est imprévisible, et surtout, règne une grande incertitude en ce qui concerne le monde « du jour d’après ». L’enjeu de fond semble être la nature du changement du rapport entre la société et la politique, les formes de représentation des intérêts sociaux, les nouveaux clivages qui divisent nos sociétés et ne répondent plus à l’idée traditionnelle de « luttes de classe ». Un des grands dangers, à l’heure actuelle, est celui de la croissante fragmentation des « champs et modes de réaction » des différents groupes sociaux. Ou bien la politique revient, ou on n’a plus rien à dire, sinon subir le diktat systémique des marchés.
La configuration des territoires des peuples en isolement « volontaire »
Authors: Escobar Jiménez Kelly Johanna
Published: September 2012

L’objectif de cet article est d’interroger l’incertitude qui entoure la gestion des territoires amazoniens. À chaque étape des programmes d’exploitation des ressources naturelles se ravivent en effet des controverses qui ont trait aux modes de gestion de ces territoires, aux possibilités de contact avec les populations qu’ils abritent et, simultanément, aux connaissances que l’on peut en avoir. Je m’intéresse particulièrement à la situation des peuples dits en « isolement volontaire ». Les débats qui les concernent ne portent pas que sur la gestion du territoire et des populations, mais aussi sur les modes de production de connaissances sur ces entités silencieuses. Comment entrer en contact sans les contaminer avec nos virus occidentaux ou sans mourir sous leurs lances ? Mais aussi : comment faire parler des entités qui ne peuvent… ne savent… ou ne veulent pas de ces contacts ? Ces questions émergent, parmi d’autres, dans la course à la colonisation intérieure de l’Amazonie. J’ai essayé de comprendre comment on traduit cet isolement silencieux à partir de l’analyse de l’action du Serviço de Proteção aos Índios (SPI, 1910-1967) au Brésil ainsi que des débats tenus au Seminario Regional Pueblos indígenas en aislamiento voluntario y contacto inicial en la Amazonía y el Gran Chaco (Santa Cruz de la Sierra Bolivia, 2006). J’ai ainsi identifié deux controverses qui témoignent de la complexité du thème et qui obligent à reconsidérer la nature de ces populations dans la configuration des aires protégées.
Les rapprochements entre la musique metal et la musique classique : le cas de Therion et de Richard Wagner
Authors: Saint-Laurent Méi-Ra
Published: September 2012

Résumé Depuis le milieu des années 1990, le groupe de metal symphonique Therion est identifié au compositeur Richard Wagner, en incorporant des orchestres symphoniques et des chanteurs lyriques dans ses compositions ; il se voit d’ailleurs qualifier de « wagnérien » par le sociologue Fabien Hein. Pourtant, comme la musique metal est un courant découlant de la tradition musicale populaire, il serait légitime de se questionner sur la véritable proportion d’éléments wagnériens dans la musique de Therion. Afin de découvrir les similitudes entre ces courants musicaux, je me baserai sur les paramètres analytiques de la musique populaire élaborés par le musicologue Serge Lacasse, que j’appliquerai à une des chansons les plus « wagnériennes » de Therion, « Schwarzalbenheim » ( Secret of the Runes , 2001). Toutefois, il sera démontré que la seule analyse musicologique ne permet pas d’expliquer totalement l’impression wagnérienne qui se dégage de l’œuvre et que ces rapprochements prennent tout leur sens lorsque l’on s’attarde sur les plans idéologiques et esthétiques de la musique de Wagner et de Therion.
Teaching Evidence-Based Practice Using a Mock Trial
Authors: Centrella-Nigro Andrea M. , Flynn Donna
Published: September 2012

The mock trial, which is an educational tool used in many different professions, is a scripted form of debate that teaches the critical thinking process. Using the mock trial approach, two nurse educators at one medical center taught nursing staff and students the major elements of evidence-based practice. The verdict to be decided in the trial was whether family-witnessed resuscitation should be used in practice. This article outlines the steps taken to carry out this endeavor. Nursing faculty can use this mock trial approach to teach a variety of concepts in nursing education.
Baclofen for the Treatment of Alcohol Dependence
Authors: Howland Robert H.
Published: September 2012

The amino acid gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the nervous system. The mesolimbic dopamine system is a major component of the brain’s reward pathways, and GABA neurons are part of this system, decreasing the activity of dopamine neurons through the inhibitory effects of GABA-B receptors. Because the mesolimbic dopamine system has been linked to the reinforcing effects of alcohol and other drugs of abuse, baclofen (Lioresal
®
, Gablofen
®
), a GABA-B receptor agonist drug, has been investigated in preclinical studies as a potential treatment for addictions. Baclofen reduces the reinforcing effects of alcohol and other drugs in animals, providing justification for clinical studies in human beings. Two open-label and two placebo-controlled studies in humans found that baclofen was effective for reducing alcohol craving and intake, but one placebo-controlled study found no benefit for baclofen. Baclofen is a safe and well-tolerated novel drug treatment for alcohol dependence.
Sundown Syndrome: A Systematic Review of the Literature
Authors: Yevchak Andrea M. , Steis Melinda R. , Evans Lois K.
Published: September 2012

The label
sundown syndrome
continues to be frequently used in long-term and acute care settings without consistent meaning. This study adds to the understanding of this label by synthesizing findings from research published since 1987 linked to sundown syndrome. The purpose of this systematic review is to describe, synthesize, and critique the theoretical definitions, operational definitions and measurement methods, prevalence, antecedent and precipitating factors and consequences, and effectiveness of interventions for sundown syndrome found in the published literature. Implications for research and practice are presented.
Micro Context-Awareness for Autonomic Pervasive Computing
Authors: Abdulrazak Bessam , Roy Patrice , Gouin-Vallerand Charles , Belala Yacine , Giroux Sylvain
Published: September 2012

Context-aware software provides adapted services to users or other software components. On the other hand, Autonomic Pervasive Computing uses context to reduce the complexity of pervasive system utilization, management and maintenance. This paper describes two context-awareness models, the macro and micro approaches, that define and integrate contextual views of individual pervasive components (micro level) and global knowledge of the system (macro level), and provides a more detailed overview of a micro Context-aware programming model for open smart space problems. These models are presented and compared with respect to their ability to meet the requirements of the Autonomic Pervasive Computing concept of the four selves.
Semantic Federation of Product Information from Structured and Unstructured Sources
Authors: Wauer Matthias , Meinecke Johannes , Schuster Daniel , Konzag Andreas , Aleksy Markus , Riedel Till
Published: September 2012

Product-related information can be found in various data sources and formats across the product lifecycle. Effectively exploiting this information requires the federation of these sources, the extraction of implicit information, and the efficient access to this comprehensive knowledge base. Existing solutions for product information management (PIM) are usually restricted to structured information, but most of the business-critical information resides in unstructured documents. We present a generic architecture for federating heterogeneous information from various sources, including the Internet of Things, and argue how this process benefits from using semantic representations. A reference implementation tailor-made to business users is explained and evaluated. We also discuss several issues we experienced that we believe to be valuable for researchers and implementers of semantic information systems, as well as the information retrieval community.
Web-Based Geospatial Services
Authors: Sikder Iftikhar U. , Gangopadhyay Aryya , Shampur Nikhil V.
Published: September 2012

This chapter characterizes the requirements of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) middleware and its components for dynamic registering and discovering of spatial services specifically for collaborative modeling in environmental planning. The chapter explores the role of Web services with respect to implementation standard and protocols and identifies implementation features for exposing distributed GIS business logic and components via Web services. In particular, the chapter illustrates applications of the interoperability specifications of Open GIS Consortium’s (OGC) Web Mapping Service and (WMS), Web Processing Standards (WPS) with respect to implementation feature. The chapter demonstrates a prototype implementation of collaborative environmental decision support systems (GEO-ELCA- Exploratory Land Use Change Assessment) where Web service-enabled middleware adds core functionality to a Web mapping service. The application demonstrates how individual workspace-based namespaces can be used to perform Web mapping functionality (such as spatial analysis in visualization) through the integration of environmental simulation models to explore collective planning scenario. Built on OGC compliant connector and supports WMS and WPS, the system includes interactive supports for geospatial data query, mapping services and visualization tools for multi-user transactions.
On Modeling and Analysis of Multidimensional Geographic Databases
Authors: Bimonte Sandro
Published: September 2012

Data warehouse and OLAP systems are tools to support decision-making. Geographic information systems (GISs) allow memorizing, analyzing and visualizing geographic data. In order to exploit the complex nature of geographic data, a new kind of decision support system has been developed: spatial OLAP (SOLAP). Spatial OLAP redefines main OLAP concepts: dimension, measure and multidimensional operators. SOLAP systems integrate OLAP and GIS functionalities into a unique interactive and flexible framework. Several research tools have been proposed to explore and the analyze spatio-multidimensional databases. This chapter presents a panorama of SOLAP models and an analytical review of research SOLAP tools. Moreover, the authors describe their Web-based system: GeWOlap. GeWOlap is an OLAP-GIS integrated solution implementing drill and cut spatio-multidimensional operators, and it supports some new spatio-multidimensional operators which change dynamically the structure of the spatial hypercube thanks to spatial analysis operators.
Mobile Geographic Information Systems
Authors: Li Yang , Brimicombe Allan J.
Published: September 2012

This chapter introduces the concept of Mobile Geographical Information Systems (Mobile GIS) as an evolution of conventional GIS to being available on wireless mobile devices such as smart phones. The evolution of the technology and its applications are charted in this chapter. The main elements of Mobile GIS are then discussed. This focuses on: GIS servers; wireless mobile telecommunication networks; wireless mobile devices; location-awareness technology; and gateway services. This is followed by a discussion of the main features in terms of the services and usage of Mobile GIS: mobility; real-time connectivity; location-awareness; broadened usage. Mobile Geographical Information Systems are an important facilitating technology for Location-Based Services (LBS). A range of applications of Mobile GIS for smart phones are described. The chapter closes with a discussion of the prospects and challenges for Mobile GIS. Challenges derive from four broad areas: limitations that derive from the technologies being used; areas of GIScience that still need to be adequately researched; users; and business models for a sustainable presence.
Cognitively Ergonomic Route Directions
Authors: Klippel Alexander , Richter Kai-Florian , Hansen Stefan
Published: September 2012

This contribution provides an overview of elements of cognitively ergonomic route directions. Cognitive ergonomics, in general, seeks to identify characteristics of cognitive information processing and to formalize these characteristics such that they can be used to improve information systems. For route directions, an increasing number of behavioral studies have, for example, pointed to the following characteristics: the use of landmarks, changing levels of granularity, the qualitative description of spatial relations. The authors detail these aspects and additionally introduce formal approaches that incorporate them to automatically provide route directions that adhere to principles of cognitive ergonomics.
New Discovery Methodologies in GIS
Authors: Brisaboa Nieves R. , Luaces Miguel R. , Seco Diego
Published: September 2012

In the last decade, the availability of on-line resources, and also the number of users accessing those resources, has grown exponentially. The information retrieval process, which aims at the improvement of the access to such resources, has been the focus of interest of many researchers. The presence of geographic data in these repositories of information is surprisingly high (for example, note that most of the web pages about business contain information about the locations of their offices). In order to properly manage this geographic data, the information retrieval process has been extended using architectures, data structures, and other techniques developed by the GIS community. This has meant the beginning of a new research field called Geographic Information Retrieval. In this chapter, the authors present a study of the state-of-the-art of this new field, and they also highlight the main open problems that will concentrate efforts during the next years.
Location Privacy in Automotive Telematics
Authors: Iqbal Muhammad Usman , Lim Samsung
Published: September 2012

Over the past few decades, the technologies of mobile communication, positioning, and computing have gradually converged. The automobile has been a natural platform for this convergence where satellite-based positioning, wireless communication and on-board computing work in tandem offering various services to motorists. While there are many opportunities with these novel services, significant risks to the location privacy of motorists also exist as a result of the fast-paced technological evolution. These risks must be confronted if trust and confidence are to prevail between motorists and service providers. This chapter provides an overview of the current situation of location privacy in automotive telematics by exploring possible abuses and existing approaches to curb these abuses followed by a discussion of possible privacy-strengthening measures.
Complementary Part Detection and Reassembly of 3D Fragments
Authors: Kaushik Vandana Dixit , Gupta Phalguni
Published: September 2012

This chapter presents an algorithm for identifying complementary site of objects broken into two parts. For a given 3D scanned image of broken objects, the algorithm identifies the rough sites of the broken object, transforms the object to a suitable alignment, registers it with its complementary part which belongs to the same object, and finds the local correspondence among the fragmented parts. The presented algorithm uses multiple granularity descriptors and edge extraction to detect the exact location of multiple cleavage sites in the object. It greatly reduces the amount of information to be matched and also helps in identification of the parts; as a result it reduces the computational time in the processing. It is also applicable to all triangulated surface data even in the presence of noise.
Children’s Maps in GIS
Authors: Nordin Kerstin , Berglund Ulla
Published: September 2012

Since 2002 the authors have successively developed “Children’s Maps in GIS”, a method for children’s participation in spatial planning. Their studies show that 10-15 year-olds are capable of reading maps and using a GIS-application for communicating their interests in a stable and useful manner. The purpose of this article is to discuss the first stages of implementation in a real world project, in relation to ICT. The authors report experiences from a Swedish municipality using Children’s Maps in GIS in a survey with over 600 children as part of a comprehensive planning process and give examples of how data can be visualized. A significant digital divide between different parts of the administration is noted. In the ongoing development into an Internet version of the method the authors aim to increase the access to the GIS-application and develop standard procedures for categorizing and analyzing data.
3D City Modeling and Visualization for Smart Phone Applications
Authors: Hyyppä Juha , Zhu Lingli , Liu Zhengjun , Kaartinen Harri , Jaakkola Anttoni
Published: September 2012

Smartphones with larger screens, powerful processors, abundant memory, and an open operation system provide many possibilities for 3D city or photorealistic model applications. 3D city or photorealistic models can be used by the users to locate themselves in the 3D world, or they can be used as methods for visualizing the surrounding environment once a smartphone has already located the phone by other means, e.g. by using GNSS, and then to provide an interface in the form of a 3D model for the location-based services. In principle, 3D models can be also used for positioning purposes. For example, matching of images exported from the smartphone and then registering them in the existing 3D photorealistic world provides the position of the image capture. In that process, the central computer can do a similar image matching task when the users locate themselves interactively into the 3D world. As the benefits of 3D city models are obvious, this chapter demonstrates the technology used to provide photorealistic 3D city models and focus on 3D data acquisition and the methods available in 3D city modeling, and the development of 3D display technology for smartphone applications. Currently, global geoinformatic data providers, such as Google, Nokia (NAVTEQ), and TomTom (Tele Atlas), are expanding their products from 2D to 3D. This chapter is a presentation of a case study of 3D data acquisition, modeling and mapping, and visualization for a smartphone, including an example based on data collected by mobile laser scanning data from the Tapiola (Espoo, Finland) test field.
A Geospatial Analysis of Convective Rainfall Regions within Tropical Cyclones after Landfall
Authors: Matyas Corene J.
Published: September 2012

In this article, the author utilizes a GIS to spatially analyze radar reflectivity returns during the 24 hours following 43 tropical cyclone (TC) landfalls. The positions of convective rainfall regions and their areal extent are then examined according to storm intensity, motion, vertical wind shear, time until extratropical transition, time after landfall, and distance from the coastline. As forward velocity increases in conjunction with an extratropical transition, these regions move outward, shift from the right side to the front of the TC, and grow in size. A similar radial shift, but with a decrease in areal extent, occurs as TCs weaken. Further quantification of the shapes of these regions could yield a more spatially accurate assessment of where TCs may produce high rainfall totals.
Using Volunteered Geographic Information to Assess the Spatial Distribution of West Nile Virus in Detroit, Michigan
Authors: McKnight Kevin P. , Messina Joseph P. , Shortridge Ashton M. , Burns Meghan D. , Pigozzi Bruce W.
Published: September 2012

West Nile Virus is a vector-borne flavivirus that affects mainly birds, horses, and humans. The disease emerged in the United States in 1999 and by 2001 had reached Michigan. In clinical human cases, the most common symptoms are fever, weakness, nausea, headache, and changes in mental state. The crow is the most common wildlife host in the life cycle of the virus. The state of Michigan, through the Michigan Department of Community Health, collected the spatial locations of over 8,000 dead birds (Corvidae), statewide, during 2002. The large number of samples made spatial and temporal hotspot detection possible. However, the volunteer reporting method produced a dataset with a direct correlation between the numbers and locations of the dead birds and human population density and accurately identifying hotspots remains a challenge. Geographic variation in dead bird intensity was modeled using both global and local spatial clustering algorithms. Statistical models identified overall spatial structure and local clustering. Identification of hotspots was confounded by limited information about the collection procedures, data availability and quality, and the limitations of each method.
Colorado 14ers, Pixel by Pixel
Authors: Vogt Brandon J.
Published: September 2012

This document describes a capstone learning exercise designed for undergraduates enrolled in an introductory geospatial tools course. The overarching theme of the exercise, Colorado 14ers, Pixel by Pixel, is mountain geography. While immersed in a digital mountainous landscape, students explore topics of geomorphology and geomorphometry and discover how it is possible for a summit that rises well above 14,000 feet not to qualify as a true Colorado ’14er’. To address these topics, students examine freely-available digital elevation models (DEMs) using common geospatial analysis tools. The exercise was developed with five purposes in mind: (1) students should be introduced gently to geospatial software; (2) students should enter upper-level geography courses armed with basic computer skills and a diverse geospatial toolkit; (3) students should internalize the fact that invariably digital geographic explorations are influenced by scale; (4) students of geography should be able to identify natural and anthropogenic impacts to a landscape, and; (5) to help students conceptualize what geographers do, learning exercises should include local and interesting case studies. As an exercise intended to synthesize geographic concepts covered throughout a course, the learning objectives range from grasping broad theoretical concepts related to scale and measurement to learning specific computer skills related to directory structures and file naming conventions. Deliverables of the exercise include posting four maps and answers to nine questions to a website. The outcome of the exercise is a confident, geospatial tool-savvy student who is eager to further investigate the field of geography.
Applied Geospatial Perspectives on the Rock Art of the Lake of the Woods Region of Ontario, Canada
Authors: Norder John W. , Carroll Jon W.
Published: September 2012

This study examines the role of rock art in the construction of Woodland Period (300 BC to AD 1700) hunter-gatherer landscapes in the Lake of the Woods region of northwestern Ontario. The authors examine the distribution of documented pictograph sites relative to the locations of rock formations where the geologic conditions would have favored the placement of pictographic rock art but are absent. Point pattern analysis, Monte Carlo simulation, and least cost path analysis were used to analyze the findings. The authors suggest that pictograph sites were placed at points on the landscape along water routes to facilitate information exchange among highly mobile hunter-gatherers.
Participatory GIS for Integrating Local and Expert Knowledge in Landscape Planning
Authors: Torquati Biancamaria , Vizzari Marco , Sportolaro Carlo
Published: September 2012

This chapter describes the development and implementation of an operational method for integrating expert and local knowledge with new technologies for geographic mapping and communications, to enhance cultural landscape analysis and planning. Topics include the following aspects: a) analysis of type(s) of information required to construct a geographic information system (GIS), with the landscape as a common objective; b) method of implementing and integrating various types of expert knowledge in the GIS; c) method of collecting, organizing, and structuring local knowledge in the GIS; d) method of integrating expert with local knowledge; e) exploration of GIS functions. The main aim of this work is to examine the possibility of using participatory mapping methods and GIS for comparison and integration of multidisciplinary scientific expertise, local knowledge, and landscape project proposals. In particular, it involves specific methods for enhancing local features of vineyard landscapes through a participatory process developed with both vineyard entrepreneurs and the local population. The case study concerns the wine-growing area of Umbria, a region of central Italy.
Formalizing Cross-Parameter Conditions for Geoprocessing Service Chain Validation
Authors: Fitzner Daniel
Published: September 2012

Geoprocessing operations offered via web services provide the means for building complex web-based geospatial applications. Often, certain postconditions such as the spatial reference system, bounding box, schema or quality that hold on the output dataset after the execution of a geoprocessing service are determined and derived from the properties of the inputs passed to the service. Further, geoprocesses often hold preconditions that relate to more than one input, such as the requirement that all inputs must have the same schema. Within current process descriptions for geoprocessing operations, such conditions which we call cross-parameter conditions, can not be explicitly specified. In this paper, the author gives an approach to formalize such cross input-output and cross input parameter conditions in a rule-based language. Further, the author proposes an algorithm for deriving pre- and postconditions for a service composition or workflow out of the pre- and postconditions of the services involved, allowing a more automated handling of workflows in general.
Integrated Ontologies for Spatial Scene Descriptions
Authors: Batsakis Sotirios , Petrakis Euripides G.M.
Published: September 2012

Scene descriptions are typically expressed in natural language texts and are integrated within Web pages, books, newspapers, and other means of content dissemination. The capabilities of such means can be enhanced to support automated content processing and communication between people or machines by allowing the scene contents to be extracted and expressed in ontologies, a formal syntax rich in semantics interpretable by both people and machines. Ontologies enable more effective querying, reasoning, and general use of content and allow for standardizing the quality and delivery of information across communicating information sources. Ontologies are defined using the well-established standards of the Semantic Web for expressing scene descriptions in application fields such as Geographic Information Systems, medicine, and the World Wide Web (WWW). Ontologies are not only suitable for describing static scenes with static objects (e.g., in photographs) but also enable representation of dynamic events with objects and properties changing in time (e.g., moving objects in a video). Representation of both static and dynamic scenes by ontologies, as well as querying and reasoning over static and dynamic ontologies are important issues for further research. These are exactly the problems this chapter is dealing with.
Embracing Geographic Analysis beyond Geography
Authors: Guan Weihe (Wendy) , Bol Peter K.
Published: September 2012

Without a department of geography, Harvard University established the Center for Geographic Analysis (CGA) in 2006 to support research and teaching of all disciplines across the University with emerging geospatial technologies. In the past four and a half years, CGA built an institutional service infrastructure and unleashed an increasing demand on geographic analysis in many fields. CGA services range from helpdesk, project consultation, training, hardware/software administration, community building, to system development and methodology research. Services often start as an application of existing GIS technology, eventually contributing to the study of geographic information science in many ways. As a new generation of students and researchers growing up with Google Earth and the like, their demand for geospatial services will continue to push CGA into new territories.
Automatic Metadata Generation for Geospatial Resource Discovery
Authors: Manso-Callejo Miguel-Angel , Fonollosa Arturo Beltran
Published: September 2012

In the metadata generation context, metadata extraction is the first and most important stage in the production chain and has an enormous complexity due to the huge variety of storage formats for geospatial datasets. In addition, the authors analyze the current situation and importance of metadata in information systems and particularly in SDI. This chapter identifies and justifies the need to automate the metadata generation. In this context, the different metadata points of view according to their functions and interoperability levels are analyzed. Afterwards, different metadata generation methods and workflows, and various metadata generation related tools are reviewed, respectively. Finally, the authors introduce topics related to the automatic metadata generation that have neither been studied in depth nor prototypically implemented as future works.
Evaluating the Usability of Domain-Specific Languages
Authors: Barišic Ankica , Amaral Vasco , Goulão Miguel , Barroca Bruno
Published: September 2012

Domain-Specific Languages (DSLs) can be regarded as User Interfaces (UIs) because they bridge the gap between the domain experts and the computation platforms. Usability of DSLs by domain experts is a key factor for their successful adoption. The few reports supporting improvement claims are persuasive, but mostly anecdotal. Systematic literature reviews show that evidences on the effects of the introduction of DSLs are actually very scarce. In particular, the evaluation of usability is often skipped, relaxed, or at least omitted from papers reporting the development of DSLs. The few exceptions mostly take place at the end of the development process, when fixing problems is already too expensive. A systematic approach, based on techniques for the experimental evaluation of UIs, should be used to assess suitability of new DSLs. This chapter presents a general experimental evaluation model, tailored for DSLs’ experimental evaluation, and instantiates it in several DSL’s evaluation examples.
Finding Associations in Composite Data Sets
Authors: Khan M. Sulaiman , Muyeba Maybin , Coenen Frans , Reid David , Tawfik Hissam
Published: September 2012

In this paper, a composite fuzzy association rule mining mechanism (CFARM), directed at identifying patterns in datasets comprised of composite attributes, is described. Composite attributes are defined as attributes that can take simultaneously two or more values that subscribe to a common schema. The objective is to generate fuzzy association rules using “properties” associated with these composite attributes. The exemplar application is the analysis of the nutrients contained in items found in grocery data sets. The paper commences with a review of the back ground and related work, and a formal definition of the CFARM concepts. The CFARM algorithm is then fully described and evaluated using both real and synthetic data sets.
Incremental Algorithm for Discovering Frequent Subsequences in Multiple Data Streams
Authors: Al-Mulla Reem , Al Aghbari Zaher
Published: September 2012

In recent years, new applications emerged that produce data streams, such as stock data and sensor networks. Therefore, finding frequent subsequences, or clusters of subsequences, in data streams is an essential task in data mining. Data streams are continuous in nature, unbounded in size and have a high arrival rate. Due to these characteristics, traditional clustering algorithms fail to effectively find clusters in data streams. Thus, an efficient incremental algorithm is proposed to find frequent subsequences in multiple data streams. The described approach for finding frequent subsequences is by clustering subsequences of a data stream. The proposed algorithm uses a window model to buffer the continuous data streams. Further, it does not recompute the clustering results for the whole data stream at every window, but rather it builds on clustering results of previous windows. The proposed approach also employs a decay value for each discovered cluster to determine when to remove old clusters and retain recent ones. In addition, the proposed algorithm is efficient as it scans the data streams once and it is considered an Any-time algorithm since the frequent subsequences are ready at the end of every window.
Preserving Privacy in Time Series Data Mining
Authors: Zhu Ye , Fu Yongjian , Fu Huirong
Published: September 2012

Time series data mining poses new challenges to privacy. Through extensive experiments, the authors find that existing privacy-preserving techniques such as aggregation and adding random noise are insufficient due to privacy attacks such as data flow separation attack. This paper also presents a general model for publishing and mining time series data and its privacy issues. Based on the model, a spectrum of privacy preserving methods is proposed. For each method, effects on classification accuracy, aggregation error, and privacy leak are studied. Experiments are conducted to evaluate the performance of the methods. The results show that the methods can effectively preserve privacy without losing much classification accuracy and within a specified limit of aggregation error.
Implementing Standardization Education at the National Level
Authors: de Vries Henk J.
Published: September 2012

This paper explores how standardization education can be implemented at the national level. Previous studies form the main source for the paper. This research shows that implementation of standardization in the national education system requires policy at the national level, a long term investment in support, and cooperation between industry, standardization bodies, academia, other institutions involved in education, and government. The approach should combine bottom-up and top-down. The paper is new in combining previous findings to an underpinned recommendation on how to implement standardization education.
Where Are You? Consumers’ Associations in Standardization
Authors: Hauert Christophe
Published: September 2012

The expansion of international standardization has reinforced enduring questions on the legitimacy of standards. In that respect, the participation of all stakeholders, including the weakest ones (unions, NGO, consumers’ associations) is crucial. Given the recognized role of consumers’ associations to express legitimate objectives, the question of their representation becomes central. In order to get a deeper understanding of their participation, this article explores the evolution of their representation within the Swiss national mirror committees of international standardization between 1987 and 2007. It probes the extent to which their participation is determined by the distinctiveness of issues supposedly related to consumers’ concerns and by their own use of standards. The empirical findings of our study indicate an underrepresentation of consumers’ associations and confirm the topical specificity of their implication in standardization processes. Finally, we found evidence that the use of standards in an association’s activities supports and encourages its participation in standardization committees.
A Data Model for Describing and Exchanging Personal Achieved Learning Outcomes (PALO)
Authors: Najjar Jad , Dernt Michael , Klobucar Tomaž , Simon Bernd , Totschnig Michael , Grant Simon , Pawlowski Jan M.
Published: September 2012

Employers seek people that match particular qualifications and graduates seek jobs that match their qualifications. This market is currently managed primarily using paper certificates and heterogeneous university management systems that capture achieved learning outcomes as well as corporate information systems that capture required qualifications. In light of trends toward increased student mobility, employability and lifelong learning, this situation is less than satisfactory. Therefore, in this paper, the authors propose a schema that facilitates interoperable storage and management of Personal Achieved Learning Outcomes (PALO) based on a common data model. This paper presents use case scenarios and implementations addressing these challenges and demonstrating the added value of using such a common model.
An Adaptive Backoff Algorithm for Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks
Authors: Khamayseh Yaser , Yassein Muneer Bani , Badran Iman I. , Mardini Wail
Published: September 2012

Collision is a common problem in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs). There are several backoff algorithms that have been proposed to avoid this problem. This paper proposes a new backoff algorithm called the Square Root Backoff (SRB). Moreover, it identifies that no algorithm can perform the best in all cases. Therefore, an adaptive strategy is proposed to choose the best backoff mechanism from a set of mechanisms based on network density and mobility parameters. The proposed adaptive algorithm is implemented in two phases: the offline phase and the online phase. Such design aims at reducing the time complexity of the algorithm by performing some of the computations prior to the actual deployment and of the network. Results from simulations demonstrate that the SRB algorithm achieved better performance than BEB and LB. Moreover, the adaptive backoff algorithm obtains the best throughput and end-to-end delay performance over the other backoff algorithms.
An Energy-Efficient Multilevel Clustering Algorithm for Heterogeneous Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: Soni Surender , Katiyar Vivek , Chand Narottam
Published: September 2012

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are generally believed to be homogeneous, but some sensor nodes of higher energy can be used to prolong the lifetime and reliability of WSNs. This gives birth to the concept of Heterogeneous Wireless Sensor Networks (HWSNs). Clustering is an important technique to prolong the lifetime of WSNs and to reduce energy consumption as well, by topology management and routing. HWSNs are popular in real deployments (Corchado et al., 2010), and have a large area of coverage. In such scenarios, for better connectivity, the need for multilevel clustering protocols arises. In this paper, the authors propose an energy-efficient protocol called heterogeneous multilevel clustering and aggregation (HMCA) for HWSNs. HMCA is simulated and compared with existing multilevel clustering protocol EEMC (Jin et al., 2008) for homogeneous WSN. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed protocol performs better.
Analysis of Sensors’ Coverage through Application-Specific WSN Provisioning Tool
Authors: Habib Sami J.
Published: September 2012

This paper presents an automated provisioning tool for the deployment of sensors within wireless sensor networks (WSN) where we have employed evolutionary approach as a search technique to find the maximal coverage under minimal deployment cost. The coverage area is partitioned into M by N cells to reduce the search space from continuous to discrete by considering the placement of sensors at the centroid of each cell. The author has explored the relationship between various cell’s sizes versus the total number of deployed sensors. The experimental results show that when the number of cells to cover the service area from X by X cells to 2X by 2X cells is increased, on average this increases the cost by 3 folds. In this regard, it is due to the increase of the number of required sensors by an average of six folds, while improving the coverage ratio by only 9%. A custom-made graphical user interface (GUI) has been developed and embedded within the proposed automated provisioning tool to illustrate the deployment area with the placed sensors at step of the deployment process.
Primary Research on Arabic Visemes, Analysis in Space, and Frequency Domain
Authors: Chelali Fatma Zohra , Djeradi Amar
Published: September 2012

Visemes are the unique facial positions required to produce phonemes, which are the smallest phonetic unit distinguished by the speakers of a particular language. Each language has multiple phonemes and visemes, and each viseme can have multiple phonemes. However, current literature on viseme research indicates that the mapping between phonemes and visemes is many-to-one: there are many phonemes which look alike visually, and hence they fall into the same visemic category. To evaluate the performance of the proposed method, the authors collected a large number of speech visual signal of five Algerian speakers male and female at different moments pronouncing 28 Arabic phonemes. For each frame the lip area is manually located with a rectangle of size proportional to 120*160 and centred on the mouth, and converted to gray scale. Finally, the mean and the standard deviation of the values of the pixels of the lip area are computed by using 20 images for each phoneme sequence to classify the visemes. The pitch analysis is investigated to show its variation for each viseme.
Symbolic Function Network
Authors: Eskander George S. , Atiya Amir
Published: September 2012

This chapter reviews a recent HONN-like model called Symbolic Function Network (SFN). This model is designed with the goal to impart more flexibility than both traditional and HONNs neural networks. The main idea behind this scheme is the fact that different functional forms suit different applications and that no specific architecture is best for all. Accordingly, the model is designed as an evolving network that can discover the best functional basis, adapt its parameters, and select its structure simultaneously. Despite the high modeling capability of SFN, it is considered as a starting point for developing more powerful models. This chapter aims to open a door for researchers to propose new formulations and techniques that impart more flexibility and result in sparser and more accurate models. Through this chapter, the theoretical basis of SFN is discussed. The model optimization computations are deeply illustrated to enable researchers to easily implement and test the model.
Reengineering an Introductory Computer Education Course for Undergraduate Students
Authors: Lakhavani Farhat (Meena) J. , Rupp April
Published: September 2012

Computing@Carnegie Mellon (C@CM), a required 3-unit course for all incoming Carnegie Mellon undergraduate students, went through total reengineering during 2010. The content, the delivery method, and the support model for this course were all changed simultaneously. The objective of this case study is to share experiences in reengineering this introductory computer education course, including experiences with reengineering the content, the delivery method, and the support model in a rapid rollout mode. Specifically, this case study will discuss lessons learned and speculate on the next step for future academic years based on the successes and challenges in teaching this reengineered course to 1,683 students during the 2010-2011 academic year.
All Hands on Deck
Authors: Scott Cinda P. , August Bonne , Eggers-Piérola Costanza
Published: September 2012

The nationwide National Science Foundation (NSF) Innovation through Institutional Integration (I3) program challenges faculty, administrators, and project partners to think strategically about the creative integration of NSF-funded awards and to provide students with an interdisciplinary, cross-curriculum, technologically current approach to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) curriculum. The NSF I3 program places particular emphasis on underrepresented minorities seeking two- and four-year degrees in STEM disciplines. The focus of this chapter is on how survey data collected across STEM departments in the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Technology and Design have been used to guide the City Tech I3 Project to implement case study teaching methodologies as a means for creating institutional change in STEM laboratories. The City Tech I3 Project addresses three of the national NSF I3 goals: broadening participation, integrating research and education, and developing a global workforce.
Reversible Audio Data Hiding in Spectral and Time Domains
Authors: Nishimura Akira
Published: September 2012

Reversible data hiding is a technique whereby hidden data are embedded in host data in such a way that the host data consistency is perfectly preserved and the host data are restored when extracting the hidden data. This chapter introduces basic algorithms for reversible data hiding, histogram shifting, histogram expansion, and compression. This chapter also proposes and evaluates two reversible data hiding methods, i.e., hiding data in the frequency-domain using integer Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) and modified DCT and hiding in the time domain using linear prediction and error expansion. As no location map is required to prevent amplitude overflow, the proposed method in the time domain achieves a storage capacity of nearly 1 bit per sample of payload data. The proposed methods are evaluated by the payload amount, objective quality degradation of stego signal, and payload concealment.
Acoustic OFDM Technology and System
Authors: Matsuoka Hosei
Published: September 2012

This chapter presents a method of aerial acoustic communication in which data is modulated using OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) and embedded in regular audio material without significantly degrading the quality of the original sound. It can provide data transmission of several hundred bps, which is much higher than is possible with other audio data hiding techniques. The proposed method replaces the high frequency band of the audio signal with OFDM carriers, each of which is power-controlled according to the spectrum envelope of the original audio signal. The implemented system enables the transmission of short text messages from loudspeakers to mobile handheld devices at a distance of around 3m. This chapter also provides the subjective assessment results of audio clips embedded with OFDM signals.