bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Development of a Lens‐less Mid‐Infrared Laser Head for the Optical Fiber Tip Oscillation to Apply to Therapeutic Treatment
Authors: OMORI SHIGERU 
Published: December 2017

SUMMARYMid‐infrared lasers having the wavelength of the vicinity of 3 μm are considered as effective for the treatment of biomedical tissue because of the strong absorption to water. The drawback of 3 μm laser is the difficulty to propagate the silica optical fiber. We have reported the optical fiber tip oscillation laser that has a Er,Cr:YAGG laser crystal and coupling lenses on the tip of a silica fiber outputs 2.8 μm laser pumped by laser diode. In this paper, we demonstrated a lens‐less laser head for the optical fiber tip oscillation. By using the silica optical fiber having a core diameter of 105 μm and a numerical aperture of 0.12, the average output power of 1.0 W was achieved from the lens‐less laser head during a squire wave modulation for suppressing heat generation.
A service concept and tools to improve maternal and newborn health in Nigeria and Uganda
Authors: Salgado Mariana , Wendland Melanie , Rodriguez Damaris , Bohren Meghan A. , Oladapo Olufemi T. , Ojelade Olubunmi A. , Mugerwa Kidza , Fawole Bukola 
Published: December 2017

AbstractObjectiveThe “Better Outcomes in Labor Difficulty” (BOLD) project used a service design process to design a set of tools to improve quality of care during childbirth by strengthening linkages between communities and health facilities in Nigeria and Uganda. This paper describes the Passport to Safer Birth concept and the tools developed as a result.MethodsService design methods were used to identify facilitators and barriers to quality care, and to develop human‐centered solutions. The service design process had three phases: Research for Design, Concept Design, and Detail Design, undertaken in eight hospitals and catchment communities.ResultsThe service concept “Better Beginnings” comprises three tools. The “Pregnancy Purse” provides educational information to women throughout pregnancy. The “Birth Board” is a visual communication tool that presents the labor and childbirth process. The “Family Pass” is a set of wearable passes for the woman and her supporter to facilitate communication of care preferences.ConclusionThe Better Beginnings service concept and tools form the basis for the promotion of access to information and knowledge acquisition, and could improve communication between the healthcare provider, the woman, and her family during childbirth.
Factors Affecting the Use of Information Technology in Thai Agricultural Cooperatives: A Work in Progress
Authors: Chieochan O. , Lindley D. , Dunn T. 
Published: December 2017

AbstractThis paper describes work in progress studying factors affecting the use of information technology in Thai agricultural cooperatives. Factors in the internal and external environment of organizations are considered. Factors from the internal environment are divided into 2 groups: characteristics of managers of Thai agricultural cooperatives (i.e. attitude towards adoption of IT, IT knowledge, and innovation), and organizational characteristics (i.e. business size, organizational structure, and organizational culture). General factors from the external environment are political, economic, social, and infrastructure. Methodology and its development are also described.
Effects of Learning Styles on Undergraduates’ Attitudes, Navigational Patterns, and Use of Navigational Tools in Hypermedia‐Based Learning
Authors: Sam Hong Kian , Ling Chan Kun 
Published: December 2017

AbstractThis study aimed to identify undergraduates’ learning style, their attitudes towards hypermedia‐based learning (HBL), their navigational pattern and the navigational tools used during HBL sessions, and the differences in the above processes based on their learning styles. A questionnaire was used to collect data on their attitudes towards HBL. Kolb learning style inventory was used to determine the learning styles of the undergraduates. Observations and self‐reports were used to determine navigational pattern and navigational tools utilized in HBL. Subjects consisted of 15 undergraduates taking a social psychology course in the Cognitive Science Program at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. Subjects were required to navigate HBL social psychology web site http://www.trinity.edu/∼mkearl/socpsy.html. Findings indicated that all the subjects have positive attitudes towards HBL regardless of their learning styles. Diverger and assimilator learning styles subjects was “prudent” navigator, while converger and accommodator learning style subjects were “daring” navigator. Two main navigational tools used were the hyperlinks and back buttons and this pattern were the same regardless of the subjects learning style.
A Champion in Our Midst: Lessons Learned from the Impacts of NGOs’ Use of the Internet
Authors: McConnell Scott 
Published: December 2017

AbstractResearch investigating the use of Email and the World Wide Web in the South has focused solely on the users of the technology, ignoring the ability of those without connectivity to benefit from the outputs of their stakeholders’ Internet use. This paper examines the findings of an evaluation into the efficiency and effectiveness with which Internet‐equipped non‐governmental organizations (NGOs) were able to use the technology as a tool to assist their unconnected stakeholders, or those stakeholders which do not have connectivity but who are in a position to receive information which their supporting NGOs have acquired through the use of the Internet. Focusing primarily section dealing with the impacts of NGOs’ Internet use on their community stakeholders, the paper presents evidence to indicate that NGOs are sharing information acquired on the Internet with their unconnected community stakeholders, and cites specific examples from two of the three NGOs examined in this study. The paper also finds that the difference between those organizations which demonstrated a tendency to share Internet‐acquired information with their stakeholders and those which did not is two‐fold: those organizations which shared the information with their unconnected community stakeholders not only have both email and WWW access, but they also have experienced leaders in information technology (IT) to assist them in the integration of the technology into their programs. The findings of these three case studies illuminates the fact that without the presence of an Internet Champion, or staff who appreciate the value that ICTs can offer to organizations and their unconnected community stakeholders, such technologies – and the potential they hold for rural development throughout the world – will never be able to live up to the expectations which society has created for them.
Benefits of IT‐Based Decision‐Making in Developing Countries
Authors: Splettstoesser Dietrich , Kimaro Fred 
Published: December 2017

AbstractDespite the irritatingly slow progress of economic and social development in the world's least developed countries (LDCs), a gentle but nevertheless dramatic change has begun to dawn in their institutional decision‐making: the increasing use of IT‐based decision support systems. This paper, based on a study in one of the poorest African countries, demonstrates that decision support systems (DSS), which are increasingly though still insufficiently used, have already generated some benefits for the utilising organisations. If such systems would be integrated with group support systems (GSS), additional benefits can be expected.
Query Processing Techniques in Data Warehousing Using Cost Model
Authors: Wah Teh Ying , A. B. Zaitun 
Published: December 2017

AbstractIn this paper, we first introduce the readers to four current query processing techniques that are used in Data Warehousing queries. This is followed by a description of a cost model that we have adopted and later to be used when we compare the performance of the different query processing techniques. The performance of these query processing techniques are compared using a disk I/O. Finally, we propose a recommendation for Database Management Systems (DBMSs) to select the most cost‐effective query processing techniques based on the cost model.
The Internet, Global Healthcare Management Systems, and Sustainable Development: Future Scenarios
Authors: Séror Ann 
Published: December 2017

AbstractTelecommunications technologies and the Internet offer a revolution in management of global healthcare systems and sustainable development. This paper explores emergent telecommunications infrastructures and their consequences for the future of healthcare management using a scenario methodology. A world systems view from evolutionary economics provides a unique perspective on sustainable development. System performance on the dimensions of universal access, equitable resource allocation and consumer participation are evaluated in light of ideological, political and cultural considerations of governance. Alternative scenarios vary according to market dynamics led by healthcare institutions (push) or by consumer demand (pull), and according to system control mechanisms that may be technologically embedded, institutional or behavioural. The scenario analysis suggests that telecommunications technologies and the Internet may contribute significantly to improve global healthcare system performance, to manage ideological diversity and to reduce the wide inequities that separate the industrialized nations from the developing world.
Effectiveness of Graphical Components in Web Site E‐commerce Application – A Cultural Perspective
Authors: Kang Kyeong‐Soon , Corbitt Brian 
Published: December 2017

AbstractThis paper aims to explore cultural issues that are likely influence business information systems and their graphical components in electronic commerce applications on web sites. Studying the cultural relativism of user interface design in implementing web‐based electronic commerce will provide guidelines for the global use of electronic business tools. The paper summarises recent work on implementation issues for the improvement of information system usage in a variety of system environments and web interface design issues, which should be designed to suit users on a global level. This paper attempts to illustrate requirements for graphical components and key issues in the globalized e‐commerce web site development. This paper also discusses examples of effective popular customer‐web site interfaces currently in use.
Potential Impact of Cultural Differences on Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Projects
Authors: Skok Walter , Döringer Hartmut 
Published: December 2017

AbstractOver the last ten years, there has been a dramatic growth in the acquisition of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, where the market leader is the German company, SAP AG. However, more recently, there has been an increase in reported ERP failures, suggesting that the implementation issues are not just technical, but encompass wider behavioural factors.This conceptual paper examines the role of culture in the implementation of process‐oriented ERP systems, and reports on the formulation of a research project to examine the relevance of macro and micro‐level cultural issues in the successful operation of such systems.The paper suggests that some of the reported ERP problems may be attributed to the difficulties that staff operating in an Anglo‐Saxon culture may experience with a process rather than function‐oriented working environment.
Propeller Heads – Handle with Care: Improving the IT‐Business Relationship through Cultural Awareness
Authors: Cormack Sandra , Cater‐Steel Aileen , Nord Jeretta Horn , Nord G. Daryl 
Published: December 2017

AbstractFor organisations to fully exploit information technology and remain successful in today's competitive global economy, it is necessary for everyone to work well together. The absence of an effective relationship between business and IT professionals can limit the successful use of IT in organisations and can also be a drain on the productivity and competitiveness of organisations. An effective relationship therefore needs to be established between the two disparate groups of business and IT. This study explores the IT business relationship from a cultural perspective, and from interviews conducted in two Australian organisations provides insights into the IT culture and the effects of this culture on the IT‐business relationship.
Bridging the Digital Divide, the Future of Localisation
Authors: Hall Patrick A.V. 
Published: December 2017

AbstractSoftware localisation is reviewed within its economic context, where making computers work in many languages is not economically worth while. This is challenged by looking for different approaches to current practice, seeking to exploit recent developments in both software technology and language engineering. Localisation is seen as just another form of customisation within a software product line, and the translation of the text and help messages is seen as an application of natural language generation where abstract knowledge models are built into the software and switching languages means switching generators. To serve the needs of illiterate peoples the use of speech is considered, not as a front end to writing, but as a medium that replaces writing and avoids many of the problems of localisation.
Adopting Modern Information Technology in the South Pacific: A Process of Development, Preservation or Underdevelopment of the Culture?
Authors: Olutimayin Jide 
Published: December 2017

AbstractThis study aims at investigating the extent to which Information Technology (IT) has affected the cultures of small nations, taking the South Pacific region as a study point. Against the background that the educational systems of the Pacific nations have not produced an efficient and effective curriculum with which to cope with the challenges of highly sophisticated technological applications, the study also examines the cultural challenges of adopting IT in the South Pacific to see if and how IT can be integrated into the cultures of the region for maximum benefits of the two entities. The study finds that culture and information technology would appear to be competing for the position of importance and/or power in human consideration, and this judgement reflects our attitudes towards each of them. Overall, culture and technology in the South Pacific, as in the rest of the world, need to function together, and should be prepared to accept one another as partners‐in‐progress.
IT‐enabled Services as Development Drivers in Low‐Income Countries: The Case of Fiji
Authors: Davis Charles H. , McMaster Jim , Nowak Jan 
Published: December 2017

AbstractThis paper examines the options available to a developing country, Fiji, for participating in the exploding international trade in IT‐enabled business services. A rapidly‐growing portion of this trade takes place when firms from developed countries purchase services from providers located in low‐income countries or place remote service delivery facilities in such locations. The paper describes the segments of IT‐enabled business services in terms of their skill‐intensity and the value they add, and discusses current trends in the international trade in business services, with particular emphasis on North‐South service outsourcing. The paper identifies conditions that low‐income countries must create in order to develop entry‐level IT‐enabled service delivery capability and then analyses Fiji's potential to develop or attract such services delivery capability. Policy options to facilitate the development of an indigenous IT‐enabled service industry in Fiji are proposed.
Individual and Technological Factors Affecting Perceived Ease of Use of Web‐based Learning Technologies in a Developing Country
Authors: Brown Irwin T. J. 
Published: December 2017

AbstractPerceived ease of use has been shown to be an important factor in studies of information technology acceptance, with Internet and World Wide Web adoption being no exception. Many previous studies have looked at the perceived ease of use of technologies in a working or commercial environment in developed countries. This study therefore aimed to extend knowledge by examining perceived ease of use of web‐based technologies in a learning environment, rather than a working one, and in a developing country as opposed to a developed country. Through a survey of 78 first year South African University students with little prior experience of Internet technologies, it was found that the individual characteristics of self‐efficacy and computer anxiety significantly influenced perceived ease of use, as did the web site characteristics, ease of finding and ease of understanding. It was furthermore confirmed that in a developing country context, perceived usefulness might not predict adoption, thus amplifying the role of perceived ease of use as the main predictor of both usage and perceived usefulness.
UNCTAD and E‐Commerce Success
Authors: Jennex Murray E. 
Published: December 2017

AbstractThe United Nations Conference on Trade and Development's E‐Commerce and Development Report 2002 provides a great deal of information on e‐commerce from a variety of countries. The purpose of the report is to influence the expansion of e‐commerce in small to medium sized companies in developing countries. Unfortunately, the data provided does not support many developing countries and does not address e‐commerce infrastructure critical success factors.
Rural Development with ICTs in Nepal: Integrating National Policy with Grassroots Resourcefulness
Authors: Harris Roger , Jacquemin Alain , Ponthagunta Subra , Sah Jaysingh , Shrestha Deepak 
Published: December 2017

AbstractTwo rural ICT telecentre projects are under way in Nepal. One small‐scale project focuses on a few communities participating in a social mobilisation programme and has the aim of deepening the socio‐economic impact of the programme. The other is a national pilot project involving around 15 communities with the aim of eventually rolling out to a nationwide implementation in hundreds of villages. As social mobilisation encompasses several aspects of communities that are thought to influence the development outcomes of rural telecentres, the two projects offer an opportunity to develop the process of social mobilisation into a methodology for preparing communities to make the most of a telecentre that will then be capable of implementing an agreed development agenda. Such a methodology, known as Infomobilisation, will help scale up telecentre implementations so that they can achieve their development objectives.
The New Software Exporting Nations: Success Factors
Authors: Carmel Erran 
Published: December 2017

AbstractMany nations are attempting to craft successful software exporting industries to emulate the remarkable success of India in this area. What are these success factors? We introduce the “Oval model” that incorporates eight factors that lead software industries to export success. The eight factors are: 1) Government vision and policies, including funding and tax benefits. 2) Human capital, including national orientation and traditions, quantity, composition, language skills, and managerial skills. 3) Wages. 4) Quality of life, since talented professionals tend to concentrate in desirable locations. 5) Linkages, which emerge between individuals, between work groups, between firms, and between nations due to geographic, cultural, linguistic, or ethnic connections. 6) Technological infrastructure. 7) Capital, which can come from domestic and foreign sources. 8) Industry characteristics, including: clustering effects, the number of firms, their size, the associations which organize the industry's firms, the industry's degree of common vision and branding, and the standards that the firms aspire to.
Enhancing E‐government in Developing Countries: Managing Knowledge through Virtual Communities
Authors: Wagner Christian , Cheung Karen , Lee Fion , Ip Rachael 
Published: December 2017

AbstractThe article reviews the role of virtual communities as a knowledge management mechanism to support e‐government in developing countries. It explores the need for knowledge management in e‐government, identifies knowledge management technologies, and highlights the challenges for developing countries in the implementation of e‐government and especially knowledge management solutions. It further assesses the feasibility of this and other knowledge management mechanisms in light of the financial and technological limitations of developing countries. The article suggests that knowledge management is needed to facilitate information exchange and transaction processing with citizens, as well as to enable inter‐government knowledge sharing and integration. It concludes that simple knowledge management solutions, and especially virtual communities, will be the most appropriate for developing countries, while enterprise solutions are not suitable.
Patchwork Adoption of ICTs in Latin America
Authors: Garcia‐Murillo Martha 
Published: December 2017

AbstractThis paper presents the idea of patchwork adoption, which refers to the coexistence of obsolete and state of the art technologies at the same time. Factors such as lower and unequal distribution of income, education, wired infrastructure, experience with information and communication technologies (ICTs), as well as the fact that most applications are designed and developed in high income countries, limits the ability of companies and the population at large to adopt the most recent technologies more broadly. The problem is not only that these economies are poorer but also that they experience greater disparity of income, wealth, and education. In terms of infrastructure cellular phones experienced an explosion but the low level of wired infrastructure in Latin America currently affects the adoption of more advanced ICTs that incorporate broadband. The design of systems and well as the quality standards that guide their development are also aimed at advanced economies. This has forced developers in Latin America to develop standards that fulfill their needs under limited resources. All of these factors lead to a patchwork adoption that contrasts with the familiar s‐shape adoption that high income countries experience. The role of government, as explained in the Brazilian case, can help to expand the use of these technologies and perhaps reduce the inequalities.