IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) for Emerging All-IP Networks

Today the traditional telecommunication technology is declining because of popularity and increasing demand of Voice over IP (VoIP) due to the reason that deployment, maintenance and operation of data networks based on IP infrastructure are less costly than the voice networks. Consequently, it is straight forward to think relaying all types of communications on data networks rather than maintaining in parallel two network technologies. On the other hand we see today increasing demand of integrated multimedia services, bringing together internet applications with telecommunications. In prospect of these global trends, the mobile communications world has defined within the evolution of cellular systems an all-IP network vision which integrates cellular networks and Internet. This is the IP Multimedia System (IMS) (3GPP, TS 23.228 (2005)), namely overlay architecture for provisioning of multimedia services, such as VoIP and videoconferencing on top of globally emerging 3G broadband packet networks.

Possibilities, Limitations, and the Future of Audiovisual Content Protection

This chapter explains the fundamental principles of audiovisual content protection. It explains the basic knowledge that is needed to understand the fundamentals of digital rights management (DRM) systems and their problems. Starting with a general introduction about copyright and content protection, available protection technologies are described and analyzed. The basic concepts of DRM solutions are explained and problems discussed. Potentials and practical limitations are analysed based on the digital music industry value chain. An outlook is given on solutions that are under development and that stronger consider the needs of the customers. In the conclusion, future solutions are discussed.

New Internet Protocals for Multimedia Transmission

This chapter will introduce three new IETF transport layer protocols in support of multimedia data transmission and discuss their usage. First, the stream control transmission protocol (SCTP) will be described; this protocol was originally designed for telephony signaling across the Internet, but it is in fact broadly applicable. Second, UDP-Lite (an even simpler UDP) will be explained; this is an example of a small protocol change that opened a large can of worms. The chapter concludes with an overview of the datagram congestion control protocol (DCCP), a newly devised IETF protocol for the transmission of unreliable (typically real-time multimedia) data streams.

Internet Privacy from the Individual and Business Perspectives

People have always been concerned about protecting personal information and their right to privacy. It is an age-old concern that is not unique to the Internet. People are concerned with protecting their privacy in various environments, including healthcare, the workplace and e-commerce. However, advances in technology, the Internet, and community networking are bringing this issue to the forefront. With computerized personal data files: a. retrieval of specific records is more rapid; b. personal information can be integrated into a number of different data files; and c. copying, transporting, collecting, storing, and processing large amounts of information are easier.

V-Card

This chapter presents the use of mobile multimedia for marketing purposes. Using V-Card, a service to create personalized multimedia messages, as an example, the advantages of sponsored messaging are illustrated. Benefits of employing multimedia technologies, such as mobile video streaming, include an increased perceived value of the message and the opportunity for companies to enhance their product presentation. Topics of discussion include related projects, as marketing campaigns utilizing SMS and MMS are becoming more popular, the technical infrastructure of the V-card system, and an outline of social and legal issues emerging from mobile marketing. As V-card has already been evaluated in a field test, these results can be implemented to outline future research and development aspects for this area.

Leadership Competencies for Managing Global Virtual Teams

The demand for leadership competencies to leverage performance from global virtual teams (GVTs) is growing as organizations continue to search for talent, regardless of location. This means that the work of virtual leaders is embedded in the global shifting of work (Tyran, Tyran & Shepherd, 2003). The phenomenon began with the financial industry as trading took place 24/7 with stock exchanges in different time zones. It is expanding into other industries such as software programming, law, engineering, and call centers. GVTs support the globalization of work by providing organizations with innovative, flexible, and rapid access to human capital. Several forces of competition contribute to the increasing adoption of GVTs, including globalizing of competition, growing service industries, flattening of organizational hierarchies, increasing number of strategic alliances, outsourcing, and growing use of teams (Pawar & Sharifi, 1997; Townsend, DeMarie & Hendrickson, 1998). The backbone of GVTs is innovation with computer-mediated communication systems (CMCSs). Advances with CMCSs facilitate and support virtual team environments.

Distanced Leadership and Multimedia

At the dawn of the 21st century, more and more organizations in various industries have adopted geographically dispersed work groups and are utilizing advanced technologies to communicate with them (Benson-Armer & Hsieh, 1997; Hymowitz, 1999; Townsend, DeMarie & Hendrickson, 1998; Van Aken, Hop & Post, 1998). This geographical dispersion varies in form. For example, some organizations have adopted “telecommuting,” in which members may work at home, on the road and/or at the office (Hymowitz, 1999). Other organizations have created teams that are globally dispersed. A leader located in Palo Alto, California, for example, may be responsible for coordinating employees in Belgium, China and Mexico.

Incorporating and Understanding the User-Perspective

This chapter introduces a selection of studies relating to each of the multimedia senses — olfactory (smell), tactile/haptic (touch), visual (sight), and auditory (sound) — and how such studies impact user perception and ultimately user definition of multimedia quality. A model of distributed multimedia is proposed, to allow a more structured analysis of the current literature concerning video and audio information. This model segregates studies implementing quality variation and/or assessment into three discrete information abstractions (the network, media, and content levels) and from two perspectives (the technical and user perspectives). It is the objective of the author that, by placing current research in context of a quality structure, the need for fuller incorporation of the user perspective in multimedia quality assessment will be highlighted.

Multimedia, Information Compexity, and Cognitive Processing

Organizations are faced with increasing costs needed to train employees in today’s high technology environment. Educators are also striving to develop new training and teaching methods that will yield optimal learning transfer and complex skill acquisition. This study suggests that trainee/learner cognitive processing capacity, information presentation format and complexity, and multimedia technology should be leveraged in order to minimize training duration and costs and maximize knowledge transfer. It presents a causal model of how multimedia and information complexity interact to influence sustained attention, mental effort and information processing quality, all of which subsequently impact comprehension and learner confidence and satisfaction outcomes. Subjects read a text script, viewed an acetate overhead slide presentation containing text-with-graphics, or viewed a multimedia presentation depicting the greenhouse effect (low complexity) or photocopier operation (high complexity). Causal path analysis results indicated that presentation media (or format) had a direct impact on sustained attention, mental effort, information processing quality, comprehension, and learner confidence and satisfaction. Information complexity had direct effects on sustained attention, mental effort and information processing quality. Finally, comprehension and learner confidence and satisfaction were both influenced through an intervening sequence of sustained attention, mental effort and information processing quality.

Cognitive Functionality of Multimedia in Problem Solving

Teaching problem solving can be a challenge to teachers. However, the challenge is oftentimes not due to a lack of skills on the part of learners but due to an inappropriate design of media through which the problem is presented. The findings of this study demonstrate that appropriately designed multimedia can improve learners’ problem solving skills because of the cognitive functions such media have in facilitating mental representation and information retrieval and maintenance, as well as reducing cognitive load during the problem solving process. Suggestions were made on how to apply interactive multimedia to teaching and learning.