Information Technology as a Service

In this information era, both business and living communities are truly IT driven and service oriented. As the globalization of the world economy accelerates with the fast advance of networking and computing technologies, IT plays a more and more critical role in assuring real-time collaborations for delivering needs across the world. Nowadays, world-class enterprises are eagerly embracing service-led business models aimed at creating highly profitable service-oriented businesses. They take advantage of their own years of experience and unique marketing, engineering, and application expertise and shift gears toward creating superior outcomes to best meet their customers’ needs in order to stay competitive. IT has been considered as one of the high-value services areas. In this chapter, the discussion will focus on IT as a service. We present IT development, research, and outsourcing as a knowledge service; on the other hand, we argue that IT as a service helps enterprises align their business operations, workforce, and technologies to maximize their profits by continuously improving their performance. Numerous research and development aspects of service-enterprise engineering from a business perspective will be briefly explored, and then computing methodologies and technologies to enable adaptive enterprise service computing in support of service-enterprise engineering will be simply studied and analyzed. Finally, future development and research avenues in this emerging interdisciplinary field will also be highlighted.

Dynamic Channel Allocation in Cellular Communication Networks

This chapter presents a description and performance evaluation of an efficient Distributed Artificial Intelligence (DAI) Dynamic Channels Allocation (DCA) scheme. Therefore, it is referred to as DAI-DCA scheme. It can be used for channel allocation in high traffic cellular communication networks (CCNs), such as the global system for mobile communication (GSM). The scheme utilizes a well-known DAI algorithm, namely, the asynchronous weak-commitment (AWC) algorithm, in which a complete solution is established by extensive communication among a group of neighboring collaborative cells forming a pattern, where each cell in the pattern uses a unique set of channels. To minimize communication overhead among cells, a token-based mechanism was introduced. The scheme achieved excellent average allocation efficiencies of over 85% for a number of realistic operation scenarios.

Key Topics in the Ethics and Economics of Cyber Security

Cyber security is the significant issue for customers, sellers, and discipliners since hackers who utilize vulnerabilities can make considerable damage. In this chapter, we study key topics in a nascent literature on a cyber security. We first concentrate on how inducements influence the major topics in information security. Three significant topics pertinent for a cyber security concerns are: an exterior security, the internet consequence and information sharing which make effect in the information security. The budding literature has started to study the relationships between vulnerability revelation, patching, manufactured goods prices and profits.

Landmark-Based Shape Context for Handwritten Digit Recognition

This chapter introduces landmark-based shape context. Standard shape context computation samples at regular interval on the contour of an object. Corner points of an object being landmarks on the contour; set of corner points is a good descriptor of shape. Landmark-based shape context is computed by sampling a reduced set of points based on such landmarks. In this chapter, an approach to recognizing handwritten digits based on shape similarity computed through landmark-based shape context is presented. Shape context based object recognition being an iterative process; the reduction in the number of sample points provides a basis for faster recognition.

Computer Simulation of Particle Packing In Bituminous Concrete

Although computer simulation methods have been used extensively in modeling the microstructure of Portland cement concrete, their application for studying asphalt concrete is relatively new. In this chapter, the nature and distribution of inter-particle contacts in computer-simulated compacts with a wide particle size range such as those found in asphalt pavements are discussed. The aggregates were modeled as hard spheres and some typical aggregate gradations used in AC were packed using a computer program. The application of particle packing simulation concepts discussed in this chapter to the study of aggregate structure in asphalt pavements, in conjunction with the recent advances in nondestructive imaging techniques and DEM simulations have tremendous potential to help us to develop a deeper understanding of the aggregate structure in asphalt concrete, develop and optimize the various parameters that describe the aggregate structure and relate them to the performance of pavements in a scientific way.

Information Technology and Aviation Industry

This chapter pinpoints the affects of information technology on the aviation industry, specifically on the Airline ticket prices. The chapter first introduces the different costs that comprise the airline ticket. Then the chapter introduces the different information technology systems that are used in the aviation industry which in turn reduces the price of the airline ticket.

Performance Optimization of DWT-Based Image Watermarking Using Genetic Algorithms

The excellent spatial localization, frequency spread, and multi-resolution characteristics of the discrete wavelets transform (DWT), which are similar to the theoretical models of the human visual system, facilitated the development of many imperceptible and robust DWT-based watermarking algorithms. However, there has been extremely few proposed algorithms on optimized DWT-based image watermarking that can simultaneously provide perceptual transparency and robustness Since these two watermarking requirements are conflicting, in this paper we treat the DWT-based image watermarking problem as an optimization problem, and solve it using genetic algorithms. We demonstrate through the experimental results we obtained that optimal DWT-based image watermarking can be achieved only if watermarking has been applied at specific wavelet sub-bands and by using specific watermarkamplification values.

Web Engineering in Small Jordanian Web Development Firms

Small firms do not have the managerial experience, the financial resources and the methodological know-how to manage web-based applications projects the way large firms do. Many small firms are unaware of existing software process assessment models and standards. There’s often the assumption that assessments conformant to these models and standards can be expensive and time consuming, and therefore difficult to perform in small companies. This chapter proposes a theoretical model for small Web project development and its special features in the context small Web firms, which are capable of being “tailor able” to the particular stage of organizational development of small Web firms . The process model derived form Web engineering best practices, real case studies from Jordanian Web firms and agile development methodologies (extreme programming) . This chapter also contains results tow surveys: a questionnaire to Web developers and interview with Web mangers in Jordan.The results reflect the Web industry situation in small Jordanian firms, and the major problems they face. Most of small Web projects in Jordan run over time and budget, due to the ad hoc development and the weakness of Web project management. The results showed that there is a weakness in applying Web engineering practices in small Jordanian Web development firms.

The Critical Success Factors of Web-Based Supply Chain Collaboration Adoption

This chapter aims to identify the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) and outcomes of Web-based Supply Chain Collaboration (SCC). A total of 230 questionnaires were initially distributed to sample respondents of seven manufacturing firms in Jordan that use Web systems to collaborate with supply chain members. The results showed that top management support, IT infrastructure, training and education, business processes reengineering, trust among partners, open information sharing, and performance measurement are critical factors for Web-based SCC implementation success. In addition, this study revealed that Web-based SCC implementation is positively related to supply chain relationship quality, performance effectiveness, and performance efficiency.

Adaptive Computation Paradigm in Knowledge Representation

The constant demand for complex applications, the ever increasing complexity and size of software systems, and the inherently complicated nature of the information drive the needs for developing radically new approaches for information representation. This drive is leading to creation of new and exciting interdisciplinary fields that investigate convergence of software science and intelligence science, as well as computational sciences and their applications. This survey article discusses the new paradigm of the algorithmic models of intelligence, based on the adaptive hierarchical model of computation, and presents the algorithms and applications utilizing this paradigm in data-intensive, collaborative environment. Examples from the various areas include references to adaptive paradigm in biometric technologies, evolutionary computing, swarm intelligence, robotics, networks, e-learning, knowledge representation and information system design. Special topics related to adaptive models design and geometric computing are also included in the survey.