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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

The Value Of Government Mandated Location-Based Services In Emergencies In Australia, Anas Aloudat, Katina Michael, Roba Abbas, Mutaz M. Al-Debei Dec 2011

The Value Of Government Mandated Location-Based Services In Emergencies In Australia, Anas Aloudat, Katina Michael, Roba Abbas, Mutaz M. Al-Debei

Dr. Mutaz M. Al-Debei

The adoption of mobile technologies for emergency management has the capacity to save lives. In Australia in February 2009, the Victorian Bushfires claimed 173 lives, the worst peace-time disaster in the nation’s history. The Australian government responded swiftly to the tragedy by going to tender for mobile applications that could be used during emergencies, such as mobile alerts and location services. These applications, which are becoming increasingly accurate with the evolution of positioning techniques, have the ability to deliver personalized information direct to the citizen during crises, complementing traditional broadcasting mediums like television and radio. Indeed governments have a responsibility …


A Multi-Platform Application Suite For Enhancing South Asian Language Pedagogy, Tao Bai, Christopher K. Chung, Konstantin Läufer, Daisy Rockwell, George K. Thiruvathukal Nov 2011

A Multi-Platform Application Suite For Enhancing South Asian Language Pedagogy, Tao Bai, Christopher K. Chung, Konstantin Läufer, Daisy Rockwell, George K. Thiruvathukal

George K. Thiruvathukal

This interdisciplinary project explores the potential for handheld/wireless (H/W) technology in the context of language education within and beyond the classroom. Specifically, we have designed and implemented a suite of multi-platform (desktop/laptop, handheld, and browser) applications to enhance the teaching of South Asian languages such as Hindi-Urdu. Such languages are very difficult to learn, let alone write, and H/W devices (with their handwriting/drawing capabilities) can play a significant role in overcoming the learning curve. The initial application suite includes a character/word tracer, a word splitter/joiner, a smart flashcard with audio, contextual augmented stories for reading comprehension, and a poetic metronome. …


Mining Interesting Link Formation Rules In Social Networks, Cane Wing-Ki Leung, Ee Peng Lim, David Lo, Jianshu Weng Nov 2011

Mining Interesting Link Formation Rules In Social Networks, Cane Wing-Ki Leung, Ee Peng Lim, David Lo, Jianshu Weng

David LO

Link structures are important patterns one looks out for when modeling and analyzing social networks. In this paper, we propose the task of mining interesting Link Formation rules (LF-rules) containing link structures known as Link Formation patterns (LF-patterns). LF-patterns capture various dyadic and/or triadic structures among groups of nodes, while LF-rules capture the formation of a new link from a focal node to another node as a postcondition of existing connections between the two nodes. We devise a novel LF-rule mining algorithm, known as LFR-Miner, based on frequent subgraph mining for our task. In addition to using a support-confidence framework …


The Social And Behavioral Implications Of Location-Based Services, Katina Michael, M.G. Michael Nov 2011

The Social And Behavioral Implications Of Location-Based Services, Katina Michael, M.G. Michael

Associate Professor Katina Michael

The social and behavioral implications of location-based services (LBS) are only now beginning to come to light in advanced markets where the services have been adopted by just a little over half the market (Microsoft 2011). Depending on one’s definition of what constitutes location-based services, statistics on the level of adoption differ considerably. While it is helpful to provide as broad a list of applications as possible in what constitutes LBS (e.g. everything from in-vehicle navigation systems to downloading a map using a computer), it can also cloud the real picture forming behind this emerging technology. Emerging not in the …


When Practice Doesn’T Make Perfect: Effects Of Task Goals On Learning Computing Concepts, Craig S. Miller, Amber Settle Oct 2011

When Practice Doesn’T Make Perfect: Effects Of Task Goals On Learning Computing Concepts, Craig S. Miller, Amber Settle

Amber Settle

Specifying file references for hypertext links is an elementary competence that nevertheless draws upon core computational thinking concepts such as tree traversal and the distinction between relative and absolute references. In this article we explore the learning effects of different instructional strategies in the context of an introductory computing course. Results suggest that asking students to do targeted tasks, albeit supported with working examples, is not the best preparation. Instead, unstructured study of examples produces superior learning. Answering targeted conceptual questions can also yield comparably positive learning but only in qualified contexts. While perhaps unintuitive, these results are consistent with …


A Review Of International Best Practice In E-Governmentsome Lessons For New Adopters, Deogratias Harorimana Sr Oct 2011

A Review Of International Best Practice In E-Governmentsome Lessons For New Adopters, Deogratias Harorimana Sr

Dr Deogratias Harorimana

Efficient bureaucratic processes as essential to attract and retain investment, as well as promote SME growth. The e_Gov is one of many ways emerging economies have used to streamline public service delivery and create a freindly and conducive atmosphere for business -both MNC and SMEs. This presentation provide an overview of some of the World's most recent case examples on the successful design-plan-implementation of eGov to build a strong basis to attract investment and deliver seamless essential services to Citizens.


Engaging Game Design Students Using Peer Evaluation, Amber Settle, Charles Wilcox, Chad Settle Oct 2011

Engaging Game Design Students Using Peer Evaluation, Amber Settle, Charles Wilcox, Chad Settle

Amber Settle

Many information technology educators have worked in recent years to develop courses to attract students to the field. As faculty achieve success with technical courses designed to be appeal to a broad audience, it can be hard to maintain the initial excitement particularly as multiple sections of the courses are taught on a continuing basis. In this article we describe a project that added peer evaluation to an assessment in a game design course with a large non-major audience. While controversial, peer evaluation has shown some promise in motivating students to work harder and in improving certain key skills. Consistent …


Computational Thinking In A Game Design Course, Amber Settle Oct 2011

Computational Thinking In A Game Design Course, Amber Settle

Amber Settle

As a part of an NSF-funded project to enhance computational thinking in undergraduate general education courses, activities and assessments were developed for a game design course taught at DePaul University. The focus of the course is on game analysis and design, but the course textbook uses an approach that is heavily grounded in computational thinking principles. We describe the course activities and assignments and discuss an initial assessment of those materials. Our results show that there is a gap in difficulty between several of the activities and indicate that the materials developed help students to better learn the computational thinking …


A Critical Review Of The Effectiveness Of Fiscal And Monetary Policies In The Pacific Island Countries (Pics) Between 1990-2010, Deogratias Harorimana Mr Oct 2011

A Critical Review Of The Effectiveness Of Fiscal And Monetary Policies In The Pacific Island Countries (Pics) Between 1990-2010, Deogratias Harorimana Mr

Dr Deogratias Harorimana

The purpose of this paper is to critically assess the effectiveness of Fiscal and Monetary Policies in the South Pacific Island Countries. The paper tracks down the economic growth for the last 20 years between 1990-2010, and drawing from key fiscal and monetary policies in place during the time under consideration, as well as specific interventions in the region, we find that: 1) While the South Pacific Island Countries (SPICs) particularly the six major economies (Solomon Islands, Fiji, Vanuatu, PNG, Samoa, Tonga) pursued fiscal and monetary policies for promoting growth and diversification of their economies, their fiscal policies relied heavily …


Issues In Human Capital Development : Lessons For Public Administration And Governance, Deogratias Harorimana Mr Oct 2011

Issues In Human Capital Development : Lessons For Public Administration And Governance, Deogratias Harorimana Mr

Dr Deogratias Harorimana

With few minerals or other natural resources, Rwanda believes that she can still achieve her ambitions by investing in human capital - her unique resource. If this ambition can be achieved, then is this the next role model for international development? We used a case study design and analysis methods to examine development models used elsewhere in recent decades, using both qualitative and quantitative data on Rwanda to establish the comparative advantages in relation to Singapore’s economic development model. The implications for international development are that (1) an effective human capital development strategy should be inclusive enough to respond to …


Recommendations For Australia’S Implementation Of The National Emergency Warning System Using Location-Based Services, Anas Aloudat, Katina Michael, Roba Abbas Sep 2011

Recommendations For Australia’S Implementation Of The National Emergency Warning System Using Location-Based Services, Anas Aloudat, Katina Michael, Roba Abbas

Professor Katina Michael

Mobile alerts, notifications and location-based emergency warning systems are now an established part of mobile government strategies in an increasing number of countries worldwide. In Australia the national emergency warning system (NEWS) was instituted after the tragic Black Saturday Victorian Bushfires of February 2009. In the first phase, NEWS has enabled the provision of public information from the government to the citizen during emergencies anywhere and any time. Moving on from traditional short message service (SMS) notifications and cell broadcasting to more advanced location-based services, this paper provides executive-level recommendations about the viability of location-based mobile phone services in NEWS …


The Fall-Out From Emerging Technologies: On Matters Of Surveillance, Social Networks And Suicide, M.G. Michael, Katina Michael Aug 2011

The Fall-Out From Emerging Technologies: On Matters Of Surveillance, Social Networks And Suicide, M.G. Michael, Katina Michael

M. G. Michael

No abstract provided.


The Fall-Out From Emerging Technologies: On Matters Of Surveillance, Social Networks And Suicide, M.G. Michael, Katina Michael Aug 2011

The Fall-Out From Emerging Technologies: On Matters Of Surveillance, Social Networks And Suicide, M.G. Michael, Katina Michael

Professor Katina Michael

No abstract provided.


Waldo In The Light Of Austerity And Federal Debt Crisis, Part 2, Jan Kallberg Aug 2011

Waldo In The Light Of Austerity And Federal Debt Crisis, Part 2, Jan Kallberg

Jan Kallberg

Waldo’s predictions about the future for public administration describe five areas that would be problematic in the future: legitimacy, authority, knowledge, control, and confidence. Legitimacy includes not only that the government is legally legitimized but capable and focused on an intention to deliver the “good society.” Authority, according to Waldo, is the ability to implement policy with the acceptance of the people based on rationalism, expectations of public good, ethics, superior knowledge, and institutional contexts. Knowledge is institutional knowledge, the ability to arrange and utilize knowledge within the bureaucracy since coordination is the major challenge in knowledge management. Government has …


Waldo In The Light Of Austerity And Federal Debt Crisis, Part 1, Jan Kallberg Aug 2011

Waldo In The Light Of Austerity And Federal Debt Crisis, Part 1, Jan Kallberg

Jan Kallberg

Dwight Waldo wrote The Enterprise of Public Administration in 1979 looking back on a long and fruitful academic career, but also as a reflection about the future for public administration. Can a 30 year old book still be relevant? You bet. Today, the public sector is increasingly facing fiscal challenges. Federal, state, and local governments throughout the country have major budget deficits followed by austerity measures that undermine the ability to deliver the good life of the future. In this day and age rereading Dwight Waldo’s The Enterprise of Public Administration is an intellectual exercise worth pursuing. Several of Dwight …


Taxisim: A Multiagent Simulation Platform For Evaluating Taxi Fleet Operations, Shih-Fen Cheng, Thi Duong Nguyen Jul 2011

Taxisim: A Multiagent Simulation Platform For Evaluating Taxi Fleet Operations, Shih-Fen Cheng, Thi Duong Nguyen

Shih-Fen CHENG

Taxi service is an important mode of public transportation in most metropolitan areas since it provides door-to-door convenience in the public domain. Unfortunately, despite all the convenience taxis bring, taxi fleets are also extremely inefficient to the point that over 50% of its operation time could be spent in idling state. Improving taxi fleet operation is an extremely challenging problem, not just because of its scale, but also due to fact that taxi drivers are self-interested agents that cannot be controlled centrally. To facilitate the study of such complex and decentralized system, we propose to construct a multiagent simulation platform …


Publishing Survey Articles On Information Retrieval Topics, Douglas Oard, Fabrizio Sebastiani, Jonathan Furner, Gary Marchionini May 2011

Publishing Survey Articles On Information Retrieval Topics, Douglas Oard, Fabrizio Sebastiani, Jonathan Furner, Gary Marchionini

Jonathan Furner

Survey articles are an important way of sharing knowledge among interested researchers and contributing to the growth of a field. This brief note identifies several outlets for survey articles on information retrieval, and identifies some reasons to write articles of this type.


Building A Global Open Network Of Discovery: Improving Subject Browsing With Linked Authority Data, John Mark Ockerbloom Jan 2011

Building A Global Open Network Of Discovery: Improving Subject Browsing With Linked Authority Data, John Mark Ockerbloom

John Mark Ockerbloom

This is a static version of the visuals of a presentation I gave to the ALA Subject on linked open subject authority data. I described how linked data from the Library of Congress (http://id.loc.gov/) can be used to improve subject cataloging and browsing. I describe how the data is structured (including a brief overview of RDF and SKOS), and explain how I have used it to improve The Online Books Page (http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/) and the Penn Libraries' catalog. I also show how I augmented and enhanced the authority data from LC, and discuss how widespread use of linked bibliographic and authority …


Analyzing The Role Of Icts In The Tunisian And Egyptian Unrest From An Information Warfare Perspective, Brett Van Niekerk, Kiru Pillay, Manoj Maharaj Jan 2011

Analyzing The Role Of Icts In The Tunisian And Egyptian Unrest From An Information Warfare Perspective, Brett Van Niekerk, Kiru Pillay, Manoj Maharaj

Manoj Maharaj

In January 2011, the Tunisian government stepped down after weeks of protests; this was followed by unrest and protests in Egypt against the Egyptian government, leading also to the resignation of its president. Demonstrations in both countries were facilitated in some part by the online social media and related information and communications technologies that impacted the flow of information. The manner in which the information and communication technologies were employed suggests that the uprisings were a form of social information warfare. To provide an alternative understanding of the role of technology and information in the events that led to the …


The Information Warfare Lifecycle Model, Manoj Maharaj, Brett Van Nikerk Jan 2011

The Information Warfare Lifecycle Model, Manoj Maharaj, Brett Van Nikerk

Manoj Maharaj

No abstract provided.


Strategic Planning For Digital Convergence In South African Businesses, Manoj Maharaj, Kiru Pillay Jan 2011

Strategic Planning For Digital Convergence In South African Businesses, Manoj Maharaj, Kiru Pillay

Manoj Maharaj

No abstract provided.


Measuring Intellectual Capital In Corporations, Philadelphia University Jan 2011

Measuring Intellectual Capital In Corporations, Philadelphia University

Philadelphia University, Jordan

No abstract provided.


Mixed Reality Environment For Web-Based Laboratory Interactive Learning, Philadelphia University Jan 2011

Mixed Reality Environment For Web-Based Laboratory Interactive Learning, Philadelphia University

Philadelphia University, Jordan

No abstract provided.


Modeling An Interactive Fms Scheduler Using Colored Petri Nets, Philadelphia University Jan 2011

Modeling An Interactive Fms Scheduler Using Colored Petri Nets, Philadelphia University

Philadelphia University, Jordan

No abstract provided.


Studies On Taxonomy And Ecology Of Some Fish Larve From The Gulf Of Aqaba, Philadelphia University Jan 2011

Studies On Taxonomy And Ecology Of Some Fish Larve From The Gulf Of Aqaba, Philadelphia University

Philadelphia University, Jordan

No abstract provided.


تلخيص ونبذة عن كتاب الجراحة التجميلية في الجوانب القانونية والشرعية, Philadelphia University Jan 2011

تلخيص ونبذة عن كتاب الجراحة التجميلية في الجوانب القانونية والشرعية, Philadelphia University

Philadelphia University, Jordan

No abstract provided.


Quality Evaluation Of Reconstructed Biological Signals, American Journal Of Applied Sciences, 6 (1): 187-193, 2009., Philadelphia University Jan 2011

Quality Evaluation Of Reconstructed Biological Signals, American Journal Of Applied Sciences, 6 (1): 187-193, 2009., Philadelphia University

Philadelphia University, Jordan

No abstract provided.


Guidelines For Teaching These Speech Acts, Philadelphia University Jan 2011

Guidelines For Teaching These Speech Acts, Philadelphia University

Philadelphia University, Jordan

No abstract provided.


Exploration And Impacts Of Utilizing Computerized Information Systems Field Study: At The Headquarters Of Jordanian Ministry Of Education, Philadelphia University Jan 2011

Exploration And Impacts Of Utilizing Computerized Information Systems Field Study: At The Headquarters Of Jordanian Ministry Of Education, Philadelphia University

Philadelphia University, Jordan

No abstract provided.


Spatial Organization Of The International Tourism Flows In Jordan, Philadelphia University Jan 2011

Spatial Organization Of The International Tourism Flows In Jordan, Philadelphia University

Philadelphia University, Jordan

No abstract provided.