Ike

This paperpresentsan overviewof the Online KnowledgeCenter(OKC)web portal. TheOKCis built around a portlet/containerarchitecture: a central control portal is composedof several portletsthat can deliver both local content and content from remoteservers. The modular structureallowsus to develop sophisticatedportal componentsindependently andplug theminto theportal containerusingwell defined XML interfaces.We describeproblemswe have discoveredwith this architecture and extensionsand solutionsthat we are implementing.We alsodescribe two advancedservicesthat can be plugged into the overall framework: XML message-based newsgroups andhybrid structured/unstructureddatasearches.

- This paper focuses on the increasingly important topic of customer relationship management (CRM). Reasons as to why it is hard for traditional bricks-and-mortar retailers to employ are discussed, as is the great potential for CRM in retail sectors. Survey data leads us to ...

The objective of this work is to present a methodology to facilitate the evaluation of consumer reaction to multimedia content-based services over heterogeneous networks. The human centered design approach traditionally asks for a lot of input on users’ needs, requirements and expectations. This requirement gathering process can lead to expensive and time consuming primary surveys, specially when large user groups are targeted. The present paper discusses the results obtained by applying Scenario-based Data Gathering in an automated fashion to target larger user groups, outlining the challenges and rewards of using web-based tools to simplify and reduce costs of primary quantitative user surveys. The development of the scenarios to be evaluated, the selection of a user sample from the available population, the development of the web questionnaire and its application to users are all presented here. This research is part of the INSTINCT project funded by the European Commission.

The objective of this work is to present a methodology to facilitate the evaluation of consumer reaction to multimedia content-based services over heterogeneous networks. The human centered design approach traditionally asks for a lot of input on users’ needs, requirements and expectations. This requirement gathering process can lead to expensive and time consuming primary surveys, specially when large user groups are targeted. The present paper discusses the results obtained by applying Scenario-based Data Gathering in an automated fashion to target larger user groups, outlining the challenges and rewards of using web-based tools to simplify and reduce costs of primary quantitative user surveys. The development of the scenarios to be evaluated, the selection of a user sample from the available population, the development of the web questionnaire and its application to users are all presented here. This research is part of the INSTINCT project funded by the European Commission.

A compact power driven ski bob is attained by locating the driving tracks of a rear power ski beneath the seat and pivotally mounting the front end of the power ski longitudinally forward of the seat. The rear end of the power ski is biased into engagement with the snow and is located lower than the front end of the ski to enhance driving contact with the snow. The seated operator is cushioned from impact forces and up and down movements of the power ski by a rear attachment means comprising a lost motion connection and a shock absorber. To aid in transportation of the snow bob, the front ski and the fuel tanks are detachably connected to the frame.

Organizations need to build and use knowledge to remain viable in the face of competition and change. Due to the limits of organization and the bounded rationality of individuals working within the organizations it is impossible to make all of the required knowledge accessible in explicit and readily retrievable formats. Much of the knowledge an organization needs is held tacitly by members of the organization. This "personal knowledge" is normally inaccessible to other members because they have no way to know that it exists. Communities of practice help to mobilize personal knowledge. In this paper we present and discuss the emergence of communities of practice, some tools, concepts and an ontology we have prototyped to facilitate the development of these communities. Such communities provide avenues for sharing and transferring normally hidden knowledge.

AKHGAR, Babak, RAHMAN, Fazilatur, JOPEK, Lukasz, SIDDIQI, Jawed, ATKINSON, Sally, SALVODELI, Alberto, PRATO, Doris, MONTRUCCHIO, Secondo, GUELLA, Federico, JAMES , Brian, PINKERTON, Mike and VILMOS, András (2008). Leveraging StoLPaN host ...

Space weather refers to conditions on the sun and in the solar wind, magnetosphere, ionosphere, and thermosphere that can influence the performance and reliability of space-borne and ground-based technological systems and that affect human life or health(1). Such influence is particularly strong on spacecrafts by reducing the mission lifetime and causing long periods of instrument's unavailability. Understanding the cause-effect relation

Abstract. This article aims to automate the extraction of information from semi-structured web documents by minimizing the amount of hand coding. Ex-traction of information from the WWW can be used to structure the huge amount of data buried in web documents, so that data ...

The invention features an empty device for receiving a bioactive agent. The device includes a biocompatible and semi-permeable membrane that defines an enclosed space; the membrane also has at least one end that defines an opening for introducing the bioactive agent into the enclosed space. The device is configured to be placed in an animal. In one embodiment of the invention, the membrane has an inner surface and an outer surface, where the inner surface defines the inner surface, and includes a biocompatible adhesive in the general region of the opening to allow sealing of the opening after the introduction of the bioactive agent into the enclosed space. Another embodiment of the invention includes a biocompatible frame mounted in supporting relationship to the membrane and defining an opening for introducing the bioactive agent into the enclosed space. The frame has greater porosity than the membrane.

A power plant designed to burn fuel in a bed of fluidizable particulate material contained in a combustion chamber includes a tubular discharge device for bed material or dust separated from combustion gases leaving the combustion chamber. The tubular discharge device is designed as a cooler which is cooled by combustion air flowing into the combustion chamber and is utilized for pre-heating the plant upon start-up from a cold state. At least a part of the tubular discharge device, is electrically insulated from parts located upstream and downstream and from supporting structural members and forms an electrical heating unit. Upon start-up, this unit is connected to a current source for heating the air fed to the combustion chamber and downstream parts of the plant.

Process Patterns is an emergent approach and a valuable means for capitalization, reuse and management of process experiences and best practices. In the context of software engineering process, many formalisms and languages have been proposed to describe software process patterns. This multiplicity makes capitalization and/or reuse of process patterns, difficult to be achieved. This paper presents a comparative study of process pattern formalisms proposed in the literature and addresses some reflections to deal with problems arising from this survey, in order to propose a new framework for process patterns’ capitalization and reuse. Keywords— Software process patterns, process patterns’ description languages, patterns’ unification ontology, pattern warehousing, pattern reuse, pattern capitalization, pattern mining.

We describe the design of an Access Control System using Web Services for information and content management. In this paper we described the solution for control mechanism of the information systems which have unique message id, requesting and giving permissions to different channels, and accessibility of the user to the specific channels by giving permissions to the user to use XML Messaging Systems using Web Services. This paper presents an overview of the research efforts undertaken by our group ...

AKHGAR, Babak, RAHMAN, Fazilatur, JOPEK, Lukasz, SIDDIQI, Jawed, ATKINSON, Sally, SALVODELI, Alberto, PRATO, Doris, MONTRUCCHIO, Secondo, GUELLA, Federico, JAMES , Brian, PINKERTON, Mike and VILMOS, András (2008). Leveraging StoLPaN host ...

Abstract. This article aims to automate the extraction of information from semi-structured web documents by minimizing the amount of hand coding. Ex-traction of information from the WWW can be used to structure the huge amount of data buried in web documents, so that data ...