Showing papers in "Computer and Information Science in 2011"

Genetic Algorithms: Concepts, Design for Optimization of Process Controllers

Abstract: Genetic Algorithm is a search heuristic that mimics the process of evaluation. Genetic Algorithms can be applied to process controllers for their optimization using natural operators. This paper discusses the concept and design procedure of Genetic Algorithm as an optimization tool. Further, this paper explores the well established methodologies of the literature to realize the workability and applicability of genetic algorithms for process control applications. Genetic Algorithms are applied to direct torque control of induction motor drive, speed control of gas turbine, speed control of DC servo motor for the optimization of control parameters in this work. The simulations were carried out in simulink package of MATLAB. The simulation results show better optimization of hybrid genetic algorithm controllers than fuzzy standalone and conventional controllers.

E-Government Readiness Assessment for Government Organizations in Developing Countries

Abstract: ICT has become an increasingly important factor in the development process of nations. Major barriers can be met in the adoption and diffusion of e-government services depending on the readiness of a country in terms of ICT infrastructure and deployment. This study aims to define organizational requirements that will be necessary for the adoption of e-government to resolve the delay of ICT readiness in public sector organizations in developing countries. Thus, this study contributes an integrated e-government framework for assessing the ICT readiness of government agencies. Unlike the existing e-government literature that focuses predominantly on technical issues and relies on generic e-readiness tools, this study contributes a comprehensive understanding of the main factors in the assessment of e-government organizational ICT readiness. The proposed e-government framework comprises seven dimensions of ICT readiness assessment for government organizations including e-government organizational ICT strategy, user access, e-government program, ICT architecture, business process and information systems, ICT infrastructure, and human resource. This study is critical to management in assessing organizational ICT readiness to improve the effectiveness of e-government initiatives.

Automatic Facial Expression Recognition System Based on Geometric and Appearance Features

Abstract: This paper presents a computer vision system for automatic facial expression recognition (AFER). The robust AFER system can be applied in many areas such as emotion science, clinical psychology and pain assessment it includes facial feature extraction and pattern recognition phases that discriminates among different facial expressions. In feature extraction phase a combination between holistic and analytic approaches is presented to extract 83 facial expression features. Expression recognition is performed by using radial basis function based artificial neural network to recognize the six basic emotions (anger, fear, disgust, joy, surprise, sadness). The experimental results show that 96% recognition rate can be achieved when applying the proposed system on person-dependent database and 93.5% when applying on person-independent one.

Classification of ECG Signals Using Extreme Learning Machine

Abstract: An Electrocardiogram or ECG is an electrical recording of the heart and is used in the investigation of heart disease. This ECG can be classified as normal and abnormal signals. The classification of the ECG signals is presently performed with the support vector machine. The generalization performance of the SVM classifier is not sufficient for the correct classification of ECG signals. To overcome this problem the ELM classifier is used which works by searching for the best value of the parameters that tune its discriminant function, and upstream by looking for the best subset of features that feed the classifier. The experiments were conducted on the ECG data from the Physionet arrhythmia database to classify five kinds of abnormal waveforms and normal beats. In this paper a thorough experimental study was done to show the superiority of the generalization capability of the Extreme Learning Machine (ELM) is presented and compared with support vector machine (SVM) approach in the automatic classification of ECG beats. In particular, the sensitivity of the ELM classifier is tested and that is compared with SVM combined with two classifiers, they are the k-nearest neighbor classifier (kNN) and the radial basis function neural network classifier (RBF), with respect to the curse of dimensionality and the number of available training beats. The obtained results clearly confirm the superiority of the ELM approach as compared to traditional classifiers.

Web Server Logs Preprocessing for Web Intrusion Detection

Abstract: Securing e-commerce sites has become a necessity as they process critical and sensitive data to customers and organizations. When a customer navigates through an e-commerce site his/her clicks are recorded in web log file. Analyzing these log files using data mining reveal many interesting patterns. These results are used in many different applications and recently in detecting attacks on web. In order to improve quality of data and consequently the mining results data in log files need first to be preprocessed. In this paper, we will discuss how different web log files with different formats will be combined together in one unified format using XML in order to track and extract more attacks. And because log files usually contain noisy and ambiguous data this paper will show how data will be preprocessed before applying mining process in order to detect attacks. We will also discuss the difference between log preprocessing for web intrusion and for web usage mining

ZIVM: A Zero-Copy Inter-VM Communication Mechanism for Cloud Computing

Abstract: With the advent of virtualization technology and its propagation to the infrastructure of Cloud distributed systems, there is an emergent request for more effective means of communication between virtual machines (VMs) lying on distributed memory than traditional message based communication means. This paper presents a distributed virtual shared memory mechanism called ZIVM (Zero-copy Inter-VM) to ease the programming of inter-VM communications in a transparent way and at the same time to achieve comparable and bearable execution performance. ZIVM has been implemented as a virtual cluster on a hosted virtual machine using the KVM hypervisor. Experimental results have shown near native performance in terms of latency and bandwidth.

Assessing the Impact of IT Connectivity and IT Capability on IT-Business Strategic Alignment: An Empirical Study

Abstract: The literature argues that organizations cannot be competitive if their business and information technology strategies are not aligned. Yet achieving strategic alignment continues to be a main concern for business executives. So this research seeks to address the research problem of the lack of alignment between IT strategy and business strategy. Past studies have shown that flexibility in IT is an influential aspect of sustaining strategic alignment in today's environment while researches on dimensions of IT flexibility regarding strategic alignment are limited. One of the most important dimensions of IT flexibility is connectivity which the research has considered this dimension. Further, the researchers have found that IT capability in regard to strategic alignment and IT connectivity has been ignored in the prior studies. Thus, this research for filling this gap proposed and empirically assessed the relationships among IT connectivity, IT capability, and strategic alignment. Data for this study were collected through questionnaires filled up by IT managers of organizations in United Arab Emirates. The findings indicated IT connectivity and IT capability have a significant positive effect on strategic alignment and IT connectivity has also a positive impact on IT capability.

Medical Data Mining Based on Decision Tree Algorithm

Abstract: Detailed elaborations are presented for the idea on ID3 algorithm of Decision Tree. An improved method called Improved ID3 algorithm that can improve the speed of generation is brought forward owing to the disadvantages of ID3 algorithm. Moreover, based on Improved ID3 algorithm, data mining for breast-cancers is carried out for primarily predicting the relationship between recurrence and other attributes of breast cancer by making use of SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services. Results prove the effectiveness of Decision Tree in medical data mining which provide physicians with diagnostic assistance.

Information Technology Infrastructures and Knowledge Management: Towards Organizational Excellence

Abstract: Knowledge management is regarded as one of the most fascinating and controversial subjects of business management; and its application scope is extending in the same way as other fields of management. Nonaka and Takochi (1995) proposed a model which resulted in novel transformation in knowledge management. Though the subsequent complementary studies and investigations enriched the concept, but the same trend is still maintaining. Many organizations seeking for establishment of knowledge management have taken the measures for extensive investments in information technology. The purpose of this research is to investigate the role of information technology infrastructures (network and human resources) in establishment of knowledge management (knowledge creation (generation), knowledge sharing (transfer), and knowledge application) in Communications Company of Sistan & Baluchestan Province. This study is classified as an applied research regarding the objective; and its methodology is descriptive-survey approach. The statistical society includes all the employees of Communications Company of Sistan & Baluchestan Province. The results obtained from the data analysis imply existence of relations between the variables.

Integrative Gene Selection for Classification of Microarray Data

Abstract: Microarray data classification is one of the major interests in health informatics that aims at discovering hidden patterns in gene expression profiles. The main challenge in building this classification system is the curse of dimensionality problem. Thus, there is a considerable amount of studies on gene selection method for building effective classification models. However, most of the approaches consider solely on gene expression values, and as a result, the selected genes might not be biologically meaningful. This paper presents an integrative gene selection for improving microarray data classification performance. The proposed approach employs the association analysis technique to integrate both gene expression and biological data in identifying informative genes. The experimental results show that the proposed gene selection outperformed the traditional method in terms of accuracy and number of selected genes.

The Impact of Human Resource Information System on Strategic Decisions in Iran

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of Human resource information system (HRIS) on strategic decisions. Design/methodology/approach – The papers develops a research model based on current literature and then test this model in Mellat and Parsian banks selected from 19 banks with 18000 branches, public and private sectors in Iran. Statistics society consists of 172 persons include assistant of general managers in both personnel affairs and welfare and domestic payments department in Mellat bank, and also professionals, managers and deputy of personnel affair and department of organisation and methods in Parsian bank. The sample size provided based on "Cohan- Morgan- Korjsay" is 108 persons which has been determined with descriptive methods. For data analyzing we used Chi- square test, Binomial test, and Kendall's tau- b test. Findings – The results indicate that, on average, few differences exist between Mellat and Parsian banks. Moreover, we found that the HRIS is effective on strategic decisions in both banks. Research limitations/implications – This study could benefit from a large sample, from public and private banks and replication in more branches. Practical implications – The paper offers practical suggestions to the banking industry and management in general on how to manage the HRIS effects on strategic decisions. Originality/value – This paper has tried to provide an inclusive understanding about the HRIS effects on strategic decisions in the banking industry. Since there was a lack of such research in an Iranian context, this paper can provide theoretical basis for future researches as well as practical implications for managers and the human resource (HR) professionals.

Wavelet Method for Nonlinear Partial Differential Equations of Fractional Order

Abstract: A wavelet method to the solution for time-fractional partial differential equation, by which combining with Haar wavelet and operational matrix to discretize the given functions efficaciously. The time-fractional partial differential equation is transformed into matrix equation. Then they can be solved in the computer oriented methods. The numerical example shows that the method is effective.

Simultaneous Measurements for Tunable Laser Source Linewidth with Homodyne Detection

Abstract: The linewidth characteristics of a commercial tunable laser source (TLS) are measured experimentally employing self-homodyne detection method. Three linewidths are obtained at different operating wavelengths with two optical fiber delay lengths. It is found that a slightly higher values are obtained with a longer length of the delay fiber. The long of (50 km and 25 km) of single mode fiber SMF is enough to provide delay for the self-homodyne linewidth measurement.

File Security based on Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) Concept

Abstract: At present, most of the computer systems are integrated into a network The purpose of integrating a computer system into a network is to make system more effective and easy to access In this integrated system, most of the data and information are stored in a file at a server On the other hand, the information, data and file stored in the server has a potential to be threatened by intruders Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) concept is related with the issue of computer security and was used for electronic mail In this study, the concept of PGP was apply to enhance the security level for a digital file This paper describes the concept of PGP and explains the methodology used to implement a security program The changes of the digital file content for each process including cryptography and compression were presented as the results of this study

A Novel Implementation of G-Fuzzy Logic Controller Algorithm on Mobile Robot Motion Planning Problem

Abstract: This paper presents a new algorithm for global path planning to a goal for a mobile robot using GA and fuzzy Algorithms. A genetic algorithm is used to find the optimal path for a mobile robot to move in a dynamic environment expressed by a map with nodes and links. Locations of target and obstacles to find an optimal path are given in an environment that is a 2-D workplace. Each via point (landmark) in the net is a gene which is represented using binary code. The number of genes in one chromosome is function of the number of obstacles in the map. Therefore, we used a fixed length chromosome. The generated robot path is optimal in the sense of the shortest distance. The fitness function of genetic algorithm takes full consideration of three factors: the collision avoidance path, the shortest distance and smoothness of the path. The specific genetic operators are also selected to make the genetic algorithm more effective. The simulation results verify that the genetic algorithm is high effective under various complex dynamic alien environments.

Wireless Sensor Network for Continuous Monitoring a Patient's Physiological Conditions Using ZigBee

Abstract: The research paper, presents a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) for monitoring a patient’s physiological conditions continuously using Zigbee. In the experiment 3 groups of persons were made to undergo the test. Person A was in the age group of 1-10 years. Person B was in the age group of 11-30 years and person C was in the age group of 31-80 years. Physiological conditions of these 3 groups of persons were monitored using physiological sensor. The output of physiological sensor has to be transmitted via Zigbee and the same has to be sent to the remote wireless monitor for acquiring the observed patient’s physiological signal. The remote wireless monitor is constructed of Zigbee and Personal Computer (PC). The measured signal has to be sent to the PC, which can be data collection. When the measured signals over the standard value, the personal computer sends Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) short message to the care taker. Although Bluetooth is better than Zigbee for transmission rate, Zigbee has lower power consumption. Hence, Zigbee is generally used for 24 hours monitor of communication transmission system. The first procedure of the system is that Physiological sensor is used to measure Heart rate, respiration rate, pulse rate, temperature, oxygen level in the blood and blood pressure from human body using Zigbee. Next procedure of the system is to measure saline level in bottle using zigbee.The measured signal is to be sent to the PC via the RS-232 serial port communication interface. The signal is to be sent to remote PC or Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) from the internet. In particular, when measured signals over the standard value, the personal computer will send GSM short message to absent care taker’s mobile phone. The results obtained using WSN in terms of accuracy and credibility of measurement is poor. But, the result obtained from WSN using zigbee confirms that it effectively works for continues monitoring a patient’s physiological conditions. The conclusion and implications of this study reveals that a successful research project was developed and the abnormal conditions of the patients were identified. So the effectiveness of this WSN using zigbee is more compared with the effectiveness of WSN.

An Online Management Information System for Objective Structured Clinical Examinations

Abstract: Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCE) are adopted for high stakes assessment in medical education. Students pass through a series of timed stations demonstrating specific skills. Examiners observe and rate students using predetermined criteria. In most OSCEs low level technology is used to capture, analyse and produce results. We describe an OSCE Management Information System (OMIS) to streamline the OSCE process and improve quality assurance. OMIS captured OSCE data in real time using a Web 2.0 platform. We compared the traditional paper trail outcome with detailed real time analyses of separate stations. Using a paper trail version only one student failed the OSCE. However, OMIS identified nineteen possibly ‘incompetent’ students. Although there are limitations to the design of the study, the results are promising and likely to lead to defendable judgements on student performance.

On the Design of User Experience Based Persuasive Systems

Abstract: The objective of persuasive technology researches is to develop persuasive systems that are able to change or reshape human behavior. Persuasive technology has quickly found a wide range of applications in many fields of research and development like marketing, health, safety and environment. The key element in designing successful persuasive systems is the improvement of the persuasion process. An important factor that should be included in the persuasion process is the user experience. This paper reviews the current trends of persuasive technology and shows some example of the available persuasive systems. The contribution of this paper is proposing a new and promising research direction for building persuasive systems that take the user feedback as a key element in the persuasion process. Some of the systems that follow this approach have been proposed and illustrated.

An Integrated Conceptual Model for Temporal Data Warehouse Security

Abstract: In the past few years, several conceptual approaches have been proposed for the specification of the main multidimensional (MD) properties of the data warehouse (DW) repository. However, most of them deal with isolated aspects of the DW and do not provide designers with an integrated and standard method for designing the whole DW life cycle (ETL processes, data sources, DW repository and so on).Some approaches are depending on specific platform or neglecting important issues in DW design life cycle. Extraction-transformation-loading (ETL) processes play an important role in data warehouse architecture because they are responsible of integrating data from heterogeneous data sources into the DW repository. This paper proposes a conceptual model to refresh data warehouse by (insert, update, delete) data using ETL processes and considering DW security requirements. Firstly, the proposed ETL model is based on Unified Modeling Language (UML), which allows us to accomplish the conceptual modeling of ETL processes .secondly; this part focuses on how to integrate the proposed ETL model with the DW model. The proposed DW model depends on the Model Driven Architecture (MDA). MDA is a standard framework for software development that addresses the complete life cycle of designing, deploying, integrating, and managing applications by using models in software development. This paper proposes an integrated conceptual model for addressing temporal data warehouse security requirements (CMTDWS).

The Role of Information Technology in Fulfilling the Promise of Corporate Social Responsibility

Abstract: Young people today want to work at a meaningful job and make a difference in the world. Information technology (IT) is an effective enabler for all sorts of business strategies, so it comes as no surprise that IT is useful for implementing a firm's corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative as well. The computer professional of the twenty-first century has the tools, training, and talent to be involved in strategic decision making that will have a lasting impact on society. Computer technology can be used to increase profits; but it can also be used to enhance the workplace, create adaptations for disabled employees, create educational opportunities that bridge the digital divide, improve business ethics, and help society.

A New Image Steganography Based on Decimal-Digits Representation

Abstract: Steganography is the art and science of hiding important information by embedding message within other file. In this paper, a new technique to hide text message in image by using what is called image steganography. By representing the ASCII code decimal value of each character, in the secret message, as a set of separated single decimal-digit, also represent each decimal pixel value in the stego-image as a set of separated single decimal-digit. The technique creates a matching list between the decimal-digits of the characters in the secret message with the decimal-digits of the pixels in the stego-image. The technique compresses the created matching list to be as small as possible to embed it in the unused file space at the end of the stego-image file. The results show that our technique provides more security against visual attack because it does not make any changes in the pixel of the stego-image.

A Genetic K-means Clustering Algorithm Based on the Optimized Initial Centers

Abstract: An optimized initial center of K-means algorithm(PKM) is proposed, which select the k furthest distance data in the high-density area as the initial cluster centers. Experiments show that the algorithm not only has a weak dependence on the initial data, but also has fast convergence and high clustering quality. To obtain effective cluster and accurate cluster, we combine the optimized K-means algorithm(PKM) and genetic algorithm into a hybrid algorithm (PGKM). It can not only improve compactness and separation of the algorithm but also automatically search for the best cluster number k, then cluster after optimizing the k-centers. The optimal cluster is not obtained until terminal conditions are met after continuously iterating. Experiments show that the algorithm has good cluster quality and overall performance.

10 Gb/s WDM-PON Using Downstream OFDM and Upstream OOK

Abstract: A WDM-PON architecture based on OFDM modulation is proposed and demonstrated. In this paper, 4-QAM OFDM signal at 10 Gb/s is used for downstream link. By using a SOA and a MZ-IM at the ONU side, the downstream optical signal is re-modulated for upstream OOK data at 2.5 Gb/s. Simulation results indicate that error-free operation can be achieved in a 20 km transmission for both directions. As the cost can be reduced by removing the emission part in the ONU, this WDM-PON architecture based on OFDM modulation may be viewed as an attractive candidate for next-generation PON.

Target Tracking Based on Mean Shift and KALMAN Filter with Kernel Histogram Filtering

Abstract: Visual object tracking is required in many tasks such as video compression, surveillance, automated video analysis, etc. mean shift algorithm is one of popular methods to this task and has some advantages comparing to other tracking methods. This method would not be appropriate in the case of large target appearance changes and occlusion; therefore target model update could actually improve this method. KALMAN filter is a suitable approach to handle model update. We performed mean shift algorithm with model update ability for tracking in this paper and achieve good results.

A Community Public Health System Design based on HL7 Criterions

Abstract: The platform integration study on hospital management information system with common interface had the data exchange and sharing on several information platform come true. The external study is to apply the results to bigger score and operating surroundings. The study about Computer-Based Patient Record (CPR) on Health Level Seven (HL7) combing the middleware is to achieve the uniform data and function so that we can exchange and share the medical information. After analysis of the data requirement between the hospital and the medical enterprise, the community medical platform was designed on the HL7 engine to satisfy the data communication and transmission. Combing the middleware the integration platform had the function of query and sharing.

Developing Pedotransfer Functions for Estimating Field Capacity and Permanent Wilting Point Using Fuzzy Table Look-up Scheme

Abstract: Study of soil properties like field capacity (F.C) and permanent wilting point (P.W.P) plays important roles in study of soil moisture retention curve. Pedotransfer functions (PTFs) provide an alternative by estimating soil parameters from more readily available soil data. In this study, a new approach is proposed as a modification to a standard fuzzy modeling method based on the table look-up scheme. 70 soil samples were collected from different horizons of 15 soil profiles located in the Ziaran region, Qazvin province, Iran. Then, fuzzy table look-up scheme was employed to develop pedotransfer functions for predicting F.C and P.W.P using easily measurable characteristics of clay, silt, O.C, S.P, B.D and CaCO3. In order to evaluate the models, root mean square error (RMSE) and R 2 were used. The value of RMSE and R 2 derived by fuzzy table look-up scheme for F.C and P.W.P were (1.65, 0.87) and (1.03, 0.83), respectively.

Modified Least Significant Bit (MLSB).

Abstract: Steganography is the science of writing hidden messages is such a way that no one except sender and intended recipient can realize there is a hidden message. Compared with cryptography we can say that, steganography’s in security work as supplement to cryptography, not replace it. So to add another layer of protection we can encrypt the hidden message (Johnson & Jajodia, 1998). A survey of current steganography methods can be found in (Cheddad, Condell, Curran, & Kevitt, 2010) and (Katzenbeisser, & Petitcolas 2000).

Approach of RSOR Algorithm Using HSV Color Model for Nude Detection in Digital Images

Abstract: This paper analyzes the application of pixel segmentation techniques, the recognition and selection of image regions, as well as the performing of operations on the regions found within the digital images in order to detect nudity. The research aims to develop a software tool capable of nudity detection on digital images. The segmentation in the HSV color model (Hue, Saturation, and Value) to locate and remove the pixels corresponding to human skin is used. The algorithm in Recognition, Selection and Operations in Regions (RSOR), to recognize and separate the region with the highest number of skin pixels within the segmented image (largest region), is proposed. Once selected the largest region, the RSOR algorithm calculates the percentage on the segmented image taken from the original one, and then it calculates the percentage on the largest region, in order to identify whether there is a nude in the image. The criteria for appraising if an image depicts a nude is the following: If the percentage of skin pixels in the segmented image, in comparison to the original image, is less than 25% it is not considered a nude, but if it exceeds this percentage, then, the image is a nude. However, when the percentage of the largest region has been estimated and it amounts to less than 35%, the image is definitely not a nude. The final result is a message that informs the user whether or not the image is a nude. The RSOR algorithm obtains a 4.7% false positive, compared to other systems, and it has shown to possess optimum performance for nudity detection.

Design of the Distributed Control System Based on CAN Bus

Abstract: The development trend of the aero-engine control system is the distributed control system (DCS), and the communication among devices is the key point and difficult point of DCS. In this article, the communication interface of CAN (Controller Area Network) bus is designed, the CAN communication technology among nodes is studied, the semi-physical platform of DCS is established, and the semi-physical simulation is implemented by combining with the engine model, and the experiment result shows that the control system simulation platform can completely satisfy the requirements of aero-engine DCS.

Presenting a Model for Ranking Organizations Based on the Level of the Information Security Maturity

Abstract: Undoubtedly, in today’s new business information has donated the most competitive advantage for the organizations. Although just collecting, processing and retrieving of data were significant in the past, the subject of information security is turned into a serious challenge in micro and macro levels of organizational management. Indeed, observance of the information security principals is counted as a critical infrastructure in today’s knowledge based organizations. In order to realize this purpose, we need to make a strategic plan for IT security. However, we cannot expect to design a comprehensive plan, if we don’t have accurate statistics about the level of the information security maturity in current organizations. The goal of this paper is ranking organizations about the level of the information security maturity by presenting a model based on the knowledge of multi criteria decision making. So, first of all, in the literature review, the models and different standards presented in the information security maturity were studied. After determining information security criteria in technical and managerial forms, considering the triple criteria of security, safety and stability, weight devoting was performed by using the expert’s views in the IT departments of three chosen organizations A, B and C. Ultimately, ranking of these organizations based on the level of information security maturity was done by applying the algorithm of PROMETHEE II. In the final step there was a comparison between the result of this model and two other security maturity models. The same results show reliability and validity of proposed ranking model.