Showing papers in "IT Professional in 2008"
TL;DR: In addition to moving itself in a greener direction and leveraging other environmental initiatives, IT could help create green awareness among IT professionals, businesses, and the general public by assisting in building communities, engaging groups in participatory decisions, and supporting education and green advocacy campaigns.
Abstract: In addition to moving itself in a greener direction and leveraging other environmental initiatives, IT could help create green awareness among IT professionals, businesses, and the general public by assisting in building communities, engaging groups in participatory decisions, and supporting education and green advocacy campaigns. Along these lines, tools such as environmental Web portals, blogs, wikis, and interactive simulations of the environmental impact of an activity could offer assistance. Green IT is an economic, as well as an environmental, imperative. Greening IT is and will continue to be a necessity, not an option. Green IT represents a dramatic change in priority in the IT industry. So far, the industry has been focusing on IT equipment processing power and associated equipment spending. It's not been concerned with other requirements such as power, cooling, and data center space. However, going forward, the IT industry will need to deal with all of the infrastructure requirements and the environmental impact of IT and its use. The challenges of green IT are immense; however, recent developments indicate that the IT industry has the will and conviction to tackle our environmental issues head-on. The IT sector and users must develop a positive attitude toward addressing environmental concerns and adopt forward-looking, green-friendly policies and practices.
1,020 citations
TL;DR: This review focuses on real-world problems and empirical results from applying freely available methods and tools for constructing large t-way combination test sets, converting covering arrays into executable tests, and automatically generating test oracles using model checking.
Abstract: With new algorithms and tools, developers can apply high-strength combinatorial testing to detect elusive failures that occur only when multiple components interact. In pairwise testing, all possible pairs of parameter values are covered by at least one test, and good tools are available to generate arrays with the value pairs. In the past few years, advances in covering-array algorithms, integrated with model checking or other testing approaches, have made it practical to extend combinatorial testing beyond pairwise tests. The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Texas, Arlington, are now distributing freely available methods and tools for constructing large t-way combination test sets (known as covering arrays), converting covering arrays into executable tests, and automatically generating test oracles using model checking (http://csrc.nist.gov/acts). In this review, we focus on real-world problems and empirical results from applying these methods and tools.
191 citations
TL;DR: An empirical study is completed to examine how IT workers are portrayed, particularly on television, and the resulting perception of the profession, which future IT professionals will likely reflect.
Abstract: The power of technology and its impact on the average IT employee's working life has led to new job titles and responsibilities. IT workers' increased visibility also correlates to a new social image reflected in the media. The authors completed an empirical study to examine how IT workers are portrayed, particularly on television, and the resulting perception of the profession, which future IT professionals will likely reflect.
169 citations
TL;DR: The Zachman model is used to differentiate the two architectural approaches to building software - software as a service (SaaS) and service-oriented architecture (SOA).
Abstract: Considerable confusion arises in distinguishing between software as a service (SaaS) and service-oriented architecture (SOA). Zachman's framework can help to try to make sense of the alphabet soup of Web services and utilities that form the basis for both SOA and SaaS. The difference between SaaS and SOA is that the former is a software-delivery model whereas the latter is a software-construction model. A better way to illuminate the differences between these two concepts is to use the well-known Zachman architectural model. In this article, we briefly examine the concepts of SaaS and SOA, followed by a brief history of software architectural models. We use the Zachman model to differentiate the two architectural approaches to building software. Because the Zachman model is so intuitive, the approach we take to describe the differences between SaaS and SOA works well even with non-IT professionals.
128 citations
TL;DR: It is envisioned that holistic power-aware technologies will be available and largely exploited in most, if not all, future supercomputing systems.
Abstract: Energy-efficient (green) supercomputing has traditionally been viewed as passe, even to the point of public ridicule. But today, it's finally coming into vogue. This article describes the authors' view of this evolution. Ignoring power consumption as a design constraint will result in supercomputing systems with high operational costs and diminished reliability. Fortunately, improving energy efficiency in supercomputers (and computer systems in general) has become an emergent task for the IT industry. Hopefully, this article inspires further innovations and breakthroughs by providing a historical perspective. From Green Destiny to BG/L to innovative power-aware supercomputing prototypes, we envision that holistic power-aware technologies will be available and largely exploited in most, if not all, future supercomputing systems.
107 citations
TL;DR: The authors conducted an empirical study in two organizations and developed a framework to guide process tailoring, which shows the critical role that tailoring software processes plays in ensuring project success.
Abstract: To ensure high-quality software processes and leverage best practices, project managers strive to tailor standard processes such as the rational unified process or those developed within their own organizations. Software process tailoring is the activity of tuning a process to meet the needs of a specific project. Despite the critical role that tailoring software processes plays in ensuring project success, few guidelines on it are available for practitioners. The authors conducted an empirical study in two organizations and developed a framework to guide process tailoring.
60 citations
TL;DR: A distributed e-healthcare system that uses the service-oriented architecture as a means of designing, implementing, and managing healthcare services that can be readily extended to other healthcare professionals.
Abstract: This article describes a distributed e-healthcare system that uses the service-oriented architecture as a means of designing, implementing, and managing healthcare services. Medical monitoring devices worn by the patient, and frequent electronic communication between the patient and a nurse, can ensure that the prescribed treatment is being followed and that the patient is making good progress. The e-healthcare system described here can be readily extended to other healthcare professionals, including medical technicians who perform and report tests and analyses requested by physicians. In addition, the system can be interfaced to other applications that provide information on medications and dosages and warn of interactions between medications. Finally, it can be interfaced to drug-delivery devices that prompt and monitor the regular and timely consumption of medications.
55 citations
TL;DR: A comparison of data-flow patterns in an electronic healthcare setting to those in traditional medical offices is presented and cost-effective ways that IT consultants can help healthcare providers working in EHRs maintain and administer their own privacy and security policies are demonstrated.
Abstract: Quality healthcare increasingly means addressing the security, privacy, and confidentiality of medical records in both wire-line and wireless environments. This article attempts to address these concerns by presenting a comparison of data-flow patterns in an electronic healthcare setting to those in traditional medical offices and demonstrating cost-effective ways that IT consultants can help healthcare providers working in EHRs maintain and administer their own privacy and security policies.
49 citations
TL;DR: Service-oriented architectures follow the find-bind-execute paradigm, in which service providers register their services in public or private registries, which clients use to locate Web services.
Abstract: Service-oriented architectures follow the find-bind-execute paradigm, in which service providers register their services in public or private registries, which clients use to locate Web services. If a service registry has information on a service that matches a client's criteria, it provides a contract and an access point. Web service discovery is a key component in service-oriented computing. However, without Web service quality standards and quality-based discovery mechanisms, the trustworthiness of business-to-business interactions can't be guaranteed.
47 citations
TL;DR: Although currently there's a lot more hype than science or engineering behind green computing, there's also great promise behind achieving the goals that are being articulated.
Abstract: Although currently there's a lot more hype than science or engineering behind green computing, there's also great promise behind achieving the goals that are being articulated.
44 citations
TL;DR: An introduction to the security protocols used in WiMAX networks is given and it is discussed why these protocols are deficient in terms of anti-replay, efficiency, scalability, and forward and backward secrecy, as well as how they can be enhanced to address these issues for real applications.
Abstract: WiMAX technology, the commercialization of the evolving IEEE 80216 standard, aims to solve the last-mile problem with broadband wireless access at the scale of metropolitan area networks WiMAX has attracted significant attention and interest because of its wide transmission range, high transmission rate, and mobility support However, to make WiMAX networks usable and reliable, several security issues must be addressed in the standard and its protocols In this article, the authors give an introduction to the security protocols used in WiMAX networks and then discuss why these protocols are deficient in terms of anti-replay, efficiency, scalability, and forward and backward secrecy, as well as how they can be enhanced to address these issues for real applications
TL;DR: An optimization of clinical processes with location-aware and position-sensing capabilities and evaluate which company or research organization is providing the most suitable positioning technology for this purpose is proposed.
Abstract: In this article, we propose an optimization of clinical processes with location-aware and position-sensing capabilities and evaluate which company or research organization is providing the most suitable positioning technology for this purpose.
TL;DR: The business model requirements, existing models, and ways to design effective business models for emerging m-commerce services are presented.
Abstract: Mobile commerce (m-commerce) is generating considerable interest and has led to the design and development of new services, but it lacks a suitable business model. This article presents business model requirements, existing models, and ways to design effective business models for emerging m-commerce services.
TL;DR: An agile, easy-to-use, high-quality telemedicine network that provides greater access to patient data and helps in medical decisions, cutting unnecessary costs to the state and benefiting the population as a whole is designed.
Abstract: Motivated by the need to reduce the cost of patient transport to health centers, the authors designed a prototype national telemedicine network in Brazil. As a result of this project, we now have an agile, easy-to-use, high-quality telemedicine network that provides greater access to patient data and helps in medical decisions, cutting unnecessary costs to the state and benefiting the population as a whole.
TL;DR: This research focuses instead on software ecosystems and symbiosis as a business strategy for multivendor software systems that support system integrity and robustness.
Abstract: As software systems become more pervasive and complex and - at the same time - expensive and difficult to maintain, the R&D community has turned to biological systems to find mechanisms that support system integrity and robustness. In both biology and software development, evolvability has become a research area in its own right. To improve software evolvability, many researchers have studied biological system properties, such as self-organization, modularity, and gene duplication. Our research focuses instead on software ecosystems and symbiosis as a business strategy for multivendor software systems.
TL;DR: The world generates about 40 million tons of PCs, cathode-ray tube (CRT) screens, fax machines, game consoles, mobile phones, and other e-waste every year, but barely 20 percent of this highly toxic waste is properly disposed of and recycled.
Abstract: The world generates about 40 million tons of PCs, cathode-ray tube (CRT) screens, fax machines, game consoles, mobile phones, and other e-waste every year. Barely 20 percent of this highly toxic waste is properly disposed of and recycled. Some e-waste is stripped of precious metal and unusable components are dumped in landfills, poisoning the soil and precious water resources. Unregulated e-waste trade affects a growing section of the population. China, one of the largest processors of e-waste, has exported jewelry containing toxic lead from e-waste. But public pressure to recycle e-waste is having a major impact, and e-waste recycling is now one of the fastest-growing industries in the world.
TL;DR: The WS-Mediator framework employs an off-the-shelf mediator architecture and resilience-explicit computing in pursuit of dependable, dynamic Web services integration.
Abstract: The WS-Mediator framework employs an off-the-shelf mediator architecture and resilience-explicit computing in pursuit of dependable, dynamic Web services integration. Web services and service-oriented architectures (SOAs) represent a new paradigm for building distributed computing applications. Web services offer advantages over conventional distributed computing middleware platforms. Web services' loosely coupled architecture, combined with their standardized interoperability, lead to a new computing paradigm that supports the construction of more flexible and dynamic distributed applications
TL;DR: The weakest link in an information supply chain can lead to increased vulnerability for all partners in the network, which has become vital to overall network security.
Abstract: The weakest link in an information supply chain can lead to increased vulnerability for all partners in the network. Examining and controlling risk propagation from the network and supply-chain perspectives has become vital to overall network security.
TL;DR: IT departments are under pressure to serve their enterprises by professionalizing their business intelligence (BI) operation by linking their systematic and structured approach to BI to the business itself.
Abstract: IT departments are under pressure to serve their enterprises by professionalizing their business intelligence (BI) operation. Companies can only be effective when their systematic and structured approach to BI is linked into the business itself.
TL;DR: The IT industry has long been a significant contributor to global warming, but green computing is a strong and growing trend that seeks to reverse that impact.
Abstract: The IT industry has long been a significant contributor to global warming, but green computing is a strong and growing trend that seeks to reverse that impact. First steps include some relatively simple technical and behavioral changes that can help make a difference and pave the way for larger-scale efforts.
TL;DR: Among the free and open source ERP systems, only ERP5 offers a comprehensive set of tools tailored to its framework that, together with other off-the-shelf tools, provide support for creating new modules and entire new systems.
Abstract: Implementing an enterprise system involves capturing all information necessary to make business processes work in an integrated fashion, and reflecting this integration in source code. Enterprise resource planning implementations should also exploit reuse of existing system elements. ERP tools typically work on top of a framework, using prefabricated modules to create customized variants of the system. Among the free and open source ERP systems, only ERP5 offers a comprehensive set of tools tailored to its framework that, together with other off-the-shelf tools, provide support for creating new modules and entire new systems.
TL;DR: The authors compare four options for increasing system flexibility and find that not every company has the same needs in adopting a service-oriented architecture (SOA).
Abstract: These days, almost every CIO or IT manager is looking into service-oriented architecture (SOA). Interestingly, adopting SOA isn't the same as deploying a software application, which can be a one-time activity. Rather, it's a journey for an organization over a long period of time - an important detail for everyone involved to understand. Although a few vendors claim that SOA can be quickly and easily implemented with their products, the overall understanding in the industry is that SOA adoption is an evolutionary, rather than revolutionary, process. Not every company has the same needs in adopting a service-oriented architecture (SOA). The authors compare four options for increasing system flexibility.
TL;DR: SoA is also known as a methodology for achieving application interoperability and reuse of IT assets in distributed computing environments characterized as transformable by the visibility, interaction, and effect dimensions.
Abstract: Service-oriented architecture (SOA) is defined as a paradigm for organizing and using distributed capabilities that might be under the control of different ownership domains. SOA is also known as a methodology for achieving application interoperability and reuse of IT assets in distributed computing environments characterized as transformable by the visibility, interaction, and effect dimensions.
TL;DR: With the right perspective, IT can reform its energy use practices and help other industries go green as well.
Abstract: With the right perspective, IT can reform its energy use practices and help other industries go green as well.
TL;DR: There is a defined difference between IT management and IT governance, which implies a system in which all stakeholders, including the board, internal customers and related areas such as finance, have the necessary input into the decision making process.
Abstract: To be most effective, companies must manage their IT resources and use them in their governance structure. So there is a defined difference between IT management and IT governance. If a company wants to grow and be successful, it must not only manage its IT resources, but also use those resources throughout the company as part of the governance structure. IT governance implies a system in which all stakeholders, including the board, internal customers and related areas such as finance, have the necessary input into the decision making process, thus preventing a single stakeholder, typically IT, [from] being blamed for poor decisions. It also prevents users from later complaining that the system does not behave or perform as expected.
IBM1
TL;DR: The Danish healthcare system integrates several central technological solutions across hospital information and electronic medical record systems throughout Denmark and is well known for its high level of IT support and interoperability.
Abstract: The healthcare system in Denmark is well known for its high level of IT support and interoperability. The Danish healthcare system integrates several central technological solutions across hospital information and electronic medical record systems throughout Denmark. Important business drivers for this high level of interoperability include unique citizen ID numbers and a publicly funded healthcare system in which hospital reimbursements are based on electronic submissions of diagnosis and procedure codes to a central register.
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TL;DR: Efforts at healthcare reform have created new incentives for adopting healthcare IT, and work continues to improve access to healthcare and provide new and enhanced services to more areas.
Abstract: Adopting information technology for healthcare continues to present new opportunities and challenges as we move into an era of universally accessible electronic medical records and telemedicine. Efforts at healthcare reform have created new incentives for adopting healthcare IT, and work continues to improve access to healthcare and provide new and enhanced services to more areas.
TL;DR: The history of the process that has left us with two functionally similar, but not fully compatible document formats is outlined.
Abstract: Recent versions of office suites are using new XML-based formats. OpenOffice.org and GoogleDocs, for example, use the Open Document Format (ODF) and Microsoft Office 2007 uses Office Open XML (OOXML). Both formats have now been accepted as international standards. This article outlines the history of the process that has left us with two functionally similar, but not fully compatible document formats.
TL;DR: Customized document management programs and e-discovery policies are key tools in protecting against inadvertent disclosure as well as meeting business and legal needs.
Abstract: When producing electronically stored information (ESI) in response to lawsuits, businesses face several security risks as well as legal requirements they must satisfy. Customized document management programs and e-discovery policies are key tools in protecting against inadvertent disclosure as well as meeting business and legal needs.
TL;DR: The author offers recommendations for IT professionals to enhance the IT BOK by participating in its development, experimenting with ways to represent it more effectively, and assessing the potential benefits of creating a new BOK oriented to IT professional practice.
Abstract: The information technology body of knowledge (BOK) is reviewed for its support to IT as an emerging profession. The author discusses the IT BOK for the important roles it can fulfill in support of education, certification, professional stature, professional development, and organizational improvement. Efforts to develop and maintain the IT BOK also have beneficial side effects, such as focusing attention on global perceptions and practices and keeping the characterization of IT current. The author offers recommendations for IT professionals to enhance the IT BOK by participating in its development, experimenting with ways to represent it more effectively, and assessing the potential benefits of creating a new BOK oriented to IT professional practice.