Informatica Economica Vol. 18 No.
1/2014
Issue Topic: Business Process Management
Issue Editor: Razvan PETRUSEL, PhD
CONTENTS
Grigore C. Moisil Award 2013 5
Total Factor Productivity, Demographic Traits and ICT: Empirical Analysis
for Asia
Bilal MEHMOOD, Parvez AZIM 8
This paper advances a model to explain the total factor productivity in
Asian countries, most of which are labor surplus and are endowed with
substantial human capital. Such promising demographic potentials are
considered as complementary factors to use of Information and
Communication Technology (ICT). Population with such favorable demographic
traits and access to ICT results in higher Total factor productivity
(TFP). We call this as Demo-Tech-TFP Model and is tested by using data for
2000-2010 of 24 Asian countries. Econometric concerns like presence of
endogenous and/or predetermined covariates and small time-series and
cross-sectional dimensions of panel dataset are tackled by using System
Generalized Method of Moments (SYS-GMM). Results show considerable support
for the Demo-Tech-TFP hypothesis. Need is to design such models that suit
the local demography and patterns of technological diffusion currently
taking place in developing countries.
Keywords: Information and communication technology (ICT), Total Factor
Productivity (TFP), Demographic features, Generalized Method of Moments
Implementation of Minutiae Based Fingerprint Identification System Using
Crossing Number Concept
Atul S. CHAUDHARI, Girish K. PATNAIK, Sandip S. PATIL 17
Biometric system is essentially a pattern recognition system which
recognizes a person by de-termining the authenticity of a specific
physiological (e.g., fingerprints, face, retina, iris) or behavioral
(e.g., gait, signature) characteristic possessed by that person. Among all
the pres-ently employed biometric techniques, fingerprint identification
systems have received the most attention due to the long history of
fingerprints and its extensive use in forensics. Fingerprint is reliable
biometric characteristic as it is unique and persistence. Fingerprint is
the pattern of ridges and valleys on the surface of fingertip. However,
recognizing fingerprints in poor quality images is still a very complex
job, so the fingerprint image must be preprocessed before matching. It is
very difficult to extract fingerprint features directly from gray scale
fingerprint image. In this paper we have proposed the system which uses
minutiae based matching algorithm for fingerprint identification. There
are three main phases in proposed algorithm. First phase enhance the input
fingerprint image by preprocessing it. The enhanced fingerprint image is
converted into thinned binary image and then minutiae are extracted by
using Crossing Number Concept in second phase. Third stage compares input
fingerprint image (after preprocessing and minutiae extraction) with
fingerprint images enrolled in database and makes decision whether the
input fingerprint is matched with the fingerprint stored in database or
not.
Keywords: Fingerprint Identification, Minutiae Extraction, Crossing Number
Concept
Competition and Innovation in Telecom Sector: Empirical Evidence from OECD
Countries
Sheikh Taher ABU 27
The paper aims to analyze the effect of competition and innovation in OECD
next-generation mobile phones (as a proxy for telecom sector) by examining
factors affecting the diffusion pattern. A rigorous econometric model is
estimated using the mobile telecommunications panel dataset comprised with
the 19 OECD countries where at least 80% data are covered. The econometric
model categorizes the variables as: (1) GDP per capita income and mobile
user cost, (2) competition policies (3) telecom infrastructure (4)
technological innovations (5) others such as role of MVNO (mobile virtual
network operators), multiple standards for 3G as for the appropriateness
of the outcome. The study represents country specific influence in terms
of mobile contents and technological innovations. A new and important
empirical finding is that there are still many opportunities available for
mobile network operators (MNO) in this region by providing better telecom
infrastructure to support technological innovations and to upheaval
decreasing trend of average revenue per user (ARPU). Besides, the most
important factors are identified as high speeds and necessary time require
for porting mobile number.
Keywords: Next-Generation Mobiles; Technological Innovations; Competition
Policy, Panel Data Analysis; Standardization
Web 2.0 Tools in the Innovation Process. A Systematic Literature Review
Loay ALTAMIMI 40
There is a wide recognition that, innovation is a key and strategic
process, that is, essential for the survival and growth of individual
firms, and also, for sustainable national and regional economic growth.
Meanwhile, on the one hand, collaboration is a necessary approach for the
innovation process in today’s environment, and, on the other hand,
information technology (IT) tools are indispensable means for
collaboration across different boundaries. Web 2.0 is a new generation of
web tools that are providing new ways for work and new opportunities for
interaction and collaboration. These new tools are increasingly being used
by various or-ganizations to enhance collaboration, to the end of,
supporting and improving the innovation process. This review aims to
assess the extent and scope to which the literature has examined web 2.0
tools in the context of the innovation process. For this purpose,
schol-arly articles, published from 2002 to 2012, on each of the topics of
innovation and web 2.0, were collected by the literature search. The study
here adopted the systematic approach of lexical analysis for extracting
relevant articles from the corpus and for the analysis of those articles.
Keywords: Innovation, Collaboration, Web 2.0, Lexical Analysis, Literature
Review
Integrating Click-Through and Eye-Tracking Logs for Decision-Making
Process Mining
Răzvan PETRUŞEL 56
In current software every click of the users is logged, therefore a wealth
of click-through information exists. Besides, recent technologies have
made eye-tracking affordable and an alternative to other human-computer
interaction means (e.g. mouse, touchscreens). A big challenge is to make
sense of all this data and convert it into useful information. This paper
introduces a possible solution placed in the context of decision-making
processes. We show how the decision maker’s activity can be traced using
two means: mouse tracing (i.e. clicks) and eye-tracking (i.e. eye
fixations). Then, we discuss a mining approach, based on the log, which
extracts a Decision Data Model (DDM). We use the DDM to determine,
post-hoc, which decision strategy was employed. The paper concludes with a
validation based on a controlled experiment.
Keywords: Decision-Making Process Model, Data-Flow Model, Decision Process
Mining
Mining Product Data Models: A Case Study
Cristina-Claudia DOLEAN 69
This paper presents two case studies used to prove the validity of some
data-flow mining algorithms. We proposed the data-flow mining algorithms
because most part of mining algorithms focuses on the control-flow
perspective. First case study uses event logs generated by an ERP system
(Navision) after we set several trackers on the data elements needed in
the process analyzed; while the second case study uses the event logs
generated by YAWL system.
We offered a general solution of data-flow model extraction from different
data sources. In order to apply the data-flow mining algorithms the event
logs must comply a certain format (using InputOutput extension). But to
respect this format, a set of conversion tools is needed. We depicted the
conversion tools used and how we got the data-flow models. Moreover, the
data-flow model is compared to the control-flow model.
Keywords: Product Data Model, Process Mining, Data-Flow
Extending and Refining Usability Heuristics to Better Address User
Centered Design Issues in the Development and Evaluation of MunicipalWebsites
Costin PRIBEANU 83
Usability of public administration websites is a key issue in the
information society. Unfortu-nately, the web content is still difficult to
use if not unusable in many websites. Developers seem to neglect basic
principles of user centered design. Usability heuristics are valuable
resources for both developers and evaluators during and after the
development process. The purpose of this work is to extend and refine an
existing set of heuristics in order to better address some user centered
design issues. Previous studies revealed specific usability problems of
municipal websites as well as some evaluation issues. Two heuristics were
added that refer to user guidance and task support. The revised heuristics
could better help evaluators to explain and developers to understand
usability problems in municipal websites.
Keywords: Evaluation Process, Usability, Heuristics, Information
Architecture, Task Guid-ance, Municipal Websites, E-Government
Aspects of Orthogonality in the Development of the National Digital Wealth
(NDW)
Ion IVAN, Daniel MILODIN, Sergiu CAPISIZU 92
There are presented aspects of orthogonality in the development of the
national digital wealth. There is presented the concept of NDW. Are
identified quality characteristics. Are built orthogonality metrics for
software development applications which are parts of NDW.
Keywords: National Digital Wealth, Metrics, Orthogonality
Creating Virtual Exhibitions for Educational and Cultural Development
Gabriela DUMITRESCU, Cornel LEPADATU, Cristian CIUREA 102
The paper presents different tools and mechanisms to implement a virtual
exhibition in different cultural areas, such as museums and libraries.
Quality characteristics of virtual exhibitions are identified and
described. The possibility to create native mobile applications for
virtual exhibitions presentation is analyzed. The functional flow of
creating a virtual exhibition is presented and discussed. The Seals -
History Treasure exhibition is presented and significant historical
documents are revealed.
Keywords: Virtual, Digital, Exhibition, Mobile, Cultural, Educational
Detecting Malicious Code by Binary File Checking
Marius POPA 111
The object, library and executable code is stored in binary files.
Functionality of a binary file is altered when its content or program
source code is changed, causing undesired effects. A direct content change
is possible when the intruder knows the structural information of the
binary file. The paper describes the structural properties of the binary
object files, how the content can be controlled by a possible intruder and
what the ways to identify malicious code in such kind of files. Because
the object files are inputs in linking processes, early detection of the
malicious content is crucial to avoid infection of the binary executable
files.
Keywords: Malicious Code, Binary File, Malware Detection
Integrating Data Mining Techniques into Telemedicine Systems
Mihaela GHEORGHE, Ruxandra PETRE 120
The medical system is facing a wide range of challenges nowadays due to
changes that are taking place in the global healthcare systems. These
challenges are represented mostly by economic constraints (spiraling
costs, financial issues), but also, by the increased emphasis on
accountability and transparency, changes that were made in the education
field, the fact that the biomedical research keeps growing in what
concerns the complexities of the specific studies etc. Also the new
partnerships that were made in medical care systems and the great advances
in IT industry suggest that a predominant paradigm shift is occurring.
This needs a focus on interaction, collaboration and increased sharing of
information and knowledge, all of these may is in turn be leading
healthcare organizations to embrace the techniques of data mining in order
to create and sustain optimal healthcare outcomes. Data mining is a domain
of great importance nowadays as it provides advanced data analysis
techniques for extracting the knowledge from the huge volumes of data
collected and stored by every system of a daily basis. In the healthcare
organizations data mining can provide valuable information for patient’s
diagnosis and treatment planning, customer relationship management,
organization resources management or fraud detection. In this article we
focus on describing the importance of data mining techniques and systems
for healthcare organizations with a focus on developing and implementing
telemedicine solution in order to improve the healthcare services provided
to the patients. We provide architecture for integrating data mining
techniques into telemedicine systems and also offer an overview on
understanding and improving the implemented solution by using Business
Process Management methods.
Keywords: Telemedicine, Data Mining, Healthcare, Data Warehouse, Business
Process Man-agement, Architecture
Factors Influencing the Quality of Mobile Applications
Alin ZAMFIROIU 131
Mobile applications are becoming increasingly used. Mobile devices are
becoming indispensable for the user. In the material are claiming the
sales of mobile devices internationally and the use of mobile applications
compared to traditional internet use on desktop systems for the United
States. Are presented influences the quality of mobile applications and
based on these influencing factors built a model of choice for optimal
application of mobile applications and traditional desktop application. At
the end of the material presented methods to increase quality by tracking
the influence factors during the development of mobile applications.
Keywords: Mobile Application, Quality, Influencing Factors, Model, Mobile
Device
Evolution and Trends Regarding the Concepts of Innovation and Invention
Mihai Liviu DESPA 139
The paper is focused on analyzing the difference between the concepts of
innovation and invention in terms of trends and evolution. The research is
centered on innovation with invention being a benchmark for validating
results. An economic perspective regarding the differences between
invention and innovation is presented. The differences between the two
concepts are also analyzed from a legal point of view. The number of
references to the concept of innovation, made into a large corpus of
books, is analyzed from an evolutionary perspective. The concept of
invention is also analyzed in terms of number of occurrences in books. A
pattern is drafted for both innovation and invention. The paper tackles
the interest shown by the online community in innovation compared to the
interested showed in invention. Relevant data sets depict the world’s most
interested online communities in innovation and invention. Online
communities are analyzed by country and by city. Online communities’
interest in innovation and invention is measured using statistics
regarding Google searches. Events that triggered picks in interest shown
towards one concept or the other are identified and portrayed. Data from
relevant reports that are publicly available is presented.
Keywords: Innovation, Invention, Search Trends, Public Data
Designing a Software Test Automation Framework
Sabina AMARICAI, Radu CONSTANTINESCU 152
Testing is an art and science that should ultimately lead to lower cost
businesses through in-creasing control and reducing risk. Testing
specialists should thoroughly understand the sys-tem or application from
both the technical and the business perspective, and then design, build
and implement the minimum-cost, maximum-coverage validation framework.
Test Automation is an important ingredient for testing large scale
applications. In this paper we discuss several test automation frameworks,
their advantages and disadvantages. We also propose a custom automation
framework model that is suited for applications with very complex business
requirements and numerous interfaces.
Keywords: Software Testing, Test Automation, Test Automation Framework,
Data Driven, Keyword Driven, Hybrid
Issues and Challenges of Business Rules Modeling in Software Systems for
Business Management
Anca ANDREESCU, Marinela MIRCEA 162
Software systems for business management appeared as a result of the
growing need to ensure a consistent IT support for most of the business
activities that organizations have to deal with. Moreover, organizations
continue to struggle for obtaining competitive advantages on the business
market and to lower the cost of developing and maintaining computer
systems to support their operations. As business rules play an important
role within any organization, they should be taken into consideration as
distinct elements when developing a software system that will operate in a
collaborative environment. The paper addresses the problem of business
rules modeling, with special emphasis on incorporating business rules in
Unified Modeling Language (UML) models.
Keywords: Business Rules, Software Systems, Business Management, UML
Models, OCL
Publishing Guide for Authors
171
INFOREC Association 173
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