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In this paper we present an approach for classifying web pages obtained from the Slovenian Internet directory where the web sites covering different topics are organized into a topic ontology. We tested two different methods for representing text documents, both in combination with the linear SVM classification algorithm. The first representation used is a standard bag-of-words approach with TFIDF weights and cosine distance used as similarity measure. We compared this to String kernels where text documents are compared not by words but by substrings. This removes the need for stemming or lemmatisation which can be an important issue when documents are in other languages than English and tools for stemming or lemmatisation are unavailable or are expensive to make or learn. In highly inflected natural languages, such as Slovene language, the same word can have many different forms, thus String kernels have an advantage here over the bag-of-words. In this paper we show that in classification of documents written in highly inflected natural language the situation is opposite and String Kernels significantly outperform the standard bag-of-words representation. Our experiments also show that the advantage of String kernels is more evident for domains with unbalanced class distribution.

Hypertext categorization is the task of automatically assigning category labels to hypertext units. Comparable to text categorization it stays in the area of function learning based on the bag-of-features approach. This scenario faces the problem of a many-to-many relation between websites and their hidden logical document structure. The paper argues that this relation is a prevalent characteristic which interferes any effort of applying the classical apparatus of categorization to web genres. This is confirmed by a threefold experiment in hypertext categorization. In order to outline a solution to this problem, the paper sketches an alternative method of unsupervised learning which aims at bridging the gap between statistical and structural pattern recognition (Bunke et al. 2001) in the area of web mining.

Fingerprint classification is an important indexing method for any large-scale fingerprint recognition system or database, as a method for reducing the number of fingerprints that need to be searched when looking for a matching print. Fingerprints are generally classified into broad categories based on global characteristics. This paper describes novel methods of classification using hidden Markov models (HMMs) and decision trees to recognize the ridge structure of the print, without needing to detect singular points. The methods are compared and combined with a standard fingerprint classification algorithm, and results for the combination are presented using a standard database of fingerprint images. The paper also describes a method for achieving any level of accuracy required of the system, by sacrificing the efficiency of the classifier. The accuracy of the combination classifier is shown to be higher than that of two state-of-the-art systems tested under the same conditions.

Fifty-seven years ago, Hans Meerwein published a paper, “uber die Gleichgewichts-Isomerie zwischen Bornylchlorid, Isobornylchlorid and Camphenchlorhydrat 1)”, which had immense consequences for the development of physical organic chemistry. The paper contains the first proposal of carbonium ions as intermediates in molecular rearrangements. It also provided the basis for the later proposal of a nonclassical ion as an intermediate2, in place of the pair of rapidly equilibrating classical cations utilized by Meerwein1). Consequently, this publication opened the door to major research efforts by numerous chemists throughout the world. It is the purpose of this review to discuss the question of whether it is the Meerwein concept of equilibrating cations or the Wilson proposal of a mesomeric nonclassical cation that best accounts for the fascinating behavior of 2-norbornyl cations.

For some reason I now forget, Keith Glover and I were asked to prepare a “discussion paper” on frequency and time domain methods in system identification by the organizers of the IFAC symposium on System Identification in Darmstadt 1979, [8]. I visited Keith in Cambridge in April 1979 to prepare our paper. This was my first “scientific” visit to Cambridge, and I had some very productive and pleasant days with Keith there. After the symposium we were asked to produce an Automatica version of the discussion paper, and this was eventually published as [9]. Although I have met Keith and had interesting and enjoyable discussions with him many, many times since then, these two papers remain our only joint publications.

In this paper, we study the problem of constructing models for a stationary stochastic process {y t } assuming values in a finite set M:= {1,..., m}. It is assumed that only a finite length sample path of the process is known, and not the full statistics of the process. Two kinds of problems are studied, namely: modelling for prediction, and modelling for classification. For the prediction problem, in a companion paper it is shown that a well-known approach of modelling the given process as a multi-step Markov process is in fact the only solution satisfying certain nonnegativity constraints. In the present paper, accuracy and confidence bounds are derived for the parameters of this multi-step Markov model. So far as the author is aware, such bounds have not been published previously. For the classification problem, it is assumed that two distinct sets of sample paths of two separate stochastic processes are available - call them {u 1 ,..., u r } and {v 1 ,..., v s }. The objective here is to develop not one but two models, called C and MC respectively, such that the strings u i have much larger likelihoods with the model C than with the model AfC, and the opposite is true for the strings Vj. Then a new string w is classified into the set C or MC according as its likelihood is larger from the model C or the model NC. For the classification problem, we develop a new algorithm called the 4M (Mixed Memory Markov Model) algorithm, which is an improvement over variable length Markov models. We then apply the 4M algorithm to the problem of finding genes from the genome. The performance of the 4M algorithm is compared against that of the popular Glimmer algorithm. In most of the test cases studied, the 4M algorithm correctly classifies both coding as well as non-coding regions more than 90% of the time. Moreover, the accuracy of the 4M algorithm compares well with that of Glimmer. At the same time, the 4M algorithm is amenable to statistical analysis.

This paper presents an adaptive communication in MAS. To achieve its objectives agents must send and receive information. Most used mechanism of communication in MAS is broadcast but this is quite expensive and prohibited in some sort of applications mainly because the very poor quality of the service. In this paper we describe trough a real problem the positive effects of proactive communication in Multi-Agent systems. Even if in this paper we show an example, results can be extended to different problems where negotiation is important.

In the light of descriptive geometry and notions in set theory, this paper redefines the basic elements in space such as curve and surface and so on, presents some fundamental notions with respect to the point cover based on the High-Dimension Space(HDS) point covering theory, finally takes points from mapping part of speech signals to HDS, so as to analyze distribution information of these speech points in HDS, and various geometric covering objects for speech points and their relationship. Besides, this paper also proposes a new algorithm for speaker independent continuous digit speech recognition based on the HDS point dynamic searching theory without endpoints detection and segmentation. First from the different digit syllables in real continuous digit speech, we establish the covering area in feature space for continuous speech. During recognition, we make use of the point covering dynamic searching theory in HDS to do recognition, and then get the satisfying recognized results. At last, compared to HMM-based method, from the development trend of the comparing results, as sample amount increasing, the difference of recognition rate between two methods will decrease slowly, while sample amount approaching to be very large, two recognition rates all close to 100% little by little. As seen from the results, the recognition rate of HDS point covering method is higher than that of in HMM-based method, because, the point covering describes the morphological distribution for speech in HDS, whereas HMM-based method is only a probability distribution, whose accuracy is certainly inferior to point covering.

In this paper, we discuss the relationships between some characteristic formulas in normal modal logic with their frames. We find that the validities of the modal formulas are conditional even though some of them are intuitively valid. Finally, we prove the validities of two formulas of Position-Exchange-Principle (PEP) proposed by papers 1 to 3 by using of modal logic and Kripke’s semantics of possible worlds.

Design patterns capture successful solutions to recurring problems that arise when building software systems. Firstly, this paper presents how to design a vector graphics editing platform using design pattern. At last, on the base of summarizing all kinds of vector graphics editing systems at home and abroad, this paper presents a new idea on how to develop a universal vector graphics editing system.

In the paper, fuzzy relationship mapping inversion principle (FRMI) application in the criminal investigate inference. To put forward fuzzy fixing structure of automatic inversion and the fuzzy theory is combined with a FRMI to found a learn system of fuzzy inversion mapping. By means of the FRMI principle, the paper describes the processes which criminal investigate inference and the fuzzy system structure of information’s in criminal investigate inference.

In this paper we discuss decision making based on incomplete knowledge. Asthe results of our decisions have always some uncertainties in these cases, we developeda method to measure the advantages brought by those possible solutions of our problem, which makes our decision making problem easier. Our proposal is entirely formulizedwithin the so called classical two valued logic, so it has a solid foundation. Basic notionsof various items are defined formally; formulas of supporting degree and safe supporting degree for decision making are discussed in details. Uncertainty of a proposition is clearly defined and the evaluation of such an uncertainty is clearly presented within our proposal without anything else. With the right evaluation of uncertain evidences, decision making with uncertain evidences is considered, which is also completely done within our proposal. Examples in the paper are comprehensively exhibited, which show that our proposal is reasonable and can be implemented by computers.

To provide remote service and auto-configuration mechanisms, network emulation testbed needs to map the logic-topology, which the researchers require, to the testbed physical-topology. This network testbed-mapping problem is discussed and formulated in this paper; an evaluation function is also defined in which both the number of network links and bandwidth are considered. This paper also gives a solution for considering delay-node. Based on the model, a solver for the problem using Genetic Algorithm is implemented. Evaluation result shows that the genetic algorithm can find near-optimal solutions in reasonable time.

This paper offers a qualitative study of the applications of ICT in supporting knowledge transfer for the enhancement of modern agricultural extension. To address the challenge, this paper applies an inter-disciplinary approaches to review, analysis and develop a knowledge transfer model, and to conducts an empirical verification of it. A framework is proposed to illuminate the knowledge transfer process, and its associated channels.

Professional Virtual Communities (PVC) are emerging as human centred new organizational arrangements aimed at leveraging knowledge development, value creation and social welfare. This paper is aimed at defining a conceptual framework for the characterization of PVC, suitable for ascertaining the correlation among PVC constitutive elements and potential stakeholders’ expected benefits. Such a theoretical approach leads to the identification of PVC typologies, which would optimally integrate themselves in business ecosystems, while ensuring member’s motivation, commitment and welfare. The characterization of an emerging Professional Virtual Community, ESoCE-Net, is reported as a first attempt in characterizing a PVC with reference to the newly established conceptual framework The results reported in this paper are also based on activities carried out within the ECOLEAD IP project, co-funded by the European Commission under the 6th framework programme.

The virtual business model is now commonplace across a range of industries and international boundaries. The attraction of the ‘virtual’ concept is well documented and numerous examples of its efficacy exist in the literature. Applications of the concept vary from the complete application of the virtual model to partial solutions to meet a need for specialist process and capability requirements. This paper identifies some of the issues that will have an impact on planning performance systems. Clearly the notion of ‘asset leverage’ and ‘zero working capital’ are corporate ideals but before these can be anywhere near realities some problems must first be resolved. This paper addresses

The introduction of new technologies and processes for communication, collaboration and knowledge exchange has changed considerably our work environment and the way we are organising our work. In this paper the implications of flexible mobile and collaborative workplaces for global value networks are explored through future scenarios and roadmapping. In particular we focus on the advances in mobile and location-aware workplaces and their role in organising and coordinating global business activities. The paper presents several mobile workplace scenarios and outlines a roadmap and a research agenda for strategic research and innovation.

In this paper, we propose a collaborative and joint approach for the identification of partners and the formation of virtual enterprise for concept designing, without compromising design rights or proprietary knowledge. Besides, we introduce a framework for a Multi-Agent System model which is capable of supporting such an approach. The approach described in this paper enables the formalization of distributed processes which lead to the emergence of both conceptual design chains and functional architectures of an innovative product.

Establishing and operating a virtual organization implies a number of challenges from many different perspectives, including socio-economic, organizational, legal and computational issues. This paper focuses on the legal aspects with a particular view on legal risks with respect to intellectual property rights. A risk analysis with respect to legal issues can either be based on abstract legal reasoning or it can focus on the business reality and the specific characterizations of the virtual organization. This paper follows the latter approach; it presents selected findings of a legal risk analysis of a business scenario in the collaborative engineering field. The legal risk analysis was performed in collaboration between lawyers and other professionals in order to highlight how different legal and non-legal aspects relate to each other. Graphical models of risks and treatments were utilized in order to reduce communicational barriers between experts in this multidisciplinary setting.

Teams are engineered by dependent processes involving a spectrum of activities commencing with the initial identification of need, extending through to the realisation of that need and in some cases dissolution of the team. A new model of the team systems engineering life cycle is described in this paper which includes four main groupings of activities corresponding to: ‘design’, ‘build’, ‘operate’ and ‘maintain’ (DBOM) life phases through which a typical team system progresses. The paper illustrates how Enterprise Modelling concepts and the DBOM model can be innovatively deployed in order to systematically capture published knowledge about teams; thereby providing an analytic basis on which teams can be designed, built, operated and maintained. Here EM modelling constructs were used to document and visually represent relatively enduring aspects of team systems. This paper illustrates the approach by creating a semi-generic model of project teams.

This paper presents a further step towards a UEML (Unified Enterprise Modelling Language) starting from the result of the UEML project, funded by the European Commission under the IST-Vth Framework Programme of Research. Specifically, the paper provides the basic theories and thinking underlying the project work as well as current improvements based on a data-integration perspective.

Location aware capabilities can supply context and location sensitive information and support enabling users to be contactable and locatable within a wider mobile environment. These location awareness attributes can also be used to monitor user activities and movement through space and time. This paper explores location aware technologies and the resulting changing privacy and security landscapes for such mobile systems. The paper argues that the real challenge of meeting privacy obligations will be how to limit the joining-up or collaboration between the different monitoring technologies. However, this joining up capability is the very nature of information systems.

The deployment of ITS must be assisted by suitable tools to conduct the feasibility studies required for testing the designs and evaluating the expected impacts. Microscopic traffic simulation has proven to be the suitable methodological approach to achieve these goals. This paper discuses some of the most critical aspects of the dynamic simulation of road networks, namely the heuristic dynamic assignment, the implied route choice models, and the validation methodology, a key issue to determine the degree of validity and significance of the simulation results. The paper is structured in two parts, the first provides an overview on how the main features of microscopic simulation have been implemented in AIMSUN, and the second is devoted to discus in detail the heuristic dynamic assignment.

The contention of the present paper is that information systems proper form a significant application area of mobile technology. For that purpose the paper analyses the concept of mobility in the context of information systems using a sound metamodel for information systems. The anlysis makes it possible to make sense of different examples of mobile information systems and possibly to innovate new ones.

This paper, firstly, describes the current status of the utilization of traffic simulation models. Evaluation for the model’s application in Japan was based on a questionnaire survey. Secondly, the Best Practice Manual for Simulation Application, which is currently being developed, is discussed. In addition some exerts from the manual in regards to addressing the issues of simulation application are presented: i.e. i) understanding the models’ nature through verification and validation; ii) OD estimation from vehicle counts; iii) model parameter calibration; and iv) indices to measure the reproducibility. Finally this paper introduces the Clearing House of Traffic Simulation Models. These models promote simulation utilization.

Recent years have seen a tremendous interest world wide in the use of microsimulation techniques to model traffic in congested road networks. This interest is particularly associated with the development of real-time, high-tech based traffic management and control strategies that react to the highly dynamic and variable nature of traffic conditions and driver behaviour. This paper introduces the DRACULA dynamic traffic network model, with the main focus on its traffic microsimulation component. The paper describes the model’s theoretical and behavioural foundations, and presents illustrative examples of applying the model in the evaluation of real-time management strategies. Our experience shows that this is a particularly suitable framework for the realistic modelling of real-time technological strategies.

Context-awareness has been recognized as a very desirable feature for mobile internet services. This paper considers the acquisition of context information for continuous services, i.e., services that persist in time, like streaming services. Supporting context-awareness for these services requires the continuous monitoring of context information. The paper presents the extension of a middleware architecture for the reconciliation of distributed context information to support context-aware continuous services. The paper also addresses optimization issues and illustrates an adaptive video streaming prototype used to test the middleware.

This paper will examine the concept of an innovation spiral process in relationship to the mobile communications sector of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry which is the product of convergence of the telecommunications and the information technology (IT) industries. The fundamental theoretical framework for the paper is that innovative applications prescribed by users of an adopted technology can be a significant driver of further product evolution which then can fuel further market innovation. New products that are spectacularly’ successful’ are those that give rise to this spiral of product innovation and market innovation. The paper will first review the macro perspective of this theoretical framework by analysing the spectacular success of the short message service (SMS) in the GSM digital mobile communications over the last twenty years from the product concept. This conceptual framework is then considered at a micro level to review three consecutive research projects by the authors over the last ten years. The broad aim of these projects was to better understand potential user adoption of new mobile telecommunications products. The first research project in the mid 1990’s examined the barriers and enablers to the adoption of mobile phones by selected disadvantaged groups in society, in particular, people with disabilities. A modified focus group methodology based on interactive workshops was developed from this research project to gain insights into user innovation. This methodology was developed further in more recent research projects looking at the likely user take up of evolving multimedia capable mobile devices for innovative applications. The second study indicated that the market evolution of mobile internet like applications is likely to be very different from those developed for the fixed internet because of the different characteristics of the user groups. While the individual research projects have been published, this paper brings together the macro and micro perspectives of this innovation spiral to demonstrate the value of this theoretical framework for market forecasting for realising technology commercialisation. The research also has implications for the ‘form’ of new high technology products and how they are marketed which places less emphasis on technical features but more on matching with user needs.

The main goal of this paper is to explore the possibilities of exploiting psychological methods for the purpose of knowledge engineering. Hypotheses are presented why both the pure “psychological” and the pure “engineering” positions are not viable for building expert systems. A “middle-out” strategy is proposed that preserves the best of both worlds while minimizing the problems of each. This “middle-out” strategy consists of the application of so-called “task-level frameworks”. However, these frameworks do not sufficiently support one of the most crucial tasks in the knowledge engineering process, namely the mapping of the actual expert behavior onto conceptual models. In this paper, a new method which makes this process easier and more reliable is described and a standardized several-step procedure for mapping expertise-in-action protocols onto a task-level framework is illustrated with a case study. It is concluded (a) that protocol analysis is a good starting point for developing tools to support the knowledge engineering process—if appropriate methods are available, and (b) that methods are only appropriate if they are ecological on the one hand and pragmatic on the other.

The biological membrane is a complex system consisting of an aqueous biomolecular planar aggregate of predominantly lipid and protein molecules. At physiological temperatures, the membrane may be considered a thin (∼50A) slab of anisotropic fluid characterized by a high lateral mobility of the various molecular components. A substantial fraction of biological activity takes place in association with membranes. As a very lively piece of condensed matter, the biological membrane is a challenging research topic for both the experimental and theoretical physicists who are facing a number of fundamental physical problems including molecular self-organization, macromolecular structure and dynamics, inter-macromolecular interactions, structure-function relationships, transport of energy and matter, and interfacial forces. This paper will present a brief review of recent theoretical and experimental progress on such problems, with special emphasis on lipid bilayer structure and dynamics, lipid phase transitions, lipid-protein and lipid-cholesterol interactions, intermembrane forces, and the physical constraints imposed on biomembrane function and evolution. The paper advocates the dual point of view that there are a number of interesting physics problems in membranology and, at the same time, that the physical properties of biomembranes are important regulators of membrane function.

This paper presents a number of core issues that are seen as fundamental to the success and well-being of the knowledge engineering enterprise. In particular, it examines the problems that dominate the current state of the art in knowledge acquisition (KA). These include: the development of KA methodologies, the construction of software support tools for KA, the integration of knowledge acquired from various sources, the problems of verification and validation of the acquired knowledge, and the elimination of bias from expert knowledge. Progress in our subject is likely to depend on our ability to advance our own knowledge and understanding in these key areas. The paper describes work which we have been conducting in the context of an ESPRIT project (P2576 ACKnowledgc), and whose aim is to ameliorate some of the problems identified.

This paper establishes a framework for formal comparisons of several leading optimization algorithms, establishing guidance to practitioners for when to use or not to use a particular method. The focus in this paper are five general algorithm forms: random search, simultaneous perturbation stochastic approximation, simulated annealing, evolutionary strategies, and genetic algorithms. We summarize the available theoretical results on rates of convergence for the five algorithm forms and then use the theoretical results to draw some preliminary conclusions on the relative efficiency. Our aim is to sort out some of the competing claims of efficiency and to suggest a structure for comparison that is more general and transferable than the usual problem-specific numerical studies.

When we analyze a game we want a full representation, i.e., we want to be able to look at a game and perceive all of its details. If it allows us to visualize the respective solution all the better. This aim was the reason for researching a new game representation which is described in this paper. The code form of a game consists mainly in a table containing all of the information with no suppression or “adulteration” with regards to the game. Initially presented at Fifth Spanish Meeting on Game Theory & European Voting Games (Seville 2002), based on examples, code form is put forth in this paper thoroughly. We begin by presenting code form, exemplifying it with four games. We finish proving the existence of Nash Equilibrium in code form games.

This paper shows a technique that allows adaptive user interfaces, spanning multiple devices, to be rendered from the task specification at runtime taking into account the context of use. The designer can specify a task model using the ConcurTaskTrees Notation and its context-dependent parts, and deploy the user interface immediately from the specification. By defining a set of context-rules in the design stage, the appropriate context-dependent parts of the task specification will be selected before the concrete interfaces will be rendered. The context will be resolved by the runtime environment and does not require any manual intervention. This way the same task specification can be deployed for several different contexts of use. Traditionally, a context-sensitive task specification only took into account a variable single deployment device. This paper extends this approach as it takes into account task specifications that can be executed by multiple co-operating devices.

We have taken the process of software instrumentation, normally used in the creation of profiling and debugging tools, and applied it to the production of usage data for user-computer interaction studies. This paper describes the design and evaluation of a prototype tool called iGuess, that enables an investigator to discover which methods are used within a Java application when particular tasks are carried out, and instrument these to produce usage data. A key feature of the system is that an application can be instrumented without any need for access to the source code. In this paper we describe the system’s functionality, briefly explain how it works and present the results of an early informal evaluation.

In spite of the apparent facility of building Web pages using current visual environments, the development on the Web application remains a complex task. As for other complex software one possible and promising way of dealing with this complexity is model-based approach. In this paper we present SWCEditor, a model-based tool (exploiting the StateWebCharts notation) aiming at supporting designers to build navigation models of Web applications. The StateWebCharts (SWC) notation is a formalism that provides abstract mechanisms to build navigation models of Web applications. This paper presents the SWCEditor, a tool supporting the creation, edition, visualisation and simulation of SWC models.

The paper aims at investigating suction induced by static compaction in clay specimens. To this end, kaolin powders prepared at target water contents were statically compacted in a shear box apparatus. Trento (TNT) high-suction tensiometers (0-1800 kPa) were in stalled through the loading pad to monitor suction changes during the loading-unloading paths. Specimens were compacted at water contents ranging from 0.22 to 0.30 and at vertical stresses of 300,600, and 1200 kPa. This made it possible to explore abroad spectrum of compaction conditions. Experimental results are presented and discussed in the paper. The most striking aspect of the results is that suction of unloaded specimens increased as degree of saturation increased. This can be explained by the dependency of the main wetting curve upon void ratio.

This paper describes a system that helps HCI practitioners and researchers manage and conduct experiments involving context-sensitive handheld applications, particularly related to navigation assistance. The system provides a software framework in which application, user interface and interaction monitoring components can be plugged, offering a simple interconnection protocol and minimising the programming overheads of implementation. We have focused our attention on dealing with the challenges presented by the limited memory and processing of handheld devices and the variety of data sources for mobile context-sensitive applications. In this paper we give an overview of the system’s functionality and architecture, discuss key challenges of supporting field-based experiments on handhelds and consider further developments of the system.

This paper describes a hybrid LES/CAA approach for the numerical prediction of airframe and combustion noise. In the hybrid method first a Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) of the flow field containing the acoustic source region is carried out from which then the acoustic sources are extracted. These are then used in the second computational Aeroacoustics (CAA) step in which the acoustic field is determined by solving linear acoustic perturbation equations. For the application of the CAA method to a unconfined turbulent flame, an extension of the method to reacting flow fields is presented. The LES method is applied to a turbulent flow over an airfoil with a deflected flap at a Reynolds number of Re = 106. The comparison of the numerical results with the experimental data shows a good agreement which shows that the main characteristics of the flow field are well resolved by the LES. However, it is also shown that a zonal LES which concentrates of the trailing edge region on a refined local mesh leads to a further improvement of the accuracy. In the second part of the paper, the CAA method with the extension to reacting flows is explained by an application to a non-premixed turbulent flame. The monopole nature of the combustion noise is clearly verified, which demonstrates the capability of the hybrid LES/CAA method for noise prediction in reacting flows.

This paper presents a methodology to generate a topologically correct street centreline from city block boundaries using ArcGIS software. The approach utilises Sugihara’s (1992) point approximation algorithm as a starting point to create an area Voronoi diagram which forms the basis of the centreline. A recursive method is introduced to schematize the geometry of the Voronoi medial axis. The approach is applied to data from the City of Rosario, Argentina. The paper concludes with suggestions for further enhancements to the approach that have, among other things, the potential to automate attribution to network segments using adjacent polygon attributes.

Two topological properties of raster region — connectedness and perforation — are examined in the context of spatial optimization. While topological properties of existing regions in raster space are well understood, creating a region of desired topological properties in raster space is still considered as a complex combinatorial problem. This paper attempts to formulate constraints that guarantee to select a connected raster region with specified number of holes in terms amenable to mixed integer programming models. The major contribution of this paper is to introduce a new intersection of two areas of spatial modeling — discrete topology and spatial optimization — that are generally separate.

Security is an important topic in the Information Systems and their applications, especially within the Internet environment. Security issue for geospatial data is a relatively unexplored topic in Geographical Information Systems (GIS). This paper analyzes the security solutions for Geographical Information Storage Systems (GISS) within n-tier GIS architecture. The first section outlines the application of the main categories of database security for management spatial data. These categories are then analyzed from a point of view of application within GIS. A File System within Database (FSDB) with traditional and new encryption algorithms has been proposed to be used as a new GISS solution. A FSDB provides more safe and secure storage for spatial files and support centralized authentication and access control mechanism in legacy DBMS. Cryptography solutions as a topic of central importance to many aspects of network security are discussed in detail. This part of the paper describes several traditional and new symmetric, fast and nonlinear encryption algorithms’ implementation with fixed and flexible key sizes.

Topological relationships between spatial objects have been a focus of research on spatial data handling and reasoning for a long time. Especially as predicates they support the design of suitable query languages for data retrieval and analysis in spatial databases and geographical information systems. Whereas research on this topic has always been dominated by qualitative methods and by an emphasis of a strict separation of topological and metric, that is, quantitative, properties, this paper investigates their possible coexistence and cooperation. Metric details can be exploited to refine topological relationships and to make important semantic distinctions that enhance the expressiveness of spatial query languages. The metric refinements introduced in this paper have the feature of being topologically invariant under a ne transformations. Since the combination of a topological predicate with a metric refinement leads to a single unified quantitative measure, this measure has to be interpreted and mapped to a lexical item. This leads to vague topological predicates, and we demonstrate how these predicates can be integrated into a spatial query language.

This paper describes the concepts and challenges of self-managing management-layer network composition and service composition in Ambient Networks. A set of requirements are identified. This paper describes the concept of Ambient Virtual Pipe (AVP), which is an autonomic, secure, QoS-assured, self-adapted context aware management service overlay network that provides a secure and QoS-assured environment for AN service composition. The AVP is supported through a programmable platform, and is capable of dynamic deployment of new management services.

Modeling of contaminant fate and transport in soils, groundwater, air and other environmental media can be a critical component of permitting, remedial action planning and design, site characterization, and source identification. Modeling of emissions and contamination can result in significant cost-savings as compared with additional sampling and analysis, and is frequently utilized by potentially responsible parties as well as governmental agencies for air permitting, remedial investigations, corrective measures studies, and engineering design. The science of modeling has been challenged in federal and state courtrooms across the country. Questions have been raised as to the reliability, predictability and specificity of contaminant fate and transport modeling by various adversaries, including former operators, neighboring owners, and liability insurers. This paper will discuss the scientific rigors of environmental modeling, its many uses and acceptability within the scientific community, as well as its limitations. The paper will also review and discuss recent court rulings and evidentiary issues regarding contaminant fate and transport modeling in litigation and related expert witness testimony.

This paper describes how the Massachusetts Brownflelds process was implemented at the Oxford Paper Mill Site in Lawrence, Massachusetts. The City employed a dynamic process where the community, City, and regulators developed a detailed plan to address integration of stakeholder schedules and provide the necessary monies to remediate a three acre Brownfield site. Successful implementation of this complex process is allowing the City to abate contamination, develop a large-scale park, and construct the Gateway Bridge. This is considered integral to future development of Lawrence.

A study of the relationship between natural hazards and climate change in the international context provides the background for a discussion of the expected changes. In the context of this global discussion, this paper reviews the current perspectives of those natural hazards that are likely to be influenced by climate change, using northern Canada as a regional case study. The northern implications of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change are examined, including the status of climate change action by the northern territorial governments, the evolving role of indigenous people, and the responsibility for climate change impacts. The difficulties surrounding natural hazards research in remote locations, and the approaches of indigenous people to natural hazards are then presented. The paper concludes with a suggested policy approach for climate change and natural hazards in northern Canada, underscoring the need for more comprehensive adaptive strategies to complement the current tendency to focus on the mitigation of greenhouse gases produced in this region.

The first part of this paper discusses the links between hazard, risk and vulnerability (HRV) analysis and the development of mitigative strategies. The second part discusses the need to include public participation when completing an HRV analysis. Two current HRV models are used to illustrate the general failure of HRV analysis to include public participation. The third part of this paper provides a brief overview of the Hazard, Impact, Risk and Vulnerability (HIRV) model and its use of public participation. The paper concludes by offering a synopsis of a case study in the town and regional area surrounding Barriere, British Columbia, Canada. This case study demonstrates a positive outcome when public participation is incorporated into an HIRV analysis.

This Paper reviews the relationship between natural resource dependence and economic growth, and stresses how natural capital intensity tends to crowd out foreign capital, social capital, human capital, physical capital, and financial capital, thereby impeding economic growth across countries. Specifically, the Paper presents empirical cross-country evidence to the effect that nations that depend heavily on their natural resources tend to have (a) less trade and foreign investment, (b) more corruption, (c) less equality, (d) less political liberty, (e) less education, (f) less domestic investment, and (g) less financial depth than other nations that are less well endowed with, or less dependent on, natural resources. This matters for long-run growth because empirical evidence also suggests that trade, honesty, equality, liberty, education, investment, and financial maturity are all positively and significantly related to economic growth across countries. Before concluding, the Paper briefly compares and contrasts the experience of the OPEC countries with that of Norway, a singularly successful oil producer.

The aim of the paper is to analyze the problems of Russia´s integration into the world economy from the point of view of the theory of interjurisdictional competition. It argues, that huge exit-effects in the Russian economy do not lead to increasing quality of institutions and economic policies. In order to explain this situation, the paper focuses on the demand and supply sides of the market for institutions and public policies. Their behavior patterns contribute to the stabilization of the inefficient equilibrium. From the normative point of view, the result of the paper is that Russia´s integration into the world economy can succeed, only if the political institutions are transformed and centers of private economic power are weakened.