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This paper proposes a design scheme along with stability analysis of a new adaptive backstepping controller designed for permanent magnet synchronous generator-based wind turbine, by using artificial neural network-based uncertainty compensation. The idea is to control the rotor speed and the mechanical power generated under internal and external nonlinear parametric uncertainties. An uncertain model of permanent magnet synchronous generator is designed. Then, two artificial neural network compensators are built to compensate such uncertainties in the current loops. The stability of the closed-loop system is studied according to the Lyapunov function. Simulations of the dynamic model are performed under both variable step and random wind speeds by using the DEV-C++ software, and the results are plotted with MATLAB. Compared to the classical direct torque control technique, the obtained results show the robustness of the proposed controller despite the presence of different uncertainties.

The social media space has evolved into a large labyrinth of information exchange platform and due to the growth in the adoption of different social media platforms, there has been an increasing wave of interests in sentiment analysis as a paradigm for the mining and analysis of users’ opinions and sentiments based on their posts. In this paper, we present a review of contextual sentiment analysis on social media entries with a specific focus on Twitter. The sentimental analysis consists of two broad approaches which are machine learning which uses classification techniques to classify text and is further categorized into supervised learning and unsupervised learning; and the lexicon-based approach which uses a dictionary without using any test or training data set, unlike the machine learning approach.

Advance in VLSI technology has led to the emergence of on-Chip Systems (SoC), where a complete system with a large number of intellectual property cores can be integrated onto a single silicon chip. The performance of SoCs highly depends on the speed and efficiency of their underlying communications subsystems. On-Chip Network (NoC), have been suggested to overcome the scalability problem found in traditional shared-bus communication architectures. Intensive research studies are conducted in an attempt to find the optimal networks in terms of performance and cost such as power consumption, and silicon area.

Fog computing is a distributed computing infrastructure that is aimed towards providing supports for IoT devices and analytics. With the rapid increase in the number of ubiquitous network devices often referred to as IoT devices, new forms of mobility, resource allocation and management is imminent in Fog infrastructures since different applications have different requirements especially in terms of response time. Moreover, for some IoT devices application execution requests are forwarded to cloud data centers that are geographically distributed, through fog layer in which currently user mobility is not taken into consideration that leads to the increase in response time. On the other hand, data generation, processing and distribution can be handled at the network edges by fog layer which reduces network traffic that leads to low delay. This paper describes our research experience in addressing the problem of resource allocation and user mobility from the network edge up to the distributed cloud data centers. We propose an efficient algorithm that works with Seamless Handover Scheme for mobile IPV6 and suggest scheduling policies to alleviate the user mobility challenge in order to reduce the application response time.

The idea that computation may be organized as a public utility, like water and electricity, was formulated in the 1960s by John McCarthy, a visionary computer scientist that championed mathematical logic in artificial intelligence. Cloud computing combines the best techniques and technologies of distributed system, parallel computing and grid computing. Is a utility computing that provides a scalable standard environment for network-centric application development, testing and deployment that distributes and allocates resources via simple user, provider model pattern of pay-per-use system. This paper aims at bringing to light some of the threats and vulnerabilities to cloud computing existence, with significance of enlighten users and providers on what is at stake on moving their business or organisation whole or partially to the cloud.

Cyberstalking has been identified as a major threat to users of technology, most importantly social and electronic media tools. The utilisation of available user controls which are aimed at protecting users from cyberstalking have not been fully explored in literatures from a cultural point of view. This paper aims to address this issue by using two distinct cultural group to understand and investigate the adoption of user controls in cyberstalking protection. The Hofstede Cultural index and a few other cultural models will be used in comparing the two selected cultural group.

According to Chung and law (2003); Jeong et al (2003); Jeong and Lambert (2001) and Kim et al. (2003), information satisfaction is the most important requirement of online customers' purchases decision making. This need remains largely unmet despite the growing importance of e-commerce within the hospitality industry. According to Kim et al. (2005), the changing trend in the business activities is largely attributable to the fast and improved developments in information and telecommunications. As a result, Chung and Law, (2003) noted that the Internet is also helping to drive down overhead costs for the hospitality industry and cost of information for the customers, as the traditional method of communication is slowly being phased out. Similarly Kim et al (2005) argue that the Internet gives the customers more advantages by allowing them to obtain valuable information such as prices and hotel facilities without the need of getting into contact with any sales agents. In addition, the Internet provides the customers with numerous supplies allowing customers to access a pool of products and services information from which they can make choices and compare prices.

The positive relation between the internet e-readiness and entrepreneurial activity has been well documented in many empirical studies. We conducted an explorative study to understand the internet e-readiness of micro women entrepreneurs in Ghana. The extensive data that we collected helped us understand the issues such as what are respondents understanding of e-readiness?; what entrepreneurial activities do small women entrepreneurs used the internet for?; and what personal and cultural factors influence internet e-readiness? We conclude that in the technology driven environment, it is essential that women entrepreneurs to be internet ready.

This chapter explores the usage of Web 2.0 technologies in determining the level of quality of Websites in the Croatian hotel industry. Namely, in order to determine the level of quality, it is necessary to identify the characteristics of Websites qualitatively and quantitatively. From the data obtained, it is possible to determine the degree of information compliance with the wishes and needs of potential clients. As the basis of primary research, the authors use the original model evaluation on a selected sample of hotels in Croatia.

Introduction Technology (IT) has had a radical impact on business processes in both developed and developing countries. It facilitates the streamlining of the administrative process and enables the decentralisation of the scope and scale of the business. An Accounting Information System (AIS) is the system of records a business keeps maintaining its accounting system. This includes the purchase, sales, and other financial processes of the business. The purpose of AIS is to accumulate data and provide decision makers (investors, creditors, and managers) with information to make decisions. While this was previously a paper-based process, most modern businesses now use computerised accounting software such as Sage, Peachtree, Pegasus, Oracle Financial, Iris etc. These are referred to as Computerised Accounting Information System (CAIS). It should be noted that Computerised Accounting Information Systems (CAIS) and IT- based Accounting Systems mean one and the same thing. Both of these will be used interchangeably in this dissertation.

Cloud computing has become the cutting-edge technology for information technology processing and high-end computational tasks. Cloud has started playing its part in almost all business processes. Big data in cloud has become the buzzword. The business impact of cloud has deepened with the growth of big data analytics. Current trends such as green cloud computing, mobile cloud computing, and big data have created social as well as business impact. In this chapter, the authors analyze the field of cloud computing and perform an intense literature survey augmented with mathematical analysis. The forecast on the future of cloud and analysis of the current trends shows that cloud computing is a promising technology that will evolve further in years to come.

In this study, we have developed a wearable haptic vest that can display sophisticated haptic feedback patterns. Our proposed haptic vest consists of 60 vibrotactile actuators that have direct contact to torso area. In addition, we have developed 34 haptic stimuli and conducted user testing to measure the effectiveness of our proposed haptic display method.

The UK government investment in cloud computing cannot be under-estimated, in terms of improvement in SMEs productivity through skill-set analysis and effective development of business start-up incubation centres which will yield positive growth in bridging the gaps in unemployment. SMEs in the UK has to incorporate advanced technology of cloud computing in facilitating business enterprise and resources required to virtualisation. The approach to cloud computing depends on the business and organizational needs in terms of the specific services required and model implemented such as: Infrastructure as a service (`IaaS'), Platform as a service (`PaaS') and Software as a service (SaaS).

The purpose of this study is to develop a model which will enhance the effectiveness of adopting green technology and energy management systems for Textile Industry in developing countries. It will also determine the attributes of Green Technology and Energy management System with respect to the textile industry of developing countries. This study will identify the barriers to the adaptation of green technology and energy management system in Textile Industry also the need for the implementation will be evaluated.

This paper examines how eco-tourism can be regarded as a change agent in the tourism economy in developing countries. By using conceptual contributions from chaos theory, the authors illustrate how eco-tourism might give competitive advantage, using South Africa as the empirical setting. Destinations focusing on chaos theory when organizing their efforts within eco-tourism may be able to tailor make services to well-defined market segments through the use of tacit knowledge. Future research may benefit from using untraditional approaches found in the business literature.

Governments across Africa have established regulatory agencies for utilities but these have largely been modeled on those in developed countries and have had limited success. The Electricity Regulatory Authority in Uganda was set up to oversee this important sector but its success has so far been limited as evidenced by the quality, reliability and cost of the service. The Purpose of this study is to examine the factors that influence the performance of ERA, with a view to coming up with mitigation measures. In the first part of the study (presented in this paper), annual reports of the regulatory body, supplemented with press reports, academic papers, and conferences reports are examined. In the second part of the study, the Electricity Governance Toolkit (EGTK) will be used to collect data from relevant electricity laws, rules and regulations developed by the Government of Uganda as well as procedures developed by the regulatory body, and the decisions it has made overtime. In addition, the researchers will conduct interviews with regulatory members and staff, civil society and consumer groups that have filed cases before ERA, as well as a sample of domestic and industrial consumers within Kampala District. Both qualitative (arranging the findings in themes) and quantitative techniques (t tests, frequencies and means) will be utilized to analyze the data.

China and India have successfully penetrated the Nigerian market. Their competitive strategies make them the biggest rivals of domestic industries and other exporters. However, close interactions between the markets have offered the option of technology cloning. The option of technology cloning as the paper suggests is based on a revolutionary concept through which technology is genetically transferred from one country to another based not on structured or previously thought out plans but driven by close interactions with the market; and executed through the efforts of the entrepreneur who adopts the technology solely for his personal gains. The paper is structured into five sections. The first section discusses the concept of technology cloning; section two reviews Nigeria’s past efforts at industrialisation; section three looks at the Nigeria’s movement towards the East; section four discusses existing case studies; while section five discusses the options available.

We present the business federation as a new organizational form using insights from business literature as means to tailor make services to clearly defined market segments. We illustrate how professional service firms can achieve eco- nomic growth through operating locally within an international network. Within the business federation local offices gain access to resources through an extreme form of delegation as it is not top management that delegates to local offices but rather local units that give top management the permission to handle certain tasks because it is most efficient this way. With these new realities existing strategies do not seem to provide the necessary cure. Firms must constantly innovate using insights from new organizational models.

Fraud is prevalent in society and is increasing considerably over in recent years. Auditors have been criticized severally because they tend to reach conclusion based upon inadequate audit processes, and hence, the validity of the audit conclusion has often been questioned. This study thus sought to identify the various types of fraud encountered during financial transactions, evaluate the adoption of Computer Aided Audit Tools (CAATs) in fraud detection in an organization, appraise the impact of CAATs on performance of an organization, and ascertain the problems of CAATs' application within an organization. Data for the study was collected using a well-structured questionnaire which was distributed among 250 employees of an auditing company. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and SPSS package, and the hypothesis of the study was analysed using regression analysis. The findings of the study showed that 72.8 % of the respondents agreed that CAATs have played a major role in fraud detection, and hence can be used to curb fraud to a minimal level in organisations. It was also discovered that CAAT helped to improve the auditors' performance as corroborated by 58.1 % of the respondents. However, quiet a handful of respondents (23.0 %) were undecided in this respect as they claimed that the improved performance has been associated with much stress and pressure. Furthermore, the cost of implementing CAAT, the required skills to be acquired for its usage, and systems database requirements, were some of the problems found to be associated with the application of CAAT in organisations. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media