Abstract Conference management systems, which help organizers in carrying out tasks in the workflow, of scientific events are widely used in the academic world. In this paper we focus on tasks where methods from the domain of information retrieval, information management and information organization can assist the organizer, the program committee members and the participants.We present a method for the creation... Conference management systems, which help organizers in carrying out tasks in the workflow, of scientific events are widely used in the academic world. In this paper we focus on tasks where methods from the domain of information retrieval, information management and information organization can assist the organizer, the program committee members and the participants.We present a method for the creation of an improved review process by better matching the reviewers expertise with the paper topics, which can to increase the quality of the conference. Furthermore the conference participants benefit from better access to the wealth of information accumulated throughout a conference series. The Conference organizers profit from the reduced workload because of the partial automating of tedious tasks, such as the review assignment, the compilation of the conference program and the creation of poster setup plans. We report on case studies from a small-sized (around 200 participants), a medium-sized (around 400 participants) as well as a large (more than 700 participants) conference in the computer science as well as the medical domains. Read More Read Less

Abstract A social network represents a social community as a directed graph. Communication on the Web has given rise to social network formation like, Web Community, Referral System etc. An earlier effort has proposed a data model for such Web-based social network. Present paper discusses the relevant index structures for processing queries on a social network schema based upon the proposed... A social network represents a social community as a directed graph. Communication on the Web has given rise to social network formation like, Web Community, Referral System etc. An earlier effort has proposed a data model for such Web-based social network. Present paper discusses the relevant index structures for processing queries on a social network schema based upon the proposed data model. The paper has also provided evaluation of the structural operators proposed in the data model and discussed their efficacy with query examples. Read More Read Less

Abstract Energy conservation is a critical issue in Mobile Ad hoc Networks (MANETs) for node and network life, as the nodes are powered by batteries only. In order to maximize the lifetime of MANETs, traffic should be sent through a shortest path that does not contain nodes with low residual energy and consumes minimum total transmission power. The above objectives cannot... Energy conservation is a critical issue in Mobile Ad hoc Networks (MANETs) for node and network life, as the nodes are powered by batteries only. In order to maximize the lifetime of MANETs, traffic should be sent through a shortest path that does not contain nodes with low residual energy and consumes minimum total transmission power. The above objectives cannot be satisfied simultaneously by applying the existing power aware routing algorithms. For this reason, several power-aware routing approaches have been proposed in the literature attempting to maximize the network lifetime. An interesting approach called Minimum Drain Rate (MDR) aims to predict the lifetime of nodes according to the current traffic conditions. However, it does not guarantee that the total transmission power is minimized over a chosen route. In this paper, we provide an new approach called Secure Extended Optimal Energy Drain Rate (SEOEDR) able to extend the MANET lifetime and duration of the path, and also to minimize the total transmission power consumed per packet. In our approach, the traffic is routed such that the energy consumption is balanced among the nodes in proportion to their energy reserves. We also handle the selfishness of nodes by considering the node reputation while making the routing decisions. It results in selection of routes that are simultaneously energy efficient and reliable. The simulation results that we have conducted during our study show the relevance of our algorithm, in terms of energy saving and overall network lifetime, in comparison with existing ones. Read More Read Less

Abstract The cluster property of document collections in today’s search engines provides valuable information for index compression. By clustering d-gaps of an inverted list based on a threshold, and then encoding clustered and non-clustered d-gaps using different methods, we can tailor to the specific properties of different d-gaps and achieve better compression ratio. Based on this idea, in this paper we... The cluster property of document collections in today’s search engines provides valuable information for index compression. By clustering d-gaps of an inverted list based on a threshold, and then encoding clustered and non-clustered d-gaps using different methods, we can tailor to the specific properties of different d-gaps and achieve better compression ratio. Based on this idea, in this paper we propose a cluster based approach and presents two new codes for inverted file index compression: mixed gamma/flat binary code and mixed delta/flat binary code. Experiment results show that the two new codes achieve better or equal performance in terms of compression ratio comparing to interpolative code which is considered as the most efficient bitwise code at present. Besides, the two new codes have much lower complexity comparing to interpolative code and therefore enable faster encoding and decoding. By adjusting the parameters for the mixed codes, even better results may be achieved. Experiments show promising results with our approaches. Read More Read Less

Abstract Using a Global Positioning System (GPS) in the car navigation system enables the driver to perform a wide range of queries, from locating the car position, to finding a route from a source to a destination, or dynamically selecting the best route in real time. With spatial network databases (SNDB), objects are restricted to move on pre-defined paths (e.g., roads)... Using a Global Positioning System (GPS) in the car navigation system enables the driver to perform a wide range of queries, from locating the car position, to finding a route from a source to a destination, or dynamically selecting the best route in real time. With spatial network databases (SNDB), objects are restricted to move on pre-defined paths (e.g., roads) that are specified by an underlying network. In our previous work, we proposed a novel approach, termed Progressive Incremental Network Expansion (PINE), to efficiently support several spatial queries. In this work, we utilize our developed PINE system to efficiently support Restricted Continuous K Nearest Neighbors (RCKNNs) queries. RCKNN continuously finds the K nearest objects to a query point on a given path that are within a specified distance bound. Our solution addresses a new type of query that is plausible to many applications where the answer to the query not only depends on the distances of the nearest neighbors, but also on the user or application needs. By distinguishing between two types of split points, we reduce the number of computations required to retrieve the RCKNNs of a moving object. We further define a caching model to expedite RCKNN query response time. Read More Read Less

Abstract The heterogeneous nature of geospatial data makes the sharing of it across organizations a complex issue. As a standard means of geospatial data encoding, Geography Markup Language (GML) has been proposed by Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC), which facilitates sharing and exchange of geospatial information. With the proliferation of GML in many geospatial applications and storage support from the standard DBMS,... The heterogeneous nature of geospatial data makes the sharing of it across organizations a complex issue. As a standard means of geospatial data encoding, Geography Markup Language (GML) has been proposed by Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC), which facilitates sharing and exchange of geospatial information. With the proliferation of GML in many geospatial applications and storage support from the standard DBMS, the need arises for the efficient storage mechanism of GML data. This paper analyses approaches for XML data storage in traditional DBMS and proposes alternative solutions for GML. Every GML document structure is defined in an application schema. We propose an approach for GML storage based on the analysis of the underlying application schema. A semi-automatic mapping mechanism has been proposed for the application schema to relational schemas of standard database with the utilization of the domain ontology. A set of relational schema is presumed to exist for different geospatial features. The proposed ontology based schema-matching approach for GML storage enhances the mapping process, thus facilitates sharing of heterogeneous data repositories. Read More Read Less

Abstract Generic systems for content-based image retrieval (CBIR), such as QBIC [7] cannot be used to solve domain-specific image retrieval problems, as for example, the identification of manuscript writers based on the visual characteristics of their handwriting. Domain-specific CBIR systems currently have to be implemented bottom up, i.e. almost from scratch, each time a new domain-specific solution is sought. Inspired by... Generic systems for content-based image retrieval (CBIR), such as QBIC [7] cannot be used to solve domain-specific image retrieval problems, as for example, the identification of manuscript writers based on the visual characteristics of their handwriting. Domain-specific CBIR systems currently have to be implemented bottom up, i.e. almost from scratch, each time a new domain-specific solution is sought. Inspired by the recognition, that CBIR systems, although developed for different domain-problems, comprise similar building blocks and architecture, the idea of adopting model-driven development techniques for generating CBIR systems was elaborated. To support the design of domainspecific CBIR-Systems on a conceptual level by reusing data structure and functional interfaces a framework model is developed, which can be used to derive concrete domainspecific CBIR models. A transformation approach for the generation of a platform-specific implementation on top of an object-relational database from the concrete conceptual model is proposed. Finally, how these techniques can be applied for the design of a CBIR system for the identification of music manuscript writers based on the visual characteristics of their handwriting is demonstrated. Read More Read Less

Abstract Local cultural heritage document collections are characterized by contents strongly attached to a territory and its associated land history. Our contribution aims at enhancing such a content retrieval process efficiently each time a query includes geographic criteria. We propose a unified model for a formal representation of geographic information. This geographic model allows space features to be described independently of... Local cultural heritage document collections are characterized by contents strongly attached to a territory and its associated land history. Our contribution aims at enhancing such a content retrieval process efficiently each time a query includes geographic criteria. We propose a unified model for a formal representation of geographic information. This geographic model allows space features to be described independently of their representation mode (text, graphics) in the documents. We have developed a prototype implementing geographic Information Extraction (IE) and geographic Information Retrieval (IR) processes. We process geographic IE with semantic techniques combined to classic IE approaches. Then, we implement geographic IR with intersections researching algorithms: these algorithms search for all geocoded entities in the documents collections indexes which intersect any entity in the user’s query. This paper focuses on IR and Visualization proposals relying on the geospatial characteristics of cultural heritage corpora. Read More Read Less

Abstract The advantages of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have forced many enterprises to reconsider the way their business processes are undertaken. Among various Information Technologies, the Workflow Management System greatly improves the efficiency of business processes. The challenge for Workflow Systems relies on their ability to align ICT and the processes of production and business. They should support the strategic... The advantages of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have forced many enterprises to reconsider the way their business processes are undertaken. Among various Information Technologies, the Workflow Management System greatly improves the efficiency of business processes. The challenge for Workflow Systems relies on their ability to align ICT and the processes of production and business. They should support the strategic policy of the enterprise and quickly respond to on-demand business and opportunities. Unfortunately, they suffer from some lacks and limitations due to their monolithic architectures. Most Workflow Management Systems are dependent on technology platforms and partially conform to standards. We attempt throughout the present paper to propose the next generation of Workflow architectures. We conceive workflow systems as a set of services, which are generic and platform-independent. Services are self-contained and fullycustomized. Workflow services are assembled from computational components (i.e. web services), which are loosely coupled. The new architecture is split into layers to guarantee a high level of abstraction, each of which is managed by a crucial Web Service known as the orchestrator service. Read More Read Less

Abstract Generally, the literature tends to either subsume bioinformatics under the general sector of biotechnology or it uses it as an explanatory dimension because it provides knowledge sources for biotechnology activities. In this study, the researcher attempt to reverse this relationship, for under the assumption of co-evolution of technology and institutions, both shape each other rather than one alone shaping the... Generally, the literature tends to either subsume bioinformatics under the general sector of biotechnology or it uses it as an explanatory dimension because it provides knowledge sources for biotechnology activities. In this study, the researcher attempt to reverse this relationship, for under the assumption of co-evolution of technology and institutions, both shape each other rather than one alone shaping the other. In testing the relationships between the biotechnology firms and bioinformatics firms of the most active countries in these sectors, the logistic regression results produce three groups of countries: (a) those that significantly positively influence bioinformatics because of biotechnology activity, (b) those that significantly negatively influence bioinformatics because of biotechnology activity, and (c) those that remain indifferent. Read More Read Less

Abstract The data hiding technique is used to hide a secret message into a cover image which is then sent to a receiver without raising any suspicions. With a reversible (lossless) data hiding method, a receiver can extract a secret message and exactly restore an original cover image from an embedded image. This paper presents a novel reversible data embedding scheme... The data hiding technique is used to hide a secret message into a cover image which is then sent to a receiver without raising any suspicions. With a reversible (lossless) data hiding method, a receiver can extract a secret message and exactly restore an original cover image from an embedded image. This paper presents a novel reversible data embedding scheme for color images. The proposed scheme mostly embeds two secret bits into one cover pixel by replacing the cover pixel with its permutation whose Euclidean distance is closest to the cover pixel. The experimental results show that the proposed scheme can achieve a high embedding rate while maintaining the visual quality of stego color images in comparison with other methods Read More Read Less