Information Knowledge Systems Management - Volume 12, issue 1

Authors: Ye, Nong | Yang, Su Seon | Aranda, Billibaldo Martinez

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Resource allocation in cloud computing is an optimization problem that determines the allocation of computer and network resources of service providers to requested services of users for meeting user service requirements. A distributed cloud computing environment for IT services requires resource allocation in a decentralized manner through the coordination of service providers and service users. Achieving the optimal solution of service planning through the decentralized service provider-user coordination remains as a challenge. …This paper looks into elements of service provider-user coordination first in the formulation of the resource allocation problem in a centralized manner and then in the formulation of the problem in a decentralized manner for various problem cases. By examining differences between the centralized, optimal solutions and the decentralized solutions for those problem cases, the analysis of how the decentralized service provider-user coordination breaks down the optimal solutions is performed. Based on this analysis, strategies of decentralized service provider-user coordination are developed. Show more

Keywords: Services planning, clouds and services computing, optimization, decentralized method

DOI: 10.3233/IKS-2002-00214

Citation: Information Knowledge Systems Management, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 1-24, 2013

Authors: Uzoka, Faith-Michael | Fedoruk, Alan | Osakwe, Carlton | Osuji, Joseph | Gibb, Kalen

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Universal, effective, fair, and consistent methods for evaluating faculty scholarly activities have remained elusive for years. This research utilized the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to assess the professoriate's own perceptions of the appropriate assessment of faculty research. The paper also incorporated the Boyer model of scholarship as one of the main criteria for scholarship evaluation. We addressed the "how" and "how much" in the weighting of scholarship output based on a survey of faculty at five …Canadian teaching-intensive universities. The surprising lack of weighting value assigned to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, and the overall structure of the AHP model present interesting results. Show more

Keywords: AHP, scholarship, Boyer's model, research, evaluation, MCDA

DOI: 10.3233/IKS-130215

Citation: Information Knowledge Systems Management, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 25-51, 2013

Authors: Kumar, Sameer | Bergstrom, Timothy C.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: The study focuses on the key issues affecting the functioning and structure of Africa's private manufacturing sector. Surveys conducted in seventeen countries in sub-Saharan Africa present a number of issues faced by participating firms. These issues include: access to finance, access to trade finance, complexity of tax system, customs and trade regulations, corruption, availability of qualified labor, labor regulations, employee health, reliable electricity supply, cost of electricity, transport costs, loss due to transport …(breakage, theft, delays), physical infrastructure, ability to own land/premises, and physical crime. The methodological base was derived from extensive literature review. The survey questionnaire was based on the literature review which included various theoretical models. The survey was tested on a small group before rolling out to various countries in sub-Saharan Africa and collecting this data. The study does not cover all of the many potential causes proposed to explain the slow rate of industrial growth in Africa; instead, it concentrates on what managers and entrepreneurs in the private manufacturing sector in Africa have encountered. The analysis is a reflection of their points of view. Their businesses are part of the formal manufacturing sector, which, even though it is not the dominant sector of economic activity, is vital in the chain of development. The study facilitates knowledge and information on an assortment of success factors for improved performance for companies in the emerging market of sub-Saharan and other parts of the African continent. Show more

Keywords: African manufacturing sector, competitive advantage, knowledge and information, innovation; strategy formulation, small/medium enterprises, culture

DOI: 10.3233/IKS-130216

Citation: Information Knowledge Systems Management, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 53-73, 2013

Authors: Ye, Nong | Aranda, Billibaldo Martinez | Hurley, Patrick

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Three types of activities may run on computer and network systems at the same time: services, security mechanisms, and attacks. Computer and network systems should sustain legitimate cyber services even under attacks. In this study, system impacts of services, security mechanisms and attacks are investigated and used to develop strategies for system survivability. Experiments are conducted to collect system dynamics data under two services of voice communication and motion detection, two security mechanisms of data …encryption and intrusion detection, and five cyber attacks. Statistical analyses are performed on the experimental data to identify system-wide impacts of services, security mechanisms and attacks on system activities, state and performance. The analytical results reveal the system impact characteristics of these services, security mechanisms, and attacks on IO and file operations and bytes, page and cache faults, memory usage, CPU usage, and network traffic. The competition for system resources by all the activities in the system manifests themselves predominantly in their competition for limited CPU time. This competition for limited CPU time can be used as a strategy to ensure system survivability by increasing the activity level of legitimate services to leave less CPU time for attacks and thus suppress the level and system impacts of attacks while sustaining CPU time for legitimate services. Show more

Keywords: Computer and network services, security, attacks, system impacts, system survivability

DOI: 10.3233/IKS-130217

Citation: Information Knowledge Systems Management, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 75-95, 2013